MINORCA(Menorca)

This article appears in Volume V18, Page 554 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: MIC-MOL

MINORCA(Menorca) , the second in size of the group of Spanish islands in the Mediterranean Sea, known as the Balearic Islands (q.v.), 27 M. E.N.E. of

Majorca

MAJORCA (Mallorca)

. Pop. (1900), 371,512; area, 26o sq. m. The coast is deeply indented, especially on the north, with numerous creeks and baysthat of Port Mahon (17,144) being one of the finest in the Mediterranean, if not the best of them all, according to the popular rhyme
" Junio, Julio, Agosto y puerto Mahon
Los mejores puertos del Mediterraneo son "
" June, July, August and Port Mahon are the best harbours of the Mediterranean " (see PORT MAIION). The ports Addaya, Fornelle, Ciudadela and Nitja may also be mentioned. The surface of the island is uneven, flat in the south and rising irregularly towards the centre, where the mountain El Toroprobably so called from the Arabic tor, a height, though the natives have a legend of a Coro or bullhas an altitude of 1207 ft. The climate is not so equable as that of

Majorca

MAJORCA (Mallorca)

, and the island is exposed in autumn and winter to the violence of the north winds. Its soil is of very unequal quality; that of the higher districts being light, fine, and fertile, and producing regular harvests without much labour, while that of the plains is chalky, scanty, and unfit for pasture or the plough. Some of the valleys have a good alluvial soil; and where the hills have been terraced they are cultivated to the summit. The wheat and barley raised in the island are sometimes sufficient for

home

consumption; there is rarely a surplus. The Hedysarum coronarium, or zulla, as it is called by the Spaniards, is largely cultivated for

fodder

FODDER

. Wine, oil, potatoes, hemp and flax are produced in moderate quantities; fruit of all kinds, including melons, pomegranates, figs and almonds, is abundant. The caper plant is common throughout the island, growing on ruined walls. Horned cattle, sheep and goats are reared, and small game abound. Stone of various kinds is plentiful. In the

district

DISTRICT

of Mercadal and in

Mount

MOUNT, WILLIAM SIDNEY (1807-1868)

Santa Agueda are found fine

marbles

MARBLES

and porphyries; lime and slate are also abundant. Lead, copper and iron might be worked were it not for the scarcity of fuel. There are manufactures of the wool, hemp and flax of the island; and formerly there was a good deal of boat-building; but agriculture is the

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

industry. An excellent road, constructed in 1713-1715 by Brigadier-General Richard Kane, to whose memory a monument was erected at the first milestone, runs through the island from south-

east

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

to north-west, and connects Port Mahon with Ciudadela. Ciudadela (8611), which was the

capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

of the "island till Port Mahon was raised to that position by the English, still possesses considerable remains of its former importance.

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