These rivers are well adapted for the purposes of irrigation, and might be converted into valuable sources of fertility. The soil, though (If 11 and peril' . i, mu( h parched, and requires nothing. hut moisture to ad• pt it. for every species of agriculture. But the Moiety of the inhabitants is a complete bar to all improvement. The ri‘ (Es are allowed to Ilow undisturbed in ir native channels ; and though the he nclic.ial c on .cquenee of irrigation in this province we re long ago ascertained by Michael Alvarez Oz()rio, and it was by his son, in 1687, that even the little ricer of Narez was adequate to the fertilization of 80,000 lancga, of land, y et agriculture still remains in the same state, io ithom any attempt at profiting by such proofs. Many of the cantons, however, are under tole rabic: cultivation ; but others are completely neglected, though capable of great fecundity. Among the former arc, the country lying between Guadalaxara and Alcala de Ilenarez, the district of Torrelaguno, the rich plain of Itequena, and the vale of Aranjuez ; and among the latter arc•, the lands commencing on the frontiers of Arragon, and ex tending for twenty leagues to Torrija ; also those be tween the Bravo and the river A lbercho, and the country near Alcorcon, on the road leading from Madrid to Talavera de la Reyna.—Wheat is the staple produce of thie province, and indeed, except a little barley, it is the only grain which is cultivated. It yields most abundant crops, wherever its culture is made an object of atten tion. In the vallies lying beneath the Sierra de Cuenza, and in the environs of Madrid and some other towns, as well as in the plain of Talavera de la Rcyna, &c. the harvests are most luxuriant, yet the quantity produced by the whole province is scarcely sufficient for the con sumption of the inhabitants. Very little flax is raised here, though the soil is well adapted to its cultivation. I I emp, however, is more plentiful, particularly in A learia ; and the country of Iluete alone produces yearly the average quantity of five or six thousand arobas. Saffron is planted in various parts of New Castile, particularly between Madrid and Cuenza. It is in great demand over all Spain, especially in the Castilian provinces ; and consequently it is considered as a profitable object of cultivation. Its consumption, however, in sonic places, is rather diminished ; and the •0 quintals which were formerly produced in I luete are now reduced to five.
The greatest part of the province is equally destitute of foliage with Old Castile. Woods are very rare ; and even for several leagues round the capital a tree scarcely to be seen. An extensive tract of 40 leagues, from Aranjuez to the confines of Valencia, is almost completely bare, without a shrub or leaf to break the naked uniformity. The fertile plain between Guada laxara and Alcala de IIenarez is also devoid of trees ; and the country through which the great road leading from Portugal lies is equally naked. " There is not a tree to be seen," says Mr Swinburnc, " from the Sierra Morena to Toledo, nor from the banks of the Tagus to Madrid : a few dwarfish evergreen oaks, huddled to gether in nooks of hills, and some stumpy olive plants, scarce deserve the name of trees." A few particular
spots, however, are more favoured. In the plain of Requena, trees are cultivated with considerable care and success ; and sonic of the mountains, particularly those of Cuenza, are clothed with indigenous pines, and t arious kinds of oak. Poplars arc abundant at Talavera de la Reyna ; and there are woods of green oak in the environs of 'I'orrija. The banks of the rivers are, in general, embellished with elms, poplars. and willows ; and be tween the village of Flores and the river is a forest of the quercus coccifera, producing the precious worm which supplies the carnation tint. Fruit trees are very scarce ; and though the soil, with the means of irrigation which they possess, is very favourable for their culture, yet this province draws most of its fruits from Valencia and Arragon. Vines are cultivated in several places; but the wine of New Castile, though good, is often thick, and sometimes hard, and is con sidered as inferior to that of Arragon and the southern provinces. In some cantons, plantations of olives are both numerous and flourishing, especially between Cebolla and the Guadarrama, and the southern parts of the province. The fruit is excellent, but the oil both of New Castile and Arragon is execrable, owing entirely to the method of preparing it ; for were it properly ex tracted, it would be equal to any in the kingdom. Con siderable quantities of honey are gathered in this pro vince ; and that of Alcaria and the Sierra de Cuenza is reckoned the best in Spain. On the mountains of Cuenza alone, the produce of 1773 was 3334 arobas of honey, and 156 of wax.
The manufactures of New Castile consist chiefly in woollen stuffs. The cloths of Brihuega are excellent in their quality, but they arc surpassed by those of Guada laxara and Vigonia. Very little linen is made here ; and its manufacture is confined almost entirely to Toledo and St Ildefonso, which employ only about 30 looms. Extensive manufactories of silks and gildings, however, arc established at Requena, Toledo, and Talavera de la Reyna; where are also fabricated plain and figured vel of mixed colours, and embroidered with gold ; taf fetas, satins, silk sergcs, silk stuffs, gold and silver stuffs, and silk ribbons. At Requena alone these manu factures give employment to nearly 800 looms, and the annual consumption of the three places is estimated at 100,000 pounds of silk, 4000 merks of silver, and 70 merks of gold. Besides these, the other principal branches of manufacture arc, calicoes, laces, and tapes tries ; silk, cotton, and worsted stockings ; hats and caps ; porcelain and dell ware ; pikes, swords, and cut lery ware. There is also a royal manufactory for mir rors, which was carried on at the king's expense. Most of its manufactures, however, are scarcely adequate to the demands of the province; and it is indebted to other districts for many articles of comfort and luxury, of or nament and use. A few of its stuffs are carried to Se ville and Cadiz, and thence exported to America ; but its cloths and woollens are inferior to those of England and France, and cannot stand in the same market. Its silks, which are exposed to sale at Madrid, are also un dersold by the French silks, as well as by those of Cata lonia and Valencia.