MALTA AND SICILY. 
113 
irregularly-shaped inclosures, containing 
from one or two acres to half an acre, and 
frequently having no gate or doorway, so 
that the only means of entrance is by climb¬ 
ing over the low wall. In many of these 
fields there are large patches of bare rock, 
indeed, there appears to be but a very thin 
covering of soil in any part, and it is said, 
that a great deal of this has been brought 
over from Sicily and from the coast of Africa. 
But the inhabitants of this little freestone 
rock are most industrious cultivators of the 
soil, and raise crops of com and vegetables, 
which appear very green and flourishing, 
notwithstanding the small depth of earth in 
which they grow. In order to prevent this 
most precious soil from being washed away by 
the rain, on the sides of the hills the walls are 
placed so close together that the ground 
between them is entirely concealed from an 
i 
