“to improve the soil and the mind.” 
New Series. 
ALBANY, FEBRUARY, 1849. 
Vol. VI.— No. 2. 
' Climate anlr Jproiuuts of Jttororco. 
letter from the U. S. Consul. 
“Land of the Moors,” Tangier , Nov. 9, 1848. 
Friend Tucker —When, three years ago, I wrote 
my last communication for your excellent Cultivator, 
from my little Rural Gothic Cottage at Elmwood, on 
the banks of the Genesee, at Rochester, I little thought 
that my next would be addressed to you from an anti¬ 
quated Moorish mansion, on the banks of the Straits of 
Gibraltar, in such a strange, wild, unique country as is 
this “ Land of the Moors.” And much less did I ex¬ 
pect, while cultivating my ruta bagas and rearing my 
Short Horns and Herefords, in the valley of the Gene¬ 
see, ever to be engaged in cultivating the Orange, the 
Fig, the Olive and the Pomegranate, and training my 
fleet barb, or Arabian charger, on the plains of Africa. 
Yet all these strange and unforeseen transitions have 
taken place in three short years, besides a great varie¬ 
ty of equally incongruous incidents which have trans¬ 
pired in the interim. But you know that a love of 
change, and a propensity for adventure and experiment, 
are characteristics of the people of Yankcedom; and 
he must be sadly deficient in the attributes pertaining 
to a genuine son of Yankee-land, who has not, as occa¬ 
sion may offer, the ingenuity and tact to turn his hand 
to any employment that may suit his fancy or conveni¬ 
ence—whether it be that of an amateur cultivator of 
nature’s productions, either in the frigid or torrid zones, 
in the temperate or tropical climes—whether it be in 
wielding a pruning knife or an editorial pen—plowing 
the land or plowing the sea—whether in cutting the 
Gordion knot of political tacticians, or the knotty limbs 
of an unsound sapling—or whether in treading the 
thorny paths of political strife, or the more dignified 
and pleasing walks of diplomatic life. This Versality 
of temper and character, which so peculiarly charac¬ 
terises the American people, seems strange and unac¬ 
countable to Europeans, although little is thought of it 
among ourselves. 
Before leaving New-York, I promised to comply with 
your request, to give you some account of the climate, 
soil, productions, modes of cultivation, &c., in the Em¬ 
pire of Morocco. But I have been so short a time in 
this country, that I have not yet had an opportunity of 
observing personally, all the different operations of 
these strange people; and as they all speak in unknown 
tongues, (at least to me,) but little idea can be 
obtained by their descriptions, and I fear, therefore, 
that I shall not at this time be able to afford much ei¬ 
ther to instruct or interest your readers. 
Tangier is in latitude 35° 48. I arrived here on the 
14th of July. Previous to leaving my country, my 
friends thought it would be imprudent in me to reach 
this hot, scorching climate, in the height of its mid¬ 
summer heat. But you may be surprised, as I have 
been, to learn that the heat of summer is not near as 
intense, here as in the United States—even in the most 
northwardly states of New-York, Vermont, &c. I 
commenced on the 27th of July, noting the temperature 
by my thermometer, at 9, 12, 4 and 6 o’clock, and have 
kept it up nearly every day since,* and from that date 
to the 20th of September, the mercury never rose above 
77%, nor fell below 70f degrees. It is the most uni- 
form climate that I have ever lived under; we have 
almost constantly fresh sea breezes, which very much 
temper the heat of the sun. I happened to notice in 
a New-York paper, that the thermometer at Washing¬ 
ton, on the 28th of July, was at 86° ; here it was at 
73 on the same day. We had no rains here during the 
summer season, nor until the 20th of September, and 
yet vegetation seemed to thrive, and the land has pro¬ 
duced its usual abundance. While the pasture lands in 
the valleys and on the up-lands, were baked so hard 
that they cracked open, leaving fissures large enough, 
in some instances, to admit a donkey’s hoof, yet the 
grounds, vineyards, 8tc., which w r ere under the process 
of tillage, did not appear to suffer at all from the 
drouth. 
We had a few days of rain here, the latter part of 
September and the forepart of October, which gave a 
very rapid growth to vegetation, making a most re¬ 
markable change in the appearance of the whole 
landscape around. The weather, for the last two or 
three weeks has been clear and remarkably mild. Since 
the commencement of this month, the thermometer has 
ranged at about 65 degrees, and the people are now 
making their gardens, planting their vegetables—and 
in many instances, these productions ai*e already up, 
and looking fresh and green. During a short ride into 
the country yesterday, I saw the heaths, in some places, 
literally covered with a most beautiful wild flower, a 
species of the crocus. The pear, the cherry, plum, 
orange, &c., are in blossom. It is no unusual thing to 
see the fig, orange, and other trees, having on them at 
the same time, fresh budding blossoms and ripe fruit. 
The fresh Jig is a most delicious fruit, aud it comes on in 
such a continuous succession that we have it in perfec¬ 
tion during nearly the whole summer and autumn. It 
may seem somewhat paradoxical to say that one kind of 
this fruit is green when ripe, and another black when 
green—-yet such is the fact. 
Most of the tropical fruits grow here in perfection— 
the orange, lemon, lime, plantain, banana, fig, olive, 
date, &.c., and the grapes are delicious. There are 
great varieties of this excellent fruit—some white, 
some black, and some of a wine color; the muscatels 
are very fine, and there is a kind which, from their re¬ 
markable length, and delicate, slender tapering form, I 
should call “the lady’s finger,” that are of a rich, sweet 
flavor. We have had ripe grapes here since the mid¬ 
dle of July—a single cluster which was sent me by a 
friend, weighed three pounds. This luxurious fruit may 
be bought here during most or all of the summer 
months for one cent per pound; fine oranges and figs, 
