184 VEGETATION OF THE 



and mulberries, the latter I believe not with much 

 success, as there is a scarcity of water in the neigh- 

 bourhood, and for this reason Mr. Sprague has been 

 forming an Artesian well, which was not completed 

 when I left Gibraltar. 



About a mile from this farm is the town of St. 

 Roque, picturesquely situated on a high hill, over- 

 looking rich fields and pasture lands. From one of 

 the most elevated points of this hill a panoramic view 

 of perhaps more than a hundred miles in extent is 

 obtained. The Mediterranean, with Afric's bold shores 

 beyond it ; Gibraltar, rising, like an island from amidst 

 the ocean ; behind the town, the Corkwood, seen in 

 the distance, with ranges of blue hills, forming the 

 chain of the Ronda mountains; the white snowy 

 heights of the Sierra Nevada, also seen from this 

 eminence ; Algesiras, and the site where once stood 

 ancient Carteia, with the classic rivers of Palmones 

 and Guaderenque, emptying their crystal streams 

 in the blue waters of the bay ; all contribute to form 

 a scene which, for grandeur and beauty, can scarely be 

 equalled even by the wildest dreams of fancy. The 

 town of St. Roque is scarcely worthy of attention, except 

 as being one of the cleanest of Spanish towns ; there 

 are but few modern houses in it, and the only build- 

 ings of importance are the church and town-hall, in 

 the Plaza de la Constitucion. The latter is remarkable 

 for containing, above the first staircase, a small but 

 elegantly worked basso-relievo, found a few years 

 ago among the buried ruins of Carteia. Most of the 

 older houses in St. Roque are built of stones, reco- 



