s from the first houses of Puelo, I per- 
ved this beautiful plant, growing in great 
"abundance, with no transition from a few 
-scattered bushes to this plentiful supply. 
accompanied me to Canjas, first on the 
ht hand and then on the left, according 
I was enabled to trace it to the other end 
of Canjas de Tineo, where it takes a turn 
and follows the valleys of Naviego and 
Narcea, as they rise upwards, for about a 
- league and a half in the first, and three 
.. quarters of a league in the second, without 
| ever quitting the sloping sides of the adja- 
cent mountains which inclose the road, 
and at length disappeared altogether at an 
elevation which seemed to me, by approxi- 
i mation, to be about that of the village of 
= Puelo. The singularity of this station has 
- hot escaped the observation of the inhabit- 
ants, who assure me, that beyond the limits 
- I have named, this plant is not to be found 
I cannot, from my own 
knowledge, vouch for this latter fact, but it 
it any where else. When cultivated, this 
little, bushy, evergreen shrub, with its thick- 
set, linear, grass-like leaves, and large, 
violet, sweet-scented flowers, will become 
quite an acquisition to our gardens. If 
kept cut, it will produce its blossoms 
throughout the summer, as I perceived by 
the branches, which had been browsed upon 
- by the cattle, and might make a beautiful 
low E particularly if, as is probable, 
the petals become double. I have never 
met with this species in any collection, and 
= therefore inclined to consider it as new. 
Protector, M. Perez of Oviedo. From 
IN THE MOUNTAINS OF ASTURIAS. 
is most certain that I met with no trace of- 
217 
his earliest youth, he appears to have been 
passionately fond of botanical pursuits, and 
had made so much progress in the science - 
as to aspire, at the same time as Ortega, to 
the Botanical Professorship at Madrid. 
Disappointed in this object of his earnest 
wishes, he retired for life to his native As- 
turian valleys. There, long ere the Geo- 
graphy of Plants had received much atten- 
tion from Naturalists, he observed that his 
own province was very interesting in this 
respect, and commenced a series of expe- 
ditions to elucidate the subject, but had 
made little progress when, herborizing one 
day, a few leagues from home, near a town 
where he was not known, he was observed 
climbing among the rocks, This sight ex- 
cited so much astonishment, that the Cor- 
regidor was speedily informed, who deter- 
mined on starting himself, accompanied by - 
his alguazils, to ascertain the fact. Find- 
ing a well-dressed person clambering 
among the steep places, and labouring hard 
in some pursuit which he could not com- 
prehend, the Corregidor concluded that. 
some secret demoniacal work was in hand, 
and accordingly, seizing and stripping the 
hapless Botanist, and taking from him all 
his money, he ordered him forthwith to be 
carried to prison, and shut up in the cala- 
bozo (dungeon). There he might probably 
have died of want and misery, had he not 
hit upon a well-imagined mode of escape, 
too long, however, to be narrated here, by 
which he delivered himself from this un- 
merited cáptivity. His botanizing excur- 
sions were thus quite suspended; but the 
ed above forty years ago, though now bur- 
dened with the weight of fourscore years, 
is not yet extinct, and my appearance in 
the vicinity of Oviedo suffered to re- 
kindle it into a flame. You would scarcely 
believe that he is about to resume the sci- 
entific researches which were so harshly 
arrested; and that he has commenced 
teaching some of the young students from 
.the University of Oviedo, and on my return 
from the mountains he assured me that he 
had already some pupils who were about dx 
What he 
to aid him in his employments. 
