On the borders of the lake of Ino, they find pieces of rock crystal, very clear, and with five sides, as if they had been cut by a lapidary. They find some of it too in the mountains of Istria. It is so hard, that it strikes fire; and the Corsicans frequently use it for flint to their fusils.
Near to Ballia, there is found a fort of mineral, called by the country people, petra quadrata, because it is always found in little square bits. It has much about the hardness of marble, has a colour like iron-ore, and weighs like lead. The Corsicans ascribe certain mystical virtues to this stone, as appears from an old monkish distich made in its praise:
Petrae quadratae duro de marmore natae,
Innumeras dotes quis numerare potest!
Of the square stone of marble grown.
The virtues fell, what man can tell!
From the description of Corsica, which I have now given, it will appear to be a country of considerable importance. According to Mr. Templeman's Tables, in his New Survey of the Globe, the island contains 2520 square miles. It hath a number of good harbours. Its air is excellent, and its productions rich and various.
