22 



where mentioned as the leading- sorts, and these are largely propa- 

 fifated in nurseries. 



The orchards ev^ery where have the appearance so characteristic of 

 seedlings of Pyrus mains (Plate III), and do not take on the character- 

 istic appearance of American cultivated orchards. The trees are often 

 scrubby, rough, and thorny, and so o\era-rown with moss and mis- 

 tletoe that the}' seem to lit in well with the surroundings. The climate 

 is oceanic, moist, and often dull from cloudiness, but never subject to 

 great extremes of temperature. Much of the strictly orchard area 

 in Calvados is found on a moderately ele\'ated plateau, characterized 

 by low, undulating ranges of hills, with decidedly moist valleys. 



In this connection some extracts are quoted from a work by M. de 

 Beaumont on Normandy, in which he speaks especially of Calvados, 

 the department in which, perhaps, better cider is made than in any 

 other of France: 



CALVADOS. 



General aspect. — Calvados lies with an exposure to the north and extends to the 

 hills of the Department of ()rne on the south, and comprises many valleys and 

 extensive jilateaus. These valleys, which are watered by six streams flowing from 

 south to north, are separated from each other by chains of slightly elevated hills 

 which decrease in height to the shore, where they are suddenly transformed into 

 high cliffs of 30 to 120 meters (100 to 400 feet). Thriving, fertile, rich in prairies, 

 this district offers many aspects of a charming country. 



The hills, the geological composition of which is very far from uniform, and which 

 do not present the same characters in any two places, form three very distinct natural 

 regions — the cretaceous, the calcareous, and the granitic. 



The first comprises the eastern part of the department. Chalky formations dom- 

 inate in the country known as "'le Pays d'Auge," situated 1;)etween the frontiers of 

 Eure and the valley ( )f the Dives. The arrondissements of Pont 1' Eve( jue and Lisieux, 

 almost entirely included in these limits, present vast chalky plateaus cut by deep 

 valleys, showing a clayey or argillaceous deposit overlying the rock. 



The second region where the limestone (great oolite, inferior oolite, marls, and 

 sandstone) predominates, includes the arrondissement of Caen and a ]iortion of those 

 of Falaise and Bayeux. 



All that portion of the Department of Calvados which comprises the division of 

 Vire, the southern part of Bayeux, the western part of Falaise, and the southern part 

 of Caen, under the name of Bocage, has a peculiar aspect. Its granites, gray and 

 reddish in color, its schists, its arid plateaus scarred with great l)locks of rocks, its 

 houses constructed of materials of somber color, all present a rather melancholy 

 aspect. 



Climate. — Calvados, which is situated on the l)order of the sea and has no consid- 

 erable elevations, enjoys a nuich milder climate than its geographical situation would 

 warrant. It is part of the belt where the Seine or Parisian climate predominates, 

 thus named because it is peculiar to the basin of the Seine, and particularly to Paris. 

 In its general characteristics this climate is mild, but at the same time humid and 

 variable. 



In sj)ite of its low elevation and the frequent rains (one hundred and thirty-five 

 (lays in a year) maintaining a chilly humid atmosphere, the climate of Calvados is 

 very healthy, this department occupying the first rank in the relative longevity in 

 France. The western part of the canton of Tsigny and the country situated at the 

 mouth of the Sougnes and the Dives are less favored than the rest of the department. 



