﻿M7 



NOCTON. 



NOHD. 



I 



has given title to a bishop since a.d. 402 ; but the see has been united 

 to ^ssoferrato rince a.d. 1027. The population is now only about 

 1200. The surroonding territory, which is billy, produces wine, oil, 

 and plenty of fruit. 



NOCTON. rLiKCOLjreHiRE.] 



NOOARO. [Obks.] 



NOOENT. [AuBE ; Eure-et-Loir ; Habsb.] 



NOIRMOUTIER. (TESBfeB.] 



NOLA. [Lavoro, Terra dl] 



NOMBRE DE DIGS. [Mexico.] 



NONANCOURT. [E0RE.1 



NONTRON. [DoRDOOjTE.] 



NOOKHA. [Georgia.] 



NOOTKA sound. [yANCoovER IstAiro.] 



NORD, a department in France, thus named &om its being the 

 most northern portion of that country, lies between 49° 68' and 

 51" 5' N. lat, 2° 7' and 4° 23' E. long., and is bounded E. by Belgium, 

 S. by the department of Aisne, W. by those of Somme and Pas-de- 

 Calais, and N. by the North Sea. Its length from Donkerque to the 

 south of Tr^on, is about 124 miles; its breadth is very Tuiable, 

 being 39 miles at the widest part> but not quite 2 J miles near 

 Armenti^res, where it is crossed by the Lys. The area is 219S-5 

 square miles; the population in 1841 was 1,035,298; in 1851 it 

 amounted to 1,158,285, being 528-05 to the square mile, or 853'47 

 above the average per square mile for all France. With the exception 

 of the metropolitan department of Seine, Nord is the most populous 

 deputment in France. 



The department is formed out of the old province of French 

 Flanders, of nearly the whole of Hainaut-Franfais and C«mbresis, 

 and of small portions of Artois and Vermandois. It belongs almost 

 entirely to the basin of the flscant, and has a general inclination 

 towards the north-east. The surface, except in the south of the 

 department, is level. Some isolated hiUs spring up here and there, 

 which seem to be higher than they really are in oonsequanoe of the 

 general Batness of the country. Hont-Caasel, in the arrondiKament 

 of Haxebrouck, famous for the extensive view from its summit, is 

 only 3fll feet above the sea-level. The arrondissement of Avesnes, 

 in the south of the department, is a hilly country ; it is covered hj 

 the northern slopes of the Ardenne, many of which are covered with 

 foreata, while the narrow vales are furrowed by the Helpe-Majenre, 

 the Helpe-Hinenre, and a great number of smaller streams that flow 

 into the Sarabre, a feeder of the Menne. The Ardenne Hills extend 

 also into the arrondissement of Cambrai, and form the watershed 

 between the Sambre and the Escaut. The hills of this arrondissement 

 are all of gentle slope, and generally cultivated to their summits ; the 

 loftiest of them, Bonavis, the summit of which is the highest point 

 in the department, is only 894 fi-et above the sea. In the arrondisse- 

 ment of Dnnkerque, which extends about 25 miles along the sea-eoast, 

 a considerable portion of the surface is very little, if anything above 

 the sea, and marshy, but maintained in a state fit for cultivation by 

 a system of drainage called Watttrinffua, The Watteringiies district, 

 which contains an area of 95,327 acres, is divided into four sections, 

 each under the care of commissioners appointed for the purpose of 

 seeing the drainage works kept in repair. Between these lands and 

 the sea extends a melancholy fringe of sand, bordered near the sea by 

 sand-hills called 'dunes,' or downs. The canal from Bergues to 

 Fumes, which forms one of the outleta for the waters raised from 

 the Watteringues country, separates this from the district of the 

 Mofrt*, consisting of the bturins of two lakes drained in a similar way 

 by canals, windmills, and dykes ; the Hoeres district is under a 

 separate administration. The marsh-lands in the valleys of the 

 S<»rpe, the Excaut, the Sambre, and in various other districts, are 

 each subjected to a system of drainage regulated by commissioners, 

 who are appointed under the authority of the prefect of the depart- 

 ment, by the proprietors interested in the reclamation of the lands. 



The soil is in general good ; but in such an extent of surface the 

 variety of course is great, from the deep rich clay and marly soil of 

 the arrondissement of Lille, to the barren sand-hills on the coast, and 

 to the light gravelly soil of the southern districts. But eveiywhere 

 the system of agriculture is good, and fine crops of great variety are 



fstlMred. Of the whole surface, which measures 1,403,824 acres, 

 ,175,214 acres are under cultivation, namely, 888,649 acres under 

 plough-culture, 236,817 acres of meadow and graas-limd, 40,872 acres 

 of (gardens, orchards, and nurseries, and 9486 acres under various 

 culture. Of the remaining surface, 88,682 acres consist of forest land, 

 a large portion of which lies in the arrondissement of Avesnes ; 

 17,601 acres are barren bog and heath; 60,818 acres are covered 

 with roads, streets, and buildings; and 67,470 acres of forest domain 

 are the pro per ty of the state. 



The crops grown for the sustenance of man and the domestic animals 

 are— wheat, mixed grain, spelt and buckwheat, rye, barley, oats, peas, 

 beans, and other leguminous seeds. The produce of these crops, 

 taking one year with another, is now sufficient for the consumption ; 

 formerly this was not the case, though the population was then smaller. 

 Of potatoes, the produce is not nearly equal to the consumption. 

 Authority was given to plant 2498 acres with tobacco in 1849, calcu- 

 latad to furnish 68,070 cwt of leaf. The other objects of the fanner's 

 •ate are alovsr, looam, olsagtnotia taeds, beetroot, turnips, colao, flax 



and hemp. The number of wind-, water-, and steam-mills for the 

 manufacture of oil and flour, in 1848, was 1367. A good deal of the 

 barley grown in the department is used for malting, beer being a 

 common beverage; other grain and potatoes are used in the gin 

 and other spirit distilleries. Apples, pears, nuts, and other common 

 fruits are cultivated ; flowers too are objects of especial attention ; 

 hops are grown. 



The horses of the department are large, strong, and of good breed. 

 A great number of horned-cattle are fed on the natural pastures and 

 on the abundant green crops that are raised. The number of sheep 

 reared to supply the markets with mutton and for the growth of wool 

 is very considerable. Good butter and passable cheese are made. 

 Pigs, poultry, and fish are abundant. Bees are kept chiefly in the 

 south of the department. Coal is the common fuel, wood being scarce. 

 Timber-trees are grown along the roads and in the hedgerows. 



The principal rivers of the department are — the Aa, which runs 

 along the western boundary, and enters the North Sea at (iravelines, 

 where it forms a small harbour : the Titer, which receives the Peene 

 below Wormhout, and runs north-east into Belgium : the Zy», a 

 feeder of the Escaut, which is itself fed by the Lawe and the OetUe : 

 the Scarpe, which, rising in Pas-de-Calais, runs east past Douai, and 

 joins the Escaut at Mortagne, on the Belgian frontier: the Eacaat, 

 which, rising in the north of the department of Aisne, flows north to 

 Cambrai, whence it runs north-east past Valenciennes and Cond^, 



7 miles north of which it enters Belgium, having received the Sent(e 

 at Bouchain, the Sella and the Escaillon between Bouchain and 

 Valenciennes, and the Haine at Cond(S : and the Sambre, which crosses 

 the south of the department, passing Landrecies and Maubeuge, below 

 which it enters Belgium on its way to join the Meuse. Most of these 

 streams, and many smaller ones, have been rendered navigable ; they, 

 with the 25 canals that traverse the department in all directions, 

 afford an internal navigation of 308 miles. Of these canals, particular 

 mt-ntion must be made of the St.-Quentin Canal, which, running from 

 Cambrai to St.-Quentin, unites the Escaut to the Somme, and com- 

 pletes the internal navigation of France between the North Sea, the 

 Atlantic, and the Mediterranean. 



Roadway accommodation is afforded by 15 state, 17 depart- 

 mental, and 50 parish roads, to the extent of 1029 miles in length. 

 Railroads traverse the department in several directions, uniting 

 Valenciennes, Douai, Lille, Dunkerqne, and the intermediate towns 

 with Pari!*, Calais, Courtiai, Brupres, Mens, Antwerp, and Brussels. 

 All these lines are connected with Paris by electro-telegraphic wires. 



The mineral wealth of the department consists chiefly of its coal- 

 and iron-mines; of the former, 19, all situated in the valley of the 

 Escaut, were worked in 1848, and of the latter, three were worked in 

 the arrondissement of Avesnes. A valuable coal-field was discovered 

 near Douai in June 1863. Steam-engines are used for draining the 

 mines. Marble, paving-stones, brick-earth, potters'clay, peat, and 

 fossil-ashes, which are used as manure, are found. There are mineral 

 waters and baths at Si-Amand. 



The industrial products of the department are of the most varied 

 description, including all kinds of woollen, cotton, and linen manu- 

 factures, ticking, duck, velveteen, printed cottons, and handkerchiefs ; 

 woollen, flaxen, cotton, and hempen yam ; lace, tulle, cambric, and 

 lawn ; soap, refined sugar, and salt ; beer, oil, nails, glass, paper, tiles, 

 bricks, earthenware, ropes, leather, toys, small wares, cannon, small 

 arms, saltpetre, Ac. These numerous products form the items of a 

 laii^ home and foreign commerce. The imports are chiefly raw cotton, 

 wool, flax, colonial produce, wine, brandy, and timber. At the prin- 

 cipal points on the Belgian frontier custom-house officers are stationed, 

 who are under the direction of the custom-houses of Dunkerque and 

 Valenciennes. 



Among the principal educational, benevolent, and administrative 

 institutions of the department are — at Douai a University-Academy, 

 (which comprises within its limits the departments of Aisne, Ardennes, 

 Nord, Pas-de-Calais, and Somme), and a Normal school ; lyceums at 

 Douai and Lille, in which science and languages are taught ; 15 com- 

 munal colleges for pensioners, foundationers, and day students; 

 societies of medicine and botemical gardens at Douai and Lille ; publio 

 and lending libraries, and museums in all the principal towns ; 47 

 hospitals, 5 of which are general, 7 for the sick, and the rest for 

 special inmates ; 2 institutions for deaf-mutes, one at Lille for girls, 

 and one at Fives for boys ; 3 lunatic asylums ; 6 lying-in societies for 

 the poor under the direction of ladies ; a central prison at Loos, where 

 the silent system is enforced, except among the junior convicts ; and 



8 common prisons. There is a branch of the Bank of France in Lille ; 

 5 monts-de-pidt^, and 9 savings-banks in the large towns. In almost 

 every commune there is a 'bureau de bienfaisance,' supported by 

 charitable bequests, for the distribution of relief in food, clothes, 

 child-bed linen, or money to poor householders. There are Protest- 

 ant oratories at Lille, Quidvy, Walincourt, Inohy, and 8t.-Amand. 

 The Jews have a synagogue at Lille. Besides these, there are 

 numerous scientific and agricultural societies ; special academies, in 

 which painting, music, applied mathematics, hydrography, zoology, 

 clinical medicine, chemistry, architecture, drawing, modelling, Ac., 

 are taught The number of journals aud periodicals published in the 

 department is 32. In 146 communes there are societies of nuns and 

 religious woman, who attend the sick in the hospitals and at their 



