Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-02
WAKEMAN'S TRAVELS.
Malta Transformed From q Barren
Rock to a Tropical Garden.
SOME PECULIAR LAND-MAKING
Infinite Patience Displayed in Husbandry
by the Natives.
PEASANT HOMES AND ENVIRONMENT

6ohar fo1k of the driatic and eveu With
. - .s r,;a",... oe VT" =.
'ne ialr oomes anu lninaie'S u senioo ~
sie~ aoioS' 'no op"Ane .'es. ~ .no n''.-
ing lagoons, tne peaSansiy VI Alai'a are. 10
my eyes, set In 1alr ana sunny perspective.
They are thrifty and virtuous; loyal and
loving; kindly and pious; patient and good.
There is not a land under the sun where
,.t,,-.I conditions bono boan an h-ovol,,
n"'ui"- eo H.,,,N 49,.
overcome anu "ne,e olisAna sterin.y mas
oeen SO transformed lnto permanent Irult-
fulness and lu1uriance. Nearly the entire
face of Malta was originally barren desert
rock. Save upon a minor portion of its
,vos+ern s,one and within the tinv oardena
of tha r;cb wben Charles Y oave II to tbs
Kn;gbts of ST :Tobn there was not natural
so;1 enongb mon The island in which to
burv The dead
Perhans that NAV account for NAL.
ta's thousands of rock.bewn tombs found in
ca+aconbs heneath towns ont in ali sccessi-
bIe roctW iedoes and nro;sctions or svsn
snnk in surface levels as have fonnd them
And vet TODAY there is much aptitude in
stone ;s The F;ore Jai Monde or seFiower of
the World., for IL actnaliv snnnort, fron
the nrodncts of the soil n nossesses a
Greater nonn1ation in nronortian to its In
sipnifcant area than can elsewhere he found
ontside of China and Janan
. :. go. D..
"orA o. Tfe"' a.,onoe' .
Inc accretlon OF tn1s SOIL curing tne sou
years between tne arrival OF the hnights
ana tne present day mas peen WORE OF con-
servatlon OF trlnes ma!es1ic IN lts mIser!i-
ness ana Patlence' ana Is Wltnout paraliel IN
ecohomlc nlssoiy. Ine , lncorrecs seatemsnt s
nas peen maue tnat Maita eatire SOL e:.:, mas
Seen orcugnt IN snIp-icads rom Slcliy.
! Soe ~ is mas pg1n H nus :. nas oeen ts eIieny
TI'" TFougis ,ao al quarters % % tne Eo21 SlJoe
The she'll of .an GOO fbe cbaff nactino, of
merchandise. the entrails of fish. the sWeen-
ings of ships' decks and debris from their
holds even the exuva of birds. are all
treasured. and these in other land. inf
nitelv little and desn;sed things with tn.
curious method of wear by wear creating.
literally creating rod bv rod a tinv addi-
verv rock of the islands face has at last
given Malta it's snIendid luxuriance.
SinpuIarIv too il is nracticalIv all hid
den from sioht You can find Il hut Won
cannot see il in the general view. There are
few noints in the entire island where from
the highways your ewes can rest upon any-
thing but rock. The road before Won. the
walls beside Won. the house walls and roofs
wherever discernible- are ali of stone
There are nlaces in Cornwall where for a
thousand wears. the earth has been disem-
boweIed for tin. and every brospect is upon
ridges of stone, blanched mine refuse and
unfurned rock often tboupht of this a.,
tramned along the Maltese biohwavs
snroinc sea had suddenly been trans formed
hv n,ironia of -,.tr;fao ot;o,, IT. r;dna. onJ
dikes of nale saffronv stone The clare of a
midsummer snn mon snch a landxcane or
rockscane mnst he binding Indeed.
!ncessant LABOR OF the feasantrE
This has all come about In the terraclng
ana dlklng OF the uneven surface OF the
island, through the INFINITE patience and
iaoor OF 'tne Maltese Peasantry since the
hnignts WIN the MONKS OF tnelr Time
taught them now oil might De made to
now from rocks and money sucked from the
very stone, as nave heard them tell In
theii ~ aimEs. piaintiire AiaD onants, wHIcn
r. daH aos.d aa :; an anu t
Nine.tenths of ali the cultivated land. in
Malta have been made bv actnaliv hr.aI;na
mn With ,,iokoIas +hs sn.fo ~ 40 of n. rool IS
II. dantb of na.r1,, .e +mo faot Tau.iinr r ~
NJ ny III " no ~; wv i., ~, ..ns ~
- -
III. oo ~ pUs;u so,s "na of
pu' pud enarth; u Is; Nv WI 80 81 eli
rh;nb ha. for 1onrr ~ haen sor.nod -
rathar ,.,,, aaa ~. t..a.n.a M ".ai,Dt .h;s .t ";
~.st ~ -. - S 81 ~ '-.s 80 -.
~. ~ u I.:l 80 Wv f' f.,E
~ ~ is Snus .eeem anu h"Ao d'ai"oie
'no'He. n. a., nan, VI lour.n, or seh.n VI an
VI az sne pnouJes' I dos VI ;s s.S iuai'1se pes
,;s oh;IJ.,, M ~ D %;, AesS ;,pai. pi NJ .e,
! ms 80, s o,.n. IL. ~ LIS, - ia,d ' p'"'"n'
- Mo1a;.. III WIS n.s o"I laIu am
,raiiu % niss. as I. a. Inuei . .s snol', gen-
"S ,na & no ca ,oo ea, So Ius snels ae
,;r4I VI ~ anu iVU years leases, glvtng
ri'ual omneIsnip; anese tlny'Maltese iarms
;re very smail. lew eT eonPrisE M as many as
,.e no',, salinas, =. aoous =. a.ie thT mosI arc
lom que W 'niee. salinas. anu KNOW Oh
nany Win ho MoIe snau three mohuelu 1r
ss rl .nsn 1u =. al aoie 1ano ~ each
- nc ien.ais .oi SnIse' WIN al repairs anu
improvements az tne cess Sao OF tne peasant
en"n'' i"nse iioni ~ W S-o per acre
Snug and Picturesque homes.
If the PEASANTS holding is little and pict-
lresque in its grouping of craggy terraces,
lis home and belongings are indeed snug
md picturesque. There is not squalid, |
poorly built rustlc's abode upon the island.
f it be scarcely larger than a sentry-box,
he walls will be. of stone, which is SO soft |
le can chop it out of the lodges with an ak,
fter which it hardens by exposure. I have /
cen some roofs Of solid rock in thick fiat
labs, but most are plastered with pozzalana,
nd all are huge and fiat.
These structures are usually very low, oc-
asionally two low stories, but oftener one,
nd always after the Moorish style of ex-
ending four, or at least three, sides around
t.