mountains Seville has not the mineral wealth of some other provinces, but coal is worked at Villanueva del Rio, and the copper-mines at Arnalcollar yield 20,000 tons of ore; other outlying deposits of the Huelva beds are found in this province, and a great part of the lead from the Linares mines is shipped here. _Huelva_, the last maritime province of Spain, conterminous with Portugal on the west and with Seville on the east, with its capital of 10,000, is one of the richest mining districts in Europe. Worked in prehistoric times, and in the mythical dawn of history, by Iberians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Romans, the mines of Tharsis and of the Rio Tinto were strangely neglected by the Spaniards until purchased by an Anglo-German company in 1873 for 3,850,000_l_., but with the certainty of a rich return. There are now over 7000 men employed by this company, and 906,600 tons of copper ore were extracted in 1879 from the south lode only; about 10,000 tons of hematite iron were also sold. The mines contain sulphur, copper, iron, and silver. In fact, the mountains round the source of the Tinto seem to be almost one mass of mineral ore. From the working of these mines the development of the riches of this province has been most rapid of late years, and the tonnage of shipping from the port of Huelva will probably soon rival, if not surpass, that of Cadiz: in 1873 the foreign shipping was 180,000 tons; this had ascended to over 300,000 tons in 1877. The imports were valued in 1873 at 168,000_l_., of which 112,000_l_. were British; and in 1877 to over 300,000, of which not quite one-half was British. The exports are of far greater importance, ranging from 750,000_l_. in 1873, of which 667,000_l_. were British, to 1,236,243_l_. in 1877, of which 1,132,782_l_. went to Great Britain. Except in minerals, the province is not rich; but a trade which will probably increase, has lately sprung up in wines, fruits, and cork. The frontier stream the Guadiana is of little use to Spain, and the little port of Palos, whence Columbus set out to give a new world to Spain, is now completely silted up.