THE ISLANDS OF SARDINIA AND CORSICA. 31 



But for the man who does not care to go out to 

 sea for several miles in a little boat (a necessity at 

 Asmara) to view this sport, the Carloforte " tonnara " 

 may be recommended over the others. Here the net 

 is set between the mainland of Sardinia and the islet of 

 S. Pietro, about four miles to the west, and the inter- 

 vening water is often as calm as a small inland lake. 

 The ladies of Carloforte make pleasure parties for 

 the slaughter ; their husbands and brothers attend to 

 the sails and oars, while they sit gaily on every 

 available square foot of space in the boat, and, with 

 their parti- coloured parasols aloft, glide over this 

 summer sea to an accompaniment of songs. 



And wine in Sardinia is so cheap ! That of Ogilas- 

 tra, which seems to me supreme, costs a penny a 

 pint, and a tumbler of luscious Muscat costs no more. 



Trout abound in some of the mountain streams 

 both of Corsica and Sardinia for instance, in the 

 Tavignano in the former, and in the Flumendosa in 

 the latter island. 



Although the Corsicans assert that the finest sea 

 fishing grounds in the Mediterranean lie round Cor- 

 sica, yet larger catches than at any station round 

 this island are made in the vicinity of some of the 

 great salt lakes of Sardinia. I am writing this letter 

 from Cagliari, the capital of the latter island, where 

 enormous numbers of grey mullet are caught in 

 curiously-shaped traps placed in the openings that 

 connect the lake and the all but tideless sea together. 

 Long lines of flexible reeds are also to be seen stuck 



