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 Sarthe and Mayenne. It is 70 miles in length, and in breadth 60. Through this province run five navigable rivers: the Loire, which divides it into two parts; the Vienne, the Toue, the Mayenne, and the Sarthe.

The air is temperate, and the country agreeably diversified with hills and meadows. There are 33 forests 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 cider. There are fruit trees of all kinds, and pasture proper for horses. The greatest 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 saltpetre works and some glass-houses. The remarkable towns, besides... besides Angers the capital, are Saumur, Brisac, Pons de Cea, La Fleche, and Beaumont.