Ul 



ton 



AI-M: 



in 



w ' ich 



prevailing rock is , , 



andton. The hilly districts of 



O^f, -4 *Mrlw-Tb. pr 

 to some pUoea dip. under layer* of . 



U nafttTaod north-east oun*i.t chiefly of clay-slate ; roofing-slate is 

 fernd aUo. but in layers too thin and irregular to be profitably 

 wurksd. Oood building *" it quamed t several points. In the 

 oath of the department chalk and gypmim abound. The lowland* 

 in the north of the department contain peat, which in dug for 

 fad Tjjt quantity of lime U burnt. Potters' -clay is abundant. 

 A krg MO* ofaoft lignite croaae* the department from north- west to 

 aimltieaet. which U worked for making manure, and for the sulphate 

 of iron, alum, and mineral acid* which it contain*. Bog-iron in found 

 in the north of the department, and a mall quantity of iron in 



Ifonq/ocfiMY*. The department rank* high for iU manufacturing 

 indiutry. In St-Quentiii, and the town* and village* near it, a large 

 proportion of the population U maintained by manufactures. The moit 

 important product* are fine cotton tissues of all kind*, muslin*, fine 

 linen, table and household linen, and caahmere shawl*. St-Quentin 

 ha* Mreral large cotton-mill* driven by *team machinery, and in 

 the Tillage* near it there i* a vast number of handloom weaver* by 

 whom the finest descriptions of goods are made, Hosiery.ootton-twist, 

 woollen cloth, hempen fabric*, soap, glass (mirron at St-Gobain, 

 decanter* and other table-gla** at Folembray, and wine-bottle* at 

 Quincangrogne), leather, carpets, born-comb*, blanket*, nails, mill- 

 castings, pottery, paper, brick*, tile*, oil, chemical product*, &c., are 

 al*o manufactured. A good deal of beer and cider i* drunk in thin 

 department ; the beer of Souaon* U considered the belt The depart- 

 ment poaMwea a large number of beet-root sugar factories, of which 

 89 were at work in 1849 ; we are unable to say whether they are 

 supplied with beet grown in the department or imported. The 

 number of flour-mills driren by water and wind exceeds 1000. An 

 important corn-market i* held in St-Quentin. ' 



The commerce of the department in the various article* named or 

 indicated, in its agricultural produce, which far exceed* the homo 

 consumption, in wool and other raw materials, and in timber and 

 firewood (which are conveyed in large quantities down all the rivers V 

 coals, &c., i* very extensive. 



The total area of the department is 1,817,632 acres, distributed into 

 2,262,992 parcel*, and among 209,256 proprietor*. Of the whole area 

 191 acre* are under the plough; 105,191 acres are laid out in 

 pasture and meadow ; 22,428 acre* in vineyards ; 237,939 acres are 

 covered with forests ; 51,662 acre* con*i*t of orchards, nurseries, and 

 garden* ; 13,038 acres grow osier and willow withes for basket-work ; 

 28,220 acre* are heaths and moors; 11,073 acres are occupied by 

 house*, churches, buildings, and cemeteries ; 29,584 acre* are under 

 miscellaneous crops ; 9,882 acres are covered with the waters of river*, 

 canals, ponds, and marches ; 41,873 acre* consist of road*, streets, and 

 squares ; 21,892 of stunted forest and otherwise barren land. 



/>irioiu md Totcnt. The department is divided into five arrondixse- 

 msoU which, with their respective subdivisions and population, are oa 

 follow : 



Of UM first arrondissrment and of the whole department LAOS 

 i* UM capital. A* t -U : CUlta, 7 miles W.S.W. from Laon, is an 

 anetsnt village, which with the mirrouuding territory was presented 

 by Clovis to 81. Itemi, and after him was held by the bishops of Laon, 

 who had UM title of CounU of Anisy. Ite distinctive name is taken 

 from UM old castle erected by the bishops, and enlarged in 1540 by 

 Cardinal Bourbon, who often entertained here Francis I. The neigh- 

 bourhood is hilly and well wooded, but with marshes in the low 

 ground*: population, 1014. C*a, a town of .'.I. '.I inhabitants, is 

 tasted in a plain 18 mites W. by N. from Laon, partly on the right 

 bank of the Olse and partly on an island in that river, which i* here 

 jomed by UM St-Quentin canal, and 1* navigable. The town is said 

 toUancMM; ite communal charter dates from 1167; the Spaniards 

 took it after a aige of six day* in 1552. It ha* an establishment for 

 - (tas mirrors cast at St-Oobain, several bleach-mill*, and 

 Tbt ehtrf industrial products are some hempen fabric*, 

 hi) si sty, cotton-yarn, and chemical products. There is some 

 tndeaUo in com, cider, oil, wood, and cattle. Cncy, prettily situated 

 on UM tep and at the f<*H of . hill, 13 mils* W. by k from Laon, is 

 > note-worthy for ite numerous historical a-ocUtion. than for it* 

 aofc Is only about 80. The part of the town 

 rt with high walls, which are flanked by 

 by thn* forUasd gate*. Close to the 

 wall an UM ettenriv* ruins of UM old feudal castle of UM 



ttiiuiM hi) 







..... 



oaUMtopofUMhaiisrirt 

 rs MX! pierced b 

 are the sitensJ 



Sires of Coucy, who were barons of France, and maintained a court, 

 royal in all its forms. The castle was blown up by order of Cardinal 

 Mazarin in 1652. The keep, however, and one of the gates still stand 

 nearly perfect This part of the town U called Coucy-le-Chatoau, 

 a name which figures in the civil war* of the houses of Burgundy and 

 Orleans, and in the religious wars of the 16th century. Oao> 

 mile* S.E. from Laon, ha* a population of about 1000. In it* vicinity 

 a severe action was fought between the allies uuder Blticher and the 

 French under Ney and Victor in 1814. The slain on both sides num- 

 bered 9000 men : the French claim the victory. CHcy, on the Serre, a 

 feeder of the Owe, 8 miles N. from Laon, is a market-town, with a 

 population of 2034. It was sacked by the English three times in the 

 wars of the 14th century. Crtpy, 5 miles N.W. from Laon, and famous 

 for the peace concluded here in 1544 between Charles V. and Francis 

 L, is situated in a good wine district, and has 1567 inhabitant*. La- 

 fire, prettily situated in a valley screened by woody hill*, 13 miles 

 N.W. from Laon, and just below the junction of the Serre and the 

 Oise, is a fortress of the fourth class, and has 3911 inhabitants. The 

 town is famous for its school of artillery established in 1719, and for 

 its arsenal, the yards and buildings of which cover a third of the sur- 

 face of the town. About a quarter of a mile from the town on the 

 Laon road i* an extensive artillery exerciung-ground, at one end of 

 which are several batteries and stores, at the other enormous butts, 

 and the whole surrounded by high trees. The artillery-school held 

 in the old citadel, which has been recently repaired, the arsenal 

 buildings, and the barracks for the garrison of 1600 men and 80 

 officers, are the most important structures in the town. La-Fere has 

 saw-mills, steam-foundries, powder-mills, and various other establish- 

 ments connected with the military arsenal. It ha* also some trade in 

 corn, wine, wool, linen, coal, &c. A small garrison commanded by 

 Berthier defended this town against the Prussians, who blockaded it 

 unsuccessfully for six months in 1815. Marie, a small town 13 miles 

 N.N.K. from Laon, has a population of 1843. Seufchdlel, 21 miles 

 K. by S. from Loon, on the righroank of the Aisne, ha* an important 

 corn-market and 800 inhabitants, /buoy, on the left bank of the 

 26 miles N.K. from Laon, ho* a population of 1695. Sutonnr, 14 mile* 

 E. from Loon, near the source of the Souche, is an ancient village with 

 1403 inhabitants. 



Other places deserving of notice are Folemliray, 2 miles N.W. 

 from Coucy, famous formerly for its castle, in which Francis I. and 

 other kings of France occasionally resided, and now important for its 

 glass factory, which employs 900 men, and turns out about eight 

 millions of wine-bottles annually, besides a large number of glass fruit- 

 stands, bell-glasses, and lamp-shades : Sl.-tiobuin, a large village, which 

 is situated ill the middle of the forest of t'oiiej, In miles \V. from 

 Laon, and has a population of 2256 and the most celebrated fnctory 

 for glass mirrors in France; the factory, which is a magn 

 building comprising five vast halls, is worked by'a company, nml the 

 workmen are admitted to share the profits ; the mirrors mode here 

 are stored and polished at Chauny : and Alontcornct, 21 miles N K. 

 from Laon, on the Serre : population 1743. 



In the second arrondissement the chief town is SOISSONS. Braimr, 

 '.' miles K. from Soisaons, on the right bank of the Veslo, ia an 

 ancient village with 1574 inhabitants. Here stood one of the earliest 

 royal residences in France, which was inhabited by L'lothaire I. 

 and several of his successors. The turreted walls of a citadel, 

 built to defend the place in the 13th century, are still almost e 

 The church of St Ived, founded in 1152 by Robert Com 

 brother of Louis le Jeune, and dedicated in 1216, is gre.v 

 for its architecture. Several members of the blood-royal of I 

 interred within ite walls. It was half destroyed in the first French 

 revolution, but has been since restoreiL Oalchy, sometimes nurnamed 

 It Chdteau, from ita old castle, taken three time^ ami linally demo- 

 lished by the English in the l.'.'h oentarr, li situated l- n>.l.-. S. by 

 K. from Soissons, and has a junior ecclesiastical school and 814 

 inhabitant*. Vailly, 9 miles E. by N. from Soissons, is prettily 

 situated in a fertile district on the right bank of the Aisne, and has 

 breweries, tan-yards, and 1594 inhabitants. IVc. on the Aisne, 8_miles 

 W. from Soissons, has lading-wharfs, and a populat i>.n of 7f>i. VilUrt- 

 CoUerett, 14 miles S.\V. from Soissons, owes its origin to an .'Id royal 

 manor-house inhabited by Philip of Valois before his accession to the 

 throne, and in after time* rebuilt and inhabited by Francis I. 

 Charles V. inhabited the chateau before the pea.- . and 



Henry II. anil Kran.-is II. embellished it ; it is now a mendieity house 

 belonging to the department of the Seine. The town .-lands in tin- 

 middle of the forest of Retz, on the great road from Paris 

 it i* ornamented by a handsome fountain, and has oil-mills and 3481 

 inhabitants, who manufacture steel-wore, hosiery, shawl*, horn-combs, 

 turnery, toys, Ac. It has also a good corn-market. 



The third arrondissemcnt is named from its chief town ST.- 

 QCBjrnx. Rohaiu. 11 mil. from 8t.-(jiientin, situated 



on a canal which carries the rain-fall of a largo district into the 

 Scheldt, has 3561 inhabitant*. It stand* in a well-wooded district, 

 and was formerly fortified. The inhabitants of Dohnin aud the sur- 

 rounding villages manufacture cashmere shawl*, robe-pieces of a 

 mixture of silk and wool, and musical clocks. There are ruins of an 

 old castle of the Counts of St-Pol near the town. Le-CateM, 1 1 miles 

 N. from St-Quentin, on the Scheldt : population 612. May, 1 miles 



