Jun. 



Paw -. 



Animals. 



Mineralo- 

 gy- 



J U R 402 



Tura is formed into several parallel ramifications, which 

 dimini.sh gradually in height, till they terminate in the 

 plains of Hurgiindy. The following are the altitudes 

 ofilu- principal summits, as determined geometrically 

 l>v Messrs. 1'ictet and Tralles : 



J U R 



Dole 



Ditto, according to the measures 



of the French engineers, 

 Montcnclre, above the valley of 



the Lake of Joux, 

 Reculet, or the summit of Mont Thoiry, 



French Feet. 

 5082 



5178 



5170 

 5196 



The principal passes in the ridge of Jura, are that of 

 Fort Ecluse, where the Rhone runs in a deep chan- 

 nel between the fort and the. foot of Mont Vouache; 

 the passage of Esclees, at a little distano- from Orbe, 

 on the road of Pontarlier; that oC the Cluse de Ver- 

 rieres, in the principality of Neuchatel; that of the 

 Pierre Pertuis, in the Valley of St. Imier ; and the de- 

 files of the Valley of Moutier, of Ballstall, and of Wal- 

 lenbourg. 



As the Ridge of Jura lies below the line of perpe- 

 tual snow, it contains no glaciers; but blocks of ice, 

 and columns of snow, are found in some deep caverns ; 

 such as those near St. George's above Rolle, and be- 

 tween the vallies of Travers and Brevine. The pastures 

 on that ridge are drier than those of the higher Alps ; 

 but in some places, particularly in the canton of Basle, 

 the meadows are as beautiful and fertile as those of the 

 central chain. Some of the ramifications of Jura, par- 

 ticularly those in the neighbourhood of St. Claude and 

 Champagnol, produce a great quantity of box-wood, 

 some of the plants of which rise to the height of 20 

 feet. The mountains, which extend for four or five 

 leagues round Poligni, are covered with lofty pines, 

 which afford to the ship carpenters of Toulon the tall- 

 est masts for their vessels of war. The same forests fur- 

 nish also the materials of numerous manufactures, 

 which employ the inhabitants during the winter, and 

 form a considerable branch of trade. The iron founde- 

 ries, the forges, and the salt pits of Salins, Arc, and 

 Senans, obtain here the wood and the charcoal which 

 they require. 



The brown bear still inhabits the wildest parts of 

 the western chain of Jura ; and it is not many years 

 ago since it made great ravages among the cattle, and 

 even descended into the plains. Wild cats, the flesh of 

 which is eaten by the inhabitants, are also found in the 

 forests of Jura. 



The ridge of Jura is composed of compact limestone, 

 of a greyish or yellowish brown colour, but always less 

 deep than that of the Alps. Sometimes it has a lively 

 yellow colour. The strata alternate with beds of marie 

 and of clay. There is also found gypsum, beds of as- 

 phaltum, of the finest marble, sulphuretted springs, and 

 .-alt springs. Those of Salius, Courbauson, Montmorot, 

 near Lons-le-Saulnier, Groson, Torment, and St. Lan- 

 thein, near Poligni, all of which belong to France, are 

 among the richest. A great number of beds of oolites 

 are found in Jura. 



The stratification of Jura is very singular. The in- 

 clination of the strata from south to north- west, their 

 vertical position/the vaults which they form, and their 

 junction in the form of the roofs of houses at the sum- 

 mit of the chain, are phenomena highly interesting to 

 the mineralogist. The stretch of the" strata is from 

 S.S.W. toN. N.E. 



Among the numerous petrifactions found in the cal- 

 careous formation, are 40 species of the cornu ammonia, 

 20 other species of univalve nArine shells, 8 Species of 

 oysters, as many species of bivalve marine shells, and 

 40 species of corals. The rarest petrifactions are found 

 on Mont Perouse, near Orgeler. Iron is found in 

 such abundance in Jura, that it is capable of supplying 

 all France. The iron mines in Tranche Comptt>, and in 

 the bishopric of Basle, have been wrought with activity ; 

 but Switzerland has not taken advantage of her portion 

 of this treasure. Strata of brown coal occur, which owe 

 their origin to entire forests which have been burned 

 by the dreadful earthquakes to which Jura has often 

 been exposed. 



The innumerable masses of granite and of gneiss, Blocks of 

 which are scattered up and down on the eastern flank granite, 

 of this chain, even at the height of 2400 feet, form one 

 of the most interesting facts in geology. One of these 

 masses, which is found above Xeuchatel, and which was 

 measured by Professor Playfair in 1817, is 6'2 feet long, 

 32 feet wide, and nearly 17 feet high. As there is 

 neither granite nor gneiss on this ridge, Saussure and 

 Sir James Hall have supposed, that they have been 

 carried away by some great flood, or debacle, across the 

 lake of Geneva from the Savoy Alps ; and it is a re- 

 markable fact, that similar blocks are found in the lake 

 of Geneva opposite to the mouths of the streams which 

 descend from the Savoy hills. See Ebel's Manuel clu 

 foyageur en Suissc, torn. iii. ; Traite snr la Structure de 

 la Terre, torn. ii. p. 90, 147- (for an account of the geo- 

 logy of Jura,) Zurich, 1808; Saussure's Voyage dans 

 les Alpes ; and Sir James Hall's paper in the Transac- 

 tions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. vii. p. 142, 

 143, &c. 



JURISDICTIONS, League of the Ten. See GRI- 

 SONS, vol. x. p. 520. 



JURISPRUDENCE. See LAW. 



JURY, JURATORES, or JURATI, (from jurare, to 

 swear,) a certain number of men who are sworn to in- 

 quire into and try such matters of fact as may be re- 

 ferred to them, and to declare the truth upon such evi- 

 dence as shall appear before them. They are some- 

 times called the inquest, from their being appointed to 

 inquire into the truth of certain facts. 



The trial by jury, both in civil and criminal causes, 

 is of great antiquity in these kingdoms; mid has al- 

 ways been justly considered as a most valuable institu- 

 tion for securing the life, liberty, and property of the 

 subject. 



Juries are of different kinds. 1. The Grand Jury is 

 an institution peculiar to England. It generally con- 

 sists of 24 gentlemen of the best figure in each coun- 

 ty, chosen indifferently by the sheriff, who are sworn 

 to the number of 12 at the least, and not more than 23, 

 in order that 12 may be a majority. The sheriff" of 

 every county is bound to return a grand jury to every 

 session of the peace, and to every commission of oyer 

 and Icrminer, and of general gaol delivery. Their 'of- 

 fice is to inquire, present, do, and execute all things, 

 which, on the part of our lord the king, shall then and 

 there be commanded them. Before they proceed to 

 business, the grand jury are instructed in the articles 

 of their inquiry, by a charge from the judge who pre- 

 sides upon the bench. They then withdraw to sit and 

 receive indictments, which are preferred to them in the 

 name .of the king, but at the suit of any private prose- 

 cutor ; and they are only to hear evidence on behalf of 

 the prosecution. For the finding of an indictment is 

 only in the nature of an inquiry or accusation, which 



