981 



VARALLO. 



VAUCLUSE. 



632 



the nlope of a high hill, 23 miles E. from Draguignan, has tribunals 

 of first instance and of commerce, a college, an ecclesiastical school, 

 and 11,381 inhabitant!, who manufacture coarse woollens, silk, 

 liqueurs, olive-oil, soap, leather, and a great quantity of essences and 

 perfumes, particularly those made from orange flowers, roses, mint, 

 &c. The houses of the town are well built; but the streets are 

 steep, crooked, and narrow. In the highest part of the town there 

 is an abundant spring, which supplies water to two public wash- 

 houses, and drives the machinery of several mills ; after performing 

 these services the water is conducted by canals to irrigate the environs 

 of the town, which abound in flower-gardens. Antibea is noticed in 

 a separate article [ANTIBES.] Cannet, a small town of 33S1 inhabit- 

 ants, situated on the slope of a hill above the shore of the Mediter- 

 ranean, 8 miles 8. from Grasse, is pretty well built, and has a large 

 quay, but vessels cinnot come close to shore. The vicinity of Cannes 

 present) many beautiful sites in which the orange and citron flourish ; 

 the climate is delicious. Vence, an ill-built walled town, with pretty 

 suburbs, is situated 12 miles N.E. from Orasse, in a well-cultivated 

 district and a most delightful climate ; it occupies an ancient site, as 

 is proved by its old ruins with inscriptions, and ha* 3136 inhabitants, 

 who manufacture leather and oil 



4. In the fourth arrondissement the chief town is TOULOX. HtiRES. 

 Cueri, situated 13 miles N.E. from Toulon, among vineyards, olive- 

 grounds, and orchards, has an agricultural population of 4300. 

 UUitnda, on the road from Toulon to Marseille, and. at the extremity 

 of savage gorge, has a population of 3000. La-Seyne is a well-laid- 

 out and a well-built town, with large quays, a good port, a small 

 hip-building yard, and about 8000 inhabitants : it is at the western 

 end of the inner road of Toulon, about 3 mile* from that town ; the 

 tunny and sardine fisheries are actively carried on. ttoliSi-le-Pont is 

 on the river Oapeau, 7 miles N.E. from Toulon; the neighbourhood 

 comprehends some of the best grass-lauds in the department : popu- 

 lation about 3000. 



The department constitute* the diocese of Frejus, the bishop of 

 which is a suffragan of the archbishop of Aix, Aries, and Embrun. 

 It is in the jurisdiction of the High Court, and within the limit* of 

 the University-Academy of Aiz, and is included in the 9th Military 

 Division, of which the head-quarters are at Marseille. It (ends three 

 member* to the Legislative body of the French empire. 



VARALLO. [NOVA**.] 



VAKDHARI, RtVKR, [Ainu.] 



VAREL. [OLDINBOBO.] 



VARBNNES. [ALLIEB ; Micu.1 



VARESK. [QKICOA.] 



Y.\I:N A, a fortified town and sea-port of Turkey-iu-Europe, in the 

 province of Bulgaria, is situated at the head of a small bay on the 

 west coast of the Black Sea, in 43* 12' N. lai, 37* S3' 58" E. long., 

 and has a population of 18,000 to 20,000. The bay or road of Varna 

 is protected from the north and north-east wind*, and ha* a good 

 bottom, with a depth of 8 to 15 fathoms. The entrance of the bay 

 is formed by two steep rocky cape* (Qalata and Hodrova, or Sughan- 

 lik), 44 miles asunder. The shore* sink gradually to the head of the 

 bay, where in the neighbourhood of the city they are level The 

 Paravnti River (the ancient Lyginos), which rues in the Balkan 

 near Shnmla, after traversing the two lakes of Devne, discharge* 

 itself by a broad stream into the Black Sea, along the foot of the 

 southern wall* of Varna. The distance between the eastern shore of 

 the eastern Lake of Devne and the Black Sea is little more than half 

 a mile. It ha* lately been proposed to deepen the channel of this 

 river so as to admit ship* to the lake, which would thus be converted 

 into a harbour capable of affording shelter and accommodation to the 

 largest fleet* in all weathers. In the isthmus between the two lake* 

 Alexander the .Great defeated the Triballi. The isthmu* is from a 

 mile to a mil* and a half broad. 



Varna is a wretchedly built town, surrounded by old stone walls 

 and a dry ditch. It is a place of considerable trade, the export* of 

 corn, barley, tallow, egg*, and other Bulgarian produce, amount in 

 value to about 600,0001. Austrian (teamen between Constantinople 

 and Qalate put in at Varna. Under the wall* of Varna the Sultan 

 Ifurad II. in 1444 defeated the Hungarian* under King LadUlau* 

 (who was killed) and John Huuiades. The Russians took Varna in 

 1828. An Anglo-French army encamped in Varna and it* environs 

 hi the summer of 1854, previous to its embarkation for the Crimea. 



VARZY. [Nifcvm.] 



VASARHKLY. [HtmoABT.l 



VASSY. [Minn!, HAUTB.] 



VA8TO, IU [ABRUMO.] 



VATAN. [IHDRF.] 



VAUCLUSE, a department In the south of France, bounded N. by 

 the department of Drome, E. by Basse*-Alpes, 8. by Bouches-du- 

 Rhone, from which it is separated by the Durance, and W. by the 

 depurtmtnfc* of Oard and Ardeche, from which it is separated by the 

 Rhone. Its greatest length from north-west to south-east is about 

 9 mile*, its breadth 88 mile*. It lie* between 43 88' and 44 27' 

 N. lat, 4* 40' and 6" 48' K. long. The area la 1872 square mile*: 

 thepopnlation in 1851 was 264,618. 



The eastern ride of the department is mountainous : the mountains 

 of Lure, which Mparate the department of Hautes-AJpe* from that 



of Drome, enter this department on the north-east side, where they 

 rise to the height of 5500 feet, and are connected with MontVentoux, 

 which has an elevation of 6423 feet above the level of the sea. This 

 eastern side of the department is occupied by secondary geological 

 formations. The western and south-western sides, where tho hills 

 subside, and plains extend along the banks of the Rhone and the 

 Durance, are occupied by the tertiary formation!). The miuernl 

 wealth of the department includes lignite, iron, coal, potter's-clay, 

 gypsum, limestone, and freestone. Peat ia found. There are several 

 mineral springs. 



The department belongs wholly to the basin of the RHONE, which 

 flows along it* western boundary, as its tributary the DURANCE does 

 along the southern. The Rhone is the only navigable river. Large 

 rafts are formed of the timber floated down the Durance from tho 

 well-wooded districts about its upper waters ; and the produce of the 

 country is sometimes transmitted on these rafts to the neighbourhood 

 of Avignon. The other rivers of the department are the Lez, the 

 Aigues, and the Sorgues (with its affluents the Nesque, the Auzon, and 

 the Ouveze). all three tributaries of the Rhone ; and the Calavoii and 

 the Leze, tributaries of the Durance, There is a number of canal) 

 for purposes of irrigation. 



The fountain of Vaucluse, to which the verses and letter* of Petrarch 

 have given celebrity, and from which tho department takes its name, 

 is the source of the Sorgues : it rises in a cavern in the secluded valley 

 of Vaucluse ('vallisclausa') midway between Apt and Avignon. The 

 spring is sufficiently copious to form at once a stream capable of bear- 

 ing a boat. Not far distant from the fountain is the village of Vau- 

 cluse, in which Petrarch lived ; and between the village and the foun- 

 tain is an old castle, formerly belonging to the bishops of Cavaillon, 

 in which the poet frequently resided, and which has derived from that 

 circumstance the name of Petrarch's Castle. 



The department is traversed by 4 imperial, 22 departmental, and 

 9 parish roads ; and also by the railway from Paris to Marseille, which 

 passe* through Orange and Avignon. 



The climate i* on the whole temperate and healthy : the variations 

 of the weather are however rapid ; tempest* are frequent, and the hail 

 i* often destructive to vegetation. 



About one-half of the area of the department is under cultivation, 

 but from the poorness of the soil the produce in grain is not sufficient 

 for the consumption : rje, barley, and wheat are the principal corn 

 crop*. The meadow-lands occupy about 15,000 acres; the heaths and 

 open pasture* about 170,000 acre*. There aro numerous flocks of 

 sheep. The ass and the mule are much employed in agricultural 

 labour. The vineyards occupy an area of 70,000 acres, yielding about 

 9,000,000 gallons of strong deep red wine. The department yield* 

 abundance of olives, almonds, and walnuts ; good pears, peaches, 

 plums, apricots, fig*, and melons. Saffron, madder, artichokes, anise, 

 coriander, fustic, and the evergreen oak are cultivated. The silkworm 

 is extensively reared (between two and three million* of mulberry- 

 tree* are planted for this purpose), and honey and wax aro abundant. 

 The woodland* occupy above 150,000 acres. 



Tho department is divided into four arrondiswments, as follow* : 



1. In the first arrondissement are the following town* : AVIGNON. 

 OavailtoH, an ill-built formerly fortified town, in a pretty country on 

 the right bank of the Durance, with a handsome town-hall ; madder- 

 oil and silk-mills, about 7000 inhabitants, and a weekly market for 

 raw silk : and L' hit, a town on an inland of the Sorgues, with above 

 6000 inhabitant*, who manufacture woollen-yarn, blankets, woollen- 

 stuff*, silk, and leather ; and trade in silk, oil, wine, and madder. 



2. In the second arrondissement the chief town is Carpentrat, which 

 stands on the left bank of the Auzon, at the foot of Mont Ventoux, 

 and has a college and 10,473 inhabitants. The town is surrounded 

 by turrcted walls, and ha* well-built houses, but crooked narrow 

 street*. Amongst *ome remarkable structures are the cathedral, tl>-- 

 Orange-gate, the court-house, the Hotel-Dieu, the theatre, and the 

 public library, which contains 22,000 volume*, 2000 manuscripts, and 

 tlOOO medal*. The library building and it* contents were bequeathed 

 to the town by Bishop Inquimbert. 



3. In the third arrondissement the chief town Apt, 80 miles E. 

 from Avignon, on the left bank of the Calavon, has a college and 5699 

 inhabitants, who manufacture cotton- and woollrn-stuffn, confectionary, 

 brandy, silk-twist, and leather. The town is well built and clean, and 

 lurrotmded by strong wall*. The gothic church is a building of high 

 antiquity ; it stands over crypt* still more ancient A Roman bridge 

 of three arclies over the Calavon is still perfect Several Roman 

 antiquities have been found in Apt, which takes its name from, and 

 occupies th* lite of, the ancient Apia Julia, a city of the Celtic Vul- 

 giente*. Cadmtt, population 2441 ; and J'ertuii, population 4380, on 



