hin pasture. There is little forest and many districts suffer from
drought. The whole province, except the extreme south, belongs to the basin
of the river Tagus, which flows from east to west through the central
districts, and is joined by several tributaries, notably the Alagon and
Tietar, from the north, and the Salor and Almonte from the south. The
climate is temperate except in summer, when hot east winds prevail. Fair
quantities of grain and olives are raised, but as a stock-breeding province
Caceres ranks second only to Badajoz. In 1900 its flocks and herds numbered
more than 1,000,000 head. It is famed for its sheep and pigs, and exports
wool, hams and the red sausages called _embutidos_. Its mineral resources
are comparatively insignificant. The total number of mines at work in 1903
was only nine; their output consisted of phosphates, with a small amount of
zinc and tin. Brandy, leather and cork goods, and coarse woollen stuffs are
manufactured in many of the towns, but the backwardness of education, the
lack of good roads, and the general poverty retard the development of
commerce. The more northerly of the two Madrid-Lisbon railways enters the
province on the east; passes south of Plasencia, where it is joined by the
railway from Salamanca, on the north; and reaches the Portuguese frontier
at Valencia de Alcantara. This line is supplemented by a branch from Arroyo
to the city of Caceres, and thence southwards to Merida in Badajoz. Here it
meets the railways from Seville and Cordova. The principal towns of Caceres
are Caceres (pop. 1900, 16,933); Alcantara (3248), famous for its Roman
bridge; Plasencia (8208); Trujillo (12,512), and Valencia de Alcantara
(9417). These are described in separate articles. Arroyo, or Arroyo del
Puerco (7094), is an important agricultural market. (See also ESTREMADURA.)

CACERES, the capital of the Spanish province of Caceres, about 20 m. S. of
the river Tagus, on the Caceres-Merida railway, and on a branch line which
meets the more northerly of the two Madrid-Lisbon railways at Arroyo, 10 m.
W. Pop. (1900) 16,933. Caceres occupies a conspicuous eminence on a low
ridge running east and west. At the highest point rises the lofty tower of
San Mateo, a fine Gothic church, which overlooks the old town, with its
ancient palaces and massive walls, gateways and towers. Many of the
palaces, notably those of the provincial legislature, the dukes of
Abrantes, and the counts of la Torre, are go