forests, which cover
nearly three-fourths of its area, and for its beds (2 to 5 ft. deep) of
titaniferous iron-sand which extend along its coasts, out of which the
finest steel is manufactured; New Plymouth (4) is the capital.

TARANTO (25), a fortified seaport of South Italy, situated on a
rocky islet which lies between the Gulf of Taranto and the Mare Piccolo,
a broad inlet on the E., 72 m. S. of Bari; is well built, and contains
various interesting buildings, including a cathedral and castle; is
connected with the mainland on the E. by a six-arched bridge, and by an
ancient aqueduct on the W.; some textile manufactures are carried on, and
oyster and mussel fisheries and fruit-growing are important; as the
ancient Tarentum its history goes back to the time when it was the chief
city of Magna Graecia; was captured by the Romans in 272 B.C., and after
the fall of the Western Empire was successively in the hands of Goths,
Lombards, and Saracens, and afterwards shared the fate of the kingdom of
Naples, to which it was united in 1063.

TARAPACA (47), a maritime province of North Chili, taken from Peru
in 1883; its immense deposits of nitrate of soda are a great source of
wealth to the country; capital IQUIQUE (q. v.)

TARARE (12), a town of France, dep. of Rhone, 21 m. NW. of Lyons;
busy with the manufacture of muslins, silks, and other fine textiles.

TARASCON (7), a picturesque old town of France, 18 m. SW. of
Avignon; is surrounded by walls, has a 15th-century castle (King Rent's),
a Gothic church, silk and woollen factories.

TARBES (25), an old historic town of France, on the Adour, 100 m.
SW. of Toulouse; has a fine 12th-century cathedral, a Government cannon
factory, etc.

TARE AND TRET, commercial terms, are deductions usually made from
the gross weight of goods. Tare is the weight of the case or covering,
box, or such-like, containing the goods; deducting this the _net weight_
is left. Tret is a further allowance (not now so commonly deducted) made
at the rate of 4 lb. for every 104 lb. for waste through dust, sand, etc.

TARENTUM. See TARANTO.

TARGUMS, translations, dating for the most part as early as the time
of Ezra, of several books of the Old Testament into Aramaic, which both
in Babylonia and Palestine had become the spoken language of the Jews
instead of Hebrew, executed chiefly for the service of the Synagogue;
they were more or less of a paraphrastic nature, and were accompanied