Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/825

 MADEIRA MADISON 819 was $841,032 and $1,504,953, respectively. Madeira is divided into about 50 parishes, each of which has a church and a resident priest, under the jurisdiction of the see of Funchal. Although the Roman Catholic is the established religion, Protestants of foreign birth enjoy free- dom of worship. About 800 natives who openly professed themselves Protestants were obliged to flee to the United States or Trinidad. There are primary and Sunday schools throughout the island ; but not more than one eighth of the children are registered, and scarcely one third of these are in regular attendance. A law ex- ists requiring parents to send their children to school after a certain age, but it has never been enforced. Belonging to and about 11 m. S. E. of Madeira are three small, rocky, and unin- habited islands, called the Desertas, whither a few farmers repair to sow grain and to gather their meagre crops. The island of Porto Santo, about 25 m. N. E. of Madeira, is also depen- dent upon it. (See PORTO SANTO.) There is a story that Madeira was accidentally discovered by an Englishman named Machin, about 1346 ; but the true discoverer is commonly admitted to be Goncalves Zarco, who visited the island in 1419. A Portuguese colony was founded there in 1421 ; and Funchal, the capital, was incor- porated as a city in 1508. From 1580 to 1640 Madeira, in common with Portugal, formed a part of the Spanish dominions. In July, 1801, an attack by the French being apprehended, the island was garrisoned with British troops under Col. Clinton; after the removal of which a second garrison, commanded by Commdore Hood and Major Beresford, landed in Decem- ber, 1807, and held possession until the peace of 1814. It was seized by the partisans of Dom Miguel in August, 1828, and declared for Donna Maria in June, 1834. About 7,000 per- sons were carried off by cholera in 1856. MADEIRA, or Madera (Port, and Span., wood), a river of South America, the largest of ^the affluents of the Amazon, formed by the united waters of the Beni and the Mamor6 or Grande, which drain almost three fourths of the Bo- livian territory, and of the Guapor6 or Ite"nez, which flows through the auriferous plains of the Brazilian province of Matto Grosso. The Madeira proper begins at the confluence of the Mamor< and the Itenez, about lat. 12 S. ; it receives the Beni on the left bank in lat. 10, flows N. E., and falls into the Amazon midway between Manaos and Serpa, about lat. 3 30' S., after a course of 750 m. ; but its entire course is reckoned at 2,000 m. At its mouth it is 2 m. wide and 65 ft. deep ; 500 m. up its width is 1 m. and its depth 100 ft. ; and were it not for a series of 12 magnificent cataracts commencing some 480 m. from the^ Amazon, vessels of almost any size might sail up into the very heart of Bolivia. But a railway of about 150 m., traversing the bend of the river in which the falls are comprised, which was commenced in 1872 by an American engineer, Col. E. Church, is to connect the navigation of the upper and lower Madeira. Traffic has hitherto been carried on by canoes 30 to 40 ft. long, which have to be lifted out of the water on nearing the successive cataracts. The river derives its name from the vast quantity of wood that floats down its stream, especially during and for a short time after the floods. MADISON, the name of 19 counties in the United States. I. A central county of New York ; area, 670 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 43,522. Oneida lake is on the N. border, and Owahgena or Cazenovia lake on the W. Its principal streams are the Unadilla and Chenango rivers, and Chittenango and Oneida creeks. The cen- tral and S. portions are hilly, the N. low and swampy. It is intersected by the New York Central and several other railroads. The Che- nango canal passes through the S. E. part. The chief productions in 1870 were 160,155 bush- els of wheat, 286.284 of Indian corn, 737,824 of oats, 153,016 of barley, 418,990 of potatoes, 53,575 Ibs. of tobacco, 129,813 of wool, 3,232,- 925 of flax, 117,056 of maple sugar, 1,575,027 of butter, 280,776 of cheese, and 138,657 tons of hay. There were 10,084 horses, 36,088 milch cows, 12,847 other cattle, 24,926 sheep, and 9,094 swine; 9 manufactories of agricultural implements, 38 of carriages and wagons, 77 of cheese, 10 of cider, 1 of cotton goods, 12 of furniture, 9 of iron castings, 1 of distilled liquors, 7 of machinery, 6 of sash, doors, and blinds, 1 of silk goods, 4 of woollen goods, 3 ship building and repairing establishments, 27 flour mills, 25 saw mills, 19 tanneries, and 10 currying establishments. Capital, Morrisville. II. A N. county of Virginia, bounded N. W. by the Blue Ridge, and S. E., S., and S. W. by the Rapidan river ; area, 276 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 8,670, of whom 3,711 were colored. Robertson's and Hazel rivers have their sources in the county. The surface is elevated and noted for its fine scenery. In the valleys the soil is fertile. The chief productions in 1870 were 105,833 bushels of wheat, 240,240 of In- dian corn, 54,884 of oats, 60,650 Ibs. of tobac- co, and 46,705 of butter. There were 1,597 horses, 1,739 milch cows, 3,100 other cattle, 3,026 sheep, and 6,215 swine. Capital, Mad- ison Court House. III. A W. county of North Carolina, bordering on Tennessee, and inter- sected by French Broad river; area, about 450 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 8,192, of whom 334 were colored. It has a hilly surface, lying on the S. E. declivity of Bald mountain. The chief productions in 1870 were 29,749 bushels of wheat, 167,971 of Indian corn, 19,108 of oats, 15,924 Ibs. of tobacco, 12,007 of wool, and 65,675 of butter. There were 739 horses, 1 912 milch cows, 3,223 other cattle, 6,670 sheep, and 10,567 swine. Capital, Marshall. IV. A N. E. county of Georgia, drained by Broad river and branches ; area, 275 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 5,227, of whom 1,581 were colored. The surface is undulating, and the soil varies in fertility. It has some mineral springs, and contains gold, granite, and iron ore. The