﻿TTt 



itsnsfi. 



HBITSE. 



Hi 



ilircction to k few mile* below Venloo, it tunu nearly north-west us 

 far u Qrmre. From the neighboarhood of Qrare it flows west, and 

 ■eparatea Kortls Brabant Cram Guelderland and Holland. Below 

 Ctoroam it divides into two arms : of these, the northern one, flowing 

 throDgh the province of Holland, takes the niuno of Morwe, as far as 

 Dort, where it subdivides into two branobea, the northern one called 

 the Haas, the southern one the Oude Haas, which iuclose between 

 them the island of Ysaelmonde; these branches, uniting on the eastern 

 aide of the Isle of Kosenburg, form a wide current, which enters the 

 North Sea to the north-west of the island of Voome. The southern 

 arm, having passed through the Biesbosch, takes the name of HoUands- 

 Diep as far as Willemstad, below which it also subdivides into two 

 branches : one of these, first called Haring-VUet, and more to westward 

 Flakkee, enters the North Sea bv a wide aiJtaary between the islands 

 of Yoom and Over-Flakkee ; the other flows into the North Sea 

 between the ishuids of Over-Flakkee and Schouwen, having first sent 

 part of its waters to tiie eastward of Schouwen Island into the Ouster 

 Sohelde. The whole course of this river is 652 miles in length, 25G 

 miles of which are in France ; it is navigable from Verdun to its 

 month, a distance of 430 miles — 133 miles of these are in France. 

 The principal feeders of the Meuse in France are the Mouzon, the 

 Vair, the Chiers, and the Semoy on the right bonk, and the Bar on 

 the led ; in Belgium the Lesse and the Ourthe on the right, and the 

 Sambre on the left bank ; in Holland, the Roer, the Niers, the Linge, 

 the three branches of the Rhine known as the Waal, the Leek, and 

 the Tsael, on the right bank, and the Dommel and the Merk on the 

 left. Many of thne rivers are navigable ; those that are not so are 

 available for floating timber. Down the Meuse itself the chief articles 

 of transport are marble, slates, iron, timber, and com. 



The basin of the Meuse is for the most part very narrow, the French 

 part of it being a mere strip of a few miles in width, hemmed in 

 between high hills ; lower down, where it includes the valleys of the 

 Sambre and the Ourthe, it attains its greatest width, which is about 

 90 miles. North of tibge the basin again becomes narrow, and so 

 oontinuos to the final bend of the river westward, where in some 

 places the width of the basin is between 30 and 40 miles. The lower 

 part of the basin of Meuse includes a good deal of fertile fiat land, 

 with not a few marshes and peat bogs ; the upper part of it is in 

 general fertile, and presents some pretty and some bold scenery. The 

 basin of the Meuse communicates with those of the Rhine, the Seine, 

 and the Schelde by means of canals. 



MEUSE, a department in the north-east of France, is bounded N. 

 by the duchy of Luxembourg and the department of Ardennes, G. by 

 the departmoits of Moselle and Meurthe, S. by those of Vosges and 

 Hante-Mame, and W. by the departments of Mame and Ardennes. 

 Its form approximates to that of an oval; its greatest length from 

 north to south is 80 miles ; its greatest breadth is 46 miles, but the 

 average width does not exceed 33 miles. The area is 24U5-9 square 

 miles. The population in 1841 was 328,372; in 1851 it amounted to 

 828,657, giving 137-0 inhabitants to a square mile, or 37°98 below the 

 avanga per square mile for all France. The department was formed 

 obiefly out of the duchy of Lorraine and Bar ; and the rest of it out of 

 a part of the Trois-£vdoh(!s and portions of the counties of Champagne 

 and Clermont. 



The Faucilles Mountains, which, running through the department 

 of Haute-Mame and Vosges, connect the plateau of Langres with the 

 principal chain of the Voages Mountains, send out two ranges of hills 

 that inclose the narrow vaUey of the Meuse, and traverse the depart- 

 ment of Moose from south-south-east to north-north-west, terminating 

 'northward in the wooded heights of the Ardennes. From these two 

 ranges, which nowhere exceed the height of 1600 feet, numerous 

 latmal oSthoots spring, so that the surface presents a great variety of 

 hill and dale, and plain and valley. The more western of the two 

 ranges is often designated by the name of the Argonne Hills ; it forms 

 the watershed between the Mease and the Seine. The eastern range, 

 which in general is more property described as a high table-land, 

 divides the feeders of the Meuse from those of the Moselle. These 

 heights, which consist of fossiliferous rocks, are in many places 

 ooTssw l with extensive forests, in others with pastures, whereon great 

 Booban of cattle an fed. The lower slopes are laid out in vineyards, 

 wbidi yield ordinary white and red wines of the first cUiss. The soil 

 oC Um plains is in general shallow and unproductive ; but the river 

 flUay, sspecially those of the Meuse and the Ornain, are of the 

 t brtility, and cultivated with the utmost care. 



Th« chief river is the Meuse, which gives name to the department, 

 •■d is navigabls from Verdun to iU mouth. The west and south-wast 

 of Um department are drained by the Aisnk and its feeder the Aire ; 

 ■od by the Onain and the Saulx, which unite their wateni and, swelled 

 by IM Cbes, flow into the Marno a little below Vitry-sur-Mame, in the 

 d*|iHlliMlit of Marne. The Madiuo and the Ornes flow north-east into 

 tlM M oss l U. The Oison and the Otbain drain the northern district, 

 ■ad Sow north-west into the Chiers, a feeder of the Meuse. The 

 departiiMDt k eroased by sUte, 12 departmenUl, and a great number 

 of cross roads. The Paris-Stnuboutg railroad traverses the depart- 

 ment, passing throogh Bar le-Duc and Commeroy. The climate is 

 mild In tha vallan, but hanh and cold on the hiUs and on the high 

 tabla-land east of tbs Meuse. 



Of tha usual bnad-itaffi more than is anougU for the consumption 



is raised. Hemp, flax, and oleaginous seeds are cultivated. Cattle, 

 swine, and goats are nomerous ; horaaa are smaU. Gooseberries and 

 strawbertiaa are grown in very lai^ quantities in the neighboathood 

 of Bar-le-Dne and Ligny, whenoe they are lai^y exported in the 

 preserved state. Oruyirc and oream cheese are made in the arron- 

 dissement of Commercy. About 22,000,000 gallons of wine ara made 

 annually, two-thirds of which ara consumed on the spot, and the 

 remainder is exported to Belgium. 



The department is occupied by the rocks that intervene between 

 the chalk and the new red-sandstone. Several iron-mines are worked; 

 good building-stone, marl, potten*-clay, and slates ara found. Fossils 

 of great variety, and some of large dimensions, ara met with. 



The chief manufactures ara — iron, made in 40 forgea and furnaces, 

 cotton cloth and twist, hosiery, oil, glass, paper, pottery, beer, leather, 

 brandy, &a The commerce of the department is fed by the articles 

 already enumerated, and by timber, oak-staves, clover-seed, butter, 

 fat pork, hides, wool, confectionary, &c. Above 100 fitirs are held in 

 the course of the year. 



The department of Meuse contains 1,539,794 acres. Of the whole 

 area 828,302 acres are under cultivation; 442,920 acres ara covered 

 with woods and forests ; 34,849 acres are imder vine culture ; 122,252 

 acres are meadow and grass land ; 18,254 acres ara laid out in gardens, 

 orchards, and plantations of various kinds; 29,634 acres consist of 

 barren moorland ; 15,294 acres ara covered with rivers, ponds, 

 marshes, or canals ; and 35,649 acres ara occupied as roads, streets, 

 and squares. 



The department is divided into four arrondissements, which, with 

 their subdivisions and populations, ore as follows : — 





Osatons. 



Conununet. 



FopoUtioatBUM. 



1. Bsr-le-Doe 



3. Commercy . . . 

 8. MontrnMy 



4. Verdan . . . 



8 



T 

 6 



7 



118 



181 

 131 

 190 



88,3}8 

 87,684 

 69,098 

 8i,589 



Total 



18 



891 



838,887 



1. Of the first arrondissement the chief town is B^lr-le-Duc, which 

 is also the capital of the department. AncenUU, a small place S. of 

 Bar-le-Duc, has 2181 inhabitants. Ligny, a well-built town, prettily 

 situated on the left bank of the Ornain, has several iron-forges and 

 smelting furnaces, a cotton-spinning factory, tanyards, and a popula- 

 tion of 8147. The town is noted for its manufacture of anvils. 



2. In the second arrondissement the chief town, Commercy, stands 

 on the left bank of the Meuse, in 48° 45' 54' N. lat, 6° 35' 41" 

 E. long., 20 miles in a straight line, 25 miles by railway, E. from Bar- 

 le-Duc, and has a tribunal of first instance, a college, and 3735 inha- 

 bitants in the commune. The town is well buut, and has several 

 pretty promenades. The barracks, riding-school, town-hall, and corn- 

 market are the most remarkable buildings. In the environs, which 

 are very beautiful, there ara several iron-forgoa and smelting-furnaoes. 

 The manubctures of Commercy are calico, cutlery, beer, and leather. 

 Sl.-Mihid, a pretty well-built town, with a college and C462 inhabit- 

 ants, is situated on the right bank of the Meuso, which here flows 

 through a narrow valley shut in by high hills. The church of 

 St.-£tienne contains a fine sculptured representation of the Entomb- 

 ment of Christ Cotton cloth and yarn, iron, carpenter's tools, and 

 leather, are the chief industrial products. VaucoiUeurs, a town of 

 2500 inhabitants, stands on the slopes of a hill above the left bank of 

 the Meuse, 12 miles S. from Commercy, and has manufactures of 

 cotton cloth, cotton hosiery, and leather. 



8. In the third arrondissement the chief town, Montmfdy, is situated 

 at the foot and on the slope of a hill above the Chiers, a feeder of the 

 Meuse, in 49° 81' 6" N. lat., 5° 21' 55" E. long., 984 feet above the 

 level of the sea, and has a college, a tribunal of first instance, and 2132 

 inhabitants in the commune. It is an ill-built place, with narrow 

 crooked streets and badly constructed houses. This town, being 

 situated on the frontier of France, is regularly fortified : its defences 

 have been repaired and strengthened withhi a few years. It has hydraulic 

 saw -mills, tinyanis, oil-mills, and some hosiery manufactures. Sicnay, 

 a well-built town, 8 miles W. from MontmiSdy, is situated in a fertile 

 spot on the right bank of the Meuse, which forms several islands and 

 drives the machinery of several iron forges below the town. The 

 inhabitants, who number 3775, manufacture beet-root sugar, wine- 

 casks, beer, leather, iron, and bricks. 



4. In the fourth arrondissement the chief town, Verdan, stands on 

 the Meuse, which here begins to be navigable, in 49° 9' 20" N. lat., 

 6° 19' 62" E. long., 1030 feet above the level of the sea, at a distance 

 of 146 miles E. from Paris; and has tribunals of first instance and of 

 commerce, a diocesan school, communal and ecclesiastical colleges, 

 and 13,549 inhabitants in the commune exclusive of the gan-iaon. The 

 town is defended by a citadel constructed by Vauban, and by ten 

 detached redoubts. The Meuso flows through the town in five branches, 

 which unite outside the fortifications. Vei^un is in general well built; 

 but the streets, some of which are steep, are badly paved. An 

 esplanade, planted with trees, divides the citadel from the town. The 

 residence of the bishop of Verdun, the public library, which contains 



