MALTA AND SICILY. 
119 
field and by every roadside. There are 
also three or four pretty species of antirr¬ 
hinum and of orchis. We are very desirous 
of seeing the flowers of some plants which 
are not yet in blossom; among these are 
several thistles, marbled with white, and one 
with the leaves finely divided, like those of 
a fern; one or two sorts of iris ; an arum, 
with very large singularly-formed leaves, and 
the caper-plant. This last is common on 
the walls of the fortifications, and is not un¬ 
like the periwinkle in growth. 
Let me mention three more plants, and 
we will leave this subject for the present. 
The first is a very beautiful large yellow 
oxalis, which is sometimes cultivated in pots 
in England; the second, a fine deep crim¬ 
son vetch; and the third, a rough-leaved 
plant, with the flowers purple and yellow. 
At first I thought this was a species of com- 
