638 



MALTA. 



portion of the " Samiel " or " Simoom " of Africa. 

 When dry wind blows over the island, especially 

 in summer, volumes of impalpable dust float about, 

 which is precipitated in the shape of a shower of 

 mud, on the recurrence of a damp wind, or when 

 the fogs and dews are peculiarly long. Snow only 

 appears at Malta as a luxury imported from Etna, 

 but in the winter months there are frequent hail 

 showers. Rain falls with tropical violence in De- 

 cember, January, and part of February. About 

 March the sky gets settled ; an occasional shower 

 may fall in April and May, but during June, July, 

 and August, not a cloud is to be seen. Septem- 

 ber and October are cooled with showers, the air 

 is placid and invigorating, and termed " St Mar- 

 tin's," or the "little summer." 



Agriculture. The island of Malta contains 

 about 50,000 acres of cultivated land. The island 

 ofGozo, 10,000. About half is private property, 

 the remainder may be nearly divided between the 

 crown and the church. The leases are from one 

 to eight years, and long leases from nine to a 

 hundred years. The rent for the best land is 3 

 per acre, but there is not much of that quality ; 

 the average rental is 1 an acre. Property on 

 short lease cannot be sub-let without the consent 

 of the proprietor. In long leases sub-letting is 

 allowed. The repairs full upon the proprietor in 

 the short leases, and upon the tenant in the long 

 ones. In all arable lands it is prohibited to sow 

 wheat and barley two years in succession. The 

 principal objects of agriculture are cotton, grain, 

 and sulla ; and it is to these that the farmers prin- 

 cipally direct their attention; they, however, 

 extensively cultivate beans, peas, a species of wild 

 pea called cucciarda, carrots, melons, potatoes, 

 cabbages, cauliflowers, and other articles of that 

 description; these are principally cultivated as 

 intermediate crops between cotton and corn. In 

 general the farmers divide their lands in two equal 

 portions; on the one half they cultivate cotton, 

 and on the other grain. 



Cumin seeds and aniseeds are successfully culti- 

 vated, and exported in considerable quantity to the 

 surrounding countries in the Mediterranean, as well 

 as to England and America ; and the cumin seeds 

 of Malta are as good as any, if not the best, in the 

 world. The squills grown and dried in Malta are 

 found to produce the best oxamel attainable from 

 that bulb; and the quantity of oranges hitherto 

 furnished by Malta to the tables of the luxurious 

 in France and England, might be greatly increased. 

 Indeed, the oranges of Malta are confessedly the 

 finest of the Mediterranean, and its melons are 

 superior to the best of the southern countries of 

 Europe. There are a variety of other delicate 

 fruits. Vegetation of aromatic plants and herbs 

 of every sort, aided by rich pastures refreshed by 

 the regular falling of nocturnal dews, enable the 

 natives to rear considerable herds of cattle and 

 flocks of sheep and goats, whose flesh, aromatized 

 by excellent food, possesses an exquisite flavour. 

 Poultry are plentiful and excellent. Quails, and 

 a great diversity of other wild-fowl, never fail to 

 come in vast flights at the time of their annual 

 migrations. 



Much attention is bestowed on the management 

 of bees: a great many hives are kept in several 

 parts of the island, from which they yearly procure 

 a large stock of deliciously- flavoured honey. Great 

 pains are also bestowed on the breeds of asses and 

 mules, and the qualities of these useful animals 



have been highly improved by the inhabitants. 

 The asses, especially, are well known for their 

 unparalleled strength and beauty ; they always sell 

 at a high price. The goats are of a very fine 

 breed, but the horned cattle are small, and princi- 

 pally imported from Sicily, Barbary, and the adja- 

 cent coasts. Snakes are to be found, but they are 

 not poisonous. Birds of various kinds migrate to 

 the island at different periods, and the hawks of 

 Malta were formerly much celebrated ; the bees 

 were also renowned, and indeed continue to yield 

 such excellent aromatic honey, that it is conjee 

 tured the island was thence called " Melita " by 

 the Greeks. Mosquitoes and other insects abound. 

 Population of Malta and Gozo in 1834. 



The Maltese are generally of middle stature, 

 with robust frames, and small hands and feet ; the 

 hair black, and sometimes inclined to frizzle; lips 

 frequently thick, and skin swarthy among the 

 common people where exposed to the atmosphere; 

 the eye dark and bright, and among the higher 

 classes of females, remarkable for that fullness and 

 languishing beauty which constitutes the great 

 charm of oriental women. In some of the villa- 

 ges, such as the Casal of Zurrico, there are a re- 

 markable number of blue-eyed persons to be met 

 with. In general there is throughout the villages 

 a good deal of the Spanish character displayed, 

 but in the cities, and among the higher orders, a 

 sort of French and Greek character is combined. 

 The men are industrious, active, frugal; attached 

 to their country, passive, but yet nowise deficient 

 in courage, as they have often shown, and they are 

 considered the best seamen in the Mediterranean. 

 Those in easy circumstances dress like other Eu- 

 ropeans, but the lower orders are clothed in a 

 loose cotton shirt, over which is a wide vest, or 

 jacket, with silver, sometimes golden buttons, a 

 long twisted scarf, wound several times round the 

 body, with very often a sheathed knife placed 

 therein ; loose trowsers, leaving the legs bare from 

 nearly the knees downwards, and very peculiar 

 shoes called korch, which is a leathern sole, fas- 

 tened with strings, or thongs, to the foot and leg, 

 nearly like the old Roman sandal. The head in 

 winter is covered with a woollen cap of different 

 colours, having a hood attached, and falling down 

 on the back ; in summer, large straw hats are worn. 

 The women are attached to their primitive dress, 

 consisting of a short cotton shift, a petticoat 

 (generally of a blue colour), an upper robe open- 



* Exclusive of the Malta Fonrible Uegiment, the men of 

 which are returned with the native population. 



