117 



PEBXAMBUCU 



PERSHORE. 



118 



chain, the Pavdinskoi-Kamen, is upwards of 6000 feet above the level 

 of the sea, but the chain rises so gradually that travellers approaching 

 it on the road from Perm to Ekaterinburg find themselves at the 

 summit without perceiving that they were making an ascent. The 

 mountainous parts are covered with forests, in some of which there 

 are immense marshes. The southern parts of the government, on the 

 European side, are fertile and well cultivated, but the other portions 

 are more suitable to pasture than tillage. The course of the rivers 

 u determined by the Ural chain. The principal river on the west side 

 ia the Kama, among the numerous affluents of which is the Tchous- 

 aovaia, which flows from some lakes at the foot of the chain, and 

 joins the Kama above the town of Perm. On the other- side of the 

 momitaiin, the Sosva, the Toura, and the Sueth flow eastward to join 

 the Tobol. There are above 600 lakes, most of them east of the 

 mountains. There are also sulphureous and other mineral springs. 

 The climate is unequal, being very rigorous in the mountains and in 

 tho eastern part, but milder towards the south-west. It is however 

 generally healthy. The government does not produce corn sufficient 

 for the consumption of the inhabitant*. Rye, barley, oats, potatoes, 

 and flax are grown. The forests, of which a very large proportion 

 belongs to the crown, consist of the pine, the larch, the birch, and 

 the lime-tree ; in the south-eastern part the oak, the ash, the birch, 

 and the elm are found, and in the districts of Tcherdyne and Werkho- 

 tourie, the cedar. Game and fur-bearing animals abound. The 

 government of Perm owes its riches to its minerals, and the working 

 of the mines employs the greater part of the inhabitants. They pro- 

 duce iron, copper, platinum, a little lead, gold, silver, salt, marble, 

 jasper, agates, amethysts, loadstone, and some diamonds. The richest 

 gold-mines are those of BeresofE The miuea of the Ural Mountains 

 yield annually about 360 poods (one pood =36 Ibs.) of gold, 200,000 

 poods of copper, and 5,500,000 pood* of iron. The greater part of 

 these products belongs to the government of Perm, which also produces 

 about seven million poods of salt annually. 



Of domestic animals there are hones, horned cattle, sheep, swine, 

 and goats. The Baschkirs breed a great quantity of bees : formerly 

 they had camels, but the race appears to be extinct. The Woguls, in 

 the north, have a few reindeer. 



Three-fourths of the inhabitants are Russians. The remainder are 

 Permian*, descended from the ancient inhabitants of the country 

 between the Ural Mountains and the White Sea, and various Tartar 

 races. Most of the inhabitants profess Christianity ; there are a few 

 Tartan and Baschkin of both sexes, who are Mohammedans; and 

 tome Tcheremiue* and WoguU, who are still Parana. 



There are some manufactures of cloth, leather, soap, candles, Ac. 

 Trade U very brisk, partly in consequence of the facility for water- 

 carriage on the Kama and its tributaries, and partly owing to the 39 

 annual {airs, 18 of which are held in the towns, the most considerable 

 being that of Irbit. With respect to education, Perm is under the 

 university of Kasan, but education is confined to a very small portion 

 of the inhabitant!. 



I'cniL, the capital of the government, .is a modern town, having 

 been built in obedience to a ukase of Catharine II., issued in 1760. 

 It is situated in 68 X. lat, 56' 30' E. long., at the conflux of the 

 lagoiuchika and the Kama. The street* are broad and regular, the 

 house* almost all of wood, and the town is surrounded by a boulevard 

 planted with tree*. The population i* about 10,000. Perm is a bishop'* 

 see. Ekaterinburg, with 1 1,000 inhabitant*, is a place of much greater 

 importance. [EKATERUBUBU.] Knugar, at the junction of the Iron 

 and the Sylwa, a fortified town with 6000 inhabitants, has manufac- 

 ture* of leather and soap. Within mile of the town, on the bank* 

 of the Sylwa, there are cavern* in the rock, which appear to have been 

 formerly inhabited by many thousand families. Solimaiut, at the 

 conflux of the CQblka ana the Kama, ha* (000 inhabitant*, five 

 :.es, and two convent*. There are here extensive saltworks. 

 Owing to the road to Siberia pawing through this town, it ha* a con- 

 siderable trade. There is a botanic garden, in which the principal 

 plant* of Russia and Siberia are cultivated. t/itcimei-A'ewiaiuk has 

 12,000 inhabitants, who have considerable manufacture* of lacquered 

 or japanned ware. Irbit, or Irbak, on tho Neiwa, near it* confluence 

 with the Irbit, ha* 3500 inhabitant*, and is celebrated for it* annual 

 fair, which u frequented by Bokharian, Persian, Armenian, Greek, tc., 

 merchant). Irbit U a neat, regularly built, aud rapidly improving 

 town. 



(Schmidtlin, La Rmtie tt la folognt ; Uonchelmann, Uandbuch ; 

 Ennan, Reitc nock SiiKric* ; Xutnan Official Journal*) 



N'AMHLX'U. a tea-port in Brazil, situated in 8' 3' a lat, 



\V. long. It u the collective name of two town*, Recife and 



Ollinda, nearly 3 miles distant from one another. It give* title to a 



bishop, and is the capital of the province of the tame name. The 



lo Recife consist* of three diflerent part*, united to each other 



by bridge*, called Bairro do Recife, Bairro de Sao Antonio, and Bairro 



de Boa Vista. The Bairro do Recife is built on the southeastern 



extremity of a low and sandy peninsula formed by the mouth* of two 



small rivers, the Capibaribe on the south, and the Biberibe on the 



north^ being contiguous to the harbour, it is the seat of the commerce. 



'.arbour is formed by a recife, or chain of ruefs, which run* 



parallel to the shore and about 20 yard* from it, and resemble* a 



Urge Oat wall, elevated about <J feet above low-water mark. This reef 



is interrupted by a narrow break which forms the entrance to the port, 

 north of the northern extremity of Recife, and inside the reef, vessels 

 are completely sheltered by a shoal. The town is indifferently built, 

 and the streets are narrow, but generally paved. The Rua das Cruzes, 

 which is the ouly wide street, contains many substantial houses. The 

 treasury and the governor's palace are situated in San Antonio. As 

 the tide enters the rivers some distance above the places where the 

 three towns are built, the water is not fit for drinkiug, but an aque- 

 duct has been constructed, by which water is brought from the Rio 

 Prata, a distance of about 5 miles. Recife has a college, au episcopal 

 palace, and an hospital. 



Olliuda is beautifully situated upon a cluster of eminences which 

 are connected with the mountains farther west. It is rather well 

 built, contains many convents, a cathedral, an episcopal palace, a 

 botanical garden of trees and exotic plants, mostly brought from. Asia ; 

 and a college. The population of Pernambuco as a whole probably 

 amounts to 50,000. The exports of Pernambuco consist chiefly of 

 cotton, sugar, rum, horns, hides, and dyewoods. The imports are 

 cod, mostly from England, flour, wine, English cotton manufactures, 

 and silks from France aud China. The trade of the town has been 

 increasing for several years. 



The town of Pernambuco was taken by the Dutch in 1630, and 

 remained in their possession to 1 654. The Dutch did more for its 

 public works in that short period than has been done ever since. 

 PERXAU. [Llv-ONlA.1 

 PEROXNE. [SOMME.] 



PERPIGNAN, capital formerly of Rousillou, now of the department 

 of i'yrenees-Orieutales, in the south of France, is situated at the 

 junction of the Basse with the Tet, 5 miles W. from the Mediterranean, 

 525 miles S. from Paris, in 42 41' 55" N. lat., 2 54' 18" E. long., 1196 

 feet above the level of the sea, aud had 19,122 inhabitants in the com- 

 mune at the census of 1 Sal. Whilst Rousillou was iu the hands of 

 the kings of Aragon, Perpiguau became in 1349 the seat of a university 

 founded by king Pedro, lu 1474 the town was taken, after a most 

 vigorous resistance, by Louis XL of France. Having been restored to 

 Spain, it was again taken in 1642 by Louis XIII., and was included in 

 the cession of Rousillon to the French. The town is built partly on 

 the slope of a hill, and partly in the plain at its foot, on the right 

 bank of the Tet, over which there are two bridges. A strong citadel 

 commands the town on the south side. The defences of the town, 

 consisting of ramparts flanked with bastions aud protected by terraces 

 from the besiegers' fire, of advanced redoubts, covered ways, &c., were 

 all thoroughly repaired in 1823, and 1'erpignan is now one of the 

 strongest places in France. There are barracks for 5000 men built by 

 Louis XIV., aud occupying one side of the parade. Perpiguau is 

 divided into the old and new towns. The streets, with few exceptions, 

 are narrow and dark, and the houses ill built. The most remarkable 

 buildings are tho cathedral, the churches of St-Jean-le-Vieux and 

 La-Real, the town-house, the mint, thu former churches of the Corde- 

 lien, Carmelites, and Dominicans, the Carmelite convent, now the 

 arsenal, tc. The town gives title to a bishop. It has tribunals of 

 first iuitauce aud of commerce, a custom-house, a college, a clerical 

 school, two hospitals, a theatre, a botanic garden, aud a public library 

 of 13,000 volumes kept in a part of the old university buildings. The 

 manufacture* are broadcloth and woollen mulls, playing cards, 

 leather, brandy, soap, and corks. The chief articles of commerce are- 

 red and liqueur wines, brandy, oil, silk, wool, iron, and cork. Half- 

 way between Perpignau aud the sea is the hamlet of CcutcM-RomiUon, 

 which stands on the left bank of the Tet, aud occupies part of the site 

 of the ancient Huicino. 

 PERRAN2ABULOE. 

 I'KKUEUX [LOIRE.] 

 PE K R( )S-U U I REC. [CoiES-DU-Nom] 



PERSE'POLIS is mentioned by Greek writers after the time of 

 Alexander as the capital of Persia. The name however does not occur 

 in Herodotus, Ctesias, Xenophon, or Nehemiah, who were well 

 acquainted with the other principal cities of the Persian empire, and 

 make frequent mention of Susa, Babylon, and Ecbataua. Their silence 

 may be accounted for by the fact that Persepolis was not a place of 

 residence for the Persian kings, though, from the account of Arrian 

 and other writers, it was from the most ancient times regarded as the 

 capital of the empire. The kings of Persia appear to have been buried 

 here or at Pasargadx. There was at Persepolis a magnificent palace, 

 which at the time of Alexander was full of immense treasures, which 

 had accumulated there from the time of Cyrus. (Died. Sic., xvii. 71 ; 

 Strata, xv. p. 729.) The palace of the Persian kings and a part of 

 the city were burnt by Alexander (Arrian, iii. 18 ; Curt., v. 7 ; Strabo, 

 xv. p. 729 ; Diod. Sic., xviL 70) ; but it still continued to be a place 

 of considerable importance after his time. (Diod. Sic., xix. 22.) Wo 

 read of an attempt by Antiochus Epiphanes to plunder it, which did 

 not succeed. (2 Mac., ix. 1, 2.) Persepolis was situated in an extensive 

 plain, near the union of the Araxes (Bendemir) and Cyrus (A'ia-). The 

 situation appears to have been very healthy and favourable to longevity. 

 The ruins of Persepolis, which are usually called by the inhabitants 

 Tciiil-Miuar, that U, ' The Forty Pillars,' ara described at great length 



I :. K. Porter 1 * ' Travels.' 



PERSHORU, Worcestershire, ft market-town, and the seat of a Poor- 

 Law Union, is situated on the right bank of the river Avon, in 62 7 



