(Paris, 1860).

See Alcius Ledien, _Boucher de Perthes; sa vie, ses oeuvres, sa
correspondence_ (Abbeville, 1885); Lady Prestwich, "Recollections of
M. Boucher de Perthes" (with portrait) in _Essays Descriptive and
Biographical_ (1901).

BOUCHES-DU-RHONE, a maritime department of south-eastern France situated
at the mouth of the Rhone. Area, 2026 sq. m. Pop. (1906) 765,918. Formed
in 1790 from western Provence, it is bounded N. by Vaucluse, from which
it is separated by the Durance, E. by Var, W. by Card, and S. by the
Mediterranean, along which its seaboard stretches for about 120 m. The
western portion consists of the Camargue (q.v.), a low and marshy plain
enclosed between the Rhone and the Petit-Rhone, and comprising the Rhone
delta. A large portion of its surface is covered by lagoons and pools
(etangs), the largest of which is the Etang de Vaccares; to the east of
the Camargue is situated the remarkable stretch of country called the
Crau, which is strewn with pebbles like the sea-beach; and farther east
and north there are various ranges of mountains of moderate elevation
belonging to the Alpine system. The Etang de Berre, a lagoon covering an
area of nearly 60 sq. m., is situated near the sea to the south-east of
the Crau. A few small tributaries of the Rhone and the Durance, a number
of streams, such as the Arc and the Touloubre, which flow into the Etang
de Berre, and the Huveaune, which finds its way directly to the sea, are
the only rivers that properly belong to the department.

Bouches-du-Rhone enjoys the beautiful climate of the Mediterranean
coast, the chief drawback being the mistral, the icy north-west wind
blowing from the central plateau of France. The proportion of arable
land is small, though the quantity has been considerably increased by
artificial irrigation and by the draining of marshland. Cereals, of
which wheat and oats are the commonest, are grown in the Camargue and
the plain of Aries, but they are of less importance than the olive-tree,
which is grown largely in the east of the department and supplies the
oil-works of Marseilles. The vine is also cultivated, the method of
submersion being used as a safeguard against phylloxera. In the cantons
of the north-west large quantities of early vegetables are produced. Of
live-stock, sheep alone are raised to any extent. Almonds, figs, capers,
mulberry trees and silkworms are sources of considerable profit. Iron is
worked, but the