ON THE VEGETATION OF ETNA. 
Journ. Arad. Phil, v. 
Nu 
y peie but its ens are 
totally different, and Mr. Don has eve 
51.); other three species enumerated by 
Mr. Don are natives of Chili: so that 
the groupe is agaa one of the New 
World, and the present appears to be 
the only species of Centaurea which is 
an aboriginal native of North America. 
404. usn onia Noveboracensis, Willd.— 
St. Lou 
405. Vers prealta, Willd.—Coving- 
ton. St. Louis.— B. folis ovato- 
. lanceolatis supra scabris subtus invo- 
lucrisque pubescenti-tomentosis. — St 
Louis. 
(To be continued.) 
ON THE VEGETATION OF 
1 ETNA 
(Being Extracts from a Memoir on this subject, en- 
titled ** Uber die Vegetation a von Dr. 
R. A. Philippi, published in the 7th wolisša of the 
Linnæa, p. 727, &c. 
This celebrated volcanic mountain, situ- 
ated in lat. 37° 44', and reaching to a height 
of 10,212 Paris feet, according to the mea- 
surement of Dr. Philippi and his compa- 
nions, Professor Fr. Hoffman and Mr. Von 
der Linth, is separated from the chain of 
mountains through the North of Sicily by 
the low valley of Fiume Cantara, on the 
West from the hills of Cesarò and Contorbi 
by the Simeto, the largest river of Sicily: 
it is bounded on the East by the sea, and 
on the South by the plain of Catania. Its 
form is that of an obtuse cone, which, mga- 
sured from North to South, is twenty-six 
Italian, or six geographical miles, and from 
East to West twenty Italian, or five geogra- 
phical miles; and its elevation, in propor- 
tion to the longest diameter of its base, is 
as one to fourteen and a half, and to the 
shortest, as one to eleven. The plane sur- 
face is about twenty-three and a half square 
miles (German), and the whole surface is 
VOL. I. 
49 
. covered with pumice and ashes, with here 
and there volcanic tufa. Only in a few 
laces are some sand-stone hills, as at 
Bronte and Maletto, and some of clay near 
Catania, which form islands on the black 
sea of lava. 
Etna, in the opinion of Dr. Philippi, does 
not admit of more than three regions of 
vegetation. 
l. The cultivated region, extending from 
—3, eet. 
2. The woody region, from 3,300—6,200 
feet ; and " 
9. The alpine region, commencing at 6,200 
feet. And these nearly accord with the 
limits long marked by the inhabitants 
—Regione piedemontana, de Boschi, 
et discoperta. 
l. The cultivated region. This com- 
mences immediately with the sea-line, and 
reaches to an elevation of 3,300 feet, where 
the cultivation of the Vine ceases. It is 
this zone which has, from the oldest times, 
excited the astonishment of travellers by 
its uncommon fertility and beauty, particu- 
larly on the East and South sides of the 
mountain, where numerous towns and vil- 
lages and country houses lie embosomed in 
the midst of a most luxuriant vegetation. 
There Mascali, celebrated for its wine and 
almonds, is situated, and many other towns, 
among which Catania ranks as the most 
beautiful city in the South of Europe. 
Many tropical plants here flourish in the 
gardens as in their native country: the 
Pisang, Musa Paradisaica, ripens its fruit, 
and the Erythrina corallodendron, Hibis- 
cus mutabilis, Cassia biflora, Datura ar- 
borea, and Cesalpinia Sappan, are adorned 
with their large and lovely blossoms. The 
Date Palms, Phenix dactylifera, give to 
the scenery an African appearance; while 
the diced forms of the Cactusses, C. 
Opuntia and maxima, which latter attains 
a height of twelve feet, and the Agave 
Americana, which even in its third or 
fourth year throws up its colossal flower- 
stem, remind the traveller of tropical Ame- 
rica. At Palermo the mean temperature 
is 65° of Fahrenheit, or 14° of Reaumur. 
The greatest m of heat during twenty 
Mo. Dot. Garden, 
