﻿w 



MEURTHE. 



MEU3E. 



?78 



of the southern boundary of the department; the Yczousc, which joins 

 the Meurtbe at Lun^viUe ; and the Sanon, which flows westward from 

 one of the numerous tarns on the western side of the Vosges Moun- 

 tains, and enters the Meurthe a few miles east-south-east of Nancy. 

 On its left bank the Meurthe receives the Mortagne a few miles south 

 of Lun^ville. The west of the department is drained by the Moselle, 

 which here receives the Madon on its left bank. The Seille, which 

 springs from one of the lakes in the east of the department, flows 

 through a very fertile valley, first west and then north, falling into 

 the Moselle at Metz, in the department of Moselle. The Sarre rises 

 on the western side of the main chain of the Vosges Mountains, in 

 the south-east of the department, and flows generally north as far as 

 Sarreguemines, in the department of Moselle. Below this town it 

 enters the Prussian Khein-Provinz, through which it runs north-west 

 to its junction with the Moselle a few milee above Trives. The depart- 

 ment is traversed by 8 state, 15 departmental, and a great number of 

 parish roads. The Paris-Strasbourg railway crosses the department, 

 passing through Nancy, whence a branch runs north to Metz and 

 Forbach, and is continued to Mannheim on the Rhine. The canal Des- 

 Salines, which runs from Deuze to Sarrealbe in Moselle, unites the 

 Seille with the Sarre. 



The plains and valleys of the department are very fertile in wheat, 

 barley, and oate. About 400,000 quarters of wheat are grown annimlly, 

 of which a large portion is sold in the markets of the department of 

 Vosges for the supply of some of the more southern departments. 

 From the time that the old ordonnanca of the dukes of Lorraine 

 against planting the vine in soils fit to yield wheat fell into disregard, 

 a large breadtJh of the best lands waa laid out in vineyards ; and in 

 favoarable years, which however are few, owing to the frequency of 

 late frosts in the spring, a very large quantity of wine ia made ; in 

 ordinary years the produce is 20,064,000 gallons. The surplus over 

 the home consumption is sold into Alsace and the department of 

 Voageii. In the arrondissement of Sarrebourg, where the climate, 

 owing to the proximity of the Vosges Mountains, is colder than in the 

 reat of the department, the vine ia not cultivated at all. Kape is 

 extensively grown, both for green food and for making oil. Hay ia 

 abundantly produced along all the river bottoms. Potatoes, potherbs 

 of all kinds, and fruits are largely cultivated. Horses, which are 

 dnall, are used for draught and in the plough, except on the slopes of 

 Toiges, where the ox is more frequently seen at farm labour. Cows 

 also are small ; they are however of a tolerable breed and good 

 milken. Hogs are numerous ; pork is a staple article of the food 

 aad consequently of the commerce of the people. The forests still 

 contain the deer, the roebuck, and the wild boar ; wolves, foxea, and 

 weaaela are common enough. 



The Vosges Mountains in this department are composed chiefly of 

 the new red-sandstone and the subjacent secondary rocks ; the rest of 

 the department ia occupied by the rocks that intervene between the 

 chalk and the red-sandstone. Iron ore is fonsd, but too poor to be 

 worth digging for. Building stone, marble, and limestone are quarried ; 

 lithographic stone, red and gray granite, grindstone-grit, glaassand, 

 potteis'-clay, &c., are found. A mine of salt-rock at Vic, and several 

 salt«pring8, are the moat valuable mineral treasures of the department. 



The industrial activity of the department has been greatly developed 

 within the last few years, and is exerted on a great Tariety of products, 

 among which are — woollen-cloth, calico, canvass, embroidered muslins 

 and cambrics, phtying-cards, room-paper, cut- and plate-glass, tobacco- 

 pipes, oil, mineral acids, cotton-twist, gloves, beet-root sugar, candlee, 

 baaket and wood-work, &c. There are also some iron- and bell-fonnd- 

 lies, numerous glass-works, tan-yards, papermills, dye-houses, and 

 potteries. Of the articles just enumerated or indicated and of its 

 agricultural produce the commerce of the department is composed. 

 About 100 fairs are held in the course of the year. 



The inhabitants are a mingled Oerman and French race ; the German 

 language is still spoken in the east of the department. They are in 

 general a grave people — deficient in the usual vivacity of Frenchmen ; 

 bnt they are among the most industrious and orderly of the inhabitants 

 of France. The department is distinguished for the number of suc- 

 cessful candidates it sends to the entrance examinations of the £colc 

 Folytechnique in Paris. 



The department contains 1,505,929 acres. Of this area 750,323 

 acM are under tillage ; 452,862 acres are forest and wood land ; 

 177,554 acres are grass land ; 40,455 acres are imder vine culture ; 

 15,736 acres are laid out in gardens, orchards, and nurseries ; 15,260 

 acres ate covered with heaths and moors ; and 21,CSa acres are occupied 

 by riven, lakes, and canals. 



The department ia divided into five arrondiasoments, which, with 

 their subdivisions and population, are as follows : — 



- ArrondlnMinents. 



Cantons. 



Communes. 



PopoIaUon In 1851. 



1. Nancy . 

 1 i. Cb<tnn-Salina . . 

 S. Lonirille 



4. Sarrebourg . . . 



5. Tml 





121 

 140 

 101 

 118 

 137 



147,978 

 68,034 

 88,878 

 76,607 

 68,166 



Totd . . . 



at 



in 



450,433 



1. Of tlio first arroadi^emeut and of the whole department the 

 chief town ia Nancy. St.-Nicolas-du-Port, 5 miles E. by S. from 

 Nancy, has a handsome gothic church, and 3178 inhabitants, who 

 manufacture linen, brandy, cotton and woollen yam, leather, and beer. 

 Pont-H-Mousson, a station on the railway to Metz, 16 miles N. from 

 Nancy, takes its name from the bridge here thrown across the 

 MoseUe, and from the old fortress of Mousson, which is built on a 

 hill east of the town. It is surrounded by ramparts. The most 

 remarkable objects in the town are — a gothic church built about the 

 end of the 13th century; the town-hall; the large cavalry barracks ; 

 the hospital ; and a square, surrounded by arcades. PontJi-Mouason 

 has ecclesiastical and communal colleges and 8010 inhabitants. The 

 manufactures consist of coarse woollens, pottery, tobacco-pipes, 

 beet-root sugar, beer, leather, and tiles. Roiiires-aKX-Salines, a station 

 on the Strasbourg railway, 10 miles S.E. from Nancy, ia built at the 

 foot of a vine-clad hill above the Meurthe, and has 2332 inhabitants. 

 It was formerly fortified, and flourished on account of its brine-springs ; 

 these however have not been worked since 1760. 



2. In the second arrondissement the chief town ChdlcauSalina, 

 stands 17 miles N.E. from Nancy, in a pretty valley watered by a 

 feeder of the Seille, and has a tribunal of first instance, glass-works, 

 tan-yards, and a population of 2394. DieiLX, or Z>U2e, famous for its 

 salt-springs, stands on the right bank of the Seille, 10 miles K. of 

 ChAteau-Salins, and has a college and 3964 inhabitants. In Roman 

 times the town bore the name Decern Pagi, and was considered an 

 important post on the military road from Metz to Strasbourg. Vic, S. 

 of Chiteau-Salins, in a narrow valley drained by the Seille, has salt- 

 springs, a tribunal of first instance, and 3277 inhabitants. 



3. In the third arrondissement the chief town is LuNfeviLtE. 

 ]3accarat, situated on the Meurthe, which is here crossed by a bridge 

 of nine arches, is famous for its manufacture of cut glass, and has 

 3216 inhabitants, who manufacture also common glass, calico, iron- 

 mongery, chemical products, leather, &c. Blamont, a well-built town, 

 situated in a fine com and grass coimtry E. of Lundville on the 

 Vdzouze, has a population of 2577. Oerbeviller, formerly a fortified 

 town, stands in a plain on the left bank of the Mortagne, and has 

 2208 inhabitants. 



4. Of the fourth arrondissement the .chief town, Sarrelourg is 

 situated in a fertile country on the right bank of the Sarre, 48 miles 

 by the Paris-Strasbourg railway E. from Nancy, and has a tribunal of 

 first instance and 2493 inhabitants in the commune, who manufacture 

 cotton-cloth, files, scythes, saws, tin-ware, and chemical products. The 

 position of the town at the opening of an important pass in the 

 Vosges Mountains, makes it a place of importance in a military point 

 of view. PhdUbourg, B miles N.E. of Sarrebourg, at the entrance of 

 the defiles of the Vosges, and near the Paiis-Strasbourg railroad, is a 

 well-built and strongly fortified town, with a population of 4947. 

 The most remarkable structures are — a large church, built in the reign 

 of Louis XI V. ; the college buildings ; the barracks ; the arsenal ; the 

 town-hall ; and the market-house. 



5. The fifth arrondissement ia named from its chief town, Toul, 

 which stands at the foot of vine-clad hills, in a fertile plain on the 

 Moselle, here crossed by a stone bridge of seven arches, at a distance 

 of 21 miles by railway W. from Nancy, and has a tribunal of first 

 instance, a college, and 8937 inhabitants. The town is irregularly 

 built, but contains some good structures. Among the objects deserv- 

 ing of notice are — the cathedral, which contains some fine sculptures ; 

 the church of St-Qengoult ; the town-hall ; the two hospitals ; the 

 barracks ; the corn-market ; and the ramparts, which are flanked with* 

 nine bastions. This town is noted for its embroidery ; x>ottery, beer, 

 and leather are made. 



The department forms the see of the Bishop of Nancy, is included 

 in the jurisdiction of the High Court and within the limits of the 

 University-Academy of Nancy, and belongs to the 5th Military 

 Division, of which Metz is head-quarters. It returns three members 

 to the Legislative Body of the French empire. 



(Dictionnaire de la France ; Armuaire pour VAn 1853.) 

 ME USE, the ancient Mota, and the Dutch Moat, a river which rises 

 iu the plateau of Langree, in the department of Haute-Marno, and 

 flows first in a general northern direction and then west into the 

 German Ocean, having drained portions of France, Belgium, and 

 Holland. Its upper current is formed by two small streams that 

 unite at Fort-Filli5res ; but it is only after passing the village and the 

 ruined castle of Meuse that the name of Meuse is applied to the river. 

 Having traversed in a direction of north by oast the eastern part of 

 Haute-Mame, the Meuse enters the department of Vosges, where, 

 flowing under ground for four miles, it reappears a little south-west of 

 Neufchiteau, not far north of which it crosses the boundary of the 

 department of Meuse. Through the whole length of this department 

 it flows north by west in a narrow valley past Comniercy, Verdun 

 (where it becomes navigable), and Stenay. On entering the depart- 

 ment of Ardennes it haa a very winding course, first north-west past 

 Sedan, Meziferes, and Charleville, and then north by east past Fumay 

 and the fortress of Givet, just below which it enters the kingdom of 

 Belgium. Here it traverses the province of Namur in the direction 

 of north by west, as far as the town of Namur, whence it flows north- 

 east to Liige, and then turning north by cast it forms the boundary 

 between Dutch and Belgian Limburg; and continuing in the same 



