225 



ALLIER. 



ALLIER. 



220 



is of variable width ; in some places broad enough to be called a plain, 

 in others narrowed by the approach of spurs from either chain. This 

 valley is a prolongation of the beautiful district of Limagne in the 

 department of Puy-de-D6me, but is inferior to it in scenery. In the 

 extreme west of the department, which belongs to the basin of the 

 Cher, the surface is covered with hills, which form j>art of the water- 

 shed between the Cher and the Creuse and are a continuation of the 

 high-lands of the department of Creuse. 



Hydrography and Communications. The east of the department 

 is drained directly by the Loire, which has been made navigable in 

 this part of its course by means of a lateral canal. The Loire receives 

 on its left bank, in this department, the Odde, a small stream which 

 rises in a marsh near Le-Donjon ; the Bebre, which has its source in 

 the department of Loire, but the greater part of its course in this 

 department, in which it passes La-PaUsse and Jaligny ; and the Acolin, 

 which flows northward past Chevagnes and joins the Loire below 

 Decize in the department of Nievre. The Bebre is the largest of 

 these streams ; its whole length is about 50 miles, but no part of it 

 is navigable. 



The A llier gives name to this department, of which it drains the 

 central districts. This river, the ancient Elarer, rises in the Marge'ride 

 Mountains, in the department of Lozere, a few miles N.E. of the 

 town of Mende. Its course at first is eastward for a short distance, 

 and then it turns to the north by west in which direction it traverses 

 the department of Haute-Loire. In the department of Puy-de-D6me 

 it makes a bend to the N.E., and just before leaving this department 

 it becomes navigable below its junction with the Dore. Entering 

 the deportment to which it gives name, the Allier flows north by 

 west as far as the town of Moulins, whence it runs to the N.W., 

 and forms a part of the northern boundary. Thence its course is 

 nearly due north for about 25 miles between the departments of 

 Cher and Nievre, to its junction with the Loire at the extremity of a 

 narrow tongue of land called Bec-d'Allier, a few miles N.W. of the 

 town of Nevers. The entire length of the Allier is about 220 miles, 

 79 of which are navigable for boats, and for 88 miles higher up the 

 stream is made available for the floatage of timber in rafts. The 

 navigation is principally down the stream owing to the rapidity of 

 its fall, which exceeds 13 feet per mile. The heavily-laden boats that 

 descend the river convey coal, wine, glass-bottles, hemp, timber, staves, 

 fire-wood, charcoal, and stone to Paris, or elsewhere, and are then 

 broken up. The Allier, which in summer is fordable in many places 

 and too shallow to be navigable, is subject to great swells during 

 winter or in heavy rains. Ordinary floods add 64 feet to the depth ; 

 but the highest water-marks are more than 16 feet above the ordinary 

 level of the river. 



The most important feeders of the Allier are the Doro before 

 mentioned and the Sioule, which last joins it on the left bank and in 

 this department. The Sioule rises at the foot of Mont-Dor in the 

 department of Puy-de-D6me, and enters the Allier below St.-Pourcain, 

 after a very picturesque course in a general N.N.E. direction of 

 32 miles. The Andelot, a small stream which passes Gannat, flows 

 into the Allier a few miles above the mouth of the Sioule. The 

 Queusne, another small stream, has its whole course in this depart- 

 ment and enters the Allier a couple of miles below Moulins. The 

 Cher, which is flanked by the Berry Canal, traverses the west of the 

 department, and forms part of the north-western boundary, where it 

 receives the Ainance. Several small feeders of the Cher rise in the 

 extreme north-west of this department. The department contains 

 many ponds which, as well as the rivers, abound in fish. 



The lateral canal of the Loire runs along the left bank of that river 

 from Digoin in this department to Briare in that of Loiret. Opposite 

 Digoin the Canal du Centre enters the Loire, and connects the depart- 

 ment of Allier with the navigation of the Saone and Rhdne ; while, by 

 the Loire and the Canal du Loing, which joins the Loire at Briare, 

 the department is connected with Orleans, N antes, and the navigation 

 of the Seine. 



Common highway accommodation is afforded by nine state and seven 

 departmental roads. As yet no public railway touches this depart- 

 ment, nor approaches it on the north nearer than Nevers, where the 

 Orleans-Bourges line for the present terminates, 30 miles north from 

 Moulins ; on the south, the St.-Etienne railway runs down the valley 

 of the Loire to Roanne in the department of Loire, which is within 

 1 4 miles of the point where the Bebre enters the department of Allier. 



Climate, Soil, Produce, Ac. The climate is healthy except in the 

 neighbourhood of ponds and stagnant pools, which are numerous in 

 some of the more level districts of the department. The extremes of 

 heat and cold in summer and winter are respectively indicated by 99J 

 and the zero point of Fahrenheit's thermometer. The variations from 

 heat to cold in the same day are often sudden and very rude ; this is 

 owing to the propinquity of the mountains of Auvergne and Forez. 

 The south and south-west winds, which prevail in spring, are very 

 cold, having parted with their caloric in passing over the mountains ; 

 snow and rain are then not unfrequent. The weather in autumn 

 is in general very delightful. On the low-lands of the department 

 snow seldom lies; but on the hills and in unsheltered spots it 

 titly falls deep and lies long. 



Tlic noil on the hills consists of a thin layer of decomposed clay ; in 

 the valleys of a deep clayey loam, or in some places of alluvial deposits. 



OKOO. DIV. VOL. I. 



It is in general fertile, but unequally so. The river valleys and low 

 sheltered lands are the most fertile, and here the crops are earlier ; 

 on the uplands, which are more exposed, harvests are later and much 

 more uncertain. The best lands are in the valleys of the Allier, the 

 Sioule, and the Bebre. The principal products of these districts are 

 wheat, oats, barley, hay, pulse, rye, white and red wines. In the west 

 of the department the soil is sandy or gravelly, and in general much 

 inferior; it yields however good crops of rye, fruits, potatoes, 

 oleaginous seeds, and white wine. In the hill country, notwithstand- 

 ing the inferiority of the soil and the greater severity of the climate, 

 the population seems to be better-to-do than in the plains ; tillage is 

 better understood, houses are better built, and the fields are inclosed 

 by quickset hedges, whilst in a large portion of the department the 

 fields are inclosed by dead wood, which gives a dismal aspect to the 

 country. Bread made of barley in some districts, and of rye in others, 

 is the common food of the labouring population. 



Although the state of agriculture in the department is in several 

 respects very backward the produce exceeds the consumption. The 

 corn surplus is chiefly in oats and rye. Flax, hemp, pulse, and fruits 

 also are exported. The neighboxirhood of Souvigny is famous for its 

 pears. There is a good deal of rich pasture-land in the department, 

 on which a large number of cattle and sheep are fattened. The breadth 

 of meadow-land is very considerable. About a seventh part of the 

 whole surface is covered with forests, containing beech, oak, maple, 

 birch, and fir. The mulberry-tree is cultivated to some extent for the 

 production of silk. The domestic animals are of good breed ; the 

 horses are especially prized for hardiness and strength. Wolves, foxes, 

 and badgers are common. Game is abundant. 



The mineral wealth of the department consists of iron, antimony, 

 manganese, coal, gray marble, granite, gneiss, red and white sand- 

 stone, grinding-stone, potters' -clay, kaolin, crucible earth, gypsum, 

 limestone, &c. The coal-mines of Commentry are the most important. 

 Bourbon-l'Archambault, Nc"ris, and Vichy, are famous for their mineral 

 pnngp, 



There are 104 iron-foundries, forges, and blast-furnaces in the 

 department, supplied with steam-engines, rolling machinery, and all 

 appliances for turning out iron of every description ; 370 factories 

 and workshops of different kinds ; and 652 wind- and water-mills. 

 The iron-foundries of Commentry and Tron9ais, in the arrondissemeut 

 of MontU^on, are the most important. There are paper-mills at 

 Gusset, glass-works at Souvigny, and linen manufactures in Montluyon. 

 Moulins is famous for its cutlery, and Lurcy-L<5vy for porcelain and 

 earthenware. Other industrial products are counterpanes, some 

 broadcloth and linen, leather, some beet-root sugar, nut-oil, and 

 chemical products. Numerous fairs are held in the department, 

 chiefly for the sale of cattle and other stock. 



The department contains a total area of 1,806,005 acres, divided 

 into 2,759,992 parcels. Of this area 1,155,541 acres are arable land; 

 .72,364 are grass and meadow-land; 44,420 acres are under vines; 

 157,727 acres arc covered with forests ; 12,494 are planted with fruit- 

 trees of different kinds ; 1281 with alders and osier and willow withes ; 

 14,751 acres are under ponds and marshes; 70,957 acres consist of 

 heaths and moors ; 7591 are covered with houses and buildings ; 539 

 are laid out in various culture ; 54,277 acres are covered with roads ; 

 17,267 with rivers and running streams ; 79,702 acres consist of 

 stunted forest and otherwise unproductive land ; and 150 acres are 

 occupied with churches, public buildings, and cemeteries. 



<ioni and Tovtw. The department is divided into four arron- 

 dissementa, which with their subdivisions and population are as 

 follows : 



The first arrondissement is named from its chief town, Moulins, 

 which is described in a separate article [MOULINS]. Bourbon-l'Archam- 

 bault, formerly capital of the Bourbonnafs, is an ancieut town situ- 

 ated in an open plain, on a little stream called Burges, 14 miles 

 W. by N. from Moulins : population, 2975. Pepin besieged Bourbon 

 A.D. 759 and is said to have given the town and its territory to one 

 of his relations, from whom the House of Bourbon is descended. 

 However this may be, the early ancestors of that house resided here ; 

 and as many of them were named Archambault, this became the dis- 

 tinctive epithet of the town. Of the old castle of the Sires de Bourbon, 

 three towers out of twenty-four which originally crowned the fortress 

 are still entire ; but the Sainte-Chapelle, a beautiful decorated structure, 

 erected within its precincts by Anne, Regent of France, in the 15th 

 century, has entirely disappeared. The town is well built, and is 

 surrounded by three suburbs, built on as many hills. It has been 

 always famous for its hot mineral springs, which boil up into a 

 reservoir in the centre of the Place des-Capucins. The water is thence 

 conveyed in pipes to the bathing establishment and to the hospital 



Q 



