a maritime department of France. It is bounded by the sea on three sides, and on the east by the departments of the Côte du Nord and of Morbihan. It is in the shape of a triangle, and extends over 2890 square miles, or, according to the Almanac-Royal, 693,384 hectares, of which 232,704 are under the plough, 106,281 are in fallow, 23,389 are pasturel and, 148,364 are woods, 35,868 are waste, 56,414 are covered with lakes and estuaries, 22,267 are the beds of rivers and harbours, and the remainder roads, and the sites of cities, towns, and villages. The surface is very unequal, consisting of chains of hills running through the peninsula, some reaching the height of 1000 feet, with valleys between them of various extent.

The civil divisions are into five arrondissements, forty-three cantons, and 287 communes, inhabited by 452,450 persons. The inhabitants are a distinct race from the French, and mostly speak the old language of the Bretons, the name by which they are distinguished. They are obstinate in their adherence to old and antipathy to new customs. Their clothing is little altered in the last thousand years, which in form and colour varies in each place, thus showing the dwelling of each person. There are whole communes in which no individuals are to be found who can read or write. They live either in scattered houses or small hamlets, and more than 25,000 houses are so wretched in appearance when seen, that they resemble the huts of savages. They are mostly hidden behind hedges and banks, and only visible by the smoke which issues from the doors, for they have neither chimneys nor windows. The cattle and the families live together in a state of disgusting filth. The females, who are commonly very ugly, are oppressed by their labour, and so contemptuously treated that they are not even suffered to eat with the men.

With all this they are said to be hospitable, upright, brave, and patriotic, and content with their barley bread, milk, and (but of late years) potatoes. The agriculture is in a backward state, and produces less corn than is required for the consumption; and since the population has increased, severe scarcity would be annually felt but for the introduction of potatoes, which are now extensively cultivated. The sheep, cows, and especially the horses, are diminutive; but the swine are fine and numerous.

The inhabitants of the towns in general are more like the other parts of the French nation. Those on the coast pursue the fisheries with success, especially that for sardines. The only mines are those of lead, in which silver is found mixed with that metal. In two mines, at Poulalouen and Huelgoet, 900 workmen are employed, who raise yearly 600 tons of lead, and from it extract 26,000 ounces of silver.

In some parts, especially at Morlaix, there are some manufactories of linen, sail-cloth, twine, cordage, and paper. At that port also the surplus productions of the soil are exported to other portions of the kingdom, as well as to foreign parts.