112 KEPORT— 1867. 



The survey of the vratershed was commeuced agahi a little north of Mount Ebal, 

 and explored continuousl}- as far as Jerusalem, which is situated itself on the 

 main watershed of the country. The reconnaissance was extended through the 

 Bedouin country to the Jordan, and the much-disputed position of Jisr Damieh 

 connected with the sites previously fixed. The country to the eastward of Nablus 

 was visited and mapped ; Jehel Azur, Mount Gerizim, Mount Ebal, and Ivurn Tur- 

 tabeh were also connected with the survey; and it was finally protracted to Jatla, 

 thus establishing a connexion between this place and Baueas. 



0)1 the Lar/oons of Corsica. Bt/ Prof. D. T. Ansted, F.R.S. 

 The eastern coast of Corsica is the most malarious district in the Mediterranean ; 

 but this has only been the case within the historic period. 2000 years ago there 

 was a defensible town on the coast called Aleria, and V20 years later a Roman 

 colony was established there, the seat of a large trade. This continued and the 

 coast was inhabited till the [Middle Ages, when the pirates of the Mediterranean 

 forced the inhabitants back into the hills. In the early part of the sixteenth cen- 

 tury the plains ceased to be habitable, and they have never since been without 

 deadly malaria in the summer. Mariana, another ancient and mediajval colony 

 near the lagoon of Biguglia, had also been deserted. To the north of the sites of 

 both these ancient towns extends a lagoon, formerly, in all probability, an open 

 bay. The fine sand and mud of the rivers and watercourses are carried towards 

 the north, and form a bar or wall of sand in advance of the coast. Behind this bar, 

 wherever there are torrents between the rivers, a pool or lagoon is formed — these 

 ton-ents not being able to keep open a channel to the sea. But a communication 

 must be kept up, partly to enable the surplus waters to escape to the ocean dui-ing 

 winter, and partly to admit the sea to the pool when, during summer, the contents 

 are evaporated. Meanwhile all the organic matter brought down by the torrents 

 is retamed in the lagoon, decomposes there, and is converted into miasmatic 

 vapour. So long as there is free communication to the sea there is no malaria ; 

 but when the lagoon is formed malaria sets in. The lagoon of Biguglia extends 

 8 miles towards the north : its greatest width is about lA mile. The wall or bank 

 separating the lagoon from the sea is from 900 to 400 yards wide, and its height 

 is about 9 feet above the level of the Mediterranean. There are two cuts, which 

 are now filled up. The deepest part of the lagoon is 10 feet, and much of it 

 is not more than -3 feet. The water is nearly fresh in winter, and everywhere 

 brackish in sunmier. The lagoon receives the di-ainagc of 45,000 acres, and con- 

 tains itself 4800 acres. The quantity of rain averages 24 inches per annum, of 

 which 6 inches fall in November and 4 inches in October. More tlmn 2 inches 

 has fallen in 24 hours, nearly 4 inches in a week, and about 12 inches in 4 weeks. 

 From a consideration of these measurements, it is evident that the lagoon might 

 rise (3 inches in 24 hours, and as much as 3 feet in a month, if it were not for the 

 outlet to the sea : a channel will thus always be kept open. 2000 years ago the 

 mud and sand of the Golo had not formed a bar in front of the bay, the shore of 

 which was within the inner shore of the lagoon. There was no effectual barrier 

 preventing the waters of the torrents reaching the sea until three centuries ago. 

 Thus within 1700 years there has been commenced and completed a bank of sand 

 7 miles in length, a quarter of a mile wide, and about lo feet high — the result of 

 two rivers, the Golo and the Be^inco. The deposit is equivalent to about 75 

 grains of solid matter deposited on an average by each gallon of water. There is 

 no evidence of any elevation of land within the recent or historic period that can 

 explain the change that has taken place. It is evident that the lagoon has been 

 formed by the accumulated sands and mud, and that the malaria is due to the 

 closing of the lagoon. It is in the highest degree desirable that these lagoons 

 should be got rid of or rendered innocuous. This can be done, in the lagoon of 

 Biguglia, by separating the area into two unequal parts. The larger area might be 

 drained by pumping, at a moderate cost, and kept dry by the same machinery 

 occasionally used ; part of the smaller area might be converted into the channel 

 of the Bevmco, and the rest drained by inexpensive machinery. The redeemed 

 lands would be of great value; but the' principal result would "be felt in the im- 



