The general trade between England and Malaga is on the decline: that with both the Americas is increasing, especially in wines. The number of British vessels which entered the port of Malaga in 1827, I find, from an official note furnished by the British consul, to have been one hundred and four; in 1828, one hundred and twenty-six; in 1829, one hundred and five; in 1830, up to the 1st of November, eighty-three, exclusive of the small Gibraltar vessels. The number of American vessels entering in 1829, was fifty-five; but the average tonnage of the Americans being one hundred and seventy-five tons, and that of the English vessels not exceeding one hundred, the whole American is nearly equal to the whole of the English trade. Whilst I remained in Malaga, my time was very agreeably employed; the weather was sufficiently cool to allow horse and foot exercise; and the neighbourhood of Malaga affords many charming excursions: these pleasantly filled up the mornings; while a stroll on the sea shore, the many hospitalities of English, American, and Spanish families, and the theatre or opera, agreeably occupied the evening. Among my excursions in the neighbourhood, one was made to the convent of Victoria, beautifully placed in a hollow of the neighbouring mountains, surrounded by charming gardens, where the most delicious fruits vie with each other in tempting the palate. Among the autumnal fruits of the south of Spain, they particularly prize the granada, or pomegranate, on account of its real, or salubrious qualities, especially in derangements of the bowels. North of the Sierra Morena, the pomegranate is an indifferent fruit; but in Andalusia and Granada, it arrives at perfection; and so full of juice is a really fine and ripe pomegranate, that one measuring four inches in diameter, may be compressed into the bulk of a nut. In the neighbourhood of the convent of Victoria, the country people find that useful clay, of which they make the vessels called _bucaros_, used for cooling water. Without these, the inhabitant of these sultry shores would be deprived of one of his most essential luxuries; for when the hot winds prevail, water exposed to the air in these vessels, becomes icy cold. This singular fact is to be explained by the porous nature of these vessels, which allow the water to exude; and the hot wind blowing upon the moist external surface, a rapid evaporation and consequent cold, are produced. From the same clay, there is an ingenious manufactory of little figures, representing Spanish costume in the different provinces. These are in great variety, and are executed with much truth and ability: indeed, I have not seen, in any other country, any thing so excellent in its kind. Nothing would have pleased me more, than to have carried a complete assortment of them to England; but they are of so fragile a nature, that they could scarcely have arrived at their destination without broken limbs and noses.