GRANADA, a portion of Andalusia, in Spain, being one of those four districts denominated kingdoms, into which that rich province is divided. It is bounded on the west by Seville, on the north by Jaen and Murcia, on the east by Murcia, and on the south by the Mediterranean Sea. Its extent is 805 square leagues, and the number of its inhabitants 1,097,098. The density of the population on the plains is greater than in any other part of Spain; but as a great proportion of the country is covered with lofty, and in many parts uninhabitable mountains, it is not much more thickly peopled than the general average of the kingdom. The mountains of Granada are much higher than any other range in Europe; for though the extreme summit of Mont Blanc is somewhat higher than the most elevated peak of the Sierra Nevada, yet none of the other points in the Alps attains the same altitude. The ridge called, from its being perpetually covered with snow, the Sierra Nevada, runs from north-east to south-west. .Geometrical levels were taken in 1804, and the highest peaks were found to be, Mulahacen, 12,762 feet, and Picacho de Veleta, 12,459 feet, above the level of the sea. The height at which perpetual snow is’ to be found is 9915 feet. In the winter indeed it descends considerably lower, but above that line it never wholly melts so as to discover the surface. This range of mountains declines gradually towards the south till it approaches Almeria, where it again rises to the height of 7800 feet on the Sierra de Gador. This sierra is a solid rock of marble, without any other covering than the snow, which lies on the higher parts of it three quarters of the year, and only totally melts in the hottest months of summer. Near it is the singular rock called Filabres, which appears to be an enormous pyramid of white marble, 2000 feet in height, and four miles in circumference at the base; and has no mixture of any other stones or earth with it. To the eastward of the range of the Sierra Nevada the mountains called the Apuxarras extend to the sea, and stretch from Almeria to Motril on the coast of the Mediterranean, about seventeen leagues. This range of mountains may be considered as a very sterile tract of country in general, but on it are mixed plains and valleys which are highly fruitful, and nourish considerable herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats, and besides feed great abundance of pigs, which furnish hams in considerable quantities. The plains interspersed in this mountain range afford great quantities of mulberry trees, on which silk worms are reared, and their produce is one of the foundations of the silk manufactories of the capital. It was to these mountains that the Moorish race was removed on the final subjection of their capital to Ferdinand; and the industry they displayed seems to have been continued by the other inhabitants, after the remainsof that singular race were most impoliticly and wickedly banished from these mountain retreats to the shores of Africa.

Besides these mountains on the eastern division, there are many ranges between the capital and Gibraltar, which, though they do not equal them in height, exhibit a grandeur and sublimity both pleasing and awful. Amongst these may be classed the Sierra Vermcja and the Sierra de Ar-boto, which approach the coast near Marvella, and the Sierra Junquilla on the road to Ronda. These, though slightly sprinkled with snow, have no permanent covering of that substance, except during the winter months.

The rivers of Granada are the Xenil and the Darro, issuing from the Sierra Nevada; the Guadalhora, which rises in the mountains near Antequera, and waters the most fertile of its valleys; and the Guadiaro, which issues from the mountains near Ronda.

The valleys of Granada deserve attention, from being perhaps the most fertile spots in Europe, and yielding with but little labour the richest productions of nature in the greatest abundance. Amongst these is prominent the Vega or plain of Granada, if that can be called a valley which is 2400 feet above the level of the sea. This plain, however, is so surrounded by the loftiest mountains, that it is in effect, and has in appearance, all the properties of a rich valley. The melted snow from the Sierra Nevada is perpetually descending in the form of transparent rivulets; and the industry of the inhabitants has been constantly directed to conducting these into such channels as can most effectually irrigate the lands. As the melting of the ice and snow proceeds most rapidly in the warmest weather, the summer months, the parched land, which most requires moisture, is thus provided with it most copiously. The decomposition of the rocks which surround the plain is constantly proceeding, and the rapid torrents derived from the melting of the snow bring into the plain a constant succession of new soil, which in spreading itself over the land by the process of irrigation, refreshes the earth, and invigorates vegetation. The highest enjoyment a practical agri culturist of good observation can have, is in riding over this plain, and viewing the rapid progress of vegetation, the rich productions of the soil, and the admirable skill displayed in dispensing the refreshing streams which descend from the lofty mountains.

In the midst of this plain, and in the most fruitful and delightful part of it, is that estate which, by the gratitude of the Spanish nation, has been conferred on the Duke of Wellington. The Sota de Roma is a fine tract of land, about five miles in length and two miles in breadth. It was retained by Ferdinand at the conquest of Granada, and made an appendage to the crown; and several successive monarchs used it as a retreat from the cares of a throne. Having been granted to Wall when prime minister of Spain, he rebuilt the mansion in part, and fitted it up in the best taste. He improved the grounds, laid out gardens, and made roads through the woods, which he stocked with game of all kinds, but especially pheasants, a species of bird which does not generally thrive in other parts of Spain. At his decease it reverted to tl>c crown, and was afterwards granted to Godoy, prince of the peace; but on his forfeiture it came again into the possession of the government, when it was granted in perpetuity to the Duke of Wellington. More than four thousand acres are woodland, and abound with good elm trees, the right of cutting which used to be reserved by the crown. The other part of this domain is excellent cultivated land, with great facilities of irrigation, and produces most extraordinary crops of wheat, barley, hemp, flax, and fruits of all kinds.

The parts of the plain near Alhama yield prodigious crops of wheat and barley. They are cultivated in open fields at a distance from towns or even villages. At seed time the proprietors with their labourers pitch tents on the ground, and remain at the fields till the seed is deposited. At the harvest, tents are again pitched; the inhabitants of [7:10:704]the town fill them, and continue in the fields till the whole of the produce is cut and thrashed out. This last operation is performed on a thrashing floor in the open air. In each large division of com-land there is a circular portion, very level, paved with large stones; on these thrashing floors the corn is piled in the straw, and a number of unbroken horses, or more commonly mares, are held by long reins, and driven round the circle. By their treading the corn is separated from the straw with great facility. The dry state which the straw is brought to by the time it is cut makes it separate with but little labour; and from this dryness of the straw, it is so broken in the operation of thrashing, that it becomes like our chopped straw, and is carefully preserved in that condition as food for cattle in those dry months when no vegetation is visible in the meadows. This plan of thrashing the corn on floors in the fields where it grew is derived from high antiquity, and its practict may be seen in the sacred writings at the time of the patriarch Abraham. So dry is the climate of Spain, that the corn could not be carried to a distance, even if the roads were good and wheel carriages were used, without shaking out the greater part of the grain. After this description of the mode of harvesting the grain, it need not be added that bams are not necessary appendages to a corn farm. The straw in the broken state here described is formed into stacks, and the grain, when separated from the straw, and by a flapping wheel from the chaff, is deposited in paniers, and conveyed on the backs of asses to the granaries of the proprietors in the towns, where, for the most part, and not on their farms, they reside. In some parts of Granada there is a mode of preserving wheat for many years without its sustaining any injury. In caves hewn in the granite rocks they carefully line the bottom and sides with chaff or the finest of the broken straw; the caverns are then filled with the grain in bulk, and the top covered with chaff to the thickness of about eighteen inches. In this state no humidity can reach it from without; and the heat of the climate having perfectly dried it in the process of harvesting, it may remain secure for almost any period. Some repositories of this kind made by the Moors three centuries ago have been discovered within recent periods, and the grain was as good as when first deposited. It was the practice of the’ Moors, on the birth of a child, to lay up its future portion in grain, concealed in these caves, which, from the turbulent state of the country, were usually in as secret spots as they could select. When the child reached maturity his property was pointed out and his provision appropriated; but sometimes those who knew of the secret deposit were cut off, and the grain remained bŵried without discovery.

Many practices in the husbandry of Granada which differ from those in the other parts of Spain may be traced to the circumstances in which the Moors were placed, when, having been subdued in the other parts of the peninsula, their sole dominion for three hundred years was contracted to the small but rich kingdom of Granada.

The cultivation of mulberry trees, and the breeding of silk worms which depend upon them, is an important portion of the agriculture of Granada. Long practice and attention has led the cultivators to know the species of mulberries which yield the most leaves, and the greatest quantity of silk from the worms that feed on them. The white mulberry, when grafted on the stock of the wild mulberry, is now almost universally preferred, as those leaves produce not only the greatest proportionate quantity of silk, but it is also of a much finer quality than that yielded by either the white or the black mulberry leaves. As the trees are cultivated not for the sake of the fruit, but solely for the food which the leaves supply, it is customary to cut off the tops, which, they find, diminishes the quantity of the fruit and increases that of the leaves. The worms suffer much by any great humidity in the leaves on which they feed; and hence the cultivators are careful not to gather any as long as the dew remains on them, or after a shower of rain; and if the weather appears lowering, it is the practice to gather as many leaves as will suffice for three or four days’ consumption; but care is taken that they neither become shrivelled nor mildewed, in either of which cases they would injure the worm. There is perhaps no animal whose voracity compared with its size equals that of the silk worm, especially during the eight or ten days which precede their beginning to spin. It is estimated that the leaves of a tree of ten years growth are devoured in three days by as many worms as will yield seven pounds of silk. The silk produced by the worms here is calculated as one 1>ound from 2500 worms. The quantity of silk produced on the plains of Granada, on an average of years, is 100,000 pounds, and there must consequently be two hundred and fifty millions of worms, and near three millions five hundred thousand mulberry trees in full bearing, besides those decayed, and those not arrived at maturity.

If the vegetable productions of Granada were enumerated, they would be found to include almost every gift of every climate; for as the variation in temperature descends from that of the coldest to that of almost the hottest regions of the globe, so the different productions are all to be met with here within a very narrow compass. On the high levels the apples, pears, and plums of the colder parts of Europe grow to perfection. In the middle regions they have wheat, barley, wine, hemp, flax, grapes, olives, peaches, apricos, pomegranates, and other similar fruits; whilst in the hotter regions in the low valleys, on a level with the sea, coffee, cotton, sugar cane, and indigo, are cultivated with success; and those more rare fruits, the pine-apple, the chiremaya, the guava, and the banana, are brought to perfection in the open air. The agriculture of the level parts from Manveļla to Velez Malaga, except that the labourers are not negro slaves, exactly resembles that of the islands in the West Indies; and the face of the country and its different productions recal to the mind of the traveller the scenery, the odours, and all the sensations experienced in the finest districts of the tropical regions.

From the agriculture we turn next to the mineral riches which this province affords in return for the labour of man. In former times mines of gold and silver were wrought, and the sands of the river Darro were found to be enriched with grains of the former precious metal. The veins still exist; but since the discovery of the mines of Mexicoand Peru, and the value of the precious metals has been reduced, they have ceased to yield sufficient to pay the labourers’ wages that must be employed in them. Copper, iron, and lead are found in the mountains of secondary formation; and though from the scarcity of fuel they are not worked to the extent which they might be if that commodity were more abundant, yet it is ascertained that they are as rich in ore now as at the former periods when their produce formed the foundation of an extensive commerce with Egypt, Greece, and the borders of Asia. No part of the world abounds with more beautiful marbles than the province of Granada. The public buildings, the fountains, the statues, and the ornaments made from them on the spot, strike the beholder with surprise, by their beauty, their variety, and their cheapness; but from their bulky and weighty character, the difficulty of transporting them over mountains and precipices where no roads have been formed, is such as to preclude their removal with any chance of being repaid for the labour bestowed on it. Alabaster, jasper, and most beautiful serpentine, are in some degree articles of commerce; and the fluates of lime, called in England Derbyshire spar, are worked into various fanciful and ornamental pieces of furniture.
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The manufactories of this province are considerable for the extent of the population, and consist of silks, linens, woollens, sail-cloth, leather, and other articles, the particulars of which will be found under the names of the different places in which they are carried on.

The foreign commerce almost wholly passes through the port of Malaga, and will be found under that article; but the domestic trade is the most considerable and most beneficial. The part to the north of the mountains supplies the sea coast with corn, cattle, and some manufactures, and receives in return coffee, sugar, cotton, and the other productions of the warmer climate. It sends to Castille corn, oil, and dried figs, and receives in return some wine and manufactured articles.

The salubrity of the climate of Granada varies with the various elevations. On the sea coast the valleys are excessively hot; and, though not uniformly, are frequently subject to those visitations which have thinned the population of several cities in the western hemisphere. In the year 1804 an epidemic fever which passed along the shores of Spain visited this province with most fearful destruction to human life; and, though not to the same extent, yet before and since, such fevers have prevailed. On the more elevated plains, and on the mountains, such pestilential dispensations have not been experienced, and the inhabitants enjoy as much health, strength, activity, and longevity as in any part of the world.

The interesting events of the history of Granada, its prosperity under the Moorish government, its final subjugation, and the subsequent extirpation of the remainder of the Arabian race, will fall more naturally under our notice of the history of the whole kingdom of Spain.

Granada, a city of Spain, and capital of the province or kingdom of that name, in Andalusia. It is situated partly in the celebrated plain called the Vega de Granada, and partly on the declivity of a hill whose summit is covered with that massive pile of buildings called the Alhambra, of which a description may be seen under that article. The rivers Xenil and Darro have their rise in the mountains, and pass through the city; the former is a clear, and at times a small stream, but the latter is a mountain torrent, at some periods almost destitute of water, and at others overflowing its banks, and producing extensive inundations. After traversing the plain, both streams unite and force their way into the Guadalquivir. Many of the streets of Granada are steep, most of them are narrow, and all of them are ill paved. No object can be more strikingly beautiful at a few miles distance than this city, but the appearance on entering it by no means corresponds to the distant impressions.

The market-place or great square is spacious and well proportioned. The houses have piazzas, which afford shelter from the heat of the sun; but the want of glass windows, and the substitution of red shutters, give them a mean appearance. The cathedral is a very large and splendid but irregular building, having been formed by throwing into One edifice three contiguous churches. The high altar, the pulpits, and the choir, are fine groups, and beautifully adorned with some of the finest specimens of variegated and highly polished marble that has been found in this vicinity. It has within it two fine monuments, one to the memory of Philip I., the other to that of Ferdinand and Isabella; and it is adorned with some pictures from the pencil of that celebrated artist Alonzo Cano, which, though disgusting to Protestants from the sacred objects they represent, yet possess exquisite merit as paintings. There are some fine statues executed by the same artist, who was a sculptor as well as a painter. The vice-regal palace, in which is the supreme court of justice for the province, is an extensive and splendid building; but its effect is destroyed by having houses so close as to prevent a proper view of it. The palace of the archbishop is a very large pile, but of no particular beauty, though, as having been the scene of the adventures of Gil Blas, in the work of Le Sage, which every one has read, it is generally inquired for and noticed by travellers.

The city of Granada contains at present 66,660 inhabitants, who are generally a more industrious people than the other natives of Spain. The activity of the Moors, if not their blood, has been left behind them; and, in spite of the bad maxims of the court of Madrid, this city displays considerable industry in many arts and manufactures. The woollen manufactories employ about 7000 persons of the two sexes, and afford cloths, serges, baizes, and stuffs, but not in sufficient quantities for the consumption of the surrounding district, the deficiency being supplied by importation through the port of Malaga. The whole of the silk which the plain yields is made in this city into taffetas, satins, ribbons, and similar goods; and, besides their own produce, silk in some years is brought from Vaiencia to be used in this place. There are manufactories of linen, sail-cloth, and a very small one of cotton. The sail-cloths are estimated as of most excellent quality, and are but little subject to the mildew in the most humid climate. Iron and steel are made here into the various smaller articles required for domestic and agricultural purposes. The Carthusian convent is an extensive establishment; and the fathers possess several farms, which they cultivate themselves; and some other of the religious foundations are very rich. Institutions for education are upon a low scale; and most of those destined for the learned profession receive their instruction either in the universities of Seville or Alcala. From the locality of this city, it is remarkably healthy. The vicinity of the Sierra Nevada, from which cool breezes blow in the midst of summer, tends to give a freshness to the atmosphere, even in the dog-days; and, considering the productions, the climate! and the beautiful streams, it is not wonderful that the Moors long looked back with fond regret to the delightful spot from which, after an obstinate resistance, they were at length most reluctantly driven.

Granada, or Grenada, one of the Caribbee Islands. See Grenada. Granada, a town of Mexico in America, in the intendancy of Nicaragua, and in the republic of Guatimala, seated on the Lake Nicaragua. It contains a handsome church and four convents, one of which, belonging to the Franciscans, is amongst the most ancient of these establishments in the kingdom. There is here some commerce; but the place would appear to have declined. Long. 86. 21. W. Lat. 11.30. N.

Granada, New, a province of South America. See Venezuela.