istence since the opening of the first railway in
1870. The surrounding country is irrigated and well cultivated, and
produces an abundance of fruit and vegetables.

The city was founded in 1573 by Luis Geronimo de Cabrera and was for a
long time distinguished for its learning and piety. It was the
headquarters of the Jesuits in this part of South America for two
centuries, and for a time the capital of the Spanish _intendencia_ of
Tucuman. The expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767 proved to be a serious
blow to the academic reputation of the city, from which it did not
recover until 1870, when President Sarmiento engaged some eminent
scientific men from Europe to teach modern science in the university.

CORDOBA, a town of the state of Vera Cruz, Mexico, 55 m. W.S.W. of the
port of Vera Cruz, in a highly fertile valley, near the volcano of
Orizaba, and 2880 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1895) 7974. The surrounding
district produces sugar, tobacco and coffee, Cordoba being one of the
principal coffee-producing centres of Mexico. It also manufactures
cotton and woollen fabrics. The town is regularly laid out and built of
stone, and contains several handsome edifices, chief of which is the old
cathedral. Cordoba was a town of considerable importance in colonial
times, but fell into decay after the revolution. The railway from Vera
Cruz to Mexico, which passes through it, and the development of coffee
production, have helped the city to recover a part of its lost trade.

CORDON (a French derivative of _corde_, cord), a word used in many
applications of its meaning of "line" or "cord," and particularly of a
cord of gold or silver lace worn in military and other uniforms. The
word is especially used of the sash or ribbon worn by members of an
order of knighthood, crossing from one shoulder to the opposite hip. The
_cordon bleu_, the sky-blue ribbon of the knight's grand cross of the
order of the Holy Spirit, the highest order of the Bourbon kings of
France, was, like the "blue ribbon" of the English Garter, taken as a
type of the highest reward or prize to which any one can attain (see
also COOKERY). In heraldry, "cordons" are the ornamental cords which,
with the hats to which they are attached, ensign the shields of arms of
certain ecclesiastical dignitaries; they are interlaced to form a mesh
or network and terminate in rows of tassels. A cardinal's cordon is
_gules_ with five rows of fifteen tassels, an archbishop's _