50,000.

Prejudice or custom makes the wool of certain Cavanas more sought after than the others. At Guadalaxara, for instance, they, employ no wool but that of Negretti, the Escurial, and the Chartreuse of Pauler. In 1785 the ewes and rams sent to Rambouillet were, as may be supposed, picked out from the most famous Cavanas ; among them besides the above, were the Cavanas of the Marquis d'Iranda, of the Marquis of Perales, of Manuel de Balbuenna, and of Count San Rafael. Of all these various Cavanas, those of Paular are supposed to yield the finest wool in all Spain; and the Negretti sheep are remarkable for their strength and the quantity of their wool: ten rams from these flocks were furnished to France. They cost from sixty to eighty reals, and the ewes from fifty to sixty.

"Upon the return of the wandering sheep, towards the month of May, the shearing is commenced; an operation of great magnitude in Spain, because performed upon a large scale in vast buildings called esquileos, arranged so as to receive whole flocks of 40, 50, and even 60,000 sheep. The harvest and vintage have nothing so solemn in their celebration. It is a time of festivity for the proprietors as well as their workmen; the latter are divided into certain classes, and to each a different branch of the operation is allotted; 125 persons are found requisite to shear 1000 sheep. Every animal yields wool of three kinds, finer or coarser according to the part of the body from which it is taken.

"When the shearing is finished, the produce is collected in bales, and carried either to the sea-port towns for exportation, without any other operation, or to certain places, denominated washing-stations, in the

environs of Segovia, and throughout the rest of Castile. I minutely inspected one of the most considerable of these stations, that of Ortijosa, three leagues from Saint Ildefonso; and I am convinced that this operation, however imperfect and unnecessary it may at first appear, (because foreign manufacturers repeat it before using the wool) completely answers the purpose in view, that of preserving it from being injured in its quality, by too long keeping. In general about ten thousand quihtals of wool are washed in this single station, which forms a kind of vast basin, the inner margins of which are gently sloping meadows exposed to the sun in every direc tion.

"The wool is brought here in the state in which it is taken from the sheep, being in clotted tufts or flocks; in this form they give it to the Apartadores, who divide it into three portions of different qualities: and so accustomed are they to this business, that at the first glance they know to what part of the animal the flock of wool belongs which first presents itself. The three qualities of the wool being thus separated, they are spread upon wooden hurdles; they are then scattered about and beaten, in order to clear them from the dust and filth which adhere to them, and are afterwards carried to the washing place.

From two large stopcocks fitted into an immense cauldron, boiling water flows into three square pits, three or four feet deep. Three men are then employed to stir the wool in every direction; each kind of wool is washed separately and requires water more or less hot according to the fineness of its quality.

"When this operation is finished, the wool is again spread out upon hurdles, for the purpose of extract

ing the filthy parts which the water has began to dissolve. Those which are clotted with dirt and unfit for use, are detached with the hand, laid aside, and the produce converted into a fund for the benefit of departed souls; for in Spain religion is introduced into all the minutiae of social life. The Spaniards endeavour, by this association, to give an air of sanctity to their occupations, their wealth, and even to their pleasures.

"The hurdles are afterwards placed between the wells and a narrow aqueduct through which a current of cold water flows. A man placed at the head of this water course receives the wool and throws it in; it is then taken by five men, ranged one by one below him, who successively tread upon it, and transmit it from the one to the other. Lower down are other workmen, who also stop it as it passes, and throw it on a stone shelf, where they wring it, and below this there is a small drain. A grating is placed at the extremity of this drain, to prevent any part of the wool from Being carried off by the current.

"When the wool is well wrung it is spread upon the sloping meadows I have already mentioned, and exposed to the sun for four days, in order to dry it completely. When well dried it is put into large sacks on which are two marks, one indicating the quality of the wool, and the other the name of the flock which produced it. In this state it is exported; so that when we see bales of Spanish wool in any part of Europe, we may thus ascertain its quality and the place from which it came. The time is perhaps not far distant when the introduction of wool from Spain by our roads will cease, when our harbours will serve only as entrepôts for this pre

cious production, and when we shall have no occasion to go from home to procure wool from our own manufactures. Let not Spain look upon our success with an envious eye, let not her allies be considered as dangerous rivals. When they have even deprived her of the exclusive possession of this advantage, will not many others remain which she will enjoy without a competitor! The field of industry is so wide, and its resources are so various, that every nation may cultivate it without injury to its neighbours. The deadly feuds of nations, like lawsuits between individuals, are best prevented by making mankind acquainted with each other, or ex. plaining their true interest.

"Until this desirable change takes place, Spain will no doubt continue to export, as usual, abundance of wool. At the period when the peace of Basie was concluded, there were in the ports of Spain 16,000 bales of wool which could not be forwarded on account of the

war.

"Since the conclusion of that peace, our manufacturers of Sedan, of Louviers, and Elbuef, and even some houses in Paris and Orleans, have commissioned wool from Spain, but certainly in smaller quantities than before the war. The same gentlemen, as well as those of Sedan, Reims, and Verviers, still continue to order this commodity but Spanish wool, the price of which has been so much raised by reiterated augmentations of the export duties within these few years, has had to encounter the competition of the wool of our own Merinos; and if pains are taken to increase the quantity, and to improve the quality, of the latter, it will, if sold at a moderate price, soon furnish a substitute for the real Spanish wool.

"England

England still affords a very extensive market for Spanish wool; and has even imported a greater quantity of late years than formerly In 1788 it was calculated, that in each of the three preceding years, about 10,000 bales of Spanish wool were sent to England. In 1800 they reckoned 16,650. It may be conjectured, however, that the naturalization of Merinos which has succeeded in England, as well as iù

every other country, will diminish this importation. Should the case be otherwise, it must arise from an increase in the manufactures of that country, or from the English wooldealers refusing te pay any higher for Merino wool, than for that of the sheep of the country; in which case, the farmers will have little encouragement to increase their stock of Merinos,”``

POLIRY.