Botanic Gardens of Lucar de Barrameda, Alicante, fyc. 395 



sl native of Cadiz, received the first notions of botany in this 

 school, under Dr. Castillejos,'to whom he afterwards repaid the 

 taste and inclination he inspired him with, by dedicating to 

 him the genus Castilleja, which the son of Linnaeus published. 

 The library of this establishment possesses a valuable collec- 

 tion of books on natural history, among which are some that 

 are not found in that of the botanical garden of Madrid. 



Botanic Garden of Lucar de Barrameda. — The garden of 

 botany and naturalisation established in San Lucar of Barra- 

 meda, in the year 1805, may be said to have existed in an 

 expiring state ever since March, 1808, at which period the 

 stupid populace, led by some fanatical and clerical demagogues, 

 destroyed in an instant, under the specious veil of patriotism, 

 all that had been collected there at an immense expense and 

 toil; making the sacrifice in honour of Ferdinand and of the 

 country, and in hatred of the favourite, Godoy, who had been 

 its principal founder, and had declared himself its strenuous 

 supporter and patron. Many of the exotic trees, which grew 

 up again after the above catastrophe, are still preserved ; but 

 such is the neglected state into which this garden has fallen, 

 that it has only one gardener, who is scarcely paid, and but 

 moderately informed. 



Botanic Garden of Alicante. — The board of commerce of 

 Alicante, established in 1815, with the permission of govern- 

 ment, a botanico-agricultural garden, the direction and pro- 

 fessorship of which was given to Don Claudio Boutelon, who 

 filled them till 1819, when he removed to Seville, to direct 

 the cultivation of the Guadalquivir islands, granted to the 

 company of this name. Since that period, the garden of 

 Alicante began to be neglected, and I suppose it no longer 

 exists. 



Botanic Garden of Muchamiel. — In the town of Muchamiel, 

 at two short leagues from Alicante, Prince Pio founded, at 

 the beginning of the present century, a superb botanical gar- 

 den, which was laid out according to the system of Linnaeus, 

 and which I visited in 1810. There were upwards of 2,000 

 American, African, and Asiatic plants, cultivated in unshel- 

 tered ground, and in the open air, as if they were in their na- 

 tive regions ; these were, many species of the genera *Salvia, 

 Solanum, Cestrum, Cactus, A'loe, Cotyledon, Mimosa, Pelar- 

 gonium, Mesembryanthemum, the iLaurus persea, and the 

 Annona cherimolia. It was then tended with sufficient care, 

 a botanical gardener having arrived from Valencia for the 

 purpose, and it possessed a tolerably extensive library. This, 

 and other botanical and pleasure gardens, which are found in 



