In the volume of water there is all the irregularity of a mountain torrent; at the Bee d’Allier, for instance,—the meeting point of the two head streams,—while the maximum current is 353,200 cubic feet per second, the minimum is 10,600 cubic feet, and above Orleans the range lies between 31,800 and 850. During the drought of summer thin and feeble streams thread their way between the sandbanks of the channel; while at other times a stupendous flood pours down and submerges wide reaches of land. In the middle part of its course the Loire traverses the western portion of the undulating Paris basin, with its Tertiary marls, sands, and clays, and the alluvium carried off from these renders its lower channel inconstant; the rest of the drainage area is occupied by crystalline rocks, over the hard surface of which the water, undiminished by absorption, flows rapidly into the streams. A fall of from 3 to 4 inches over the whole river basin is sufficient to pour 35,320,000,000 cubic feet of water into the channels. When the rain is general over the whole area, the floods on the different tributaries reach the main river at different times; but when, through any cause, two or more of them arrive at the same time, inundations of the most serious character result. Attempts to control the river must have begun at a very early date, and by the close of the Middle Ages the bed between Orleans and Angers was enclosed by dykes 10 to 13 feet high. In 1783 a double line of dykes or turcies 23 feet high was completed from Bee d’Allier downwards. This great work had, however, the serious defect that the channel was so much narrowed that the embankments are almost certain to give wayas soon as the water rises 16 feet (the average rise is about 14, and in 1846 it was more than 22). In ιnoremodern times the importance of the water-wayfrom the sea to Nantes led to the embanking of the lower part of the course; but instead of a depth of 16 feet being secured, as the engineers anticipated, there is no more at full tide than 13 feet. One of the practical results of this state of matters has been the commercial development of Saint Nazaire and Paimboeuf, and the comparative decline of Nantes as a great shipping port. Besides the general embankments of the river, several of the towns along the Loire have constructed special works to defend themselves against the floods; Tours, the most exposed of all, is surrounded by a circular dyke. Various schemes for the systematic regulation of the Loire have been discussed. It has been proposed to construct in the upper valleys of the several aflluents a number of gigantic dams or reservoirs from which the water, stored during flood, could be let off into the river as required. A reservoir of this kind, formed by the engineer Mathieu at the village of Pinay, about 18 miles above Roanne, and capable of retaining from 3500 to 4500 million cubic feet of water, has greatly diminished the force of the floods at Roanne, and maintained the comparative equilibrium of the current during the dry season. There is a canal (157 miles) along the left bank of the Loire between Roanne and Briare; and the Canal du Bern connects this with the navigable part of the Cher. The Canal du Centre extends from Digoιn on the Loire to Châlon on the Saône; the Canal du Nivernais and the canals starting from Orleans and Briare communicate with the Seine; and the Nantes canal opens up the way to Lorient, Brest, and Dinan. The canals of the Sauldre and the Dive (20 and 26 miles respectively) are mainly for irrigation purposes.

See H. Blerzy, Torrents, fleuves, et canaux de la France (Paris, 1878), and his papers in Rev. des Deux Mondes, February and March 1875.

LOIRE, a department of central France, made up of the old district of Forez and portions of Beaujolais and Lyonnais, all formerly included in the province of Lyonnais, lies between 45° 15' and 46° 15' N. lat. and between 3° 40' and 4° 45' E. long., and is bounded on theN. by the department of Saône-et-Loire, on the E. by those of Rhone and Isère, on the S. by Ardèche and Haute-Loire, and on the W. by Puy de Dôme and Allier. Its extreme length is 78 miles from north-west to south-east, and its extreme breadth from east to west is about 43 miles, the area being 1838 square miles. Until 1790 it constituted a single department along with that of Rhone. About an eighth part of the whole area belongs to the basin of the Rhone. The Loire, which has a fall within the department from 1365 feet to 886 feet, traverses alternately a series of narrow gorges and of broad plains, the beds of ancient lakes, including that of Forez between St Rambert and Feurs, and, lower down, that of Roanne. Of its affluents the most important are the Lignon du Nord, the beautiful valley of which has been called “La Suisse Forezienne,” and the Aix on the left, and on the right the Ondaine (on which stand the industrial towns of Chambon-Feugerolles and Firminy), the Furens, and the Rhin. To the Rhone the department contributes the Gier, upon which are situated the industrial towns of St Chamond and Rive de Gier, and which forms a navigable channel to the Rhone at Givors. From Mont Pilat descends the Deôme, in the valley of which the workshops of Annonay begin. In the west are the Forez mountains, which separate the Loire basin from that of the Allier; their highest point (Pierre sur Haute, 5381 feet) is 12 miles west from Montbrison. They sink gradually towards the north, and are successively called Bois Noirs (4239 feet), from their woods, and Monts de la Madeleine (3600 to 1640 feet). In the east the Rhone and Loire basins are separated by Mont Pilat (4705 feet) at the north extremity of the Cevennes, and by the hills of Lyonnais, Tarare, Beaujolais, and Charolais, none of which rise higher than 2950 or 3280 feet. The climate of the department varies according to the elevation: on the heights it is cold and healthy, unwholesome in the marshy plain of Forez, mild in the valley of the Rhone. The annual rainfall is 39 , 37 inches on the Forez mountains, but only 24 , 79 at Roanne. More than half of the area consists of arable lands; one-seventh is occupied by forests, and one-seventh by meadows.

The plains of Forez and Roanne are the two most important agricultural districts, but the total production of grain within the department is insufficient for the requirements of the population. The pasture lands of Forez support a large number of horned cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. Fairly good red wine is also grown within the department; potatoes, leguminous plants, beetroot, hemp, and colza are also cultivated. Poultry are reared, and bee-keeping is a considerable industry. Among the hills replantation has been set on foot. The Bois Noir forests yield good-sized pines and large quantities of wood for mining purposes. The so-called Lyons chestnuts are to a large extent obtained from Forez; the woods and pasture lands of Pilat yield medicinal plants, such as mint. The chief wealth of the department, however, lies in the coal deposits in the St Etienne basin, the second in importance in France. The basin, which stretches from south-west to north-east between Firminy and Rive de Gier, is about 20 miles in length and 5 in breadth. In 1881 the output amounted to 3,454,612 tons of coal and anthracite, giving employment to 12,000 workmen below and 5000 above. The presence of coal has naturally encouraged various forms of the metal-working industries. At St Étienne there is a national factory of arms, in which as many as 6000 have been employed; apart from other factories of the same kind carried on by private individuals, the production of hardware occupies 7000 persons; locks, common cutlery, chain cables for the mines, files, and nails are also made. Cast steel is largely manufactured, the aggregate production of all sorts of steel amounting in 1880 tβ 114,629 tons; the Loire workshops supply the heaviest constructions required in naval architecture. The glass industry has its centre at Rive de Gier. St Étienne employs more than 60,000 persons in the fabrication of silk ribbons, to an annual value of £4,000,000; over and above this must be reckoned the manufacture of elastic ribbons and laces, and the dressing of raw silks. The arrondissement of Roanne manufactures cotton stuffs upon 11,000 looms, each employing three persons. That of Montbrison produces table linen. In the mountains between Haute-Loire and Puy de Dôme the women make black laces and embroidery. The department has numerous flour-mills, paper works, tanyards, boatbuilding yards, silk-spinning works, and velvet, plush, and hat factories. There are three arrondissements—St Étienne, Montbrison, and Roanne. The capital is St Étienne. The population, 290,903 in 1801, was 590,613 in 1876.

LOIRE, Haute-, a department of central France, made up of Velay and portions of Vivarais and Gévaudan, three districts formerly belonging to the old province of Languedoc, of a portion of Forez formerly belonging to Lyonnais, and of a portion of lower Auvergne, is bounded on the N. by Puy de Dôme and Loire, on the E. by Loire and Ardèche, on the S. by Ardèche and Lozère, and on the W. by Lozère and Cantal, and lies between 44° 40' and 45° 25' N. lat. and between 3° 5' and 4° 30' E. long., having an extreme length of 68 miles, a maximum breadth of 54 miles, and an area of 1916 miles. It belongs almost wholly to the Loire basin, but a few square kilometres to the north of Mont Mézenc are drained by the Erieux, a tributary of the Rhone. The highest point, Mont Mézenc, on the borders of Ardèche, is 5745 feet; it belongs to the Cévennes system, which sends ramifications throughout the entire department, giving it a mean altitude of 2950 feet. Reckoning from east to west are the Boutières, the Mégal or Meygal, the Velay hills, those of La Margeride, and finally the Luguet. The first mentioned ridge separates Haute-Loire from Ardèche, and ranges from 3280 to 4590 feet; it has a crust of lava thrown out from Mont Mézenc; efforts towards replantation are being made. Meygal presents a series of jagged peaks, recalling the Pyrenees on a small scale. It also has been covered by an immense flow of lava some 37 miles long and 490 feet thick, through which the Loire has forced a passage by means of gorges more than 1600 feet in depth. The highest point of the Meygal properly so called is upwards of 4590 feet. The Velay hills, which separate the Loire from the Allier (mean height about 3300 feet), consist of granitic rocks overlaid with the eruptions of more than one hundred and fifty craters, one of which is now occupied by the singular lake of Bouchet. Westward from the Allier are the forest-clad granitic hills of La Margeride, which rise to a height of nearly 5000 feet. The Luguet massif (3300 feet) rises in the north-west of the department on the left bank of the Alagnon, a tributary of the Allier. The river Loire, to which the department owes its name, enters at a point 16 miles distant from its source, and 2923 feet above the level of the sea. Within the 63 miles of its course through the eastern portion of the department, first in a northerly and afterwards in a north-easterly direction, it falls 1565 feet. The Allier, which joins the Loire at Nevers, traverses the western portion of Haute-Loire in a northerly direction, entering at a point 25 miles distant from its source, and 2369 feet above the sea; it traverses a narrow and deep valley overhung by lofty hills, and falls 1090 feet. The chief affluents of the Loire within the limits of the department are the Borne on the left, joining it near Buy, and the Lignon, which descends from the Mézenc, between the Boutières and Meygal ranges, on the right. The climate, owing to the altitude, the northward direction of the valleys, and the winds from the Cevennes, is cold, the winters being long and rigorous. Storms and violent rains are frequent on the higher grounds, and would give rise to serious inundations were not the rivers for the most part confined within deep rocky channels. Two-fifths of the area is occupied by arable lands, one-fifth by natural meadow and by orchards, and a somewhat smaller proportion by wood. The rest consists of pasture lands, vineyards, and uncultivated lands.

Numerous cattle of the celebrated Mézenc breed are reared, and also sheep and mules. The crops raised are wheat, meslin, rye, barley, oats, maize, potatoes (in large quantity), hemp, colza, and second-class wine. The woods yield pine, fir, oak, and beech. Large quantities of aromatic and pharmaceutical plants are found in the Mézenc massif. The department has two coal basins, —those of Brassac and Langeac, both on the Allier; in 1880 their total output was 225,153 tons. Copper, iron, zinc, argentiferous lead, arsenic, antimony, barytes, and fluor spar are also obtained, and there are good quarries of trachyte and limestone, as well as numerous unutilized mineral springs. Lace-making in various materials is the most extensive industry, occupying from 100,000 to 130,000 persons, and producing goods to the annual value of about £ 1,000,000. Ribbons and cloth are manufactured to some extent, and silk-dressing, wool-spinning, caoutchouc-making, various kinds of smith work, paper-making, glass-blowing, brewing, wood-sawing, and flour-milling are also earned on. There are three arrondissements—Puy, Bnoude, and Yssingeaux; the capital is Buy. The population in 1876 was 313,721.

The quantity of live stock is considerable:—320,000 horned cattle, 180,000 sheep, 80,000 pigs, 38,000 horses, asses, and mules. Poultry also is reared, and there is a good deal of bee-keeping. Wheat, rye, buckwheat, oats, and potatoes are produced in great abundance; leguminous plants are also largely cultivated, especially near Nantes. Beetroot, hemp, and chestnuts represent, along with wine and cider, the chief remaining agricultural products. The woods are of oak in the interior and pine on the coast. The department has deposits of tin, lead, and iron, which are hardly wrought, if at all. North-west from Ancenis a little anthracite is obtained from a coal-bed which is a prolongation of that of Anjou. The salt marshes, about 6000 acres in all, occur for the most part between the mouth of the Vilaine and the Loire, and on the Bay of Bourgneuf. The salt manufacture, which as late as 1874 produced 43,475 tons, is now decaying. There are slate quarries in the north-east of the department, and the granite of the sea-coast and of the Loire up to Nantes is quarried for large blocks, while the limestone about Chateaubriant occupies numerous kilns. The industries of the department are well developed: steam-engines are built for Government at Indret, a few miles below Nantes; the forges of Basse-Indre are in good repute for the quality of their iron; and the production of the lead-smelting works at Couéron amounts to several millions of francs annually. There are also considerable foundries at Nantes, Chantenay, and St Nazaire, and shipbuilding yards at Nantes, St Nazaire, Paimboeuf, and Croisic. Among other industries may be mentioned the preparation of pickles and preserved meats at Nantes, the curing of sardines at Croisic and in the neighbouring communes, salt-refining, the great sugar refinery at Nantes, and the tobacco manufacture also there. Fishing is prosecuted along the entire coast. Nantes, formerly one of the most important of French ports, has now given way before St Nazaire, the trade of which in 1878 exceeded 1,500,000 tons. The principal imports are coal, colonial wares, wood, metals,, manure; the exports are wine, salt, preserved meats and pickles, flour, refined sugar, and butter. The department is divided into five arrondissements—Nantes, Ancenis, Chateaubriant, Paimboeuf, and St Nazaire; Nantes is the capital. The population in 1876’ was 612,972, an increase of 243,667 since 1801.

47° 30' and 48° 20' N. lat. and between 1° 30' and 3° 8' E. long., and is bounded on the N. by Seine·et-0ise, on the N.E. by Seine-et-Marne, on the E. by Yonne, on the S. by Nièvre and Cher, on the S.W. by Loir-et-Cher, and on the N.W. by Eure-et-Loir; its greatest length, from north-west to south-east, is 75 miles, its greatest breadth, from north to south along the meridian of Paris, 50 miles, and its area 2614 square miles. The name is derived from the Loiret, a stream which issues from the ground some miles to the south of Orleans, and after a course of about 7 miles falls into the Loire; its large volume gives rise to the belief that it is a subterranean branch of that river. The Loire traverses the department by a broad valley which, though frequently devastated by disastrous floods, is famed for its rich tilled lands, its castles, its towns, and its vineclad slopes. To the right of the Loire are Gâtinais (capital Montargis) and Beauce; the former district is so named from its gatines or wildernesses, of which saffron is, along with honey, the most noteworthy product; Beauce, on the other hand, a monotonous tract of corn-fields without either tree or river, has been called the granary of France. Between Beauce and the Loire is the extensive forest of Orleans, which is slowly disappearing before the advances of agriculture. South of the Loire is Sologne, long barren and unhealthy from the impermeability of its subsoil, but undergoing gradual improvement in both respects by means of pine plantation and draining and manuring operations. The surface of the department presents little variation of level; the highest point (on the borders of Cher) is 900 feet above the level of the sea, and the lowest (ou the borders of Seine-et-Marne) is 220 feet. The watershed on the plateau of Orleans between the basins of the Seine and Loire, which divide Loiret almost equally between them, is almost imperceptible. The lateral canal of the Loire from Roanne stops at Briare; from the latter town a canal connects with the Seine by the Loing valley, which is joined by the Orleans canal at Montargis. The only important tributary of the Loire within the department is the Loiret; the Loing, a tributary of the Seine, has a course of 40 miles from south to north, and is accompanied throughout first by the Briare canal and afterwards by that of Loing. The Essonne, another important affluent of the Seine, entering Loiret at Malesherbes, takes its rise on the plateau of Orleans, as also does its tributary the Juine. The department has the climate of the Sequanian region, the mean temperature being almost the same as that of Paris; the number of rainy days is one hundred and twenty, and the rainfall varies from 18 - 5 to 27 ’ 5 inches according to the district, that of the exposed Beauce being smaller than that of the woody Sologne. Two-thirds of the entire area is cultivable; between one-sixth and one-seventh is under wood; vineyards occupy one-twentieth; and the remainder is taken up by meadows, heath, and marsh.

A large number of sheep, cattle, horses, asses, pigs, and goats are reared; poultry, especially geese, and bees are plentiful. The yield of wheat and oats is much in excess of the consumption; the crops of rye, barley, meslin, potatoes, beetroot, colza, and hemp are also very important. Wine is abundant, but of inferior quality. Buckwheat supports bees by its flowers, and poultry by its seeds. Saffron is another source of wealth. The woods consist of oak, elm, birch, and pine; fruit trees thrive in the department, and Orleans is a great centre of nursery gardens. The industries are brick and tile making, and the manufacture of faience, for which Gien is one of the most important centres in France. The Briare manufacture of porcelain buttons and pearls employs 1500 workmen. Flourmills are very numerous. There are iron and brass foundries, which, along with agricultural implement making, bell-founding, and the manufacture of pins, nails, and files, represent the chief metalworking industries. The production of hosiery, wool-spinning, and various forms of wool manufacture are also engaged in. A large quantity of the wine grown is made into vinegar (vinaigre d’Orléans). The tanneries produce excellent leather; and paper-making, sugar-refining, wax-bleaching, and the manufacture of caoutchouc (in one factory) complete the list of industries. The exports are principally corn, flour, wine, vinegar, live-stock, and wood. The four arrondissements are those of Orleans, Gien, Montargis, and Pithiviers. The capital is Orleans. The population in 1876 was 360,903 an increase of 70,764 since 1801.