. more competent to speak on the subject, 
has convinced us, that neither of those 
countries, however tempting by their pro- 
ductions, can be visited with safety. Mr. 
Webb thus writes upon that subject from 
Paris : 1 
"Going to so circumscribed a spot as 
Madeira, would certainly not answer for 
any great length of time, but a visit to the 
Mauritanian Atlas is of very doubtful prac- 
ticability. I can speak with certainty on 
_ this point, having done all in my power to 
accomplish the enterprise myself. The 
only method of travelling in the interior 
of Morocco is, in company with a foreign 
Consul, sent to the Court of the Emperor 
by his Government. This may always be 
known by writing beforehand to Tangiers. 
Mr. Consul Douglas was going, in 1827, 
from the English Government, and he 
kindly procured for me a tent from the 
Governor of Gibraltar with those for him- 
self, and I made every other preparation 
of presents and necessaries fit for a Frank 
Bey attached to the mission; but from va- 
. ous causes it never took place, and after 
exploring the country in all directions 
about Tangiers and Tetuan, I embarked 
for Gibraltar. Since that time, I believe 
in 1829, Sir Peter Schousbee's sons ac- 
companied an Austrian Envoy to Morocco, 
and being perfect Mauritanians, born and 
bred in África, they easily obtained per- 
Mission to visit the Atlas Chain, and brought 
back a store of plants. If any friend of 
Yours does ever go to Morocco, I would 
recommend him, beside the great Atlantic 
Alps, to visit the Cordilleras and beauti- 
fully wooded valleys between Mount Cif 
“i 
His Grace the Duke of Bedford confirms the 
» "iat, so far as regards the South of Spain : 
: an expedition I made in Spain, on horseback 
: In 1814, I rode Cadiz to Gil P j 1: iu 1 : 
woods 
fen Tariffa and Algesiras, saw most splendid 
hododendron Ponticum, then 
BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 
341 
and Tarudanh, often described to me by 
the Shihas or Barbérs, whom I saw at 
Tangiers. The country round about the 
allen cities of Fez and Mequinez merits 
little attention, but the impracticable pro- 
vince of El Rif, composed of lofty chains, 
lying between Tetuan and the Algerine 
territory, will be a rich mine of botanical 
knowledge whenever it can be got at, which 
will not be yet awhile, for the Rifefios are 
a savage indomitable race. I have speci- 
mens of Larix Cedrus from the Rif Moun- 
tains, and am informed that great forests of 
this noble Fir are still to be found there. 
Both Mauritania and Numidia, now as 
heretofore, suffer from a scarcity of water, 
and it appears by what I could learn from 
the Moors, that the streams which flow 
from the Atlantic Chain descend princi- 
pally on its eastern side, and enrich an El 
Dorado of vegetation, concerning which 
they speak in raptures. en shall we 
Giaours, know aught of these countries? 
For my own part, I look forward to the 
triumph of Europe and civilization through . 
the French occupation, if the nation have 
perseverance and steadiness enough to 
consummate its conquest, a task worthy of 
the Romans. 
* T should think Gibraltar excellent 
head-quarters for a Spanish herborizer, the 
Sierra de Rorida, where I found the Di- 
gitalis laciniata (Bot. Reg. t. 1201), and 
a multitude of other Sierras are within a 
day or two's reach, and in the shady ra- 
vines, between Gibraltar and Medina Si- 
donia, I had the pleasure of finding Rho- 
dodendron Ponticum, growing in splendid 
bushes, twelve feet high. I cannot answer 
for that part of Spain just now, but even 
when I was there in 1827, it was not safe 
to wander about, except in companies of 
two or three together, not so much on ac- 
count of the professional robbers, as of 
what the Spaniards call raterillos, or at- 
tacks from the peasants, armed with their 
knives ; but as they are cowardly, and had 
at that time no fire-arms, they are little " 
be dreaded by armed men, determined w 
defend themselves. I botanized thus 
throughout the Sierra Nevada, the Alpux- 
