Bas, a department of France, bounded on the N. by Rhinish Bavaria, E. by Baden, S. by the department of Haut-Rhin, and W. by those of Vosges, Meurthe, and Moselle: length, from S.E. to N.W., 68 miles; average breadth, 30 miles; area, 1914 square miles. It has a general slope from the Vosges Mountains, extending along the west of the department, to the Rhine, which washes its eastern border in a parallel direction. In the more elevated regions there are rugged and precipitous rocks, shaggy with forests, along with deep, romantic glens; in the lower tracts broad rich plains, with vine covered hills, and some marshes near the bank of the Rhine. In the former district the prevailing geological formations are limestones, sandstone, and gypsum; the latter is composed of tertiary deposits. The whole of the department is watered by affluents of the Rhine. The largest of these is the Ill, which flows northwards, from Haut-Rhin, nearly parallel to the main river; and after receiving from the Vosges in this department the Lieporelle, Scheer, Andlau, Eger, and Bruche, falls into the Rhine a short distance below Strasbourg. The Zorn, Moder, Surbach, and Lauter flow from the mountains immediately into the Rhine. Of these rivers, besides the Rhine, the Ill and the Moder are navigable. Among the mineral resources of the country are iron, coal, alum, slate, building-stone, and potters' clay. There are mineral springs at several places. The soil of the country is generally fertile, except the marshy ground along the Rhine and the barren tracts among the Vosges and cultivation is well and extensively carried on. The winters are long and severe; in the summer, which comes on almost without any spring, sudden changes are not unfrequent; but the autumn is in general exceedingly fine. Corn, potatoes, pulse, beet-root, and hemp are the crops chiefly raised. Tobacco has been for a long time cultivated here. The vines, though reckoned inferior to those of Haut-Rhin, produce several excellent wines. There are in the department about 123,500 acres of corn land, 74,000 occupied by potatoes, 44,400 by vineyards, 158,000 by meadows, and 365,000 by forests. The meadows are favourable for the rearing of cattle, which are numerous and of a good breed. Pigs especially are bred in great quantities, and form an important article of commerce. It is estimated that there are 50,000 horses, 140,000 horned cattle, 76,000 sheep, and 90,000 pigs. Manufactures are extensively carried on: steel and cutlery, fire-arms, swords, bayonets, surgical instruments, woollen cloth, calico, leather, beer, and chemical substances, are among the articles produced. The trade is also considerable. Both the natural and the manufactured products of the country are sent to other parts of France, and to foreign lands; much of the timber being floated down the Rhine in large rafts, and sawn up in Holland. Communication is facilitated by three canals,—that between the Rhone and the Rhine, that between the Marne and the Rhine, and that of the Bruche, as well as by two railways,—from Paris to Strasbourg, and from Strasbourg to Basel. Bas-Rhin contains four law courts of the first instance, a tribunal of commerce, a lyceum, normal seminary, six colleges, and 1000 elementary schools. It belongs, along with Haut-Rhin, to the diocese of

Strasbourg, and to the sixth military division, containing seven fortified places. Its four arrondissements are as follows:

| Canton | Communes | Pop. (1855) | |------------|----------|-------------| | Strasbourg | 12 | 161 | | Saverne | 7 | 165 | | Schlestadt | 8 | 114 | | Weissenbourg | 6 | 102 | | Total | 33 | 542 |

Rhin, Haut, a department of France, bounded on the E. by Baden, S. by Switzerland and the department of Doubs, W. by those of Haute-Saone and Vosges, and N. by that of Bas-Rhin: length, 64 miles; breadth, about 36; area, 1477 square miles. Like the department already described, it lies in the valley of the Rhine, between that river and the Vosges; the southern extremity being shut in by the ramifications of Mount Jura. The summits of the Vosges are all accessible, and not entirely destitute of vegetation; many of them being of a rounded form, are called ballons. Upon the lower slopes there are extensive forests, penetrated here and there with meadows, containing cottages and farms. Lower down, the rich corn-fields and sloping vineyards, the numerous towns and villages that stud the country, present a beautiful scene, inclosed by the silvery border of the Rhine on the east. Next to this, the largest river in the department is the Ill, which rises in the Vosges, receives most of the other streams, and carries their waters to the Rhine. A few of the rivers in the S.W. flow into the Doubs, and thus belong to the basin of the Rhone. The mountains in some parts are formed of granitic and other primitive rocks; lower down, sandstone, limestone, and marl are found; and in the plain the tertiary formation prevails. Iron, granite, porphyry, freestone, coal, and potters' clay are among the mineral productions of the department. The soil in the centre of the plain is very good, though of inferior quality near the mountains and the river. Agriculture is much attended to. The produce of grain is generally sufficient for the demand; that of wines superabundant; the best kinds of Rhine wines raised in France are those which come from this department. The same crops are generally raised here as in Bas-Rhin. The extent of arable land is about 240,000 acres, that of vineyards 29,000, of meadows 133,000, and of forests 350,000. Horses and cattle are numerous and of good breeds; there are calculated to be in the country 25,000 horses, 100,000 horned cattle, 60,000 sheep, and 62,000 pigs. The climate is like that of Bas-Rhin, only somewhat less mild. Manufactures are actively carried on. Besides iron furnaces and forges, there are manufactories of cotton and calico,—of the latter about 500,000 pieces are annually produced; hosiery, leather, ironmongery, clocks and watches, paper, and numerous other articles are also produced. Colmar, Mulhausen, and Thann are the chief manufacturing towns. Commerce is actively carried on here; wine, oil, hemp, timber, coal, iron, and manufactured articles are exported. Communication is promoted by the navigable rivers Rhine and Ill; by the Rhine and Rhone Canal, and by the railway from Strasbourg to Basel. There is an imperial court at Colmar for the departments of Haut and Bas Rhin; besides which, this department has 3 subordinate tribunals, a lyceum, 4 colleges, a normal seminary, 14 superior, and 786 elementary schools. It is divided into 3 arrondissements as follows:

| Canton | Communes | Pop. (1855) | |------------|----------|-------------| | Colmar | 13 | 139 | | Altkirch | 7 | 159 | | Belfort | 9 | 191 | | Total | 29 | 459 |

The inhabitants, both of this department and of that of Bas-Rhin, are of German origin; and a patois of that lan- guage is generally spoken. A large proportion of the population are Protestants, especially in the lower of the two departments; and there are many Jews, who, though universally hated, have in their hands the most of the trade. These two departments, which formed the province of Alsace, once a part of Germany, came into the possession of France by the peace of Westphalia in 1648.