342 PHILOSOPHICAL TEANSACTIONS. s [aNNO I7.66. 



the-river Tagus, is situated the town of Molina Aragon, capital of a lordship of 

 the crown, almost in the centre of Spain. The high hills of this little territory 

 are covered with pine trees. Here he learned some truths, which prove that the 

 following opinions ought to be ranked among vulgar errors, 

 '. First, that salt-springs are not found in the high primitive mountains, but in 

 the low hills and plains only. The elevated town of Molina, and the rocky 

 country about it, is formed of red and grey sand-stone, lime-stone, white and 

 grey granite. These rocks contain either salt, or salt-petre ; the houses built of 

 this stone are covered with the saline efflorescences, which are drawn out by the 

 sun after rain. The whole territory of Molina is full of salt springs ; but there 

 is a copious salt spring, rising out of a land yet higher than the source of the 

 Tagus, and not far from it, which is one of the highest territories in all the in- 

 land parts of Spain, for it divides the waters of the ocean and Mediterranean. 

 This spring furnishes salt to the jurisdiction and bishopric of Albarrazen. There 

 is besides another salt spring, in another elevated ground, which supplies the 82 

 towns and villages of Molina-Aragon with salt : besides which, there is a salt 

 spring, issuing out of a spot in the Montana, which is higher than the fountain of 

 the Ebro, and about a quarter of a mile distant from it. 



Secondly, that metallic vapours destroy vegetation ; the following instances 

 evince the contrary. There are many iron, copper, lead, and piire pyritous ores, 

 in these mountains ; and yet the same plants, and the same sweet grass grow 

 there as in other parts. About 1 hours walk northwest of Molina, there is a 

 little hill called Platilla ; it extends about half a league over, from valley to 

 valley ; its body is a solid, rocky, white granite, through which run, in different 

 directions, and without any order, an infinite number of blue, green, and yel- 

 low veins of rich copper ore, which holds a little silver, mineralized by a great 

 quantity of arsenic and sulphur : the very surface of the rock is in many places 

 stained blue, and green, and the veins of ore are not above a foot deep. In the 

 fissures, and in the solid rock, is contained lead ore, which is sometimes found 

 even on the surface ; and yet the following plants grow out of the soil, which 

 covers these arsenical sulphurous veins, and it is not more than a foot deep ; true 

 oak, flax, white-thorn, juniper, cystus, wild rose, uva ursi, phlomis, verbascum, 

 stoechas, sage, thyme, serpillum, rosemary, and many others. The earth of 

 this same hill is covered with the same sweet small grass as the rest of the 

 country. 



Mr. B. has also made the same observations, out of Spain, at the 3 greatest 

 mines in Europe, viz. St. Mary of the mines in Alsatia ; Clausthal, in the 

 Hartz-mountains of Hanover ; and Freyberg, in Saxony. The mines of St. 

 Mary are at the head of a valley. Its hills are some of them covered with oak, 

 pines, and others with apple, pear, plum, and cherry, and others, with fine 



