290 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



been aptly termed, by the French, a 'pole of divergence/ from which 

 the population migrate in all directions, but especially toward the 

 northern plains, within which lies the pole of attraction. 



The peninsula of Brittany, with its backbone of crystalline rock, 

 may be counted as a semi-mountainous region. It much resembles the 

 English peninsula of Cornwall. But Britanny contains no attractive 

 mineral deposits, so it has longer remained a world apart than has 

 Cornwall, and it still shields many ancient prejudices and practices. 

 The interior districts are, in analogy with Cornwall, of inferior, un- 

 attractive character, but agriculture and the dairy industry are profit- 

 ably carried on along the coast. This region is the only one in France 

 abounding in good harbors. The sea is the mainstay of a large part of 

 the population. The fisheries yield herring, sardines, mackerel, 

 lobsters and oysters. The four departments which compose Brittany 

 furnish the merchant marine of France with one-fifth of its sailors, 

 while eighty-two other departments supply the remainder. 



The portions of France still remaining to be treated may be grouped 

 into river- valley and coast regions. Beginning with the southeast, we 

 have, along the Mediterranean coast, the sea of ancient Phoenician, 

 Greek and Eoman colonies. This coast is divided into two very dis- 

 tinct portions, separated by the mouths of the Rhone Eiver. The east- 

 ern section comprises the Mediterranean foot-hills of the Alpine sys- 

 tem. It is a region of bold cliffs and promontories. It contains several 

 excellent harbors, among which are Marseilles, Nice and Toulon, the 

 last being the first naval station of France. This high, well-drained, 

 romantic coast-land, forming part of the Riviera, is the most popular 

 resort of Europe. Here are Cannes, Nice, Menton and the little prin- 

 cipality of Monaco, possessing independence to no better purpose than, 

 to license the gaming tables of Monte Carlo. A little distance from 

 the coast are the romantic islands called by the ancients the Islands of 

 the Hesperides. To the west of the Rhone are to be found low, sandy 

 plains, which stretch away to the foot of the Pyrenees. Toward the 

 coast these give way to malarial swamps. Over these extensive marshes 

 roam herds of half -wild cattle and horses, pastured in the mountains in 

 summer, and brought to the coast in winter, just as are the wild bulls 

 that inhabit the swamps about the mouth of the Guadalquivir in Spain. 

 The inhabitants of the region have to contend with an unhealthy cli- 

 mate. Agriculture implies an expensive system of drainage. The 

 wind-mills used for pumping give to the landscape a striking re- 

 semblance to Holland. Along the coast bay salt is evaporated by solar 

 heat. The cities, because they require firm ground for their location, 

 are of necessity situated a long distance inland. This fact has pre- 

 vented Languedoc from being a commercial country. 



Between the Alps and the Central Highlands intervenes the valley 



