puridan are suitable for rice; but its cultivation is prohibited, as prejudicial to health. (Miñano.) Pulse is produced in all parts. Hemp, flax, saffron, madder, woad, anise, liquorice, and barilla, are also produced. The E. districts yield good strong wines, which are frequently employed to give body to the wines of other provs., and are sometimes exported for that purpose to Cette, and thence to Bordeaux. Oranges, lemons, and citrons, are found on the coast; figs and almonds are grown in the plain of Tarragona; and apples, pears, cherries, quinces, medlars, apricots, peaches, walnuts, chestnuts, and filberts, in all the plains. Oil, though not of the best quality, is produced in all the warmer parts of the coast district. Silk, honey, and wax, are also produced in considerable quantities. Timber is plentiful, especially the roble-oak, beech, fir, elm, evergreen poplar, cork-tree, &c. Nuts and cork constitute important articles of export from the prov., being in this respect second only to linen and cotton goods and brandy. Bears and wolves are sometimes seen in the Pyrenees. Laborde estimated the produce of wool at 30,000 quintals. they defied for several years the power of Rome, and | rye, maize, barley, oats, and millet. The plains of Amdefeated three Prætorian armies. At last they were entirely defeated under the walls of Messina, by the consul Piso; and Enna was subsequently taken by the consul Rupilius, and the slaves put to the sword or crucified. (Besides the authorities already referred to, sce Sir R. C. Hoare's Classical Tour, ii. 247. &c.; Russell's Sicily, p. 114.; and the Ancient Universal History, xii. 416.) CATALONIA (Span. Cataluña), a prov. of Spain, Occupying the N.E. portion of the k., between lat. 40° 30 and 42° 51′ N., and fong. 0° 15′ and 3° 21' E. It is of a triangular shape, and has the E. Pyrenees, which separate it from France, on the N.; the Mediterranean on the E.; and Aragon, and a small part of Valencia, on the W. Greatest length and breadth, 190 and 130 m.; area about 12,150 sq. m., including Andorre. Offsets from the Pyrenees spread themselves through the whole prov. from N. to S., forming valleys of larger or smaller extent, like those of Ampuridan, Ürgel, Aran, Lerida, &c. Towards the middle of the prov., 29 m. N.W. from Barcelona, is the celebrated Monserrat, 4,500 ft. in height; and farther S., on the Ebro, is the Sierra de la Llena. The Pyrenees are not so rugged on this as on the French side, and descend gradually towards the Mediterranean. They are mostly granitic. The other mountains of Catalonia are in many respects similar. The mountain of Cardona, 17 m. N.W. Monserrat, almost in the centre of the prov., is a solid mass of pure rock-salt, without the least crevice or fissure, between 400 and 500 ft. high, and 3 m. in circ. This prodigious mass of salt is unparalleled in Europe, and perhaps in the world. In almost any other country it would be turned to great account, and be made the means of an extensive trade; but here, owing to the badness of the roads and the difficulty of access, this inexhaustible source of wealth is but little known, and comparatively neglected. (Dillon's Travels in Spain, p. 390.) Near Olot, in this prov., about 55 m. N. Barcelona, is a remarkable district of extinct volcanos, that has been visited and described by Mr. Lyell. It contains about 14 distinct cones, with craters. The greatest number of perfect cones are close to Olot; and the level plain on which the town stands has clearly, according to Mr. Lyell, been produced by the flowing down of lava from the adjoining hills. Most of these volcanos are as entire as those near Naples, or on the flanks of Etna. Some of them contain caverns called bufadors, from which a current of cold air blows during summer. There is no record of any eruption here; but the town of Olot was nearly destroyed by an earthquake in 1421. (Principles of Geology, ii. 38., 3d ed.) The mountains in the S. of the prov., near the coast, are limestone. On the Irrigation is the leading feature in the husbandry of E. of Cervera gypsum only is met with; but more to the the prov., and is carried to a great extent by means of W. it gives place to chalk. The coast is mostly boid and canals and trenches cut from every available source; the rugged In the N. is Cape Creus, the most E. point of maintenance of which, together with the distribution Spain, being the extremity of a rocky peninsula stretch- of the water, is committed to the care of a particular ing out into the sea, and separating the Gulph of Ly-junta. Great numbers of farms are also watered by ons from that of Rosas, lat. 42°19′53′′ N., long. 3° 20′ 16′′ means of the noria, a machine introduced by the SaE. The prov. is well watered. One of the affluents of the racens for raising water from wells. The soil is in Ebro, the Naguera, forms for nearly 60 m. the line of parts so very light that it is ploughed with a couple of demarcation between it and Aragon. The Ebro itself oxen, and sometimes with one horse, or even mule; enters the prov. at Mequinenza, and flowing through its but with the help of the water it is rendered fertile, most S. portion by Tortosa and Amporta, falls into the and produces on the same spot corn, wine, oranges, and Mediterranean 15 m. E. from the latter. The Segre, with olives. According to Mr. Townsend, the common proits affluents, unites with the Ebro at Mequinenza. The duce of wheat is 10, and in rainy seasons, 15 for 1. principal rivers, unconnected with the Ebro, are the (Year in Spain, by an American, i 19. 33. 44. 60.; Llobregat and Ter, the one flowing S.E., and the other Townsend, 1. 92. 103. 179. 196., iii, 304. 316. 328.; MiE., to the Mediterranean. ñano.) Catalonia is the best cultivated, and the people the most industrious, of any of the Spanish provs. This is owing to a variety of causes, but principally, perhaps, to its exemption from the alcavala and other oppressive imposts (see SPAIN), and to the mode in which lands are occupied. Generally, throughout Spain the land is divided into vast estates, held under a system of strict entail, and administered by stewards on account of the proprietors. The disastrous influence of this system is apparent in the low state of agriculture, and the wretchedness of the peasantry, in most parts of the monarchy. But in Catalonia its influence is materially modified by the landlords having power, by what is called the enphyteutic contract, to lease a portion of their estates. This they may do for a term of years, either absolute or conditional, for lives or in perpetuity; always reserving a quit-rent, as in the English copyhold, with a relief on every succession, a fine on the alienation of the land, and other scigniorial rights dependent on the custom of the district. The reserved rent is commonly paid in money; but the agreement is often for wine, oil, corn, or poultry. If the tenant quits before the end of his term (which he may do), he loses all claim for improvements, for which he must otherwise be paid. (Townsend, iii. 330.) Persons occupying land under this tenure have an obvious interest in its profitable cultivation; and wherever it prevails the country is in a comparatively flourishing state. The Pyrenees furnish iron, copper, zinc, and manga- The silk and woollen manufactures of Catalonia were nese. There are lead mines in various districts. Coal is formerly carried on to a great extent, and are still of abundant, but much difficulty has always been encoun- considerable value and importance. In the latter part tered in working it, from the want of capital and of im- of last century the cotton manufacture was introduced; proved means of communication. Townsend says, that cop. but it has not succeeded; and Miñano says, that for per and silver abound in the valley of Aran, and that coal, some years past its progress has been de mal en peor — silver, and gold, have all been found in the vicinity of Le- from bad to worse. Exclusive of silks, cottons, and rida. There is abundance of alum in the valley of Aran; woollens, a good deal of linen is made, with paper, hats, nitre is produced spontaneously in the plains of Urgel, and cordage, &c. All kinds of weaving are carried on upon cathartic salts at Cervera. The mountain of rock-salt at the slopes of the Pyrenees, where wages are lowest; the Cardona has been already noticed. There are marbles, webs being brought to Barcelona to be bleached and jasper, and other stones useful in architecture and sculp-printed. Leather is largely manufactured, and shoeture; alabaster, amethysts, topazes, and coloured rock crystal; quartz, barytic spa, fluor spa, limestone, chalk, and gypsum, in all varieties; amianthus, talc, serpentine, chalcedony, &c. There are many mineral waters and hot springs. (Miñano; Townsend, iii. 345.; Bourgoing, iii. 344.) The air is dry and usually bright and clear in the interior; but on the coast it is variable and moist; and in summer pestilential diseases not unfrequently prevail. The mountains are every where covered with snow during the winter, and in the Pyrenees frequently even in June. Soil and Produce. — About half the surface is susceptible of cultivation, the rest consisting of rocks, naked barren hills, and woodland. The mountain land is stony, and full of fragments of granite; but the valleys are mostly fertile. All sorts of grain are grown; viz. wheat, making used to be one of the principal employments. In 1786, the export of shoes from Barcelona only was estimated at 700,000 pairs, mostly for the colonies. Since the emancipation of the latter, this trade has greatly declined. Miñano reckons the export of shoes in 1826 at 200,000 pairs; and according to Inglis, the shoe-making business, which formerly employed 2,000 hands in Barcelona, had entirely ceased in that city. Distillation is also extensively carried on; the exports of brandy amounting, according to Miñano, to 35,000 pipes a year. Cannon and small arms, soap, glass, sheet-iron, and copper utensils, are also produced. Women, in the agricul tural districts, are employed in the making of blond and other laces. The shipbuilding, formerly carried on at Barcelona, Mataro, and other places on the coast, where timber was cheap, has nearly ceased. Tarragona is the chief place in the prov. for the export of nuts, al monds, wines, brandy, cork wood, and cork bark. (See TARRAGONA.) The pop. of Catalonia was estimated in 1788 at 814,412. According to the estimate of Miñano, it amounted to 1,100,000 in 1826 (iii. 23.); and later estimates give nearly the same result. The principal towns are Barcelona, Tarragona, Gerona, Lerida, Reus, Manresa, Tortosa, &c. The language of the Catalans is a dialect of the Romance or Provençal, at one time the common language in the S. of France, and in some other parts. But it is now a good deal intermixed with Castilian and other words. Letters were successfully cultivated at the court of Barcelona; and some of the counts attained to distinction as troubadours. Catalonia had for a lengthened period its states, composed of the clergy, nobility, and commons, who shared the legislative power with the sovereign. It had, also, particular and very extensive privileges, and a peculiar form of jurisdiction in the hands of magistrates, called viguieros, whose districts were named viguieries. The highest court of appeal was the royal council established in Catalonia. Their contributions to the king were not considered as imposts, but as voluntary gifts; the Catalans were to be tried by the laws of Catalonia only, and by native judges; and their estates were never to be confiscated, unless for treason. But these privileges were suppressed by Philip V. when he subdued the province; and the laws of Catalonia were then assimilated to those of Castile. They have always, as already seen, been exempted from the alcavala, cientos, and millones, in lieu of which they paid 10 per cent. on all rents, whether belonging to individuals or communities, and on the supposed gains of merchants and mechanics. The Catalans are hardy, active, and industrious; and used to be distinguished by their attachment to their privileges, and their opposition to arbitrary power. But in this respect they seem to have undergone a material change; being now distinguished by their veneration for the apostolical party in church and state-a consequence probably of their ignorance and subservience to the priest hood. There seems, indeed, to be little or no provision made for education. Philip V. suppressed the universities of Barcelona, Lerida, Gerona, &c.; and established in their stead only that of Cervera. There are academies in the principal towns; but the great bulk of the people appear to be without the means of instruction. Their improved condition is not therefore in any degree owing to their superior intelligence, but to the comparatively favourable circumstances under which they have, in other respects, been placed. The difference between the cottages of Catalonia and those of the other provinces of Spain is very visible. The houses and cottages here have an air of convenience and comfort; there is glass in the windows, and the insides display the articles of furniture in common use. No beggars, and few ragged people, are seen; industry is every where active; stones are removed from the ground and collected in heaps; fences are more general and more neatly constructed; nobody is seen basking in the sun; even the women and girls who attend the cattle do not sit idle, wrapped up in their plaids, but every one has her spindle in her hand. (Inglis, ii. 304.), Catalonia anciently made a part of the Hispania Taraconensis of the Romans. The Goths were its next masters, who spread themselves from it over the rest of Spain. On the fall of the Gothic empire, the Catalans submitted to the Moors, but the dominion of the latter was not of long duration. In the 8th and 9th centuries, Catalonia, with the adjoining country of Roussillon, became an independent state, subject to the counts or earls of Barcelona. Under their government, liberal institutions were established in the prov.; it was distinguished by its naval power, commerce, and proficiency in the arts; and its fleets and armies frequently interfered with decisive effect in the contests of the time. In 1137, Catalonia was united with Aragon, by the marriage of one of its counts with the heiress of the latter; but the Catalonians retained their separate legislature, and distinct privileges. In 1640 the prov, revolted against Philip IV., and was not recovered till 1659. In the war of the succession, the Catalonians were the most zealous adherents of the Archduke Charles; and even after England and Austria had withdrawn from the contest, they refused to submit, and defended Barcelona with an obstinacy of which there are but few examples. On its capture, their ancient cortes, and most of their peculiar privileges, were suppressed. CATANIA, an ancient and celebrated city and seaport of Sicily, cap. prov. same name, on the E. coast of the island, at the foot of Mount Etna, at the extremity of a vast plain, 31 m. N.N.W. Syracuse; lat. 37° 28′ 20 N., long. 15° 5′ 15 E. Pop. (1831) 52,433; viz. 25,578 males, and 26,855 females. Though it has suffered much from earthquakes, by one of which, in 1693, it was all but totally destroyed, it has always risen from its ruins finer and more magnificent than ever. Captain Smyth says, "It has a noble appearance from the sea; and what is rare in an Italian town, the effect is not diminished on landing; for the streets are regular, spacious, and handsome; and the numerous churches, convents, palaces, and public establishments, principally constructed of lava, faced with magnesian limestone from Malta and Syracuse, and enriched with marbles from the ruins, are magnificent." Mr. Hughes says that its exterior aspect reminded him of Oxford; but "that the interior may defy competition. It is nobly situated," Mr. H. continues, "on the roots of Etna, its despoiler and its benefactor. Overwhelmed, as it has often been, by torrents of liquid fire, it has risen, like the phoenix, more splendid from its ashes. The very substance which once ravaged its plains has, by its own decomposition, covered them with soil fertile as the fabled garden of the Hesperides; and on all sides the material of destruction is turned to the purposes of ornament and utility. The streets are paved with lava; houses, palaces, and churches, are built of lava; of lava they form ornamental chimney-pieces, tables, and a variety of toys; whilst a natural mole of lava defends the shipping from the fury of the tempest. Ask a Catanian what is the subject of almost every thing you behold in art or nature, and his reply will be, with a most significant elevation of his hands and eyebrows, Lava, signore; tutta tutta lava. The plan of the city is su perb, and no one is permitted to deviate from it." The cathedral, founded in 1094, was rebuilt on a simple and grand scale, after the earthquake of 1693; the senatehouse, monte di pietà, theatre, and most of the municipal establishments, are also fine, appropriate buildings. Near the cathedral is a fine square, ornamented with an antique statue of an elephant bearing on its back an obelisk. It has 49 churches, of which that of St. Maria dell' Ajuto, and several others, are magnificent structures; it has also 19 convents for men, and 11 for women. The Benedictine convent of San Nicolò d'Arena has long been justly celebrated for its vast extent, superb church, excellent organ, large museum, ancient mosaics, and great riches. Among the charitable establishments, exclusive of the monte di pietà, are several hospitals, a workhouse, a foundling hospital, a lying-in hospital, a Magdalen asylum, &c. The university, founded in 1445, by Alphonso of Aragon, is an extensive foundation with an annual revenue of above 2,000. It has able profess ors, and is well attended: its library and museums are open on holydays to the public." The heirs of Prince Biscari and others have also fine museums. Catania is the seat of a bishopric, of a court of appeal, a criminal court, a civil court, and of the provincial authorities; and enjoys extensive privileges. The humanity, hospitality, and good-breeding of the inhabitants, have been eulogised by all travellers. On many occasions they have shown a singular unanimity in public affairs; they had the courage to practise inoculation so early as 1742, and to introduce the potato while an ignorant prejudice existed against it among their neighbours. The principal manufacture is that of silk, which is largely carried on. The working of the yellow amber found on the S. coast of the island affords employment to some thousands of the population. The snow of Mount Etna is also a great source of wealth. The har◄ bour is not equal to the importance of the city; but it is generally full of small craft that resort thither for corn, macaroni, potatoes, olives, figs, silk, wine, almonds, cheese, oil, soda, manna, cantharides, amber, snow, and lava. The environs are fruitful, and well cultivated. Catania is very ancient. It is believed to have been founded by the Chalcidians, and had Charondas for its early legislator. Under the Romans, it was the residence of a prætor, and was adorned with many noble buildings. Owing, however, to the repeated occurrence of earthquakes, and the irruption of lava from Ætna, its ancient monuments have been mostly destroyed; but the remains of its amphitheatre, the circumference of which exceeds even that of the colosseum, as well as of its theatre, odeum, hippodrome, temples, aqueducts, baths, &c., attest its former extent and magnificence. (Giornale Statistica, No. i. p. 83.; Swinburne, ii. 356. 4to. ed.; Smyth, p. 135.; Hughes's Greece and Albania, i. 110. 8vo. ed.) CATANZARO, a town of Naples, prov. Calabria Ultra II., of which it is the cap., in a healthy and agree. able situation, on a mountain near the Gulph of Squilace, 29 m. S.S.E. Cosenza. Pop. 12,000. It suffered very severely from the dreadful earthquake of 1783, which overthrew several of its principal buildings; it still, however, has a cathedral, several churches and convents, a seminary, a royal academy of sciences, a lyceum, a foundling hospital, a mont de piété, and two hospitals; and is defended by a castle. It is the seat of a bishopric, of one of the four great civil courts of the kingdom, of a criminal court, and of an ordinary civil tribunal. There are considerable manufactures of silk, velvet, cloth, &c.; and a good deal of trade is carried on in silk, corn, cattle, wine, and oil. The inhabitants are affable and industrious, and the women are reckoned the handsomest in the three Calabrias. (Rampoldi.) CATEAU-CAMBRESIS, a town of France, dép. du Nord, cap. cant., on the Salle, 15 m. E.S. E. Cambray. Pop. 6,015. It was formerly fortified; and has manufactures of starch, soap, and tobacco, with tanneries, and some trade in lace, lawns, &c. It is celebrated in diplomatic history for the treaty concluded in it, in 1559, between France and Spain. CATHERINA (SANTA), or NOSSA SENHORA DO DESTERRO, a marit. city of Brazil, cap. prov. St. Catherine, on the W. side of the island of same name, on the narrow strait separating it from the mainland, 520 m. S.W. Rio Janeiro; lat. 27° 36′ S., long. 48° 40′ W. Pop. probably from 5,000 to 6,000. From the landing place in the harbour, which is at the bottom of a verdant slope of about 500 yards, "the town has a most beautiful appearance, and the perspective is nobly crowned by its fine cathedral. The green is interspersed with orange trees, and forms an agreeable parade. The houses are well built, have two or three stories with boarded floors, and are provided with neat gardens well stocked with excellent vegetables and flowers." Besides the church of Nossa Senhora do Desterro, which gives name to the place, there were some years ago two chapels, a convent, an hospicio, and good barracks. Notwithstanding its excellent port and convenient situation, the trade of the town is not very considerable; but it is frequently visited by ships passing to and from the Pacific, and by those in the S. Sea whale-fishery. Sperm-whales used to be frequent on this coast, and even in the bay of St. Catherine, but they are now comparatively rare. There are some manufactures of coarse cotton and linen stuffs, and earthenWhen it was visited by Mr. Mawe, it was principally occupied by merchants, ship-captains, and others retired from business, attracted thither by the beauty of the situation, the salubrity of the climate, and the cheapness of most necessary articles. He speaks very favourably of the courtesy of the inhab. The ladies, he says, "are handsome and lively; their chief employment is making lace, in which they display great ingenuity and taste." (Mawe's Travels, p. 58.) ware. The island of St. Catherine may be entirely circumnavigated, and many good anchorages are found between its W. coast and the continent; but the N. part of the channel is the only one suitable for large vessels. Here they anchor in 5 fathoms on a mud bottom which holds well, and are protected from all winds, except from the N.E., which are rarely dangerous. Opposite to the town the channel narrows, and the depth of water decreases to 2 fathoms. The roadstead is defended by 2 forts. This is one of the very best places at which to refit: excellent water may be had in any quantity for nothing, and provisions of all kinds are cheap and abundant. (Blount's American Pilot, p. 537.) The island of St. Catherine is about 35 m. in length, N. to S., and from 4 to 8 m. in width. Its shores rise abruptly from the sea to such a height, that in fair weather it is visible 45 m. off. Its most N. extremity, Point Rupa, is in lat. 27° 22′ 31′′ N., long. 48° 32′ 7′′ W. The surface of the island is singularly varied, presenting granite mountains, fertile plains, swamps fit for the growth of rice, lakes stocked with fish, and several small streams. Mandioc and flax are the chief articles of culture; but wheat, maize, pulse, onions, rice, sugar, cotton, indigo, and an abundance of fruit are also grown. The climate is rather humid, but temperate and salubrious. CATMANDO0, or KHATMANDU, an inland city of N. Hindostan, cap. of the Nepaul dom., built in a mountainous region, 154 m. N.N.W. Patna, and 4,784 ft. above the level of the plains of Bengal. Pop. 20,000.? It extends for about 1 m. along the bank of a river; and contains many wooden and brick temples, with the palace of the Nepaul rajah. The houses are mostly mean brick or tile buildings, often 3 or 4 stories high; streets narrow and dirty. (Hamilton's E. I. Gaz.) CATRINE, a manufacturing village of Scotland, co. Ayr, parish Sorn, on the N. bank of the Ayr, 32 m. S. Glasgow. Pop., in 1837, 2,702. Cotton-works were erected here in 1786, and a bleaching-work in 1824. Both works are, generally speaking, carried on by means of water-power, but in case of a deficient supply of water, steam-engines have been constructed to make good the deficiency. The weight of yarn spun in 1836 was 951,973 lbs.; and the quantity of goods produced, 172,175 pieces of 25 yards each, or an aggregate of 4,304,393 yards, equal to 2,445 m. The bleaching establishment, in addition to what is manufactured at Catrine, bleaches all the cotton produced at the other mills belonging to the same company, the quantity varying from 15,000 to 25,000 yards per day. Every part of the process is carried on within doors, and without interruption, at all seasons of the year. To have bleached the same quantity in the old way, or by exposure to the sun's rays out of doors, would have required from 150 to 200 acres of land! 913 hands are employed in the works, of whom 315 are males, and 598 females, besides about 30 masons and other labourers. The sum paid as wages by the company in 1836 was 27,5687. 18s., being, at an average, a little less than 307. a year to each individual. There are 7 schools, 6 of which are supported by the school fees (which average 3d. per week), and one maintained by a fixed salary paid by the company; 4 libraries, one of which is attached to a Sunday-school; and two places of worship, one connected with the established church, the other belonging to a sect of Presbyterian dissenters. (New Statist. Account of Scotland, part xvi.) CATTARO, a town of the Austrian states, cap. circ. of same name, at the S.E. extremity of the Gulph or Bocca di Cattaro, 210 m. S.E. Zara; lat. 42° 25′ 26′′ N., long. 18° 46′ 16′′ E. Pop. about 4000. It is walled, and is farther defended by a fort built on an adjoining eminence. Streets narrow, dark, and gloomy. Notwithstanding its small size, it has a cathedral, a collegiate church, 17 other R. Cath, churches and chapels, a Greek church, 6 convents, and an hospital. It is the seat of the administration of the circle and of a bishop, and has a government high-school. The harbour is one of the best in the Adriatic. At its mouth there are two rocks dividing the entrance into three separate channels, two of which admit the largest ships. Internally the gulph is spacious and secure, though little frequented by shipping. The trade of Cattaro is chiefly with the Turkish distr. of Montonegro. The vicinity is very picturesque; but from being surrounded on three sides by mountains, Cattaro has this disadvantage, that the sun rises an hour later and is lost an hour earlier than in most other places. The district of Cattaro was the seat of a Roman colony; but the town itself only dates from the 6th century. It has suffered much from earthquakes, especially in 1563 and 1667. It was long the cap. of a small republic, which, falling into debt, placed itself under the government of Venice on the single condition of having its debts paid. Previously to the treaty of Tilsit this town was for some time in the occupation of the Russians. (Oesterr. Nat. Encycl.; Malte-Brun ; Dict. Géographique, &c.) CATTEGAT, or KATTEGAT, a portion of the N. Sea, or of the Baltic, between Jutland and Sweden. (See BALTIC.) CAUBUL, or CABUL (an. Aria, Arachosia, &c.), an extensive region of Centr. Asia, formerly the centre of a powerful kingdom reaching from Meshed to Cashmere, and from the Oxus to the ocean, but now comprising only the country between lat. 280 and 370 N., and long. 59° 30′ and 72° E.; and divided into four chiefships, independent of each other, viz. those of its principal cities, Caubul, Peshawer, Candahar, and Herat. Caubul, in its extended sense, includes the greater portion of Affghanistan, Seistan (an. Drangiana), and Sewestan, with parts of Khorassan, Caufiristan (the Kohistan), and Lahore: length and breadth each about 600 m. The pop. was estimated by Mr. Elphinstone, in 1809, at about 14 millions, or Affghans 4,300,000 Persians and Tadjiks 1,500,000 Belooches 1,000,000 Hindoos, Juts, &c. 5,700,000 Tartars 1,200,000 Miscellaneous tribes 300,000 But this estimate is believed to have been too high when it was framed; and since that period civil wars and foreign conquests have deprived Caubul of the provs. of Beloochistan, Sinde, Moultan, Damaun, Cashmere, Balkh, &c., and have diminished the pop. to little more than the Affghan portion. At present, besides the cities already named, the chief towns are, Ghiznee, Dooshak, and Furrah. The N. and E. portion of Caubul is a lofty table-land, its mountains belonging to the Hindoo Koosh (or Indian Caucasus), and two of its offsets, viz. the Solimaun and Paropamisan ranges. The Koosh mountain, about long. 690 E., gives its name to the range which extends from it both W. and E., and beyond the Indus is continuous with the Himalaya, running generally S.W. to N.E., and in the Kohistan forming the N. boundary of Caubul. Between long. 70° and 72° it makes a remarkable curve to the S., opposite to which the Bolor-Tagh (or cloudy mountains) unites with or approaches it, from Budukhshan on the N. The highest, as well as the most S. point of this curve, is apparently a mountain, called Coond, or Kooner, near long. 710, where the Affghans believe the ark to have rested after the deluge; a tradition current, however, respecting the Tukhte Solimaun also. The Koosh is covered with perpetual snow; its peaks are visible from Bactria, India, and even Tartary, and one of them, measured by Sir A. Burnes, was found to be 20,493 ft. high. Mr. Elphinstone observed at Peshawer three inferior mountain ranges, progressively decreasing in height beneath the former; the de. scription of which will serve, he says, to give an idea of the rest of the Koosh chain: the lowest range was destitute of snow, and its sides were clothed with forests of pine, oak, and wild olive, European fruits and flowers, fern, and elegant shrubs. The tops of the second range are covered with snow, and the third are so to half their fordable throughout its course for the greater part of the year. The principal of the minor rivers are the Caubul, Helmund, Furrah-Rood, and Lora. The only lake of any importance is that of Seistan, or Zurrah (Aria Palus), which receives the waters of the Helmund (Etymander). The Climate varies with the elevation; the temperature is much higher at Peshawer and Candahar than at Caubul and Ghiznee; but, generally speaking, the average heat of the year does not equal that of India, nor the cold that of England. At Caubul the snow lies on the ground for five months, and Burnes found the thermometer stood no higher than 64° Fahr. during the hottest period of the day in the month of May. The prevailing winds throughout Caubul are westerly. The rains brought by the S.W. monsoons are much diminished in power by the time they reach the N.E. part of the country, where the rainy season is limited to a month of cloudy weather, and occasional showers. At Candahar the influence of this monsoon is not felt in the least degree: at Caubul there is no regular wet season; but showers are frequent at all times of the year, as in England. At Peshawer, by the first week in March, peach and plum trees begin to blossom, and by the end of that month are in full foliage; from July to Septr. the weather is clondy; the winter lasts from the latter month till Feb. Caubul generally is healthy; the most prevalent diseases are fevers, small-pox, and ophthalmia. Sir A. Burnes found the inhabitants of the Koosh, at 10,000 ft. above the sea, quite free from goitre, so common in the lower ranges of the Himalaya. Geology and Minerals. A core of granite, and resting on it a deep bed of slate, are the prominent geological features of the Koosh: the slate formation includes gneiss, mica, and clay-slate, chlorite, carbonate of lime, and quartz; gneiss generally occupying the lower portion. The Solimaun chain is composed of a hard black stone; its accompanying ranges on the E. of an equally hard red stone, and a friable grey sandstone: the hills between Herat and Dooshak consist partly of a mixed reddish and black rock, streaked with ore, and partly of greywacke slate. Iron, lead, copper, antimountain region, and 10 or 12 lead mines near Baumian, and elsewhere, are worked; gold is washed down by the rivers that come from the Hindoo Koosh; there are extensive deposits of sulphur in Seistan, at Cohut, &c; coal, naphtha, and petroleum, are met with in the latter district; salt in the E. part of the country, both in springs and beds; and saltpetre is procured from the soil in many places. height. On the high central range Mr. Elphinstone | ary, and excepting it, there is no river which is not observed that "no diminution in the snow could be perceived in any part in the month of June, when the thermometer in the plain of Peshawer was at 1130 Fahr." The Koh-i-Baba range, between Caubul and Baumian, is the continuation W. of the Koosh; but its peaks are not so lofty, probably not more than 18,000 ft. (Burnes, iii. | 203.), although covered with eternal snow for a considerable distance beneath their summits." The passes of Hajeeguk and Kaloo on this range are respectively 12,400 and 13,000 ft. above the sea; the other passes are none more than 9,000 ft. in height, and all, without exception, are free from snow by the end of June. In the defiles the road often winds at the base of a mural precipice, rising to 2,000 or 3,000 ft. perpendicularly, and in one part, called Dura-i-zundan, or the "Valley of the Dungeon," the height is such as to exclude the sun at noonday; at the height of 10,000 ft., however, the ground in some parts is ploughed when the snow disappears, the grain sown in May being reaped in October. The ranges N. of the Koh-i-Baba are much inferior in height, and often free from snow, but rise from the plains of Balkh in a bold and precipitous line, 2,500 ft. high. The valley of the Caubul river separates the Koosh from the Teera mountains, which run in a parallel direction, decreasing in size to the E.; but in their higher parts are covered with perpetual snow, and are certainly as much as 15,000 ft. high. (Burnes, ii. 105.) The Solimaun range commences with the Sufued-Koh, S. of the Caubul valley; across which it may be considered as connecting itself with the Koosh, by means of cross ranges, causing many cascades and acclivities in the bed of the river. This range stretches from nearly 34° to 290 N. lat., where it becomes connected with the high table-land of Kelat (Beloochistan). It is not so high as the Koosh its principal points are the Sufued-Koh, or "White Mountain,' and the Tukhte Solimaun, or "Throne of Solomon," the last near lat. 31° 30′ N.: the former is always covered with snow, and the latter so for three months in the year. Between these two points this range decreases considerably in height, especially where it is intersected by the Gomul river. The Solimaun chain has several parallel ridges, and gives off many lateral and other ranges, especially a re-mony, tin, zinc, &c., are found in various parts of the markable one to the S. W., including the Khojeh Amram hills; a broad range, though of no great altitude, which appears to join the table-land of Kelat. On the E. a high and broad range, abounding in salt, passes off near the Teera mountains, across the Indus, into the Punjab, with a S. E. direction. The Paropamisan mountains (for which as a whole there is no modern name) occupy a large space of country, extending 350 m. E. to W., and 200 m. N. to S.; W. of the Koosh, and between the Helmund river and Toorkistan. They are a maze of mountains, difficult of access, and little frequented; their E. portion is cold, rugged, and barren, although nowhere covered with perpetual snow: in the W. they contain rather wider valleys, and are somewhat better cultivated. Their greatest declivity is on the N. side, from which they send off several ranges towards Balkh; the slope of the whole tract is towards the W. The Koosh, collectively called the Caubul Kohistan, or "Land of Mountains," contains, in its higher ranges, a number of narrow valleys; in its lower portions the valleys are of some size; Mr. Elphinstone calling them "plains." Many open laterally into the valley of Caubul, which occupies the space between the Indian Caucasus and the Sofimaun and Teera mountains, and which in some places is 25 m. wide. The narrow plain, or valley of the Swaut river, is well watered; yields two harvests of most sorts of grain; and abounds in orchards, mulberry gardens, and plane-trees: others are by no means so wide or productive, and are often bounded by a number of narrow glens. There are many fertile and well-watered valleys on both sides the Solimaun range. Besides those of the desert, which extend over the S. and W. parts of Caubul, there are many extensive and productive plains: that of Peshawer, about 35 m. in diam., is well watered; its streams fringed with willows and tamarisks; and has numerous gardens and orchards scattered over it: the latter contain a profusion of apple, plum, peach, pear, quince, and pomegranate trees. The greater part of this plain is highly cultivated and irrigated by canals, &c., and the uncultivated parts covered with a thick elastic sod, scarcely equalled, except in England: its villages are generally large, very clean and neat, and surrounded with groves of date, perpul, tamarisk, &c. The valley of Caubul encloses some small plains, of which that of Jellalabad is the principal. Most of the cities and large towns are in fertile plains: one of great luxuriance surrounds Herat; and the site of Furrah, and other places in the W., as well as the banks of the Helmund, seem "rich oases in the midst of a waste." The desert in Seistan, Gurmseer, and Shorawuk, has an ill-defined boundary, and often encroaches on the habitable country. The Indus forms, for a short distance, the E. bound Many of the forest trees, and most of the finer fruits of Europe grow wild. The timber in the mountain region consists chiefly of pine, oak, cedar, gigantie cypress, and wild olive: the Hindoo Koosh is destitute of wood, and in many places of verdure. Some of the hills produce the birch, holly, hazel, mastic, &c., the wild vine, berberry, blackberry, and many other bushes bearing edible berries; the valleys abound with extensive orchards, particularly of apricot-trees; the other trees most common on the plains are the mulberry, tamarisk, plane, willow, poplar, &c. The assafoetida plant grows luxuriantly at an elevation of 7,000 ft.; hemlock, fennel, peppermint, nettles, and other such plants, common in Europe, are equally common in the higher parts of Caubul, with a profusion of roses, poppies, hyacinths, jessamines, &c. The vegetation of the lowlands approximates more to that of India; and, ou descending into them, the contrast with the country just passed, is so striking that it is thus adverted to by the Emperor Baber, in his commentaries:-"I saw another world. The grass, the birds, the trees, the animals, and the tribes of men: all was new! I was astonished." Lions of a small species are said to have been found in the hilly country about Caubul; tigers are met with in most of the wooded tracts; wolves, hyenas, jackals, wild dogs, the elk, and various other kinds of deer, wild sheep and goats, on the E. hills; the wild ass in the desert; foxes, hares, porcupines, ichneumons, ferrets, &c., are also found. Birds are very numerous, and include several kinds of eagles, hawks, and other birds of prey; herons, cranes, wild fowl, and game, in plenty; doves, magpies, thrushes, nightingales, &c.: parrots and birds of rich plumage are found only in the E. Turtles and tortoises are numerous; there are no crocodiles in the rivers; the snakes are mostly harmless. Large scorpions infest Peshawer; mosquitoes, except in Seistan, are less troublesome than in India; large flights of locusts are rare, but occasionally cause a famine in Khorassan. Races of Men. The Afghans, who call themselves Pooshtoon, bear a considerable resemblance to the Jews; and, though they consider it a reproach to be called Jews, they claim descent from a son of Saul. Sir W. Jones and Sir A. Burnes contend for their Jewish origin; Mr. Elphinstone discredits it. They are divided into a num ber of tribes, often at war with each other, especially those in the E. of Caubul, and each under the authority of a chief, who, however, is usually assisted by a council (jeerga), consisting of the heads of the tribe. Mr. Elphinstone conceives their political condition to bear a strong analogy to that of the Scottish clans, in former times; but the genius of the Affghans is more decidedly republican; they resist every encroachment of their rulers, and have a boldness and elevation of character unknown to most other Asiatic nations. They are Mohammedans of the Soonite sect, but use the Persian alphabet: their literature bears a similarity to that of the Persians; but it has a superior dignity and refinement, and in many respects is not unlike that of Europe. The Affghans are hospitable, and tolerant in religion; but extremely superstitious and addicted to astrology, divination, alchymy, &c. They are plunderers by profession; in the W. they live in tents, in the E. in fixed habitations: only a few of them reside in the large towns. Their chief amusements are the chase, feasting, songs and recitations: they have slaves, but traffic very little in them. (For further particulars, see AFFGHANISTAN.) The Eimauks and Hazaurehs, two races of Tartar origin, although using dialects of the Persian tongue, inhabit the Paropamisan mountains. The Eimauks, who are divided into four principal tribes, subdivided into numerous clans, each governed by its chief, occupy the lower parts of the country, between Caubul city and Herat; Mr. Elphinstone estimated their number at about 450,000. In war they are ferocious and cruel: they retain many Mogul customs, mixed with others of Persian origin; they live almost entirely in camps, and use the same kind of food as the Afghans, with the addition of horse-flesh and bread of an oily kind of nut. They cultivate wheat, barley, and millet; keep many sheep, and rear a small but active breed of horses: they are Mohammedans of the Soonite sect. The Hazaurehs have been estimated at about 250,000; they inhabit a higher region than the Eimauks, a cold and sterile country, where little corn can be grown: their sheep, oxen, horses, and the produce of the chase, furnish them with their principal articles of food; sugar and salt are the foreign commodities most in demand amongst them. They live in villages of thatched houses, and are divided into different clans, constantly at war with each other, and each governed by an absolute chief. The Hazaurehs have strong Tartar features, and many similarities in customs, dress, &c. with the Uzbeks; the women, who are frequently good-looking, possess an unexampled license and ascendancy over their husbands. These people are passionate, fickle, and capricious; but conversable, hospitable, and very fond of music, recitation, visiting, and other sociable kinds of amusement. Many of them are performers on a guitar, poets, and improvvisatori. They belong to the sect of Ali. The Tadjiks, or Taujiks (see BOKHARA), are probably descendants of the original Persian inhab. of the country, and of the Arabs who conquered it in the first century after the Hegira. They live mostly in and round the larger towns, and every where reside in fixed habitations, having settled employments. They are zealous Soonees, mild, sober, peaceable, and industrious; and assimilate much more with the Afghans than their brethren of Bokhara do with the Uzbeks. The Tadjiks are most numerous towards the W. of Caubul; as the Hindkees (Hindoos, Juts, Sindians, &c.) are towards the E. The Hindoos are, however, to be met with all over the country, chiefly as money-changers, tradesmen, &c.; they are mostly of the Kshastriya or military caste. The Kuzzilbashes, or Persian Toorks, inhabit the towns; the Belooches are generally almost confined to the S.: there are about 2,000 Arab families, besides Armenians, Abyssinians, European Turks, Jews, Cautirs, &c., amongst the population. Agriculture. There are five classes of cultivators 1st, proprietors, who cultivate their own land; 2d, tenants, who pay a fixed rent in money, or a proportion of the produce; 3d, buzgurs, or metayers; 4th, hired labourers; 5th, villeins, who cultivate their lords' lands without wages. The lands are more equally divided in Caubul than in most countries, and the first class, or that of small proprietors, is very large, as by the Mohammedan law every man's estate is at his death divided equally amongst his sons. The class of tenants is not numerous. Leases are generally from 1 to 5 years, and the rent varies from 1-10th part to half the produce; the land. lord generally providing the seed, cattle, and farm implements. Labourers are principally employed by the buzgurs; they are fed and clothed by their employers, and paid for 9 months' work about 30 rupees. The villeins are many of them of foreign descent, and always attached to the service of some master; they are subject to taxation, and even death-punishment from their lord, but have the privilege of removing from the service of one master to another: they are most numerous amongst the Eusofzyes and other Afghan tribes in the N.E. There are two harvests in the year; one crop, con sisting of rice, millet, jowaree, maize, &c., is sown 'n the spring, and reaped in autumn; the other, which consists of wheat, barley, legumes, &c., is sown at the end of autumn, and reaped in summer. Rice is grown in most parts of the country, but wheat is the common food of the people: barley is usually given to horses. The vegetables and pot-herbs of Europe and India are cultivated largely, especially turnips and carrots; melons, cucumbers, &c., are abundantly grown in the neighbourhood of the towns; and ginger, turmeric, and the sugarcane in the E.; but the latter plant is confined to rich plains, and most of the sugar, as well as the cotton, used in Caubul is brought from India. The palma Christi, sesamum, mustard, &c., are grown for the sake of their oil; tobacco is cultivated in most parts; madder abounds in the W.; and Caubul furnishes to India its chief supply of that article: lucerne and other artificial grasses are sown for the cattle. Much of the land fit for culture has been brought into that state by irrigations undertaken by individuals singly, or associated for the purpose. Cultivable land in Caubul is generally valued at from 9 to 12 years' purchase. Irrigation is effected by means of canals and subterraneous conduits, beneath the slopes of hills, termed cauraiz, which are common in Persia. The plough is heavier and makes deeper furrows than that of India, but still only employs one pair of oxen. All grain is sown broadcast; and drill husbandry is unknown. The place of a harrow is supplied by a plank dragged over the field, on which a man stands. The sickle is the only instrument used for reaping. The flail is unknown; and the corn is trodden out by oxen, or forced out by a frame of wood filled with branches, on which a man sits, and is dragged over the straw by cattle. It is winnowed by being thrown against the wind, and when cleaned, is kept in hampers plastered with mud, unbaked earthen pots, and coarse hair-cloth bags. For grinding the corn, windmills are used in the W., but these are very different from ours, for the sails are inside, and there is an opening in the erection to admit the wind. Water-mills are not unknown; but handmills are most generally used. The manure employed is composed of dung, straw, ashes, &c., but the dung of camels is carefully avoided. Horses are employed in ploughing only by the Eimauks; in Seistan camels perform this work. There are no carts. The horses of Herat are very fine, and somewhat similar to the Arabian breed; and there is a strong and useful breed of ponies, especially about Baumeean. Mules preferable to those of India; but asses, camels, and dromedaries mostly are used for carriage. The ox resembles that of India; sheep chiefly of the broad-tailed kind; and the goats, which are numerous, have often long and tortuous horns. The greyhounds and pointers are excellent. A great number of horses are annually sold in the N. and W. of India, under the name of Caubul and Candahar breeds; but no horses are bred in large numbers in Caubul, nor are those of Candahar exported in any quantity. Trade.- Exports.. The principal foreign trade is with India, Persia, and Toorkistan: the exports to the first-named country are principally horses and ponies; furs, shawls, chintz; madder, assafoetida, tobacco, and fruits: those to Toorkistan are shawls, turbans, chintz, white cloth, indigo, and other Indian produce: to Persia the same articles, with the carpets of Herat. The latternamed article, with woollens, furs, madder, cheese, and some piece-goods, are sent from the W. to the E. provs.; and Bhawupoor and Mooltan cloths, silk, cotton, and indigo, are sent back in return. Iron, salt, alum, sulphur, and the other natural produce, are also exported. Imports. -From India are coarse cotton cloths, worn by the mass of the people; muslins, silks, and brocade; indigo, in great quantities; ivory, chalk, bamboos, wax, tin, sandal-wood, sugar, and spices: from Toorkistan horses, gold, and silver; cochineal, broad cloth, and tinsel cast-iron pots, cutlery, hardware, and other European articles, from Russia, via Bokhara. Silks, cottons, embroidery, and Indian chintz, come from Persia; slaves from Arabia and Abyssinia; silks, satins, tea, porcelain, dyes, and the precious metals, from the Chinese dominions; and dates and cocoa-nuts from Beloochistan. The merchants are chiefly Tadjiks, Persians, or Affghans, and Hindkees in the E.; but no Affghan ever keeps a shop, or exercises any handicraft trade. Caubul is the great mart for the trade with Toorkistan; Peshawer for that with the Punjab; and Candahar and Herat for that with Persia. The dismemberment of the kingdom has had no ill effect upon commerce generally: the produce of the town duties of Caubul city rose 1-4th bctween 1829 and 1835, without any fresh imposts. The demand for British manufactures has increased so much latterly, that Russia, which before 1816 supplied a great many articles, now only sends nankeen and broad chintz, of a description not manufactured in Britain, into the market. The greater part of the trade between India, Caubul, and Bokhara, is conducted by the Lohanees, a pastoral tribe of Affghans, often of considerable wealth. About 1,600 camel-loads of Indian goods are annually consumed in Caubul. The Caubul merchants have latterly |
