1077 



FRANCE. 



FRANCE. 



1073 



that of the Dordogne at Mayronne, near Souillac ; that of the Vezere, 

 its tributary, at Montignac. The only navigable canal connected with 

 this river system is the Great Canal of Languedoc, or Canal-du-Midi, 

 the most important in France. It connects the Garonne, near 

 Toulouse, with the Mediterranean. It follows for some distance the 

 valley of the Lers, a feeder of the Garonne, and passing through a 

 depression between the CeVennes and the Pyrenees follows the valley 

 of the Aude, and the line of the coast to the sea at the port of Cette. 

 Its length is more than 150 miles, and its large dimensions, its 

 immense reservoir, and its numerous sluices, bridges, and aqueducts, 

 render it one of the most magnificent canals in the world. It was 

 opened in the reign of Louis XIV., A.D. 1681. 



The navigation of the Adour commences at St.-Sever ; that of the 

 Midouze, its tributary, at Mont-de-Marsan. The port of Bayonne is 

 the channel for the exports and imports of the basin of the Adour. 



The navigation of the Rhone is liable to interruption after it leaves 

 the Lake of Geneva : it recommences a little above Seyssel, on the 

 frontier towards Savoy, and remains open throughout the rest of the 

 course of that river. The navigation of the Saone begins at Seveux, 

 between Gray and Vesoul. The canal of the Centre, which unites the 

 navigation of the Saoue with that of the Loire, and the canal of 

 Bourgogne, which unites the Saone with the Yonne, have been 

 noticed. The canal of Monsieur, or the Canal-du-Rhone-au-Rhin, 

 unites the Saone near St.-Jean-de-Losu^ with the Ille, a feeder of the 

 Khi'i . just above Strasbourg. A canal was opened in October 1853 

 from the Marne to the Rhine, which unites the valleys of the Marne, 

 the Meuse, the Moselle, the Meurthe, and the Rhine. There are many 

 great works in its course tunnels, cuttings, and aqueducts, with 180 

 locks. There are several other canals in France, all of which are 

 noticed in the articles on the departments. 



Steam-boats ply on the Seine, the Loire, the Charente, the Garonne, 

 the Adour, the Rhone, the Saone, the Rhine, the Somme, and some of 

 the other rivers of France. 



The railway system of France converges upon Paris, whence trunk- 

 lines and branches, either finished or in course of construction, stretch 

 out to all the more important points on the frontiers, and pass through 

 most of the great manufacturing centres. Looking northward from 

 the capital we see the Great Northern of France passing through 

 Creil, Amiens, Arras, Douai, and Lille, a little east of which it is 

 linked to the Belgian railway system at Mouscron. From Creil a 

 branch runs up to the important industrial town of St.-Quentin, 

 whence it in in course of construction to the Belgian frontier, near the 

 O'Kil field of Charleroi. From Amiens an important branch runs 

 northward through Abbeville to Boulogne, on the English Channel. 

 From Douai a line runs to Valenciennes, and joins the Belgian system 

 between that town and Mons. From Lille the main line runs north- 

 west to Calais, through Hazebroucke, whence a secondary branch 

 runs nearly due north to Dunkerque. 



The second trunk-line runs north-west from Paris down the valley 

 of the Seme to Rouen and Havre, with a branch northward from 

 Rinn-ii to the port of Dieppe. A very important branch, now in 

 course of construction, leaves this trunk-line at the Rosny station, 

 near Mantes, to pass through Caen and Bayeux, and terminate at the 

 naval harbour of Cherbourg. Other branches are being made to 

 connect the towns of Lisieux, Evreux, and Bernay with the main liue. 



The western trunk-line from Paris to Brest is open through 

 Versailles and Chartres to Le-Mans, whence through Rennes to Brest 

 it is still unfinished. From Le-Mans a line in course of construction 

 runs northward through Alcnjon and Seez to the Caen line between 

 Caen and Lisieux. Between Alen9ou and Seez this branch is joined 

 by another unfinished line from the La-Loupe station, on the Paris- 

 Brest railway. 



Two short lines connect Paris with Versailles, another with 

 St. -Germain, and another with Corbeil. 



South-west from Paris run the great completed lines to Bordeaux 

 and Nantes. The main line runs through Orleans and Blois to Tours, 

 whence the Nantes line runs west down the valley of the Loire 

 through Angers, and the Bordeaux southward through Poitiers 

 and Angouleme. Bordeaux is joined by a short liue with Tete-de- 

 Buch, a small port to westward, on the Bay of Arcachon, and from 

 the point in this line where it crosses the Leyre a railway is in course 

 of construction to Bayonne. A line is projected from Bordeaux up 

 the valley of the Garonne to Toulouse, thence into the valley of 

 the Aude and along the coast to Cette. From Orleans a railway runs 

 southward to Vierzon, whence two branches diverge, one south-west 

 to Chateauroux, the other south-east through Bourges, Nevers, and 

 Moulins to Varennes. 



The Paris-Avignon liue, now open to Lyou, runs first south-east 

 from the capital through Montereau (whence a branch runs up the 

 valley of the upper Seine to Troyes) to Dijon ; from Dijon it runs 

 nearly due south through Chalon, Macon, Lyon, Viennes, and 

 Valence, to Avignon. From Avignon the line is completed to Mar- 

 seille, through Aries, whence a railroad runs westward to Nimes, 

 Montpellier, and Cette. Lyon and St.-Etienne are united by a 

 railroad, one of the first completed in France ; from St.-Etienue a 

 line runs northward up the Loire to Roanne, with a short branch to 

 Montbrison. A ehort branch runs north-west from Nimes to the 

 coal-field of Alais. A branch in course of construction projects east- 



ward from the main line, between Vienne and Valence, to Grenoble ; 

 and from Dijon a line has been planned to Besangon and Mtihlhausen. 



The Great Eastern trunk-line runs from the capital through Meaux, 

 Chalons-sur-Marne, and Nancy to Strasbourg, where it is connected 

 by a line along the left bank of the Rhine, through Colmar and 

 Muhlhausen, with Bale in the north of Switzerland. A short branch 

 connects Miihlhausen with the manufacturing town of Thann. 

 Lastly, from Nancy a branch runs northward to Metz, and thence 

 eastward to the frontier, where it joins, at Forbach, the Bavarian line, 

 which reaches the Rhine opposite Mannheim. 



The total length of the completed railways in France is now 

 (June 16, 1854) 2684 miles. 



Life Statistics. In the interval of 34 years, from 1817 to 1850, 

 there were born in France 16,953,957 boys, and 15,972,905 girls. 

 These numbers give the annual averages of male and female birtha 

 to be respectively 498,646 and 469,791, which are nearly in the 

 ratio of 17 to 16. 



This ratio is general throughout France, difference of climate 

 between the north and south having no sensible effect upon it. It 

 was not constant however throughout the interval. In the first eight 

 years (1817-1824) the ratio was 1-0654 ; in the last eight years (1843- 

 1850) 1'0563; the mean on the whole interval is 1'0614. In other 

 words during the first period (1817-1824) for every 10,000 female 

 there were 10,654 male births, and in the last period (1S43-1850) 

 there were 10,563 boys born for every 10,000 girls ; tho average on 

 the 34 years being 10,614 male against 10,000 female births. 



In the same interval of 34 years tha number of illegitimate children 

 bom throughout France was 1,202,208 boys and 1,155,690 girls, 

 which numbers are nearly in the ratio of 25 to 24, showing in this 

 class of infants a nearer approach to equality in the number of the 

 sexes at birth, than in the case of legitimate children. 



The ratio of the deaths of the two sexes during the interval has 

 also varied. In the first eight years (1817-1824) it was T0215, or 

 10,215 males died for every 10,000 females; inthe .last eight years (1843- 

 1850) it was 1*0039, and the means on the whole period give the ratio 

 1'0143, or on the average of the 34 years 70 males died for 69 females. 

 ;tFor the whole interval the mean annual number of births was 

 968,437; of deaths, 812,227; of increase of population, 156,210; 

 and of the marriage?, 253,333. These numbers afford ready means 

 for checking the census returns. 



The population increased continuously throughout the interval 

 (1817-1850). The mean annual increase 156,210, as just stated, is 

 extremely small, being only 1-21 1th part of the mean population 

 of France for the whole interval, which was 32,972,000. Thisiucjvaso 

 is so small, that if it continue to bear the same ratio to the popu- 

 lation, it would take France no less than 86 years to increase her 

 population by one-half, and 147 years to double its present amount. 



The ratio of the population to the births increases continuously 

 also throughout the period. In the first eight years (1817-1824) it 

 was 31-8; in the last eight years (1843-1850) 36'4, and the mean on 

 the 34 years is 34'0. These numbers multiplied into the correspond- 

 ing births give the population of France. But in the case of a popu- 

 lation that is stationary (us that of France may be almost considered 

 to be), the population is equal to the annual births multiplied by tho 

 mean duration of life. The numbers 31'8, 34'0, and 36'4 therefore 

 represent approximately the mean duration of life in France for each 

 period. Thus in 1817 the mean duration of life was 31'8 years; 17 

 years later it had increased to 34 years; and now it is 3G'4 years. 

 Before the first revolution the mean duration of life in France vf*>.3 

 according to Duvillard's tables of mortality, 28^ years. Since that 

 time then it appears that there is an increase iu the mean duration of 

 life of rather above seven years ; a result to be attributed to the 

 introduction of vacciuation, to improved sanitary conditions, and to 

 the more easy circumstances which the people enjoy. 



The French colonies, with the area and population of each at the 

 end of 1841, are as follows: 



