MARNE

MARNE, a department of France, situated between 48. 28. and 49. 23. N. Lat., 3. 25. and 5. E. Long., and bounded on the N. by the departments of Aisne and Ardennes, E. by those of Meuse and Haute-Marne, S. by that of Aube, and W. by those of Seine-et-Marne and Aisne. The department, which has an area of 3158 square miles, consists of a bare plain, sloping from E. to W., with a few scattered hills, which do not rise higher than 1200 feet. The soil consists of a thin layer of sand lying upon chalk, except in the W. and N.W. borders, and along the valley of the Marne, where the soil is rich and good. It is separated into two nearly equal parts by the River Marne, from which it takes its name; and is watered also by the

Marne. Aisne in the N.E.; by its tributaries the Suipe and the Vesle in the N. and N.W.; and by the Aube and the Seine in the S., the latter of which merely touches it for a very short distance. Marne enjoys a temperate climate and a pure atmosphere, although in the low and marshy tracts on the borders of the department fogs are very frequent. Cultivation is far advanced, and in a thriving condition. There are 500,000 acres of ploughed land, 193,000 of woods and forests, 189,000 of meadow land, 45,000 of vineyards, &c. Corn is grown to a considerable extent, especially oats and rye, which are more than sufficient for the supply of the wants of the department. Fruit trees are also numerous in Marne, and a great part of the department is covered with forests. But the most fruitful branch of agriculture in this district, and that on which most care is bestowed, is the cultivation of the vine, for Marne occupies a part of the old province of Champagne, so well known for the wines to which it has given name. This department produces annually about 15,400,000 gallons of wine. Many sheep are raised in Marne, and their breed has been much improved by crossing with the Merino and English breeds. The horned cattle and horses are small in size. Bees and domestic fowls are kept in great numbers in the department. The chief mineral productions are,—limestone, chalk, flint, millstones, building stone, clay of various sorts. The department is famous for the manufacture of woollen and other tissues, which centre chiefly at Rheims. The principal articles of trade are wines, together with corn, flour, brandy, hides, timber, and the produce of the manufactures. The department is crossed by the railway from Paris to Strasbourg, which enters Marne at Dormans, and leaves it at Sermaize, after a course of 68 miles. It is divided into five arrondissements, which, with their populations in 1851, are as follows:—