Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/531

Rh tion. A chain proceeding from the neighbourhood of the sources of the Saone separates the waters of the Meuse from those of the Moselle, passes Arlon and Neufchateau, then extends in a north-eastern direction towards Bastogne, and finally enters Prussia. A branch of this chain goes off at Neufchateau, proceeds northward towards Liege, passes St Hubert, and separates the Ourthe from the Meuse. A part of the Ardennes also extends into Belgium, and separates the basin of the Meuse from that of the Scheldt. It proceeds in a north-eastern direction, passing Fontaine I EvOque, Gembloux, Ramillies, and Tongres, then, gradually decreasing in height, it turns northward to Asch, and after wards N.W. to Hechtal, Lommel, and Turnhout. A series of heights on the frontier of France, near Chimay, extends in a N.W. direction towards Namur, and separates the Meuse from the Sambre. The provinces of Liege, Luxembourg, and Namur present the greatest irregularities of surface. This part of the country is intersected by numerous ravines and streams with steep and rocky banks, by deep valleys, and by ridges of hills, which often have precipitous and rocky escarpments. The vegetation here is of a very poor and languid character. The greater part of the region is covered with dense forests, marshy and uncultivated plateaus or poor pasture land, and corn is very rarely cultivated. Descending towards the coast the forests become less extensive ; and rye, oats, and potatoes take the place of the pasture land. In the western and north-western provinces are extensive and well-watered plains, which, from their great fertility and the high state of their cultivation, are the boast of the Belgians and the admiration of strangers. In the provinces bordering on the sea the land is in some places so low as to require to be protected from inundation by dikes. These parts are called polders. Numerous places along the banks, of the rivers are also protected by embankments ; these are called interior polders. About a sixtieth part of the kingdom (50,000 hectares, or 193 square miles) is thus artificially gained from the sea and rivers. The coast of Belgium is said to be undergoing a change similar to that of Scandinavia, in some parts a gradual elevation, and in others a gradual depression. Nieuport is said to be on the axis of this change, from which, northward to the mouth of the Scheldt, the sea is continually gaining upon the land, while southward to Pas de Calais it is losing. The principal rivers are the Scheldt, Meuse, and Yzer, with their tributaries. The Scheldt is navigable during its entire course through Belgium, and has a general direction from S.W. to N.E., passing through the province of Hainault, along the eastern boundary of West Flanders, traversing East Flanders, and finally forming the boundary between the provinces of East Flanders and Antwerp. Its entire length through Belgium is 108 miles. The Meuse has a course nearly parallel to that of the Scheldt, traversing the provinces of Namur, Liege, and Limbourg. It is 115 miles in length, during the whole of which it is navigable. The small river of Yzer, which enters the sea at Nieuport, is navigable for about 26 miles. The navigable rivers connected with the Scheldt are, the Dyle, which after receiving the Nethe at the village of Rumpst, takes the name of Ruppel, and joins the Scheldt nearly opposite to Ruppelsmonde ; the Great and Little Nethe, which after their junction take the name of Nethe, and fall into the Dyle ; the Demer, also an affluent of the Dyle; the Dender, which enters the Scheldt at Deadermonde ; the Dunne, which joins it near Thielrode : and the Lys at Ghent. The entire navigable length of these streams is 230 English miles. The navigable rivers of the Meuse are the Amblere and the Vesdre, affluents of the Ourthe ; the Ourthe, which juins the Meuse at Liege ; and the Sambre, which joins it at Namur. The navigable length of these is 142 miles. The small river of Yperlee, which joins the Yzer, is navigable for about 9 miles. The other streams are the Senne, the Haine, the Semoy, and the Lesse.

Besides these navigable rivers, Belgium has a number of canals for inland navigation, some of which are used also for irrigation. They are twenty-nine in number, and their entire length is 605,440 metres, or 376 English miles. The principal of these are the canals from Bruges to Ostend, from Brussels to Charleroi, from Bocholt to Heren- thal, from Brussels to Willebroeck, from Ghent to Bruges, from Lie&quot;ge to Maestricht, from Maastricht to Bois-le-Duc, from Pomrneroeul to Antoing, from Plasschendaele to Nieuport, the Louvain canal, the Lieve, and the Moevaert. Each of these canals is upwards of 12 miles in length, and the longest, that from Brussels to Charleroi, upwards of 46 miles. The entire length of the river and canal navi gation of Belgium is 1006 English miles. Belgium possesses a number of mineral springs, the principal of which are the hot springs of Chaudfontaine, situated about five miles from Liege, and the mineral spring of Tongres ; but the most celebrated waters are those of Spa. The ferruginous springs of Huy were formerly in considerable repute, but are now little used.

The climate of Belgium is similar to that of England, but is a little colder in winter and hotter in summer. In the south-eastern parts the atmosphere is more pure and bracing than in the lower parts towards the N.W., where it is frequently damp and hazy. Frost rarely appears before the middle of October or after the middle of April. Observations made at Brussels from 1833 to 1872 give the mean annual temperature as 50 6 Fahr., the mean maxi mum being 57 2, and the mean minimum 44 0- 1 Fahr. During that period there were no frosts in the five months from May to September inclusive, and snow fell only eight times in May and four times in October. The average number of foggy days annually, from 1833 to 1862, was 60, and with thunder 15. The annual average of days on which rain fell was 197, and the quantity of rain 2 8 04 inches, or 3 inches less than the rainfall at London.

The population of Belgium in 1831 was 3,785,814 ; in 1 1840,4,073,162; in 1850,4,426,202; in 1860, 4,731,957, and in 1873, 5,253,821, being 2,645,147 males and 2,608,674 females. The following table shows the popula tion of the different provinces in each of the years 1831, 1850, and 1873 (31st December):—

1831. Antwerp 349,942 Brabant 561,828 East Flanders 742,973 West Flanders 608,226 Hainault 613,179 Liege 375,030 Limbourg- 160,090 Luxembourg 160,762 Xamur 213,784 1850. 1873. 420,556 513,543 734,617 922,468 783,450 854,366 631,137 682,921 733,740 932,03(5 467,843 623,165 188,198 202,922 192,588 206,069 274,073 316,33] 3,785,814 4,426,202 5,253,821 The principal towns are Brussels, with 180,172 inhabi tants; Antwerp, 141,910; Ghent, 128,424; Liege, 113,774: Bruges, 48.113; Venders, 38,875; Tournay, 31,923; Malines, 38,540 ; Louvain, 32,314.

