248 



FRANCE. (GEOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.) 



FRANCE ; a country of Europe, situated between 

 lat. 42 20' and 51 5' N., and Ion. 3 51' E. and 

 9 27' W., comprising an extent of 213,800 square 

 miles, with a population, according to official returns, 

 in 1827, of 31,851,545. It is bordered on the north- 

 east by the Low Countries, the Prussian province of 

 the Lower Rhine, and Rhenish Bavaria ; on the 

 east, it is separated from Baden by the Rhine, and 

 touches Switzerland and Sardinia ; on the south, 

 its boundaries are the Mediterranean, the Pyrenees, 

 nnd the Bidassoa ; the ocean bounds the rest. The 

 island of Corsica, and the Hieres, in the Mediter- 

 ranean, and the isles of Oleron, Re, Noirmoutier, 

 Belle-Isle, Dieu and Ouessant (Ushant), in the At- 

 lantic, belong to France. The foreign possessions 

 are of little value. They are, in Asia, Pondicherry 

 and Karikal on the Coromandel coast, Yanaon in the 

 northern Circars, Chandernagore in Bengal, Mahe 

 on the Malabar coast, a factory at Surat, and some 

 factories in Arabia, in all 179,000 inhabitants; 

 in Africa, Senegal, Goree, the isle of Bourbon, and 

 some factories, containing 99,000 inhabitants ; also 

 Algiers recently acquired; in America, Martinique 

 and Guadaloupe with its dependencies, Guiana, and 

 the small islands of St Pierre and Miquelon, near 

 Newfoundland, containing 225,000 inhabitants. 



In this article, we will slightly deviate from our 

 usual arrangement in treating of countries, and give 

 a short view of the geography and statistics of France 

 before entering upon its history. The latter section 

 is so intimately interwoven with the political and 

 social relations of the country, that, to prevent any 

 interruption in our view of these, we think it better in 

 this instance to dispose first of the statistical details. 

 The Index at the end of the article will prevent the 

 reader from falling into confusion. 



Geography. The territory of France is divided 

 into eighty-six departments (q. v.), which generally 

 derive their names from the rivers. They are sub- 

 divided into 363 arrondissements, 2844 cantons, and 

 38,339 communes. Each department is governed 

 by a prefect, and each arrondissement by a sub- 

 prefect. The cantons have no administrative powers. 

 The communes are under a mayor. All these of- 

 ficers, with the counsellors of departments, arron- 

 dissements, and communes, were, before the recent 

 changes, appointed by the king. The empire under 

 Napoleon comprised about 300,000 square miles, 

 with 42,500,000 inhabitants, of which 28,000,000 

 were French, 6,500,000 Italians, 4,500,000 Flemish 

 and Dutch, and 4,000,000 German. The principal 

 mountains of France are, 1. The Vosges on the 

 north-east. They are of a rounded outline, with gen- 

 tle slopes, and afford much open pasturage. The 

 highest summit is not more than 4500 feet high. 



2. The Jura mountains lie to the south of these, 

 and their summits rise to the height of 6000 feet. 



3. Many Alpine branches intersect Dauphiny and 

 Provence. (See Alps.) In the centre of the kingdom 

 are, 4. The mountains of Auvergne, of volcanic 

 origin, of which the Puy de Dome, the Monts d'Or 

 and the Cantal are the principal groups. 5. The 

 Cevennes lie to the south-east of the range last 

 mentioned. Their highest summit is Mont Lozere 

 (6510 feet). 6. The Pyrenees form the principal 

 part of the boundary between France and Spain. 

 (See Pyrenees.) These mountains divide the cotintry 

 into four great basins, the form and exposure of 

 which necessarily have a great influence on their 

 climate and productions. The narrow valley of the 

 Rhine runs from north to south ; while the open 

 basins of the Seine, the Loire and the Garonne 

 stretch in a north-western direction. The Adour 

 rises in the Pyrenees, and washes the walls of 

 Bayonne. The other rivers are principally tributa- 



ries. The Marne and the Oise fall into the Seine ; 

 the Allier, the Loire, the Sarthe, and the Mayenne, 

 into the Loire ; the Rhone receives the Saone, the 

 Isere, the Durance, the Ain, and the Sorgue ; the 

 Tarn and the Dordogne join the Garonne. The 

 numerous branches of these rivers are joined by 

 canals (see Canals), which form an extensive in- 

 ternal water communication. 



Agriculture. In respect to soil, the richest part 

 of France is the north-west division, comprehending 

 the provinces of Flanders, Artois, Picardy, Nor- 

 mandy, and the Isle of France, where there is a 

 deep, rich loam ; about 18,179,590 acres in extent. 

 The valley of the Garonne is composed of a friable, 

 sandy loam, with a calcarious mixture, and moisture 

 sufficient for every purpose. This district contains 

 7,654,561 acres. The great valley of Languedoc is 

 extremely prolific, though the soil is not so fine as 

 that of the preceding districts. The Limagne, a 

 valley of Auvergne, is considered to have one of the 

 finest soils in Uie world. It consists of beds of 

 earth, said to be twenty feet deep, formed from the 

 decomposition of soft basalt. The calcarious and 

 chalk formations are extensive. The chalk pro- 

 vinces are unfruitful in grain, but the genial in- 

 fluence of the sun allows them other riches. The 

 calcarious loam on the borders of the chalk forma- 

 tion is more productive. In Bretagne, Anjou, and 

 Maine, are immense heaths. The landes are exten- 

 sive tracts of sandy deserts, producing nothing but 

 broom, heath, and junipers. The most extensive are 

 the landes of Bourdeaux, twenty leagues in length 

 by twelve in breadth. In the remaining provinces, 

 gravel, or a gravelly sand, is the predominating soil. 

 The woods and forests are estimated to cover a 

 space of 18,795,000 acres. The principal are those 

 of Ardennes, Orleans, and Fontainebleau. The 

 northern and western coasts are formed in a great 

 proportion by immense downs or sand banks, and, 

 where the shores are formed by cliffs, they are seldom 

 bold enough to be approached with safety. The 

 harbours are therefore few. On the Mediterranean, 

 the coast of Languedoc is very dangerous ; but 

 Provence abounds in good harbours. The culture, 

 throughout the northern half of the kingdom, con- 

 sists of wheat, barley, oats, pulse, and of late, much 

 more than formerly, of potatoes ; in the southern 

 half, corn (particularly maize), vines, mulberries, and 

 olives. The eastern parts, being more elevated 

 than the western, have more rigorous winters and 

 more ardent summers. Coal and iron are found in 

 abundance. The most common fuel is wood. The 

 superficial extent of France has been recently esti- 

 mated by baron Dupin at 53,533,426 hectares, or 

 132,694,000 English acres, which are distributed in 

 the following manner : 



Hectares. 



Arable land, 22,818,000 



Vineyards, 1,977,000 



Kitchen gardens, 328,000 



Gardens and orchards, . . . . 687,000 



Miscellaneous culture, 



Olives, ...... 



Hops, 



Chestnuts, 



Parks, groves, nurseries, 



Copse wood, ..... 



Oaieries, 



Pasturage, 



Meadows, 



Lands, heaths, &&, 



Turburies, 



Mines and quarries, 



Buildings, 



Canals, 



Ponds, 



Marshes, ..... 



Roads, rivers, &c. I 

 (unproductive), * 



780,000 



43,000 



60,000 



406,000 



39,000 



6,821,470 



"53,000 



3,325,000 



3,488,000 



3,841,000 



7,000 



23,000 



213,000 



213,000 

 . 186,000 

 6,555,000 



