358 
THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST 
SCIENCE GOSSIP 
the 1st instant at 8.10. a. in., a strong shock 
of earthquake was felt at Catania, Belpasso, 
Viagraude, Braneavilla, Randazzo, Giarre, Acire- 
ale and Mines. At Nicolosi and Zaffarana consi- 
derable damage was done to house property, and 
a panic among the people followed. 
desire to draw the attention of our readers 
to several important changes which we 
propose to make in Volume III. Original articles 
will, in future, be published in either the Engi sh, 
French, or Italian languages. It is also our inten- 
tion to enlarge the journal and to publish it six 
times a year instead of twelve times as heretofore. 
Our next issue, which will commence Vol. Ill, 
will appear on June 1st. 1893. 
VJf.rH 1LE the netters, trappers, and other quasi- 
'' sportsmen are pursuing their nefarious 
designs against the bird-life of these islands insect 
life rapidly increases apace, and already loud and 
bitter complaints are being made about the damage 
which the extraordinary abundance of slugs, snails 
et hoc genus omne is causing among the agricultu- 
ral produce of the islands. 
nPHE orange-grower in particular has now one 
more foe to add to the already large number 
which assails his interest. From observations 
made by Professor N. Tagliaferro in a number of 
gardens at Musta it appears that the orange crop 
is likely to be considerably diminished this season 
owing to the damage which has been wrought 
among the fruit by the snail Helix aspefsa. And 
who is there that will now defend the slaughter 
of our feathered friends, and assert that insecti- 
vorous birds are not required in the Maltese 
Islands! 
A N Austrian physician named Dr. Fere read a 
paper before the Entomological Society of 
France about two years ago in which he prtipounded 
the remarkable theory that those persons who had 
been stung by bees enjoyed an immunity from the 
effects of bee-stings for periods of varying lengths; 
and, that the yin us of the btc-siing was an infallible 
remedy for acute rheumatism. 
GjptHS theory has received most unquestionable 
confirmation from the practices of the country 
people in Malta. Great quantities uf sulla ( Coro- 
nal ium hedysarium ) are grown in the islands; and 
as the bees are particularly fond of it. and it 
imparts to the honey that delicious flavour for 
which the Malta honey has so enviable a re; uta- 
tion, the Maltese countryman invariably has one 
or more hives in the vicinity of his clover fields. 
Bees are therefore plentiful in the Gland. The 
virtue of the bee sting as a cure for rheumatism 
has long been established in the island and it has 
been a common practice for generations past to 
resort to this primitive method of inoculation in 
ail severe cases, and, as the patients a^er, with 
most favourable results. 
XTFE would again invite the attention Me.ii- 
* ™ terranean Naturalists to that very valuable 
review of Italian geological science widen 1- issued 
under the joint editorship of Messrs Vi. G ennui rti 
and A.Tellini. This, the fifth number of the "11 is- 
segna della scienze gecdogiche in Italia" is, in no 
respects, less interesting or less useful than its 
predecessors. 
TT HE RE are about six species of fig' grown in 
-**- the Maltese Islands the smallest but most 
luscious of which ripens during the month of June 
and is known among the country people as "St. 
John’s fig.” 
All of the species are small but they are quite 
equal in flavour to any of the species which gi \v 
in other countries around the Mediterranean. 
The methods of caprif cation practised by the 
Maltese country people are curious and instruc- 
tive. About the month of November the fruit of 
the wild fig known as “barm" begins to grow as 
soon as the leaves of the tree fall. It is not edible, 
and it is therefore left on the tree until the com- 
mencement of spring when another crop of tigs 
known as “ dukkara" appears on the same tree. 
The blastophagus from the "harm" then fertilizes 
the "dukkara 1 . In the month of May the "dukkara 
are gathered from the tree and are tied by means 
of string to the branches of the domesticated tig 
trees. The processes of eapri Scat ion then rapidly 
proceeds and the tigs reach maturity in about two 
weeks. 
r PHE remarkable observation has been made 
that the most civilized of ancient races lived 
in dry districts. Prof. Hilgard attributes this to 
the fact that necessary mineral plant-food is much 
