PORTSMOUTH PORTUGAL. 



649 



an immense arsenal, consisting of various ranges 

 ot buildings for the reception of naval and military 

 stores, artillery, &c. The small armoury is capable 

 of containing 25,000 stand of arms. Near Ports- 

 mouth is Haslar hospital for the navy. The church 

 of Portsmouth is a spacious structure, dedicated to 

 St Thomas a Becket. The tower, which is the 

 most modern part, forms a good mark to seamen. 

 There are various charitable, literary, and scientific 

 institutions. The theatre is the principal source of 

 amusement. The shore from Portsmouth to South- 

 sea castle presents one of the finest bathing places 

 in the kingdom. Portsmouth received its first 

 charter from Richard Coeur de Lion. The earliest 

 mention of this place occurs in the Saxon Chroni- 

 cle, A. D. 501. Population of borough and parish 

 of Portsmouth in 1841, 9,354; of parish of Portsea, 

 43,678. 



PORTSMOUTH, the largest town of New Hamp- 

 shire, in the States of America, is a port of entry, 

 and the only seaport in the state. It is sibilated 

 on the south side of Piscataqua river, on a beautiful 

 peninsula, three miles from the sea. fifty-six miles 

 north by east from Boston, and 49 1 from Washing- 

 ton ; population in 1810, 6934 ; in 1820, 7327 ; in 

 1830, 8082. 



PORTUGAL ; a kingdom in the south-western 

 corner of Europe, on the western side of the Span- 

 ish peninsula, lying between latitude 36 56' and 

 42 7' N., and between longitude 7 34' and 9 30' 

 W., with Spain o? the north and east, and the Atlan- 

 tic ocean on the south and west. It is nearly in 

 the form of a parallelogram ; its length from north 

 to south is 350 miles ; its average breadth, about 

 115; its superficial area, 41,500 square miles. 

 The population was estimated by Balbi, in 1822, 

 at 3,173,000; in 1826, it was stated 313,214,000. 

 The state is composed of the kingdom of Portugal, 

 comprising the provinces Entre Minho e Douro, 

 Tras os Monies, Beira, Estremadura, and Alen 

 Tejo, and the kingdom of Algarve. In Asia, Por- 

 tugal possesses the city of Goa Diu on the coasts 

 of Cainbay, a part of the island of Timor, and 

 Macao, with a total population of 576,000 ; in 

 Africa, the island of St Thomas and Prince's island 

 on the coast of Guinea, the Azores, Cape Verd and 

 Madeira islands in the north, some factories in Se- 

 negainbia, a part of Angola and Benguela, and the 

 captain-generalcy of Mozambique, with a total popu- 

 lation of 1,057,000. In America, it retains nothing 

 of its former immense possessions. (See Brazil.) 

 The face of the country is, in general, mountainous, 

 and has but two plains of considerable extent, that 

 of Alen Tejo and that of Beira. The principal 

 mountain ridges are merely spurs of the great Span- 

 ish system (see Spain), from which descend the 

 largest rivers of Portugal, the Tejo, or Tagus, the 

 Guadiana, the Douro (in Spanish, Duerd) and the 

 Minho. The valleys, particularly in Minho and 

 Tras os Monies, are remarkable for beauty and fer- 

 tility. Mineral springs abound. Although the 

 country lies in the warmer portion of the temperate 

 zone, the climate is by no means so hot as in the 

 central and southern parts of Spain ; the sea breezes 

 temper the heat on the coasts, and the north winds 

 refresh the interior. The air is remarkably mild 

 and healthy. In January begins a most delightful 

 spring ; from March the weather is unsettled, some- 

 times dry and hot. The harvest is in June. From 

 the end of July to the beginning of September, 

 vegetation is parched by the glowing rays of the 

 sun ; and although the weather is, taking the year 

 through, very favourable to cultivation, yet agricul- 

 ture sometimes suffers from this drought. Artificial 

 irrigation is little practised except in gardens. 



Rain rarely falls in summer ; but, though the days 

 are hot, the evenings and nights are cool. When 

 the first rain falls in September, the earth is again 

 covered with a fresh green, a second spring begins, 

 and the fruit trees are decked anew with blossoms. 

 The winter sets in towards the close of November, 

 and is accompanied by violent showers of rain, 

 which are not, however, of long continuance, but 

 alternate with pleasant weather. In the northern 

 part of the country only does the cold continue for 

 any length of time ; in the south, snow is a rare 

 phenomenon. Thunder storms occur only in au- 

 tumn and winter. 



Portugal is rich in natural productions, but wants 

 the cultivation of industrious hands. The climate 

 and the fertility of the soil incline the Portuguese, 

 like most other southern nations, to indolence ; and 

 they engage more readily in commerce than in 

 agriculture or manufactures. The rich mines of 

 precious metals are now neglected on account of 

 the want of hands and fuel. The only mines work- 

 ed are some of iron in Estremadura. Copper, iron, 

 arsenic, bismuth, and fine marbles, are found in 

 several provinces, but precious stones are rare. 

 Salt-springs are not numerous ; salt is chiefly 

 obtained from sea-water. The corn trade is also 

 less productive than formerly ; for example, in the 

 thirteenth century, when Portugal exported corn. 

 The discoveries of new countries, and their conse- 

 quences, emigration to the colonies, and increasing 

 commerce, withdrew so many hands from agricul- 

 ture, that this branch of national industry began to 

 decline in the fifteenth century. In addition to 

 these causes, the ignorance of the peasantry, the 

 oppressions to which they were exposed, the wealth 

 of the clergy, the deficiency of beasts of burden, 

 and the absence of all facilities of transportation, 

 contributed to the decline of agriculture ; and not- 

 withstanding the efforts of the government, since 

 the administration of Pombal, to revive it, the im- 

 portation of corn has continued to be necessary. 

 The potato is not so much cultivated as the root of 

 the less nourishing helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem 

 artichoke). Excellent fruit is raised in abundance, 

 and exported in considerable quantities. Oil is also 

 made, but in so unskilful a manner as to be of infe- 

 rior quality ; the best is from Algarve. Wines of 

 several sorts, both dry and sweet, are produced ; 

 the red Port wine (q. v.) is exported, but in less 

 quantities than formerly, chiefly to England. In 

 1765, with a view to diminish the disproportion 

 between the cultivation of the vine and of grain, all 

 the vineyards on the Tagus, Mondego and -Rouga 

 (with the exception of some districts in Estrema- 

 dura producing excellent wines), were, by order of 

 government, converted into corn lands. About one 

 third part of the vineyards was thus destroyed ; but, 

 after the fall of Pombal, many proprietors planted 

 vines again, as this mode of employing the land was 

 more profitable than tillage. Hemp and flax are 

 raised in the northern districts, but by no means 

 sufficient for the consumption. In many parts of 

 the country, wood is scarce, on account of the little 

 care paid to the forests. Although the country af- 

 fords excellent pastures, grazing is little attended to, 

 partly owing to summer droughts, and partly to 

 the want of artificial meadows, which are to be found 

 only in Minho. It is also discouraged by the great 

 number of holydays, which amount to nearly one 

 third of the year, and on which abstinence from 

 butcher's meat is required. It is most successfully 

 practised in Beira, Minho and Estremadura. Oxen 

 are used for draft. The horses are small, light, 

 and well formed, but not numerous. Mules are in 

 common use. Sheep are raised in greatest number* 



