.. : :s MUH Of 



RHIN, BAS. 



184 



eh he* been referred to Ibis article, U a small maim- 

 o. the Keen, M mOea N.W. from Dueaeldorf. and has 

 It wu formeriy the reeideoee of the doke* 



VWV W^V MeBVPWsMIVBi wi 



of OveUrea. a*4 fme Berne to tbe Dutch province of Ouelderland, 

 free* wbseb ft wee d^ahed with null territory in 1T1 8, and ceded 

 'by ft. treaty of Utreebi It was formeriy fortified, but its 

 rert -l-rr'*-' in 174 by the " 



i were . 



RHE! 



s HK8SEX. [Hi. 

 KHKISrVK. rOAU,r.] 



, 

 French, to whom It bad 



[BAMS ; BATAMA.] 



(lULHT-VlUHE.] 



BAS (Lower Rhine), a department of France on the eastern 

 1 from tbe river Rhine, on the left bank of which it 

 I M. by tbe department of Monlle and Rhenish- Bavaria; 

 from which it ie separated by the Rhine; a by the 

 I of Haul Khin ; and W. by the departments of Voeges and 

 V.urtW Tbe treated length U from south-south-east to north-north- 

 west, nuke ; tbe greatest breadth U in the northern part, 60 miles; 

 bvt in ordinary breadth does not exceed 30 miles. The area is 1756-9 

 square mike. Tbe population in 1841 wu 560,113; in 1851 it 

 amounted to 587,434, giving 334-358 to the square mile, being 169774 

 above Ibe average per square mile for the whole of France. 



Stffmtt.- QjUgicd Character; Hydrography. The western side 

 of tbe department it occupied by the rugged wooded highlands, which 

 farm tbe isetirn face of the Vogea Mountains. The projection at the 

 nurtb-weetcm tide of the department crosses the ridge in one part so 

 a* to include both tbe ridge it* If and the western face down to the 

 raUvy of tbe Sarre. The mountain sides are diversified with pre- 

 dpttous rocks, and picturesque valleys watered by small streams, which 

 Sow ultimately into the Rhine, except a few which join the Sarre. 

 Tbe mountain* are composed of sandstones, limestones, and marls. 

 Upon tbe limestone rot van. gated marls, which are occasionally 

 iBtentratified with gypsum. By convulsions subsequent to the dcpo- 

 WoB of tbe auxbtone, a portion of that formation his been thrown 

 up into bold craggy mountains, while the later formations rest upon 

 tbe lower portions, several hundred feet below, at the foot of the 

 eetarpment. From the eastern foot of the Vosges a rich tract, forming 

 part of tbe valley of the Rhine, extends to the bank of that river. 

 ThU part is occupied by tbe tertiary formations. The immediate 

 banks of the river are hi many place* marshy. 



A email quantity of coal is procured. Iron-ore is abundant; about 

 10 mines are worked ; and there are 27 forges and furnaces for the 

 manufacture of the metal. Other mineral products are lead, asphalte, 

 antimony, manganese, gypsum, slates, potten'-clay, building-stone, &c, 

 The department belongs entirely to the basin of the Rhine. The 

 greater part U included in tbe valley watered by that river, and the 

 remaining part, which extends across the Voeges, is drained by the 

 Senr, which tails into the Moselle, and so ultimately into the Rhine. 

 The Rhine skirU the eastern boundary of the department ; it is as 

 broad as the Thames at London, and studded with a great number of 

 man wooded islands. The Rhine yields abundance of trout, perch, 

 -Inxm, carp, iturgeons, and eels. Some particles of gold are brought 

 down by tbe current 



e principal feeder of the Rhine is the 111, which rises in the 

 department of Haut-Rhin and flows northward, nearly parallel to the 

 and a few milct wet of it. so that it receives the mountain 

 that flow down the eastern slopes of the Vosges, and thus 

 bMMMt t, considerable river. Nearly forty miles of its course are 

 ia? I * rtel ' nt> * od throu l1 the wh l of that distance it is 

 *" rli 7"*, **" Li'P'" 11 *. the Scheer, the Andlau, the 

 pr. the Bracbe, into which flows the Mowig, .11 from the Voeges ; 

 8ch.le.tAdt, Benfeld, Erstein, and SfcSbourg; and joinathe 

 tn j^. .Wow the laat-namfd place. It it used for the 

 timber of the Voeges and the other productions of 

 wuatry. One or two arms of this river branch off from it above 

 treeboorg, tad communicate with the Rhine. 





the Moder - 



the 



the 



Uut " ri " to the 



fU counie on the front '- of France and 

 otl " r - TLe Moder 



i 



(lone is na 



, and that for only 2 mile*. The 

 o - down from the mountains. The 

 i* T"~ ", department may be estimated at about 

 " *" for nny 10 miles of which it U navigable 



iT > tSCS! < * I !f 1 \ Hi" *^nportant it the great 

 Rhone and tbe Rhine, formerly called CanS-de- 

 "* n ^ r L" 1 * department on the south side from 

 nt deMftment of Haut-Rhin, and. running northward along 



-,. .. .k, m jullt tboT , 8trMbo T | 



r the junction of the Moesig and 

 "- 1 latter rivi-r till 



Climate. The department has long and cold winters ; the spring is 

 short, the heat of summer succeeding very rapidly to the cold of 

 winter. The vicinity of the Vosges Mountains, on which snow remains 

 till June or July, renders the summer liable to sudden transitions to 

 cold. The autumns are uniformly long and very fine. The climate is 

 generally healthy, but cretinism and goitre are very prevalent in parts : 

 in 1852 there were 125 cretins and 873 goitrous persons, not idiots, in 

 the department, spread among the population of 38 communes. The 

 causes of these diseases are unknown ; they prevail to a less extent 

 than formerly, owing it is said to the drainage of the marshes and 

 the extended cultivation of the soil. 



Soil, Agriculture, <te. The soil of the mountains is rocky, and in 

 great degree barren ; that of the immediate bank of the Rhine is 

 marshy ; but the flat which occupies the intervening space is rich and 

 highly cultivated. About 450,000 acres are under the plough. The 

 produce in corn U more than enough for the consumption. The chief 

 crops are wheat, spelt, rye, mixed corn, and maize. Potatoes are 

 grown in large quantities. In oats the produce is small Tobacco has 

 been cultivated for two centuries in this department ; about 25,000 

 acres of the best land are under tobacco culture. Madder is success- 

 fully cultivated. The oleaginous seeds grown are the poppy and the 

 rape. Excellent hemp and hops are grown. Cabbages are very exten- 

 sively cultivated, and a grout quantity of 'choucroute,' or sauerkraut, 

 is exported to Germany. Other products are onions, beans, gentian, 

 plums, and cherries of which kirschwasser is made. About 11,000,000 

 gallons of wine are made annually from about 32,000 acres of vine- 

 yards. There is a good breadth of meadow land. Horses, cows, and 

 pigs are very numerous. Qeese are reared in great numbers; their 

 livers are used in making the famous Strasbourg pir.*. The number of 

 sheep is comparatively small. Both oxen and horses are employed in 

 agriculture. The orchards and gardens cover about 15,000 acres. 

 The woodlands are very extensive, amounting to nearly 300,000 acres. 

 A considerable part of the timber is formed into small rafts, and 

 floated down the Rhine to Mainz, where they are united so as to 

 constitute enormous rafts from 250 to 300 yards long, and 25 to 30 

 yards broad, conducted each by 300 or 400 men. A part of the timber 

 is sawn into deals and planks in Holland. The abundance of timber 

 supplies not only sufficient fuel for domestic purposes, but also fur- 

 nishes some for manufactures. It is not however sufficient for the 

 demand, and a considerable quantity of coal is imported to make up 

 the deficiency of wood. 



The internal navigation of the department, including the Rhine 

 (which is navigable all along the eastern frontier), amounts to about 

 200 miles in length. The department is traversed by 7 imperial and 

 32 departmental roads, and by the Paris-Strasbourg and Strasbourg- 

 Basel railways. 



The manufactures of the department are very important, comprising 

 woollen-cloths of all descriptions, calicoes, linen, hats, playing-cards, 

 room-paper, soap, oil, chemical products, ironmongery, hardware, 

 mechanical and edge tools, fire-arms, gloves, surgical instruments, 

 paper, Ac. There are numerous breweries, tan-yards, paper-mills, 

 madder-mills, and iron-works. 



IXvitiont, Towns, A-c. The department is divided into four arron- 

 dissements, which, with their subdivisions and population, are as 

 follows : 



1. Of the first arrondissement and of the whole department the 

 chief town is STRASBOURG. JUtchwiller, a manufacturing town of 

 6700 inhabitants, in situated on the Moder, 13 miles N. from Stras- 

 bourg. Its fortifications were dismantled in 1706. Brmnatk, is 

 supposed to occupy the site of Brocomagus, a town of the Tribocci : 

 population of the commune 3760. Brumath is 11 miles from Stras- 

 bourg by the railway to Paris. Moltheim, is in a wine growing district 

 at the eastern foot of the Vosges. It is a tolerably well-built town 

 situated on the Bruche W. by S. from Strasbourg, and has about 3380 

 inhabitants, who manufacture tools, cutlery and other hardwares, and 

 paper. Afutzig, in a valley near the foot of the Vosges, is a walled 

 town with 3500 inhabitants. Wantdonne, W. of Strasbourg on the 

 Mossig, has manufactures of woollen-yarn, woollen-hose, paper, and 

 leather ; bleach-grounds for linen, and 4300 inhabitants. Ifaguenau, 

 a pretty fortified town on the Moder, was founded by the emperor 

 Frederick Barbarossa, and was one of the imperial cities of Alsace ; 

 iU privileges were abolished after the conquest of Alsace by Louis XIV. 

 In 1675 and 1706 it was besieged by the imperialists : in the second 

 siege they were successful, but the town was retaken by the French 

 soon after. In 1793 the imperialists and Prussians were defeated near 

 the town by the French. Haguenau is surrounded by old walls, 

 strengthened by towers and a ditch. It has manufactures of cotton- 

 yarn and calico ; and of woollen-cloth, cordage, soap, pitch, tiles 

 pottery, and earthenware. There are several oil-mills, gypsum-mills' 



