FRANCE. 



FRANCE. 



turn of France are important in value and superior in quality. They 

 are not confined to two or three great centre* of production, but are 

 spread orer the whole empire. The principal seat* of the woollen 

 manufacture are Iletx, Mouti. r<, Nanoy, nn.l Muhlhausen in the cut ; 

 IVrauvais, Elbooaf, Louvier*, Vire, Abbeville, and Sedan in the north ; 

 in the tooth at Dijnn, Vienne, Clermont. Lavelanet, Carcassonne, 

 Lodeve, Castro*, Beoarieux, Moutauban, Limoges, Ac. ; and in the 

 centre at Tours, ChAtenuroux, Romorantin, and Chateaurenard : light 

 woollen fabrics at Parii, Reims, Amiens, aud Beauvais ; hosiery at 

 Pan*, Troyea, Orleann, aud at different place* in Picnrdie, in the north 

 of France ; and in the south at Mime*, Lyon, and Maraeille : carpeta 

 at Paria (La Savnnnerie and Lea Gobelins), Abbeville, Beanvais ; and 

 at Aubnaaon and Felletin in central France : caahmere shawl* are 

 made at Paris, Lyon, NImes, and St.-Quentin. 



The cotton manufacture is utill more important, and since the intro- 

 duction of t team-machinery it has increased and extended very rnpidly. 

 The north and east of France are the chief seat* of this manufacture. 

 Rouen may be considered the Manchester of France; and Paris, 

 Amiens, Troyea, St.-Quentin, and the town* of the department of the 

 Nord, also participate largely in this manufacture. The cotton 

 manufactures are established alto in Lyon, Tarare, Xinieo, Montpellier, 

 and many other towns in the south. Printed calicoes are made at 

 Rouen and Beauvais ; nnd at Colmar, Muhlhausen, and other 

 places in the department of Haut-Rhin, the printed cottons of which 

 are much approved. 



French .-ilks surpass those of any other country for pure brilliancy 

 of colour and the exquisite taste of the patterns. The silk manu- 

 facture U carried on chiefly iu the south. Lyou is it* principal seat, 

 The other chief seats of the silk manufacture are NImes, Avignon, 

 Annonay, and Tours. Ribands are made at St-tienne and St- 

 Chamond, towns to the south-went of Lyon. A part of the raw silk 

 required for these various fabrics is grown in France. The white 

 mulberry-tree, as before stated, is most extensively cultivated for the 

 rearing of silkworms. 



Linens of the finer port are made in Flanders, at St-Quentin, Cambrai, 

 Valenciennes, Douai, Ac. : the damask linens of St-Quentin rival those 

 of Saxony and Silesia. Coarser linens and rail-cloth are made in 

 BreUgne and vnriou* other district". The liurn manufacture is also 

 carried on in Dauphinl. Lace is made at Caen, Alcncon, and liayeux , in 

 Normandie; also at Valenciennes, Douai, and several other places. 



The working of metals, especially iron, has much incr.ased >f late 

 years, owing to the introduction of steam-machinery and railroads. 

 The quality aud appearance of the steel and wrouglit-iron goods have 

 much improved, yet the quality of the French iron is inferior. The 

 principal iron-works are in the departments of the valley of the Loire, 

 especially about Never*, and the district of Forez about 8t-Etiennc. 

 The introduction of railways has originated many steam-engine 

 factories. In the manufacture of jewellery, marquetry, bronze orna- 

 mental work, and furniture, the French are almost unrivalled. 



In the manufacture of clocks and watches France is eminent ; for 

 chronometers and instruments for scientific purposes it is not surpaeoed 

 by any country. The inventions of the French chemists and the 

 improvement of chemical science have done much in producing with 

 economy and expedition the many chemical agents employed in the 

 various branches of manufacture, aud particularly dyeing. 



Among other branches of industrial occupation must be mentioned 

 the manufacture of buttons ; embroidery ; hats (at Paris, Lyon, Bor- 

 deaux, and Marseille) ; cutlery (at Langres, Thiers, Chatellerault, and 

 line); glass manufactures of all kinds; gloves; dressed skins 

 used in manufactories of various kinds to the value of above 1 2,000,000t 

 sterling a year; musical instrument*; essential oils ; household furni- 

 ture ; wearing apparel ; hardware, Ac, 



The commoner sort of French earthenware improve* in beauty of 

 design. Fine porcelain is made at Sevres, Paris, and Limoges. The 

 cut-glass is nearly equal to that of Kngland in beauty of workmanship, 

 and it is perhaps superior in elegance of form. 



Sugar from beet-root is a most important manufacture in France. 



It oririn.ited in the necessity of finding a substitute f..i l.mial sugar, 



which won prevented from entering Fmuce l.y the vL-ilanee ,,f the 

 Englinh cruixcrs during the last war. In 18S2 then- were :i'J9 beet- 

 root-ragar factories (26 more than in 1851) in operation ; ami the 

 quantity of -t-gar turned out of all these establishment* amoni 

 75.W9.15S kilogrammes, or 1,483,561 cwts. 



The commercial transactions of France, ns we have before seen, are 

 of a most extensive character. The countries from which the iuitwrt* 

 ihieflj come an the United States of America, Sardinia, Belgium, 

 th United Kingdom, Switrerland, Austria, lirilidi India, Germany, 

 Spain, and Russia. The imports from England coiiKiat of linens and 

 linen yarn; cotton goods and cotton yarn; wool, woollen yarn, and 

 woollen goods; brass and coj.per good* ; iron, steel, and hardwares; 

 coals, ciilm, and cinders ; tin, t in-pUt.-. nnd tin wares ; machinery and 

 mill-work ; lend, Ac. 



The chief article* of the general import* are raw *ilk, wool, hemp, 

 flax, cotton, hardware*, iron and steel, lead, copper, tin, gold, silver, 

 tobacco In leaf, sugar, coffee. Among the miscellaneous import* are- 

 raw bide*, tallow, bones and home, olive-oil, hard woods for cabinet- 

 w*re, cheese, sulphur, wax, Ac. 



The exports to the French colonies are not so great a* those to the 



UniUd Staton, to the British dominions, and to some other of the 

 Kuropcsn states. 



The leading export* are wine, brandy, liqueara, salt, linen, hempen 

 cloth, woollens, silks, cottons, besides hats, jewellery, and h<m 

 furniture. The value* of the leading import* and export* have been 

 given above. 



The total number of ships into and out of all the ports of France, 

 including those engaged in the foreign, the coasting trade, and the 

 fisheries, in 1862 was 240,778, measuring 11,734,325 tons, and 

 carrying 1,241,254 men. 



The principal Ma-port* of France on the Atlantic arc Bayonne, 

 Bordeaux, Nantes, Rochefort, La-Rochelle, Loricnt, Brest, Clu-i 

 Havre, Rouen, Dieppe, Boulogne, Calais, Dunkerque ; on the Medi- 

 terranean Marseille, Cctte, and Toulon. 



The cod and whale fisheries of France have been increasing for 

 many years past. 



I'vmntHiiicnlinnt. The means of internal communication in France 

 are, as in other neighbouring countries, roads, canals, and railways. The 

 roads are divisible into those maintained by the central government, 

 and designated Royal, National, or State roads, and those which are 

 kept up at the cost of the several departments to which they belong, 

 and designated Departmental roads. Beside* these there are communal 

 and bye-roads. The state or high-roads are divided into three clauex. 

 Those of the first class are from 43 to 05 feet wide, aixl i'n ,.< 

 planted on each side with chestnut or other large trees, forming long 

 avenues. About one-eighth of all the*-: roads are paved like a 

 but in the reign of Louis Philippe the system of Macadam was usually 

 adopted in making repairs. Those of the firxt class have a common 

 point of departure, and the distances ore measured from the cathedral 

 of Notre-Dame in Paris. There are altogether 28 of these state roads 

 with a total length of somewhat more than 22,700 miles. Diligence.! 

 ran with passengers on the great roads before the introduction of rail- 

 ways. There are no tolls. The total length of roadway afforded by 

 the state and departmental roads is 44,400 miles. 



The inland water communication ia carried on by means of the. 

 great rivers and by the canals which have been formed. The SchcUlo 

 or Kscaut, the Scarpe, the Sambre, and the Aa, with the canal of 

 Deule, 41 miles long, and several other canals, abundantly supply the 

 department of Nord with the means of water commuication. Tho 

 canal of the Soinmc and the canal of St-Quentin connect the port of 

 St-Valery, at the mouth of the Somine, with the Escaut and the 

 Oise. The navigation of the Seine commences at Troyes ; that of the 

 Aube at Arcis-sur-Aube ; that of the Voune at Auxerre ; that of the 

 Mnrne at St-Dizier ; that of the Oise at Chauny ; that of the Aisnv, 

 a feeder of the Oise, at Ncufchatel, between Hethel and Seasons ; 

 and that of the Eure at Pacy. Several canals connect the navigation 

 of this important river system with other part* of France. The canal 

 of St-Quentin connects the Oise with the Sorame and the Ecaut ; 

 the canals of l.riare and of the Loing connect the Seine, just below 

 the junction of the Yonne, with the Loire at Briure ; and the canal of 

 Orleans, 45 miles long, branching from the canal of the Loing, opens 

 another communication with the Loire lower down, at Orleans. Tho 

 canal of Bourgogne connects the navigation of the Yonne, between 

 Auxerre and Joigny, with that of the Soone at St-Jean-de L6sne, and 

 being continued by another system of inland navigation ultimately 

 communicates with the Rhine. The canal of the Ourcq, near 

 is 58 miles long. The canal of Nivcrnais, connecting the Yonne \vitli 

 the Loire, at some point above Briare, 109 miles long, is in course of 

 execution. Havre is the chief port for the basin of the Seine, 



The water communication of the western part of France consist* 

 chiefly of the navigation of the river Vilaiue from Kcnucs, of some 

 smaller rivers which are navigable only for a few miles, and of thn-e 

 canals. The canal of the Ille and the Ranco connect* the Ranee, a 

 small stream wich fall* into the Bay of St-Malo, at St.-Malo, witli tli 

 Vilaine, at the junction of the Ille, one of its feeder.*, at Itcmn 

 saves a tedious aud dangerous navigation round tho whole peninsul i 

 of Brutagne. This canal is .Ml miles long. The canal of the lilavct 

 renders the river lilavet navigable up to Pontivy. Another can 

 unfinished, but open in part for navigation, in designed to conne, ' 

 Brest with Xante-, avoiding the navigation of a dangerous coast, .in 1 

 affording secure communication in case of a war with England. 



The navigation of the Loire commence!) at Roanno, in !'<:/ ; tb 

 of the Arroux below the little town of Toulon ; that of tho 

 above Vichy ; that of the Cher at St.-Aignan ; that of the Indrc at 

 Loches ; that of the Vi>-une at Chatellerault ; that of the Sartho at 

 Le-MAns; that of the Mayenne at Laval; and that of the 1. 

 Chateau-dii-Loir. The canals connecting the Loire with the S. in.; 

 have been noticed. Tho canal of the Centra, or of the Char 

 opens a communication between the Loire, near the junction of t!" 

 Arroux, and the Saone, at ('lmIn-pur-Saoue. Its length is about 

 73 miles. A canal is in course of execution, intended to short. 

 navigation of the Loire, by avoiding the great bend which i ii 

 makes between tin jnn< !n of the Allier and th.i> of the Indre, 

 called the canal oi -ntes is the port of the district \v 



I'.v the I/oire. 



The navigation of the Garonne commences at Cazcres, several mil- 

 above Toulouse ; that of the Aricge at Auterivc ; that of the Tarn 

 at Oaillae ; that of tho Baise at Nc'rac ; that of the Lot at Entrnygucs ; 



