The forest consists principally of cork, oak, and ilex; but, in the marshy parts of it, (called _sotos_,) ash, willow, and other trees to which such localities are favourable, grow very luxuriantly. The owner of this vast domain is the Marquis of Moscoso,--who derives from it a revenue totally disproportioned to its value and extent; and what little he does get, he squanders nightly at the gaming-table. The principal source of revenue arises from the numerous herds of swine and other cattle, that are driven from all parts of the country to feed upon the acorns, herbage, and underwood, scattered throughout the forest; the fine, well grown trees with which it abounds being turned to no better account than to furnish bark and charcoal. This is entirely owing to the want of means of conveying the timber to a market; for not even to Gibraltar--in which direction the country is level--is there a road capable of bearing the draught of heavy weights. Of course the ruinous passion that swallows up all the proprietor's resources prevents any attempt at improvement in the management of the estate; and thus, whilst huge trees, stript of their bark, lie rotting in some parts of the forest, in others, the underwood is set on fire by the peasantry--to the great detriment of the larger trees--to improve the pasture for their cattle. The ride through the forest is delightful, even in the most sultry season, the wide-spreading branches of the gnarled cork-trees screening the narrow paths most effectually from the sun's rays. The gurgle of the tortuous Guadaranque,--which, escaped from the mountain ravines that encircle its sources, here wends its way more leisurely to the sea,--may be heard distinctly on the left, and now and then a glimpse may even be caught of its dark blue stream, winding under a perfect arbour of woodbine, clematis, and other creepers, and spanned here and there by a rustic bridge. The single stem of a tree of which these bridges usually consist is readily enough crossed by the practised feet and heads of the swineherds and foresters; but to strangers unskilled in the art of slack rope dancing, the passage of the stream, like that of the bridge leading to the Mohammedan's paradise, is a feat of no very easy achievement. Occasionally, wide, open glades, carpeted with a rich greensward, present themselves in the very heart of the forest, to diversify the scenery--giving it quite the character of an English park; and from these breaks in the wood a view may generally be obtained of the far-distant towers of Castellar; the mountain fortress of the master of this princely domain, now inhabited by his _Administrador_, or Agent, his gamekeepers, and other dependents.