

POCK I.I N 



rOITIKRS. 



181 



tbe state of Parma; the Crostolo, a small stream which panes by 

 OuMUlK; the Socchia, a considerable river which croaies the duchy 

 of M<xlct, and enU-M the I'o a few mile Mow the confluence ( Hi- 

 Mincio (the Secchia is navigable for large boat* up to Pontebasso, near 

 llodena) ; the 1'aoaro, called Sooltemu in the upper part of iU counte, 

 which rue* at the foot of Mount Cimone near the frontier! of Tus- 

 cany, croates the duchy of Modena and part of the papal province of 

 Kmrnra, and after a tortuous course of nearly 100 mile* enten the I'o 

 below Boadeno. The I'onaro U navigable for 30 miles above it* con- 

 fluence with the Po. The Panaro ia the hut affluent of the Po from 

 the tooth ; but on the north bank, below the confluence of the Mincio, 

 rarioua canal* bring into the I'o part of the watera of the Adige, and 

 the drainage of the manhy country which lie* between the two riven. 

 The Po in former time* pawed south of Ken-am, but after the flood 

 f 1153 the main itream changed its bed, and it now panes about 

 three miles north of Ferrara. About twenty mile* lower down, near 

 Phpono, the river divides into two branches. The left, or northern 

 one, which u the larger, is called Maestra, or I'o Grande, and also Po 

 Irlle Koniaci ; it enten the sea by several mouths, the principal of 

 which, called Maestra, is always navigable by merchant vessel*. The 

 length of iU course from the point of bifurcation to the month ia about 

 twenty miles. The right, or southern branch, called Po d'Ariano, also 

 tlivides into several mouths, the principal of which is called Po Hi ( !n>, 

 and is likewise accessible to merchant vessels from the sea. Tho tide 

 is only felt in a slight degree about seven or eight miles above the 

 mouths, and it does not rise quite two feet Small merchant 

 ascend the river u far as Lagoscuro, near Ferr.ira. Higher up tho 

 navigation is carried on by boats of the burden of sixty tons as far as 

 Cremona in all seasons, and higher up as far as Casale in Piedmont, 

 exoept in times of great drought. Above Casale the Po is only navig- 

 able for small boats or rafts. The whole course of the river, including 

 its windings, is reckoned at about 450 miles. 



The width of the bed of the Po, from the confluence of the Ticino 

 to its bifurcation, is from 1200 to 1800 feet. The depth of water 

 varies from 12 to 36 feet. The periodical floods take place in the 

 summer months, in consequence of the melting of the snows in tbe 

 Alps, but extraordinary floods occur at other seasons also after great 

 rains. From the confluence of the Ticino to its mouth, a distance of 

 about 200 miles, the fall in the bed of the river is about 300 feet of 

 perpendicular height. The Po is not fordable below Turin, and has 

 no bridge across it below that city. It is embanked from below 

 Piaoenza to the sea, to protect the country from inundations. The 

 Ktruscans are said to have first applied themselves to embank the 

 Po. Near Ferrara, and below that town down to the seatuary of the 

 Po, the ordinary level of the water in the river is higher than the 

 country near its banks. The old bed of the Po, which runs south of 

 the town of Ferrara, and which is still called Po di Ferrara, still 

 receives come of the water of the great river by means of canals, but 

 i chiefly filled by the water of the Reno, a rapid river which rises in 

 the Tuscan Apennines, posses near Bologna, and after a course of 

 above 70 miles joins the Po of Ferrara below that city. The Reno is 

 navigable for boats in the lower part of its course^ but only in the 

 winter and spring. The Po of Ferrara divides into two branches : 

 the left or northern is called Po <li Volano, from the name of the place 

 where it enters the sea ; the right or southern branch, called Po di 

 I'riuiaro, receives several rivers, or rather torrents, from the Tuscan 

 Apennines, namely the Saveno, Idice, Silora, Santerno, and Senio. 

 The Po di Priuuro enters the sea at Primaro a few miles north of 

 Kavenna. Tho Lamone, which posses by Faenza, enters the sea by a 

 separate mouth between Primaro and Ravenna. In ancient times the 

 Lamone communicated with the To, and Kavenna itself stood on an 

 inland in the delta of that river. The delta of the Po may now bo 

 considered as terminating on tho south at Primaro : it extends to tho 

 northward as far as the mouth of the Adige at Brondolo near Chioggin, 

 distant from Primaro about 40 miles hi a direct line from north to 

 south. 



The length of the basin of tho Po, from the sources of the Dora 

 Riparia at the foot of Mont Gcnovre, which is its most western point, 

 to tbe great actuary of the Po of Maestra, is 280 miles from west to 

 <** The width of the basin is about 140 miles from the Ligurian 

 and Tuscan Apennines to the Alps of Switzerland and of the Tyrol. 

 The area, if we include in it the whole course of the Adige, is near 

 40,000 square miles, or about four-fifths of the area of Knglaud. The 

 whole of Piedmont in its larger sense, Lombardy proper, Southern or 

 Italian Tyrol, the western half of the Venetian territory, the Swiss 

 canton of Ticino, some districts of the canton of the Grisons, the 

 duchies of Parma and Piacenzo, the papal legations of Bologna, 

 Ferrara, and It iveuna, and that small part of Tuscany which extends 

 along the northern slope of the Apennines and is called Romagna 

 Qran-Ducale all these countries belong to the basin of the Po. 



By a treaty concluded between Austria, Parma, and Modeua in 



July, 1850, the navigation of the Po and its tributaries from the 



confluence of the Ticino to the Adriatic was declared free. And it 



was proposed at the same time to carry on the navigation by a flotilla 



:ners and steam tugs. 



: ling of Yorkshire, a market-town and 

 the seat of a Poor- Law Kni.m in tho parish of Pocklington, ia , 

 In 53 55' N. lat, 0" 17' V 



York, 212 miles N. by W. from London by road, and - J'2a miles by tho 

 Great Northern and North Midland railways. The population of tho 

 town in 1851 was 2546. The living is a vicarage in the archdeaconry 

 of the East Riding and diocese of York. Pocklington Poor-Law Union 

 contains 47 parishes and townships, with on area of 107,636 acres, 

 and a population in 1851 of 16,098. Pocklington is situated in a level 

 country, about 2 miles from the western edge of the Wolds, u-id is 

 connected with the river Derwcnt by the Pocklington CanaL Tlie 

 town is lighted with gas. The parish church is a plain structure, 

 erected in tbe year 1252. There are places of worship for Inde- 

 pendents, and Primitive and Wesleyau Methodists. The Free Grammar 

 school, founded in the 6th year of Henry VIII., by John Downmn, 

 LL.IX, with which are connected five exhibitions at St. John's College, 

 Cambridge, has a revenue of about 9001. a year, and had 40 scholars 

 in 1854. There are National schools, a literary institute, a news- 

 room, an Odd Fellows' hall, and a temperance hall. Petty sessions 

 and a county court are hald in tho town. The market is on Saturday, 

 and large sheep and cattle fairs are held on March 7th, May (ith, 

 August 5th, and November 8th, and a statute fair on November 9th. 



PODLACHIA. [POLAND.] 



PODOLIA,or KAMENETZ-PODOLSK, a government of European 

 Russia, fornwrly a part of Poland, extends from 47 25' to 49 45' 

 N. lat, 26 20' to 28" 5V E. long. It is bounded N. by Volhynia, 

 N.E. by Kiew, E. and S.K. by Kherson, S. by Bessarabia, from which 

 it is separated by the Dniester, and S. and S.W. by Austrian Galicia. 

 The area is estimated at 16,375 square miles. Podolia is generally a 

 table-land of no great elevation, and is traversed by a branch of the 

 Carpathians, which enters it from Galicia ; but the most elevated parts 

 of this chain are scarcely 500 feet above tho level of the sea, and their 

 effect is chiefly to heighten the picturesque beauties of this fine 

 province. The south-eastern parts, which formerly belonged to the 

 Ukraine, are sandy, and form a kind of steppe. The province is well 

 watered. The Dniester, which is the principal river, flows indeed only 

 along the frontier towards Bessarabia, but most of tUe small rivers 

 run into it. The second principal river is the Bug. There are 

 numerous small meres in. the western part of the province, but no 

 large lakes. 



The climate is mild and in general very healthy ; there are scarcely 

 any endemic disorders, except the Plica Polonica, which will probably 

 remain endemic as long as the uncleouliness of the Russniaka aud 

 Poles continues. The soil of Podolia is proverbially fruitful. In addition 

 to all kinds of corn, hemp, flax, tobacco, and hops are cultivated. The 

 peasants have generally gardens, in which they cultivate cabbages, 

 onions, cucumbers, water-melons, and some fruit-trees. The grass is 

 remarkably luxuriant, and the forests are extensive. In the fields 

 and in the steppe between the Bug and the Dniester there are hares, 

 wolves, foxes, a species of antelope, aud bustards. Storks are numerous. 

 Swarms of locusts come periodically from the Black Sea. The oxen 

 of Podolia are remarkably large and fine, and great droves of them are 

 annually sent even to the middle of Germany. The race of horses is 

 ranch esteemed. The sheep are of a good breed, and their wool is 

 tolerably fine. Swine are very numerous. The farmers breed great 

 quantities of domestic poultry and of bees. The fisheries are pro- 

 ductive. The mineral products ore saltpetre, stone for building, lime, 

 gypsum, and alabaster. Education is very limited. The schools ore 

 few in number. Most of the inhabitauts are of the Greek religion. 

 The population of tho province in 1846 was 1,703,000. 



Tho principal town is Knminiec, the capital of the province, on the 

 river Smotriza, at a short distance from its junction with the Duioster. 

 It was formerly the most important fortress ill Poland, but is mm- 

 deprived of its fortifications; it consists of the upper town, of the 

 lower, which is well built, and several suburbs. It has a vi-ry fine 

 cathedral, a gymnasium, some manufactories and trade, and 10,000 

 inhabitauts, half of whom are Jews. The other principal tow 

 the capitals of the circles (12 in all), but none of these are of great 

 importance. Mohilew alone has 7000 inhabitants, a silk manufactory 

 and some trade. 



PODSCHINSKI. [NISCHNEI- NOVGOROD.] 



FOGGY ISLAND. [NASSAU ISLANDS.] 



POINT COUPE. [LOUISIANA.] 



POINT-] )E-GALLE. [CEYLON.] 



POISSY. [SKINE-ET-OISE.] 



POITIERS, a town in France, capital of the department of Vieune, 

 is situated on a rocky hill on the left bank of the Clam, a feeder of 

 the Vienne, in 46 34' 55" N. lat, 20' 31" E. long., at an elevation 

 of 387 feet above the sea, 211 miles by railway 8.S.W. from Paris, 

 through Orldans and Tours, and had 25,818 inhabitants in the commune 

 in 1851. It is one of the oldest towns in France, and occupies the 

 site of Lemonum, the chief town of the Pictoues, which is mentioned 

 by Julius Csosar (' Bell. Gall.' iii. 11 ; vii. 75 ; viii. 26), and which after- 

 words took the name of Pictoues, or Pictavi, whence the present 

 names Poitiers for the town and Poitou for the province are said to be 

 derived. Upon the dowufal of the Roman empire, the town was 

 pillaged by the Vandals, A.D. 410 ; it subsequently came into the 

 hands of the Visigoths, from whom it was taken by the Franks. The 

 neighbourhood of Poitiers has been the field of three of the greatest 

 and most decisive buttles ever fought in France the defeat of the 

 Visigoths under Alaric A.D. 607 l>y Clovis and his Franks at VoitiUe", 



