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 C O R I N T H —C O R K date, was one which deserves mention. It is cut in rather rough Greek letters upon a highly ornamented marble block, which in its second use served as the lintel of a Jewish synagogue. The block was broken at both ends, but in the middle appears ArfiTHEBP, i.e., avvaywy'yj ‘E/IpaiW. Under this lintel without doubt passed and repassed the great Apostle to the Gentiles. A full account of the various discoveries is given in the volumes of the American Journal of Archaeology for 1896-1901. (r. B. R.) Corinth, Isthmus of.—An isthmus of Greece, dividing the Gulf of Corinth from the Saronic Gulf. In 1893 a ship canal was opened through it, with its western entrance about 1^ miles north-east of the little town of New Corinth. It was begun in 1881 by a French company, which ceased operations in 1889, a Greek company completing the undertaking. The canal is 100 feet broad, 3|- miles long, and 26 feet deep. It shortens the journey from the Adriatic to the Piraeus by 202 miles, but foreign steamships will not use it, as the narrowness of the canal and the strength of the current at times render the passage dangerous. About 1 mile from its western end it is crossed by the iron bridge of the Athens and Corinth Kailway. Corinth, capital of Alcorn county, Mississippi, U.S.A., situated in the north-eastern part of the state, on the Mobile and Ohio and the Southern Railways, at an altitude of 436 feet. During the Civil War, on October 3 and 4, 1862, it was the scene of a severe battle between the Confederates, under Van Dorn, and the Union forces, under Rosecrans, when the former were defeated with heavy loss. Population (1880), 2275; (1890), 2111; (1900), 3661. Cor into, a town in Nicaragua, on the Pacific, the chief port of the Republic. Its harbour is one of the best protected on the coast of Central America, and is part of the ancient port of Realejo. Corinto is the terminus of the railway from Lake Managua, and is regularly visited by the various lines of steamers. It is estimated that it does 59 per cent, of the export and 62 per cent, of the import trade of Nicaragua. Population about 1500. Cork, a maritime county of Ireland, province of Munster. Population.—The area of the administrative county in 1900 was 1,838,921 acres, of which 415,766 were tillage, 971,221 pasture, 1608 fallow, 29,099 plantation, 24,996 turf-bog, 68,997 marsh, 213,688 barren mountain, and 83,546 water, roads, fences, &c. The new administrative county is identical in area with the old judicial county. The population in 1881 was 495,607, and in 1891, 438,432, of whom 219,988 were males and 218,444 females, divided as follows among the different religions:— Koman Catholics, 396,174; Protestant Episcopalians, 35,407; Presbyterians, 2130 ; Methodists, 3293 ; and other denominations, 1428. The decrease of population between 1881 and 1891 was 11’54 per cent. The average number of persons to an acre was •24. Of the total population, 310,851 inhabited the rural districts, being an average of 129 persons to each square mile under crops and pasture. The population in 1901 was 404,813 (Roman Catholics, 366,085 ; Protestant Episcopalians, 31,411 ; Presbyterians, 1780 ; Methodists, 2946 ; others, 2591), being a decrease of 5'7 per cent, in the East Riding, and of 11’6 per cent, in the West Riding. The following table gives the degree of education in 1891 (excluding the city of Cork) -.— Percentage. Males. Females. Total. R. C. Pr. Epis. Presb, Read and write. | 121,978 113,651 235,629 69-9 91-9 95-7 Read only. . ] 11,940 12,013 23,953 3'4 2-2 7-7 Illiterate. . ! 32,576 35,632 68,208 22-4 2-1 4-7 In 1881 the percentage of illiterates among Roman Catholics was 32'5. Excluding the city of Cork, in 1891 there were 31 superior schools with 1439 pupils (Roman Catholics 1023, and Protestants 416), and 776 primary schools with 62,093 pupils (Roman Catholics 58,215, and Protestants 3878). The number of pupils on the rolls of the national schools on 30th September

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1899 was 74,408, of whom 69,325 were Roman Catholics and 5083 Protestants. The following table gives the number of births, deaths, and marriages in various years :—

In 1899 the birth-rate per 1000 was 21'0, and the death-rate 16'0 ; the rate of illegitimacy was 1 '8 per cent, ot the total births. The total number of emigrants who left the county between 1st May 1851 and 31st December 1899 was 491,932, ot whom 255,162 were males and 236,770 females. The following are the chief towns in the county, with their populations in 1891:—Cork, 75,345 (in 1901, 75,978) ; Queenstown, 9082 ; Fermoy, 6469; Kinsale, 4605 ; Youghal, 4317 ; Mallow, 4366 ; Bandon, 3488. Administration.—The county is divided into seven parliamentary divisions, East, Middle, North, North-East, South, South-East, and West, the number of registered electors in 1900 being respectively 6990, 7822, 7463, 7393, 6611, 8339, and 6683. The rateable value in 1900 was £1,095,885. By the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, the fiscal and administrative duties of the grand jury and (to a less extent) of other bodies were transferred to a county council, urban and rural district councils were established, and under that Act the county now comprises 7 urban and 18 rural sanitary districts. Under the same Act the city of Cork constitutes a separate county. Agriculture.—The following tables give the acreage under crops, including meadow and clover, and the amount of live stock in 1881, 1891, 1895, and 1900 Barley, Po- Tur- Other Meadow Green and Total. Wheat. Oats. Beans, tatoes. nips. Crops. Rye, &c. Clover. 1881 24,597 101,933 22,280 68,709 33,784 14,914 164,307 431,445 1891 10,353 93,508 17,848 56,986 31,984 17,839 169,726 398,334 1895 4,770 99,805 19,587 53,798 34,510 20,309 184,167 416,946 1900 6,840 95,572 18,639 48,109 32,569 25,113 188,900 415,766 There were also a few acres under flax and rape during these years. Por 1899 the total value of the cereal and other crops was estimated by the registrar-general at £2,753,756. The number of acres under pasture in 1881 was 973,567 ; in 1891, 988,369 ; and in 1900, 971,221. Horses Cattle. Sheep. Pigs. Goats. Poultry. and Mules. 1881 54,435 11,194 386,205 264,165 144,856 22,756 1,115,668 1891 57,937 13.052 417,581 416,423 147,439 24,551 1,125,955 1895 62,785 16',802 420,337 311,620 155,473 26,261 1,279,991 1900 57,157 18,713 444,668 320,361 132,653 28,119 1,451,516 The number of milch cows in 1891 was 174,760, and in 1900, 186,785. It is estimated that the total value of cattle, sheep, and pigs in 1899 was £6,538,272. In 1900 the number of holdings not exceeding 1 acre was 7089 ; between 1 and 5, 2493 ; between 5 and 15, 4750 ; between 15 and 30, 6436 ; between 30 and 50, 6532 ; between 50 and 100, 7992; between 100 and 200, 3342; between 200 and 500, 757 ; and above 500, 67 — total, 39,458. The number of loans issued (the number of loans being the same as the number of tenants) under the Land Purchase Acts, 1885, 1891, and 1896, up to 31st March 1900, was 2603, amounting to £1,516,880. The number of loans for agricultural improvements sanctioned under sect. 31 of the Land Act, 1881, between 1882 and 1900, was 2559, and the amount issued £189,748, the largest amount in any county of Ireland. The total amount issued on loan for all classes of works under the Land Improvement Acts, from the commencement of operations to 31st March 1900, was £451,533. Fisheries.—There are four deep-sea and coast fishing districts in the county—Youghal, Kinsale, Queenstown, and Castletown Bere —in which, in 1899, 748 vessels were registered, employing 3304 men and boys, and four salmon fishing districts—Cork, Bandon, Skibbereen, and Bantry—in which 777 persons were employed in the same year. f (w. H. Po.) Cork, a maritime city, county and parliamentary borough, (returning two members), on the river Lee, 138 miles south-west of Dublin. It is the centre of an extensive railway system, which includes the Great Southern and Western, the Cork, Bandon, and South Coast, the Cork and Macroom Direct, and the Cork, Blackrock, and Passage Railways. The new Protestant S. IIL —32