﻿E«l 



LODfiVE. 



LOIR-ET-CHER. 



Poor-Law Union contains 42 parishes, with an area of 50,393 acres, 

 and a population in 1851 of 14,891. The village of Loddon is situated 

 on the Chet, a small stream which flows into the Yare. It so closely 

 adjoins the village of Chedgrave that the two form one street. The 

 population of Loddon parish in 1851 was 1211. The parish church is 

 a fine stone building, with an elegant tower ; it was built by Sir Henry 

 Hobart in 1478. The Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists have places 

 of worship. The market-day is Thursday, and four fairs are held in 

 the course of the year. 

 LODEVE. [Herault.] 



LODI-E-CREMA, a province of Austrian Italy, is bounded N. by 

 the provinces of Milan and Bergamo ; W. by that of Pavia ; S. by the 

 Po, which divides it from the duchies of Parma and Piacenza ; and E. 

 by Cremona and Breflcia, The province is part of the great plain of 

 the Po, and is watered by the Adda, Serio, Lambro, and other affluents 

 of that river. Uutil the end of the last century this province was 

 divided into two small ones, which were separated by the Adda, 

 namely, Crema to the east of that river, which belonged to the republic 

 of Venice ; and Lodi, or II Lodigiano, west of the Adda, which was 

 part of the duchy of Milan. 



The greatest length of the province is 30 miles from east to west, 

 and about 27 milei from north to south. The area is 459 square miles. 

 The population was 218,844 in 1850. The surface is a plain with 

 Blight undulations. The soil is partly sown with corn, flax, and pulse, 

 and partly planted with the vine and mulberry trees ; but the best 

 part consists of artificial meadows rendered productive by irrigation. 

 On these are fed a great number of cows, from the milk of which the 

 rich cheese is made known in Lombardy by the name of Lodigiano, 

 but called in the rest of Europe by the name of Parmesan. Great 

 attention is paid to the rearing of silk-worms, and a good deal of coarse 

 raw silk is brought to market. A considerable number of horses and 

 pigs are bred. In every commune there is an elementary school. 



J/odi, the capital of the province, is a well-built, walled, episcopal 

 town, on the right bank of the Adda, with about 18,000 inhabitants 

 (including the suburbs), who manufacture pottery, delft, and rilks. It 

 baa a royal ly ceum and a gymnasium, a theological seminary, an orphan 

 asylum, two hospitals, a savings bank, a public library of 15,000 

 yolumes, and a monte^i-pieth. The most interesting structures in 

 Lodi are — the cathedral, a fine building in the pure Lombardian style ; 

 the great square, surrounded by arcades ; the church of L'Incoronata, 

 built by Bramante ; and the stone bridge over the Adda, famous for 

 the defeat of the Austrians by Bonaparte, May 10, 1796. The cathe- 

 dral contains some antiquities brought from Lodi-Vecchio, including 

 a very ancient bas-reUef of the Last Supper. The Incoronata is deco- 

 rated with the surpassingly beautiful paintings of Calisto da Lodi, a 

 pupil of Titian. Lodi was foundeil in 1158 by the remainder of the 

 inhabitants of an older city now called Lodi- Vecchio, a small place of 

 3000 inhabitants, 6 miles from Lodi Lodi-Vecchio is said to have 

 been founded by Cneius Pompeius Strabo, and to have been called 

 Laus Pompeia. It was entirely destroyed l^ the Milanese, a.d. 1111. 



Crema, an episcopal town on the right btmk of the Serio, is a well- 

 built place, with a gymnasium and 9000 inhabitants, who manufacture 

 linen, lace, hats, silk, and linen-thread. Codogno, S.E. of Lodi, on the 

 rood from Milan to Cremona, is a flourishing town with 8000 inhabit- 

 ants, a theatre, and a considerable trade in cheese, silk, kc San- 

 Colombano, at the foot of a hill near the right bank of the Lambro, 

 has a population of 5000. 

 LOFODEN ISLANDS. [TRONDnjEM.] 

 LOQANSPOKT. [Iwdiasa.] 

 LOQUONO. [Ca8Tji.la-la-Vibja.] 

 LOHEIA. [Arabia.] 

 LOIK, RIVER. [LoiR-ET-CHEa] 



LOIR-ET-CHER, a department in France, bounded N. by Eure-et- 

 Loir, E. by Loiret and Cher, S. by Indre, and W. by Indre-et-Loire 

 and Sarthe. It lies between 47' 13' and 48° 6' N. lat, 0° 38' and 2° 14' 

 E. long. Its greatest length from north-west to south-east is 80 miles ; 

 its average breadth is about 33 miles. The area of the department is 

 2202-2 square miles. The population amounted to 249,462 iu 1841, and 

 to 261,892 in 1351. This last gives 118-92 to the square mile, being 

 66-66 below the average per square mile for the whole of France. The 

 department is formed out of the south-west part of the former pro- 

 Tince of Orldanais, and is named from two of its rivers, the Loir and 

 the Cher, tributaries of the Loire. 



The surface presents a number of elevated and extensive plains, 

 unbroken by any considerable hills, and sloping with very gentle 

 inclination towards the south-west. The department is divided into 

 two pretty equal parts by the Loire, which for about 30 miles of its 

 conne runs between two chains of low hills, that have their slopes 

 covered with vineyards and orchards. The district north of the Loire 

 is traversed by the Loir, which rising in the south-west of Eure-et- 

 Loir flows south-east as far as Bonneval, and thence nearly south past 

 Ch&teaudun to Venddme, in tiiis department. From Venddme it runs 

 nearly west, crossing the lanth of the department of Sarthe, and 

 reaching the boundary below LarFI6che it enters the department of 

 Maine-et-Loire, taking a south-western direction to its junction with 

 the Sarthe on the left bank, nearly opposite to the point where that 

 river is joined by the Mayenne, about S miles N. from Angers. The 

 piiiicipal feeders of the Loir are the Ozane, the Ydre, and the Braye 

 o«oo. DIV. VOL. lit. 



on the ri;;ht bank, and the Couie ou the left. The whole length of 

 the river is about 160 miles, 65 miles of which are navigable. The 

 navigation commences at Coemont, near Ch4teau-du-Loir, in the depart- 

 ment of Sarthe ; but it is available for floatage from the mouth of the 

 Braye on the western border of Loir-et-Cher. The Loir has abundance 

 of water in all seasons, and it is seldom frozen. The principal articles 

 conveyed along the stream are — timber, fuel-wood, hay and straw, 

 charcoal, paving-tiles, lime, cut-stone, &c. 



The district south of the Loire is drained by the Cher, its feeder the 

 Sauldre, and by the Beuvron and Cosson, which throw their waters 

 into the Loire, near the village of Cand(5, below Blois. The Cosaon 

 flows through the park that surrounds the fine old royal chflteau of 

 Chambord, which after being the residence of several kings of France, 

 of Stanislas, king of Poland, of Marshal de Saxe, and of Charles IV., 

 king of Spain, was given by Napoleon I. to Marshal Berthior. The 

 Princess of Wagram sold it in 1820, when it was purchased by sub- 

 scriptions raised for the purpose, and presented to the Duke of 

 Bordeaux, who takes from it the title of Count of Chambord. There are 

 numerous ponds along the left bank of the Loire ; and the south-east 

 of the department, formed out of that part of the old district of Sologne 

 which was included in the Blaisoia, a dependency of Orl^anais, and is 

 now included in the arrondissement of Romorantin, presents a vast 

 marshy plain, which contains m.iny hundreds of ponds. 



Roadway accommodation is afibrded by 6 imperial, 16 departmental, 

 and 11 parish roads. The department is crossed by the railroad from 

 Paris to Nantes and Bordeaux, which runs through Blois ; and by the 

 Orldans-Bouiges line, which has 32 miles of its length iu the south-east 

 of this department. 



The soil in the north-east of the department, which includes a 

 portion of the Beauce district, consists of a dark rich loam ; iu the 

 south-east the arable lands are composed of strong clay and sand ; 

 along the Cher the soil is calcareous. In the Sologne district the 

 arable soil consists of a light fine sand mixed with pebbly gravel and 

 a small portion of vegetable earth, and yields only poor light crops. 

 The north-west of the department, forming part of the arrondissement 

 of Venddme, has an arid hungry soil, very generally covered witli 

 heath, gorse, and broom. The supracretaceous strata which occupy 

 the chalk-basin of Paris extend into the department from the north- 

 east, and occupy the banks of the Loire as far as the junction of the 

 Beuvron. In all other parts the department is occupied by the chalk 

 itself. Agriculture is in rather a forward state ; bread-stuffs are 

 raised in quantity more than sufficient for the homo consumption. 

 Of wine the annual produce is about 13,200,000 gallons, a large portion 

 of which is distilled into brandy. The department yields, besides 

 excellent fruits and vegetables, beet-root, hemp, &c. The Sologne 

 sheep are extolled for the fineness of their wool ; but the horses of 

 that district, though hardy, are small and ill-formed. Black cattle 

 are of inferior breed. The arrondissement of Venddme is famous for 

 its breed of draught horses. The rivers and pond.? abound in fish ; 

 the Sologne manhes supply a considerable quantity of good leeches. 

 Poultnr and game are plentiful. The department contains a good 

 deal 01 natural and artificial grass-land, and in the arrondissement of 

 Romorantin there are large pine-woods. The climate is iu general 

 mild and healthy, except in the marshy district of Sologne. 



Iron-mines are worked ; alabaster and building-stone are quaiTied ; 

 marl and potters' clay are found. Great quantities of gun-flints were 

 formerly procured irom the layers of flint in the chalk deposits of 

 this department. 



The manufactures consist of coarse woollens, blankets, swanskins, 

 cotton cloth, hosiery, leather gloves, beet-root sug."ir, woollen yam, 

 leather, glass, and earthenware. About 160 fairs are held annually. 

 The department contains 465 wind- and water-mills, 61 iron-foundries 

 and smelting-funiaces, and 194 factories. 



The area of the department is 1,669,403 acres, of which 913,500 

 acres are arable land ; 77,500 acres are grass and meadow land; 65,710 

 acres are under vineyards ; 201,818 acres are covered with woods and 

 forests; 200,153 acres consist of heaths and barren moors; 34,161 

 acres of ponds, rivers, canals, 4c. ; and 19,030aoresareunderorchards, 

 nurseries, gardens, and plantations of diflerent kinds. 



The department is divided into three arrondissements, which, with 

 their subdivisions and population, are as follows : — 



Arrondissements. 



Cantons. 



Communes. 



Fopnlation in 1851. 



1. Blois . 



2. Romorantin . . 



3. Venddme 



10 

 6 

 S 



138 



48 



110 



131,817 

 50,522 

 79,553 



1 Total . 



24 



296 



261,892 



1. Of the first arrondissement, and of the whole department, the 

 capital is Bloib. Of the following places the population given is that 

 of the canton ; — Mer, N.E. of Blois, on the right bank of the Loire, 

 has 3686 inhabitants, who manufacture leather, and trade in wine, 

 brandy, and vinegar. Close to Mer U Menari, where tliero is a very 

 fine cli&teau, in which some years ago the Prince de Chimay, its owner, 

 established a college. Monlrichard, formerly an important fortress, 

 defended by a strong castle, now in ruins, is situated on a hill on the 



2o 



