WkKIGHT—TOUR IN SICILY AND PORTUGAL. 299 
brought plants of it to Lucca ; there it grew well, but is somewhat 
intolerant of the early spring frosts, and only flowers quite sparingly. 
Leaving Naples, about 7 o clock in the evening, in one of Florio’s 
boats, we reached Messina at 1 o’clock the following day. A daily 
record of our doings in Sicily would be tedious, and it will suffice to 
state, that the first week was spent at Messina; one day we dredged, 
another day we walked to the mountains, or by the shore, with its groves 
of opuntia and large aloes, and thickets of tamarisk ; once we landed on 
the Calabrian coast, but, having great difficulty in getting to our boat 
again, as the custom officers insisted on putting us into quaran- 
tine, we never ventured to visit it a second time. Professor Seguenza 
was from home, so that we had not the pleasure of seeing him. Many 
interesting plants, Cytinus hypocistis, &c., were met with in the neigh- 
bourhood of Messina, but none that I do not find recorded as indigenous 
to the island, and large collections of insects were made. 
The wretched i inn at Giarre was reached on the evening of the 24th ; 
and early on the morning of the 25th we wandered up to the chestnut 
region, enjoying some most magnificent views of Mount Etna as we went 
along. The Chestnut Tree of a Hundred Horses was visited, and duly 
admired. Itook a photograph of the portions of this tree that are on 
the right-hand side of the road as you approach the tree, a third por- 
tion of large size still exists on the left-hand side, and by it I 
fixed my camera. As I cannot find that this remarkable tree— 
this Castagno di Cento Cavalli—has ever been figured, I here give 
a woodcut, by Mr. Hanlon, of the lower portion of its trunk, which is 
taken from my photograph. ‘The road from Giarre to this chestnut tree 
is steep and rugged, and some five miles from the town. I was obliged 
to carry my camera the greater part of the way, but atS. Alfio I secured 
VOL. V. 2R 
