190 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 



CHAP. IV. 



THE COASTS OF SICILY. 

 THE GULF OF CASTELLAMARE SANTO VITO. 



General aspect of the Gulf. Formation of clouds in a clear sky. 

 Castellamare. Excursion to the ruins of Segesta. - Departure 

 for Santo- Vito. Misadventures there. Ants. Researches of 

 M. Edwards on the Acalephse, Beroidse, and Stephanomise. My 

 observations on the mode of reproduction of the Syllis. Repro- 

 duction of the Medusae. Curious approximation between the 

 Animal and the Vegetable Kingdoms. Medusae and Fungi. 

 Studies of a different kind, leading to the same result. General 

 consequences. 



ON leaving Torre dell' Isola we steered westward, 

 passing on the left Capaci and Carini, with their 

 rich valleys, which terminate in a low and sandy- 

 beach. Impelled by a fair wind, we had soon 

 passed Point Omo Morto, when taking a sharp turn 

 towards the south, we speedily made the Gulf of 

 Castellamare, the largest of the numerous bays 

 which intersect the coast-line of Sicily. The mar- 

 vellous clearness of the air, of which our foggy at- 

 mosphere cannot give the most distant idea, enabled 

 us to embrace in one glance this magnificent bay 

 of water, which penetrates nearly fifteen miles into 

 the interior, forming a well defined semicircle, whose 

 opposite banks present the most marked contrast. 

 To the east, the distant summits of Belvedere, 

 Montelepre, Montemitro, Firicino, and Mount Boni- 



