THE COASTS OF SICILY. 157 



a regular source of export, and the fossils were shipped 

 to London where they were converted into animal 

 black! At the time of our visit the devastation was 

 complete, and we had some difficulty in detaching 

 from the vaulted roof a few broken fragments which 

 appeared to us to have belonged to an elephant. 



In the mean time we did not lose sight of the 

 principal object of our mission. M. Blanchard, 

 whose duty it was to collect Insects to complete the 

 collections of the Museum, had already explored the 

 environs of Palermo and the Conca d'Oro. M. 

 Milne Edwards and myself had, in the meanwhile, 

 been equally busy in examining the neighbouring 

 sea shore, breaking up the rocks by the water's edge, 

 and turning over the stones on our path. All that 

 we had hitherto seen of the marine tribes of animals 

 redoubled our anxiety to begin our work in earnest. 

 We tried as far as lay in our power to hasten the 

 preparations for our departure, but it was no trifling 

 business to complete our equipment. We desired to 

 explore the coast line of Sicily step by step, as it 

 were, with entire liberty to arrange and alter our 

 plans as we might deem desirable ; we wished to be 

 able to pass rapidly along any sandy shore which we 

 knew would present nothing of interest, and again 

 to stop wherever weed-covered rocks announced 

 that our researches would probably be attended with 

 success. To do this, it was indispensable that we 

 should be so amply supplied with the necessaries of 

 life that we need not diverge from our course in 

 search of provisions. It would have been impossible 

 to effect a journey by land with an independence of 



