

AVEYRON. 



AVEYRON. 



750 



The department contains 2,166,006 acres divided into 1,169,862 

 parcels. Of this area 898,811 acres are under tillage, 296,000 are 

 grass-laud, 214,644 are covered with forests, and 516,230 acres consist 

 of barren heath. About 330,000 quarters of bread-corn are annually 

 produced, a quantity which barely meets the consumption ; 104,000 

 quarters of oats ; aud about 50,000 quarters of potatoes. The wine 

 of the department is with a few exceptions disliked for its earthy taste ; 

 the annual produce is stated to be about 6,600,000 gallons. Horses 

 and horned cattle are numerous, but of inferior breed. Great 

 numbers of excellent mules are reared, many of which are sent to the 

 Spanish markets. Oxen and cows are used for ploughing. Goats, 

 sheep, and swine are very numerous. The rivers are well stocked with 

 trout and other fish. Wolves and foxes are commonly met with in 

 the mountains : of large game there is little, but hares and rabbits 

 abound in the heaths; among the reptiles are adders, vipers, aud 

 snakes. 



Besides its rich coal-mines the department contains mines of copper, 

 lead, zinc, sulphur, antimony, iron, and alum, nearly all of which are 

 found in the rich mineral district between the Lot and the Aveyron. 

 The lead-ores are rich, and contain a considerable quantity of silver. 

 Marble, serpentine, rock-crystal, kaolin, millstone-grit, flint, emery, 

 chalk, marl, gypsum, &c. are found. Tiiere are several mineral and 

 hot springs. The abundant water-power of the department is applied 

 to good purpose in various factories for the manufacture of paper, 

 iron, cotton, leather, woollen stufis, &c. The trade of the department 

 is in the mineral and industrial products already named, together 

 with corn, plums, chestnuts, almonds, wax, bacon, cattle, hides, wool, 

 hemp, timber, turnery, oak planks, &c. Cheese also made of ewes' - 

 milk mixed with that of goats', forms an important article of export. 

 About 170 fairs are held in the department yearly. 



Climate. The atmosphere of the department is generally pure and 

 the sky clear, but the temperature varies considerably in different 

 parts. The snow remains on the mountain-tops half the year. The 

 winds are so violent as sometimes to unroof the houses and blow 

 down large trees. The prevalence of the south wind gives to the 

 branches of the trees a general direction towards the north. 



Divitimw and Townt. The department is divided into 5 arron- 

 dissements, which, with the number of cantons, communes, and popu- 

 lation in each, are as follows : 



The chief town of the first arrondissement and of the department 

 is RODEZ, which was also the capital of Rouergue. Among the other 

 towns, which are small, the following are given as the chief towns of 

 cantons : the populations given are those of the communes : Bozouh 

 is a large village, with about 2500 inhabitants, situated 10 miles from 

 Rodez, near the edge of a circular chasm of great depth and with 

 almost precipitous sides. Ccuagne-B(gonhe, a walled village with 

 1113 inhabitants, in an ancient place 14 miles S. from Rodez. The 

 English held it in the reign of Charles VI. Conquet, a small town of 

 1500 inhabitants, situated half-way down one of the steep sides of a 

 rocky ravine among the wildest mountains of Rouergue, about 3 

 miles above the junction of the Dourdon with the Lot, owes its origin 

 to the abbey of St.-Foy, of which the church (a most interesting 

 structure of the llth century) and the cloisters still remain. The 

 church of St.-Foy consists of a nave and transepts, the intersection of 

 which ia surmounted by an octagonal tower erected in the 14th cen- 

 tury ; the east end terminates in three apses ; the west end is flanked 

 by two towers, and contains a curious representation of the Last 

 Judgment in a bas-relief in the tympanum over the central portal. 

 Marcillac (population 1575) is situated a few miles S. from Conques 

 in a beautiful verdant dell hollowed out by the Crenaux, a feeder of 

 the Dourdon. The town is surrounded by meadows, vineyards, and 

 plantations of walnut and poplars ; and the valley in which it stands 

 forms a most agreeable contrast to the barren district that surrounds 

 it. Nnitcelle, situated in a wide plain 15 miles S.W. from Rodez, is 

 an ill-built place with 1220 inhabitants. Punt-de-Salan, on the left 

 bank of the Viaur : population, 1215. Rcr/uitta, a large village situ- 

 ated on a hill 20 miles S. from Rodez, has a good trade in cheese, 

 butter, and linen yarn : population, 4185. Jliynac, 12 miles W. from 

 Rodez on a small feeder of the Alsou, has a population of 1666. 

 Hnhetat, 17 miles S.W. from Rodez, is a village which with its out- 

 lying hamlets numbers 3128 inhabitants. Sauveterre, 20 mile* S.\S'. 

 from Rodez: population, 1845. To these must be added full,., 

 Comtaus, situated near Marcillac, in a beautiful valley echoing with 

 cascades formed by an abundant spring, whence it is also called 

 SaUft-la-Sourcf. There i* a handsome chateau above the town. 



In the second arrondutement the chief town is Eipalion, which 

 stands in a fertile district on the right bank of the Lot, 24 miles K. 



from Rodez. The town possesses a college, a tribunal of first instance, 

 a drawing-school, and a new prison ; a handsome bridge over the 

 Lot has been recently built here. Coarse woollens and leather are 

 made ; these with timber and staves are the chief articles of trade : 

 population, 4404. The other towns are the following : JSntraiguea 

 (Interaquas), at the confluence of the Truyere and the Lot, which last 

 here becomes navigable : population, 3000. Timber, turnery, and 

 oak-staves are the chief articles of trade. Estaing, 6 miles N.W. from 

 Espalion on the right bank of the Lot and at the foot of high rocky 

 mountains, has a population of 1531. The ruins of the castle of the 

 counts of Estaiug crown a steep rock above the town. La-Guiolle, 15 

 miles N.N.E. from Espalion, situated between high volcanic mountains 

 on the left bank of the Selve, a feeder of the Truyere. A large 

 quantity of good cheese and some woollen stuffs are made, and five 

 cattle fairs are held : population, 2174. Mur-de-Barrez, 36 miles from 

 Espalion, formerly a fortified town. Serges, camlets, and barracans 

 are made here : population, 1622. St.-Chdy-Daubrac, 12 miles from 

 Espalion, in which serge and flannels are made : population, 2088. 

 St.-Genitz^le-Rive-cC Olt, situated on the Lot in the east of the depart- 

 ment, and in a valley hemmed in by hills covered with vineyards. 

 This active town has several woollen and cotton factories, besides 

 numerous tan-yards, dyeing establishments, and naileries, the produce 

 of which, together with timber, wool, and turnery, are the chief 

 articles of trade. The town has a tribunal of commerce, a college, 

 and a population of 3851. Sainte-Genevitve, 18 miles N. from Espa- 

 lion : population 1890. 



In the third arrondissement the chief town is Millau or Milhau, 40 

 miles S.E. from Rodez. It is built in a rich dale near the junction of 

 the Dourbie and the Tarn, over the latter of which a fine bridge is 

 thrown : population, 9014. The principal street is wide and adorned 

 with fountains, but the other streets are narrow. Broad-cloths, gloves, 

 and leather of different kinds are made. There are also some silk- 

 throwing establishments. These products, with wool, hides, timber, 

 oak-staves, cheese, wine, and cattle, are the chief articles of trade. 

 The neighbourhood produces abundance of peaches, almonds, and 

 other fruits. There are tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a 

 college, an exchange, and an agricultural society in the town. Milhau 

 was one of the strongholds of the Calvinists in the 16th and 17th 

 centuries. Among the other towns are the following : Beauzehy, 6 

 miles N.W. from Milhau : population, 900. Champaynac : population, 

 1216. Laiaac, 27 miles N. from Milhau, in which serges, paper, pottery, 

 and woollen yarn are made ; near the town is the mountain of Mou- 

 berle, on the summit of which there is an intrenched camp capable 

 of containing 12,000 men : population, 1282. Nant, 18 miles S.E. from 

 Milhau, in a fertile valley planted with fruit-trees and watered by the 

 Dourbie : population, 3134. In the environs of this town are many 

 interesting grottoes, one of which called Poujade is 500 feet long, 130 

 feet wide, and above 100 feet high. SaUes-Curan, 14 miles W. from 

 Milhau : population, 2489. Sererac-le-Ch&teau, 19 miles N. from Milhau, 

 built on the slope of a conical hill, on the top of which there is an 

 ancient castle; coal-mines are worked in the neighbourhood: popu- 

 lation, 2782. Vezina, 12 miles N.N.W. from Milhau : population, 

 2014. 



In the fourth arrondissement the chief town is St.-Affrique, 45 miles 

 S.E. from Rodez: population, 6336. This town is situated in a delightful 

 valley watered by the Sorgue, and is joined to the suburb of Vabres 

 by two bridges. The streets are wide, but the houses are generally 

 not well built. There are tribunals of first instance and of commerce, 

 a college, and several churches, one of which is Protestant. Broad- 

 cloths, serges, swanskin, and blankets are made. There are also 

 cotton and woollen factories, several tan-yards, and a good trade in 

 the products of these aud in wool and cheese. The other towns 

 are : Belmont, S.S. W. of ,St.-Affrique, on the right bank of the Ranco : 

 population, 1546. Camar.Ss, E. of Belmont, also on the Rauce, near 

 which are the cold mineral springs of Andabre, and on the opposite 

 side of the hills the warm springs of Silvanes, which have a tempe- 

 rature of 104 Fahrenheit : population, 2132. Curnw, which has 

 some trade in coarse woollens, woollen yarn, liiisey-woolseys, and 

 cheese : population, 1654. Roquefort, 7 miles from St.-Aflrique, a 

 small village near which there are extensive grottoes, in which about 

 16,000 cwt. of cheese are annually made. St.-Romc-de-Tam, on the 

 left bank of the Tarn, which is here crossed by a bridge of six arches. 

 The town has old ramparts and fauxbourgs, manufactures calicoes and 

 leather, and trades in these together with wine and almonds : popu- 

 lation, 3070. 8t.-8crnin, situated between three hills on the right bank 

 of the Rauce, 18 miles S.W. from St.-Affrique : population, 2399. 



In the fifth arrondissement the chief town is Villefrancke, situated 

 at the junction of the Alson and the Aveyron, 28 miles W. from Rodez : 

 population, 9088. It consists of two parts ; the town properly so called 

 which stands on a slope, aud the suburbs in which the houses are 

 built iit wider intervals. The former collegiate church, the cloisters 

 of the old Carthusian monastery, the college buildings, and the public 

 library which contains 7000 volumes, are the principal buildings in 

 the town. The manufacturingjindustry is important : there are several 

 large linen factories, copper and iron foundries, tan-yards and paper- 

 mills ; the products of these, together with com, wine, bacon, cattle, 

 and truffles, form the items of a considerable trade. The other towns 

 are: Aubin, situated 20 miles N. from Villefiauche, in the rich coal- 



