ARDENNES. 



ARDENNES. 



mountainous district of the Eifel, which extends to the Rhine and 

 contains numerous extinct volcanoes, belong to the same system. 

 The Ardenne, although a high region, cannot be called mountainous ; 

 there are extensive tracts where only very low hills or gentle undu- 

 lations are observed. But in those parts which are traversed by the 

 more considerable rivers, such as the Meuse, the Semoy, the Ourte, 

 the Sure, the Warge, and the Roer, the surface is broken into a 

 multitude of valleys, and extremely deep and often very narrow 

 gorges, with steep, sloping, or precipitous sides, 650 feet high. These 

 great water-courses form, as it were, principal trunks from which a 

 number of secondary valleys branch off, furrowing the whole surface 

 of the neighbouring country. Thus the Ardenne contains both hilly 

 and flat districts ; but these last are lofty table-lands, having the 

 same general elevation above the sea, and being composed of the 

 same materials. 



The prevailing rocks of the Ardenne are clay-slate, grauwacke, 

 conglomerate, quartz, and quartzose sandstones in various modifica- 

 tions of colour and internal structure, with now and then, but very 

 rarely, some thin beds of limestone and calcareous conglomerates. 

 Tkoe rooks are often highly inclined, sometimes vertical, but seldom 

 if ever horizontal The slaty rocks are abundant, and afford in some 

 place* excellent roofing-slates ; there are extensive quarries of these 

 along the banks of the Meuse, and they are carried to great distances 

 from the facility of the river-navigation. Excellent whetstones, both 

 for coarse and fine cutlery, are largely exported. The Ardenne has 

 hitherto proved but poor in metallic substances except iron, mines 

 of which are o* were formerly worked in the western part of the 

 region. The other inetals found are lead, antimony, and manganese. 

 The celebrated mineral waters of Spa issue from the slaty rocks of the 

 Ardeune. 



The country of the Ardenne is in general sterile. There are vast 

 heaths and extensive marshes which can only be approached in the 

 three driest months of the year. These heaths are called Fagnes, and' 

 the most elevated part of the region on the south-east is called Les 

 Hautes Fagnes. There are extensive forests of oak and beech ; more 

 rarely, of alder, ash, and birch. Pines and firs occur but seldom. 

 The people of Belgium, living on the borders of the Ardenne, call 

 the region Neur-Pal, 'black country,' which may perhaps be a transla- 

 tion of the ancient Celtic name. Around the villages some patches of 

 land have been brought into cultivation : the only grains cultivated 

 are rye and dwarf oats. Meadows and regularly cultivated lands 

 occur only in the valleys. The rearing of cattle, sheep, and horses is 

 carried on to a great extent. The mutton is celebrated for its 

 excellence. A great deal of ewe-milk cheese is made. The oxen, 

 sheep, and horses are of a small breed. The hardy and invaluable 

 Ardenne ponies and little horses appear to be indigenous. They were 

 as highly esteemed in ancient times as they are in the present day ; 

 for at the time of the invasion of Gaul by the Romans, the cavalry of 

 the Treviri, in which this particular breed was employed, was 

 esteemed the best in Gaul. 



The north-western part of the Ardenue was, in the middle ages, 

 designated Teoracia or Thicniche, a name still given to a district 

 in the north of Picardy, which now forms the north-east of the 

 department of Aisne. There was also formerly a county named 

 Ardenne, consisting of the territory watered by the Ourte, which joins 

 the Meuse at Liege. A district in the diocese of Liege, bordering 

 upon the diocese of Treves, now forms the archdeaconry of Ardenne. 



ARDENNES, a department of France, bounded N. by the kingdom 

 of Belgium, E. by the department of Meuse, S. by that of Marne, and 

 W. by that of Aisne. It extends from 49 13' to 60 10' N. lat, and 

 from 4 8' to 6 21' E. long. Its greatest length from N. to 8. 

 is 68 miles, from E. to W. 60 miles. But the area is not propor- 

 tionate to these dimensions, for in the length is included a long pro- 

 jection into Belgium, 16 miles long by only 7 miles wide, terminating 

 to the north of Givet ; and a similar spur is included in the breadth, 

 extending eastward up the valley of the Chiers, with a length of 12 

 miles, and an average width of 7 miles. The rest of the surface forms 

 nearly a square 45 miles every way. The area is 2021 '6 square miles. 

 The population, according to the census of 1861, was 331,296, which 

 gives an average of \ttrtfl to the square mile, being 10'84 below the 

 average per square mile for the whole of France. 



Surface and Geology. The department is formed out of Upper 

 Champagne, part of the old district called Thie'rache, and a small 

 portion of French Hainault. It takes its name from the forest of 

 Ardenne, which is described in the previous article, and which crosses 

 its northern part. From the Faucilles Mountains, which connect the 

 plateau of Langres with the Vosges Mountains, and separate the 

 basins of the HaOne and the Meuse, a chain called the Argonne 

 Hills runs up the west bank of the latter river, forming the water- 

 shed between it and the Seine, and entering this department covers a 

 large jxjrtion of the surface between the Meuse and the Aisne. The 

 general direction of these heights in this department is from south- 

 east to north-west; they resemble the Ardenne region, with wliieh 

 they unite below Me'zieres in surface and in produce, yielding chiefly 

 timber and pasture. 



The portion of the department which to the north of Fumay 

 project* into Belgium, consists chiefly of compact limestone, in which 

 are found ome veins of lead and iron-ore. To the south of this a 



district which includes Fumay and Rocroy crosses the department 

 from east to west, and consists chiefly of slate ; flint, quartz, 

 granite, limestone, and pudding-stone occur, but no metala. The 

 south-western portion of the department belongs to the great chalk 

 formation of Aisne and Marne, the chalk deposit being ordinarily 100 

 feet thick. Between the chalk and the clay-slate districts extends the 

 region of fossih'ferous rocks, of which the Argonne Hills are chiefly 

 composed. In this part good building-stone and abundant deposits 

 of iron-ore are found. In the south of the department the surface 

 consists partly of high plains, which are bare of trees. The north of 

 the department is hilly; the hills are separated by abrupt gorges 

 with precipitous sides. This district is covered with woods, or with 

 heath and rough pasture. The heaths are for the most part unculti- 

 vated ; where there is any attempt at .tillage a part of the surface is 

 burnt for manure. In the centre are large plains and valleys of 

 considerable fertility. 



Riter. The chief rivers of the department are the Meuse and the 

 Aisne. The Meuse enters, the department on the eastern side from 

 the department of Meuse, and flowing past Sedan and Me'zieres, below 

 which it turns to the northward, and traversing the northern projection 

 of the department enters the Belgian territory below the fortress of 

 Givet. The river has hi this department a very winding channel, 

 especially in the region of the Ardenne, through which it has worn 

 for itself a deep narrow bed in the slate rocks, which rise in many places 

 vertically from the water's edge to a height of 130 feet. The Meuse is 

 an important water-way in France and Belgium ; it is navigable for 

 barges from Verdun about 40 miles above its entrance into the depart- 

 ment of Ardennes. The chief articles of transport on this river are 

 slates, iron, coal, timber, limestone, and corn. [MEUSE.] The Aisne 

 enters the department on the south from the department of Marue, 

 and runs north-west past Vouziere nearly to the centre of the 

 department, whence it sweeps round to the westward, passing Rethel 

 and Chateau-Porcien, on its way to the department of Aisne, and 

 to its junction with the Oiae. [AisxE.] The Aisne has been recently 

 rendered navigable above Chateau-Porcien, for about 13 miles to the 

 neighbourhood of Attigny, whence by the canal of the Ardennes and 

 the canalisation of the river Bar, a water-way has been opened between 

 the Aisne and the Meuse. 



The feeders of the Meuse in this department on the right bank are 

 1, the Chien, which rises in the duchy of Luxembourg, and after 

 a western course of about 5 miles enters France, traversing the north 

 of the departments of Moselle and Meuse, in which it passes the towns 

 of Longwy and Moutme'dy, and entering the east df .the department 

 of Ardennes, joins the Meuse above Sedan after a course of 64 miles : 

 2, and the Semoy or Semoi, which, rising in Belgian Luxembourg 

 near Arlon, runs westward in a very winding channel past Bouillon, and 

 entering this department joins the Meuse in the slate district about 

 midway between Charleville and Fumay. A great deal of timl>er in 

 rafts is floated down the Semois in winter from the forests of Aruenne. 

 On the left bank the Meuse receives iu this department the Bar, 

 which rises in the Argonne district a little west of the village of 

 Buzancy, and runs northward into the Meuse, near Donchery, after 

 a course of about 20 miles, 15 of which are navigable : and the Venco 

 and the Sermonue, small streams which enter the Meuse near M&ifaea 

 anil C'harleville respectively. 



The feeders of the Aisne in this department are the Retourne on 

 the left bank, nnd the Aire and the Vaux on the right. The Aire 

 rises near the village of St.-Aubin in the department of Meuso, a little 

 to the left of the high road from Paris to Strasbourg, and runs north- 

 ward along the western base of the Argonne Hills, past Clermont-en- 

 Argonne and Varennes. Below Varennes it enters the department of 

 ArdeLnes, in which it runs a few miles westward and joins the Aisne after 

 a course of about 50 miles, no part of which distance is navigable. The 

 Vaux and the Retourue are small streams the former flowing south- 

 ward from the forest of Ardenne into the Aisne above Chateau- 

 Porcien ; the latter westward, through the chalk district into the 

 same river below Neufchatel, just within the department of Aisne. 

 The Ton and the Serre, feeders of the Oi'se, rise in the north-west of 

 the department. 



Communications, The department is traversed by six national, 

 four departmental, and several parish roads, affording a total roadway 

 accommodation of about 365 miles. As yet no railway traverses the 

 department ; the Sambre-and-Meuse, a Belgian line not yet completed, 

 will connect Givet with Charlcroi ; and a northward branch from 

 the Paris-Strasbourg line will terminate at Rheims, within 9 miles of 

 the south-western angle of the department. 



Soil and Produce. The forests of the department are a source of 

 considerable wealth : the most common trees are oak, beech, elm, 

 maple, ash, and birch. There are extensive downs which yield 

 excellent pasture, especially in the chalk district. The only good 

 arable land is in the valleys of the centre of the department, and 

 especially in the valley of the Aisne, which is one of the best corn- 

 growing districts in France, and also produces some good wine. Great 

 ii'imlu'rs of horses are bred, which are serviceable for the army as 

 well as for the farm. Sheep are numerous, and noted for the sweet- 

 ness of their flesh and the fineness of their wool. 



The temperature is subject to rude variations. The winter is rainy 

 and cold, lasting ordinarily from November to May. The heat in 



