GARCIA  GUTIERREZ-

GARDA, LAKE OF Sommieres it forms the western boundary of the department . The Herault has its source and part of its course in the west of Gard . The Canal de Beaucaire extends from the Rhone at Beaucaire to Aigues-Mortes, which communicates with the Mediterranean at Grau-du-Roi by means of the Grand-Roubine canal . The climate is warm in the south-east, colder in the north-west; it is rather changeable, and rain-storms are common . The cold and violent north-west wind known as the mistral is its worst drawback . Les Fumades (near Allegre) and Euzet have mineral springs . The chief grain crops are wheat and oats . Rye, barley and potatoes are also grown . Gard is famed for its cattle, its breed of small horses, and its sheep, the wool of which is of a very fine quality . In the rearing of silk-worms it ranks first among French departments . The principal fruit trees are the olive, mulberry and chestnut . The vine is extensively cultivated and yields excellent red and white wines .

The department is

rich in minerals, and the mines of coal, iron, lignite, asphalt, zinc, lead and copper, which are for the most part situated in the neighbourhoods of Alais and La Grand'-Combe, constitute one of the chief sources of its wealth . Great quantities of salt are obtained from the salt marshes along the coast . The quarries of building and other stone employ a considerable number of work-men . The fisheries are productive . The manufactures are extensive, and include those of silk, of which Alais is the chief centre, cotton and woollen fabrics, hosiery, ironware, hats (Anduze), liquorice, gloves, paper, leather, earthenware and glass . There are also breweries and distilleries, and important metallurgical works, the chief of which are those of Besseges . The exports of Gard include coal, lignite, coke, asphalt, building-stone, iron, steel, silk, hosiery, wine, olives, grapes and truffles . The department is served by the Paris-Lyon railway . It is divided into the arrondissements of Nimes, Alais, Uzes and Le Vigan, with 40 cantons and 351 communes . The chief town is Nimes, which is the seat of a bishopric of the province of Avignon and of a court of appeal . Gard belongs to the 15th military region, which has its headquarters at Marseilles, and to the academie (educational division) of Montpellier . Nimes, Alais, Uzes, Aigues-Mortes, Beaucaire,Saint-Gilles, Besseges,La Grand'-Combe and Villeneuve-les-Avignon are the principal places .

Opposite the manufacturing town of

Pont-St-Esprit the Rhone is crossed by a fine medieval bridge more than r000 yds. long built by the Pontiff brethren . Le Vigan, an ancient town with several old houses, carries on silk-spinning .