GRANADA, sometimes called Upper Andalusia, is bounded on the E. and S. by the Mediterranean and Murcia, and on the N. and W. by Andalusia. It is situated between N. Lat. 36. 16. and 38. 4., and between W. Long. 1. 38. and 5. 30. Its greatest extent from E. to W. is about 200 miles, and from N. to S. about 140. The area is 9630 square miles English; and the population (in 1849) amounted to 1,157,584. The form of this province is an irregular triangle, with the base to the E. on Murcia, and the apex to the S.W. towards the Straits of Gibraltar. Granada is beautifully diversified with majestic mountains, extensive plains, and rich valleys, all fringed with a tropical maritime border. The Sierra Nevada chain extends throughout the province, from N.E. to S.W., under the names of Ronda, Antequera, Orca, Huescar, and Sierra Nevada, "with its diadem of snow," which, in its highest
point, the Cerro de Mulhacen, a little S.E. from Granada, is 12,762 feet above sea-level. All this chain has an elevation of more than 9900 feet, and above this height is covered with perpetual snow. Thus, under a latitude of 37°, eternal snow and the temperature of Africa are combined; hence every variety of vegetable production from the lichen to the cotton plant and sugar-cane is found here. Towards the south the mountains gradually decline to the Sierra de Gador, near Almería, where the elevation is 7800 feet. At this extremity, near Macael, stands the famous rock Filabers, 2000 feet high, and 4 miles in circuit, consisting of one solid mass of white marble. The secondary mountains are of several kinds; but many of them are formed of marble of various colours, red, black, white. About 8 miles from Granada, on the banks of the Xeníl, there is a quarry of beautifully veined green serpentine, capable of receiving a fine polish. In the mountains immediately surrounding the city of Granada occur many kinds of alabaster, some of which are as transparent and brilliant as Oriental cornelians; there are also quarries of jasper, and a considerable variety of precious stones. Some lead, copper, and silver mines still exist, and several of them were worked by the Moors. In the sands of the Darro gold is found; and mineral waters, chiefly chalybeate and sulphureous, are abundant in the province, yet few of them have been analyzed. The most famous of them are those of Alhama (with a temperature of 118° Fahr.), Almería, and Javal-cohol. As might be expected, the climate of Granada is cold in the mountainous districts, temperate in the plains, and extremely hot and sultry in the valleys. The hot wind called Solano, which blows from the S.E., is here attended with pernicious effects. It shrivels up the vegetation, and affects the human body with the sensations of strong fever; assassinations, murders, and suicides, are most frequent during the prevalence of this wind. The snowy range is a perpetual alembic of fertilizing water, which is beautifully commensurate with the heats; for the hotter the weather the more copious do the waters become from the melting of the snow. This water is wealth; for the soil of the plains, though light, becomes very productive under the combined effect of moisture and warmth. Here the succession of crops is continuous, and the hemp is the finest in the world. Agriculture, though much degenerated since the expulsion of the Moors, still forms the wealth of the province, which teems with corn and wine, oil, silk, and delicious fruits, in great abundance. The line of irrigation divides the desert from the paradise; all lying within its influence is green and fruitful;
Granada. all beyond it is brown and barren. Agriculture is more flourishing in this province, however, than in any other part of Spain. The Vega of Granada is considered the richest plain in the kingdom. The estate of the Duke of Wellington is formed of part of this rich plain, and is occupied by nearly 300 tenants. This estate is so managed as to form an excellent model for Spanish agriculturists. The principal assistance rendered to the crops is the irrigation of the soil, which is accomplished by conveying streams along the more elevated side of every field by means of embankments, in which sluices are cut, which convey the water into small rills, which occur at short intervals, so as to flood the whole field with ease in the hot season. The preservation of manure is carefully attended to. It is collected in large pits, well rammed to prevent leaking; and as soon as well rotted it is distributed in an almost liquid state over the land. This is according to the old Moorish mode, which has always proved the best. This manure is not applied to the production of corn, but is used for gardens, melongrounds, and mulberry plantations. The most abundant grain crops are raised by the mere assistance of irrigation, without any manure; and the average annual produce of land well watered is fifty bushels of wheat per acre English. Near the rivers in the lower grounds considerable quantities of rice are cultivated, but often before sowing the rice a crop of hemp or flax is taken from the land. The breeding and fattening of cattle, however, is much more attended to by the Spanish than the cultivation of cereals. In winter the cattle are pastured in the uplands, where grass is best; but no hay is made by the farmers; and after harvest, which occurs in June, the flocks and herds are fed in the stubble fields. The horses of Granada are inferior to those of Córdoba, but the asses are very fine animals, and are highly esteemed in all the eastern countries of Europe. The wool produced in this province is coarse, and of comparatively little value. The best sailcloth is made from the hemp of Granada, which has a very strong fibre. The mulberry tree is cultivated solely for the sake of its leaves as food for the silk-worm. In the Vega as much silk is produced as furnishes employment to 1500 persons; and the manufactures in Granada alone require a supply of 120,000 lbs. annually.1 The mountains surrounding Granada itself are well adapted for the nurture of the vine; but so badly managed are all things connected with its cultivation, that the wine is of very inferior quality, and mostly has the flavour of the sheep-skins with tarred seams in which it is carried from the vineyards. The Tierno, Moscatel, and Malaga, however, which are made in other parts of this province, are excellent wines, and in high repute. Though olive-trees are extensively cultivated, yet sufficient oil is not produced for home consumption. The sugar-cane is especially cultivated around Vélez-Malaga, and is of excellent quality, quite equal to that of the West Indies for size and juiciness. The foreign trade is chiefly carried on from the ports of Malaga and Almería, and consists in exports of sumach, lead, kali, dried fruits, almonds, lemons, anchovies, oil, and wine; while the chief imports are cloths, mercery, hardware, &c. The internal commerce consists chiefly in exchanging dried fruits, corn, and wine, for silk and oil.
The people of Granada, like the rest of the Andalusians, are generally considered by the Castilians as the Gascons of Spain. The women are rather handsome and very attractive. The features and complexion of the people generally indicate traces of their mixed Moorish descent. The posterity of those Moors who professed Christianity in order to escape persecution are chiefly to be found here; and they are at present equally as bigoted as the Spaniards themselves. In the Alpujarras, however, there still re-
main a few scattered families of that unfortunate race who still secretly cling to the doctrines of the Koran, and reluctantly concede an external conformity to the Roman Catholic creed. Since the fall of the last Moorish kingdom in 1492, when Granada was united to the crown of Castile, this province has been governed by the Castilian laws. At Almería resides a captain-general, as well as the civil and military provincial authorities; but the law-courts were transferred to Albacete in 1835. In order to protect the province from the corsairs of the African coast, watch-towers are erected along the shores at short distances from the mouth of the Rio-Frio to the Straits of Gibraltar.
This province contains 18 cities or towns; 300 villages; and about 200 convents of both sexes. Thirty-five of these religious houses are in the city of Granada.