In the Appennines, the wild boar is sufficiently common, and is hunted with one lurcher and two or three mastiffs, the huntsman keeping on horseback. and being armed with a lance and pistols. In Puglia, stags are numerous, par ticularly in the royal forests. The marmot and the ibex are also reckoned among the wild animals of the Ap permutes ; and the crested porcupine is supposed to be pe culiar to the south.ol Italy. Dormice, which, in the times of ancient Rome, were kept in warrens, and fattened for the tables of the epicures, are still accounted delicate game in the southern districts, and are u,tight with sheep hooks, after being smoked out of their nests in hollow trees. But the most remarkable of the wild animals of Italy is the lynx, or tyger-cat, which is most frequent in the mountains uI Abruzzo, and is-peculiarly fierce, swirl, and subtilc. It is from 18 to 20 inches high, and above 25 inches in length to the root of the tail ; of a whitish colour, with yellow spots like stars; with soft short hair, and a large head like that of a tyger. All its motions and greatly resemble those of a cat, and, when taken young, it is easily domes ticated.
Among the most curious of the feathered race in this country may be mentioned, the little falcon of Malta, the certhia muraria, the turdus roseus, the cyanus, and the alauda spinoletta. All kinds of wild fowl, usually denomi nated game, arc very abundant ; particularly ducks and snipes, which frequent the marshy tracks. Great quanti ties of quails and stock-doves are taken by means of nets placed across the defiles, through which they pass in their annual flights. Of the former, 60,000 are said to be taken annually in the island of Capri alone.
Snakes, and particularly asps, are very frequent in many of the southern provinces, and the latter abound chiefly on such of the calcareous mountains as are covered with fra grant aromatics. The lacerta orbicularia is considered as peculiar to the kingdom of Naples. Toe meloe uckorii is found in astonishing quantities in the vicinity of Supersano, in the province of Otranto; and the liquor pressed from them is often employed as an escarotic in removing warts, and as a substitute for the common blistering fly. The fa mous tarantula spider is an inhabitant of the Tar entine fields ; hut its bite has not been found, on experiment, to produce the effects ascribed to it.* The finny tribe, which frequent the coast of Italy, are extremely numerous and the fisheries, particularly on the southern shores, furnish a great proportion of the food of the inhabitants. The people of Taranto may be said to depend entirely on their fisheries, and pay immense sums annually to the crown, and to private persons, for the right of fishing : The most remarkable and productive of the Italian fish eries is that of the tunny, which enters the Mediterranean about the vernal equinox, and, steering along the European shores, repair to the seas of Greece to deposit their spawn, returning in May in a direction which brings them nearer the African coast. About that time, they abound on the
southern shore of Italy, and, in autumn, steer northward to Amalfi and Naples ; but stragglers are occasionally caught through the whole year. They are taken by nets, spread over a large space of sea, (by means of cahles fastentd to anchors.) and divided into several compartments; the en trance being always directed towards that pail of the water from which the fish are expected to come. A man, placed on the summit of a high rock, gives the signal of their ap proach, which is more easily perceived, as they proceed in large shoals, shaped like a pyramid, having the base direct ed to the tide or current, which enables them to swim with extraordinary velocity. As soon as the shoal has pene trated to the inner compartment, the passage is closed, and the slaughter commences. The quantity of this fish con sumed annually in the two Sicilies is said to exceed all calculation. From the beginning of May to the end of Oct o. ber, they are eaten fresh, and used in a salted state all tile rest of the year. The sword-fish and the pelamides are also taken in considerable quantities, the former by boats, provided with harpooners, and the latter by nets. Many of the smaller fish are taken by night-nets, of a very sim ple construction, being nothing more than baskets made of the twisted branches of the myrtle.
Shell fish are, if possible, still more various and abun dant; of which a hundred different kinds have been enu merated in the Mare Piccolo alone.* Of these the mus cles and oysters are the most valuable. The velvet muscle, or Cozza nera, as it is called by the Italians, is universally esteemed for its delicacy, and nearly 10,000 cantara of them are said to be annually taken in the Mare Piccolo, into which they are carefully transplanted in beds; and poles being driven into the sand, are afterwards drawn up With the fish adhering to them. The oysters of Taranto are considered as the most excellent in Europe ; and, dur ing the winter season, (in which alone it is allowed to take them,) are sent in large hampers overland to Naples. The scallop also is very large and fat on the south coast, still verifying the saying of Horace, Pectinibue patulis jactat se molle Tarentum.