“ The Montagne Noire, on the southern border of the department, derives its name from the forests on its northern slope, and some of its peaks are from 3000 to 3500 ft. high. The limestone and sandstone foot-hills are clothed with vines and fruit trees, and are broken by deep alluvial valleys of extraordinary fertility. With the exception of a small portion of the Montagne Noire, which drains into the Aude, the whole department belongs to the basin of the Garonne. The eastern portion of the department has the climate of Auvergne, the severest in France, but that of the plain is Girondin. ”