

ORNK. 



SO 



wiring. rope-making. MM! brewing an the chief occupation* Th 

 town-hall WM rwtod in 1779. A market U held on Thursday ; hi 

 are hM on Whit-Mood^ and Tweaday, nd on September 10th. 



ORMU8, or roar* pro;*rly HORMU2, an island at the entrance of 

 the Penkn Gulf, U about ten mile* from the Fenian coast, and about 

 twrire mU* In drcumfewoe*. U i. * mere barren rock, without 

 Tmtation and without oil. IU conical hape and th isolated position 

 of UM numerous small hillt of which the island con.i.U lead the 

 spectator to attritute it* origin to volcanic agency. The rugsed liills 

 which UM UM eastern ahorM of the island are covered to a considerable 

 distance from their bae with an incrustation of salt, which in some 

 place* U as transparent as ice. In other places the surface U covered 

 with a thin layer of dusky-red coloured earth, which owe* iU colour 

 to oxide of Iron, wHh which the whole surface of the island is 

 impregnated. As the island contains no fresh-water springs the 

 inhabitants n*e the rain-water collected in tank', which were con- 

 stroetrd shore 800 years ago. There is excellent anchorage on the 

 north-eastern shore, opposite the town. Tho fortress is situated about 

 SOO yards from the shore, on a projecting point of land, which is 

 separated from the* island by a moat On the plain which stretches 

 from it to the hills are the ruins of the once famous town of Hormnz. 

 The Imam of Mtukat has possession of the island. He derives a 

 revenue from the salt, which is exported in largo quantities. 



Albuquerque took possouion of Hormnz in 1507, ami of the town 

 which was then on it, with the view of preventing the Arabs from 

 ending aid to the petty sovereigns on the coast of Malabar, with 

 whom they carried on a lucrative commerce. Tho Portuguese made 

 Orraui the deposit of all kinds of Indian goods, and in a short time 

 a populous and rich commercial town roue upon it The buildings 

 covered a space 3 miles in length along the sea-shore and 2 miles in 

 width. The town contained 4000 houses and 40,000 inhabitants, and 

 its commercial relations extended over all Persia and Mesopotamia to 

 Bokhara and Samarkand in Turkistan. In 1622 Shah Abbas, assisted 

 by the English, took Horniux from the Portuguese, demolished the 

 town, and transferred its commerce to UOMBKOOX. 



ORNANO. [Downs.] 



ORNE, a department in the north of France, is bounded N. by the 

 department of Calvados, E. by those of Eure and Eure-t-Loir, 8. by 

 those of Sartbe and Mayenne, and W. by that of Handle. It lies 

 between 48* 12' and 48" 58' N. lat, 1* 0' K. and 47' W. long. Its 

 greatest length from east to west U 84 miles ; the average width is 

 IS miles. The area is 2355-6 square miles. The population in 1841 

 was 442,072; in 1851 it had fallen to 489,834, which gives 18674 to 

 the square mile, or 12'lf> above the average per square mile for the 

 whole of France. 



Tha department is formed out of the old duchy of Aleneon, the 

 northern part of Perche, and a portion of the south of Nonnandie ; 

 and it in named from its chief river, the Orne. It is traversed from 

 east to west by a range of wooded hills, which forms part of the 

 watershed between the English Channel and the Loire. The highest 

 point* in this chain do not exceed 1368 feet. The larger portion of 

 the department lies to the north of the range, from which numerous 

 lateral chains spring off in a general north or north-western direction, 

 ng between them fertile and well-watered valleys. A small 

 portion of the department, drained by the Iton and the Rille [EURE], 

 slopes towards the north-east. The other more important rivers to 

 the north of the principal range or.' the Toncque, the Dive [CAI.- 

 YADOB], the Auro [Kens], and the Orne, which gives name to the 

 department. The Orne rises near Seez, and runs through the depart- 

 ment past Argentan in a north-weit direction, till it enters Calvados, 

 where it turns north-by-past, passing Caen ; here it becomes navigable 

 and entera the English Channel about ten miles below this town, after 

 a eonrse of about seventy miles. Its principal feeders are the Noireau, 

 the Aixe, and the Odon. That portion of the department which 

 belongs to the basin of the Loirx is drained by the MAYENNB and the 

 SARTHI ; this last-named river rises near Sou, and runs for some way 

 along the southern boundary. There in a great number of ponds in 

 the department and several mineral springs, of which that at BognoUi, 

 1 m lie- from Itotn front, U famous for the cure of skin-diseases and 

 of rheumatism. The department is crossed by 8 imperial and 14 

 departmental roads, and by the railway now in course of construction 

 from Le-Hans to Caen, which passes through Alencon, Seez, and 

 Argentan, and \* joined at Seez by a branch line from (Jliartrea. 



The climate is in general temperate but damp. The spring brings 

 cold east winds, white frosts, and rain ; the summer is dry and warm, 

 but terminate* with storms in September ; in autumn the rains begin 

 to fall about the middle of October, then succeed white frosts till the 

 end of November ; in the depth of winter there are continual fogs 

 with much rain and snow. The chief grain crops are wheat, mixed 

 corn, rye, and oats, of which in ordinary years the produce suffices 

 only for about two-third* of the consumption. No wine is produced ; 

 eider is the chief beverage. The number of apple- and pear-trees, 

 which are planted along the roads, round the fields, or in quincunxes, 

 amounts to several millions. The pasture-land of the department is 

 of oooaiderable breadth, and in general of good quality ; great numbers 

 of lean cattle, purchased in the neighbouring departments, are fattened 

 for the Paris and Kouen market*; good butter and middling cheese 

 are made. The plain of Alencon U famous for its saddle-hone* of 



the purest Norman breed ; in the rest of the department a large 

 number of cart-horse*, also of the Norman breed, are reared. Poultry 

 of all kinds, especially geese, are abundant 



The western side of the department is occupied by primitive rocks ; 

 the eastern side by chalk ; and the valleys of the Sarthe and Orne by 

 formations that intervene between the chalk and the new red-sand- 

 stone. Several iron-mines are worked; marble, granite, porphyry, 

 building-stone, marl, kaolin, porcelain-clay, and quartz-crystals are 

 found ; these last, after being carefully cut, get the name of Alencon 

 Diamonds. The number of smelting-furnaces and forges at the several 

 iron-works amounts to 49. 



Besides pig- and bar-iron the industrial products include sheet-iron 

 and copper, wire of different kinds, pins and needles, linen, canvass, 

 lace, thread, hair-cloth, cotton and woollen-yarn, glass, paper, beet- 

 root sugar, pottery, and leather. There are several large bleach-works 

 in the department. Otherarticles of commerce are corm, clover-seed, 

 cider, flax, thread, linen, wax, honey, horses, fat-cattle, pigs, poultry, 

 goose-feathers, oak staves, timber, and firewood. 



The department is divided into four arrondissements, which, with 

 their subdivisions and population, are as follows : 



1. Of tho first arrondissement and of the whole department the capital 

 is ALENCON. Carrouget, 16 miles N.W. from Alencon, has smelting 

 furnaces and forges for manufacturing the iron-ore raised from the 

 mines in the neighbourhood ; a fine feudal castle, of the 14th century, 

 still inhabited; and 2145 inhabitants. Sfez, 13-milen N. by E. from 

 Alencon, is a well built episcopal town on the Orne, with one of the 

 finest gothic cathedrals in Lower Normandie, a handsome episcopal 

 palace, a college, two ecclesiastical seminaries, and 4474 inhabitants. 



2. In the second arrondissement, the chief town A ryentan, situated 

 on a hill above the Orne, 22 miles N. from Alen9on, is a clean well- 

 built town, surrounded by old ram[>art9 which form a pleasant walk, 

 and afford a fine view of the valley of the Orne. It has tribunals of 

 first instance and of commerce, a college, and 5425 inhabitants in the 

 commune; also linen factories, bleach-works, and tan-yards, besides 

 some trade in corn, hides, cattle, poultry, and cheese. The old castle, 

 now converted into a prison, the churches of St-Germain and St.- 

 Martin, are the most remarkable buildings. Vimoutitr, 17 miles N.E. 

 from Argentan, is the centre of an important linen manufacture, and 

 has huge bleach- works, tan-yards, a tribunal of commerce, and 4110 

 inhabitants, 



8. In the third arrondissement the chief town Domfront, situated 

 30 miles W. by N. from Alencon, lias a tribunal of first instance, a 

 college, and 2773 inhabitants in the commune. The town, built on a 

 steep rock above the Varennes, a feeder of the Mayenne, is ill-built, 

 with narrow, crooked, and steep streets. The ancient church of Notre- 

 Dame is the only important structure. In the neighbourhood there 

 are iron-forges, glass-works, and paper-mills. A this, 15 miles N. from 

 Domfront, has 4000 inhabitants, who manufacture broadcloth, 

 casimirs, and other woollen stuffs. La-Pert6-Mac, E. of Domfront, 

 has manufactures of cotton, tape, twiat, combs, tobacco-boxes, brandy, 

 leather, and tiles. The population of the commune is 5197. Piers, 

 N. of Domfront on the road to Caen, is the centre of a large linen 

 manufacture, and has 6113 inhabitants in the commune. The old 

 castle of Flers, which was burned during the Chouan war, has been 

 lately restored. Tinchcbrai, in the north-west of the department near 

 the source of the Noireau, has a commercial court and 37S3 inhabit- 

 ants, who manufacture nails, hardware, ironmongery, cotton and 

 woollen stuffs, paper and leather. Robert duke of Normandy was 

 defeated and taken prisoner in a great battle before Tinchebrai, 

 Sept 27, 1105, by his brother Henry I. of England. 



4. The fourth nrrondiseoment is named from its chief town Mortagne, 

 which is situated on the sides and summit of a high hill, 20 miles E. 

 by N. from Alencon, and has a tribunal of first instance, a college, and 

 5012 inhabitants. Some of the streets are steep ; but most of them 

 are wide, and the houses well built The high-road from Paris to 

 Brest winds round the hill and up to its very summit, where it 

 traverses the Place-d'Armes, the principal square of the town. The 

 court-house, the large prison, the markets, and the fountains, which 

 are fed with water raised from a great depth by a steam-engine, aro 

 the most note-worthy objects in the town. Here also linen is the staple 

 manufacture ; pottery and leather are also manufactured ; and there 

 is some trade in corn, hemp, sheep, pigs, horses, and cattle. Bdltme 

 is a well-built town, situated 11 miles S. from Mortagne, on a hill 

 near the forest of Belleme, and has 8148 inhabitants. It was formerly 

 one of the chief towns of Perche, and hod strong fortifications, some 

 of which remain. Calico, cotton yarn, linen, canvass, and paper, are 

 the chief industrial products. I'Aigle, prettily situated on the slopes 

 of two hills, 17 miles N. from Mortagne, U a well-built, clean, and 



