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of it exhibit ; tnoiir-1i othor parts arc \v]iitc, ar'd others 

 yellow, bKic, and green, witii ilificrcnt iViadcs and mixtures. 

 All thcfc parts, fays the Abbe, are found in a (late more or 

 lefs decompofed ; and in general, they are only fcorix ; tlie 

 colours are produced by iron, changed or modified by acids. 

 Of thefe fcorloE, fwme have not been afleifli-d bv acids ; and 

 they are covered with a thin pellucid coat of glafs, juft as 

 if a Iheet of water had been thrown over them, and Inddenly 

 frozen. This phenomenon is remarkable at ^tna, bccaule 

 ■■\vc there meet with no vitrifications. 



M. Houel went down into one of the openings of this' 

 mountain with torches, but could not reach the bottom, 

 and was obliged foon to return on account of the extreme 

 cold. The crater is of an oval form, and the opening 

 through which he defcendcd was in one extremity ; but lie 

 inchned to tliink tiiat the crater whicli rifes above it had 

 been formed of matter difcharged by anotlicr mouth ; or 

 perliaps it might have had a more -eentncal opening, 

 through which the itones, fand, 5cc. that form the crater, 

 were difcharged. This mountain is one of the mouths :>[ 

 ./Etna, through which it difchargcs, from time to time, 

 great quantities of lava, fa!id, adies, &c. The fides of the 

 cratei-s are not all of tlic fame height ; thofe to the eafl and 

 weft are confiderably higher than the intermediate fummits, 

 becaufe the currents of the afhes pafled alternately from 

 eaft to welt, and fell upon thefe fides in greater quantities 

 than upon the ithers ; which circumilance has given to this 

 volcano the appearance of two fummits. 



St.jV/Vfo/o tlell'Areiui, in the ncigliboiirhood of this m-cun- 

 tain, is an agreeable reiling-place for travellers who vifit 

 .^tna. This is an ancient edifice, foimded on the lava, and 

 was formerly the habitation of a number of Benedictine 

 monks, who, about 200 years ago were obliged, on account 

 of the devaftations occafioned by the lava to abandon it, 

 and retire to Catania. Here are many infcriptions, which 

 record the ruinous eartliquakes, torrents of lava, and fliowers 

 of fand and allies by which it has been damaged and even 

 deftroyed, together with the dates of their dift'erent repairs. 

 The black fand, thrown up in 1669, is more eafily clianged 

 into vegetable earth than the lava ; and has for many 

 years been planted with extenfive vineyards : whilft there 

 are many beds of ancient lava that remain in an unproduc- 

 tive ftate, and deftitute of every kind of vegctalile. 



At a fmall diilance there is another mountain, called 

 Alontpelitri, or Monpileri (fee letter G.). This is of a fpheri- 

 cal form, and its perpendicular height does not exceed 300 

 feet, and its circuit is about a mile. It is pcrfecfly regu- 

 lar on every iide, and richly overfpread with fruits • and 

 flowers. Its crater is large in proportion to the mountain 

 itfelf, and is as'exaftly hollowed out as the beft made 

 bowl. This mountain v.'as formed by the firll eruption 

 that deftroyed the ancient hybla, which v.'as celebrated for 

 its fertihty, and particularly for its honey, and thence called 

 3'Iel Pi^lJi ; thus, in confequence of being reduced by feve- 

 ral eruptions, and more particularly by that of 1669, to a 

 Hate of wretched ilerility, it obtained the contemptuous ap- 

 pellation of I;Lil Pa'fl. The lava, however, in its courfe over 

 this beautiful country, has left feveral httle iflands or hillocks, 

 which exhibit a firgular appearance, with all the bloom of the 

 moil luxuriant vegetation, encompalled and retidercd almoll 

 inacceffible by large fields of black and rugged lava. 



About three miles above San N'lccolo deW Arena, the 

 lower region of jEtna terminates, and the middle region 

 begins. This is called the Reg'wne Sylvofa, the woody re- 

 gion, or the temperate zone ; and extends from eight to ten 

 miles in a dire£l hue towards the top of the mountain. Its 

 circumference is eiliniated by Rtcupero at 70 or 80 miles; 



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and it comprchcr.ds a furfacc of about 40 or 45 fquare 

 leagues. It forms a zone of the brighteft green all around 

 the mountain ; which cxliihits a plealing contrail to tlic 

 white and hoary head of this venerable mountain, and 

 it is called the woody region, becaufe it abounds with oaks, 

 beeches, firs, and pines. The foil is a vegetable laith, ge- 

 ner.iled by the deoompofition ot the lai-a, and limilar to jiiit 

 in the lower region. " As foon as we entered tliele de- 

 lightful forefts, fays Mr. Brydone, wc feemed to have got 

 into another world. I'he air, which was before fultrv- and 

 iiot, was now cool a:.d rcfreiliing ; and every bree/e was 

 loaded with a thoufaiul perfumes ; the whole ground being 

 covered o\'cr with the riehtft aromatic plants. Many parts 

 of this region are really the moll heavenly fpots upon earth ; 

 and if .'Ltna relcmbles hell within, it may with equal juilicc 

 be faid to refemble Paradife without. Here, lie fays, you 

 gather the inoft delicious fruit, rifing from what was lately 

 a black and barren rock. Here the ground is covered with 

 every flower, and we wander over theie beauties and contem- 

 plate this wildernefs of fweets, without tronfidering that hell, 

 with all its terrors, is immediately under our tect ; and lliat 

 a few yards feparate us from lakes of liquid fire and brim- 

 Hone." " Thefe majellic forefts of jEtnn, fays Mr. Houel, 

 afford a fingular fpeftaclc, and bear no refcmblance to thofe 

 of other countries. Their verdure is more lively, and llie 

 trees of which they confill are of greater height." Thefe 

 advantages they owe to the foil on which they grow, which 

 is peculiarly favourable to luxuriant vegetation. The haw- 

 thorn trees are of an immenfe fize. The beeches appear 

 hke fo many ramified pillars, and the tufted branches of the 

 oak, like clofe bufhes, impenetrable to the rays of the fun. 

 The appearance of ihe woods in general is exceedingly piiilur- 

 efque, not only on account of the number and variety of 

 the trees, but from the iuequality of the ground, which 

 exhibits them like the ranges of an amphitheatre one above 

 another. The call fide of the woody region abounds v.ith 

 chefnut trees of an extraordinary fize. Thefe are cultivated 

 by the inhabitants with particular attention ; and as they 

 are wrought into hoops for caflcs, they yield a profitable 

 article of trade. But the mod remarkable of thefe trees is 

 the Cdjlagno ill cento Cavalli, or the chefnut tree of an hun- 

 dred horfe ; fo called, becaufe it is fuppofed to be capable 

 of flieltering an hundred horfes under the canopy of its 

 boughs. Fabulous report deduces its name from the fol- 

 lowing circumrtance. Jean of AiTagon, during her Hay in 

 Sicily, whilft (he was travelling from Spain to Naples, vifited 

 Mount /Etna, and was attended by her principal nobility : 

 but being overtaken by a ftorm, all of them found Ihelte'r 

 under this tree. It (lands upon^a rifing ground, and is 

 fiirrounded by an open pafturc, which is bounded by woods 

 and vineyards. Its height has of late been much diminifhed 

 by lopping its brandies, partly under a notion of increafing 

 its fruitfulnefs, but principally, perhaps, for obtaining a flip- 

 ply of fuel. Some have fuppofed that it was merely a buih. 

 or clump of feveral trees united. But Recupero, and Swin- 

 burne inform us, that upon digging round it they found all 

 the ilems united in one root, or body, at a very fmall depth 

 under ground. Of this trunk five divifions are formed, 

 each of which fends forth enormous branches. The ex- 

 terior furface of thefe divifions is covered with bark, but 

 on the infide there is none ; the fubliftence and verdure of 

 the tree depending upon the external bark. The intervals 

 are of different extent : one of them is wide enough for 

 two coaches to drive abreall. In the middle cavity, or the 

 part that is denominated the hollow of the tree, a hut is 

 built for the habitation and ufc of thofe who collect luij 

 prefcrve its fruit, «nd who dry the nuts in an oven, .-tiid 



^re^iurc 



