Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 11.djvu/749

Rh  1em 1em  HÉRAULT, a department in the south of France, formed from parts of the old province of Languedoc, is bounded on the N.E. by Gard, N.W. by Aveyron and Tarn, and S. by Aude and the Gulf of Lyons. It has an area of 2444 square miles, and is situated between 43 10 and 44 N. lat., T 30 and 4 10 E. long. Its greatest length is 84 miles, and its greatest breadth 50. About a third of the department consists of moorland, heath, and common, a fourth of arable land, a sixth of vineyards, and an eighth of wood. The southern prolongation of the Cevennes mountains forms the north boundary of the department. The highest point is about 4250 feet above the sea-level. The ridge forms the watershed between the waters of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and from it there flow the Vidourle, Mosson, H&rault, Livron, and Orb. Of these the H6rault, 80 miles long, is the chief, and gives name to the department. The Vidourle forms the boundary between the department and that of Gard. . The high mountains of the north are partly barren, partly wooded. In the extensive plains of the centre the vine and olive flourish, and figs, mulberries, and other fruit-trees are to be met with nearly in all parts. Grain is chiefly produced in the south. The soil of the north is chalky clay, of the centre light gravel, and of the south a strong rich loam. The &quot; garrigues &quot; are considerable pardons of waste land, covered with heath and shrubs. St Loup, Couques, and St Thibe ry, the first of which is 750 feet high, are extinct volcanic cones. The greater part of the soutli coast consists of a series of salt marshes, separated from the sea by a narrow strip of land. The marsh of Thau, the largest, stretches from the mouth of the Herault, and communicates, through the marsh of Frontignan, with that of Mauguio, on the eastern frontier of the department. The Canal du Midi, after stretching about 30 miles into the department, terminates at Agde. From Cette the navigation is kept up through the marshes by the canals of Agde and Radelle to Aigues Mortes. The coast line of the department is 66 miles long. In the valleys and at the foot of the mountains the climate is delightfully mild. Fish abound in the salt marshes. The vegetable productions comprise aromatic and dyeing plants ; the ilex oak prevails in the forests. The mineral wealth of the department is considerable. Mines of lignite, coal, iron, copper, and lead are wrought. It produces magnificent blocks of marble, also alabaster, gypsum, granite, sand stone, potters clay, alum ; and the marshes supply France with salt. At Gabian there is a petroleum well. Wine and oil constitute the chief. agricultural wealth of the department. The red wines of St Georges, St Drdzery, St Christol, and the white wines of Frontignan and Lunel, are held in high estimation. Considerable quantities of wheat, oats, and potatoes are grown. There is a large amount of excellent pasturage, and horses and sheep are extensively reared. Mulberries, pomegranates, figs, raisins and other dried fruits, and olives are prepared for exportation. The chief manufactures are woollen and cotton cloth, silk, per fumery, soap, and chemical substances. The department has Montpellier for its capital, and is divided into the arrondissements of Montpellier, Bcziers, Lodeve, ond St Pons, with 36 cantons and 331 communes. The was 429,878 in 1872, and 445,053 in 1876.  HERBARIUM, or, a collection of plants so dried and preserved as fully to illustrate their several specific characters. Since the same plant, owing to pecu liarities of climate, soil, and situation, degree of exposure to light, and other influences, may vary greatly according to the locality in which it occurs, it is only by gathering together for comparison and study a large series of examples of each species illustrative of the flora of different regions that the laws of vegetable morphology, and many more points of scientific interest, can be satisfactorily determined. Thus, from the herbarium may be acquired a knowledge of those details concerning the minuter structure of individual plants which are of necessity omitted in works of systematic botany, as also of the relative taxonomic importance of the characters to be met with in large groups of forms.