674 CAN 
Briare, called alfo the canal of Burgundy, was begun under 
Henry IV. and finilhed in the reign of Louis X 111 . It forms 
a communication between the Loire and the Seine, and 
begins from the Loire at the town of Briare, palling by 
Chatillon-fur-Loing to Montargis, where it takes the 
name of the canal of Mcntargis ; juft above which town it 
joins the canal of Orleans, and then proceeds by Chau, 
Landau, Nemours, and Moret, and falls into the Seine near 
Fontainbleau. This canal has forty-two locks and iluices ; 
and by it Paris is (applied with corn, flour, and provilions, 
as well as the other productions of the interior, fuch as 
Provence o'ds( dried fruits, hardware, mufcadel wines, pa¬ 
per,^and other merchandife ; and in return the cloths and 
fluffs, camblets, &c. of Abbeville, Amiens, Rheirns, Se¬ 
dan, and Lifle, are fent by this communication to the fouth- 
ern parts of France. The canal of Orleans, which joins 
the former iyar the town of Montargis, was begunin 1675, 
to effect a commuhicatiod between tire Seine and the Loire 
near the city of Orleans. It is confidcrably Ihorter than the 
canal of Briare, and has only twenty locks and Iluices. By 
this canal the inhabitants perform by an inland navigation, 
in their batcaux-ccchcs (coach-boats or water-coaches), a 
voyage to and from the neighbouring towns, and even to 
the city of Paris, 
The canal of Bourbon has been but lately undertaken, 
for the purpofe of effeftinga communication from the river 
Oife to Paris, to prevent, as far as in the power of human 
prudence, the pollibility of a fcarcity in that city. The 
junction of the river Somme with the Oife, by means of 
the canal of Picardy, affords a ready conveyance to Paris 
for the grain of Picardy; and for the fea-coal, wood, but¬ 
ter, copper, and fpices, from the northern part of the king¬ 
dom, and from Holland. This canal begins at St. Qmntin, 
and is cut to near the town of Ham on the river Somme, 
whence it croffes the country into the Oife, near Lafere ; 
from whence veffels proceed down that river to Chauny, 
where it is navigable into the Seine, and fo to Paris, and 
by Rouen to the fea. From the town of Landau a canal is 
cut into the Rhine, near Spires, which is called the canal 
of Landau. 
The canal of Languedoc, called alfo the canal of the 
Two Seas, which forms a jundion between the ocean and 
the Mediterranean, was nr ft projected under Francis I. but 
begun and finifiled under Louis XIV. It does honour to 
the able minifler Colbert, and to Riquet, the engineer who 
conducted the work. This amazing undertaking was begun 
in 1666, and finiflied in 1681. It has anfwered every ex¬ 
pectation formed from it, and eflablifhed a ready commu¬ 
nication between the two fertile provinces of Guienne and 
Languedoc. This canal extends from Narbonne toThou- 
loufe. It receives leveral rivers as feeders in the way, and 
is provided at proper intervals with 114 locks and Iluices. 
In fome places it is conveyed by aqueducts over bridges of 
incredible height and ftrength, which below give palfage to 
other rivers. What appeared moft extraordinary at that 
time was, that near the town of Breziers it was conveyed 
under a mountain by a tunnel (a method which has now 
become common) 720 feet in length, cut intoa lofty arcade, 
and the greatelt part of the way lined with free-done, ex¬ 
cepting towards the ends, where it is only hewn through 
the rock, which is of a foft fulphurous fubdance. The 
expence of this work was thirteen millions of livres, about 
540,000k derliog, of which the king contributed feven 
millions, and the province of Languedoc the remainder. 
Some years ago it'was projected to cut three canals to 
join the navigable rivers, by which there might be a cheap, 
eafy, fafe, and certain, conveyance of goods from Marfeilles, 
the Mediterranean, Italy, and Swilferland, to the bay of 
Bifcay and the ocean, and alio to Holland and Germany, as 
well as to Flanders and all the Andrian Netherlands ; that, 
during any future war, France might be able, by this 
means, to fupply her dock-yards at Marfeilles and Toulon, 
and her grand arfenal and dock-yards at Bred and Roche¬ 
fort, with all forts of dores and commodities from the 
Baltic, without hazarding a voyage by fea. 
A L. 
Since the canal of Languedoc has proved of fuch advan¬ 
tage to the town of Cette and the adjacent country, other 
places have been induced to follow the example. From 
Cet te another canal has been cut, called the canal of Grave, 
which goes into the lake Mauguis, near the city of Mont¬ 
pellier ; and another canal out of the fame lake, to the 
town of Lunel, called the canal of Lunel. There is ano¬ 
ther canal out of the bay of Languedoc, through two 
lakes, to the town of Beaucaire, on the river Rhone ; 
having a branch cut to the village of Guveral, into the 
river called the little Rhone. There is alfo another canal 
from the town of Tarafcon on the Rhone to the town of 
Arles on the fame river, down to the lake which falls into 
the bay near the mouths of the Rhone. It is called the 
canal of Bone ; and from it proceed two other canals, one 
near the town of Arles, the other at the head of the above- 
mentioned lake ; the latter is called the canal of Crapone, 
and goes into the river Durance near Mirandol. 
Three other canals are projected from this river, near 
the city of Avignon ; one is called the canal of Crillon, 
another the canal of Real, and the third the canal of Boif- 
gelin ; and there is another canal cut out of this, near 
Eyguires, which unites with the great lake Berre at the 
village of Kiris, and which palfes by the village of Salon. 
Another canal runs from the other fide of the lake to the 
village of Pailiafent; thefe two canals, being into and out 
of the fame lake, are called the canal of little Crapone. 
In the northern part of France there is a canal from 
Dunkirk to Bergifes, and one from Bergues to Furnes, 
called the canal of Furnes. There is alfo another from 
Furnes to Nieuport, called the canal of Nieuport. Another 
proceeds from Bergues, by the village of Colme, to St. 
Omer’s, and is called the canal of Bergue. This cut is 
continued from St. Omer’s into the river Lys, at the 
town of Aire, and is called the canal of Aire. Another 
canal, cut in 1681, begins juft above the town of Calais, 
and is carried acrofs the country into a river, near Atidriue, 
which runs down to Gravelines. Thefe canals interfect the 
country, and are not only ufeful for navigation, but for 
draining that low country, which would othervvife be a 
bog, whereas by this means it is gendered one of the molt 
fruitful countries in Europe. 
A canal communication, by locks, is made between 
Lens, Lifle, Dotiay, and the rivers Upper and Lower Deule, 
the Scarpe, and the Scheld. From the city of Lille the 
canal takes a courfe near La BifTeand Lens to Douay, and 
is called the canal of I.ifle and Douay ; from thence it 
returns t d>ack, and goes out of the Scarpe, palfes near 
Marchienne, and joins the Scarpe again at the town of 
St. Amand, from which it returns back, with a very 
acute angle, three parts of the way to Douay, and 
parallel on the other fide of the Scarpe, and is calied 
the canal of Tritaire. Many other parts of the king¬ 
dom have a fimilar communication by water. Three 
canals are cut from the fmall river Bonne, near the city of 
Grenoble ; and a fourth is cut lower down. It goes out of 
tiie river Drac, and is called the canal of Merbeys. A 
fmall canal is cut out of the river Pan, near the city of Pau, 
called the canal of Lefter. Another canal is cut from the 
river Adour, near the village Barcelonne, which goes to 
the town of Adour. There is alfo a canal cut out of tlie 
bay of Rochelle, to the town of Lucon, called the canal of 
Lucon ; and near the fame place the courfe of a canal is 
projected from the mouth of the river Saigre into the 
Claine, near the city of Poitiers. This is called the canal 
of Poitou. A canal, called the canal of Monfieur, is cut 
out of the Loire at Chalonne, and palfes by Layon Thou- 
arce to Martigne. Another canal is cut out of the fork of 
that river and Mayenne, near the town of Angiers, and 
proceeds to the town of Auchion. A fhort canal is alfo 
cut out from the bay oppofite to the ifland of Bellille, to the 
town of Vannes. Thefe feveral canals meafure in length 
1,939 Englifli miles Many others have been projected, 
but the prefent war has in that country put a Hop to pvery 
undertaking of a commercial nature. 
