Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-01-17
gardens of the wealthy Maltese, but in

gardens of the wealthy Maltese, but in
| such enclosures oranges. lemons, figs,
| pomegranates and dry apples flourish.
The potatoes raised in the island are of
the best, and its string beans, peas and
beets are not surpassed anywhere
Olives do well here and grow wild. In
short, it is a climate most favorable for
We etables and semi-tropical fruits and
flowers. The pumpkins are high in
color but low in taste. A sawdust pud-
ding would be as palatable as Maltese
pumpkin pie. The t'fields'' of the NAL
tese peasant are inclosed in stone walls
and will not average more than half an
acre each. Two-thirds of the surface of
Malta is rock. and the soil of these fields
has mostly been ''made." 1t takes a
mans lifetime to change a rock floor
| into fertile ''farm," but the Maltese
are patient and Industrious. They love
| their island. They affectionately call
| World; but to the naked eye of the trav-
eler the appropriateness of the term is
| not apparent.
When I first came here the dreary
grayncss of the barren landscape, the
burnt yellow soil, the intense white and
t;resome yellow of the low, unlovely
houses, the scanty foliage and the i'm
prisoning sea surrounding it all gave
me feeling of loneliness and home
Sickness. to which / succumbed at once
and went to bed til the heartache. I
thought of certain placid lake girdled
by eyergreens, through which in the
dreamy Indian summer time all the
possibilities of glowing colors were
sprinkled in profusion. and the heart
less landscapes of my island abode was
blotted out of sight by tears. Bpt soon
got to know that Malta was not devoid
OF beauty-a beauty peculiarly its own.
1t has an atmosphere of color that max, s
an impression deeper than that of form,
and the very scenes that first repealed
me soon assumed a fairness and vivid
ness that won my warm admiral on. 1t
was an honest victory for Malta. In
spite of myself, against my will, have
come to feel and appreciate the Lowell
ness that rests on rock and sea, in sky
and air and climate. l never tire OF the
sunsets and twilights. And | have
found life and health and hope here,
and. therefore, there is warm enthu-
siasm in my tone when say, .'Viva
Maltar'
These islands once formed part of
much larger tract of land and probably
belonged to Africa or Eur pc, perhaps
both. 1t is evident that Malta has
diminished in size during the h storic
period. On the southern shore are 10
be seen cart tracks which abruptly end
at the very edge of cliff eighty feet
high. Similar ruts are elsewhere found
throughout the island. Volcanic action.
doubtless, has submerged the country
that once made Malta part of main
land. One writer claims Malta to be a
bit of the classic Island of Atlantis. Its
known history is classic enough for or
binary purposes. Its first inhabitants
(of which there is any reeord) were the
giants who dared to war with Jupiter.
Homer says these first gigantic inhab-
itants (Cyclops) were named Phpacians,
and called the island Hyperia. Calypso
the fascinating nymph-had a resi-
dence here in which she entertained
Ulysses on his return fiom the siege of
Troy, while his wife Penelope was wait
ing for him at home engaged in plain
needlework and shirt-making. / called
at Calypso's ''residence" one day, but
she was out. She lived in a wet cave
Cor. n. Y. Tribune.