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northern portion is generally level; the soil is of indifferent quality, strong and marly in a few places, but rocky in all the valleys of the Sierra de Avila; and the climate alternates from severe See also:

COLD (in O. Eng. cald and ceald, a word coming ultimately from a root cognate with the Lat. gelu, gelidus, and common in the Teutonic languages, which usually have two distinct forms for the substantive and the adjective, cf. Ger. Kolte, kalt, Dutch koude

cold in See also:

winter to extreme See also:

HEAT (0. E. haktu, which like " hot," Old Eng. hat, is from the Teutonic type haita, hit, to be hot; cf. Ger. hitze, heiss; Dutch, hitte, heet, &c.)

heat in summer. The See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population of this See also:

PART

part is mainly agricultural. The See also:

SOUTHERN

southern See also:

DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division is one See also:

mass of rugged granitic sierras, interspersed, however, with sheltered and well-watered valleys, abounding with See also:

rich vegetation. The winter here, especially in the elevated region of the Paramera and the See also:

WASTE (O. Fr. wast, guast, gast, gaste; Lat. vastus, vast, desolate)

waste lands of Avila, is See also:

long and severe, but the climate is not unhealthy. In this region stock-breeding is an important See also:

INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

industry. The See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal See also:

mountain chains are the Guadarrama, separating this province from Madrid; the Paramera and Sierra de Avila, See also:

west of the Guadarrama; and the vast See also:

wall of the Sierra de Gredos along the southern frontier, where its outstanding peaks rise to 6000 or even 8000 ft. The ridges which ramify from the Paramera are covered with valuable forests of beeches, oaks and firs, presenting a striking contrast to the See also:

BARE

bare peaks of the Sierra de Gredos. The principal See also:

rivers are the Alberche and Tietar, belonging to the See also:

basin of the See also:

TAGUS (Span. Tajo, Portug. Tejo)

Tagus, and the TOrmes, Trabancos and Adaja, belonging to that of the See also:

DOURO (Span. Duero, Port. Douro, anc. Durius)

Douro.

The mountains contain See also:

SILVER

silver, See also:

COPPER (symbol Cu, atomic weight 63.1, H=1, or 63.6, O = 16)

copper, See also:

IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron, See also:

lead and See also:

COAL

coal, but their See also:

MINERAL

mineral See also:

WEALTH

wealth has been exaggerated, and at the beginning of the loth See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century See also:

MINING

mining had practically been abandoned. Quarries of See also:

FINE

fine See also:

MARBLE (from Lat. marmor, Gr. pApµapos, shining stone)

marble and See also:

JASPER

jasper exist in the See also:

DISTRICT

district of Arenas. The province declined in wealth and population during the 18th and 19th centuries, a result due less to the want of activity on the part of the inhabitants than to the oppressive manorial and feudal rights and the strict See also:

LAWS

laws of See also:

ENTAIL (from Fr. tailler, to cut; the old derivation from tales haeredes is now abandoned)

entail and See also:

MORTMAIN (0. Fr. mortemain; med. Lat. mortua manus, dead hand)

mortmain, which acted as barriers to progress. Towards the See also:

close of this See also:

period many improvements were introduced, although the want of See also:

IRRIGATION (Lat. in, and rigare, to water or wet)

irrigation is still keenly See also:

FELT (cognate with Ger. Filz, Du. vilt, Swed. and Dan. fill; the root is unknown; the word has given Med. Lat. filtrum, " filter ")

felt. Wide tracts of waste See also:

LAND

land were planted with pinewoods by the ducal See also:

house of See also:

Medina Sidonia. The See also:

main roads are fairly See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good; and Avila, the See also:

capital, is connected by See also:

RAIL

rail with Salamanca. Valladolid and Madrid; but in many parts of the province the means of communication are defective. Except Avila there are no important towns. The principal See also:

PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production is the See also:

WOOL, WORSTED AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES

wool of the See also:

MERINO

merino See also:

sheep, which at one See also:

time yielded an immense See also:

revenue. See also:

GAME

Game is plentiful, and the rivers abound in See also:

fish, specially See also:

TROUT (Salmo trutta)

trout. See also:

OLIVES, MOUNT OF, or MOUNT OLIVET ("Opus 'EXc uwos or riov 'EXauav; mod. Jebel-et-Tur)

Olives, chestnuts and grapes are grown, and See also:

SILK

silk-See also:

WORMS

worms are kept. There is little See also:

trade, and the manufactures are few, consisting chiefly of copper utensils, See also:

lime, See also:

SOAP

soap, See also:

CLOTH

cloth, See also:

paper and combs.

The See also:

state of elementary See also:

EDUCATION

education is comparatively good, rather more than two-thirds of the population being able to read and write, and the ratio of See also:

CRIME (Lat. crimen, accusation)

crime is proportionately See also:

low.

End of Article: AVILA

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