of by the old student of geography
and the traveller after truth.

He begins his book with a detailed account of southern Spain. He tells
of her two hundred towns. "Those best known are situated on the rivers,
estuaries, and seas; but the two which have acquired the greatest name
and importance are Cordova and Cadiz. After these Seville is the most
noted.... A vast number of people dwell along the Guadalquivir, and
you may sail up it almost a hundred and twenty miles from the sea to
Cordova and the places a little higher up. The banks and little inlets
of this river are cultivated with the greatest diligence. The eye is
also delighted with groves and gardens, which in this district are
met with in the highest perfection. For fifty miles the river is
navigable for ships of considerable size, but for the cities higher
up smaller vessels are employed, and thence to Cordova river-boats.
These are now constructed of planks joined together, but they were
formerly made out of a single trunk. A chain of mountains, rich in
metal, runs parallel to the Guadalquivir, approaching the river,
sometimes more, sometimes less, toward the north."

He grows enthusiastic over the richness of this part of southern Spain,
famous from ancient days under the name of Tartessus for its wealth.
"Large quantities of corn and wine are exported, besides much oil,
which is of the first quality, also wax, honey, and pitch ... the
country furnishes the timber for their shipbuilding. They have
likewise mineral salt and not a few salt streams. A considerable
quantity of salted fish is exported, not only from hence, but also
from the remainder of the coast beyond the Pillars. Formerly they
exported large quantities of garments, but they now send the
unmanufactured wool remarkable for its beauty. The stuffs
manufactured are of incomparable texture. There is a superabundance
of cattle and a great variety of game, while on the other hand there
are certain little hares which burrow in the ground (rabbits). These
creatures destroy both seeds and trees by gnawing their roots. They
are met with throughout almost the whole of Spain. It is said that
formerly the inhabitants of Majorca and Minorca sent a deputation to
the Romans requesting that a new land might be given them, as they
were quite driven out of their country by these animals, being no longer
able to stand against their vast multitudes." The seacoast on the
Atlantic side abounds in fish, says Strabo.