PYRITES 



of terrace*, with precipitous (now, tlie general 

 lope on the Spanish side lieing miinrwlint sti-eper 

 than that on the French side. The valleys cut into 

 tin- mountain mass mi Ixith hide* almost directly 

 at right angles, in the form of deep ravine*, anil 

 with the regularity of the spine* of a tilth's Iwck- 

 bone. Verv many of tli-m terminate in caldron- 

 shaped hasins, called cirquet, or by the native 

 mountaineer* oultt (=pots), the sides of which 

 are precipitous and seamed with waterfalls ; the 

 most celebrated is the Cirque of Cavarnie, at the 

 head of Gave de Pan, with a waterfall 1515 feet 

 high. Of the numerous streams that have their 

 origin in the mountain-, those on the Spanish Bide 

 are for the most |iart feeders of the Euro, whilst 

 the French streams generally called qart* feed 

 the Adonr, the Carmine, and certain little rivers 

 that reach the Mediterranean. The lower Pyrc- 

 nean valley- through which these streams How are 

 in many cases covered with grass or forest, or even 

 vineyard* and olive-groves. Snow lies on the 

 highest pinnacles, the snow line l>cing put at 9200 

 feet on the south side and at 8300 on the north. 

 A narrow belt of glaciers runs from east to west 

 just below the peaks of the Central Pyrenees, but 

 almost wholly on the French siile. Vegetation is 

 most developed in the Western division, where the 

 rainfall is heaviest ; but, whilst it is there central 

 European in its characteristics, the vegetation of 

 the Eastern division is subtropical, allied to that 

 of the Mediterranean coasts. The geological 

 nucleus of the range is granite, which comes to the 

 surface in most of the highest peaks. But above 

 the granite lie strata of nearly all subsequent ages, 

 especially Silurian deposits, Cretaceous limestones 

 (hippurite), and limestones dm mum lite) of the 

 Eocene period. Minerals are not generally abund- 

 ant, though iron is worked in the French depart- 

 ments of Basses- Pyrenees and Pyrenees-Orientates; 

 coal exists on the Spanish side and lignite on the 

 French. There are numerous mineral springs 

 ( several being hot ). those of Eaux-Bonnes,Cau terete, 

 Eaux-Chaudes, Bagneres de Bigorre and de Luchon, 

 and Bareges being the best known. Except the 

 passes already mentioned, the Pyrenees are crossed 

 only liy mountain paths, that none but foot-pas- 

 sengers can use, and they only in the summer ; the 

 most remarkable is Roland's Gap (9318 feet), on 

 the west side of Mont Perdu. A great number of 

 caves exist amongst the limestone formations, and 

 in them valuable remains of prehistoric man have 

 been found. 



See worki by Ferret (1884), Prarond (1877), Taine 

 (13th ed. 1893), Camena d' Almeida (1893), and TniUt 

 (1804); guide-books by Gnell-Fels, Joanne, and Murray; 

 and Count Henry RainU, 1'au, Biarritz, and the 

 ffrmtaiaeweA. 1891). 



PyrlnleHt BASSES, a department in the south- 

 west corner of France, Ix-tween the Landes and 

 Spain, nnd having the Hay of Hi-ray on the west. 

 Area, 2946 sn. in.; pop. (IHSll) tt,097. It is 

 ilivioYil into tne arromliKsement- of Pan, (Moron, 

 Orthc)-, liayonnc, ami Maulcon. Chief town, Pall. 

 The department occupies the northern slopes of the 

 Western Pyrenees (3000-9800 feet), offshoots from 

 which divide the department into a nmiil>er of val- 

 leys, traverse,! by mountain-M reams iipirti). The 

 chief are the (Juvi- d'Oloron, and Cave'de I'au, and 

 other tributaries of the Adour. The Hidassoa, with 

 the Isle of Pheasants, |,,. r ,. (), treaty of 1659 was 

 signed, forms the dividing line bttWMB France and 

 Spain for a short distance. The high valleys and 

 lope* are generally fertile, and well adapted for 

 the growth of the \irir. rhe-timt. and other fruits. 

 Agriculture is the principal industry ; large herds 

 of cattle and sheep are fed on the extensive p.i- 

 tur.-<, and many swine in the wide foir-t-. of the 

 numerous mineral springs the most important are 



those of Biarritz, Eaux-Bonnes, and Kaux-Phaudes. 

 The western half of the department is the home of 

 the Basques (q.v.). 



Pyr^n^ra, HAUTBS, a detriment of France, 

 lying east of Basses-Pyt' n. . -. i- a part of the "Id 

 province of Gaxcony. As its name implies, it con- 

 tains the loftiest summits of the Pyrenees (q.v. ), 

 and is divided into the three arrondissemeiits of 

 Tarbes, Argeles, and liagneres de Bigorre ; chief 

 town, Tarbes. The principal rivers are the Adour 

 and the Gave de Pan. The climate is generally 

 mild in the plains and shcltcicd valleys. The 

 well-cultivated and artificially watered lowlands 

 vield good crops of cereals, leguminous plant-. ..ivi 

 fruits of every kind, including the grape. Cattle, 

 sheep, and swine are reared. Marble and slate are 

 quarried. In this department are the splines of 

 St Sauveur, Bagneres de Bigorre, Bareges, and 

 Pan terete. Area, 1749 s<|. in.; pop. (1891)225,861. 



a southern depart- 

 ment of France, is hounded on the E. by the Medi- 

 terranean and on the S. by the Pyrenees. 

 1591 sq. m.: pop. (1891) 210,125. It is divided 

 into tne three arrondissemente of Perpignan, 

 Prades, and Ceret. The chief town is Perpignan. 

 Like the other Pyrenean departments, this one 

 embraces a series of parallel valleys formed by 

 spurs from the Pyrenees. A plain occupies all the 

 north and east of the department. Agriculture is 

 extensively prosecuted, but wines constitute the 

 wealth of the district, and include the red wines of 

 Itousmllon, the white muscatel of Rivesaltes, and 

 others. This department takes the front rank as 

 a producer of iron ore ; granite, slate, and lime- 

 stone are quarried. There are mineral springs at 

 Amelie de- Mains, and .elsewhere. 



Pyrethnilll, a genus of plants belonging to 

 the natural order Composite. The species are by 

 some botanists included in the genus Chrysanthe- 

 mum. Feverfew (q.v.), a native of Britain, is a 

 notable species. A handsome double-flowered 

 variety is cultivated in gardens for ornament ; and 

 Golden Feather, so much employed in liordering, 

 &c. ir> the bedding-out system of flower-gardening, 

 is a yellow-leaved variety. Several other species 

 are to be met with in flower-gardens ; but the 

 most ornamental of all is P. roscum, from which 

 has sprung many beautiful varieties with double 

 and single flowers of brilliant colours. From the 

 flowers of the P. roseum Insect-tiowder (q.v.) or 

 Persian jmwder is prepared; and the flowers are 

 exported in large quantities for this purpose from 

 I >almalia and from the Caucasus region. 



PyrlU'Iiometer, a radiative thermometer (for 

 measuring the direct heating effect of the sun's 

 rays), consisting of a liody heated by the sun's rays 

 and a thermometer. See THERMOMETER. 



Pyrl'tes, a name employed by mineralogist- to 

 designate a large class of minerals, which ar ......... 



|>mids of metals with sulphur, or with arsenic, or 

 with l>otli. They are crystalline, haul, generally 

 brittle, and frequently yellow. The name pyrites 

 originally belonged to the disulphide of iron, known 

 as iron-pvritos or simply pyrite, and was given to 

 it in consequence of its striking tire with steel (<;-. 

 (ii/r. ' lire'), so that it was used for kindling powder 

 in t he pans of muskets before gun-flints were intro- 

 duced. Pyrite ( iron pyrites) is commonly of a 

 bright brass-yellow colour ; it is often found crys- 

 tallised in cubes. in which form small crystals of 

 it are abundantly disseminated in some rooting 

 slate-, and very large ones occur in some of the 

 mines of Cornwall ; it is also found crystallised in 

 dodecahedrons and other forms, more rarely in 

 oblique four sided prisms; and it often occurs 

 massive, globular, stalactitic, capillary, or investing 



