LOT-ET-GARONNE, a department of south-western France, made up of Agenais and Bazadais, two districts of the former province of Guyenne, and Condomois and Lomagne, formerly portions of Gascony, lies between 43° 50' and 44° 45' N. lat., and 1° 7' E. and 8' W. long., and is bounded on the W. by Gironde, on the N. by Dordogne, on the E. by Lot and Tarn-et-Garonne, on the S. by Gers, and on the S.W. by Landes; its extreme length from south-west to north-east is 62 miles, and it has an area of 2067 square miles. The Garonne, which traverses the department from south-east to north-west, divides it into two unequal parts; in that to the north the slope is from east to west, while in that to the south it is directly from south to nor t h. A small portion in the south-west belongs to the sterile region of the Laudes; the valleys of the Garonne and of the Lot (its greatest affluent here) on the other hand are proverbial for their fertility. The wildest part is in the borders of Dordogne, where oak, chestnut, and beech forests are numerous; the highest point is also here (896 feet). The Garonne, where it quits the department, is only some 33 or 36 feet above the sea-level; it is navigable throughout, with the help of its lateral canal, as also are the Lot and Bayse with the help of locks. The Dropt, a right affluent of the Garonne in the north of the department, is also navigable in the lower part of its course. The climate is that of the Girondine region, the mean temperature of Agen being 56 o, 6 Fahr., or 5° above that of Paris; the rainfall (31 ’ 5 inches) is also above the average of France. Of the entire area 741,342 acres are arable, 210,047 are vineyard, 172,980 under wood, 85,254 natural meadow, and 56,836 waste. Horned cattle are the chief live stock; next in order ...come pigs, sheep, horses, asses, and mules, and a small number of goats. Poultry and bees are also reared. Its wines and its cereals are a great source of wealth to the department; in 1875 488,000 quarters of grain and 14,000,000 gallons of wine were produced. Potatoes, beetroot, pulse, and maize are also largely grown; next come rye, barley, meslin, and buckwheat. In 1877 7759 acres produced 5,838,849 lb of tobacco, worth upwards of two million francs. Colza, hemp, and flax are also extensively cultivated. The fruit harvest (nuts, chestnuts, apricots) is large and valuable, the prunes which take their name from Agen being especially in demand. The forests in the south-west supply pine wood and cork. The forges, high furnaces, and foundries of the department are important; brazier’s ware is also produced; and there are workshops for the manufacture of agricultural implements and other machines. The making of plaster, lime, and hydraulic cement, of tiles, bricks, and pottery, of'confectionery and other eatables, and brewing and distilling, occupy many of the inhabitants. At Tonneins there is a national tobacco manufactory, and the list of industries is completed by the mention of boatbuilding, cork cutting, hat and candle making, wool spinning, weaving of woollen and cotton stuffs, tanning, paper making, oil making, and flour and sawmilling. In 1870 the population was 316,920 (1100 Protestants). The inhabitants speak a patois in which elegant and graceful works have been written, such as the poems of Jasmin {q.v.). The arrondissements are four,—Agen, Marmande, Nérac, and Villeneuve; and there are thirty-five cantons and three hundred and twenty-five communes.
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