SKIN&INFfiRlEURR. 



SEINE-INFERIEURE. 



434 



of Fraao*; in barley, oaU, ryo, maUn, tad in potatoes, the produo 

 fafc short of the . POM, bean, vetohes, lentils, turnips, rape, 

 ooU, hraip. and <Ux are eulusU>d. To* principal oorn district* are 

 ia UM centre of UM department The eastern aide has a greater pro- 

 portion of pasture ; the oultiTation of the oleaginous iced*, rape, cols, 

 S7 iliiiiilnliu -V coast, and the banks of the Seine are altogether 

 UM prodootire than the other part*, although poowwed of much 

 piotunaque beauty. The oorn produce dooa not suffice for the Urge 

 population of the department 



The meadow* and grass-lands occupy about 70.000 acres, and the 

 hirthi and open pastures about 45,000 acre*. The grass-lands are 

 chiefly in the valley, and along the banks of the rivers. The number 

 of aon** it <nrj great ; they are the only animals employed in agri- 

 culture. They are good for draught and other labour. Horned cattle 

 aleo are very numerous, but of inferior breed to thoee of the depart- 

 ments of Calvados and of La M.inche. The number of sheep is consider- 

 able. The natire sheep hare been replaced by mixed breeds, which 

 give a tolerably fine wool But as may be expected the fleece ia of 

 leas consideration with sheep-farmers than the carcass, where the 

 Pflpulafaa is so dense. The sheep-pasture on the downs along the 

 nnesl. especially in the neighbourhood of Dieppe, supply excellent 

 QoaU are not common, but those of Tibet have been tried 

 _jan. Swine and poultry are abundant; the pullets of the 

 1 of Caux and the ducks of Rouen are in high repute. The 

 abounds in salmon, sturgeon, soles, eels, &c. Large flats of 

 barks, between 30 and 90 tons, with crews of from 15 to 30 in number, 

 are employed in the mackerel, oyster, and herring fisheries. 



There are no vineyards in the department, but the quantity of 

 orchard and garden ground is 150,000 acres. The apple and pear are 

 the fruiU chiefly cultivated ; the cider and perry made from these con- 

 stitute the principal drink of the common people. Walnuts are grown 

 in the east of the department 



The woodlands occupy about 170,000 acres. There are few exten- 

 sive woods, but innumerable small plantations round the farm-houses 

 and in the hedge-rows, which serve to supply the wants of the farmer. 

 Turf is the fuel used by many, but pit-coal is largely imported by 

 manufacturers and others. The oak, the beech, and the hornbeam are 

 the trees chiefly grown ; but the ash, the elm, the birch, the fir, the 

 aspen, the maple, the chestnut, the wild cherry, and the lime-tree are 

 also common. 



The department is distinguished for its numerous and valuable 

 industrial product*, comprising all articles of cotton manufactures, 

 broadcloths, flannel-serge, linen, and mixed cloths, lace, watch and 

 dock movement*, pottery, window-glass, bricks, sugar, silks, chemical 

 products, leather, Ac. There are numerous and extensive bleach- 

 works, cotton printing-works, metal-foundries, steam machine-mills, 

 and shipbuilding-yards. Rouen is the great centre of the cotton 

 manufacture, the different processes of which are carried on in exten- 

 sive factories worked by steam-machinery ; hand-loom weaving is also 

 carried on in almost every hamlet and house. The linen of Fdcamp is 

 in high repute. The commerce with the interior of France and with 

 foreign countries is very extensive and important. [RouEN ; HAVRE ; 

 DIEPPE.] 



The department is divided into five arrondissements, as follows : 



1. In the first arrondissement are ROUES. Cavdebec-les-Elbceuf, 

 12 miles S. from Rouen : population, 6000. Darnetat, 2J miles E. from 

 Rouen : population, 6000. [ELBoror.] Barentin, population 2500, 

 and Partlly, population 2700, both N.W. of Rouen, in the Austreberte. 

 Pavilly has manufactures of soft-soap, linen, paper, and cotton-yarn j 

 and the townsmen carry on trade in grain, linen, flax, and cattle and 

 poultry. There are several large villages : as Deville, population 4 1 00 ; 

 Marmma, population 3000; and Malaunay, all on the Cailly; St. 

 Martin rf Vivier and others near Rouen, the inhabitants of which are 

 engaged in the cotton manufacture, of which Rouen ia the centre. 



L In the second arrondissement are DIEPPE ; Eu ; and Triport, a 

 small sea-port, with a tide-harbour, connected by a canal with Eu, 

 from which it is about two miles distant. The town has about 



inhabitants, chiefly engaged in the fisheries and the coasting 

 trade. Vessels of 800 tons can enter Trdport. There are wet docks 

 and baths in the town. Trdport, Eu, and some adjoining hamlets 

 have been recently incorporated, so as to form one town, to be called 

 TrA'port, the total population of which is above 10,000. 



. In the third arrondissement are HAVRH. Bolbec, a well-built 



manufacturing town, 18 miles by railroad N.E. from Havre, is situated 



on the slope and at the foot of a hill above the river Bolbec, and has 



inhabitants, who manufacture cotton and woollen stufls of 



various kinds, and leather, and trade in corn, horses, and cattle. 



klretai, a coast village and bathing-place, situated in a hollow between 

 the cliffs, about 12 miles from Havre, has a handsome church and 

 about 1SOO inhabitants, engaged chiefly in the oyster and herring 

 fisheries. The oysters of Etretat are in high repute; they are brought 

 from the Bay of Cancale, and fed in what is called an oyster-park, 

 cut in the rock, and flooded by a mixture of fresh and salt water. 

 A ruined chapel near the sea is supposed to date from the 8th century. 

 The roadstead of Etretat is deep, well sheltered from all winds that 

 blow from west to north-west through south, and has a good bottom. 

 It has been more than once in contemplation to form a great naval 

 harbour here. Fecamp, situated in a long narrow valley screened by 

 steep cliffs several hundred feet high, at the mouth of the river 

 Fecamp, is a sea-port town, 22 miles N.N.E. frbm Havre, and has 

 10,000 inhabitants. The harbour, formed by jetties, is frequented 

 by fishing-craft, Baltic timber-vessels, and colliers. The principal 

 structure is the handsome church of Notre-Dame, which dates from 

 the 13th century. The town has a tribunal of commerce, a school of 

 hydrography, cotton-mills, sugar-refineries, tan-yards, ship-building 

 yards, &<x Vessels are fitted out for the herring, cod, and mackerel 

 fisheries. There is also an active coasting trade, llarjleur, a small 

 village of about 1700 inhabitants, near the mouth of the Le'zarde, on 

 the right bank of the Seine, was in the middle ages an important 

 harbour and fortress, enriched by industry and commerce. In it* 

 prosperity Harfleur was attacked, and, after a vigorous defence, taken 

 by the English under Henry V. (1415), who expelled the inhabitants 

 and re-peopled the town with English. It was gallantly retaken 

 (1433) by the siiruumidiiig peasantry; taken again by the English in 

 1440; and finally wrested from them about ten years afterwards by 

 Charles VII. of France. The former harbour is now dry, and above a 

 mile of unhealthy marsh separates the town from the Seine; but 

 small boats come up the Le'zarde to the town when the tide is in. 

 There is a. beautiful gothic church, the elegant tower of which is 

 crowned by pinnacles at the angles, and by au octagonal spire con- 

 nected with the pinnacles by flying buttresses. This church was 

 built by the English as a memorial of the victory of Agincourt. 

 Lillebonne, situated at the foot of a hill in a wooded valley watered 

 by the Bolbec, 19 miles E. from Havre, was the Juliobona of the 

 Romans, the chief town of the Caleti. Five Roman roads met here. 

 A great number of Roman antiquities have been found at Lillebonne, 

 and new researches are continually increasing the number ; among 

 the most important are the remains of a theatre, au aqueduct, and 

 several tombs, besides medals, statues, and other antiquities. The 

 dukes of Normandie had a castle here, the ruins of which are worthy 

 of notice from their extent. An old circular tower, probably the 

 keep, is said to have been built by William the Conqueror ; its wall is 

 full 10 feet thick. The town has 5100 inhabitants, who manufacture 

 cotton-yarn, calico, and leather, and trade in cloth, groceries, hard- 

 ware, and cattle. There are two yearly fairs. The valley of the 

 Bolbec, between Lilleboune and the town of Bolbec, is studded with 

 cotton-factories and tan-yards. Montivillieri, in the valley of the 

 Lezarde, 6 miles N.N.E. from Havre, with above 4000 inhabitants, 

 had in the middle ages a wealthy abbey, of which the church remains. 

 The tower is of Norman architecture of the llth century; thereat 

 of the building is of various dates, but handsome as a whole. The 

 town is neat and beautifully situated. There are, besides the above- 

 mentioned church, a Calvmist chapel. The townsmen, who were 

 eminent in the 14th century for the manufacture of woollen cloth, 

 carry on the same manufacture now, and they also make lace, cotton- 

 yarn, leather, and paper. There are linen bleach-grounds and a 

 sugar-refinery. 



4. In the fourth arrondissement are Neufcltdtel, population 3486 in 

 the whole commune, distinguished aa Neufchatel-en-bry, is on the 

 slope of a hill near the right bank of the Bethune, in a hilly and 

 woodland country affording good pasturage, 26 miles N.E. from 

 Rouen, and has tribunals of first instance and of commerce, and manu- 

 factures of woollen cloth, hosiery, leather, beer, aud glass. The town 

 is not well built ; it has an hospital and a prison. It was formerly 

 capital of the district of Bray, and was repeatedly taken by the 

 English or by the contending parties in the civil strifes of France. 

 There was a castle built by Henry I. of England, which gave name 

 to the town. Previously it had been a mere village named Driea 

 Court. Trade is carried on iu flour, butter, and in the little cream- 

 cheeses of the district, called Neufchatel cheeses. Aumdle, popula- 

 tion 1798, on the Brele, 12 miles E. from Neufehatel, on the slope of 

 a hill above the Brole. It is famous for the battle between the 

 forces of the League, under the Duke of Parma, and the army of 

 Henri IV., who was wounded in the action, and had a narrow escape 

 for his life. Forges-les-Eaia:, population 1700, on a hill near the 

 forest of Bray, 12 miles S. by E. from Neufchatel, has mineral springs. 

 Crucible earth of the best kind is found here. Qournay, population 

 3200, 24 miles S.E. from Neufchatel, is situated on the Epte, aud has 

 a tribunal of commerce, a good butter market, and manufactures of 

 linen, leather, porcelain, and glass. It is thought to have originated 

 prior to the settlement of the Normans. During the existence of the 

 duchy of Normandie, it was of importance as a frontier town towards 

 the domains of the French king. It is a email clean well-built town, 

 surrounded with a pleasant boulevard. The church of St-Hildevert 

 was built between the end of the llth and the 13th centuries, and the 



