Gard

Gard, a department in the south of France, on the Mediterranean, and bounded on the E. by the river Rhone, with an area of 2245 sq. m., one-third of which is arable. It is watered mainly by the Rhone, and by its tributaries the Gard—from which the department has its name—and the Cèze. Of its surface the north-west is occupied by a branch of the Cévennes, the remainder slopes toward the Rhone and the Mediterranean, the coast being lined by extensive and unhealthy marshes; the climate here is unwholesome, and in summer the heat reaches 104° F. The soil is unequal, the best land occurring in the river-valleys. The famous grapes have almost disappeared before the ravages of the phylloxera; less and less land yearly is retained for vineyards; and the production of wine has sunk to less than a fourth of what it was before 1875. The rearing of silkworms is widely engaged in, and the cultivation of olives and chestnuts is of value. The minerals include coal, iron, argentiferous lead, antimony, marble, and salt; and the department's iron and steel works are important. The department is divided into the four arrondissements of Alais, Nîmes, Uzès, and Vigan; the chief town is Nîmes. Pop. (1861) 422,107; (1881) 415,629; (1891) 419,388.