Page:An Account of Corsica (1769).djvu/88

78 to which, he says, the pines of Latium were nothing at all. He also says, the trees were immensely thick here; his expression is very strong: Καì ὅλως πᾶσαν τὴν νῆσον δασεῖαν ϗ̀ ὥσπερ ἡγριωμένην τῇ ὕλη. 'The whole island seemed crouded and savage with woods.' He relates a strange tradition, that the Romans, who were struck with the vastness of these woods, built here a prodigious large ship, which carried no less than fifty sails, but was lost in the ocean. This authour gives another ancient testimony to the goodness of the climate, soil, and air of the island: Κύρνος μὲν οὖν εἴτε διὰ τὴν ἄνεσιν, εἴτε ϗ̀ τòν ἄερα πολὺ διαφέρει τῶν ἄλλων 'Corsica therefore, whether in respect of its temperate climate, or in respect of its soil, or of its air, greatly excelleth other countries.'

The different kinds of grain in Corsica, are wheat, barley, rye, and millet; all of which grow extremely well in several parts of the country. There are no oats here, as indeed hardly ever in any of the southern countries. They give their horses and mules barley. The millet is excellent in Corsica, and when mixed with rye, makes a