190 Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain on the 



man. Along the western and southern coasts the mountains 

 jut out into the sea and the scenery is wikl and picturesque 

 in character. Along the eastern side, on the other hand, 

 between the great rampart of rock, which reaches from 

 north to south, and the Mediterranean, there lies a belt of 

 almost level ground. In the neighbourhood of Aleria this 

 plain is dotted with extensive lagoons, and, owing to the 

 prevalence of malaria, is almost deserted in the height of 

 summer. In fact, everywhere along the " plage ^^ the 

 population is partly migratory, and, when the hot weather 

 sets in, a long procession of families wends its way towards the 

 heights to spend the summer in the mountain-villages, which 

 in their turn are deserted in the winter. Here, in the low 

 ground are extensive woods of cork-oak and in some districts 

 olive and orange groves and vineyards ; while wheat, rye, and 

 oats are also grown, but not in large quantities. On leaving 

 the low ground and ascending the mountain, we find its sides 

 clothed with forests, but these vary much in character. In 

 the north-east the chestnut is the prevalent tree. Many of 

 these trees are of great age and are little more than vast 

 empty shells. In the north-west there are large olive- 

 plantations, and in some districts the beech is largely grown, 

 especially in the forest of Boccagnano, which covers some 

 13,000 acres. But perhaps the most characteristic forests of 

 Corsica are the great pine-forests, such as those of Vizzavona 

 (60,000 acres), Ai'tone (3400 acres), &c. Three species of pine 

 are found in the island, but the two most important are 

 Pi7ms pinaster {or F.maritima) andP. laricio corsicana. These 

 two are found in approximately equal numbers — one species 

 prevailing in one locality and the other in a second, or both 

 growing side by side. They are easily distinguishable by the 

 fact that the trunk of P. laricio is much smoother and whiter 

 than the deeply grooved and more highly coloured bark of 

 P. pinaster. Pinus pinea is also found, but generally as isolated 

 specimens, which were proijably planted in the cultivated parts 

 for the sake of the cones. The cones of all three species are 

 very different and also form a ready means of identification. 

 Above the forest-limit tlie bold granite peaks of the lower 



