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CXXXVII.

Central region.

the Sierras of Alcoba and Estrella; the distance from the source to its mouth is not less than fifty leagues, it is fed by the Alva, the Siere and the Soire.

The division of any country, according to the basins that may be contained in it, cannot satisfy the geographer, who seeks other limits than those which are seen, other boundaries than the courses of rivers. A writer,* who has thrown additional light on many subjects, has divided the Peninsula into four parts according to the inclination of the surface. The Cantabrian or Cantiberian is formed by the northern declivities of the Pyrenees, from the sources of the Adour to Cape Ortegal; the Lusitanian or the second consists of the southern declivities of the Pyrenees and other heights, watered by the Duero, the Tagus and the Guadiana; it forms a vast semicircle, of which the two extremities are Cape Ortegal and the mouths of the last river; the southern declivities of the Sierra Morena, and all the mountains connected with the same chain, that terminate at Cape Gata, including besides the Sierra Nevada, the hills from which the Guadalquivir and its feeders descend, make up the third or Iberian division. The last or the Betican comprehends the castern declivities of all the mountains, which extending from Cape Gata to the Pyrenees, form the Sierras of Algamilla, Segura, Albaracino, Molina, Moncayo and Oca. The southern declivities of the Pyrenees, from their connexion with these Sierras, form part of the same division. This arrangement, intended to explain the passage taken by the sea, when it left the Peninsula, cannot be supposed to correspond strictly with the phenomena which the vegetation of the country presents. To elucidate that subject, another plan must be adopted; this fair portion of Europe may therefore be divided into six regions, thus it will not be difficult to classify the principal facts relative to the temperature.

The central or Celtiberian region comprel:ends the two great ridges of old and new Castille, in other words, the Sierras of Gata, Gredos, Avila, the mountains of Somo Sierra on the north of the Tagus; the Sierra of Mames, the

* M. Bory de St. Vincent,

mountains of Toledo to the defiles of the Sierra Molina, and BOOK also all the western declivities of the Sierras Morena and CXXXVII. Albaracino, as far as the Martes mountains on the south of the same river. Although forests and isolated summits may appear in this part of the Peninsula, it consists chiefly of sterile and immense plains; it is a junction of table lands, not unlike the central one in Asia Minor. The apple tree

is nowhere seen, the olive begins to show itself on the south, and the vine succeeds almost throughout the whole extent. The oak that yields the sweet acorn, flourishes in the same part of the country; its fruit, not unlike the almond, may be conceived to have been food for the earliest inhabitants of Spain.

The southern or Betican region extends from east to west, Betic rofrom Cape Palos to Cape St. Vincent, and from north to gion. south, from the southern declivities of the Sierra Morena, including the mountains of Algarva, to the Mediterranean and the ocean. The country in the neighbourhood of the sea, might almost be considered an African zone, it is marked by the presence of the banana, the dwarf palm, and the cactus. The stony places are covered with the caper bush; their numerous and long stems, their purple flowers, like so many tufts or feathers, adorn the rocks and uncultivated lands. A second zone, always verdant and covered with the plants of Sicily and Italy, rises above the last. The myrtle, the orange and lemon tree, the rose laurel, the Agnus castus, the tamarisc and the nerio are most common in this part of the Peninsula. Another and a higher zone is adapted for the vine and different kinds of grain; forests of pine extend above it, to these succeed Alpine plants and heights covered with eternal snow.

The eastern or Iberian region comprehends from north Iberian reto south, all the space between Cape Palos and Cape gion. Creux, and from east to west the basin of the Ebro, and the lands situated between the Sierras Molina, Albaracino, Martes, the mountains of Palomera, Orihuela and the Mediterranean. This magnificent portion of the Peninsula, which may be compared to the shores of Ionia and Doris,

Botanical Geography by Schow. Copenhagen, 1822.

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possesses all the plants of Sicily, the Archipelago and the CXXXVII. Levant. The olive flourishes every where, the carob tree

Lusitanian region.

Gallician region.

Cantabri

an region.

grows near the lentisc, while the myrtle, the laurel, the fig and the mulberry display their varied foliage; the grape yields a strong wine, but within the same division, as in the last, are situated several zones, which exhibit different kinds of vegetation, from the low valleys to the summits of the Pyrences.

The Lusitanian region or that of the lower Tagus, extends from north to south, from Cape St. Vincent to Cape Roca; its breadth is determined by the southern branch of the Sierra d'Estremos. It is sheltered against cold winds by the mountains on the north of the Tagus. The lower parts are covered with sandy heaths, but one zone may be distinguished by its groves of orange and olive trees. M. Bory de St. Vincent observed on the coasts, particularly on the south, a vegetation similar in some respects to that of the Atlantic islands. "From the mountains of Cintra and the Semas of Ourem to Cape St. Vincent," says the same writer," botanists may discover a great many plants, which, it was supposed, were confined to the Açores, Madeira and the Canaries. American plants thrive and multiply easily, some of them might even be considered indigenous, at all events they have banished such as are so in many large districts, where they flourish as well as in their native land."

The Gallician region or that of the Duero occupies from north to south, the space between Cape Roca and Cape Finistere, it is different from the preceding; the oak and the chesnut abound, but the olive and the orange appear only on the low valleys towards the south of the Duero.

The northern or Cantabrian region comprehends all the country from the sources of the Adour to Cape Finistere; it is intersected by valleys, which incline either from west to east, or from south to north. The downs are not extensive, and all of them are situated near the coasts. The constant or uniform character of the region consists in the absence of the cistus and rose laurel. The orange and the olive are reared with difficulty, and the

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same remark is applicable to the vine; but the hills and vallies in this fruitful region are covered with rich crops CXXXVII. and verdant meadows. The constant verdure may be attributed to a fertle soil and a humid atmosphere. The apple flourishes in every district, cider is substituted for light wine, so that the country may be considered the Normandy of the Peninsula.

Islands.

If, as every appearance leads us to believe, Africa and Balearic Spain were once united, the Balearic islands must have been part of the Peninsula. They seem to be a continuation of the chain, which terminates at Cape St. Martin; their general direction is from south-west to north-cast, they consist of four principal islands, Ivica and fromentera, Majorca and Minorca, but several others of a smaller size are situated near these coasts. Thus around Ivica, may be seen Dragonera or the dragons' island, Conejera or the Rabbits' island, and Cabrera or Goats' island, as well as Esparto, Bebra, Espalmador, Espardella and Tagam. The island of Ayra lies near the southern shores of Minorca; the others may be past over in silence, they are of little or no importance.

The island of Fromentera is equal to four leagues at Fromenteits greatest breath, its utmost length does not exceed ra. five. It is believed that it was so called in modern times, from the great quantity of grain which it produces in proportion to its surface. It was the small Pityusa or Pityuasa Minor of the ancients. Ivica or Ivisa, to the north of the last, may be about twenty-two leagues in circumference; the Romans called it Ebusus. It might be inferred from their ancient names, that these islands were once covered with forests.

Majorca or Mallorca is the Balearis Major of the an- Majorca, cients; it may be about fifty leagues in circumference. Strabo informs us that the rabbits which the early inhabitants brought to it, multiplied so rapidly that the people were at last obliged to implore the assistance of the Romans to destroy these animals.*

Minorca or Menorca, the ancient Balearis Minor, is not

Book III, ch. 2.

BOOK less than thirty-eight leagues in circumference, it lies to CXXXII. the east of the last.

Minorca.

The land in these islands is mountainous, their geological formation is everywhere the same. Calcareous rocks are the most common, a fact that may serve to corroborate the opinion concerning their submarine junction with Cape St. Vincent. The heights of the mountains, the rocks and vegetables of the Baleares have been accurately known since the year 1825, the year that a French naturalist visited these islands.* The island of Majorca is the most the most important; the important; the two principle mountains are the Puig de Torcella, and the Puig Major. The two groups, which divide the islands, are formed by calcareous rocks, belonging to lands of lower deposits, such as the rock called lias and oolithic limestone. The other minerals are dolomia, porphyry and rocks, which appear to be of igneous origin. Medicinal springs and different specimens of copper ore indicate their mineral wealth, from which the inhabitants have hitherto derived no advantage. Majorca, like the other Baleares, may be distinguished by its arid summits and verdant plains. The carob and the olive trees appear in all their vigour. The first occupies the lowest level, and ascends to the height of 1500 feet; the second thrives on the mountains; it unites with the Aleppo pine, and covers the declivities; but the last, flourishing at the height of six hundred feet above the olive, mingles with the green oak, which grows 300 feet above it. The highest summits are covered with a sort of sesler, Sesleria soerelna. The dwarf palms on the stony heights protect with their broad foliage different kinds of cyclamen, ononides and anthyllides. The peasants often set fire to forests of oaks and pines on the mountains, in order to protect a vegetable which they call carregt (Donax tenax). It diffuses itself over all the vacant space thus produced, and affords in the following year an abundant nourishment for men and

* M. Cambessede, Membre des Societes d'Histore, Naturelle et Philomathique de Paris.

+ M. Cambessede took a barometrical measurement of the two mountains; according to him, the first is equal to 4,773 feet in height, and the second to 3,676.