ons in stones and good in
everything."

A close inspection of Malta will undeceive any one as to its being a
sterile spot. Grapes, melons, figs, oranges,--almost equal to those of
Bahia, in Brazil,--lemons, peaches, apples, and pears, besides many
other kinds of fruits and berries, are raised here in abundance.
Gardening is brought to a high state of perfection; the closest
observation reveals no weeds. It is plain that the husbandmen are
familiar with toil and endurance. The small but prolific vineyards are
charming to look upon, though it must be admitted that the Maltese
grapes are not of the best sort for wine-making. The wine in common use
here is imported from Sicily and southern Italy. Comparatively little
fermented liquor of any sort is consumed by the natives. Grapes are
usually eaten in their natural condition, when sufficiently ripe, but
they are not so plentiful as to form a portion of the food supply of the
populace at certain seasons, as is the case in Switzerland and the south
of France. The blood orange is grown in the vicinity of Valletta in
great perfection, being propagated by grafting a slip of the ordinary
fruit tree upon a pomegranate stem. The color of the pulp of the fruit
thus produced inclines to that of the adopted tree; hence its expressive
name. This luscious orange, even in Malta, where it abounds, sells for a
higher price than the ordinary fruit. In Florida we have large and
productive orange groves, but they are the result of infinite care and
intelligent methods. Here in Malta the orange seems to grow after its
own sweet will, requiring but very little attention from the period of
the fragrant blossoms to that of the ripe and golden fruit. The
Mediterranean orange is not so large as the Florida product, but it is
of finer quality and rich in flavor, with a thin skin and an abundance
of juice. One other indigenous fruit should be mentioned. It is called
St. John's fig, because it is at its perfection on the anniversary of
the fete of that apostle as celebrated by the Romish church. Other
species of figs are grown upon these islands, but none equal to this.
The mingling of sexes is so important and so clearly defined a factor in
regard to the fruitfulness of the tree that the cultivators of the
fig-trees in Malta heed it as strictly as they would in the breeding of
favorite animals.

The staple product of the group is perhaps cotton, which is exported in
limited quantities, sufficient be