BELGIUM. 



maintained by the evaporation of this volatile 

 substance. This temperature is considerably 

 below the freezing-point of quicksilver. The 

 discovery of this new product of the sugar- 

 beet presents an additional inducement for its 

 cultivation in the United States, an object 

 which the Agricultural Bureau has for some 

 time sought to promote. The climatic -condi- 

 tions most favorable to the growth of this use- 

 ful plant were considered in a paper read be- 

 fore tbe Association for the Advancement of Sci- 

 ence at Saratoga in September, by Dr. William 

 McMurtrie. The best meteorological condi- 

 tions are a warm, dry spring, and a temperate, 

 moist summer, followed by a cool, dry au- 

 tumn. 



BELGIUM, a kingdom of Europe. Leopold 

 II., King of the Belgians, born April 9, 1835, 

 is the son of King Leopold I., former Duke of 

 Saxe-Coburg, and ascended the throne at his 

 death, December 10, 1865. He was married 

 August 22, 1853, to Marie Henriette, daughter 

 of the late Archduke Joseph of Austria (born 

 August 23, 1836), who has borne him three 

 daughters. The heir apparent to the throne 

 is the brother of the King, Philip, Count of 

 Flanders, born March 24, 1837, lieutenant- 

 general in the service of Belgium, who was 

 married, April 26, 1867, to Princess Marie of 

 Ilohenzollern-Sigmaringen (born November 17, 



1845), and has two sons, Baldwin, born July 3, 

 1869, and Albert, born April 8, 1875. 



The area of this kingdom is 11,373 square 

 miles. The population according to the cen- 

 sus of December 31, 1876, was 5,336,185, and 

 in December, 1877, according to a calculation 

 based upon the movement of population, 5,412,- 

 731. The following table exhibits the popula- 

 tion of each province at the close of 1877 : 



PROVINCES. Pop. In Doc., 1877. 



Antwerp 660,119 



Brabant 959,808 



Flanders, West 689,896 



" East 671,048 



Ilainault 966,400 



Liege 642,264 



Limburg 207,204 



Luxemburg 206,788 



Namur 818,756 



Total 6,412,731 



The population of the principal cities on 

 December 31, 1877, was as follows: Brussels, 

 164,598, and including eight adjacent commu- 

 nities, 380,238; Antwerp, 155,820; Ghent, 129,- 

 201; Lige, 118,140; Bruges, 44,950; Malines, 

 39,776; Verviers, 38,410: Louvain, 34,440; 

 Tournay, 32,180; Courtrai, 26,328; SaintNich- 

 olas, 25,440; Namur, 25,353; Mons, 24,638; 

 Seraing, 24,564; Alost, 21,107. 



The movement of population from 1871 to 

 1877 is shown in the following table: 



Almost the entire population is connected 

 with the Roman Catholic Church. The num- 

 ber of Protestants is estimated at 15,000; that 

 of Jews at 3,000. The larger portion of both 

 lives in the provinces of Antwerp and Limburg. 

 Of the 5,336,185 inhabitants according to the 

 census of 1876, 2,256,860 spoke French, 2,659,- 

 890 Flemish, 340,770 French and Flemish, 38,- 

 070 German, 22,700 French and German, 1,790 

 Flemish and German, 5,490 these three lan- 

 guages, 7, 650 foreign languages, and 2,070 were 

 deaf and dumb. 



According to the census of 1866 the nativity 

 of the inhabitants was as follows : 



COUNTRIES. Population. 



Belgium 4,729,737 



Netherlands , 26,485 



Dutch Limbourg 7,419 



Dutch Luxembourg. 5,625 



France 82,021 



Germany 20,701 



OreatBritaln 3,003 



Other Countries 2,892 



mated receipts and expenditures as follows (in 

 francs) : 



Total . 



The budget for the years 1877 and 1878 eeti- 



The immigration into Belgium has since 1871 

 always exceeded the emigration from the coun- 

 try, as will be seen from the following table : 



