1123 



GARD. 



GARD. 



lisa 



south from its source near Le-Vigan, forming below Sommifcres the 

 western boundary, into the shore-lake of Mauguio, in the adjacent 

 department of Hdrault. Its course may be estimated at from 48 to 

 SO miles. The Vistre, which flows near Nlmes, and the Rhosny, which 

 passes Aymargues, unite and serve as feeders to the Radelle Canal, 

 which connects the Beaucaire Canal with the Canal-des-Etangs. The 

 Herault and some of its tributaries, and also the Dourbie, an affluent 

 of the Tarn, have their sources and part of their course in the 

 department. Of these rivers only the Rhone and the Ardeche are 

 navigable. 



The department is traversed by a navigable canal from the Rhone 

 at Beaucaire to Aiguesmortes, the principal town in the south of the 

 department, which communicates with the Mediterranean by the 

 Grande-Robine Canal and the Grau (a harbour formed by dykes 

 running into the sea) ; and by the Radelle Canal with the Canal-des- 

 Etangs, which last joins the Canal-du-Midi at Cette. There is ano- 

 ther branch-canal, that of Bourgidou, from Aiguesmortes to the canal 

 of Sylvercal by which the navigation of the most western branch of 

 the Rhdne is facilitated. The length of canal navigation in the 

 department is above 50 miles. The department is crossed by 10 

 national, 28 departmental, and 21 parish roads. It is also crossed by 

 three railroads : one from the coal mines of Grand'Combe through 

 Alais to N!mes ; another from Nlmes through Beaucaire to Marseille ; 

 ami a third from Nlmes to Cette through Montpellier. 



logical Character and Mineral Products. The department is 

 chiefly occupied by the oolitic and other strata that lie between the 

 cretateous group and the new red-sandstone. In the south-east of the 

 department the rocks of the supercretaceous group occur. The 

 prin.itive rocks which form the crest and the western slope of the 

 CeVennes appear in this department. Important iron, coal, and silver- 

 lead mines are worked. Silver, copper, and calamine are found ; but 

 the working o r the mines has been abandoned. Sulphate of iron, 

 manganese, kaolin, antimony, fullers' and potters' clay, gypsum, 

 building stone, &c., are also found. There are mineral springs in 

 various places, and a good deal of salt is made in the salt marshes 

 that line the coast. Some gold is found in the sands of the Ceze and 

 the Gardon. 



Climate. The air in this department is commonly mild ; but in 

 .Mil i i-li and April considerable changes of temperature are experienced 

 within the twenty-four hours. In June, July, and August the heat is 

 very great, the maximum in the shade being 99 5' Fahrenheit. The 

 department is scourged by the wind called Mistral [BOUCHES-DU- 

 RHONE], and, when this does not blow, by clouds of mosquitoes during 

 the hot weather. The autumn is usually dry and cool. The greatest 

 cold is commonly at the end of December. 



Products. The surface contains 1,440,348 acres : of this area about 

 3f 0,000 acres are arable; 176,207 under vineyards; 20,711 are meadow 

 land; 152,988 are under plantations of the mulberry, olive, &c. ; 

 266,078 are covered with woods and forests ; 390,584 with heaths and 

 moors ; and 37.391 with canals, pools, and marshes. The sheltered sides 

 of the hills and the plains are devoted to the cultivation of the vine, the 

 olive, the mulberry, and the almond. The arable land is contained 

 chiefly in the valleys. The produce of the department in grain is not 

 sufficient for the home consumption ; but what wheat is grown is of 

 superior quality. Besides wheat, the other grains cultivated are oats, 

 rye, barley, maize, millet, and buckwheat, of which the total annual 

 produce does not exceed 51 5,625 quarters. Lentils, peas, and potatoes 

 are grown ; of chestnuts immense quantities of excellent quality are 

 produced on the slopes of the Cevennes. The vine is extensively 

 cultivated all through the department, which yields annually 

 26,400,000 gallons of excellent red and white wine, one-fourth of 

 which is consumed at home, one-sixth is distilled into brandy, and 

 the remainder is exported through Cette, chiefly for the purpose of 

 mixing with the poorer wines of more northern departments. Some 

 muscadel wine is grown in the vineyards of St.-Gilles. The olive, too, 

 is carefully cultivated in sheltered spots and on the southern slopes of 

 the hills ; the oil of the department is in high repute. The cultiva- 

 tion of the white mulberry, which here becomes a large and beautiful 

 tree, is very extensive ; the number growing in 1835 amounted to 

 5,709,466, and it has been greatly increased since then. These trees 

 (ire grown almost exclusively for their leaves, which are the favourite 

 food of silkworms : the leaves are also given to cattle and sheep, 

 which prefer them to almost every other food. Cherries, apricots, 

 peaches, figs, pomegranates, &c., are abundantly produced. Indeed 

 the chief agricultural wealth of the department consists in its wines, 

 oil, silk, and delicious fruits. Medicinal herbs, madder, and other 

 dye stuffs, are grown. 



Only a small number of oxen are reared : but sheep are numerous, 

 and their wool is very fine. The horses are small, but vigorous and 

 lively. Among the wild animals are wolves, foxes, otters, beavers, 

 eagles, vultures, wild ducks, ortolans, red partridges, storks, bustards, 

 &c. ; the ponds and rivers abound with fish. 



Manufacturei, <kc. The industrial products of the department are 

 varied and important. The principal are silk textures of all kinds, 

 the chief seat of which is Nlmes ; cashmere shawls, made of a mix- 

 ture of Tibet wool, silk, and cotton ; silk and cotton hosiery of every 

 description ; table-covers, carpets, &c. ; woollen cloth, swanskins, 

 blankets, shoe and glove leather ; silk hats ; ribands and gloves 



iron, steam machinery, wine casks ; pottery, tiles, and bricks ; glass, 

 paper, cards ; nails, plaster, and lime ; cotton and woollen yarn ; salt, 

 &c. The manufacture of carpets has in recent times become of consider- 

 able importance in this department. Nlmes is the centre of this manu- 

 facture also. In Sommi&res and the country about it the woollen manu- 

 factures are firmly established. Leather is an important product of 

 Nlmes, Beaucaire, Uzes, Bagnols, Sommieres, Alais, St.-Hippolite, and 

 Le-Vigan. The commerce of the department consists of the various 

 products already mentioned. About 100 fairs are held annually. 

 The number of wind-mills and water-mills amounts to 754 ; irou 

 forges and furnaces to 135; factories and workshops, of different 

 kinds, to 526. 



The department is divided into four arrondissements, which, with 

 their subdivisions and population, are as follows : 



1. Of the first arrondissement and of the whole department the 

 capital is NtMES or NISMES. The other towns are here named, the 

 population in every case being that of the commune. Aiguesmorles, 

 situated in an unhealthy spot among stagnant marshes, at the junc- 

 tion of several canals before mentioned, presents the most perfect 

 specimen extant of a feudal fortification. The walls, towers, gates, 

 and ramparts are said to have been erected after the model of Damietta 

 in Egypt by St. Louis, who twice embarked here for the Holy Land. 

 The fosse has been filled up. The population is now only 3393. The 

 streets are wide and straight ; within the walls there are large spaces, 

 once covered with houses, which are now cultivated as fields and 

 gardens. The most remarkable buildings are the Tour-de-Constance, 

 opposite the citadel and outside the walls, which served as a prison 

 for the Protestants taken after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes ; 

 the Tour-des-Bourguignons, a tower in which the Burgundians, slain 

 in defence of the town in January 1421, were thrown between layers 

 of salt to prevent the danger of miasma from their putrefaction ; and 

 the gate-tower, called La-Carbonniere, to the north of tho town. 

 Soda, fish, and salt, which is made at the great salt-pans of Peccais, in 

 the neighbourhood, are the chief articles of commerce. There is a 

 lighthouse 65 feet high on the north-west mole of the Grau, which 

 forms the harbour of Aiguesmortes. Aramon, prettily situated in a 

 fine olive and fruit district on the right bank of the Rhone, to the 

 east of Nlmes, has 2751 inhabitants. BEAUCAIRE has been noticed in 

 a separate article. JZellegarde, on the Nimes and Beaucaire railway, 

 has 1796 inhabitants. Calvisson, a small town in a rich wine district, 

 has important brandy distilleries, and 2660 inhabitants. A good deal 

 of cream of tartar is made here, and the town gives name to a delicious 

 claret. St.-Gillet, 12 miles S. from Nlmes, stands on the slope and at 

 the foot of a hill above the canal from Beaucaire to Aiguesmortes, and 

 has 5635 inhabitants. The most remarkable structure is the church 

 of the ancient abbey of St. Gilles, which dates from the 10th century. 

 St.-Gilles gives name to the fine strong red wines of the neighbour- 

 hood, which are well fitted for exportation. The chief trade of the 

 place is in these wines, and in brandy and spirits distilled in the 

 town. Marguerites, situated in a rich vine district, on the Vistre :.nd 

 the Nlmes and Beaucaire railroad, has 1886 inhabitants. Sommierei, 

 14 miles W. from Nlmes, on a hill on the left bank of the Vidourle, 

 has important manufactures of woollens, swanskins, blankets, woollen 

 thread, brandy, and leather, besides a good trade in wine, wool, &c. 

 There are also several fulling-mills in the town, which has a popula- 

 tion of 3697. Vauvert, 12 miles S.W. from Nlmes, has 4175 inhabit- 

 ants, who manufacture silk, hosiery, brandy, spirits of wine, and 

 saltpetre. 



2. In the second arrondissement the chief town is ALAIS, which has 

 been noticed under its proper head. St.-Ambroix, 12 miles N.N.E. 

 from Alais, stands among the CeVennes Mountains on the right bank 

 of the Ceze, and has iron-smelting furnaces, zinc-foundries, a silk-fac- 

 tory driven by steam machinery, and 3148 inhabitants, who trade in 

 raw silk, olives, chestnuts, mulberry-trees, wine, and coal, which is 

 mined in the neighbourhood. Anduze, W. of Alais, stands on the 

 right bank of the Gardon-d' Anduze, between precipitous rocks on one 

 side, and hills covered with vines and olives on the other. It is an 

 ill-built place, but the environs present some enchanting scenery. 

 The terrace, which serves as a dyke against the inundations of the 

 Gardon, and from the middle of which springs a cut stone bridge 

 across the river, deserves mention. The population amounts to 5238, 

 who manufacture silk, hosiery, silk hats, cloth, pottery, glue, and 

 leather ; and trade in cattle, raw and thrown silk, corn, &c. Sarjac 

 is situated near the northern boundary of the department, at the foot 

 of the CeVennes, 20 miles N.E. from Alais, and has 2319 inhabitants. 

 Gfnolhac, high up among the CeVennes in the north-west of the 

 department, has 1586 inhabitants. St.-Jean-du-Qard, a few miles 

 N.W. of Anduze, stands on the left bank of the Gardon-d' Anduze, and 

 has 4192 inhabitants. It is an ill-built place, disfiguring the scenery 



