Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/138

Rh 126 P Y R P Y R noteworthy are the hot springs, in which the Alps, on the contrary, are very deficient. The latter, among which those of Bagneres dc 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 Bagneres de Bigorre (Hautes- Pyrenees), 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 dur- ing the Ice age. The case of the glacier in the valley of Argeles in the department of Hautes-Pyrenees 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 Corbieres 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 Dioscorca (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 abun- dantly represented in the range is that of the saxifrages, several species of which are here endemic. In their fauna also the Pyrenees present some striking instances of endemism. There is a distinct species of ibex (Capra pyrenaica) con- fined 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 Ariege, the principal genera of which are Anophthalmus and Adelops. See Murray's Handbook of France ; A. Leymerie, Description geologique et paleontologique des Pyrenees de la Haute Garonne (to which a general account of the chain is prefixed), Toulouse, 1881 ; De Chausenque, Les Pyrenees, 1854 ; for the vegetation, Benthani, Catalogue des Plantes indigenes des Pyrenees et de Bas- iMnguedoc, Paris, 1826, and Grisebach, Vegetation der Erde, Leipsic, 1872 ; and for an account of the caverns, Geikie, Prehistoric Kurope, 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 sn |Un (about an inch to the mile). The first sheet of a map by Fr. Schrader of the Spanish slopes on the scale of TBI A,,,n has been published under the title Pyrenees 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 francais, and also separately. See also the maps in Murray's Handbook. (G. G. C.) PYRENEES, the name of three departments in the south of France. 1. BASSES -PYRENEES, a department of south-western France, at the angle of the Bay of Biscay, was formed in 1790, two- thirds of it from Beam 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 6' E. and 1 47' W. long., and is bounded on the N. by Landes and Gers, on the E. by Hautes-Pyrenees (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 Orhy alone, in the south of the valley of Mauleon, reaches 6618 feet. But beyond that of Anie (8215 feet), on the meridian of Orthez, which marks the boundary of Beam, much loftier elevations appear, Mourrous (9760 feet), on the border of Hautes-Pyrenees, 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-Pyrenees 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 aifluent of the Gave de Pau, the Saison or Gave de Mauleon, 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 lie des Faisans, where the treaty of the Pyrenees was concluded (1659), and debouches between Hendaye (France) and Fontarabia (Spain). The climate of the department is essentially that of the Gironde in the valleys, mild and damp. The spring is rainy ; the best seasons are summer and autumn, the heat 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 ; flax, 13,399 acres, 9348 quarters ; potatoes, 7067 acres, 158,592 bushels ; vineyards, 63,511 acres, 4,019,466 gallons of wine (the most highly esteemed vintage being that of Jurancon). From 25,205 acres were produced 642,760 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 orchards, 28,595 under green crops, and 612,000 acres of waste lands. The live stock numbered 27,845 horses, 9110 mules, 15,409 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 manage- ment receives careful attention. The number of inhabitants cm- ployed 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 neigh- bourhood of Orthez). The department has valuable mineral springs.