Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/567

 OALABOZO CALABRIA 561 ers on the trunk and branches, and a roundish fruit, from a few inches to a foot in diameter. The calabash fruit contains a pale yellow, juicy pulp, of an unpleasant taste, which is deemed a valuable remedy in several disorders, both internal and external. The uses to which the fruit of the calabash tree is applied are very numerous. It is covered with a greenish-yel- low skin, enclosing a thin, hard, and almost woody shell, which is employed in lieu of va- rious kinds of domestic utensils, such as bowls, cups, and goblets of every description. These shells are so hard and cross grained that when filled with any fluid, they may sometimes be Calabash Leaves, Flower, and Fruit. put on the fire and used as kettles. They are also cut and carved, variously stained, and pol- ished, as ornamental vessels. CALABOZO, a town of Venezuela, in the prov- ince and 120 m. S. 8. W. of Caracas, situated in the llanos, or plains, W. of the river Guari- co, between the Apure and the Sierra Cos- tanera; pop. about 6,000. It was founded by the Compafiia Guipuzcoana in the beginning of the 18th century, and is in appearance very pic- turesque. The heat is extreme (average 88 F.), but is at times tempered by breezes from the N. E. In the rainy season it is subject to great inundations, which often interrupt com- munication. The houses are well built and the streets are regular. There are several schools and a college. Its situation makes it an impor- tant centre of commerce. The exports consist of sugar and horned cattle. Cattle-rearing is extensively carried on in the surrounding coun- try. There are thermal springs in the neigh- borhood, surrounded by a beautiful grove. CALABRKSE, II. See PEETI, MATTIA. CALABRIA, the southern part of Italy, ex- tending from the province of Potenza (Basili- cata) to the strait of Messina, between lat. 37 63' and 40 8' N., and Ion. 15 40' and 17 10' E.; area, 6,663 sq. in.; pop. in 1872, 1,306,104. It is divided into the provinces of Cosenza (Ca- labria Citeriore), Reggio (Calabria Ulteriore), and Catanzaro (Calabria Ulteriore II.). The Apennines run southward through Calabria, with numerous spurs stretching toward both seas, and covering a great part of the country. A branch extending 35 in. in length from W. to E., and 25 m. in breadth from N. to S., forms the Silese mountains in the central and widest part of Calabria; and further S. the Aspromonte range fills nearly the whole width of the S. part of the province of Reggio. The highest peak of the Calabrian Apennines is Monte Pollino, about 7,500 ft., with which the chain begins near the borders of Potenza. The mountain streams, which are numerous, dis- charge into both seas ; the larger rivers are the Sinno, Crati. and Neto in northern and central Calabria, and there are many small lakes near the E. coast. Between the mountain masses and their spurs are some extensive valleys, gener- ally on the banks of the larger rivers and ter- minating in plains near the coast. Among these the largest and most fertile are the val- leys of Cosenza and Monteleone and the plain of Gioja. The principal products of Calabria are corn, rice, olive oil, licorice, oranges, lemons, honey, silk, sugar, saffron, flax, cot- ton, tobacco, medicinal plants, and dyes. The sides of the mountains are covered with oak, elm, cedar, chestnut, cypress, olive, fir, and pine trees. There are veins of gold, silver, copper, marble, and alabaster, and abundant deposits of pure rock salt and sulphur. Cala- bria has a fine breed of horses, and sheep, cattle, and swine are abundant. Bees are very numerous, and silkworms are extensively raised ; but the silk, though of a good quality, is of a dark color, as the worms are fed on the red mulberry. Considerable silk is manu- factured in the province of Catanzaro. In the southeast there are iron furnaces supplied with ore from the mines of Lo Stilo, just with- in the boundaries of Reggio. The fisheries afford employment to many of the inhabitants of the towns on the coast, and immense quan- tities of anchovy, mullet, tunny, and sword fish are taken. The Calabrians are hardy and brave, but are irritable and passionate. The robberies and murders for which Calabria was formerly distinguished have much diminished within a few years. The dialect of the people is similar to that of Sicily. The country is subject to violent storms and earthquakes. The earth- quake of 1783 destroyed more than 40,000 Cala- brians and Sicilians, and a shock on Oct. 6, 1870, swallowed up several villages. In an- cient times Calabria formed the territory of Bruttium and the southern part of Lucania. (See BRUTTIUM and LUCANIA.) In the middle ages it formed a part of the kingdom of the Ostrogoths under Theodoric, A. D. 493, and in 536 was conquered for the Eastern empire by Belisarius. It subsequently fell into the hands of the Saracens, from whom it was wrested in 1058 by Robert Guiscard, who took the title of duke of Apulia and Calabria. Under his