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AN ENTOMOLOGIST'S VISIT TO DALMATIA 

 IN 1873. 



The long strip of coast on the eastern side of the Adriatic. 

 known as Dahnatia, but cut into three parts by Turkish 

 territory, is kept in regular communication with the rest of 

 the Austrian empire by the service of the Austrian Lloyd's 

 steamers. These are fairly good vessels, well managed, and 

 quite equal to a similar class on our coasts. It is, however, 

 intended to extend the railway, now being constructed be- 

 tween Trieste and Pola, from some point in its course to 

 Spalatro, which is perhaps the most important commercial 

 town in the country. 



Byron sings of " stern Albania's hills;" so of its neighbour 

 Dalmatia. A more hopelessly barren line of coast, as seen 

 from the sea, it is difficult to imagine ; nor, on the whole, is 

 the interior very dissimilar ; and, although the vine, olive, 

 and other fruit trees are widely cultivated, the only fertile 

 land is, it is said, confined to three spots round the little 

 villages of Dernis, Miecich, and Sign. Covered with large 

 masses of grey limestone rock, with little or no soil between 

 them, and baking through a long summer under a pitiless 

 sun, the country is unfavourable to vegetation, and what 

 there is has not much of a southern character. Even at 

 Cattaro such plants as ragwort, mallow, blackthorn, white- 

 thorn, and bramble — the three latter, however, alternating 

 in the lowlands with pomegranate and Paliurus australis 



