e are
nearer to the crater than 9-1/4 miles. Taking the inhabitants as
300,000, we find, by dividing this number by 211, (the area of the
habitable zone), that the population amounts to 1,424 per square mile.
Even Lancashire, the most populous county in Great Britain, (of course
excepting Middlesex), and the possessor of two cities, which alone
furnish more than a million inhabitants, has a population of only 1,479
to the square mile.

Some idea of the closeness of the towns and villages may be found by
examining the south-east corner of the map. If we draw a line from Aci
Reale to Nicolosi, and from Nicolosi to Catania, we enclose a nearly
equilateral triangle, having the coast line between Aci Reale and
Catania as its third side.

Starting from Aci Reale with 24,151 inhabitants, and moving westwards to
Nicolosi, we come in succession to Aci S. Lucia, Aci Catena, Aci S.
Antonio, Via Grande, Tre Castagni, Pedara, Nicolosi, completing the
first side of the triangle; then turning to the south-east and following
the Catania road, we pass Torre di Grifo, Mascalucia, Gravina, and reach
Catania with 85,055 inhabitants; while on the line of coast between
Catania and Aci Reale we have Ognina, Aci Castello, and Trezza. Within
the triangle we find Aci Patane, Aci S. Filippo, Valverde, Bonacorsi, S.
Gregorio, Tremestieri, Piano, S. Agata, Trappeto, and S. Giovanni la
Punta: in all twenty-five, two of which are cities, several of the
others towns of about 3,000 inhabitants, and the rest villages. These
are all included within an area of less than thirty square miles, which
constitutes the most populous portion of the habitable zone of Etna.

That the population is rapidly increasing is well shown by a comparison
of the number of inhabitants of some of the more important towns in 1824
and in 1876.[15]

_1824_ _1876_

Catania 45,081 85,055
Aci Reale 14,094 24,151
Giarre 13,705 17,965
Paterno 9,808 16,512
Aderno 6,623 15,657
Bronte 9,153 15,081
Biancavilla 5,870 13,261
Linguaglossa 2,415 9,120
Randazzo 4,700 8,378
Piedimonte Etnea 1,404 4,924
Zaffarana Etnea 700 3,884
Pedara 2,068 3,181
Trecastagni 2,406 3,061

[15] I am indebted for these figures to Mr. George Dennis, H.M. Consul
General for Sicily.

The general aspect of Etna is