114 Geograpry, Geology, 
and other places; while marbles, agates, chalcedonies, and: 
jaspers of great variety, occur at Palermo, Gagliano, Busac- 
chino, Cappizzi, Naso, Taormina, and many other parts, 
intermixed with asbestos, asphaltum, a saponaceous stone con- 
sisting principally of argil, possessing strong detergent quali- 
ties, ad alabaster ; ahd specimens of Gstemies Echinites, 
Cardites, and various other organic, dendritic, and amorphous 
remains are frequently found embedded in the calcareous strata. 
Petroleum and naphtha are found on the surface of several 
springs at Palagonia, Petralia, Girgenti, Leonforte, Bivona, 
Caltanisetta, and Segesta. Amber is “found i in. small quantities, 
washed up by the sea, at the mouth of the river Giarretta. 
Around Ragusa i in the county of Modica, there abounds, more- 
over, a bituminous * rock used for building stone, that produces 
a great proportion of hydrogen gas, far better for ignition than 
that extracted from coal. Vener waters, both hot and cold, 
abound in every part of Sicily, and have for ages been cplee 
brated for their efficacy in relieving various chireuie paralytic, 
and cutaneous disorders, of these the sulphureous are to be met 
with at Ali, Cefalu, Sciacca, Termini, Segesta, and Mazza- 
rino; the ferruginous at S. Vito, Noto, Messina, Sclapani, and 
Raa paras ; and the vitriolic at Palermo, Corleone, Gianissileri, 
Petralia, Gratteri, and Bissuna.” 
Those who are desirous of becoming better acquainted with 
the geology and mineralogy of Sicily. may consult, probably 
with ‘advantage, the following works, which I have not as yet: 
had an opportunity of meeting with : 
Borch. Mineralogia Siciliana. 1780 0. — Descrizione fisica 
e Mineralogica della Sicilia e delle Isole che le sono intorno, 
del Sign. Prof Abate Francesco Ferrara, Messina. 1810.-— 
And, by the same author, Mineralogia della Sicilia. Catania, 
1813. — Descrizione dell’ Etna, con la storia della Eruzione, 
ed il Catalogo dei Prodotti. Palermo, 1818. — Also, by Sign. 
Agat. Recupero. Storia Naturale e Generale dell’? Etna. 
Vol. 2 2. 1814. Con rami. 
Of all the European islands, Sicily preduces the most 
favoured and lovely Flora. It possesses plants which are com- 
mon to Italy, Hyri ia, Dalmatia, the south of France, Corsica, 
Sardinia, the Balearic Isles, Spain, Portugal, Madeira, the 
north of Africa, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, ‘Tartarian Caucasus, . 
Greece, the islands of the Archipelago, and the Ionian isles ;- 
many, also, that are natives of Britain, and some of the still 
more northern countries of Europe. 
* According to Dr. Daubeny, this limestone contains near 14 per cent. of 
bituminous matter. 
