D R O 



Drone, on the west by that of the Ardeche ; on the south by 



Dronthtim. t ], e departments of Vaucluse and the Lower Alps; r.nd 



T"-' O n the east by the departments of the Higher Alps and 



the Iscre. The principal rivers of the department are 



the Drome, which has its source in the Valdrome near 



Serres, and falls into the Rhone near Crest ; the Isere, 



the Roubion, and the Jabrone, which passes by Monte- 



limart. The principal lake is called the Lac de Luc ; 



and it and all the rivers abound with excellent fish. 



The principal productions of the department are 

 corn, wines, fruits, olive-oil and nut-oil, wool, silk, and 

 mineral waters. Owing to the mountainous nature of 

 the country, and the dryness of its sandy soil, the corn 

 which it grows is not sufficient for its consumption. 

 Wine is produced in great quantities, particularly on 

 the banks of the Rhone, and in the districts of Die and 

 Nyons. The most celebrated are those of L'Hermitage, 

 Brezem, Chateau-neuf-du-Rhone, and Donziere. The 

 mulberry tree thrives well, and silk-worms are reared 

 in vast numbers, their produce amounting annually to 

 upwards of three millions of French livres. The best 

 pastures are at Gresse, Valdrotne, and Vercors. 



The trade of the department consists chiefly in cat- 

 tle, butter, cheese, woollen and linen cloths, hosiery, 

 hats, stud's, thread, paper, and gloves. The superfi- 

 cial extent of the department is 6927 square kilometres, 

 or 350 square leagues. The forests occupy 75 or 76 

 hectares, or 1 48,000 acres, most of which belong to in- 

 dividuals. The contributions in the year 1803 amount- 

 ed to 1,840,992 francs. The following are the leading 

 towns in the department, with their population. 



Population. 



Valence, 7532 



Montelimart, 6320 



Romans, 6000 



Crest, 4500 



Chabeuil, 4000 



Die, 3968 



Dieu-le-Fit, 2800 



St Jean-en-Royan, 2800 



Nyons, 272-i 



Valence is the chief town of the department. Total 

 population 231,188. See Herbin's Statislique de la 

 France; and Chantreaux's Science de I'Hittoire ei de la 

 Geographic, SfC. () 



DRONE. See BEE. 



DRONTHEIM, or NIDROSIA, is a large town of Nor- 

 way, in the district of Strinden, and the capital of the 

 province of Drontheim. It is situated on a small gulf 

 on the south side of the river Nid, from which it recei- 

 ved the name of Nideroos, or the outlet of the Nid, and 

 is almost wholly surrounded by that river and the sea. 

 The town, which, excepting four houses, is wholly 

 built of wood, has two suburbs, viz. Bakkelandet and 

 Ladegaard, in each of which there is a church. The 

 principal street in Drontheim, called the Munkegade, 

 is a noble street, which extends through the whole 

 breadth of the town to the shores of the Fiord. The 

 buildings on both sides have a very respectable and 

 agreeable appearance, and are in general tastefully or- 

 namented. The beautiful island of Munkholm, crowned 

 with its castle, rises majestically above the bay ; and the 

 view is terminated by mountains covered with snow. 

 The principal public buildings are the town-house, the 

 cathedral, two churches, a public school, an infirmary, 

 a poors-house, an orphan-house, a house of correc- 

 tion, and a seminary for missionaries. The town- 



VOL. VIII. PAUT I. 



145 D R O 



house, or Stiflsamthaitsc, stands in the Munitgade, and H. 

 is now the residence of the chief magistrate, and the "~~~Y~~*~ 

 pubb'c bodies of the district. It is a large palace, 

 which overtops the other buildings, and is visible at 

 a distance of more than two English miles. Its stylo 

 of architecture is simple and noble, but being built 

 of wood, its ornaments have been distorted by the in- 

 fluence of heat and moisture, the enemies of all timber 

 edifices. The cathedral, dedicated to St Oluf, which 

 stands at the end of the Munkegade, was formerly 

 a magnificent building of marble; but it was burnt 

 down in 1530, with the exception of the choir, which 

 still forms part of the present cathedral. This cathe- 

 dral is still the finest and the largest edifice in Norway, 

 and its great and extensive ruins enable us to form 

 some idea of its former grandeur. The whole of the 

 people of the north formerly resorted to it as pilgrims, 

 to seek for the pardon of their sins on the grave of 

 St Oluf. The town is protected by the fort of Chris- 

 tianstein, built in 1680, and by the castle of Munk- 

 holm, which is situated on a rock in the harbour, and 

 which was the prison of the Danish chancellor Greif- 

 fenstein, who died in 1699- 



In 1783, a school was opened at Drontheim by indi- 

 viduals, assisted by government, for the puqiose of in- 

 structing the youth of both sexes in useful knowledge, 

 and in the living languages. The annual payment is 

 10 risdales for a boy, and five for a girl. In the year 

 1760, a Society of Sciences was established at Dron- 

 theim. The plan was approved and sanctioned by the 

 king in 1~6'7. The meetings of this society are now held 

 in a large and beautiful stone edifice erected within these 

 few years, and the only building of the kind in the north 

 of Norway. The first story is occupied by the society; 

 the high school is kept in a room below this, and the 

 teachers inhabit the second story. The society posses- 

 ses the libraries of two celebrated historians, the rec- 

 tor Dass and Scheonning. The collection is large and 

 excellent, and there is also a great number of manu- 

 scripts connected with the topography of the country. 

 Counsellor Hammer, a vain collector of curiosities, be- 

 queathed to the society, about six years ago, the whole 

 of his collection, and a considerable sum of money ; 

 but this valuable gift was burdened with the condition 

 of the money being first applied in publishing the use. 

 less manuscripts of the donor. The Memoirs, which 

 are written in Danish, contain researches in natural 

 history, physics, and rural economy ; and since the 

 year 1784 its Transactions have been regularly publish- 

 ed. 



The port of Drontheim is frequented only by small 

 vessels, on account of the great number of rocks at the 

 mouth of the 'harbour. About 400 or 500 ships art- 

 annually employed in its trade. 



In the year 1~68, the amount of the exportations of 

 Drontheim was 401,507 risdales, and of the importa- 

 tions 254,999- In 1 790, the exportation of fish amount- 

 ed to 75,000 risdales. In 1799, there belonged to 

 Drontheim 63 vessels above 10 lasts. In the year 1785, 

 the number of vessels which arrived in the harbour w.is 

 250. 



The principal articles of trade are timber for m 

 and other purposes ; copjjer, to the amount of 200,000 

 cwt. from the celebrated copper works of Roraas ; iron, 

 goat skins, furs, salt fish, herrings, tallow, train oil, 

 hides, peas, and potash. 



The iron works at Roraas afford sustenance to nearly 

 one-fourth of the families in Drontheim, and kw;-- 



