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r*lbria. Sutherland, where the Gaelic it a*ed. The names 

 * v' of many of their places are evidently Norwegian, at 

 Ulbster, Stempster, Bindster, $crabter, Bilbster, 

 and several others ; the terminating syllable tier, big- 

 nifying in that language an estate. 



Caithness sends a member to parliament alternau-ly 

 with the shire of Bute. Its population in 17!ft wa* 

 24-.H02 i and in 1801, 22,609; of whom 10,183 were 

 males, and 12. !'...'(> female*. 8 l' M, ant's Tour in 

 'lund ; Realities <>f Scodnnd, vol. iv. and v. ; Sir 

 John Sinclair'* Gnu-nil I'it-m </' the Agriculture oft/te 

 Northern Counties and lsUi.-<t* <;/ *jtLiml. (L) 



CALABRIA, a province of Italy, which forms 

 the most southern part of the kingdom of Naples, is 

 bounded on the north by Basilicata, and the gulf of 

 Taranto ; by the Ionian sea on the east ; and on the 

 outh and west by the Mediterranean and the straits 

 f Messina, which separate it from Sicily. This 

 peninsula is divided into Calabria Ultra, and Calabria 

 Citra. The extent of the former is estimated, by Mr 

 Swinburne, at nearly 1,521,302 English acres, and 

 that of the other at 1, 281, 370; and their united po- 

 pulation at 775,722 inhabitants. This country is 

 rather mountainous, but the vallies with which it is 

 interspersed are rich and fertile, and watere<! with 

 numerous rivers. No country abounds more in towns 

 and villages, has a greater variety of culture, and is 

 covered with finer forests than Calabria. It has a very 

 picturesque appearance. The form of its mountains 

 differ from those of most other countries. They are 

 seldom of a pointed or conical shape, but almost al- 

 ways round ; and though some modern travellers 

 have asserted that they are of volcanic origin, yet 

 no traces of lava are to be found in their neighbour- 

 hood. They appear to consist, for the most part, 

 of chalk and argil; and contain pyiites, asbestos, 

 spar, quartz, granite, marble, and different kinds of 

 sand, sometimes mingled without order, and some- 

 times ranged in regular strata. 



Its principal rivers are the Coscile, Crathis, Trionto, 

 Nieto, Tacina, Alii, Alaro, Abis, and Angilota. 

 The Coscile is the Sybaris of the ancients, whose 

 waters being strongly impregnated with mephitic gas, 

 were supposed very injurious to cattle, on account of 

 exciting dangerous sneezings and convulsions. The 

 Crathis rises in the mountains south of Cosenza, and 

 passing that city and Bisignano, joins its waters with 

 the Coscile at the site of the ancient town of Syba- 

 ris, and falls hito the Ionian sea. This river is broad, 

 clear, and rapid, often inundating its banks, and de- 

 stroying the neighbouring districts ; and in 1629, it 

 is said to have suddenly risen 20 palmes. According 

 to Strabo, the waters of the Crathis had the property 

 of tinging of a fair or yellow colour, the hair of all 

 those who bathed in it ; and that they were also 

 very efficacious in the cure of several diseases. * The 

 same tradition is preserved, and it may have arisen 

 from the yellow appearance which this river still re- 

 tains. 



The climate of Calabria, which in some places is 

 among the finest in the world, is in several of the 

 most fertile districts very insalubrious, on account of 

 die inundations of the rivers, which being allowed to 



roll their flood* unrestrained over the bw 0d meg feet- Calabria. 

 . '!<!, leave, as they ihritik back into their chu. ~ ' v * 

 nelii, black and stinking swamps, which poiton with 

 vapour* the whole region around. 

 But by a ln:l<- industry and management, these bad 

 effect* might i-asily be counteracted, and thete riven, 

 which at present disseminate the teed* of pestilence 

 and disease, might be made to convey freshne** and 

 fertility to well tilled thirty field*. 



The soil <,f CJ-ibna i* very unequal, changing 

 from a rich and m Ihw loam to a cold and wet graved 

 Many of the mountain* are nothing but bare and 

 Ivirn-n rocka, while other* are covered with ma- 

 jestic oaks, and the sloping tide of some of the hill* 

 are embell.sh* d with fruit tree* of every detcnpt. 

 such as vines, figs, orange*, lemons, citrons, olivet, 

 mulberries, cheanuts, and almond*. The extensive 

 forest of S la, celebrated by Virgil in the 12th book 

 of his JEn>-id, v. 715, reache* from above Cosenza 

 on the norm to Catanzaro on the gulf of Squillace, 

 and covers a surface of nearly 4OO square mile*. The 

 ancients, however, comprehended, under the name of r 



Sila, the whole forest extending along the chain of 

 mountains as far as Reggio, which Strabo estimate* 

 at about 700 stadia, above a hundred British miles in 

 length. This forest abounds with fir and other resi- 

 nous trees, which annually afford immense quantities 

 of pitch, rosin, and turpentine. It belongs exclusive- 

 ly to the king ; and the inhabitants of the country 

 are prohibited, under the severest penalties, even the 

 confiscation of their property, from cutting down 

 the trees. Above 400 persons are constantly em- 

 ployed in gathering and preparing the resinous sub- 

 stance ; and its annual produce is nearly 1 1,000 can- 

 tares of pitch and rosin. The white pitch is the 

 most valuable, but also the most scarce ; seldom ex- 

 ceeding 75 cantarcs, or 22,688 Jt. ; while the black 

 pitch affords 10,000 contorts, or 2,777,500 tb. The 

 pitch of Sila is highly extolled by Strabo and Phny,f 

 as being very rich and resinous, and also, as being of 

 great utility in medicine. It is still v-.-ry much 

 esteemed, and great quantities of it are annually ex- 

 ported to Sicily, Genoa, and Venice. The lower 

 parts of the mountains abound with the ornut, a 

 small leaved flowering manna ash, which grows spon- 

 taneously, and without any culture. AD the manna 

 belongs to the king, and the gathering of it is en- 

 trusted to the feudal lords, who receive forever)' ma 

 employed five carlini a day, two of which they keep 

 to themselves. During the manna harvest, which ge- 

 nerally lasts four or five weeks, every peasant who is 

 called upon is compelled to abandon his own employ- 

 ment to assist in the work. The manna is extracted 

 by making a horizontal incision in the bark of the 

 tree, about half an inch deep, and inclining a little 

 upwards ; a small maple leaf is then fixed into the 

 wound, from which the manna in its liquid .tate drops 

 into the large leaves of Indian figs, which are placed 

 at the foot of the tree instead of basins. Some kinds 

 of manna, however, ooze out from the bark of the 

 tree without any incision. This is very limpid and 

 transparent, and crystallizes in little balls on the sur- 

 face. It is preferred to the other kind of manna, bat 



bib. vi. p. 404. 



fc Strut*, lit* XA PHn. libe. xjv. x\i. and x&i*. 



