mastaba Farun, long supposed to be his pyramid, but had a pyramid called "the most beautiful of buildings" at Sakkara, which was opened in 1881 (see Recueil des Travaux, by M. Maspero, iii., for those opened at Sakkara). In the VIth Dynasty the "pyramid of souls," built by Ati (Rauserka), is unknown. That of Teta, "the most stable of buildings," was opened at Sakkara in 1881, as well as that of Pepi (Rameri), "the firm and beautiful." The pyramids of Rameren, "the beautiful rising," and of Neferkara, "the firm life," are unknown, Haremsaf's pyramid was opened at Sakkara in 1881. Of the last two kings of the VIth Dynasty we know of no pyramids. In the VIIth or VIIIth Dynasty most probably the brick pyramids of Dahshur were erected. In the Xith Dynasty the pyramid, "the most glorious building," of Mentuhotep II. is mentioned, and the mud pyramid of one of the Antef kings is known at Thebes. In the XIIth Dynasty the pyramids, the "lofty and beautiful" of Amenemhat I. and "the bright" of Usertesen II. are known in inscriptions, while the brick pyramid at Howara may be most probably assigned to Amenemhat III., who appears to have built the adjoining teinple.

Of the architectural peculiarities of some particular pyramids some notice must now be given. The great pyramid of Gizeh (Khufu's) is very different in its internal arrangements from any other known (see vol. ii. p. 385 sq. and vol. vii. p. 771 sq.). The greater number of passages and chambers, the high finish of parts of the work, and the accuracy of construction all distinguish it. The chamber which is most normal in its situation is the subterranean chamber; but this is quite unfinished, hardly more than begun. The upper chambers, called the "king's" and "queen's,' were completely hidden, the ascending passage to them having been closed by plugging blocks, which concealed the point where it branched upwards out of the roof of the long descending passage. Another passage, which in its turn branches from the ascending passage to the queen's chamber, was also completely blocked up. The object of having two highly-finished chambers in the mass may have been to receive the king and his co-regent (of whom there is some historical evidence), and there is very credible testimony to a sarcophagus having existed in the queen's chamber, as well as in the king's chamber. On the details of construction in the great pyramid it is needless to enter here; but it may be stated that the accuracy of work is such that the four sides of the base have only a mean error of six-tenths of an inch in length and 12 seconds in angle from a perfect square.1

these come the pyramids of Dahshur, which are in a simple and
massive style, much like those of Gizeh. The north pyramid of
Dahshur has chambers roofed like the gallery in the great pyramid
by successive overlappings of stone, the roof rising to a great
height with no less than eleven projections on each side. The
south pyramid of Dahshur has still the greater part of its casing
remaining, and is remarkable for being built at two different angles,
the lower part being at the usual pyramid angle, while the upper
part is but 43°. This pyramid is also remarkable for having a
western passage to the chambers, which was carefully closed up.
Beyond the Memphitic group are the scattered pyramids of Lisht,
Illahun, and Howara, and the cumulative mastaba of Medum.
Illahun is built with a framework of stone filled up with mud
| bricks, and Howara is built entirely of mud bricks, though doubtless
cased with fine stone like the other pyramids.

The second pyramid of Gizeh has two separate entrances (one in the side, the other in the pavement) and two chambers (one roofed with slabs, the other all rock-hewn); these chambers, however, do not run into the masonry, the whole bulk of which is solid so far as is known. This pyramid has a part of the original casing on the top; and it is also interesting as having the workmen's barracks still remaining at a short distance on the west side, long chambers capable of housing about 4000 men. The great bulk of the rubbish from the work is laid on the south side, forming a flat terrace level with the base, and covering a steep rock escarpment which existed there. The waste heaps from the great pyramid were similarly tipped out over the cliff on its northern side. Thus the rubbish added to the broad platform which set off the appearance of the pyramids; and it has remained undisturbed in all ages, as there was nothing to be got out of it. The third pyramid was cased around the base with red granite for the sixteen lowest courses. The design of it has been enlarged at one bound from a small pyramid (such as those of the family of Khufu) to one eight times the size, as it is at present; the passages needed therefore to be altered. But there is no sign of gradual steps of enlargement: the change was sudden, from a comparatively small design to a large one. The basalt sarcophagus of this pyramid was ornamented with the panel decoration found on early tombs, unlike the granite sarcophagi of the two previous pyramids, which are plain. Unhappily it was lost at sea in 1838.

Beyond these there are no true pyramids, but we will briefly
notice those later forms derived from the pyramid. At Abydos a
large cemetery is covered with more than a hundred mud-brick
chambers, the outsides of which are sloped to the form of an
acute pyramid, and which have a door (or in later forms a large
chamber) projecting on one side. These differ from true pyramids
in (1) having an attachment more or less large on one face, (2)
being always built on a square plinth, (3) having the principal
face generally south, and but rarely to the north, (4) not being
oriented, and (5) having the chambers occupying the greater part of
the structure. The sizes are about 18 feet wide and 24 high, with
a chamber 11 feet wide and 13 high, and in the later and less
acute forms 20 feet base and 21 in height (see Mariette, Abydos,
Description des Fouilles, ii. 43). At Thebes are also some similar
structures belonging to the kings of the XIth Dynasty; the
tomb-chamber is, however, in the rock below. The size is not so
insignificant, but is under 50 feet square. These, like those at
Abydos, are not oriented, and have a horizontal entrance, quite
unlike the narrow pipe-like passages sloping down into the regular
pyramids (see Mariette, in Bib. Arch. Trans., iv. 193). In Ethiopia,
at Gebel Barkal, are other so-called pyramids of a very late date.
They nearly all have porches; their simplicity is lost amid very
dubious decorations; and they are not oriented. They are all
very acute, and have flat tops as if to support some ornament.
The sizes are but small, varying from 23 to 88 feet square at
Gebel Barkal and 17 to 63 feet square at Meroe. The interior
is solid throughout, the windows which appear on the sides being
useless architectural members (see Hoskin's Ethiopia, 148, &c.).
The structures sometimes called pyramids at Biahmu in the Fayum
seem to have no possible claim to such a name, though they are
certainly of early work. Judging by the account of Herodotus
(which seems intended to apply to them), by the present name
(Pharaoh's thrones), and the actual remains, it appears that they
were two great enclosed courts with sloping sides, in the centres of
which were two seated statues raised on pedestals high enough to
be seen over the walls of the courts. This form would appear like
a pyramid with a statue on the top; and a rather similar case in
early construction is shown on the sculptures of the old kingdom.
Obelisks then were single monuments (not in pairs) and stood in
the midst of a great courtyard with sides sloping like a mastaba;
such open courtyards on a small scale are found in the mastabas
at Gizeh, and are probably copied from the domestic architecture
of the time.

Farther south are the pyramids of Abusir, the most complete account of which is in the work of Colonel Howard Vyse. Next come those of Sakkara. The construction of the step-pyramid or cumulative mastaba has been noticed above; its passages are very peculiar and intricate, winding around the principal chamber, which is in the centre, cut in the rock, very high, and with a tombchamber built in the bottom of it, which is closed with a great plug of red granite, a circular stopper fitting into a neck in the chamber roof. A doorway faced with glazed tiles bearing a king's standard existed here; the tiles were taken to Berlin by Lepsius. The other pyramids of Sakkara are of the VIth Dynasty, of Unas, Pepi, Haremsaf, &c. They are distinguished by the introduction of very long religious texts, covering the whole inside of the chambers and passages; these are carefully carved in small hieroglyphics, painted bright green, in the white limestone. Beyond

1 With respect to the construction of this and other pyramids, see Howard Vyse; on measurements of the inside of the great pyramid and descriptions, see Piazzi Smyth; and on measurements in general,

mechanical means, and theories, see Petrie.

On the vexed question of inscriptions on the pyramids it will suffice to say that not one fragment of early inscription is known on the casing of any pyramid, either in situ or broken in pieces. Large quantities of travellers' "graffiti" doubtless existed, and some have been found on the casing of the great pyramid; these probably gave rise to the accounts of inscriptions, which are expressly said to have been in many different languages.

The mechanical means employed by the pyramid-builders have
been partly ascertained. The hard stones, granite, diorite, and
basalt were in all fine work sawn into shape by bronze saws set
with jewels (either corundum or diamond), hollows were made (as
in sarcophagi) by tubular drilling with tools like our modern
diamond rock-drills (which are but reinvented from ancient sources,
see Engineering, xxxvii. 282), and small articles were turned in
lathes fitted with mechanical tool-rests and jewel-pointed tools.
The details of the questions of transport and management of the
large stones remain still to be explained.

Works referred to above.--Colonel Howard Vyse, Operations at the Pyramids,
1840; Professor C. Piazzi Smyth, Life and Work at the Great Pyramid, 1867;
W. M. Flinders Petrie, Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh, 1883.
(W. M. F. P.)

PYRENEES, a range of mountains stretching with a
general trend 18° to the north of west between France
and Spain, from Cape Creus, or more properly Cape
Cerbera, on the Mediterranean to the Bay of Biscay. The
length of the range is about 240 miles, the greatest
breadth little more than 50 miles (exclusive of the lower
parallel ranges on the Spanish side), and the area covered

by it about 13,000 square miles. For the most part the | feet high. The wildness which thus in general marks the crest of the main chain constitutes the Franco-Spanish scenery of the Pyrenees is even greater on the Spanish frontier; the principal exception to this rule is formed than on the French side. by the valley of Aran, which, belonging orographically to France but politically to Spain, is closed at the head by a transverse ridge running north and south and connecting the eastern and western halves of the chain.

The whole range is remarkable for its regularity. The main chain is on the whole easy to trace; its continuity is unbroken, and the variations in its height are mostly confined within narrow limits. The same regularity is seen in the arrangement of the valleys. Except that of Aran, all the principal valleys are given off at right angles, or nearly so, like the pinne of a fern-frond, on both sides of the chain, and they are again subdivided by similar minor valleys at right angles to them. In all these respects the Pyrenees contrast in a very marked manner with the Alps. They have none of the great longitudinal valleys so characteristic of the latter range, none of the great lakes by which such valleys are occupied, and but few passes like those which are found in plenty leading across the great chains of the Alps at a level much below that of the adjoining peaks. In this last particular, indeed, the Pyrenees are conspicuously deficient. Between the two extremities of the range, where the principal highroads and the only railways run between France and Spain, there are only two passes practicable for carriages,— the Col de la Perche between the valley of the Tet and the valley of the Segre, and the Col de Somport or Port de Canfranc (where it is now proposed to pierce the range by a railway tunnel) on the old Roman road from Saragossa to Oloron.

noteworthy are the hot springs, in which the Alps, on the contrary, are very deficient. The latter, among which those of Bagnères de Luchon and Eaux-Chaudes may be mentioned, are sulphurous and mostly situated high, near the contact of the granite with the stratified rocks. The lower springs, such as those of Bagnères de Bigorre (Hautes-Pyrénées), Rennes (Aude), and Campagne (Aude), are mostly selenitic and not very warm.

The amount of the precipitation, including rain and snow, is much greater in the Western than in the Eastern Pyrenees, which leads to a marked contrast between the two halves of the chain in more than one respect. In the first place, the Eastern Pyrenees are without glaciers, the quantity of snow falling there being insufficient to lead to their development. The glaciers are confined to the northern slopes of the Central Pyrenees, and do not descend, like those of the Alps, far down in the valleys, but have their greatest length in the direction of the mountain-chain. They form in fact a narrow zone near the crest of the highest mountains. Here, as in the other great mountain ranges of central Europe, there are evidences of a much wider extension of the glaciers during the Ice age. The case of the glacier in the valley of Argelès in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées is the best-known instance. The snow-line is stated to lie in different parts of the Pyrenees at from 8800 to 9200 feet above sea-level.

|

A still more marked effect of the preponderance of rainfall in the western half of the chain is seen in the aspect of the vegetation. The lower mountains in the extreme west are very well wooded, but the extent of forest declines as we go eastwards, and the Eastern Pyrenees are peculiarly wild and naked, all the more since it is in this part of the chain that granitic masses prevail. There is a change, moreover, in the composition of the flora in passing from west to east. In the west the flora, at least in the north, resembles that of central Europe, while in the east, though the difference of latitude is only about 1°, on both sides of the chain from the centre whence the Corbières stretch north-eastwards towards the central plateau of France it is distinctly Mediterranean in character. The Pyrenees are relatively as rich in endemic species as the Alps, and among the most remarkable instances of that endemism is the occurrence of the sole European species of Dioscorea (yam), the D. pyrenaica, on a single high station in the Central Pyrenees, and that of the monotypic genus Xatardia, only on a high alpine pass between the Val d'Eynes and Catalonia. The genus most abundantly represented in the range is that of the saxifrages, several species of which are here endemic.

Orhy alone, in the south of the valley of Mauléon, reaches
6618 feet. But beyond that of Anie (8215 feet), on the
meridian of Orthez, which marks the boundary of Béarn,
much loftier elevations appear,-Mourrous (9760 feet), on
the border of Hautes-Pyrénées, and the southern peak of
Ossau (9465 feet). The frontier between France and
Spain follows the crest-line of the main range, except in a
few cases mentioned below. The general direction of the
rivers of the department is towards the north-west, through
a hilly country for the most part wooded or vine-clad,
except on the higher slopes, which are grassy. The
northern half of the department is covered with bracken
or heath, indicating the proximity of the "landes." The
streams almost all meet in the Adour through the Gave de
Pau, the Bidouze, and the Nive. In the north-east the
two Luys flow directly to the Adour, which they join in
Landes. In the south-west the Nivelle and the Bidassoa
flow directly into the sea. The lower course of the Adour
forms the boundary between Basses-Pyrénées and Landes;
it enters the sea a short distance below Bayonne over a
shifting bar, which has often altered the position of its
mouth. The Gave de Pau, a larger stream than the Adour,
passes Pau and Orthez, but its current is so swift that it
is only navigable for a few miles above its junction with
the Adour. On the left it receives the Gave d'Oloron,
formed by the Gave d'Ossau, descending from the Pic du
Midi, and the Gave d'Aspe, which rises in Spain. The
second important affluent of the Gave de Pau, the Saison
or Gave de Mauléon, descends from the Pic d'Orhy.
From the Pic des Escaliers, which rises above the forest
of Iraty, the Bidouze descends northwards; while the
forest, though situated on the southern slope of the chain,
forms a part of French territory. The Nive, a pretty
river of the Basque country, takes its rise in Spain; after
flowing past St Jean Pied de Port, it joins the Adour at
Bayonne. The Nivelle also belongs only partly to France
and ends its course at St Jean de Luz. The Bidassoa,
which is only important as forming part of the frontier,
contains the Île des Faisans, where the treaty of the
Pyrenees was concluded (1659), and debouches between
Hendaye (France) and Fontarabia (Spain).

In their fauna also the Pyrenees present some striking instances of endemism. There is a distinct species of ibex (Capra pyrenaica) confined to the range, while the Pyrenean desman or water-mole (Mygale pyrenaica) is found only in some of the streams of the northern slopes of these mountains, the only other member of this genus being con

fined to the rivers of southern Russia. Among the other peculiarities of the Pyrenean fauna are blind insects in the caverns of Ariége, the principal genera of which are Anophthalmus and Adelops.

See Murray's Handbook of France; A. Leymerie, Description géologique et paléontologique des Pyrénées de la Haute Garonne (to which a general account of the chain is prefixed), Toulouse, 1881; De Chausenque, Les Pyrénées, 1854; for

The climate of the department is essentially that of the
Gironde in the valleys,-mild and damp. The spring is

the vegetation, Bentham, Catalogue des Plantes indigènes des Pyrénées et de Bas- rainy; the best seasons are summer and autumn, the heat

Languedoc, Paris, 1826, and Grisebach, Vegetation der Erde, Leipsic, 1872; and
for an account of the caverns, Geikie, Prehistoric Europe, and the authorities
there cited. For the French side of the Pyrenees the best map is that of the
Government survey on the scale of bon (about an inch to the mile). The first
sheet of a map by Fr. Schrader of the Spanish slopes on the scale of ro has
been published under the title Pyrénées Centrales avec les grands Massifs du
Versant espagnol; and a sketch map of the whole of the Spanish slopes based
on the tracings of MM. Schrader, Wallon, and Saint-Sand was published in vol.
vii. (1880) of the Annuaire du Club alpin français, and also separately. See
also the maps in Murray's Handbook.
(G. G. C.)

PYRÉNÉES, the name of three departments in the south of France.

1. BASSES-PYRÉNÉES, a department of south-western France, at the angle of the Bay of Biscay, was formed in 1790, two-thirds of it from Béarn and the rest from three districts of Gascony-Navarre, Soule, and Labourd -which together constitute the Basque region of France. The department lies between 42° 46′ and 43° 36' N. lat. and between 0° 6′ E. and 1° 47′ W. long., and is bounded on the N. by Landes and Gers, on the E. by Hautes-Pyrénées (which has two enclaves, forming five communes, within this department), on the S. by Spain, and on the W. by the ocean. The name is due to the fact that the peaks of the Pyrenees on its southern frontier are lower than in the neighbouring department. Their height increases gradually from west to east. The peak of the Rhune, to the south of St Jean de Luz, rises only to 2950 feet; and on the border of the Basque country, which occupies the western half of the department, the mean height of the summits is not much greater. The peak of

of summer being moderated by the sea. The winters are
mild. The very calm air of Pau (see PAU) agrees with
invalids and delicate constitutions. St Jean de Luz and
Biarritz are much frequented by winter visitors.

The department is mainly agricultural, 287,719 of its inhabitants being dependent on this industry (Reclus). In 1881, of a total area of 1,883,667 acres 129,132 were under wheat and produced 217,412 quarters; the other figures were-barley, 4188 acres, 7137 quarters; buckwheat, 455 acres, 761 quarters; oats, 12,800 acres, 22,327 quarters; maize, 161,736 acres, 354,055 quarters; meslin, 2600 acres, 3987; rye, 2308 acres, 3536; fax, 13,399 acres, 9348 quarters; potatoes, 7067 acres, 158,592 bushels; vineyards, 63,511 being that of Jurançon). From 25,205 acres were produced 642,760 acres, 4,019,466 gallons of wine (the most highly esteemed vintage bushels of dried vegetables, and 18,781 acres of chestnut trees yielded 314,480 bushels of chestnuts. There are 163,613 acres of pastures and grazing-lands, 132,342 of permanent meadows and lands. The live stock numbered 27,845 horses, 9110 mules, 15,409 orchards, 28,595 under green crops, and 612,000 acres of waste asses, 139,818 horned cattle, 434,130 sheep (giving 300 tons of wool, worth £18,000), 78, 310 pigs, 150,608 goats, and there were 16,000 hives of bees (producing 63 tons of honey and 16 of wax). One-half of the 386,000 acres of forest belongs to private persons, the other almost wholly to the communes or the department, scarcely any woods belonging to the Government. Forest management receives careful attention. The number of inhabitants employed in manufactures was 67,455. There are mines of anthracite, copper, iron, lead, zinc, silver, and kaolin in small quantity. The salt produced amounted to 9663 tons and is used partly for the famous Bayonne hams (so called, but really prepared in the neighbourhood of Orthez). The department has valuable mineral springs.

The

Are Ca

The Eaux-Bonnes, hot and cold, containing sodium and sulphur, | Arreau and flows northwards through a beautiful valley as are employed especially for disorders of the chest and respiratory far as Labarthe, where it turns to the north-east; it is organs. The Eaux-Chaudes, of like composition, are efficacious in important as furnishing the plateau of Lannemezan with catarrh, rheumatism, and skin diseases. Those of Cambo on the Nive, some hot and sulphurous, some chalybeate and cold, are a feeding canal, the waters of which are partly used for much frequented by the Basques on the eve of St John. The irrigation and partly for supplying the streams that rise waters of St Christau, near Oloron, containing copper, are efficathere and are dried up in summer,-the Gers and the cious in skin diseases. The manufactures of the department include woollen caps and sashes, the fez worn by the people of the Baïse, affluents of the Garonne. This latter only touches district, nets, Béarn linen, cord slippers, chocolate, and there are the department. The climate of Hautes-Pyrénées, though also tanneries and flour-mills. The only shipping port is Bayonne, very cold on the highlands, is warm and moist in the which town is also the meeting-place of the roads to St Sebastian plains, where there are hot summers, fine autumns, mild and Pamplona in Spain. Within the department there are 258 winters, and rainy springs. The mean annual temperature miles of Government roads and 7460 of departmental or parish roads. There are also 142 miles of railroad, connecting Bayonne is 68° Fahr. On the plateau of Lannemezan, while the with Toulouse, Dax with Puyoo (for Pau), Bayonne with Biarritz, summers are dry and scorching, the winters are very Puyoo with St Palais, and Pau with Laruns (Eaux-Bonnes). The severe. A meteorological observatory has been built on population in 1881 was 434,366 (57 per square kilomètre), almost the Pic du Midi. entirely Catholic. There are five arrondissements-Pau, Bayonne, Oloron, Orthez (population of town, 4657), and Mauléon (2038), divided into 40 cantons and 558 communes. Basses-Pyrénées constitutes the diocese of Bayonne, and is attached to the superior court of Pau and belongs to the district of the 18th Army Corps (Bordeaux).

2. HAUTES-PYRÉNÉES, a department of southern France, on the Spanish frontier, was formed in 1790, half of it being taken from Bigorre and the remainder from Armagnac, Nébouzan, Astarac, and Quatre Vallées, districts which all belonged to the province of Gascony. It lies between 42° 40′ and 43° 37′ N. lat. and between 19' W. and 39' E. long., and is bounded on the S. by Spain, on the W. by Basses-Pyrénées, on the N.W. by Landes, on the N.E. by Gers, and on the E. by Haute-Garonne. Except on the south its boundaries are conventional. Some of the Pyrenean peaks in this department reach or exceed the height of 10,000 feet, the Vignemale (10,820 feet) being the highest in French territory. The imposing corries, with their glaciers and waterfalls, and the pleasant valleys attract large number of tourists, the most noted point being the famous Gavarnie. The northern portion of the department consists of plains, or rather fertile valleys, clothed with corn-fields, vineyards, and meadows. To the north-east, however, the cold and wind-swept plateau of Lannemezan (about 2000 feet), the watershed of the streams that come down on the French side of the Pyrenees, presents in its bleakness and barrenness a striking contrast to the plain that lies below. The department is drained by three principal streams, the Gave de Pau, the Adour, and the Neste, an affluent of the Garonne. The sources of the first and third lie close together in the Cirque of Gavarnie and on the slopes of Troumouse, whence they flow respectively to the north-west and northeast. An important spur of the Pyrenees, which carries the Pic de Néouvielle and the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, projects to the northward between these two valleys. From the Pic du Midi the Adour descends, which, after watering the pleasant valley of Campan, leaves the mountains at Bagnères and then divides into a multitude of channels, which irrigate the rich plain of Tarbes. Beyond HautesPyrénées it receives on the right the Arros, which flows through the department from south to north-north-west; on the left it receives the Gave de Pau. This latter stream, rising in Gavarnie, is joined at Luz by the Gave de Bastan from Néouvielle, and at Pierrefitte by the Gave de Cauterets, fed by streams from the Vignemale. The Gave de Pan, after passing Argelès and the grotto of Lourdes on its left and the château of Lourdes on its right, leaves the mountains and turns sharply from north to north-north-west; it has a greater volume of water than the Adour, but, being more of a mountain torrent, is regarded as a tributary of the Adour, which is navigable in the latter part of its course. The Neste d'Aure, descending from the peaks of Néouvielle and Troumouse, receives the Neste de Louron from the pass of Clarabide at

In

In

Of the total area of 1,119,292 acres 259,334 are arable, 214,782 under wood, 160,624 pastures and grazing-lands, 76,015 permanent meadows and orchards, and 39,135 vineyards. The mountain slopes are covered with pasture to a height of more than 6600 feet. 1881 the live stock included 114,900 horned cattle (the milch cows of Lourdes and the oxen of Tarbes being the most esteemed), 18,000 horses (mostly of the Tarbes breed crossed with Arab blood), 11,830 asses, 3200 mules (part of which are bred for Spain), 222,300 sheep, 74,800 pigs, and 8718 goats. The more important cereals are successively, as the elevation increases, maize, wheat, and rye; in the mountain districts oats, barley, and buckwheat are grown. 1882 the harvest yielded 158,620 quarters of wheat, 197,931 of maize, 70,690 of rye, 47,586 of oats, 15,069 of barley, 27,586 of buckwheat, 61,241 of meslin, and 1,793,104 bushels of potatoes. The formerly extensive forests have suffered considerably from the weather and other causes. Vines, trained upon trees as in Italy, yield on an average 2,464,000 gallons of wine annually. On the lower slopes chestnut trees and fruit trees take the place of the vines. There are various quarries of fine marbles, which are sawn and worked at Bagnères, and numerous slate quarries. The mines of iron, nickel, lead, cobalt, manganese, and zinc are worked only irregularly. There is no coal, but a few hundred tons of peat are annually extracted. The mineral waters of Hautes-Pyrénées are the Gave de Pau are Cauterets (twenty-four hot springs containing numerous and much resorted to. The principal in the valley of sulphur and sodium), St Sauveur (two springs with sulphur and sodium), and Baréges (twelve hot springs with sulphur and sodium), and in the valley of the Adour Bagnères (fifty-two hot or cold springs containing calcium sulphates, iron, and arsenic) and phates). There are 2 paper-mills employing 101 workmen, 28 spinCapvern near Lannemezan (two springs containing calcium sulning or weaving factories employing 908 workmen (4000 spindles and 750 looms, of which 220 are power-looms). The light woollen materials known under the name of "baréges" and the knitted work of the department are widely known beyond its limits. A company has been formed for establishing cheese-factories in the mountains, as in Switzerland. There are also saw-mills, flour-mills, tanneries, and at Tarbes very important artillery establishments and a bell-foundry.

The passes (ports) into Spain rise more than 6500 feet; none of them are accessible to carriages, and only three-Gavarnie, Ourdissetou, and Plan-to beasts of burden. Within the department there are 222 miles of Government roads, 2837 miles of other roads, and 129 miles of railroad. It is traversed from west to east by the to Pierrefitte for Cauterets, from Tarbes to Bagnères de Bigorre, line from Bayonne to Toulouse, which has branches from Lourdes and from Montrejeau to Bagnères de Luchon. It is crossed also by lines from Tarbes to Bordeaux and from Tarbes to Agen, which separate at Vic de Bigorre. The population in 1881 was 236,474. Argelès (town, 1682 inhabitants), and Bagnères de Bigorre (7634 There are three arrondissements, those of Tarbes (chief town), inhabitants), 26 cantons, 480 communes. Hautes-Pyrénées constitutes the diocese of Tarbes, and is attached to the superior court of Pau and to the 18th Army Corps (Bordeaux).

3. PYRÉNÉES-ORIENTALES, a department of southern. France, bordering on the Mediterranean and the Spanish frontier, was formed in 1790 out of the old province of Roussillon and to some slight extent out of small portions of Languedoc. It lies between 42° 20′ and 42° 56' N. lat. and 1° 43′ and 3° 10' E. long., and is bounded on the N. by Ariége and Aude, on the E. by the Mediterranean, on the S. by Catalonia, and on the W. by Ariége. Its boundaries are almost all natural and on the north follow the line of the Corbières (from 2500 to 3000 feet high), on the north-west and south-west that of branches of the

Pyrenees (from 8000 to 10,000 feet), and on the south-east | ment. In 1881 12,100 tons of pig-iron were produced. The
that of the Albères (from 4000 to 5000 feet), which end in
the sea at Cape Cerbera. Deep and sheltered bays in this
vicinity are succeeded farther north by flat sandy beaches,
along which lie lagoons separated from the sea by belts of
sand. The lagoon of St Nazaire is 5400 acres in extent,
and that of Leucate on the borders of Aude is 20,000
acres. Mont Canigou (9137 feet), though not the highest
mountain in the department, is the most remarkable, since
it stands out to almost its full height above the plain, and
exhibits with great distinctness the succession of zones of
vegetation. From the base to a height of 1400 feet are
found the orange, the aloe, the oleander, the pomegranate,
and the olive; the vine grows to the height of 1800 feet;
next come the chestnut (2625 feet), the rhododendron (from
4330 to 8330 feet), pine (6400), and birch (6560); while
stunted junipers grow quite to the summit. The drainage
of the department is shared by the Tet, Tech, and Agly,
which flow direct into the Mediterranean. The Aude, the
Ariége (an affluent of the Garonne), and the Sègre (an afflu-
ent of the Ebro) also take their rise within the department
and include a small part of it in their respective basins.
The Tet rises 9430 feet above the sea and descends rapidly
into a very narrow valley before it debouches at Ille
(between Prades and Perpignan) upon a large plain, where
it flows over a wide pebbly bed and supplies numerous
canals for irrigation. It is nowhere navigable, and its
supply of water varies much with the seasons, all the more
that it is not fed by any glacier. The Agly, which passes
Rivesaltes (famous for its wines), rises in the Corbières,
and serves almost exclusively for irrigation, though admit-
ting of navigation in the lower part of its course.
Tech, which after the Tet is the most important river
of the department, flows through Vallespir (Vallis aspera),
which, notwithstanding its name, is a green valley, clothed
with wood and alive with industry; in its course the
river passes Prats de Mollo and Amélie-les-Bains, before
reaching Arles and Céret. In the lowlands the climate is
entirely that of the Mediterranean, and the productions
are the same as those of Corsica or Sicily; Amélie-les-
Bains is much frequented on account of its mild climate
and sheltered position. The thermometer ranges from 85°
to 95° Fahr. in summer, and in winter only occasionally
falls as low as 26° or 27°. The average number of rainy
days in the year is 70; the mean amount of the rainfall
is 27 inches on the coast, but increases towards the hills.
The most common wind is the "tramontane" from north-
north-west, as violent as the mistral of Provence and
extremely parching. The "marinada" blows from the

mineral resources of the department also include a bed of bismuth
and mines of copper and silver, while both the Tet and the Tech
are to some extent auriferous. A small amount of lignite is ob-
tained (1639 tons), and various fine marbles are abundant. Granite,
slate, gypsum, and limestone are quarried. The mineral waters
are much resorted to. Amélie-les-Bains has twelve hot springs,
chalybeate or sulphurous. In the arrondissement of Céret there
are also the establishments of La-Preste-les-Bains, near Prats de
Mollo, with hot sulphurous springs, and of Boulou, the Vichy of
the Pyrenees. Near Prades are the hot sulphurous springs of
Molitz, and a little north of Mont Canigou are the hot springs of
Vernet, containing sodium and sulphur. In the valley of the Tet
the sulphuros and alkaline springs of Olette reach a temperature
of 172° Fahr. The baths of Escaldas near Montlouis are hot,
sulphurous, and alkaline. There are numerous tanneries, oil-works,
distilleries, and saw-mills, and the manufactures of the department
and other cloths, and "espadrilles" (a kind of shoe made of coarse
include the making of corks, cigarette-paper, barrels, bricks, woollen
cloth with esparto soles). The ports of the department are Collioure,
Port Vendres, and Banyuls, with 371 vessels and a total tonnage
of 3638 in 1882. Port Vendres alone has any importance; in 1882
the ships entered numbered 380 (104,572 tons), those which cleared
368 (95,931 tons). There are 67 miles of railway, consisting of a
portion of the line from Narbonne to Barcelona (Spain) by Per-
pignan, with its branches from Perpignan to Prades; there are 208
miles of Government roads and 2107 miles of other roads. The
chief routes across the Pyrenees are from Perpignan and Montlouis
to Puycerda (Puigcerda) in the Spanish province of Gerona, through
the pass of La Perche, skirting in the French department an
enclave of Spanish territory. Three other roads run from Perpignan
to Figueiras (Figueras) through the passes of Perthus, Banyuls,
and Balistres. In 1881 the population of Pyrénées-Orientales
amounted to 208,855, the majority of whom were Catalans in
speech and the rest Provençal. The chief towns of the three
arrondissements are PERPIGNAN (q.v.), Céret (3104 inhabitants),
and Prades (3687); there are 17 cantons and 231 communes. The
department constitutes the diocese of Perpignan and is attached
to the superior court and army corps of Montpellier. (G. ME.)

south-south-east.

The

Of a total area of 1,018,632 acres 211,960 are arable, 172,980 under vines, 167,740 under wood, 193,367 pasture-land, 27,305 meadow-land, and 148,270 barren moors (garrigues). In 1881 the live stock numbered 7287 horses, 6261 asses, 4373 mules, 17,768 horned cattle, 121,016 sheep (125 tons of wool in 1878), 12,864 goats, 23,838 pigs, and fowls and game in abundance; there were also 6163 beehives, yielding 24 tons of wax and 19 tons of honey known as "miel de Narbonne." Thirty tons of cocoons (silk) were produced in the same year. The main source of wealth to the department is its wine, of which 48,840,000 gallons were produced in 1881; some kinds are strongly alcoholic and others are in request as liqueur wines (Rivesaltes, Banyuls). The harvest of 1881 yielded 26,551 quarters of wheat, 3793 of meslin, 37,930 of rye, 6896 of barley, 3448 of buckwheat, 34,480 of oats, 55,172 of maize, 1,655,168 bushels of potatoes, 67, 448 of dried vegetables, 22,640 of chestnuts, 110,336 of beetroot, 39 tons of hemp, 39 of flax, and 23,000 of olives. Market-gardening (artichoke, asparagus, tomatoes, melons) and fruit culture (peaches, apricots, plums, pears, quinces, pomegranates, almonds, apples, cherries, walnuts, chestnuts) yield abundant returns. The woods produce timber for the cabinetmaker, cork, and bark for tanning. In iron Pyrénées-Orientales is one of the richest departments in France. The greater part of the ore is transported to Aveyron, Gard, or Allier, but 25,000 tons are smelted in blast-furnaces and 1800 in Catalonian forges within the depart

PYRITES (from Tup, fire), a name applied to the native
bisulphide of iron, which occurs as a yellow metallic
mineral, sufficiently hard to emit sparks when struck with
either flint or steel. Nodules of pyrites are common in
the lower beds of Chalk, and fragments of these nodules
have occasionally been found on prehistoric sites under
circumstances which suggest that the mineral was used as
a fire-producing medium at a very early period of human
culture. Even in late historic time it was often employed
instead of flint, as in some of the old wheel-lock guns,
whence it came to be known in France as "pierre d'arque-
buse." It was afterwards found that pyrites might be
made available as a source of sulphur, oil of vitriol, and
other chemical products; and the mineral thus acquired
such importance that in 1725 it was made the subject of
a special treatise by Dr J. F. Henckel, of Freiberg in
Saxony. In 1757 an English translation of this work
appeared under the title of Pyritologia; or a History of
the Pyrites, the Principal Body in the Mineral Kingdom.

By modern mineralogists the term "pyrites" has been extended to a number of metallic sulphides, and it is therefore now used rather as a group-name than as the specific designation of a mineral. Hence the typical pyrites is often distinguished as "iron pyrites," while other members of the group are known as "copper pyrites," "cobalt pyrites, "arsenical pyrites," &c. When, however, the term "pyrites" is used without any qualifying prefix it invariably denotes the original iron pyrites, a mineral which is often known to miners as "mundic," and to mineralogists as "pyrite," the final letter of the original word being omitted to bring the spelling into harmony with that of the names of many other minerals.

Iron pyrites, though containing nearly half its weight of iron, is of no importance as an ore of that metal; but the mineral is extensively worked for the sake of the sulphur which it contains, whence it is sometimes known as "sulphur ore." Large quantities of this ore have been worked in the vale of Avoca, in county Wicklow, Ireland. But by far the