S A R 



544 



S A R 



Sardinia, Algheri and Oristano ; while Sassari is the only one on 

 ur> - the north. Excepting some sandy tracts along the coast, 

 "~~ r ~" " the soil is generally fertile, producing wheat, barley, 

 beans, lentils, and wines. Wheat yields a return of from 

 fifteen to twenty times the seed, and several crops a much 

 greater increase. The wines of Sardinia are good, that 

 of Nasto being the most esteemed. There are here 

 groves of wild olive trees, which also form an object 

 of cultivation. The lofty palm tree adorns the forests, 

 and the orange, lemon, mulberry, pomegranate, jujube 

 fig, and other fruit trees, are common. The interior of 

 the island is a wild desert, covered with large forests of 

 oak, cork, and chesnut trees. 



The wild animals of Sardinia are horses, deer, sheep, 

 boars, wolves, foxes and hares. The wild horses are 

 found chiefly in the districts of Bultei and Nurra; 

 but they are still more numerous in the isle of St. An- 

 tico, in the forest of Canais. These horses are very 

 small, but extremely active and well made. The wild 

 sheep are found in the mountainous regions, and some- 

 times cohabit with the tame ones. The rams have 

 from four to six horns, and are numerous and ferocious. 

 The wastes and morasses abound with wild ducks. 



Among the mineral productions of Sardinia are sil- 

 ver and lead. The principal silver mines are those of 

 Gaspini, Arbus, and Argentera ; and the lead occurs in 

 hills of argillaceous schistus and limestone. The lead 

 mines of Iglesias yield from sixty to eighty pounds in 

 the cwt. The value of the mines is estimated at 321,000 

 fiancs. Porphyry abounds in the mountains of Nurra, 

 and granite is found principally in Gallura. Chalcedo- 

 nies, agates, cornelians, turquoises, are found in the 

 northern mountains. 



The climate of Sardinia has an insular character, pos- 

 sessing a lower mean temperature than that of similar 

 parallels on the continent. In the summer months the 

 heat is very intense, and produces local insalubrity in 

 the marshy districts, arising partly from the northern 

 winds being obstructed by the mountains in the north 

 of the island. 



Although Sardinia possesses many good harbours, 

 such as those of Palmas, Nova, and Cagliari, yet from 

 a want of capital as well as enterprise, and from the ex- 

 treme ignorance of the people, the island is blessed 

 neither with trade nor manufactures. A few co.irse 

 linen and woollen goods are made in the island. The 

 produce of the herring and coral fisheries, corn, cattle, 

 and salted provisions, hides, skins, fruits, a little wine 

 and brandy, and large quantities of salt, are the princi- 

 pal exports, the annual value of which has been esti- 

 mated by Azani at 8,000,000 livres. The imports have 

 been calculated at 2,000,000 livres, and the annual re- 

 venue at IfiQSfiSQ francs. 



The religion of the island is Roman Catholic, and 

 there are three archbishops and six bishops. The judges 

 are paid by an allowance for each sentence. There is 

 a university at Cagliari, and another at Sassari. The 

 upper classes speak good Italian. A dialect of the Spa- 

 nish is spoken in some places. The Sardinian language 

 is a mixture of Italian, Spanish, Greek, and French. 

 The population of Sardinia in 1790 was about 456,990. 

 By a more recent return it is nearly 520,000. See Ar- 

 thur Young's J .urney in France, vol. ii. and CAGLIARI 

 and SASSARI. 



SARI, a town of Persia, in the province of Mazan- 

 deran. It is a small but well fortified place, encircled 

 with a good wall and a deep ditch. In the time of 

 Hanway it had four or five temples of the ancient Per- 

 sians, built of solid materials, and about 120 feet high. 

 6 



The town carries on a brisk trade with Astracan and 

 the interior of Persia. East Long. 52 58', North Lat., 

 35 35'. 



SARIGAN. See LADRONES, Vol. XII. p. 49.9. 



SARK, SERK, or CERQ, an island belonging to Eng- 

 land, but situated on the French coast, within six miles 

 of Guernsey. It is about three miles long, and at an 

 average one mile broad. It is divided into the great 

 and little Sark, which are united by a bridge 250 feet 

 high, along which there is a narrow foot path. About 

 500 acres of the island ara cultivated, and produce most 

 kinds of grain, apples, of which cycler is made, turnips, 

 carrots, &c. The principal manufacture of the island is 

 the knitting of stockings, gloves, and Guernsey jack- 

 ets. Several small vessels are employed in carrying 

 on a trade to Bristol and some of the western ports. 

 In 1812 the population was 41 6, the number of houses 

 68; the draught oxen 48, the young cattle 100, the 

 cows 120, and the sheep about 350. West Long. 2 52', 

 North Lat. 49 30'. 



SARKFOOT, a small village and sea-port town of 

 Scotland, in Dumfries-shire, is situated on the northern 

 shore of the Solway Firth. The harbour admits ves- 

 sels of about 120 tons burden. Near this village, on the 

 farm of Gretna Mains, is a large Druidical temple, one 

 of the stones of which contains 118 cubical feet, and 

 weighs twenty tons. See the Statistical Account of 

 Scotland, vol. ix. 



SARSAPARILLA. See MATERIA MEDICA, Vol. 

 XIII. p. 35.3. 



SARTHE, or SARTE, one of the departments in the 

 north-west of France, is bounded on the north by the 

 department of the Orne ; on the east by those of the 

 Eure, the Cher, and the Loire and Cher; on the south 

 by the Indre and Loire, and Maine and Loire ; and on 

 the west by that of the Mayenne. Its form is almost 

 circular, and its area is about 2430 square miles. There 

 are several bills in the north-west of the department. 

 The rivers are the Sarthe, the Loire, and the Huine. 

 The productions of the soil, which is of a limy and gra- 

 velly character, are wheat, rye, barley, flax, wine, and 

 fruits. Corn is imported; but wine and fruits are ex- 

 ported to a great extent. There are here some marble 

 quarries and iron mines. The chief manufactures are 

 hardware goods, p^per, woollens, and leather. The 

 contributions in 1803 were 3,986,579 francs, and the 

 expences of its administration 292,814 francs. Le 

 Mans is the capital of the department. Population 

 387,166. 



SARTO, ANDREA DEL, whose real name was Van- 

 nucchi, a celebrated painter, was the son of a tailor, 

 and was born at Florence in 1488. He studied the 

 elements of his profession under Giovanni Barile, with 

 whom he continued three years. He then entered the 

 school of Pietro Cosimo, where he made great profi- 

 ciency by studying the works of Masaccio and II Ghir- 

 landajo, and the cartoons of Michael Angelo and 

 Leonardo da Vinci. His first great work was to exe- 

 cute for the church of the Scalzi, or barefooted Car- 

 inelites at Florence, a series of pictures from the life of 

 St. John the Baptist. His next work was ten pictures 

 for the church of the Servi, representing the life of St. 

 Felippo Benizi, which are regarded as among his best 

 productions. 



Upon his return from Rome, where he studied the 

 works of Raphael, he painted the birth of the Virgin, 

 the descent of the Holy Ghost, and the last supper, for 

 the monastery of the Servi. 



The reputation of our artist was now so great, that 



Sarto. 



