e 



BOUCHES-DU-RHONE. 



BOUCHES-DU-RHONE. 



70 



m one of the greatest works of the kind ever undertaken. It leaves 

 the Durance at the north-eastern angle of the department ; crosses 

 highways, watercourses, and valleys ; pierces three mountain ranges 

 and several offshoots from them by tunnels ; and reaches the boundary 

 of the arid basin around Marseille at a height of nearly 500 feet 

 above the sea. There are in all 78 tunnels, the total length of 

 which is about 15 miles (three of them are each a league in length); 

 anil about 500 artificial constructions, including embankments, 

 bridges, aqueducts, and cuttings. The greatest of these works ia the 

 bridge-aqueduct across the valley of the Arc, within five miles of 

 Aii. This structure consists of three rows of arches, one above 

 another ; the piers of the two lower rows are built of cut stone, and 

 measure 48 feet by 20 feet. The lowest row contains 12 arches, the 

 middle 15, and the topmost, which supports the water-channel, 

 49 arches. Some of the stones used in the construction of the lower 

 piers exceed 17 tons in weight. The total length of the aqueduct 

 is 51 miles. The canal is 30 feet wide at top, 10 feet wide at bottom, 

 and 7 feet deep. From the Durance to the edge of Marseille basin 

 the fall is 125 feet, and it is Raid that this fall will admit of the 

 delivery of 11 tons of water per second. This great work, which if 

 lint already finished, is rapidly approaching completion, besides 

 furnishing Marseille and the numerous bastilles or country houses 

 round it with water, will afford a vast and ever-ready supply of 

 water-pi. wer for driving machinery; and give means for irrigating 

 a surface of nearly 25,000 acres of land, which for want of water 

 during summer is like a parched desert. 



Climate. In December, January, and February the climate and 

 f.ice of the country are delightful Frost and snow are rare. During 

 the rest of the year the heat is very great, especially from July to 

 the end of September. Rain seldom falls in summer, and then the 

 scorching heat alternates with a violent cold dry wind called ' mistral,' 

 from the north or north-west, which is very injurious to vegetation, 

 and so impetuous as frequently to unroof houses and blow down 

 trees. Except in the low valleys, the irrigated grounds, or in the 

 neighbourhood of the marshes, vegetation in the summer season 

 seems dead, and the whole surface of the ground is covered with 

 dust. In the intervals of the mistral mosquitoes appear in countless 

 numbers, and from these there is no respite night or day between 

 the months of May and November. The people sleep under wire or 

 gauze frames to keep off these restless enemies. Scorpions are not 

 uncommon. The climate is generally healthy ; but in the corn lands 

 <if the arrondissement of Aries there are many deaths among the 

 labourers at harvest time, owing to the proximity of the marshes. 



Soil and Product* The surface of the department covers 

 1,270,330 acres, divided into 1,169,862 parcels. Of this area 530,000 

 acres are arable, 97,584 vineyards, 157,700 underwoods and forests, 

 mid 41 ",l.")7 acres are heaths, marshes, and waters. Owing to the heat 

 of the climate, the soil is in most places arid and parched, and pro- 

 duces nothing without irrigation. Corn is grown in large quantities 

 only in the arrondinsement of Aries. In 1846 the quantity of wine 

 produced in the whole department amounted to 13,750,000 gallons, 

 about one-half of which ia used for home consumption, nnd the 

 remainder is exported or converted into brandy. The white wines 

 of Cassis and Ciotat, the red wines of Se'on and St. -Louis in the arron- 

 dissement of Marseille, and those of Chateau-Regnard and Saintes- 

 Maries in the arrondissement of Aries are the most esteemed sorts. 

 The number of mulberry-trees for the production of silk exceeds a 

 inillinii. The olive is extensively cultivated, and the oils of this 

 department are the best in France. Pomegranates, pistachios, 

 almonds, figs, melons, citrons, capers, 4c. are abundant. The cypress, 

 myrtle, tamarisk, rose-laurel, and other odoriferous plants and herbs 

 flourish. Great numbers of light active horses are reared ; cows and 

 goats are numerous ; the number of sheep is stated at 700,000. 

 These last are fed in the department only in the winter ; during the 

 rest of the year they pasture on the Alps. The cultivation of tobacco 

 which had been prohibited was re-introduced in 1852. 



Manufacture!. The manufacturing industry of the department is 

 great. The most important products are brandy, soap, vinegar, soda, 

 chemical products, broadcloth, leather, hats, and perfumes. There 

 are several sugar-refineries, glass-works, tile and brick fields, silk, 

 cottnn, and tobacco factories, and important salt-works along the 

 coast and on the several shore-lakes. The commerce of the depart- 

 ment is very active with all the southern departments, with the 

 Levant, the coasts of Africa and Spain, and the West Indies. The 

 exports consist of the industrial products named, and dried fruits, 

 cork, and colonial produce. The minerals include coal, iron, lead, 

 marble, slate, gypsum, chalk, alabaster, and potters' clay. At Aix 

 and at Camoinx near Marseille there are mineral springs. 



The department i* divided into three arrondissements, which, with 

 mil population, are as follows : 



1. In the arrondissement of Marseille the chief town is MARSEILLE, 

 which is also the capital of the department. Aulagnc, 10 miles E. 

 from Marseille, is built on the elope and at the foot of a hill on the 

 left bank of the Huveaurie. Coarse woollens, china, pottery, brandy, 

 leather, and paper are manufactured. The town has a large magna- 

 nerie, or establishment for rearing silk-worms ; and there is a good 

 trade in the wines of the neighbourhood and in dried fruits : popu- 

 lation, 6208. Cassis, a small well-built town on the coast, has a har- 

 bour formed by a jetty. The entrance of the harbour is dangerous 

 in rough weather, but within it is deep : it is defended by several 

 batteries, and on the left of it there is a lighthouse with a fixed light 

 90 feet high, in 43 12' N. lat., 5 32' E. long. The town has a popu- 

 lation of 2100, who are employed in the coasting-trade and in ship- 

 building. La-Oiotat is situated 20 miles S.E. from Marseille, in a 

 district covered with plantations of the olive, the pomegranate, and 

 the orange, and at the bottom of a bay on the western side of the Gulf 

 of Lecques. The town is well built, and has a harbour defended by 

 a castle on the left, and by batteries on the small island of Ile-verte. 

 The harbour, which admits vessels of 300 tons, is formed by a mole 

 on which there are two lighthouses. The coasting-trade in the wines, 

 dried fruits, and white figs of the neighbourhood, ship-building, and 

 the manufacture of cotton-yarn, give employment to the population, 

 which amounts to 5902. Jloquevaire, 14 miles E. by N. from Marseille, 

 is on the Huveaune, and has a population of 4143. The environs of 

 this town furnish the best white and red muscadine wine and grapes 

 of the department. Auriul, an irregularly-built but rather pretty 

 village, 3 miles N. from Roquevaire, has 5103 inhabitants, who manu- 

 facture woollens, soda, bricks, tiles, brandy, paper, and raise a good 

 deal of silk. Mines of gypsum, coal, alabaster, and red ochre 

 are worked in the vicinity. The town is ancient. Several Roman 

 remains have been found in it. 



2. In the arroudissement of Aix the chief town is Aix. Serre is a 

 small well-built walled town on the north shore of the lake of 13erre ; 

 it is a station on the Aries-Marseille railroad, and has a harbour and 

 a population of 1926, who carry on a brisk trade in salt, made in 

 extensive saltworks along the shore, which however render the tsite 

 unwholesome. Gardanne, 7 miles from Aix, has 2609 inhabitants, 

 who are chiefly engaged in the coal-mines, in the manufacture of 

 brandy and tiles, and in the cultivation of melons and beet-root. 

 fitret is on the south shore of the Lake Olivier, which is joined to the 

 Etang de Berre by a canal. The town has a population of 3122. It 

 is surrounded by old fortifications. St.-Chamas, a first-class station 

 on the Aries-Marseille railway, is situated at the north-eastern extre- 

 mity of the shore-lake of Bcrre, and near the right bank of the Tou- 

 loubre, which is crossed by a bridge of Roman construction : it has 

 a population of 2443, who trade in the produce of the country. 

 Lamoetc, 13 miles N.W. from Aix, on the road to Avignon, has a 

 population of 3587, who manufacture oil, soda, and soap. The town 

 has also establishments for reeling silk. Let-Martigne*, 25 miles S.W. 

 tVniii Aix, is situated on three islands united by bridges at the extre- 

 mity of the channel which joins the harbour of Tour-de-Bouc to the 

 Berre Lake. It is well built, contains a fine church, an hospital, and 

 several good streets, and has a population of 7772. Its position on 

 islands has obtained for it the name of ' Provencal Venice.' Its port 

 is frequented by small craft from Aries and the coast of Genoa. The 

 inhabitants are largely engaged in the tunny and pilchard fishery. 

 Salon, 20 miles W. from Aix on the road to Aries, is situated in a 

 fertile plain, irrigated by the Canal de Craponne, and has a population 

 of 5617. It is irregularly built, but contains some good houses and 

 two very ancient churches. There are oil-mills, soaperies, and estab- 

 lishments for bleaching wax and reeling silk. Trets, nn ancient town, 

 11 miles S.E. from Aix, has 3039 inhabitants, who manufacture brandy, 

 tiles, anc 1 sugar-of-lead. A coal-mine is worked near Trets. 



3. In the arrondissement of Aries the chief town is ABLES. C/idteau- 

 Renard is 17 miles N.E. from Aries, on the left bank of the Durance. 

 It takes its name from an old ruined castle on a hill above the town : 

 the population is 4744. Eyguiira is situated amidst olive-plantations 

 near the Craponne Canal, and has 2920 inhabitants. Organ, 22 miles 

 N.E. from Aries, is built on the slope of a hill, the summit of which 

 is covered with the ruins of an ancient castle. Between the hill and 

 the Durance there is only room for the high road and the Boisgelin 

 Canal to pass. The town has 2748 inhabitants, who are chiefly 

 employed in agriculture. St.-Remy, 13 miles N.E. from Aries, stands 

 in a plain covered with olive-plantations, and has a population of 

 5930. It is irregularly built, but contains many good houses of an 

 ancient style of architecture. Wool, silk, and agricultural produce 

 arc the chief articles of trade. There are several Roman remains 

 here. Taracon-sur-Rlt6ne (the Roman Tarasco), 10 miles N. from 

 Aries on the left bank of the Rh&ne opposite Beaucaire, to which it is 

 joined by a suspension-bridge, is a walled town defended by towers, 

 and entered by three gates. It is commanded by an ancient castle, 

 built on a rock above the Rhune. Tarascon is a well-built town. The 

 ancient church of Sainte-Martha, the town-house, court-house, theatre, 

 the two hospitals, and the barracks, are the most important public 

 buildings. A tribunal of first instance sits in the town, which has 

 also a college and a public library. Woollens, serges, silks, calico, 

 vermicelli, soap, cordage, starch, brandy, bricks, tiles, and leather are 

 manufactured. Small vessels for the river traffic are built. The 



