ELBA, an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated of the Tuscan coast in Italy, from which it is separated by the channel of Piombino—this channel be ing about ten miles broad in the narrowest part. Its !wll Is extremely irregular. In circumference it may measure nearly seventy English miles. It is moun tainous in its general aspect. The plains and vallevs which it contains are of small extent. It is favoured with a salubrious climate, a good soil, and numerous springs of excellent water. Its vegetable produce con sists of natural grass, corn, vines, olives, chesnuts, al monds, figs, walnuts, oaks, myrtles, and a great variety of aromatic and evergreen plants. fears, also, apples, cherries, peaches, and prunes, are produced ; but they are wild and insipid. Lemons, pomegranates, and oranges thrive here, though not in great perfection. There is a great want of forest trees or large wood. Kitchen herbs are almost entirely neglected. The hus bandry of the island is conducted in a most unskilful and slovenly manner; so that the crops of corn do not supply the inhabitants with more than three months consump tion. The vintage, however, is more than sufficient. It takes place in" September. The grapes are of an ex cellent siality. Two kinds of wine are made from them ; red and white. The white is the common wine that is consumed in the island, and is seldom or never exported. The red is made in small quantity, but is extremely de licious. Two sorts of desert wine are produced, viz. Vermont and Cileatico, both of which are of an exqui site flavour, and highly esteemed. In Elba, as in the other parts of Italy, the use of the press is unknown in the manufacture of wine.
Elba has been long celebrated for its iron. Virgil calls it, " Insula inexhaustis chalybuin generosa roetalhs." There are several mines of this metal through out the island ; but the principal one, and the only one that is now worked, is that of Rio, near the village of Marina, on the eastern coast. It consists of an entire mountain, which is about three miles in circumference, and is so abundant as to afford a supply to Corsica, Genoa, Naples, Tuscany, Romagna, and Piombino. About 1250 quintals are sold annually, each quintal consisting of 33,3331 lb. of Sienna. There are daily em ployed in exporting it to the neighbouring coasts 120 Elbese vessels, of from 40 to 100 tons. The price is various according to the quality of the ore : it generally runs from 50 to 52 scudi per quintal. It is an esta blished rule, that the Corsicans have the first choice ; and that the Duke of Tuscany is allowed the best parts of the ore, called ferrata, for which, however, he pays an extra price. The ferrata is so called on account of its metallic appearance. Its cavities are filled with those crystals, about which chemists have written so much. The other ore to which any importance is at tached is micaceous, not so rich as the ferrata, and is called lucciola, from the shining of the little scales of which it is composed. Mines of copper, also, exist in
Elba, but these are not open. The opinion that the isl and produces gold, silver, and lead, has been common, but Thiebaut de Berneaud maintains that it is a mistake. There are quarries of loadstone, granite, and marble, both white and mixed. We meet also with alabaster, steatite, asbestos, serpentine, rocks of quartz, yenite, and various other minerals.
There are few oxen or cows on this island ; there are asses, and mules, and horses, and a considerable number of sheep, goats, and pigs; but the breed of all of these animals is small, and of some of them, particularly the horse, it is miserably bad. Hares, red-legged par tridges, quails, wood-pigeons, rabbits, Ste. are found in abundance. The fields swarm with noxious reptiles, such as the smaller scorpion, the blind worm, the adder, asps and vipers. There is also the spotted spider, whose bite is said to be mortal. All the insects common to Italy are found here. There arc few bees, and no silk-worms, though the situation is remarkably favoura ble for both. There arc two tunny fisheries on the coast of Elba. One of then) is carried on at Porto Ferran), the other at Marciana. That at Porto Ferran:, was estab lished first, but that at Marciana is more productive by two-thirds. The annual value of both is estimated at 25001. sterling. Sword-fish, clog-fish, dolphins, and sea-calves, are sometimes killed. There are also found the sole, the bearded mullet, and that brilliant fish call ed by the Italians donzellina. Formerly the coast abounded with oysters, some of them containing pearls of considerable size and fine colour, but the greediness of the people exhausted the beds, and various circum stances have contributed to prevent them from being again replenished. There are numerous marshes in the vicinity of Porto Ferrajo and Longone, from which a considerable quantity of salt is manufactured. These marshes are accounted more detrimental to the public health, than they are advantageous to the public prospe rity. The manufacture itself is conducted with no skill. Sixty thousand sacks, containing about 150 lib. each, are produced annually. The magazines erected for the reception of the article are said to be fine and commodious buildings. There is no machinery in the island, except that of corn mills, and these are ill con structed, and unskilfully managed. The importations of the island consist of grain, cheese, cattle, and other necessary articles ; the exportations of iron ore, gra nite, vinegar, wines, tunny, and salt. The principal places in Elba are Porto Ferrajo, containing about 3000 inhabitants, and situated in East Long. 10° 19' and North Lat. 42° 49' 6"; Rio, about 2000 ; Porto Longone, about 1500 ; and Marciana, about 1200.