METELIN, anciently MVTELENE and LESBOS, an island in the Mediterranean, at the mouth of the Gulf of Adramyti, on the south-west coast of Asia Minor.
This island is of a triangular figure : its precise di mensions are not ascertained; but in so far as we can collect, it seems about 42 miles in extreme length from north-west to south-east, 26 in extreme breadth, and the superfices probably may be computed at 500 square miles. Several iocky flats environing it are conjectured to have been once an integral part of Metelin, and some have supposed that an ancient concussion of nature rent the island itself from the neighbouring continent. The intermediate channels between two sides of it and the Asiatic coast, are nine or ten miles wide, with 50 or 60 fathoms of water.
There are no rivers here, but mountain torrents from the rains ; numerous fountains, and many hot springs of different qualities, to which valetudinarians resort at all seasons, both for drinking and bathing. The southern coast is penetrated by two canals, each terminating' in a spacious basin, forming two excellent and secure har bours, which are separated by the lofty Mount Olym pus. Of these Port Caloni is the larger, but not so much frequented as the other Port Hiero, or Olisicre, lying towards the south-east extremity of the island. Traders repair hither during the whole year for cargoes of oil, and foreign navigators take shelter in it when adverse winds oppose their access to the Gulf of Smyrna.
The face of Metelin is mountainous : one chain of hills traverses the island in a longitudinal direction, and is intersected by another. Volcanic and calcareous pro ductions abound. Granitic rocks on each side of the two channels, dividing it from the continent, are cement ed by a calcareous substance; and among the pet•ifae tions which occur at Port Sigri, the western extremity, are entire trunks of trees. Some parts of the surface of the earth are covered with a hard shining stony in crustation.
The climate is very fine ; it rarely freezes timing winter, and the summer heats are tempered by breezes from the sea. The island, nevertheless, is exposed to sudden storms from the Asiatic mountains, and towards the south coast it is insalubrious. Great mortality pre vails in certain seasons; and whole villages are said to be occupied by leprous persons. Hippocrates celebrates the beneficial effects of the Lesbian climate on the body, and Demetrius Phalerius conceives that it invigorates the mind.
The ground is clothed with perpetual verdure, and the most luxuriant vegetation : almost all the mountains are well wooded, and exhibit a great variety of plants. Vineyards hang on the declivities of the hills, for the soil is friendly to the vine ; and extensive plantations of olives afford an abundant produce. The ancients cele brated the quality of the Lesbian wine, but at present it is both rare and inferior, partly from the unskilfulness of the inhabitants, and partly because the grapes are con verted to raisins, and also employed by the Greeks for making brandy. Neither the grain nor live stock are in sufficient quantity for home consumption. Ho race speaks of Lesbian flour whiter than snow ; and wool was formerly an article of export. The chief products, natural and artificial, of the present day, are about 50 000 or 60,000 quintals of olive oil yearly, most of which is carried to Constantinople ; wood for shipbuild ing, and pitch extracted from pines, for the same pur pose. Nothing but pine is said to be used in the con struction of the vessels, which are very light, and last ten or twelve years. Pococke mentions a manufacture of stuffs made of silk and flax, at a place called Peri bole.
Considerable trade was carried on with France for merly : the French had a consul, and the English a vice consul : but the former seems to have been withdrawn when it was ascertained that the oil of the Morea and of Candia could be obtained at a cheaper rate.