BARBERTON

barberton, a town of the transvaal, 283 m. by rail (175 m. in a direct line) e. of pretoria and 136 m. w.n.w. of delagoa bay. pop. (1904) 2433, of whom 1214 were whites. barberton lies 2825 ft. above the sea and is built on the side of a valley named de kaap, from a bold headland of the drakensberg which towers above it. the chief town of a district of the same name, it owes its existence to the discovery of gold in the kaap valley, and dates from 1886. there are several fine public buildings grouped mainly round president square. the town is connected with the lourenco marques-pretoria trunk railway by a branch line, 35 m. long, which runs n.e. through fine mountainous country and joins the main line at kaapmuiden. during the war of 1899-1902 the boers were driven out of barberton (13th of september 1900) by general (afterwards sir john) french. barbette (fr. diminutive of _barbe_, a beard), a platform inside a fortification raised sufficiently high for artillery placed thereon to be able to fire _en barbette_, _viz._ over the top of the parapet; also in warships a raised platform, protected by armour on the sides, upon which guns are mounted _en barbette_.