THE CONGRESS OF WOMEN.

399

the starting point of the Tagus on one side, and the Cabriel Guadalajara and Xucar on the other.

The Carpetanian group runs northeast and southwest with the Escurial and La Granja clinging to its granite declivities. The Sierra Morena is a plateau on one side and a mountain on the other, clothed in rosemary, thyme, cystus, lentise, arbutus, date, palms, aloes and vines. It is a sight to see the lentil and morning-glory with other wild flowers growing side by side out of the crevices in the bare rocks, with scarcely any leaves, but perfect in blossom and fruit. The peasant children, with their brown faces and bright garbs, make a pretty picture in their bare heads and feet leaping from cliff to cliff like the gazelle, caroling their native airs and gathering the nutri­tious legume to be shipped to all parts of the world with the large yellow garbanzo, which grows only on Spanish soil. If a traveler approaches and addresses them, they will detect at once if he is a foreigner, and come forward offering handfuls of wild flowers, and saying, with their expressive glances, “We pity you because you are a stranger and far from home,” the worst of all calamities, in the minds of these little ones.

No matter what is offered them in return for their courtesy and favor they will never accept, and feel wounded because you have mistaken their motive. This is one of the curios of Spain; you can turn around without crossing the hand with silver.

The whole surface of Spain is noted for its striking contrasts; mountains rising in grandeur above the snow line, sheltering rich and magnificent valleys at their base, defying the sun of summer, by not yielding one drop frqm their icy peaks to water the enchanting land below. Naked walls of white limestone tower above dark woods of cork, oak and olive. Extensive tracts of undulating forest-clad hills lie between apparently boundless plains or tracts of level table lands, some almost uninhabitable, and others intersected with canals and richly cultivated, like the Rekuena of Valencia.

The climate is as great a wonder as the geography. Four zones are recognized. In the north and northwest maritime provinces, the temperature is mild and equable. Monthly roses bloom in the garden at Christmas. The table lands and the larger part of the Ebro basin form the zone of the greatest extremes. Even in summer the nights are decidedly cool, and on the high levels hoar frost is frequent. In spring cold mists envelop the land for days, while in summer the sky may be perfectly clear for weeks. The air is dry and constantly in motion. At Madrid skating is the pastime in December and January. The third zone includes.the Mediterranean provinces. The extremes of temperature are not so marked, although the summers are very warm and the winters decidedly cold.

The fourth or African zone, as it is called, embraces the whole of Andalusia as far as the Sierra Morena, the southern half of Murcia and the province of Alicante. The winter is the season of the brightest vegetation. As a consequence of such a varied climate the vegetation is peculiar. No other country in Europe of equal extent has so great a wealth of species. The number is over five thousand. Important med­ical and dye plants grow wild on all the mountains and in the night season load the air with aroma.

' Spain surpasses all other countries in Europe in the production of kitchen vege­tables and pod fruits; its sherry wine is famous throughout the world. Who has not heard ot the great olive forests which embrace hundreds of square miles furnishing an annual production of millions of gallons of oil. Oranges, almonds, figs, pomegranates, carobs, bananas, cherimogas and apples are abundant and excel in flavor the fruits of all other countries. It is also the land of the mulberry and hence of the silk worm. The annual production of raw silk in Catalonia, Valencia and Murcia is four million, two hundred thousand pounds

The fauna of Spain also corresponds to the climate. Even wild animals abound, bears, wolves, hares and rabbits. The horses of Spain have been famous in all ages. The Romans used to say they were engenders of the wind. They are supposed to be of Arabian origin, as the Arabs, when in possession of the peninsula, stocked it with their finest breeds. Especially in Andalusia are they noted for swiftness and beauty.

One of Spain’s greatest resources lies in its immense flocks and herds. They are