CORSEUL. 



CORSICA. 



593 



The town contains a dispensary, and a station of the constabulary force. 

 Petty sessions are held here, and there are two yearly fairs. In the 

 vicinity are the ruins of a castle, formerly the residence of the O'Briens. 



CORSEUL. [C6TE8-DU-NORD.] 



CORSHAM, Wiltshire, a decayed market-town in the parish of 

 Corsham and hundred of Chippenham, is situated in 51 25' N. lat., 

 2 10' W. long., distant 14 miles N.W. from Devizes, 97 miles W. by 

 S. from London by road, and 98 J miles by the Great Western railway. 

 The population of the parish of Corsham in 1851 was 3172. The 

 living is a vicarage in the archdeaconry of Bristol and diocese of 

 Gloucester and Bristol. The town of Corsham consists chiefly of one 

 street of considerable length ; the houses are built of stone. Near 

 the centre of this street is a market-house erected in 1784. The 

 pariah church, dedicated to St. Bartholomew, is an ancient structure 

 of mixed styles, and consists of a nave and chancel, with a tower and 

 spire. The Independents and Baptists have places of worship. There 

 are a Free school, a British school, almshouses, and several paro- 

 chial charities. Previous to the general introduction of machinery 

 into the woollen manufacture, spinning and weaving were carried on 

 to a considerable extent in Corsbam. The population is now chiefly 

 engaged in agriculture. Fairs are held March 7th and September 4th 

 for cattle. 



CORSICA, or a the French call it, Cone, an island in the Mediter- 

 ranean, about 180 miles E. from France, of which it forms a depart- 

 ment, extends between 41 21' 4" and 43 41' 7' N. lat., 8 32' 10" 

 and 9 33' 26" E. long. The northern part of the island consists of a 

 mountainous projection, only 9 miles broad at its widest part, 23 

 miles in length, and terminating in Cape Corso (the ancient Sacred 

 Promontory). From this point to the Strait of Bonifacio, the southern 

 boundary of Corsica, the whole length of the island is 116 miles ; its 

 greatest breadth is 52 miles. The area ia 3377 square miles, and the 

 population in 1851 was 236,253, which gives 69'94 to the square mile. 



A great number of small islands are scattered round the coast, the 

 most important of which are Girajlia and Finocchiarolo on the north ; 

 Capraja, belonging to the king of Sardinia, on the north-east ; 1'Isle- 

 Rousse or Isola Rossa, Gargalo, and leg lies Sanguinaires on the west ; 

 les lies Cervicales and Toro on the east; and Razzoli, Maddalena, 

 Santa Maria, C.iprera, Sparagi, and Budelli in the Strait of Bonifacio. 



The western coast is high, and indented by numerous gulfs and 

 bays, many of which afford excellent harbours, though they are 

 comparatively useless owing to the difficulty of communication with the 

 interior. The principal bays on this coast are those of Porto, Sagone, 

 Ajaccio, and Propriano ; the chief harbours on the west coast are 

 Santa Fiorenza, or St.-Florent, Isola Rossa (Ile-Rousse), Calvi, and 

 Ajaccio. The eastern coast is low, and presents a continuous line, broken 

 only towards the north by the shore-lake of Biguglia, and near the 

 southern extremity by the fine harbour of Porto Vecchio and the Gulf 

 of Santa Manza. The low grounds along the east coast are unhealthy, 

 but the greater part of the island is free from malaria. The best 

 harbours are those of Bastia, Santa Manza, and Porto Vecchio (the 

 ancient Portus Syracusanus). Here and there, in picturesque situa- 

 tions along the sea-shore, are seen a great number of towers, which 

 were erected during the Genoese occupation of the island, and served 

 to give notice by fire-signals of the approach of the Barbary cruisers, 

 to whose incursions the island was in former times greatly exposed. 

 On the south side of the island is the harbour and town of Bonifacio, 

 which gives name to the strait between Corsica and Sardinia. The 

 interior of the island presents a mass of mountains, broken by abrupt 

 gorges, and inclosing many beautiful valleys, through each of which 

 a torrent or a rapid brook hurries along ; steep frowning precipices 

 re-echoing the roar of the waters struggling past their base ; and 

 extensive forests, which present in their native luxuriance a rich con- 

 trast with the bare and rocky heights that here and there spring up 

 above the general elevation of the ranges. 



The principal mountain chain, the ramifications of which cover the 

 greater part of the surface of the island, runs due south from Cap 

 Corso to about 42" 37' N. lat. ; it then turns west as far as Monte 

 Orosso, which attains the height of 6500 feet above the sea. From 

 this point it again runs south under the name of the Monti-di-Fron- 

 togna to. the summit of Paglia-Orba, which is 8697 feet high ; hence 

 it turns south-east as far as the pass of Foce-di-Verde, near 42 

 N. lat., having passed its culminating point in Monte Rotondo (the 

 ancient Mons Aureun), which reaches to the height of 9068 feet. 

 Foce-di- Verde its course is due south to ita termination in the 

 Strait of Bonifacio. The mountains of Corsica are composed chiefly 

 of limestone, but the crystallised rocks, granite, porphyry, sienite, 

 serpentine, &c. appear in the main chain and on the west coast. The 

 ummit are covered with snow for several months in the year. From 

 this chain numerous rapid rivers run in all directions to the sea : the 

 principal of them are the Golo and the Tavignano, both of which 

 : ! i the group of Monte Rotondo, and flowing eastward enter the 

 sea, tie former near the ruins of the ancient Mariana, the latter near 

 those of Aleria ; the Valinco, Talavo, Prunelli, Gravona, Liamone, 

 and Valinco rise on the western side of this mountain chain, and flow 

 westward to the sea. The forests, which clothe the mountain sides, 

 consist chiefly of oak, larch, beech, chestnut, pine, cork, turpentine- 

 tree, wild olive, Ac. The vast extent of these forests and the magni- 

 tude and excellence of the timber which they produce, has been cele- 



brated from very remote ages. But notwithstanding this advantage 

 and the abundance of harbours on the west and south coasts, the 

 rugged nature of the surface of the island rendered Corsica in ancient 

 as it still does in modern times one of the wildest and least civilised 

 portions of southern Europe. The higher part of the mountains pro- 

 duces pasture, in which aromatic plants abound ; and on the very crest 

 of the chain lakes are found well stocked with fish. On the mountain 

 pastures during the summer the herdsmen feed their sheep, goats, 

 and pigs, resting at night in some of the numerous caverns in the 

 rocks. The climate is excellent, the temperature varying of course 

 with the elevation ; and the air, except in a few marshy districts on 

 the east coast, is pure and healthy : on an average 237 days in the 

 year are fine and clear, 18 are rainy, and 110 cloudy. The prevailing 

 winds are the south-east and south-west, which sometimes blow with 

 great violence. The cold in winter on the highlands is of course intense. 



The surface of the island comprises 2,161,610 acres, of which 8514 

 are planted with olives, 24,427 with vines, 68,322 with chestnuts, 

 355,837 are under corn cultivation, 1090 are artificial meadows, 

 572,603 are covered with rooks and forests, 515,606 are natural grass 

 land not susceptible of cultivation, and 14,551 are covered with 

 waters. The remainder of the surface is overgrown with a dense 

 tangled underwood, consisting of arbutus, cistus, laurel, myrtle, 

 heath, broom, &c., and forming an almost impenetrable cover, called 

 by the natives maquis, which is easily removed by burning ; 

 but if the land thus cleared be not kept in constant cultivation, it 

 soon returns to its former state. The soil, except in the lower valleys 

 where it is alluvial, is stony but fertile. Wheat, maize, and barley 

 are the chief cereal grains. The yearly produce of wine is 6,600,000 

 gallons, some of which, especially that of Cap Corso, is of good quality, 

 but in general it is carelessly made, ripe and unripe grapes being put 

 indiscriminately into the- wine-press. Of chestnuts, an important 

 article of food, the produce is enormous. The chestnut tree is one of 

 the most magnificent vegetable productions of the island. The mul- 

 berry is cultivated for the production of silk. The cotton-shrub, 

 sugar-cane, indigo, tobacco, and madder are grown. The orange, 

 citron, fig, almond, pomegranate, date-palm, and other fruit-trees 

 flourish, and their produce is largely exported. The chestnuts and 

 walnuts of the island are of the best quality and of the largest size. 

 The forests abound in wild bees, and wax and honey are now as in 

 ancient times important exports of the island. In ancient times the 

 honey of Corsica was notorious for its bitter taste, owing to the bees 

 (it is said) feeding on the box-trees, which rendered it unpalatable to 

 strangers. The longevity of the inhabitants in ancient times was 

 attributed to the abundant use of honey as an article of food. 



Mules are the principal beasts of burden ; horses and asses are 

 small. Cows do not thrive, owing either to neglect or the nature of 

 the pasturage ; they give little milk, and their flesh is bad. Sheep 

 and goats are very numerous, and are much prized for the delicacy of 

 their flesh. The sheep are black, and generally have four, sometimes 

 six-, horns. The shepherds' dogs and stag and boar-hounds of the 

 island are of very superior breed. Pigs are very numerous. Among 

 the wild animals are foxes, wild boars, deer, hares. Partridges, wood- 

 cocks, snipes, guinea-fowl, pheasants, quails, &c. are very abundant. 

 Eagles, vultures, and other birds of prey haunt the mountain summits. 

 Reptiles are numerous ; but the only venomous .animal in the isHud 

 is a black spider called malmignate, the bite of which is said to be 

 mortal. Great quantities of tunny, pilchards, anchovy, and other 

 fish are taken along the coast, and sent to the markets of Florence, 

 Naples, and Genoa. 



Iron, lead, antimony, black manganese, granite varying in colour 

 from gray to red, porphyry, white marble, limestone, jasper, emerald, 

 amianthus, &c. are found ; but for the reasons stated above this mine- 

 ral wealth lies comparatively useless. The granite of Corsica is of 

 very fine quality. The Romans quarried it for architectural purposes, 

 and obtained their chief supplies from the little islets a few miles 

 from Bonifacio. There are several hot and cold mineral springs. Of 

 manufacturing industry there is little. A little iron is manufactured 

 from ore brought from the island of Elba, for no mines are worked by 

 the Corsicans. The island has several oil and flour-mills, tanneries, 

 and brick-works, two establishments for the manufacture of soap, and 

 one for making glass. These articles, together with turnery, pitch 

 and tar, and bad cheese, are almost the only industrial products. The 

 commerce consists of the agricultural produce, and brandy, olive-oil, 

 dried fruits, wax, salt fish, coral, ship-timber, myrtle-leaves, orange- 

 flowers, lichen, tanned hides, goat-skins, deals, &c. No fairs are held 

 in the island. 



The island is divided into 5 arrondissements, which, with their 

 subdivisions and population, are as follows : 



