23 



parts of Spain. Angular fragments of lydian 

 stone, scattered along the vallies, seemed to in- 

 dicate, that the transition schist is the basis of 

 the strata of grauwakke. Near Corunna even 

 granitic ridges stretch as far as Cape Ortegal. 

 These granites, which seem formerly to have 

 been contiguous to those of Britanny and Corn- 

 wall, are perhaps the wrecks of a chain of moun- 

 tains destroyed and sunk in the waves. Large 

 and beautiful crystals of feldspath characterize 

 this rock; the common tin ore is sometimes 

 discovered there, the working of which is a la- 

 borious and unprofitable operation for the inha- 

 bitants of Gallicia. 



When we reached Corunna, we found the port 

 blockaded by an English man of war and two 

 frigates, which were stationed to intercept the 

 communication between the mother-country and 

 the American colonies; since it was from Corun- 

 na, and not from Cadiz, that a packet boat ( cor- 

 reo maritimo) sailed every month for the Havan- 

 nah, and another every two months for Buenos 

 Ayres, or the mouth of the river Plata. I shall 

 in the course of my work give an exact statement 

 of the posts on the new continent ; and shall 

 here only observe, that since the administration 

 of Count Florida Blanca, the service of the land 

 post office has been so well organized, that an 

 inhabitant of Paraguay, or of the province of 



