370 VILLA PIUMA. 



long time and let our gaze wander over land and sea. 

 It is so quiet, so peaceful here. A fishing boat down 

 near the foot of the cliff is scarceh' rocked by the waves, 

 and in it the fisherman lies sleeping. A shoal of Dol- 

 phins sport in the sun-flecked water. Do the^' too know 

 that spring is near .'' 



The path leads along the steep slope towards the 

 point of the promontory. We are surrounded b}- the 

 fragrant Helichrysum (Kig. p. 227) and the spic^' scented 

 "Nasca" (Fig. p. 239). With these are the shin\- dark- 

 green leaves of another plant, quite as strongly perfumed, 

 the Psoralea bituuiiuosa (Fig. p. 355), also typical of the 

 flora here. Its peculiar aroma is like bituinen, as its 

 name, Pitch Clover, indicates. It opens its small, clover- 

 like flower-heads in June : the leaves, which closel}^ re- 

 semble those of our clovers, were tbrmerly sold together 

 with all other parts of the plant as "Folia trifolii bitumi- 

 nosi", and much used in medicine. 



We soon reach a saddle-shaped depression in the 

 ridge, from which, over the grey foRage of the Olives 

 and between C\'prcsscs and flowering Peach trees, ^ve 

 could see a part of Sestri Levante against the back- 

 ground of the Apennines. Numerous paths converge 

 here and lead in all directions over the promontor\', 

 intersecting here and there. \^"e are now in a splendid 

 natural Park, among representatives of the Mediterranean 

 tlora and with scarceh' a single foreign plant. Old Oak 

 trees and Pines rise above the Maquis. Here winter is 

 forgotten, for not a single bare tree top offends the eye. 

 The pure refreshing breeze from the sea sweeps along 



