﻿LAHDBS. 



LANSES. 



hj that of Qironde, E. by l,o\,-<A-QtTaaae aod Gen, S. by 

 Vyrtoicm, and W. by th* Bay of Biany. Ita gn>»t«it ]mg^ tram 

 WMk to eMt U 73 Dula^ from nortli to louth 6G mile*. lU ana is 

 UM aqoara milai. Tha populaUou iu 1$<1 wa« 238,077 ; in 1881 it 

 amoontad to 309,196, wtiicli givca S4'02 to the aquare mila, baing 

 M'M balow the aranga par aquare mila for the whole of Fraaod 



The department tajiea ita name from the Frenoh word ' landei,' by 

 which the Taat aaody and marahy plaini that extend between the 

 Qaronne and the Adoor fhm the meriiUan of Qreenwich to the Bay 

 of Biaeay are designated. In point of sise the department of Landea 

 is inferior only to that of Oironde. 



The lower alopea of the Pyreneea enter the south and sonth-eaat of 

 the department, funowed by many brawling riren, and subaidiog into 

 rich plains that extend along the left banJi of the Uidooxe and the 

 Adour, which rirers form the general aouthem boundary of the Landea. 

 To the northward of these riren the aarfaoe of the ground ia covered 

 with a loose ashen^gray sand, OTergrown here and there with heath 

 and furze, or with pine wooda. Kumerous flocka of wretched half- 

 starred aheep wander over this desert waste, tended by ahopherds who 

 waUc on high stilts to'enable them to pass dry-footed over the marshes 

 that oocor in all directions. Clothed in sheep-skins, perched on his 

 lofty stilts, and seated on a high staff with a flat broad end, the 

 shepherd of the Landea, watching hia aheep and luiitting woollen 

 stockings, his constant occupation, presents to the stranger unprepared 

 for the sight an extmordinary appearance. M'ot only the shepherds, 

 but the charcoal-bumen, and almost all the scanty population of the 

 Landea, are accustomed to the use of stilts, on wliich they walk with 

 astonishing rapidity. Maixe and barley are grown in farourable situa- 

 tions in this district ; but the most important produce of the Landas 

 ate the pine forests, which cover nearly one-fourth of the surface, and 

 which, besides the value of the timber, and the great quantity of roain 

 they are made to yield by tapping, are found to present a most effectual 

 barrier to the sand hills along the west coast that formerly rolled into 

 the interior under the influence of the western winds, and overwhelmed 

 the villages and crops exposed to their coarse. The surface of the 

 Landea is in parts rather elevated, as is proved by the rapidity of the 

 riveiHrtreams which flow from them towards the south, west, aud north- 

 west : the lai-gest of these is the Leyre, which flows north-west into the 

 Bay of Arcaohon. The chief rivers of the dep.-irtment are the AsouR, 

 which receives numerous feeders from the Pyrenees on the left bank ; 

 and its principal tributary from the right bank, the Midouze. [Gebs.] 



Along the sea-coast of the department, which extends north and 

 south ^>out 70 miles, a marked feature of the couutry are the sand- 

 hilla, which have a width from east to west of 6 mile!) ; their height 

 ranges from 120 to 170 feet; they slope towards the sea at an angle 

 of 25 degrees, towards the land at an angle of 50 degrees. The form 

 of these masses of sand is continually varying ; sometimes they are 

 arranged in regular chains, at others they present a level surface ; aud 

 not tmfrequently they assume the form of isolated heaps, the openings 

 between them being called 'lettes.' The rate ofadvance of these moving 

 sands was formerly about 65 feet yearly. To landward of them there 

 are in some places rich pasture grounds. There are several shallow inlets 

 and some isolated lagunes along the coast ; and all through the Landes 

 there are numeroua marshes, the exhalations from which render the 

 climate foggy in winter, and always more or loss unhealthy. The 

 marshes which formerly lined the banks of the Adour have been almost 

 entirely converted into most productive land. The climate of the de- 

 partment, owing to the proximity of the Pyrenees and the prevailing 

 westeriy winds, is not so hot as might be expected from its latitude. 



The department contains 2,303,429 acres, of which area 968,967 

 acres conaist of barren sands and moors; 415,261 acres are arable 

 land ; 654,190 acres are covered with woods and forests ; 51,101 acres 

 are under vine culture ; 65,728 consist of grass land. The agricultural 

 prodticts, most of which are raised in the territory of Cludoue, as the 

 counti-y south uf the Adour is called, are — wheat, maize, millet, hemp, 

 flax, madder, saffi-on, &c. About 10,000,000 gallons of wino ore pro- 

 duced annually, cf which about a third goes to supply the home 

 consumption ; the rest is exported, or distilled and sold as Armngnoc 

 brandy. Almondu, plums, aud fruits of all kinds, are abundant and 

 excellent. Cattle are of inferior breed, ill-fed, and give milk of the 

 poorest quality ; the horses an small ; sheep lu-e numerous, but their 

 wool is the worst possible ; goats, pigs, poultry, and beea are numer- 

 ons ; game and fish are plentiful. Itesides the pine (pinus maritima), 

 wUdi grows most luxuriantly iu the Landes, the forest-timber consists 

 of oak, cork, chentnnt, and l>eech. 



Mines of iron and bitumen are worked ; mica, coal, marble, granite, 

 Uh^paphic stone, chalk, ochre, potters'-olay of superior quality, 

 cmowk aarth, Ac, are found. Peat fuel is dug. Mineral springs are 



_ The industrial produce is composed of ooane woollens, pottery, 

 UqoetUB, baiMron and iron-ware, rosin, pitch, tar, glass, paper, leather, 

 bnndy, beer, oil, Ac There is also a considerable trade in timber, 

 deals, linseed-oil, fruits, wool, pork, Ac. The number of wind- and 

 watarniiUs amounts to 762 ; of iron-foundries and smelting-fumaoes 

 to 81 ; of factories and workshops of diflereut kinds to 351. About 

 IS5 bin are held annually. The deportment is crossed by 7 state and 

 11 departmental roads, and by tlio railway from Bordeaux toBayonne, 

 which is DOW (October, 1854) completed as for as Dax. 



The department is divided into 8 arrondissementa, which, with their 

 subdirisians and populatioo, are as follow* :— 





OSBtOOS. 



Offwinnnns 



Popnlstion la lUI. 



1. Uontrfls llsnsa . . 

 1. 6t..8evcr . 

 1. Osx . 



11 



S 



> 



ll« 

 101 



lot 



101,701 



8S,6iS 



110,7*0 



Total . 



It 



s» 



aoi,iM 



1. Of the flnt arrondissement and of the •wiuAit department the 

 capital is Mont-dfMartan, which stands in 46° 63' N. lat, 0° 30' W. 

 long., 65 miles sooth from Bordeaux, and nearly the same distance 

 N.K from Bayonne. The town, though small, aud with a population 

 uf only 4465, presents a thriving appearance, aud its situation at the 

 junction of the Midou.and the Douze, which form the Midouxo, a 

 navigable feeder of the Adour, give it considerable advantages iu the 

 wsy of commerce. The streets are wide and well-built, and there ore 

 several fine avenues of ancient oaks leading into the town. The prin- 

 cipal structures are the prefect's residence, the court-house, prison, 

 the hospital, aud barracks. The town is the seat of a tribunal of 

 first instance, and has a college, public library of 12,000 volumea, a 

 theatre, and several public baths. Cloth, blankets, sailcloUi, and 

 leather are the principal manufactures. Mont-de-Marsan has com- 

 munication with the Qaronne by the Canal dee Landes, which at 

 Lavardac joins the Baise, a navigable feeder of the Garonne. The 

 most important commerce of the town consists in the transport of the 

 wines and brandies of Armagnao by the Uidouxe and the Adour for 

 shipment at Bayonne. In time of war with England Mont-de-Harsan 

 becomes an important entrepdt between Bayonne and Bordeaux. With 

 the other towns the population given is that of the commune. Sabru, 

 a town of 2524 iuhabitanta, stands on the Leyre in the midst of barren 

 wastes and marshes, and baa a very handsome churoh said to have 

 been built by the Templars. 



2. In the second arrondissement the chief town, St.-Saier, is situated 

 iu on extremely fertile district on the left bauk of the Adour, 10 miles 

 S. from Hont-de-Marsan, and has a tribunal of first instance, a college, 

 aud 6288 inhabitants, who manufacture fine pottery, linseiad-oil, and 

 leather, and trade in com, wine, brandy, mineral waters, marble, cut- 

 stone, plaster of Paris, Ac. The town is well built, and contains some 

 handsome buildings ; among which are the court-house, the hospital, 

 barracks, prison, and a magnificent church, which formerly made part 

 of the Benedictine Abbey of St-Sever, founded here in a.D. 993. The 

 town was formerly fortified. The KngUsh took it in 1296 after a long 

 siege. Charles VII. recovered it in 1426. In the religious wars of 

 the 16th century the town was twice taken and suffer^ terribly on 

 both occasions. Aire, an episcopal and ancient city, stands on the 

 slope of a hill on the left bank of the Adour, which is here crossed 

 by a handsome stone bridgu, 17 miles E. from St.-Sever, and cuutoins 

 an ecclesiastical college, a very ancieut church, and 4432 iuhabitanta. 

 The town, which is neat and well built, has manufactures of hats and 

 leather. The see of Aire was founded about a.d. 500, soon after which 

 date Aliu-ic II., king of the Visigoths, made it his residence. Tha 

 Northmen sacked Aire in the 9th ceutury. The Qaacons, Saracens, 

 and English successively seized it : the religious wars almost completed 

 its ruin. .i4mou, a pretty little town of 217(i iubabitants, is situated 

 in a very fertile corn aud wine country near the junction of the Luy- 

 de-France with the Luy-de-B<!am, and has potteries, brandy distilleries, 

 tile-works, and numerous ilour, oil, aud baik-milU. ffai/etmau, a town 

 of 3081 inhabitants, stands iu a district abounding with game, on tha 

 Louts, a few miles south by west from St-Sever, and has manufactures 

 of household linen, pottery, leather, and several oil-mills. It has also 

 a good tmda iu wine, com, maize, flax, chestnuts, liides, aud cattle. 

 Great quantities of oak-staves and hoops are dispatched to Bordeaux. 

 Mtigron, situated at the foot of a hill on the left bank of the Adour, 

 has 2190 inhabitants, who trade in brandy, wine, rosin, ami silk. 

 Tarttu, W. by N. from St-Sever, is a well-built ancient town prettily 

 situated on the Midouze, and has 2759 inhabitants, who manufacture 

 linseed-oil, vinegar, ami leather, and trade lately in com, wine, brandy, 

 saffron (of which a great deal is grown in the neighbourhood), fhiits, 

 game, hams, timber, planks, re»in, Ac. 



3. In the thinl arroiidiasement the cliiaf town, Dax, situated in a 

 fertile plain on the loft bank of the Adour, over which there ia a 

 bridge to the suburb of Sablar, is a wcU-built town, surrounded by 

 ramparts and fosses of Homan construction, 30 miles S.\V. from 

 Mont-de-Harsan, and has 5842 Inhabitants. The town, which is 

 entered by three gates, is defended by a strong castle. The chief 

 buildings are — the former episcopal palace, now occupied by the sub- 

 prefoot and the mayor, the court-house, the cathedral, and the gaoL 

 bax has a tribunal of first instance, » college, and a considerable 

 commerce in liqueurs, wine, com, hams, onions, timber, deals, rosin, 

 Ac. It has been famous from the most ancient times for its hot 

 mineral springs, whence ite ancient name of Aquce, of which Dax 

 (d'Acqii) is a corruption. Aquie, or Aqua? Torbellicw was the capital 

 of the Tarbelli, a people of Aquitania, On the downfall of the Human 

 empire the town was seized successively by the Guths, the Franks, 

 and the Qascons, In a,1), 910 it was stormed by the Saracens. The 



