he properties are so split up that many hours, or even
a whole day, are spent in going from the vineyard or olive plantation to
the arable land in the plain or the chestnut-wood in the mountain. A
great part of the agricultural labour is performed by labourers from
Tuscany and Lucca, who periodically visit the island for that purpose.
Sheep of a peculiar breed, resembling chamois and known as _mouflons_,
inhabit the more inaccessible parts of the mountains. The uncultivated
districts are generally overgrown with a thick tangled underwood,
consisting of arbutus, myrtle, thorn, laurel broom and other fragrant
shrubs, and known as the _maquis_, the fragrance of which can be
distinguished even from the sea.

Fishing and shooting are allowed almost everywhere to the possessor of a
government licence; special permission, where it is necessary, is easily
obtained. Wild boars, stags, in the eastern districts, and hares as well
as the _mouflon_ are found, while partridges, quail, woodcock, wild duck
and water-fowl are abundant. Trout and eels are the chief fish. The
flesh of the Corsican blackbird is considered a delicacy. The fisheries
of tunny, pilchard and anchovy are extensively prosecuted for the supply
of the Italian markets; but comparatively few of the natives are engaged
in this industry.

The Corsican is simple and sober but unenterprising; dignified and
proud, he is possessed of a native courtesy, manifested in his
hospitality to strangers, the refusal of which is much resented. He is,
however, implacable towards his own countrymen when his enmity is once
aroused, and the practice of the blood-feud or _vendetta_ has not died
out. Each individual is attached to some powerful family, and the
influence of this usage is specially marked in politics, the individual
voting with his clan on pain of arousing the vindictiveness of his
fellow-members. Another dominant factor in social life in Corsica is the
almost universal ambition on the part of the natives towards an official
career, a tendency from which commerce and agriculture inevitably
suffer.

The manufactures of the island are of small importance. They include the
extraction of gallic acid from chestnut-bark, the preparation of
preserved citrons and other delicacies, and of macaroni and similar
foods and the manufacture of fancy goods and cigars.

The chief ports are Bastia, Ajaccio and Ile Rousse. A railway runs from
Bastia to Ajaccio with branches to Calvi and G