﻿an 



INUKE. 



INDRK. 



*n 



for Tioa oullura. All tka Uod a»|i«blfl of eulUntiou ia UUad, but 

 ■grieultura is in a bwkwmrd •UU. A Ud« dnwD frum north-Mat to 

 ■outh-waat throufffa Cbitcanrouz diridM tb« obalk formsUoD of th* 

 Puia baain frum the new rrd-aodatone whioh oooupie* all the aoutb- 

 aaatam diruion, ezoept along the aouthem border, where the primitiT* 

 rooks abpcar. 



JUttn, Cktmmtmiemlion; *a.—Th» Indn risee joat within the depart- 

 ment of Cronaa, and euteting that of Indre flowe north-waet past 

 8ainte-S4H««, La-Cb4t(«, Chiteauroux, and ChAtillon, below whioh it 

 •Btan the dapwtmsat of Indn^et-Loire; here paning Lochei, where 

 H boeoaiM Bavigable, it coutinuei in the lama dirwtioa as far ai 

 Mootbaaon, aiid then turning west p i w si Asay-le-Rideao, below wbioh 

 it enten the Loire niiiiira; iMtwecD the embouchure* of the Cher and 

 the Viennei Ita whole l«nKth is 124 miles, of which 44 miles are 

 asTigable ; its mean width ia 98 feet, and ita ordinary depth from S 

 to 8 feet. It is subject to floods, which tiae from 10 to 11 feet at 

 most, and sprrading beyond the banks sometimes do great damage, 

 but add greatly to the fertility of the soil The number of mills along 

 the banks of this river is rery great. The south and south-west of 

 tile department is drained by the CVeast and its feeder the Anglin, 

 which is itself increased by the Abloux. [CRSUsrJ The west of 

 the department in drained by the Ciaue, a feeder of the Creuse, which 

 flows through Uie marshy district of Urenne; and the ea^t and north 

 are drained by feeders of the Cher, namely, the ilron, which reoeives 

 the Th&>ls, aud the ^onsoit, fed by the Nahon. 



The department is crossed by a railroad which branches off from 

 the OrKans-Bourgea line at Vierzon, and runs through Issoudua and 

 OhUeaurouz to Argenton on the Creuse. It Ib traversed also by 6 

 imperial, IS departmental, aud 31 parish roads. 



Product, ic. — The department ountains 1,683,021 acres, of which 

 992,215 acres are under tillage; 210,796 consist of natural pasture; 

 44,752 acres are under vine culture ; 166,609 are covered with woods 

 and forests; 185,868 acres consist of sands, heaths, and barren moors ; 

 18,274 acrt-s are occupied as orohiirds, nurseries, gardens, and planta- 

 tions of differeut sorts; and 31,056 acres are covered with ponds, 

 rivers, canals, Ac. The common breadstuffii are produced in quantity 

 more than enough for the consumption ; buck-wheat, hemp, flax, 

 chestnuts, aud fruits are also grown. The annual produce of wine 

 is 6,600,000 gallons, about one-half of whioh is exported. Although 

 the pasture land is of no great extent, yet considerable numbers of 

 homed cattle are kept ; hay is saved for their winter food, and in 

 summer the scantiness of the pasture ia eked out with the leaves of 

 trees, especially with those of the elm. Sheep are a source of great 

 profit to tbe farmer on account of the fineness of their wool ; the 

 quality of the wool of the Champagne district especially is very 

 superior. The sheep are very carefully tended; ewes, lamb-hog?, 

 and wethers are kept in separate Bocks, each under its own shepherd ; 

 they are never folded : when the winter ia severe they get a mixture 

 of hay and straw three times a day. Great numbers of geese and 

 turkeys are reared, and also of mules, pigs, and horses. The climate 

 is mUd and heailtby excrpt in the Brenne district, where tbe 

 atmosphere is almost always charged with pestilential fogs. 



MineraU, Manufacture *c. — Several iron-mines are worked ; 

 mnrble, millstone, limestone, mica, flint, lithogritpbic stoues, graaite, 

 quartz, apar, marl, potters' -clay, variegated marbles, &o., are found. 



The cloth manufactures of Chiteauroux and aome other places in 

 the department are important ; linen, hosiery, scythes, paper, porce- 

 lain, and earthenware are manufactured. There are also numerous 

 establishments for the manufacture of woollen-yam, leather, beer, 

 parcbmirnt, tc. The number of iron forges and foundries i.< 17 ; of 

 wind- and wat«r-mill>, 573 ; and of fuctories of diflferent kinds, 217. 

 Tbe most important iron-works are those of Claviirea. Tbe commerce 

 of the department is composed of tbe various agricultural and indus- 

 trial products named. Fairs are held principally for the sale of 

 sheep. 



J>tvitiont and Towni. — Tbe department i* divided into four arron- 

 dissementa, which, with their subdivisions and population, are as 

 fbllows : — 



Arroadlaseacats. 



Oaatoos. 





FopuUUonln ItJl. 



1, CbStesnraui , 



J. U-Blune . . . 



1. lawmdua 



4. U^OkMut , . . 



8 



e 



4 

 t 



ss 



4« 

 M 



102,049 

 81,077 

 »0,»«8 

 t7,l<4 



Tstal 



» 



147 



271,98) 



1. Of the first arrondisMment and of the whole department the 

 capital is ChaTKacroi'X. Uf the other towns we briefly notice tbe 

 following, the population in each oasa being that of the commune : — 

 Afftnton tnr-Ortu*e, 19 mile* by railway i>.S.\V. from Cb&teauroux, is 

 built on both banks of the Creuse, and consists of an upper town 

 which grew up round an ancient oastle now in ruius, and uf a lower 

 town Joined to the former by a stone bridge. The mo t remarkable 

 structures now remaining in the upper town, which is entered by four 

 gaUs, are the Oate of Auditory, now used as a prison, aud the dese- 

 crmtsd church of bt.-Beuult, now ussd as the corn-market, un the roof 



of whioh are still Men the arms of Louis de Bourbon, ootint of 

 Veod6m<L Linmi, braadcloth, tiles, bricks, woollen-yam, paper, 

 lasthw, to., are manufactured in the town, which has 4S46 inhabit- 

 ants. Bourp-Uitu, or DioU, formeriv a large town and the oapital 

 of Lower Berri, now a vilUge of 2S44 inhabitants, staods about a mil* 

 N. of Chileauroux. It was oalebratwl for iU Benedictine abbey, th* 

 suppression of wbioh by Pop* Oragory XV. in l«83 eaused the deo*y 

 of th* town. Of the vast buildin(^ of the abbey only a single towar 

 is now standing ; tb* magniflaant ruin* which reoudned till 1830 wet* 

 then sold and removed as materials for building, Baiaitfait, prettily 

 situated 18 miles W. from Cb&teauroux, on a bill on the right bank of 

 the river Indre, which is here orosaed by five bridges, is an ill-built 

 town with 4430 inhabitants, who manuftotnre coarse woolleua and 

 woollen-yam. There are several flour-mills in tbe town, and in th* 

 environs there are large iron-work*. CkAtMmiur-tndrt, formerly an 

 Important fortress on the frontiers of Berri, is built on a height 

 crowned by the mins of an ancient castle, near tbe left bank of th* 

 Indre, 26 miles N.W. from CbAteauroux, and has 8575 inhabitant*. 

 The church is a large and handsome stmcture, which dates from the 

 10th century, and contains some remsrkable sciUptures. In the 

 principal street there is an ancient house, ou the front of which are 

 figure* of Momus and a player on the pipe. From the market-pUo* 

 there is a fine view of the valley of the Indre. tevroux, the ancient 

 Oabatum, at»nd» on tbe Nahon, 12 miles N. from Ch&teauroux, and 

 has 3166 iuhabitants, who manufacture cloth and leather, and deal in 

 com, wine, wool, and cattle. The parish church of Levronx, though 

 small, is considered the fiuast ecolasiastioal edifice in all Lower Berry. 

 It consists of a nave and aislaa terminating in three distinct apsea. 

 The nave is ■epBrst*d from th* aisle* by lofty (igival arches, sor- 

 mounted by an open gallery and elereatory with semicircular windows. 

 In the principal fugade is a portal doorway, the archvolts of which 

 are ornamented with statuettes of angels and saints ; and the lower 

 part of tbe tympanum terminates in a broad band covered with bas- 

 reliefs representing the Resurrection of the Dead. Several Roman 

 remains and Celtic coins have been found in and near this town, som* 

 of the fortifications of whioh still remain. Valenfay, farther north 

 on tbe left bank of tbe Nahon, has a population uf 3229, and manu- 

 factures of hosiery, cloth, cutlery, and fine woollen-yam. The great 

 omament of Valeufay is the magnificent ch&t«au, or rather pdaoe, 

 built in the reign of Franfois I. by the family of fitampes ; it is 

 surronnded by a large park in which there are beautiful gardens and 

 waterworks. This chAteau was the prison of Ferdinand VII., king 

 of Spain, from 1808 to 1814 ; it was the property of Talleyrand, who 

 for some time made it his residence. 



2. In the second arrondis^emeut the chief town, Le-Blane, is 

 beautifully situ»t-d in 46' 37' 47' N. lat, 1° 3' 41" K. long., on the 

 Creuse, here crossed by a baudsome bridge, above which the river 

 expands so as to form a lake, and below it breaks into cascade*, 

 generating force to drive the machinery of several factories. Th* 

 town is not well built, but it is improving, and baa considerable cloth- 

 factories, vinegar-works, potteries, a lineu-yam mill with 3600 spindles, 

 a large brewery, and several iron-forges and smeltiag-furnaces. It is 

 the seat of a tribunal of first instance, aud has a aaviugs bank, aud 

 6330 inhabitants in the commune, who trade in wine, fish, timber, 

 staves, and the articles named before. BilAbre, S. by E. of Le-Blano, 

 on the right bank of the Anglin, has 2175 inhabitants, and some 

 remains of an ancient castle. Maiira en-Brenne (under 2000 inhabit- 

 ants), stands N. by K. of Le-Blanc, on the right bank of the Claise, in 

 a district not long ago an unapproachable marsh, but now drained, 

 pUnted, and well cultivated. There ia a remarkable church hma, 

 which was dedicated in 1839 to Saiate Marie-Madeleine, and contains 

 many mementoes of the family of Aiijou. Sl.-OauUitr, E. of Le- 

 Blanc, on the Creuse, which ia here crossed by a suspension-bridge^ 

 has an ecclesiastical college, and a population of 1793. 



3. In the third arrondissement the chief town, Ittoudun, is situated 

 partly on the slope, and partly at the foot of a bill above the river 

 Tbdola, which ia here crossed by three bridgea, leading to aa many 

 suburbs, in 46* 58' 64' N. lat, 2* 0' 49" E. long., at a distance of 

 17 miles by railway N.E. from CbAteauroux, and has 13,215 iuhabit- 

 ants in tbe commune. The older part of tbe town, called Le-CbAteau, 

 has very good bouses, but tbe streets are dirty, narrow, and tortuous; 

 the rest of the town ia better built, having been oouatructed since the 

 terrible conflagration of 1651, which broke out at a time when tbe city 

 wa* aaaatdted by the army of the Fronde, and by which above 1000 

 bouses were destroyed. The principal buildings are tbe residences of 

 the prefect and the mayor; opposite the latter, in a piutureaqu* 

 garden, stands an ancient tower of great strength, called La-Tour- 

 Ulanche, the walls of which are 14 feet thick, aud rise to the height 

 of 95 feet Other remarkable object* are — the former town-gate aud 

 tower, now used as a prison ; the hospital, in the chapel of which ai-* 

 some curious sculptured monuments; the former Uraulinj convent, 

 now a barrack ; the former Carmelite couvcn', now a private resi- 

 dence, the theatre, and the sevaral public walks. The town baa 

 tribunals of firat instance and of oommercc ; a consultative chamber 

 of manufactures, and a college. Woullen-cloth aud yarn, calico, 

 hosiery, parchment, leather, and beer are the principal industrial 

 products ; there are some bleaching establisbmeuts also, aud a good 

 business is don* in th*. articles enumerated, and in corn, wine, wool 



