LOIRE

LOIRE, a department of France, comprising the old province of Forez, with parts of Beaujolais and Lyonnais, is bounded on the N. by the department of Saône-et-Loire, on the E. by those of the Rhône and Isère, on the S. by those of Ardèche and Haute-Loire, and on the W. by those of Puy-de-Dôme and Allier. It is situated between N. Lat. 45. 13. and 46. 17., and E. Long. 3. 40. and 4. 45., and has an area of 1834 square miles. This department, forming the basin of the River Loire, which flows through its centre, is inclosed on the E. and W. by offshoots from the group of the Cévennes Mountains. The highest point in the department is Mont Pilat, 3985 feet above sea-level. A small portion of the S.E. is drained by the Rhône. This river and the Loire are the only navigable ones in the department. A railway runs from Roanne to St Etienne, and thence to Lyons. The coal-fields occupying the high ground on the E. are of great value and extent; they furnish annually a third of the entire coal raised in the kingdom. Mines of lead and iron are also worked. The manu-

factures are extensive and important. The principal are silk, cotton, and linen. Machinery and fire-arms are produced in great abundance. The soil, sandy and clayey in Montbrison and Roanne, and granitic in St Etienne, is not in general fertile. Agriculture, accordingly, is not in a very advanced state. The corn and wine are not equal to the local consumption. Horses and cattle are inferior; the sheep are small, with coarse wool, but very agreeable flesh. There are also extensive forests of pine, beech, and oak. The department is divided into three arrondissements, which are subdivided as follows:—

The chief town is St Etienne, with a population (1851) of 56,000.