a department of France, formed out of the ancient Toulous and a southern portion of Lorraine. It extends in east longitude from 5° 30' to 7° 12', and in north latitude from 48° 31' to 49° 7', being in extent 2602 square miles, or 643,800 hectares. The appropriation of the land is as follows: 242,288 hectares are arable, 227,197 consist of woods and forests, 69,140 are pastures and meadows, 14,712 vineyards, and the remainder is either roads, rivers, lakes, the sites of towns and villages, or uncultivated. It is not a mountainous, but a hilly district, interspersed with valleys of moderate fertility. None of the hills are more than 600 feet above the level of the sea, though some spurs of the Vosges Mountains, on the border of the department, attain a greater elevation. The subsoil is generally calcareous, but in some parts consists of gypsum, and is covered with a mixture of clay, sand, and pebbles. It is fertile upon the whole, and produces more wheat and rye than is required for home consumption, especially since the extension of the growth of potatoes has made that food a substitution for grain with the more indigent part of the population. The water of the department passes either into the Moselle or the Meuse, which are alone navigable. The Meurthe gives name to the department. The climate is cold and variable, but not unhealthy. The inhabitants are a hardy and active race, amounting to 370,500. In the cities and towns the French language is spoken; in the country a very disagreeable patois is used; and on the eastern side of the department a corrupt German is the common language. The greater part of the people adhere to the Roman Catholic church, but there are several consistories of both Lutherans and Calvinists; and in Nancy there are many Jews. The principal exports are wood and salt; of the latter about 34,000 tons are made annually. There are some manufactories of glass, pottery, iron, paper, seed-oil, and many distilleries and breweries; and some woollen and cotton goods are also manufactured. The capital is Nancy. The department sends three deputies to the legislature, and is divided into five arrondissements, twenty-nine cantons, and 718 communes.