MARNE, a department of the north of France, formed out of the parts of the ancient province of Champagne, called Remois and Perthois, and a portion of Brie. It extends in east longitude from 2. 20. to 4. 53. and in north latitude from 48. 41. to 49. 24. including a surface of 3399 square miles, or, according to the Descript. Topog. et Statis., 848,000 hectares. It is bounded on the north by the department of the Ardennes and the Aisne, on the east by that of the Meuse, on the south by the Upper Marne and the Aube, and on the west by the Seine-Marne and the Aisne. The land under the plough is 562,571 hectares, uncultivated 99,962, meadows 42,200, woods 84,554, vineyards 23,176, gardens 15,721; the rest forms the sites of towns and villages, roads, rivers, and ditches. In the great plain which forms the centre of the department, the soil is either chalky or sandy, and very poor; the small villages are far from one another, and few trees are to be seen. It is only on the banks of the streams and on the borders of the department that any fruitful land is found. Much of the land requires a fallow of one, two, or three years, and, even with that, produces but scanty crops of corn. In general, wheat and rye scarcely yield four times the seed. That in the valleys is more productive; but the whole does not yield sufficient corn for its scanty population, which is about one
person to five acres of land. The most esteemed product is that wine known through Europe by the name of Champagne, which is raised on the part called Champagne Pouilleuse. The best of the white wine is grown in Silley, Mareuil, Epernay, and Dizy; and of the red in Berzenay, Thaizy, Cumières, Ay Hautevilliers, and Pierry. The operations of preparing and managing this highly esteemed wine require much care and attention, and are also very expensive; but the price at which it is sold enriches those who make it and those who deal in it. As the greater part is sold ready bottled, the glass-houses for making these bottles form an important branch of industry. According to official accounts furnished by the director of the arrondissement of Rheims, it appears that the whole quantity of land devoted to the growth of these wines is little more than a twentieth part of the cultivated soil, being 9857 hectolitres, or about 24,840 English acres. The average produce of an acre of vines is about 156 gallons. The expense of cultivating an acre of vineyard is about L.9. 15s. exclusive of rent, which varies excessively. Few of the vineyards, however, are rented; they are by far the greater part cultivated by the proprietors. The value of vineyards varies, according to the quality of the wine they yield, in an excessive degree, some not selling for more than L.30, and others as high as L.500, the acre. An intelligent cultivating proprietor states, that "the vineyard proprietor who possesses from twelve and a half to fourteen acres, and who cultivates them himself, or carefully watches over their cultivation, may get a return of 6 per cent. on his capital; but he must be careful and economical, and have a small fund in reserve to help him over vicissitudes."
The quality of the red sparkling Champagne has been of late decreasing; as it is found more profitable to use the juice of these grapes formerly applied to make the red, to the making of the white wine.
Number of Bottles of Sparkling Champagne exported from the Department of the Marne in the year 1833.
| Countries to which sent. | Number of Bottles. | Remarks. |
|---|---|---|
| England and the East Indies..... | 467,000 | No increase is expected. |
| Russia..... | 400,000 | A little increase hoped for. |
| German States..... | 202,000 | In these countries, on account of the improvement of their own wines, a decrease is expected. |
| Prussia..... | 177,000 | |
| Austria..... | 60,000 | |
| United States of America..... | 400,000 | An increase is expected. |
| Poland..... | 102,000 | A decrease is expected. |
| Italy..... | 80,000 | Increasing, but not rapidly. |
| Belgium..... | 56,000 | Decreasing. |
| Holland..... | 30,000 | Decreasing. |
| Sweden and Denmark..... | 30,000 | Very fluctuating. |
| Switzerland..... | 30,000 | Decreasing, because the Swiss now make sparkling wines. |
| South America..... | 30,000 | |
| Spain and Portugal..... | 20,000 | Increasing, but very slowly. |
| Turkey..... | 5,000 | Increasing. |
| 2,069,000 | Consumption is decreasing, as higher prices can be obtained in foreign countries. | |
| Consumed in France..... | 620,000 | |
| 2,689,000 |
The stock of these sparkling wines is supposed to be about equal to three years' consumption. Besides the merchants, there are many proprietors who bottle their own wines, and even buy them of their neighbours; others, who are unwilling to incur the cost and trouble of bottling, keep their wines in casks, and thus replenish the stocks of the dealers. Such wines, if kept to the succeeding vintage,
will not sparkle when bottled alone, but do so when mixed with new wine, whose quality they serve to improve.
Excepting the trade in wine, there is little of any other kind in the department. There are some manufacturers both of linen and woollen goods, who live almost wholly in Rheims or Chalons, and they chiefly supply the demands of the immediate vicinity. The department is di-
Marne, Upper
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Maronites.
vided into five arrondissements, and these into thirty-two cantons and 699 communes or parishes. The principal towns and their populations are, Rheims, with 35,971 inhabitants; Chalons-sur-Marne, with 12,413; Vitry-le-Français, with 6976; Epernay, with 5318; and Saint Menehould, with 2933. The whole inhabitants of the department amounted in 1833 to 337,076.