IN THE ISLAND OF CORSICA. 389 



almoft feem as if the political intereft of France made 

 the keeping of it indifpenfably necefTary, were it only 

 to prevent other nations from making their ufes of it. 

 Confequently, the little produce of the illand does not 

 come into the account ; which, in proportion to its 

 magnitude, is but very moderate. I will fpecify its 

 productions according to the provinces, beginning 

 from the fouthern promontory. 



The cape Corfo produces wine : but to that fole article 

 its whole produce is confined* It would be well if the 

 vine plants and the grapes were better cultivated and 

 managed. At prefent none can be exported but what are 

 firft boiled. This branch of commerce is moderate. 

 Cape Corfo has neither woods nor mulberry-trees, few 

 olive-trees, but little corn, and chefnuts almoft none at 

 all. The foil of this province is dry and bare. It 

 yields gold, iilver, copper, lead, markaffites, roch-al- 

 lum, antimony, loadftone, and marble. They colledl 

 the leaves of the bufhes which they fell in bread to the 

 Genoefe for curing their raw hides. This traffic 

 Jiowever is no great matter. 



The province of Baftia is better cultivated ; it has corn, 

 wine, flax, olives, mulberry and other fruit trees, but 

 efpecially chefnut-trees in abundance in the diftrict of 

 Ampugnani. Touch-Hone is found in the river Gelo, 

 which is dry in fummer, and roch-allum in la Cazinca, 

 a little territory bordering on the province Aleria. 



Aleria would be the be ft province of the illand, if the 

 air were but wholefomer. The foil is deep and fertile. 

 The fea-flime has manured it, and it bears excellent 

 wheat. But all that lies to the fea is fwampy, and there 

 ar.ifes fuch a peftilential vapour, particularly in June, 



c c 3 July, 



