WRIGHT—TOUR IN SICILY AND PORTUGAL. 303 
then a wondrous shadow of the mountain, thrown out as it were on a 
sea of haze—then this disappeared, and we gazed on the wondrous 
panorama and on the island of Sicily, as it lay at our feet in the sea. 
Descending, we got to the Casa for breakfast at half-past five, left it at 
half-past six, stopped at Nicolosi, to report ourselves to Sig. Gem- 
mellaro, who gave me a letter to Sir Charles Lyell, asking him to pro- 
mote a subscription among the members of the British Association to 
repair the roof of the Casa, which letter I handed to Sir Charles Lyell, 
on the 21st of August following, at Norwich. The amount needed was 
£15, and towardsit both Mr. A. H. Haliday and myself contributed on 
thespot. We reached Catania early the same evening. 
We left Catania on the 9th, by steamer, at 11 o’clock, and reached 
Syracuse by three; here we stopped a week. The first two days were 
spent dredging in the bay, and many good things were found. On the 
12th we rowed up the rivulet, which flows from the fountain of Cyane. 
The banks, for the distance of about three miles, are lined with the 
papyrus, which is here quite naturalized. 
Tempting though the theme be, I must not delay to say a word 
about the glorious ‘‘ dark blue spring’’ which is certainly the most 
striking natural object about Syracuse. Along the banks I made a 
collection of the dragon flies which were fluttering about; and for the 
following list I am indebted to my friend, Mr. R. M‘Lachlan:— 
List oF LIBELLULIDS®. 
Inbellula erythrea. Brullé. 
L. fulva. Miiller. 
L. coerulescens. F. 
L. meridionalis. Selys. 
L. striolata. Charp. 
Gomphus forcipatus. Selys. 
Calepteryx hemorrhoidalis. Vand d. Lind. 
Agrion tenellum. Villers. 
A. puella. IL. 
Another day we made a long excursion up the River Anapus, 
driving to Floridia. Mr. Murray’s Handbook had so overpraised 
the Locanda del Sole at Syracuse, that 1 was somewhat out 
of conceit with its praises; but it does nought but justice to the 
glorious valley of the Anapus, when it says ‘‘a more exquisite 
ravine scenery, more beautiful or varied combinations of rock, 
water, and mountain, richer studies of form and colour, are hardly 
to be conceived, than are to be found in this valley.”” The banks were 
fringed with oleander, which was now in its brightest bloom; and here 
and there were magnificent trees of the Oriental plane. In this valley 
a few additions were made to my collection of coleoptera. For the fol- 
lowing list of the specimens taken by me in this tour, I am indebted to 
my friend Mr. W. H. Bates :— 
