USTICA, one of the Lipari group of islands, in the Tyrrhenian Sea, belonging to the kingdom of Naples. It is the Osteodes, or Island of Bones, of the ancients, and is about forty miles north by west from Palermo. It has in it the town of Santa Maria, with a haven of sufficient capacity for the feluccas that trade to it. The inhabitants amount to about 1700, exclusive of the garrison. They are more civilized than the people of the other islands of the group, from having direct weekly intercourse with the capital. The island is composed of volcanic substances, derived from hornstone base. The soil is an aggregate of decomposed scoria, tufa, sand, and ashes. It is extremely fertile, but liable to be washed away, especially from the sides of the hill, by heavy rains. From the nature of these
materials, there are no springs; rain-water is therefore kept in capacious cisterns. As heavy dews fall, the trees bear abundance of fruit; and the whole ground is well cultivated, and yields very good wine. Charcoal and firewood are supplied, chiefly from the roots of the olive tree, from Cefalu and Palermo.