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DIMM near Droitwioh, and communicates with tho river Severn at 

 Worcester; and a canal for vossuls of 60 tons bunlen, constructed 

 by Brindley, forma also a direct communication from the salt-works 

 to the rirer Severn. The line of the Oxford and Wolverhampton 

 railway nsssss through Droitwioh. A station of the Birmingham 

 and Bristol railway u about a mile and a quarter from the town. 

 The market is held ou Friday ; there are two annual fain. About a 

 mile from Droitwich U Westwood Park, the seat of Sir J. Pakington, 

 M.P. for the borough. 



(Nash, \\~orcatrrtltirc; Communication from Droitvitk.) 

 DKOMK, a department in the south-east of France, bounded N. 

 and N.E. by the department of Isere, E. by the department of 

 Hantm-Alpea, 8. by the departmenU of Basses- Alpes and Vaucluse, 

 ami \V. by the Rhone, which separates it from the department of 

 Anloche. The form of the department u irregular: its greatest 

 length from north to south U about 80 miles; from east to west 

 60 miles. It U comprehended between 44 9' and 45 20' N. lot, 

 4* 38' and 5* 45' E. long. The area according to the cadastral 

 returns of 1S51 is 2519 square miles : the population in the same year 

 amounted to 326,346, which gives 129-75 to the square mile, being 

 44*94 below the average per square mile for the whole of France. 



Srfact, <e. The department forms an inclined plane which slopes 

 from east to west. About one-third of the surface consists of a 

 sandy and in part stony plain running north and south along the 

 Kh<'>uc, with a breadth of 5 to 8 miles. The rest of the department 

 U mountainous. From a secondary chain of the Alps, which runs 

 along the eastern boundary, numerous offshoots all of calcareous 

 formation extend westward, gradually diminishing in height as they 

 advance in that direction, and finally subsiding into the valley of the 

 Rhone. The highest of these masses is more than 5000 feet above 

 the sea ; but the general elevation of the ridges is not much above 

 3000 feet Their summits, which are everywhere accessible, yield 

 good pasturage in the summer and autumn, and at these seasons 

 they lire frequented by the migratory flocks of the neighbouring 

 departmenU; their sides are covered with dense forests of pine, 

 oak, beech, Ac. The valleys between the ridges, which are the 

 chief haunts of the population, communicate with each other by 

 narrow dangerous by-roads, and are furrowed by rivers or mountain 

 t'lir nts that frequently cause great damage by their overflow. The 

 facilities for irrigation are very great, and this mode of culture is 

 extensively adopted, especially in the valley of the Rhone, the fertility 

 of which is in a great measure owing to the skilful employment of 

 the system of irrigation. The air is pure and healthy. The high 

 mountains are covered with snow during several months of the year; 

 but in the valleys, and along the Rhone, the heat in summer is 

 intense. North and south winds alternately prevail, the former 

 bringing dry weather, the latter rain. 



aydroyrapky. The Rh6ne, which divides this department from 

 that of Ardecbe, is navigated by steamers, and receives all the rivers 

 of the department, which are all short, and are here briefly described 

 proceeding from north to south. [RHfiNE.] The Galaure, which rises in 

 the department of ITe, crosses the north of the department, and enters 

 the Rhone at SL-Vallier. The litre, remarkable for its deep, black 

 waters, and the magnificent views which its valley presents, receives 

 in this department the Herbasse, and joins the RhOne a few miles 

 north of Valence : it is navigable. [Is?. HE.] The Vomit has its whole 

 length in the department, and flows south-west into the Rhoue past 

 ChabeuiL The Drtme, which gives name to the department, rises on 

 the confines of Hautes-Alpes, and flows in a rapid stream north-west 

 as far as Die, receiving the lies on the right bank; from Die to 

 Pontaix its course is nearly due west, and from the last-mentioned 

 town it runs south to its junction with the Rohanne on the left 

 bank, whence it flows west to the Rhone, which it enters below 

 Livron after a course of 66 miles. A good deal of loose timber is 

 floated down this river as far as Pontaix, above which its bed is very 

 rocky; here the timber is made into raft* and floated on to the 

 Rhone. No part of the Drome is navigable. Strong embankment* 

 have been formed at dangerous points along the stream to prevent 

 it from inundating the cultivated land along its banks. The next 

 river to the south is the lUnAion, which is joined by the Jatron at 

 31 ontvliniart, just before its entrance into the Rhone. The Let form* 

 part of the southern boundary, and flowing south-west enters the 

 Rhone in the department of Vaucluse. The fjyytta or Aigutt rises 

 in Uw south-east of the department, and passes Nyons, below which 

 it enters the department of Vaucluse, and joins the Rhone a little 

 west of Orange. The Ouveze rises in the extreme south of the 

 department, and pawing Le-Buis enters the department of Vaucluse 

 on iu way to join the Sorguec 



Prodyct, tc. The department contains 1,612,812 acres. Of this 

 ana, 408,067 acres are covered with woods and forests ; 354,269 acres 

 are heath and moor-land ; 640,265 acres are capable of cultivation ; 

 44,364 acres are natural pasture-land, and 69,272 acres are under 

 vines. Com sufficient for the consumption is not produced ; maize, 

 buckwheat, and haricot beans are the chief crops. The olive, the 

 walnut, the almond, the chestnut, and other fruit-trees are cultivated 

 with success. The mulberry-tree is extensively grown for the 

 production of tilk ; the first crop of leaves sore* to rear the silk 

 worms, and the second it given to cattle. The number of mulberry 



trees in the department is about 3,000,000, and above 600,000 Ibs. of 

 raw silk are annually produced. The culture of the vine is an 

 object of great attention in the valley of the Rhdne, and in the 

 arrondiaaemenU of Die and Nyons. The annual produce of wine is 

 ',580,000 gallons, a Urge portion of which is exported; the best 

 tiuds are the famous red and white wines called Hermitage, which 

 for their mellifluous gout, colour, and perfume rank among the best 

 wines in the world. Black truffles of excellent quality are abundant. 

 Horses and homed cattle are not numerous ; mules are the common 

 beasts of burden. Sheep and black pigs are reared in considerable 

 numbers. Among the wild animals are foxes, wolves, deer, chamois, 

 beavers in the islands of the Rhone, otters, hares, rabbit*, eagles, 

 vultures, pheasants, partridges, Ac. There is a good deal of meadow 

 land, chiefly in the valley of the Rhone, which by means of irrigating 

 rills is made to yield two and three crops a year. 



Several iron-mines are worked ; copper and lead are found ; coal U 

 mot with in various district*, but only one mine is worked. Sand 

 used in glass manufacture, chulk, gypsum, rock crystal, alabaster, 

 granite, potters' clay, tc., are found. There are also several mineral 

 and salt springs. The manufacturing industry of the dejiartn 

 important and active. Woollen cloth, silk, hosiery, serge, cotton-yarn, 

 leather, paper, nut and olive oil, brandy, ropes, lime, tiles, bricks, Jte., 

 are manufactured ; there are various dyeing and bleaching estal>li>li 

 ments; 652 wind and water-mills, 5 iron smelting furnaces and 

 foundries, 711 workshops and factories of various kinds, and most 

 families have a magnaniere for rearing silk-worms. There is roadway 

 accommodation by 5 state and 5 departmental roads ; the railway now 

 in course of construction from Lyou to Avignon runs for about half 

 its length in this department, passing through Tain, Valence, and 

 Montx ; limart. The electro-telegraphic communication by this line 

 between Paris and Marseille has been completed some time. Electro- 

 telegraphic wires connect Valence with Grenoble, whence they are laid 

 down to Chambery in Savoy, and thence across the Alps to Turin and 

 Genoa. There are 450 fairs and markets held in the year. The great 

 markets for raw silk are held in Valence and MonU'lituart. 



The department is divided into four arrondissemeuts, which, with 

 their subdivisions aud population, are as follows : 



1. In the first arrondiseement the chief town is Valence, the 

 Roman Valentia, which is also the capital of the department, mid 

 is described under its proper head. [VALKXCB.] Among the 

 other towns we give the following : the population is that of tho 

 commune throughout : Bourg-du-Pfage, or Ptage, on the left bonk 

 of the Isere, which separates it from Romans, owes ita 

 to the bridge built here in the 9th century by the monks, who had 

 the right of toll (plage) ; it has 3858 inhabitants, who manufacture 

 coarse silk, silk hats, leather, and ropes. Bounj-lfs- Valence, 2 or 3 

 miles from Valence, has several pretty residences, and a population of 

 3059. Ckabeuil, on the left bank of the Veoure, is an ill-built place, 

 with 4461 inhabitants, who manufacture woollens, glove and shoe 

 leather, and paper ; there are also silk-throwing and bleaching esta- 

 blishments, and a college here. The town, which formerly gave title 

 to a principality, has no object of interest except the remains of its 

 ancient castle. (frand-Serre, on the Galaure, has iron and steel-work*, 

 and 1588 inhabitants. Loriol stands at the foot of a hill on the left 

 bank of the Drome, opposite Livron, with which it is joined by a hand- 

 some bridge ; it has 8400 inhabitants, several silk-throwing establish- 

 ments, and nurseries, and some trade in hides and skins. Romani, on 

 the right bank of the Isere, owes its origin to the abbey founded here 

 by St. Bernard, bishop of Vienne, in A.D. 837 ; it is well built in a 

 pretty situation, and joined to Plage by the bridge before mentioned, 

 from which there is a magnificent view of the valley of Isere, ter- 

 minating eastwards in Hont Blanc, while in the opposite direction tho 

 mountains of Vivarais are visible. The town is girt by a fosse and 

 walls which are flanked with square towers, and entered by five gates. 

 The church of St-Bernard, and the theatre which stands in the middle 

 of a handsome promenade, called Champs-de-Mars, are the most 

 remarkable buildings. Silk, hosiery, woollen cloth, serge, and leather 

 are manufactured; there are also establishment* for reeling and tin-ow- 

 ing silk, lime and gypsum kilns ; and the town has a good trade in 

 wool, hemp, linen, wine, oil, black truffles, skins, Ac. Romans has a 

 tribunal and chamber of commerce, a college, ecclesiastical school, 

 and 9471 inhabitants. There are vast mulberry plantations about 

 this town. St.-Donal, on tho left bank of the Herbasse, has 2223 

 inhabitant*, who manufacture silk and tiles. St.- Jean-m- Rayon* stands 

 in a beautiful valley, closed in by high mountains, on the right bank 

 of the Lionne, which falls into the Bourne, a feeder of the Isere ; it 

 is a favourite place of resort with French landscape painters, on 

 account of the romantic scenery about it: population, 2516. .''. 

 VaUier, nt the junction of tho Onluurc with the HhOnc, hng 2096 



