THE COASTS OF SICILY. 247 



orange, lemon, and pomegranate trees.* In the 

 eastern part of the island we met with a few corn- 

 fields, but with that exception the soil seemed to 

 be abandoned to vineyards and some plantations 

 of cactus, a plant which may be said to mark the 

 limits of vegetation. There are only a very few 

 horned cattle to be seen on the island, and hence 

 Favignana is obliged to supply her population with 

 meat, oil, and cereals from abroad, in exchange for 

 which she gives her wines. Being entirely without 

 manufactures, she is obliged to obtain from foreigners, 

 not only articles of luxury, but even many of the 

 necessaries of life. To judge by the samples which 

 fell under our notice, France and England would 

 seem to share in the office of provisioning this 

 remote corner of the globe, where the two countries 

 are to a certain extent represented by their produc- 

 tions. Everything that relates to the material wants 

 of life is of English origin; knives, forks, dinner- 

 services, all bear, with few exceptions, the name of 

 London. Everything akin to elegance, everything 

 that can call up an idea, has come to Favignana 

 from the provinces of France, if not from Paris. 

 The chimney-pieces were adorned with our porcelain 

 vases, the walls were hung with our papers, and 



* The pomegranate tree (Punica granatum) is a native of 

 Mauritania, from whence it was imported by the Romans at the 

 time of their wars with Carthage. This tree was cultivated by 

 them with much care ; and while we are only acquainted with three 

 varieties, the Romans at the time of Pliny possessed as many as 

 six, one of which called Apyrenum, bore fruits containing seeds 

 without pips. 



B 4 



