e (mod. Bengazi). Merj stands in a rich but ill-cultivated
stretch of red soil.

(D. G. H.)

BARCAROLE, or BARCAROLLE (Ital. _barcaruola_, a boat-song) properly a
musical term for the songs sung by the Venetian gondoliers, and hence for
an instrumental or vocal composition, generally in 6-8 time, written in
imitation of their characteristic rhythm.

BARCELONA, a maritime province of north-eastern Spain, formed in 1833 out
of districts belonging to the ancient kingdom of Catalonia, and bounded on
the N.E. and E. by Gerona; S. by the Mediterranean Sea; S.W. by Tarragona;
and W. and N.W. by Lerida. Pop. (1900) 1,054,541; area 2968 sq. m. Apart
from a few tracts of level country along the coast and near Igualada,
Manresa, Sabadell and Vich, almost the whole surface consists of mountain
ranges, often densely wooded, rich in minerals and intersected by deep
ravines. These ranges are outliers of the Pyrenees, which extend along the
northern frontier, forming there the lofty Sierra del Cadi with the peak of
Tosa (8317 ft.). Towards the sea, the altitudes become gradually less,
although not with a uniform decrease; for several isolated peaks and minor
ranges such as Montserrat and Monseny rise conspicuously amid the lower
summits to a height of 4000-6000 ft. The central districts are watered by
the Llobregat, which rises at the base of the Sierra del Cadi, and flows
into the sea near Barcelona, the capital, after receiving many small
tributaries. The river Ter crosses the eastern extremity of the province.

Barcelona can be divided into three climatic zones; a temperate one near
the sea, where even palm and orange trees grow; a colder one in the valleys
and plains, more inland; and a colder still among the mountains, where not
a few peaks are snow-clad for a great part of the year. Agriculture and
stock-keeping are comparatively unimportant in this province, which is the
centre of Spanish industry and commerce. In every direction the country
looks like a veritable hive of human activity and enterprise, every town
and village full of factories, and alive with the din of machinery. Lead,
zinc, lignite, coal and salt are worked, and there are numerous mineral
springs; but the prosperity of the province chiefly depends on its transit
trade and manufactures. These are described in detail in articles on the
chief towns. Barcelona (pop. 1900, 533,000), Badalona (19,240), Cardona
(3855), Igualada (10,442), Manresa (23,252), Mataro (19