38 
THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST 
“Traced in a map, the landscape lies, 
In cultured beauty stretching wide." 
saries of life as will suffice for the support of 
himself and of his family. 
Were it not for this intervention,, the surface 
strata of the Maltese beds would not long 
resist the perpetual wear and tear; but here 
it is that the beneficent wisdom of the Creator 
is shown. 
The forces of Nature are so distributed, that 
they often render their own efforts abortive; 
and by acting in antagonism, the one neutra- 
lizes the effects of the other. 
The subcerial forces act upon the rock-sur- 
faces and in course of time they convert the 
superficial areas into soil. The rains of winter | 
then wash this away, and thus new surfaces 
are presented to be acted upon in precisely 
the same manner as the former had been. Here 
the husbandman steps in, and by means of 
artificial contrivances, he diverts the drainage, 
tills and protects the newly-formeci soil, and 
sow T s the seed which is to bring forth the 
future crop. 
The rootlets disseminate themselves through- 
out the mass, and by firmly binding it together, 
they form a covering for the underlying rock 
which effectually resists any further denudation. 
It is by the instrumentality of processes 
such as these that the islands have been made 
to assume their present aspect; and were it 
not for them, many of the most fertile valleys 
of the islands would be rendered quite barren, 
while others would lose such a large propor- 
tion of the soil that is annually being formed 
by the waste of the surrounding rocks, as to 
cause them to become much less product- 
ive than they now are. 
The Binjemma plateau, which is situated to 
the south-west of Malta, is intersected by 
numerous valleys and gorges all of which 
furnish innumerable instances of the conserva- 
tive, and destructive effects of Nature’s handi 
work. 
Of these Boschetto, Emtahlep, and St. Pauls 
valley will perhaps afford the geologist some 
of the best opportunities for the study of this 
phase of the geological history of the islands. 
Boschetto lies about two miles to the south 
of Citta Yecchia, and is much resorted to on 
account of its varied and interesting scenery. 
while Emtahlep, with its rippling springs, its 
orchards, and its verdure covered slopes is 
situated about three miles to the west of the 
city. Water is found there in great abundance, 
but, owing to the numerous faulting* in t ie 
strata, much of it finds its way into the fis- 
sures, and from thence into the sea. 
In Gozo, there are a large number of similar 
valleys, chief among which are Bamla and 
Marsa-el-Foru; but though they offer special 
attractions to the botanist and the entomolo- 
gist, yet they cannot be recommended to the 
geologist, as the outcrops of the beds are in- 
variably masked with taluses, that have resulted 
from the degradation of the superincumbent 
strata, and therefore the work of examination 
is rendered both tedious and uncertain. 
These fertile valleys always occur whereevcr 
the upper beds (1) crop out. In the Lower 
Coralline Limestone districts, however, sterile, 
rocky gorges take their place, and they are 
generally found either to abut on the coast, 
or else to occupy the low-lying lands in the 
vicinity of the sea. 
The most typical of this class are Dueira 
in Gozo, and Uied-el-Asel in Malta, the water 
worn sides of both of which, attest to the 
presence of the waters of the sea at a com- 
paratively recent date, when probably they 
formed harbours, similar to those existing on 
the eastern coast at the present time. The 
abrupt termination of the Gargur, and the 
Musta gorges are strikingly analagous to the 
mouths of the Grand and of the Marsamuscetto 
harbours. 
A depression of a few feet would again 
submerge a considerable portion of the northern 
part of Malta, and would be the means of 
refilling many of the ancient creeks and har- 
bours of the islands. 
Thus, such a depression would, by filling the 
valleys of Tal Puales and St. Pauls cause a 
considerable extension of Melleha Bay, and 
St. Paul’s bay. 
(1) Beds /, //, III dc IV. Med . Nat. Vol. I 
No, d 
