﻿OIROyDB. 



OlBONflk ST. 



tion ; and 4S,78S an riTCia, brook*, and aMtoariM. The braaditufEi 

 chiefl^r cultivated an wheat and tye ; a comudrrabla quantity of maixe 

 and millet are alio grown. Tho tye and millet ai« raised in auch 

 part* of the Laudea aa bare b; dint of manure been brought into 

 cultinition. RxoeUent Anita and a large quantity of hemp are grown. 

 But the ataple produce of the department u wine, of which 44,440,000 

 gallona are produoed annually. The fineat olareta are from thia part 

 uf Franca, as the growths of Lafitte, Latour, Ch&teau-Maigauz (these 

 are in the MMoo district, on the left of the Qaronne aoA Qironda, 

 between Bordeaux and the sea), Haut-Brion, Sauteme, Banae, and the 

 Vina da QraTa. The extanaiTe wooda which skirt the aaa coast, or 

 penrade the Landea, consist ohiefly of the pine {Pintu mantiau), from 

 which turpentine, pitch, and charcoal are procured, aa well as timber 

 for building and masts fur reaaels. The oork-tree ia abundant 



Ototogieat Chanultr. — The department is occupied by tho various 

 Bopararetaoeoaa strata, the chalk rising to the aurface only on the 

 north-east boundary. Oood building atone is quarried. 



ImJtabitwtU. — The Landea are thinly peopled ; the inhabitants make 

 ebarooal or tend the numerous flocks which obtain scanty food amid 

 these sandy wilda. The shepherds, clothed in sheepskins, traverae the 

 waste on high stilts, balancing and supporting themselves by the aid 

 of a long staff, of the bruad head of wliich they occasionally make a 

 seat, and which they also use to guide their flocks : they employ their 

 lejanre in knitting ooane woollen stockings for their own use or for 

 nla. They travel to markets and fairs on these stilta. Among the 

 aheep of the department are many flocks of merinoea, and the 

 proprietors are trying to ezt«nd the long-wooUcd English breeds. 



Aamnfaelurti. — The chief manufactures are calico, muslin, aoap, 

 ohw ni na l produota, potteir, paper, viuegnr, bmndy, sugar, beer, leather, 

 glaai, tc Ship-building u exteusivoly cnmeU ou in Uordeaux. There 

 are a^eral tobaooo-faetories, dye-houaes, rope-walks ; and a great deal 

 of salt is made along the ooast. The department contains 1626 wind- 

 mills and water-mills, 46 iron-foundries, and 347 factories of different 

 kinds. 



Divitiont and Tomu. — The department is divided into six arron- 

 diaaements, which, with their subdivisions and population, are as 

 follow! : — 





Csaiaa*. 



Oonmann. 



Population in 1831. 



1. Bonlnuz . . IS 

 J. BU)r« ... 4 

 S. Leaparre 4 



4. Liboarn* ... V 



5. Baxas ... 7 

 S. Ls-Btelo ... t 



132 



SS 

 30 



132 

 6a 



lOS 



206,632 



30,460 



30,677 

 111,104 1 



33,112 



32,303 



1 TMal 



41 { M4 



614,8«7 



1. In ttia Brat aRondinement the chief town Is Bordeaux, which 

 b also the capital of the department. The more important of the 

 other towns are here named, with tho population of the commune in 

 each case. Sl.-Aitdrt-de-CHl>»ae, on the road from Paris to Bordeaux, 

 and not far from the Dordogne, has 2010 inhabitants. Cadillac, in a 

 fertile plain on the right bank of the Garonne, is a pretty town, sur- 

 ronnded l>y old walls flanked with towers, and has 1967 inhabitants. 

 The fine old castle of the-Duke of Bpemon, the great ornament of the 

 town, and the finest edifice of the kind in France except the royal 

 palaces, is now tiaed as a penitentiary for women. Cnnxtn-Blane, 6 

 miles K. from Bordeaux, has copper nnd lend rolling works, potteries, 

 and 1869 inhabitants. C<uttl%an-dt-M ^doi:,m.A for from the left shore 

 of thoOironde, stands in a dl«trict which produces excellent rod wine, 

 anil has 1211 inhabitants. Lahrhle, a hamlet of 1329 inhabitants, 

 deaerrea notloe for ita chAteau, in which Montesquieu was bom, and 

 whieh was purchased in 1839 by the late Duke of Orleans. La-Tate- 

 de-Bmtk, a small Bea>port on the south shore of the Bay of Aroachon, 

 is about 38 miles S.W. from Bordeaux, with which it is connected by 

 railroad. There is a large pine-forest near the town. The inhabit- 

 ants number 3447, and are chiefly engaged in the coasting trade and 

 in fishing. 



2. In the second arrondisaement the chief town ia ffaye, which is 

 a seaport and fortress, on the right shore of the Qironde, and has 

 tribunals of fint instance and of commeroe, and 4350 inhabitants. 

 The town is built at the foot and on the alope of the rocky hill, the 

 summit of which is crowned by a strong citadel. The citadel, with 

 the fortified tower of Vnti on an islet iu tho middle of the BAstuary, 

 and the fort of M<'<loc ou ita left Hhoro, completely command the 

 passage of the Oironde. RIaye has linen and woollen factories, glass- 

 works, potteries, sliii>'buililing-yitr<la, and a considerable commerce in 

 winsa, brandies, spirits, oil, soan, fruita, ship-timber, staves, ie. Large 

 T— o l a put into the port of Blaye to complete their cargoes, and to 

 ■apply themselvaa with provisiona. Bourg, advantageously situated 

 for trade on the left bank of the Dordngne, and near it* confluence 

 with the Oaronne, is a well-built t<)wn, wiUi a small liarlwur for vessels 

 of 300 to 4(M) tons, and baa 2504 inhabitants. 



3. In the third arrondisaement the chief town is I/uj>arre, about 44 

 milea N.W. from Bordeaux. It has a tribunal of first instance, and 

 contains 1520 inhabitantii. The district in whirh it is situated pro- 

 duces grain, puUe, uid winatof excellent quality; the pasturage is 



also good, and the fruit is abundant. Ita commerce ^^i*}-** entirely 

 in the sale of anicultural piTxItice, Si.-Laureat-de-Mtdoe, a town 13 

 miles S. from Leti|i<irra, willt l!iii<2 inhaliitauta, has a oonsiderabla 

 trade in wine, pitoh, and tor. I'amiUae, a maritime town on the 

 Qironde, 26 miles N. from Bordeaux, with a commodious port and • 

 lighthouae. Veaael* drawing too great a depth of water to asoend to 

 Bordeaux unload at Pauillac, and here they take in provisions and 

 water on proceeding to sea. Near Pauillac is the lazaretto of Tram- 

 loup. The local tnde oonaista in the exportation of the wines of 

 ChAteau-Lafitte, which arepro<luced in the commune : population, 3805. 

 St.-Vwitn, a town with U85 inhabitants, who manufacture salt, of 

 which 6,000,000 buahels are annually produced from the neighbouring 

 salt-worlcs. 



4. In tho fourth arrondisaement the chief town ia lAlxmme, a lumd> 

 some ancient town, situated on the right bank of ttie Dordogne, at ita 

 junction with the Isle, 22 miles by railway K. from Bordeaux. It haa 

 a tribunal of first instance, a chamber of commerce, a hydrographical 

 school of the first class, a communal college, and 11,652 inhabitamta 

 in the commune. It contains also a public library of 3000 volumes, 

 a museum, and a botanic garden. A handaome brick bridge of nine 

 arches crosses the Dordogne, and a suspension-bridge of remarluble 

 elegance oroaMS the Isle. Its port, where the tide rises from 18 

 to 16 feet, reoeives vessels of 300 tons burden. The manu&ctorea 

 are of ootton-yam, irou, leather, ropes, and nails ; ship-building is also 

 carried on. The chief trade is in wine and brandy, oak-stavea, iron, 

 ooal, and salt. CatliUon, un the right bank of the Dordogne, 25 miles 

 E. from Bordeaux, has 3000 inhabitants. There are ootton-faotoriea, 

 tan-yarda,TOpe-yanls, and oooperagea here; and nails are manufactured 

 to a considerable exteut. There is alao some tra<le in wooL Near the 

 towu are the remains of an old castle, near which iu 1451 the Knglish 

 were defeated, aud £arl Talbot and his son slain. Coitlrat, a town 

 with 8302 inliabitauts, 10 miles by railway N.E. from Liboume, ia 

 built at the confluence of the Dronne and the Isle, which streams 

 are employed for working flour-mills for the supply of Bordeaox. 

 Under its walls Henry IV. gained a victory over the Due de Joyeose 

 in 1587. Sainle-Poy-la-Grande has 2924 inhabitants, and ita tnuia 

 consists in the making of cotton and woollen caps, linen, and leather. 

 The district around produces an esteemed white wine, brandy, grain 

 of all sorts, and good pasturage for cattle. It ia on the left bank ot 

 the Dordogne, about 38 miles E. from iiordeanx. 



5. Tho fifth aiTondiasement has Bazat for its chief town. It ia an 

 ancient place, dating from the Roman period, and is mentioned by 

 Ptolemmus aa an important place under tne name of Coasio, the oapifa^ 

 of the Vatales, or Vocates. It possesses a tribunal of first instance, 

 and has 4437 inhabitants. It is picturesquely seated on an eminence, 

 at the foot of which flows the Beuve. It is ill built on the whole, but 

 has agreeable walks formed upou the walls, the ramaius of its andaat 

 fortificationa. In a handaome square surrounded by an arcade ataada 

 the cathedral, a gothic building of the IStli or 14th century, which, 

 though uot large, is well proportioned, aud Ium been classed among 

 the ' historical monuments ' of the country. The iubabitoiits manu- 

 facture druggets, make gUsa-bottles, blanch wax, and ton hides. They 

 deal in com, cattle, wood for fuel, and timber for building. The town 

 stands in a sandy country on tho high road from Bayonne to Bordeaux, 

 about 33 miles S.S.E. from Bordeaux. Langom, a handsome little 

 tovra on the right bank of the Oaronne, and on the road from Bayonne ^ 

 to Bordeaux, has distilleries, tan-yarda, and 8986 inhabitanta. The ' 

 town is advantageously aituatad for commerce, as the tide ascends to 

 its port, whence the excellent wines of tlie district are shipped. Tho 

 town is not well built, but the scenery in the vicinity is fine. A 

 suspension-bridge over the Oaronne unites the town with that of 

 St.-Macaire on the opposite banlc 



6. In the sixth arrondisaement the chief town, La-RioU, about 

 25 miles E.8.K. from Bordeaux, is built on the aide of a steep hill on 

 the right bank of the Oaronne. It is a i)laoe of great antiquity, and 

 there yet remain the ruins of a pagan temple, called the Urande-Ecole, 

 and two towers of a fortress erected by the Visigoths, called the 

 Castle of the Four Sistera. The town posaessea a tribunal of first 

 instauoe, and a communal college. The atreeta are steep and narrow, 

 the houses ill-built There are no noticeable public buildings, but the 

 scenery arotmd \» pleaj>ant, aud from the eunimits above the town a 

 prospect of great variety is ofiorded, which includes a large number 

 of villa residences on the banks of the Uaronne. Tho number of 

 inhabitanta is 4036, who are employed in manufucturing combs, hats, 

 vinegar, leather, &c. ; and they have some trade in oom, wine, bntndy, 

 and cattle. All the otiier chief towns of cantons are small SL-Attuairt, 

 opposite Langon, ia a small but ancient town with 1613 inhabitants. 

 It is ill built, and aurrouiulL'd with old walls, in a state of tolerable 

 preservation. There is a handsome gutliic church, cUsaed among tho 

 ' historical nionuuienta,' and a small port on the Uaronne. 



The dc|«rtmeut forms the see of the arohbiahop of Bordeaux. It 

 ia included in the jurisdiction of the High Court, and iu tho circuit of 

 tho Univomity Academy of Bordeaux, and in the 11th Military Division, 

 of which Bordeaux is head-quarters. It returns five meuibera to the 

 Legislative Body of the French Empire. 



{Dietionnaire de la France; Annaaire pour V An 1853; Stalittique 

 de la Prance ; Official Paper:) 



GIKONS, ST. [AniftoE.] ; 



