Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-07

that should ever happen, the ancient ell
mate of the Spanish capital, which the ear
ly writers tell us delightful, may posi-
bly, be restored. Already there are several
isolated examples of what might be done in
this respect, and attempts to grow timber
around the city have been remarkably sue
cessful, especially one made by the Queen
Christina during the last eight or nine
years.
Queen Christmas Park.
When Christina came to Madrid there
was not an acre of ground upon which the
royal family might exercise or find recrea-
ton without going into the public streets.
On the slope of the hill beneath the palace,
however, was an open tract of land be-
| longing to the state called the Campo del
Moro because one of the Moorish invaders
pitched his camp there in 1109 when he was
besieging the city. When Philip II adopted
| Madrid for the capital he planted few
| trees and bushes and laid out some drives,
| but the place has since been neglected, and
until the queen took hold of it was the re-
| sort of the most depraved classes in Ma
| drid Honest people never ventured there.
| In 1890 she had a wall built around the
| place compelling the roughs and tramps
and loafers to seek other spots for loaf
| ing ana summing tllSIlSciNtS. olt WIS CIIl-
| icised for it, as she is criticised for every
! thing; it was charged that she had deprived
| the poor people or their recreation grounds,
| but she is a far-sighted woman and had
| the welfare of the baby king at heart.
She knew that his delicate constitution
could be strengthened only by exercise in
the open air, which it was impossible for
him to take in the street. To give him an
area in which he could run at large, road
ways where he could drive his ponies and
lanes where he could gallop on horseback,
she employed a landscape architect, dug
irrigatng bitches, planted trees and shrubs,
and laid out twenty-four acres of park and
garden. Nature has supported her purpose
so bravely that it is said that every tree
and shrub has grown well. 1t is not only
an Interesting incident in her career
gent and illustrates her solcitude for her
son, but is also an object lesson of value
which few of the Spanish families are imi-
tating
You will read in many books that Span
iards do not like trees. That is a mistake
which originated in early days when they
stripped the slopes and plains of the coun-
try of timber the false theory that the
trees attracted and sheltered the birds that
ate up their wheat and corn. Writers as
early as 1852 gave this explanation, and 1t
has been repeated by successive geherations
who have written about the hideous naked
ness of the Castiian mountains and hills.
Earlier writers describe the country as be-
ing we'll timbered. They speak of extensive
forests peopled with wild animals but dur
ing the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
most of the timber was cut off and three
fourths of the country was left bleak and
ovid lan hot 0f
cannot say, but to destroy it was the great
est folly, and during the present generation
the planting of forests has so changed the
climate that people are beginning to notice
the difference.
The Worst Climate in the World.
Madrid has the reputation of possessing
the worst climate of any city in the world
which is due to sudden and extreme varia-
tions in temperature Its winds are worse
than those of Chicago, and they shift from
one quarter to another without the slightest
warning. The temperature changes ac-
cordingly. The morning may be sunny and
serene and the atmosphere bright and
warm, when suddenly the sun will be over
cast and an icy blast will sweep down from
the mountains across the treeless plains like
a messenger of death. Then an hour or two
later the sky Will De cleared the sun Will
pour down its burning rays again and the
entire town will be bathed in perspira tion
When Madrid gentleman starts out in the
morning he is never certain whether he
ought to carry fur overcoat or put on
suit of linen. The result is a large death
rate the mortality being mostly due to few
ers and diseases Of the lungs and throat
Several proverbs have been suggested by
the extremes of climate One of them says
that Madrid has nine months of winter (el-
invierno) and three months of hell dnferno).
Another says 'Hasta ell quarenta del mayo
no te quites 'el sayo" (Wait till the 40th of
May before you lay aside your cloaks) and
still another. "El aire de Madrid est tan
sutil que mata un hombre no apaga
un candiP' cThe air of Madrid is SO keen
that 1t will kill man while 1t will not blow
out a candle).
The meteorological conditions are due
chiefly to the altitude of the city. the great
stretch of bare plain that surrounds it, and
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