Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/362

340 MALTA some beds of marl and coral limestone, in many parts abounding in fossils. The surface of the country is diversified by valleys and steep hills; there is little water, and no river, brook, or lake exists on any of the islands. The highest point of Malta is near Casal Dingli, about 750 feet above the sea to the south; a little farther north lies the ancient capital, Citta Vecchia, upon another steep height ; west of these lies the range of Bingemma Hills running north-east to south-west ; from this higher ground the island slopes somewhat towards the north-west. On the west and south the cliffs rise sheer from the sea to a height of 300 or 400 feet ; on the north the rock in many places shelves to the water s edge, though the har bours of Valetta and the rocks where the apostle Paul was wrecked are an exception to this. At the east end is the large harbour Marsa Scirocco, into which the south-east sirocco blows with full force. The general appearance of the land is bare, owing to the want of woodland, and also to the use of stone walls as enclosures for the fields, which iu the east of the island are smaller than in the west. The dark foliage of the carob and the singular masses of the prickly pear are, however, very marked in the landscape, which with its contrasts of blue sea running into the brown and yellow land, heightened by whatever of green may be, is of fascinating beauty under the effects of morning light and setting sun. The land is closely cul tivated; often the soil is terraced on the sides of the hills as a safeguard against the winter rains. The soil is in many places extremely thin ; it is, however, so fertile that it produces two and sometimes three crops in a year. Large quantities of early potatoes grown for the English market, corn sufficient to supply the island for four months of the year, cotton, principally for home use, and a fine red-flowering clover, called sulla, are the chief crops ; excellent honey is obtained from Gozo ; oranges and figs come to great perfection. Goats abound, but few cows are kept ; the mules and asses are fine ; cattle and sheep for butcher meat are imported from Barbary. Fish is good and abundant. The flowers of Malta are famous ; Cicero mentions the cushions stuffed with roses used by Verres, and many a lovely garden is hidden behind the high stone walls. The interesting flora of the islands approaches that of Africa (to which continent the old geographers considered them to belong, as the French do still), including the palm, cactus, and other sub tropical plants. The scanty fauna is for the most part European ; the Maltese dog is mentioned by Strabo and other old writers ; a few still remain, though not wild. Of birds there are about ten or twelve indigenous species, but a large number of migratory birds pass or rest here. The marine plants and animals also offer a rich fund of material to the student. The winter climate is temperate and healthy, the ther mometer ranging from 51 to 71 Fahr. between October and May. In the summer months the heat is almost tropical ; from July to the end of October it ranges be tween 80 and 90. Snow is unknown, but hail occurs in winter, and much rain usually falls between December and February. The northerly winds are bracing, bub the south east wind, called the sirocco, which brings the warm air from the African deserts, and then takes up the salt sea mists, is very deleterious ; it occurs suddenly, chiefly in August and September, occasionally in the spring, and fortunately lasts usually but a few hours. The " gregale " ("eurokylon" of Acts xxvii. 14) is a strong north-east wind which occasionally blows in the winter months with great fury and force for two or three days together, espe cially in November and February, rendering it dangerous to cross the harbour, sometimes tearing up stone walls and landing-steps, and otherwise doing much damage. The Maltese are a strong well-formed race, the men dark, handsome, and lithe, the women with black eyes and fine hair and an easy carriage ; as in other Eastern nations, the working classes grow old at a comparatively early age. They are a cheerful, good-humoured, and industrious people, sober and abstemious, though quick-tempered and addicted to the use of the knife. Bread or pasta, with a few olives, a little oil, or milk cheese, forms the chief support of the poor, who seldom or never eat meat, and drink but little of the light wine of the country. The gentry have a large admixture of Spanish, Italian, and French, but among the people in general the Arab race and character predominate, influenced by contact with Sicily. Of the native language 70 per cent, consists of Arabic words, the rest being chiefly a corrupt Italian ; that spoken in Gozo is the purest Maltese. The festivals and ceremonials of the Roman Church are kept up to an extra ordinary degree, together with a few that seem to be derived from the Greek Church. The perpetual ringing of mono tonous church bells, and the peculiar method of striking time, are relics of South Italian customs. Malta is divided into twenty-six casals or village districts, Gozo into nine ; some of the villages are large and populous, each having its church, often large and handsome. Near the middle of the island, on sharply rising ground, stands the ancient capital, called Civitas Melita by the Romans and oldest writers, Medina (i.e., the city) by the Saracens, Notabile ("jocale notabile, et insigne corona regise," as it is called in a charter by Alphonso, 1428) under the Sicilian rule, and Citta Vecchia (old city) by the knights. The cathedral, overthrown by an earthquake in 1693, but rebuilt, stands on the reputed site of the house of Publius, Paul s friend ; many Maltese gentry live in this town, and the English utilize some of the buildings. The Roman remains and catacombs of Citta Vecchia must not be forgotten. Since 1570 the chief town has been Valetta, a city built on a ridge of rock (Mount Sceberras) which runs like a tongue into the middle of a bay, which it thus divides into two great harbours, subdivided again by three other peninsulas into creeks. On two of these peninsulas, and at their base, are built the aggre gate of towns called the Three Cities, part of which (grown up under the old Fort St Angelo) is much older than the coming of the knights, and is called Vittoriosa in commemoration of the siege of 1565. Valetta, includ ing the suburb Florian, is about 2 miles long and f mile wide ; Fort St Elmo, with a lighthouse, stands on the point ; the summer suburb Sliema lies on the point which encloses the west or Marsamusceit harbour ; Fort Ricasoli on the opposite point enclosing the east or grand harbour. The streets of Valetta, paved with stone, run along and across the ridge, and end on each side towards the water in steep flights of steps. Many of the houses, which are of stone throughout, with flat roofs, are large and luxuriously built; wooden covered balconies project from the windows and give a peculiar aspect to the streets. There are several fine public buildings, as the governor s palace, the new opera-house, the public library, the auberges or lodges of the knights, especially the Auberge de Castile, the English church built by Queen Adelaide and others. Roman Catholic churches in Valetta are very numerous : the cathedral of St John is famous for its rich inlaid marbles, its Brussels tapestries, its roof painted by Matteo Preti (1661-99), and the picture by Caravaggio, the Decollation of John the Baptist. The hospital of the knights contains one of the longest rooms in Europe, 503 feet in length, without a central support. The extensive bagnios under the rock, formerly occupied by the slaves of the knights, are now used for naval stores. The knights strengthened

Valetta and its harbours by bastions, curtain-walls, lines,