CHARENTE, an inland department in the south-west of France, comprehending the ancient division of Angoumois, and inconsiderable portions of Saintonge, Poitou, and Limousin. It is bounded N. by the departments of Deux-Sèvres and Haute-Vienne, E. by those of Vienne and Dordogne, and S. and W. by Dordogne and Charente-Inférieure. The greater part of its area of 2295 square miles consists of the valley of the River Charente, which rises in Haute-Vienne, and after a circuitous course passes into the department of Charente-Inférieure, where it falls into the sea opposite Isle-Madame, having received in its progress the waters of the Tardoire, Touvres, Né, Antoine, and Boutonne. The Charente, though rapid, has been artificially rendered navigable, and steamers ply between Angoulême and Saintes, although the tide ascends no higher than the latter town. The surface of the department is comparatively level, and subject to frequent inundations; and in the arrondissement of Conf olens alone there are upwards of sixty small lakes. The hills, which belong to the Limousin range, are generally uniform in height, and abound in marine deposits; some of them are covered with chestnut forests, which supply the district with a large amount of fruit. The climate is temperate, and the prevailing winds are the west and south-west. The principal productions are wine, corn, hemp, flax, and potatoes, the wine being largely distilled into brandy, for which the town of Cognac is famous. Pigs, sheep, and poultry are extensively reared for the consumption of the capital; and the value of the truffles annually brought to market is estimated at several million francs. The mineral productions consist chiefly of iron, lead, antimony, and gypsum, of which iron and gypsum only are worked to any ...

CHARENTE-INFERIEURE, or LowerCharente, a maritime department of France, comprehending the old provinces of Saintonge and Aunis, and including the islands of Ré, Oléron, Aix, and Madame. It has an area of 2636 square miles, and is bounded N. by Vendée and Deux-Sèvres, E. by Charente, S. by Gironde, and W. by the Bay of Biscay. The surface is exceedingly flat throughout the whole department, and along the coast-line it is so far depressed as to require in many places the erection of sea-dikes and extensive artificial draining. The facilities of the department for internal communication are greatly increased by the number of navigable streams, the formation of two canals (from La Rochelle to the Sèvre-Niortaise, and from Brouage to Rochefort), and the development of an extensive railway system in the hands of a company known as the Company of the Charentes. The productions very nearly coincide with those of Charente, with this difference—that its wines and brandy are greatly inferior, but its fruits and vegetables greatly superior to those of the upper province. It has also more extensive pasturage, and considerable revenue accruing from the pilchard and oyster fisheries on the coast, but its mineral wealth and manufactures are neither so various nor so productive. The former is confined to iron pyrites and the salt supplied by the marshes along the coast; the latter includes coarse woollen stuffs, leather, soap, earthenware, staves, timber, and chemicals. It has several sheltered bays on the coast, and several good harbours, such as Rochefort, Tonnay-Charente, Royan, and Marans, at which a brisk coasting trade is carried on. There is considerable trade in colonial produce, and shipbuilding is prosecuted to some extent. The climate is salubrious except along the ...