645 
FRA 
and falnbrious than that of England; yet the northern 
provinces are much expofed to heavy rains, which pro. 
duce, in confequence, beautiful verdure and rich paftures. 
The intelligent Mr. Arthur Young divides France into 
three climates, the northern, the central, and the fouthern. 
The firft yields no wines; the fecotid no maize; the 
third produces wines, maize, and olives. Thefe divifions 
proceed in an oblique line from the fouth-weft to the 
north-call, fo as to demonftrate “ that the eaftern part of 
the kingdom is two and a half degrees of latitude hotter 
than tire weftern; or, if not hotter, rqore favourable to 
vegetation.” The central divifion Mr. Young confiders 
as°one of the fined provinces in the world, containing 
among others the province of Touraitie, which the French 
particularly celebrate ; yet it is expofed to violent fhowers 
©f hail. The chief difadvantage or peculiar inconve¬ 
nience of the third climate, is the flies : “ They are the 
firft of torments in Spain, Italy, and the olive diftriCt of 
France : it is not that they bite, fting, or hurt; but they 
buz, teaze, and worry : your mouth, eyes, ears, and nofe, 
are full of them: they fwarm on every eatable ; fruit, 
fugar, milk,—every thing is attacked by them in fuch 
myriads, that, if they are not driven away inceflantly by 
a perfon who has nothing elfe to do, to eat a meal is im- 
poflible.” Young's France, i. 309. One principal advan¬ 
tage of the climate of France arifes from its being fo well 
*dapted to the culture of the vine, which flourilhes in 
fpots that would otherwife be wafte and barren. 
The face of the country for the moft part exhibits a fiat 
luxuriant plain, decorated with rich verdure ; and the 
only mountains deferving of the name are found in the 
fouth, in Auvergne and Languedoc, Dauphine and Pro¬ 
vence. Brittany correfponds greatly in appearance with 
Cornwall in England ; and abounds in extenfive heaths. 
In Lorrain are found the mountains of Vofges, far 
inferior to the fouthern elevations. For beauty Mr. 
Young prefers the Litnofin to every other province of 
France ; yet much of the kingdom is finely diverfified 
with hill and dale, and the rivers, particularly the Seine, 
are often grand and piCturefque. The variations of the 
foil have been ably illuftrated by the fame (kilful agricul- 
turalift. The north-eaft part, from Flanders to Orleans, 
is a rich loam. Further to the weft the land is poor and 
ftoney ; Brittany rnoftly confifts of gravelly fand, with 
low ridges of granite. The chalk hills run through the 
centre of the kingdom, from Germany by Champagne to 
Saintonge ; and on the north of the mountainous tra6b is 
a large extent of gravel, probably wafhed down in pri¬ 
meval times ; but even the mountainous region of the 
fouth is generally fertile, though the large province, for¬ 
merly called Gafcony, prefents many level heaths. 
The rivers of France form an objeCt of important con- 
fideration ; and among them four are remarkably pre¬ 
eminent ; the Seine, the Loire, the Rhone, and the 
Garonne. The firft is one of the moft beautiful ftreams of 
France, rifing near Saint Seine, in the department of 
Cote d’Or, a portion of ancient Burgundy ; it purfues 
its courfe to the north-weft till it enters the Englifh chan¬ 
nel at Havre de Grace, after a courfe of about 250 Englifh 
miles. The Loire derives its fource from Mont Gerbier 
in the north of ancient Languedoc ; and after a northern 
courfe turns to the weft, entering the ocean a confiderable 
way beyond Nantes, after a courfe of about 500 miles. 
The Rhone fprings from the Glacier of Furca, near the 
mountain of Grimfel in Swiflerland ; and after palling 
the beautiful vales of the Vallais, and the lake of Ge¬ 
neva, bends its courfe towards the fouth, and enters the 
Mediterranean fea. The Garonne rifes in the vale of 
Aran in the Pyrennees. The courfe of this river is ge¬ 
nerally north-weft. It extends to about 250 miles. 
After its junction with the Dordogne, it afl'umes the 
name of the Gironde. France is likewife adorned with 
many rivers of fmaller courfe ; as the Saone, which joins 
the Rhone near Lyons; the Lot and Dordogne^ which 
join the Garonne ; and the numerous tributary ftreams of 
Vox.. Vli. No. 456, 
N C E. 
the Loire ; but the ifncertainties of war as yet, (1805,) 
prevent the geographer from regarding the Meufe and 
Mofelle, and even the Rhin~, as rivers of France. A 
few fmall lakes occur in Provence, and perhaps in fonte 
ot the other provinces, but only adapted to the minute 
defcription of the topographer; France and Spain being 
Angularly deficient in this pleafing feature of diverfified 
landfcape. 
Previous to our noticing the grand chain of mountains 
in the fouth of France, it may be proper briefly to men¬ 
tion a few mountainous tra&s which pervade the north. 
Thofe of Brittany are granitic and primitive ; but, like 
thofe of Cornwall, of fmall elevation. They divide 
into branches towards Bred and Alenpon. The Vofges, 
in the department of that name, in the fouth ot ancient 
Lorrain, are fuppofed to be connected with the moun¬ 
tains of Swiflerland. Confiderable chains of mountainsap- 
pear alfo on the weft and eaft of Deux Pouts, remarkable 
for mineral productions, efpecially mercury, and beauti¬ 
ful agates,. 
Mont Jura, a vanguard of the Alps, forms a boundary 
between France and Swiflerland. If Mont Blanc be ad¬ 
mitted among the French mountains, the other Alps 
cannot rival its fupreme elevation. The ancient province 
of Dauphine difplays feveral alpine branches, which alfo 
extend through great part of Provence. 
To the weft of the Rhone arifes the grand chain of the 
CevenneS. Pinkerton obferves, that the Cevennes feena 
to be the principal centre of the primitive mountains of 
France, extending into feveral branches. The principal 
branch runs along the river Ardeche, towards Arles. 
Another traverfes the Rhone on the fide of Tournon and 
and Vienne, toward the plains of Dauphine. That which 
forms the mountains of Beaujolois, pafles by Tarare, 
Autun, &c. till it is loft at Avalon. This branch is 
about 70 leagues in length, but in breadth fometimes 
not more than a league : it contains the copper mines of 
Chef! and St. Bel, and fome lead mines: coal is alfo 
found in the declivities. The branch which, feparating 
the bafon of the Loire from that of the Allier, forms the 
mountains of Forez. It paffes Roanne on one fide, and 
Thiers on the other, and is finally loft towards St. Pierre 
le Moutier. The plain of Montbrifl'on is bounded by 
thefe two granitic branches. That which, feparating the 
bafon of the Allier from that of the Cher, pafles by Cler¬ 
mont to Montluyon. Another branch ftretches towards 
Limoges. Another goes from the Dordogne towards the 
Chareirte. The eighth and laft divides the Dordogne 
from the Garonne. The grand chain of the Cevennes 
appears to run from north to fouth, and to fend out 
branches towards the eaft and weft. In the modern de¬ 
partments of the Upper Loire and Cantal, are appear¬ 
ances which, in the opinion of many naturalifts, indicate 
ancient volcanoes ; but as thefe appearancesconfift chiefly 
of bafaltic columns, the belt judgesconfider them as hav¬ 
ing no claim to a volcanic origin. The fubjeft, however, 
remains dubious. The numerous exifting volcanos it* 
South America, compels the impartial enquirer to al¬ 
low that many extinft volcanoes may exift ; but lie never 
will grant that bafaltic columns afford the fmalleft pre- 
fumption of a volcano, becaufe they rarely appear in the 
neighbourhood of exifting volcanoes, and are fometimes 
found refting on coal, which in cafe of fire, muft have 
been totally confumed. The rocks of Puy, Axpailli, 
and Polignac, rife in Bidden and grotefque forms ; but 
thefe appearances are fometimes aflumed even by granite, 
as may be obferved in the county of Cornwall. The bn- 
faltic mountains of the ancient province of Auvergne are 
likewife too extenfive to be produced by a fingle vol¬ 
cano, and a chain of volcanos would be too bold even 
for conjecture. The northern part of the chain is ftyled 
the Puy de Dome, while the fouthern is called that of 
Cantal. TheJVlonts d’Or form the centre, and are the 
higheft mountains in France. The chief elevation is 
that of the Puy de Sanft, which rifes about 6,300 teet 
8 B above 
