Rural Economy of Frame since 1789. 
539 
country and tlio nature of the soil. " Instead of those vast plains 
softly inclinin;^ towards the ocean," says M. do Lavergne, "this 
IVorth-Eastorn region consists pretty much of a confused heap of 
hills and mountains, the ranges of which cross each other in all 
directions, and some of which rise to rather a high elevation. 
There are few towns and many forests, but an industrious })opu- 
lation redeem by their activity the shortcomings of the soil." 
Tiie ancient province of Champagne, in an agricultural point 
of view, is as uninteresting as any barren desert can be. Of the 
four departments into wliich it is now divided, viz. the Ardennes, 
Aube, Marne, and Haute-Marne, the latter alone presents some 
patches of fertile soil. Everywhere else a barren surface pre- 
vails, which may be described as sterile grit, chalky tufa, or 
schist, upon which vegetable and animal life is so poor and 
stunted as to have drawn upon this province the opprobrious 
appellation of Champagne PouiUeuse, the meaning of which 
epithet we shall leave our readers to discover for themselves. 
At an early epoch these dreary wastes presented an attraction to 
St. Bernard and his followers, the founders of the Abbev of 
Clairvault, the head of eight hundred kindred monasteries. The 
monks were everywliere the best and earliest patrons of agricul- 
ture, the Counts of Champagne were kindly rulers, and this poor 
province enjoyed comparative pro,sperity ; but then the English 
wars depopulated the country, and next the curse and blight arising 
from direct dependence on the French crown fell upon the land. 
Before the Revolution its poverty was notorious. Arthur Young's 
calculations show an average rent of 4 francs and gross produce of 12 
fi'ancs per acre throughout the province. The misery of the people, 
due as much to the government as to the soil, was heartrending. 
The Ardennes were at one time covered with a dense forest, 
numerous patches of which are still extant. There are no natural 
pastures to he found except in the bottom of the valleys ; and 
from want of staple soil or means of inigation it is next to 
impossible to create them. Rye is the principal cereal grown, 
for it is the only one that can be obtained with any advantage. 
Where the culture of wheat is possible, the yield rarely exceeds 
1 2 bushels an acre. The basins of the rivers Seine, Marne, and 
Aube alone form brilliant exceptions to this sombre aspect, from 
their luxuriant fertility. 
But all this desolate and barren character which prevails over 
the greater extent of Champagne is most abundantly compensated 
by the sparkling produce of its famous vineyards. These, though 
limited in extent to about 150,000 acres, produce an average 
yearly return of nearly two millions and a half sterling, or about 
16/. an acre. 
" Champagne," says M. de Lavergne, " exhibits a rural organic 
VOL. XXI. 2 o 
