PYRENEES-OIUENTALES. 



PYRMONT. 



common and Thibet goats are bred. Bees mod silkworms are care- 

 fully tended ; honey and bees' -wax are important exports. Poultry, 

 game, and fish are abundant. 



The Pyrenees in thia department are composed almost entirely of 

 granitic rocks, as also is that part of the Corbieres which lies nearest 

 to the Pyrenees. Not only the peaks, but the intervening valleys are 

 in great part occupied by these formations. The mountains which 

 bound the valley of the Aude on the western side, and occupy the 

 extremity of the department towards the west, are composed of mica- 

 slate, which is not found anywhere else in this department. The 

 transition rocks are found near the base of the granitic mountains, 

 except where their continuity is interrupted by the tertiary or alluvial 

 beds. In the valley of the Tech above Cent, and extending north- 

 ward across the extremity of that short spur of the Pyrenees to 

 which Le Canigou belongs, these transition rocks consist of clay-slate 

 and transition limestone; About Villefranche, in the valley of the 

 found a mass of compact gray limestone, inclonng beds of gray 

 marble veined with red and green. The localities occupied by these 

 two masses of transition rocks an isolated in the district of the 

 granitic formations. The valley of the Gly from Estagel upwards, 

 ami that part of the Corbieres which lies at the head of the valley, 

 are formed of tr.m-ition rocks (chiefly compact gray limestone) which 

 skirt Ui granitic district on the north, and extend into the department 

 :e. The valleys watered by the tributaries of the Segre are, in 

 arttnent, occupied by the transition rooks. A small portion 

 lepartment to the north of EsUgel is occupied by the Alpine 

 and Jura limestone, which formations extend northward into the 

 department of Aude, where they overspread a Urge district. All the 

 eaatcrn side of the department, comprehending the sea-coast, the 

 plain which extends for some miles inland from the con"., and the 

 valleys of the Gly, the Tet, and the Tech, are occupied t>y tertiary 

 formations. A great number of iron-mines are worked, aud the ore 

 is smelted, and converted into malleable iron at 1 75 forges and furnaces, 

 by means of charcoal prepared on the spot. Copper, lead, bismuth, 

 and alum are found. A coal-mine is worked near Estavar ; marble, 

 alabaster, granite, and steatite are quarried. There is a great number 

 of hot and mineral springs, the most frequented of which are those of 

 Amtlitlti-Baiju, formerly called Arltt-la-Bauu. 



Besidr* wine and iron, the industrial products include coarse woollen 

 cloths, leather, corks, knit stockings and caps, brandy, whip-handles, 

 common pottery, tiles, and bricks. The fisheries on the coast are 

 actively plied, and large quantities of sardines and ancliovies are 

 preserved. The coasting trade in tho leading articles named, and in 

 >il, honey, Ac. is active. About 30 fain are held in the year. 



High roads lead from Xarbonno and Carcaseone to Perpignan, 

 whence southward there an three others one leading to Port 

 Vendresj ; another to Spain, by the port or col of Pertus, commanded 

 by the fortress of Bellegarde ; and a third which crosses by the port 

 of Ls>-P*rcbe to Puycerda in Spai-i, when It is joined by the road 

 from Toulouse, up the valley of the Arii-ge through the port of 

 Puyinonns. Another road through Cent enters Spain near Prats- 

 de-M 



The climate is good : the heats of summer in the plains an mode- 

 rated by sea brenes ; in wiut r the cold is not intense ; snow rests 

 only on the mountains of the Canigou and about Mont-Louis ; if it 

 fsllx elsewhere, it disappears in three days at most The south-west 

 and north-west an the prevailing winds. 



The language of the inhabitants is s mixture of the langue d'oc 

 [KKAMCI], the Catalonian, and the Castilian. 



The department contains 1,018,526 acres. Of the whole ana 233,71 4 

 acres an under cultivation ; 23,907 acres an grass-land ; 94,995 acres 

 an vineyards; 141,853 acres are covered with woods and forests; 

 485,530 acres consist of barren heath and moor; 22,512 acres an 

 occupied with orchard*, gardens, nurseries, and various culture ; and 

 SUM acres an covered with rivers, canals, lakes, and marshes. 



lepartment is divided into three armndissemenU, which, with 

 their subdivisions and population, an as follows : 



14 



JO 

 111 



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IT 



14* 



Fopclslkm In 1U1. 



7." 

 41,111 



51,0 J I 



1S1.9JJ 



1. f the first arrondissemrat, and of the whole department, the 

 chief town is PwFMBA*. Kl*r, the ancient HUlx,;,, under tho walls 

 of which Hannibal encamped on his way to Italy, formerly the seat of 

 a bishop, and one of the strongest towns in Kousillon, stands on tho 

 fop- sad at the foot of a hill mar the left bank of the Tech, 8 miles 

 H.K. from Pnpignan, and has 22M inhabitants. The emperor Con- 

 stantins was murdered in this town, and his tomb existed till about 

 ri/htytyears ago in the church cloisters. Eloe presents a wide ruin : 

 He decay was canned by the continual sieges it stood from the French 

 and Hpaniardn. The church, which was opened December 10, 1058, 

 and nonius of a nave, choir, and aisles, tho whole surmounted by a 

 lofty roof supported on square stone pillars, is a very remarkable 



structure. Slitttu, 10 miles W. from Perpignan, on the right bank of 

 the Tet, has a population of 2095, who trade in corn, brandy, beans, 

 and cattle. St.-Paul-de-Fenouillet, a small place on the left bank of 

 the Gly, or Agly,and near its confluence with tho Boulsaue, is built on 

 a height surrounded by arid hills which are crowned with the ruins of 

 many an ancient castle, 23 miles N.W. from Perpignan, and has 2000 

 inhabitants. Rirejaltes, prettily situated on the Agly, in a fertile plain 

 environed by vine-clad slopes that yield muscatel wine of superior 

 quality, has 3446 inhabitants, who trade in wine, brandy, flour, wool, 

 &c. The town is 5 miles N. from Pcrpiguan, and still has remains of 

 the turreted walls erected for its defence by the kings of Aragou. 

 Thuir, a walled town 8 miles S.W. from Perpignan, situated on a 

 small stream, has potteries, lanyards, paper-mills, silk-throwing fac- 

 tories, and 2490 inhabitants. The Spaniards seized this town on June 

 6, 17U3, and held it till September 25 of tho same year, when the 

 French drove them out of it. 



2. In the second arrondUsemcnt tho chief town, Ceret, is situated 

 at the foot of the Pyrenees, 17 miles S.S.W. from Perpignan, and has 

 a tribunal of first instance, a college, and 3575 inhabitants. The town, 

 which is surrounded by high tower-flanked walls, stands near the right 

 bunk of the Tech, which is passed by a very high bridge of a single 

 arch. It is ill built, with narrow badly-paved streets. Corks, leather, 

 and copper-ware are the chief industrial products. Argdls-tur-Mcr, 

 10 miles E. from Ce'ret, and about 2 miles from the Mediterranean, 

 has a population of 2136. South of Argelcs is the small village of 

 Ecltue, aud near this the strong fortress of Belleyardc, built on a high 

 hill, and commanding the cols of Pertus aud Punissas, by which com- 

 munication is kept up between France and Spain. Arla-sur-Tech, 

 situated W. of Ccret on the left bank of the Tech, is a well-frequented 

 market-town with 23S4 inhabitant*, who manufacture oak-staves, hoops, 

 leather, and iron, and trade in wine and corn. Near Aries are the hot 

 springs and baths of At*,' lie lei- Bairn. Collioure, an ill-built town 

 with a small harbour and 3476 inhabitants, is situated on a hill above 

 the sea, 22 miles E. from Ce'ret. The h-irli.mr, which admits small 

 craft only, is defended by several forts. Cork-cutting and tunny aud 

 sardine fishing an the chief employment of the inhabitants, who also 

 trade in wine, salt-fish, 4c. Near Collioure is Port-Vaulra, the 

 ancient Portm Venerit, A small fortified town with a tolerably good 

 natural harbour, a lighthouse, and 1S05 inhabitants, who trnde in 

 corn, wine, and brandy. Pratide-Mollo, an irregularly-built fortified 

 town of 3710 inhabitants, is situated 20 miles S.W. from I'cret, on the 

 left bank of the Tech, in a wild country surrounded by savage moun- 

 tains. It is built on tho slope of a bill which is surmouuted by the 

 principal church. The defences an old, and consist of a wall strength- 

 ened by gotliic round towers and several bastions. Broadcloth, swan- 

 skin, woollen hosiery, and whip-handles, are the chief industrial 

 products. Near this town an the sulphurous hot springs of Prate. 



3. Of the third arrondissement the chief town, Pradct, is situated 

 25 miles S. bv W. from Perpignan on the right bonk of the Tet, aud 

 has a tribunal of first instance, a college, an ecclesiastical school, ami 

 SI 92 inhabitants. The town stands in a vast plain surround. < I by 

 high bills, at the foot and on the slopes of which are several villages ; 

 it has a handsome church and a well-built hospital. Woollen cloth, 

 brown paper, and leather are manufactured ; and there is coimidemlilo 

 commerce in corn, excellent fruit*, wine, flax, hemp, hides, fine wool, 

 and cattle. Monl-Louii, a small regularly-built fortified town, was 

 erected under Louis XIV., on a rugged rock, commanding the bridge 

 over the Tet on the road into Spain by the Col de-la-1'erche. The 

 situation is bleak and cold in the extreme. Tho town consists of eight 

 straight streets of symmetrically-built houses ; there are two squares, 

 and good barracks ; the whole is defended by parapets, bastions, glacis, 

 Ac , and by a citadel Tho population is only 1084. Lichen abounds 

 hi the neighbourhood : the savage wildneu, the waterfall*, and tin- 

 frightful chasms of the gorge through which the Tut hurries in its 

 nouy course near this place, deserve to be mentioned. Oldie, 10 miles 

 from Prades, situated in a gorge on the left bank of the Tet, where 

 that river is joined by two torrents, has 1209 inhabitants. l'i;ij </. 5 

 miles E.N.H. from Prades, is situated in a fertile plain near the right 

 bank of the Tet, and is a spot abounding with springs of the purest 

 water. It retains still some remains of its old fortifications, consisting 

 of walls and towers. The town, which is ill built, has two pretty 

 suburbs, a college, and 2040 inhabitants, who trade in hides, corn, 

 fruits, flax, hemp, aud cattle. 



The department forms the see of tho BUhop of Perpignan; it 

 is comprised in the jurisdiction of the High Court and within tho 

 limits of the University-Academy of Montpellier ; and belongs to the 

 llth Military Division, of which Perpignan is head-quarters. It returns 

 one member to the Legislative Assembly of the French empire. 



(Iliclionnaire d< la France ; Annuaire pour C An 18J3 ; A nnuaire ilu 

 Commerce; Official Paptrt.) 



PYKMONT, a county belonging to tho Prince of Wnldeck, about 32 

 square miles in extent, with 6623 inhabitant* (in 1S52), whose chief 

 occupations an agriculture and the breeding of cattle, lies between 

 Lippe-DetmoM, Prussia, aud Hanover. It yield* the prince a revenue 

 of about 8500'., of which tho mineral springs alone produce nearly 

 2000'. Pyrmonl, the capital, is a well-built town, of about 2900 inha- 

 bitants, at the northern extremity of a romantic valley on the Kramer, 

 a feeder of the Weser. The principal street, shaded on both sides by 



