Note 1328 — Chapter II · GARDEN AND ORCHARD.

The cactus, as most travellers will have remarked, flourishes luxuriantly in Sicily even among the beds of lava where little else will grow; it appears, however, to delight in a volcanic soil. Spallanzani, Travels in the Two Sicilies, “i. 209. In the Æolian Islands it thrives so well that it usually grows to the height of ten, twelve, and sometimes fifteen feet, with a stem a foot or more in diameter. The fruits, which are nearly as large as turkeys’ eggs, are sweet and extremely agreeable to the palate. It is well-known that the fruits grow at the edges of the leaves, the number on each leaf is not constant, but they are frequently numerous, as I have counted two and twenty on a single leaf.” iv. 97.