609 



SOMME. 



SONG ARIA. 



eio 



for the most part of a sandy clay resting upon chalk nevertheless a 

 great weight of corn is raised. Of the whole area, about 1,500,000 

 acres, four-fifths are under the plough. The principal crops are 

 wheat, rye, and mixed grain. Barley and buckwheat are also grown ; 

 but oats and potatoes are comparatively little cultivated. A great 

 quantity of corn is exported to the departments of Seine-Infe'rieure, 

 Seine, and Nord. The meadows do not exceed 40,000 acres, nor do 

 the open pasture-grounds much exceed 20,000 acres; yet horses, cows, 

 and sheep are numerous. Poultry is very abundant and good. Pulse, 

 seeds for oil, hops, hemp, and flax are grown. There are no vineyards, 

 but the orchards and gardens are numerous and extensive. The apple 

 is the fruit chiefly cultivated, and a considerable quantity of cider is 

 made; it forms, with beer, the ordinary drink of the inhabitants. 

 Game abounds, and sea fish and fresh-water fish ore plentiful. The 

 woodlands amount to about 138,000 acres. 



The climate resembles that of the south of England, but is rather 

 colder in winter. Among the minerals are building- and limestone, 

 gypsum, potters' -clay, and coal, which is found near Doullens. 



The manufactures comprise woollen-cloths, cotton fabrics, silks, 

 linens, Cashmere shawls, chintzes, muslins, carpets, hosiery, glass, 

 hardware, paper, leather, seed-oil, soap, pottery, and chemical pro- 

 ducts. The department has numerous bleach-works, cotton-factories, 

 beet-root sugar-mills, dye-houses, and oil- and tan-mills. Steam- 

 machinery is used in all the chief industrial establishments, especially 

 in the neighbourhood of Amiens. 



The department is divided into five arrondissements, which, with 

 their subdivisions and population, are as follows : 



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

 chief town ii AMIENS. A irainet, on the high road from Abbeville to 

 Beauvai*, and near the railway from Amiens to Abbeville, has a great 

 number of oil- and corn-mills driven by three small streams that meet 

 in the town, and 2200 inhabitants, who manufacture woollen-cloth, 

 soap, and leather. Corbie, on the Somme, 10 miles E. by railway from 

 Amiens, has gome woollen manufactures and tan-mills, and about 2SOO 

 inhabitant*, fic'/uigny, a small place of about 1500 inhabitants, on 

 the left bank of the Somme, 9 miles from Amiens by railway, has 

 some historical note. Here Ouillaume, Longue-Epee, duke of Nor- 

 mandy, was assassinated in 942. Louis XI. had an interview with 

 Edward IV. of England iu 1475 on the bridge that spans the Somme, 

 opposite Picquigny. Pair, a small well-built town, situated in a valley 

 17 miles W. from Amiens, midway between Beauvais and Abbeville, 

 on the high-road from Boulogne to Paris, has a Urge tile-yard, a church 

 which dates from the 12th century, and about 1100 inhabitants. A 

 little east of P..ix. on the Celle, is Conly, or Conti, formerly the 

 capital of a principality, which gave title to one of the branches of 

 the house: of Bourbon. VUUri-Bretonneux, a few miles S. from 

 Corbie, has about 3200 inhabitants, who are engaged chiefly in the 

 woollen manufactures. 



2. In the second arrondissement the chief town, Dovllent, situated 

 on the left bank of the Authie, 19 miles N. from Amiens, is defended 

 by a double citadel, formed by two forts or citadels communicating 

 with each other. It has a tribunal of first instance, public offices, a 

 theatre, two hospitals, and 4254 inhabitants. Trade is carried on in 

 coarse linen, corn, oil, hemp, flax, and cattle. 



3. In the third arrondissement the chief town is Montdidier, a 

 wretched ill-built place with 3798 inhabitants, 22 miles S.E. from 

 Amiens. Montdidier is situated on a hill on the right bank of the 

 Dam, a feeder of the Avre ; it is an old town, with some remains of 

 the fortifications which formerly defended it. It has tribunals of first 

 instance and of commerce, a college, and an agricultural society. 

 Cotton-yarn, cotton-hose, and leather are manufactured ; and trade is 

 carried on in grain, pulse, cattle, poultry, peat, and coals, ltareu.il, a 

 well-built little town of 2200 inhabitants, is situated on the right bank 

 of the Avre, 12 miles by railway S.S.E. from Amiens. Jtoyt, built on 

 the slope of a hill on the right bank of the Avre, 10 miles N.E. from 

 Hontdidier, has narrow streets and ill-built houses. The town-hall, a 

 gothic building, is in the public square, which is large. The church 

 of St-Pierre is lighted through stained glass windows, representing 

 the coronations of Clovis, Charlemagne, and St Louis. There are 

 manufactures of cotton-yarn, cotton and woollen stufb, stockings, to., 

 and considerable trade is carried on in corn and flour for the supply 

 of Paris. Roye was a place of strength in former times, and was 

 repeatedly besieged 



4. In the fourth arrondissement the chief town is Pcronne, which 

 is situated on a hill above the right bank of the Somme, 30 miles E. 

 from Amiens ; and has a tribunal of first instance, a college, and 4142 

 inhabitants in the commune. PeYonne wag a place of importance in 



OEOO. oiv. VOL. iv. 



the middle ages. Charles le Simple died here iu captivity in 929. 

 It was the scene of the interview (1468) between Louis XI. and 

 Charles, duke of Bourgogne, described by Sir Walter Scott in 'Quentin 

 Durward.' In 1536 it was besieged by Henri of Nassau, one of the 

 officers of the emperor Charles V., but without success. It is still 

 fortified by a brick rampart and a strong castle. The town has two 

 suburbs ; the houses are tolerably well built, and there are two 

 churches, a nunnery, an hospital, and a theatre. Calico, dimity, 

 muslin, lawn, and other cottons and linens are manufactured ; also 

 leather, seed-oil, and beet-root sugar. Albert, a station on the Great 

 Northern of France railway, 15 miles N.W. from P5ronne : population 

 about 3000, who manufacture woollen-cloth, cotton stuffs, linen, 

 leather, and paper. Bray, population 1500, on the Somme, afforded 

 shelter to Philippe of Valois after the battle of Cre'cy. Ham, 13 miles 

 S.E. from Pdronne, is situated in a marshy plain near the left bank of 

 the Somme, and was in the middle ages a place of strength. It is 

 surrounded by the ruins of its ancient fortifications, and has a castle, 

 used as a state prison, and memorable as the place of confinement of 

 the ministers of Charles X. and of Prince Charles Louis Napoleon 

 Bonaparte, now emperor of the French, who for his attempt at revo- 

 lution in Boulogne, underwent here part of his sentence to perpetual 

 imprisonment from October 6, 1840, to May 26, 1846, when he effected 

 his escape disguised aa a workman. There are three parish churches 

 and an hospital. The townsmen manufacture blankets and cotton goods, 

 sabots, beet-root sugar, and oil. Population 2500. 



5. In the fifth arrondisEement the chief town is ABBEVILLE. Cayeux 

 is a fishing village with about 2800 inhabitants, on the coast between 

 the Somme and the Bresle. Above it is a lighthouse, which marks the 

 entrance of the Somme. Cre'cy, a village of about 1700 inhabitants, 

 8 miles N. from Abbeville, was the scene of the memorable battle in 

 which Edward III. defeated the French, August 26, 1346. Sue, on 

 the little river Male, near the coast between the Somme and the 

 Authie, is celebrated for its chapel dedicated to the Holy Ghost, which 

 is beautifully adorned with sculptures and stone tracery. Among the 

 statues are those of Isabel of Portugal, Philippe, duke of Bourgogne, 

 Louis XL, Louis XIL, and Cardiual Bertram!!, in whose time the 

 chapel was famous for its miraculous crucifix. Population above 2000. 

 Hue was once a sea-port. St.- Valery is at the mouth of the Somme, 

 on the southern bank of the river, which forms the harbour. It is 

 built on the side of a hill, and has large warehouses, rope-walks, ship- 

 building yards, and 3350 inhabitants. The harbour is capable of 

 receiving ships of 300 tons. The tide rises about 12 feet. Consider- 

 able trade is carried on in sail- and packing cloth, cordage, glass, wine, 

 and brandy. Vessels are fitted out for the fisheries and the coasting 

 trade. Steamers ply between St.- Valery and London. St. -Valery has 

 a theatre, an hospital, and a school of hydrography. St.-Riqv.ier, 

 anciently called Centule, took its present name from St Riquier, a 

 native of the town, who founded here, iu the 7th century, one of the 

 most celebrated Benedictine abbeys in France. The church of the 

 abbey still remains, and is the finest ecclesiastical building in the 

 department after the cathedral of Amiens ; there is also an hospital. 

 Population 1600. 



The department constitutes the diocese of Amiens. It is in the 

 jurisdiction of the High Court of Amiens, and within the limits of 

 the University-Academy of Douai. There are colleges in Amiens, 

 Abbeville, and Pe'ronnc ; an academy of sciences and a diocesan semi- 

 nary in Amiens ; and a preparatory ecclesiastical seminary at St.- 

 Riquier. The Calvinista have a consistorial church at Amiens. The 

 department belongs to the 3rd Military Division, of which Lille U 

 head-quarters; and returns five members to the Legislative Chamber 

 of the French empire. 



SOMMERDA. [ERFUBT.] 



SOMMIERES. [GARD.] 



SOMOROSTRO. [BASQUE PROVINCES.] 



SONDENBURG. [ALSEM.] 



SONDRIO. [VALTELI.INA.] 



SONGA'KIA is the name of a country in Asia, which constitutes 

 the north-western portion of the Chinese empire. The name is 

 derived from the Songares, one of the great divisions of the Kalmucks, 

 or Oloth, who had taken possession of this country, and erected a 

 powerful empire, which was destroyed by the Chinese after the middle 

 of the 18th century. Songaria lies between 42 and 49 N. lat., and 

 extends from 76 to 95 E. long. In length it extends upwards of 

 900 miles ; but the width varies so much that on an average it pro- 

 bably does not much exceed 300 miles. This gives an area of 270,000 

 square miles. 



Songaria occupies a very remarkable position on the globe. It 

 forms the most northern portion of an isthmus, which separates the 

 two largest deserts on the surface of the globe, with the exception of 

 the Sahara in Africa. On the east of this isthmus is the Gobi, which, 

 according to a rough estimate, has a surface exceeding 1,200,000 

 square miles. [GOBI.] On the west of the isthmus extends the low 

 desert system that spreads out round the Caspian Sea on the north 

 and east, and is even larger than the Gobi, covering an area of nearly 

 1,300,000 square miles. In this estimate the Descht Kowar, between 

 the Caspian and the lower course of the Oxus, is considered as the 

 most southern, and the Earabinza Steppe in Siberia, between the 

 rivers Irtish and Obi, as the most northern portion ; and it is assumed 



2 R 



