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 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 1824 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 Rhone. 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 manufactures 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:

| Canton | Communes | Pop. in 1851 | |--------|----------|-------------| | Saint-Étienne | 9 | 74 | 205,148 | | Montbrison | 9 | 183 | 132,116 | | Roanne | 10 | 109 | 135,924 | | Total | 28 | 321 | 472,588 |

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

(Haute), a department of France, which takes its name from its position on the upper part of the basin of the River Loire. It is formed of part of Languedoc (the old district of Velay, Vivarais, and Gévaudan), with portions of Auvergne and Forez, and is bounded on the N. by the departments of Loire and Puy-de-Dôme, E. by those of Loire and Ardèche, S. by those of Ardèche and Lozère, and W. by that of Cantal. It is situated between N. Lat. 44° 40' and 45° 25', and between E. Long. 3° 4. and 4° 26', and has an area of upwards of 1920 square miles. Lying along the N. slope of the Cévennes, the surface is exceedingly mountainous and irregular. It is traversed by the mountain chains of Velay and Forez, which are for the most part volcanic. The W. of this department is drained by the River Allier; the E. and the centre by the Loire, and its tributaries—the Gazeille, the Lignon, and the Somme on the right; and the Borne, the Arzon, and the Ance on the left. The mineral wealth of the district is not great; yet there are two coal mines in the canton of Azun of some value, and lead and antimony are also worked. The industrial manufactures are considerable, consisting mainly of lace, ribbons, linen, and woollens. Two-thirds of the population are engaged in this way. There are also tanneries, brick and tile works, and potteries. A considerable number are engaged in felling timber in the forests, which is sawn into planks, and floated down the Allier. Agriculture is in a backward state; the soil is generally barren, the climate severe, and, in the uplands especially, cultivation is almost impossible. Nevertheless, the growth of corn and potatoes is equal to the consumption. Wine, however, is scarce, and of an inferior quality. A great number of horses and mules are reared, and Mezenç is noted for dairy produce and honey. The principal town is Pay, with a population of 15,723 inhabitants. The department is divided into three arrondissements, which are subdivided as follows:

| Canton | Communes | Pop. in 1851 | |--------|----------|-------------| | Pay | 14 | 111 | 134,430 | | Yssingeaux | 8 | 89 | 87,161 | | Brioude | 8 | 108 | 83,624 | | Total | 28 | 256 | 304,615 |

LOIRE-Inferieure, a department of France, situate, as its name indicates, at the embouchure of the River Loire, on the W. coast of that country. It comprises the S.E. extremity of the old province of Bretagne; is bounded on the N. by the department of Ille-et-Vilaine and Morbihan, on the E. by those of Mayenne and Maine-et-Loire, on the S. by that of Vendée, and on the W. by the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated between N. Lat. 46° 53' and 47° 50', and between W. Long. 0° 55' and 2° 32', and has an area of 2595 square miles; is traversed by the Loire from E. to W., and divided by it into two unequal portions, the larger lying to the N. The most important towns of this department—Ancenis, Nantes, and Paimbœuf—are situated upon the Loire, the affluents of which in this department are very numerous; the more important are—the Erdre, on the right or N. side, which has its embouchure at Nantes; the Sevre-Nantaise and the Acheman on the left. The Acheman is connected with Grandlieu, the largest lake in France, and the N. tributaries drain the numerous small lakes and extensive bogs and marshes of that district. The Vilaine borders on the department on the N.W. There is a canal between Nantes and Brest; and the former town, the capital of the department, is connected with Paris by a railway through Angers, Tours, and Orleans. The minerals are considerable; the principal being salt, iron, coal, granite, and kaolin. Agriculture is in a more flourishing condition here than in any other part of Bretagne. It is rich in grain, especially rye and buckwheat; and common white wine is produced in great abundance. Cattle of the Breton breed are reared in the rich meadows and pasture-lands along the Loire; also horses, swine, and sheep. Here, as elsewhere in Bretagne, great attention is given to the nurture of bees. The commerce, of which Nantes (pop. 96,000) is the centre, is very extensive; the chief articles of which are grain, wine and spirits, timber, fish, and salt. There are five arrondissements in this department, subdivided as follows:

| Canton | Communes | Pop. in 1851 | |--------|----------|-------------| | Nantes | 5 | 24,440 | | Ancenis| 5 | 28 | | Châteaubriant | 7 | 37 | | Paimbœuf | 5 | 25 | | Savennay | 11 | 51 | | **Total** | **45** | **212** |

La (anc. Liger), the longest river in France, rises at the foot of Gerbier des Joncs, among the Cevennes Mountains, in the department of Ardèche, and after a westerly course of 540 miles, falls into the Bay of Biscay. This river drains a district of France nearly equal in extent to one-fourth of the entire kingdom. It becomes navigable at Roanne, and passes the flourishing towns of Orleans, Blois, Tours, Saumur, and Nantes. The navigation is interrupted, however, during four or five months in the year, by frost or floods. To obviate some of the difficulties incidental to the navigation of this river, a lateral canal has been formed along a part of its course, extending from the Canal du Centre to the Canal de Briare. The Loire communicates with the Rhone and Seine by means of canals. The affluents of this river are very numerous and important; many of them navigable. Those on the right are,—the Arroux, the Nièvre, the Maine (formed by the union of the Mayenne and the Sarthe); on the left the Allier, the Loiret, the Cher, the Indre, the Vienne, the Thoué, and the Sevre-Nantaise. To prevent the Loire from spreading over the low grounds along its course, it has been banked in by dykes, built much above its ordinary level. These embankments were never known to give way previous to the great floods of 1846. They gave way at the same place during the fearful inundations of June 1856, carrying away the bridge and village of Savonnières, and inundating the communes of La Riche-extra and La Chapelle-aux-Naux, causing a dreadful loss of life and property. The mouth of the river is about 7 miles wide, measured from St Nazaire to Paimbœuf. Ships find great difficulty in taking the mouth of the river, owing to the exposed nature of its position, and to the numerous sandbanks which traverse it.