402 NETHERLANDS. 



each other by small intervals ; while through such fair landscapes 

 wind the livers, and extend the clear canals of Flanders and Bra- 

 bant." In the duchy of Luxemburg, or the department of the Fo- 

 rests, the country is less cultivated, and presents^ a less lively scene- 



Forests. ...In the department of Jemappe is the forest of Soignes ; 

 and in that of the Forests, are ample remains of the ancient forest 

 of Ardennes, which formerly extended from the Moselle to the sea. 



Rivt-Rs, canals. ...The chief rivers are the Maese or Meuse, Sam- 

 bre, Demer, Dyle, Nethe, Geet, Sanne, Ruppel, Scheldt, Lis, Scarpe, 

 Deule, and Dender....The principal canals are those of Brussels, 

 Ghent, and Ostend. 



Metals, minerals. ...Mines of iron, copper, lead, and sulphur, are 

 found in Luxemburg and Limburg, at present the departments of the 

 Forests and of Ourthe, as are some marble quarries ; and in the pro- 

 vince of Namur, or the department of the Sambre and Meuse, there 

 are coal-pits, and a species of bituminous fat earth, proper for fuel, 

 with great plenty of fossile nitre. 



Climate, soil, agriculture. ...The air of Brabant, and upon the 

 coast of Flanders, is bad ; that in the interior parts is more healthful, 

 and the seasons more settled, both in winter and summer, than they 

 are in England. The soil and its produce are rich, especially in corn 

 and fruits. They have abundance of pasture ; and Flanders itself has 

 been reckoned the granary of France and Germany, and sometimes of 

 England. The most barren parts for corn, rear far more profitable 

 crops of flax, which is here cultivated to great perfection. The 

 state of agriculture in the Netherlands has received the highest 

 praise from those well qualified to judge of it ; and has, indeed, been 

 celebrated for these 600 years past. Upon the whole, the late Aus- 

 trian Netherlands, by the culture, commerce, and industry of the 

 inhabitants, was formerly the richest and most beautiful spot in 

 Europe, whether we regard the variety of its manufactures, the 

 magnificence and riches of its cities, the pleasantness of its roads 

 and villages, or the fertility of its land. If it has fallen off in latter 

 times, it is owing partly to the neglect of its government, but chiefly 

 to its vicinity to England and Holland ; but it is still a most desirable 

 and agreeable country. 



Vegetables, animals. ...Great quantities of corn, flax, and mad- 

 der, are grown in the Netherlands, and the pasturage is particularly 

 abundant. The cattle, which are purchased lean in the more north- 

 ern countries, soon fatten and grow to a large size. The animals 

 are in general the same as in the neighbouring countries of France 

 and Holland. 



Natural curiosities. ...No precipices, cataracts, nor any grand 

 and romantic natural scenery can be expected in this flat and low 

 country. A stone quarry, under a hill near Maestricht, which is 

 worked into a kind of subterranean palace, supported by pillars twenty 

 feet high, may be mentioned under this head, though it may seem 

 rather an artificial than a natural curiosity. 



Population. ..The number of inhabitants in this country has usually 

 been estimated at about two Millions ; but according to the enumera- 

 tion published by the French government, the nine departments of 

 Belgium contain 3,018,703 inhabitants. See Table of the Depart- 

 ments of France. 



National character, MA»»ERS.,..The Flemings, by which name 



