TRAY  , a fiat receptacle with a raised edge used for a variety of purposes, chiefly domestic . The tray takes many forms—oblong, circular,

oval, square—and is made in a vast number of materials, from papier macho to the precious metals . Dukt . Charles of Lorraine had a pen-tray of rock crystal standing on golden feet; Marie Antoinette possessed a wonderful oval tray, silver gilt and enamelled, set with 144 cameos engraved with the heads of sovereigns and princes of the house of Austria, and their heraldic devices . The tea-tray is the most familiar form; next to it comes the small round tray, usually of silver or electroplate, chiefly used for handing letters or a glass of wine . When thus employed it is usually called a " waiter." The English tea-trays of the latter part of the 18th century were usually oval in shape and sometimes had handles; mahogany and rosewood were the favourite materials . Sheraton and Shearer, among other cabinet-makers of the great English period, are credited with trays of this type . These were succeeded in the early and mid-Victorian period by trays of japanned iron, which possessed no charm but had the virtue of durability . Sheffield plate snuffer-trays of satisfying simplicity were made ifs large numbers, and are now much sought after . TRAZ-OS-MONTES (i.e. across the Mountains), an ancient frontier province in the extreme N.E. of Portugal, bounded on the N. and E. by Spain, S. by the river Douro which separates it from Beira, and W. by the Gerez, Cabreira and Marko Mountains, which separate it from Entre-Minho-e-Douto . Pop . (1900), 427,358; area, 4,163 sq. m .

For administrative purposes Traz-os-Montes was divided in 1833 into the districts of

Braganza (q.v.) and Villa Real (q.v.) . The surface is generally mountainous, although there are tracts of level land in the veigas or cultivated plains of Chaves and Miranda do Douro, and in the cimas or plateau region of Mogadouro . The highest peak is Marko (4642 ft.) . The province belongs to the basin of the Douro and is chiefly drained by its tributaries the Tua, Tamega and Sabor . Its inhabitants belong to the old Portuguese stock, and resemble the Spaniards of Galicia in physical type, dialect and character . The Paiz do Vinho (see OPORTO) is the chief wine-growing district in Portugal; other products are silk, maize, wheat, rye, hemp, olive oil and honey . There are important mineral springs and baths at Vidago and Pedras Salgadas . The principal towns are Braganza, Chaves and Villa Real .