268 Hotticultwal Notes : — 



aiul other I'ruit consumed at Home are brought from Albano, 

 Velletri, &c. 



Pontine Marshes. — The desolate aspect attributed to these 

 tweuty-ibur miles of the road to Naples is one of the many 

 exa<ruerations which prevail with remird to Italv. The view 

 is boundeil to the left, at a short distance, by the Apennines ; 

 and to the right, at the distance of some miles, by a line of 

 extensive woods ; the intermediate sjiace being partly under 

 cultivation (but chiefly in grass), with vast herds of horses 

 and buffaloes feeding : and though the dead-flat surface, and 

 the occasional (but not very frequent) occurrence of portions 

 covered with reeds, or overflowed with water, give the whole a 

 fenny character, yet, as, happily, there are no polhud willows, 

 and the road (a great rarity in Italy) runs the whole way 

 between two rows of tall elm trees (now in flower, and thus 

 taking at a distance a tinge of green, as if breaking into leaf), 

 the general effect to the eye is not at all offensive, and far 

 less repulsive than some parts of Hollantl or Lincolnshire. 



Terracina. — The change, on arriving here, is like enchant- 

 ment. The whole way from Rome, for upwards of forty 

 miles, presents few Italian features, and, least of all, the 

 Pontine Marshes ; immediately on leaving which, you burst 

 at once on lofty rocks, close to the ^Mediterranean, clothed 

 with vines and flg trees, and orange and lemon trees, superb 

 cactuses (Opiintia vulgaris), £uph6rb?flr dendrbides in full 

 flower, and palm trees (Phoe^iix dactylifera) 20 ft. to 30 ft. 

 high ; all giving quite a new and southern aspect to the scene. 

 Struck with this sudden change, some travellers have said 

 that here is strictly the gate oi" Italy, jiroperly so called; and 

 that what is usually understood by an Italian climate and 

 productions must be confined to the region south of Terra- 

 cina. This, however, is an error, originating in the want of 

 more comprehensive observation ; for every one of the pro- 

 ductions found at Terracina, with the addition of aloes 

 (Agave americana), of which few or none hap))en to grow 

 there, may be seen as far north as Geneva and Nice; where 

 palm trees are cultivated, to sell their leaves to the Romish 

 churches for Palm Sunday. The fact is, that the true Italian 

 climate is confined to a very small portion of Italy, namely, 

 to some favoured spots on the western coast ; and that along 

 its whole extent, whenever the approximation of the Apen- 

 nines to the sea, at once keeping oif the north and east winds, 

 and reflecting the sun's rays, affords the temperature which 

 the orange and lemon, 8:c., require. The moment you recede 

 from the coast, especially if a very trifling elevation of ground 

 takes place, farewell to oranges and lemons, at least in any 



