ANJOU, a province and duchy of France before
the revolution, bounded on the east by Touraine, on
the south by Poitou, on the west by Bretagne, and
on the north by Maine. It is now included under the
departments of the Mayne and Loire, and the Sarte
and Mayenne. It is 70 miles in length, and in
breadth 60. Through this province run five naviga-
ble rivers: the Loire, which divides it into two
parts; the Vienne, the Toue, the Mayenne, and the
Sarte.
The air is temperate, and the country agreeably di-
versified with hills and meadows. There are 33 for-
ests of oak trees mixed with beech. The country
produces white wine, wheat, barley, rye, oats, peas,
beans, flax, hemp, walnuts, and some chestnuts. In
Lower Anjou they make cyder. There are fruit trees
of all kinds, and pasture proper for horses. The great-
est riches of the province consist in cows, oxen, and
sheep. There are several coal and iron mines; and
yet there are but two forges in the whole province.
There are quarries of marble and of slate; as well as
quarries of white stone, proper for building, on the
side of the river Loire. Here are also several salt-petre
works and some glass-houses. The remarkable towns,
besides.