Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/806

BELGIOJOSO. (1850), and licflexions siir I'etat acUiel de I'ltalie.

BEL'GIUM. One of the smaller European States, situated between latitudes 49° 30' and 51° 30' N., and longitudes 2° 33' and 6° 6' E. It is bounded by Prussia on the east, Franee on the south and southwest, the Xorth Sea on the northwest, and the Netherlands on the north. Its total area is 11.373 square miles, and its population, in 1000. was 6.815,054, di.stributed as follows :

PROVIN'CES Area in Sq. MUes Popula- tion, 1890 Popula- tion, 1900 Densit.V per Sq. Mile 1,093 1.268 1,249 1,158 1,437 1.117 931 1.706 1,414 699.919 1,106,158 738,442 949,526 1,048,546 736,734 222,814 211,711 335.471 819,159 1,263,535 805,236 1,029,971 1,142,954 826,175 240,796 219,210 340,512 749 996 West Flanders. East Flanders. 644 8S9 795 739 Limburg Luxemburg Namur 258 128 245 Totals 11,373 6.069,321 6,093,548 689

Topography. Belgium is, on the whole, a level, low-h-ing country, but the part south- east of the'jieuse is oe"cupied by the Ardennes, and attains an altitude of 2200 feet. In Flanders the land becomes so low that in many places dikes must be raised to cheek the encroachments of the sea. In the northeastern part of Ant- werp a naturally unfertile district named the Campine extends'along the coast, and is gradually being redeemed bv means of canals. The abun- dant water-system of Belgium is chiefly supplied by the rivers Scheldt and SIcuse, both of which rise in France and have their embouchures in Holland. Both the ileuse and the Scheldt are navigable throughout their entire length in Bel- gium, and receive many tributaries. The Scheldt receives the Lys, Den'der, and Rupel, while the tributaries of the Meuse are the Sambre, Ourthe, and Lesse. The natural hydrographical advan- tages are increased by a system of canals which unite Brussels and Louvain with the Rupel, Brussels with Charleroi. ilons with Conde, Ostend with Bruges and Ghent, and Ghent with Neuzen (Terheuzen), in the Netherlands. _ These canals are partly for the purpose of navigation and partly for irrigation. The entire length of the navigable waterways in Belgium is nearly 1400 miles.

Climate. The climate of Belgium differs ac- cording to the altitude of the region, being temperate, equable, and humid in the low plains along the rivers and coast, and exhibiting greater extremes in the elevated part. In general, it resembles the climate of Great Britain, but the summers are liotter and the winters more severe. The average temperature in the low districts is about 50° F. The indigenous flora and fauna differ in no important way from that of the rest of north central Europe. See Flora and Fauna, under Europe.

Geology. The oldest geological formations oc- cur in the southern provinces, particularly along the Ardennes, which are an outher of the Rhen- ish Highlands of Germany. Archsan and Silu- rian rocks occupy very small areas in this region, but the Devonian system is important. On the northern slopes of the Ardennes, from Li&ge on the east to Mons on the west, Carboniferous strata (carrying valuable deposits of coal) out- crop in considerable extent. The low-lying northern provinces of Belgium are underlaid by Mesozoic and Cenozoie sediment, which were de- posited in successive order upon the former shore lines, and still retain a nearly horizontal position. Cretaceous and Tertiary strata are most widespread in occurrence.

Agriculture occupies a rather subordinate place in industrial Belgium, owing partly to un- favorable eonditicpiis, but mainly to the greater inducements offered to capital and labor by mining and manufactures. Such agriculture as exists, nevertheless, has attained a high state' of pel lection. A Government agricultural board exists in each province, and there are many agri- cultural societies, which aid and instruct farm- ers in respect to improved methods of land culti- vation, which occupies about one-fifth of the population. As, however, this proportion has been steadily diminishing, the production has long been less th? n the demand, and cereals and other agricultural products have to be imported from abroad in increasing quantities.

The nature of the various provinces deter- mines the character of their local agriculture. Thus, vine growing takes place mostly along the ilaas River: cereal cultivation in the provinces of Antwerp, Bral)ant, East Flanders. Luxemburg, Namur, and Hainault ; cattle-raising on the fer- tile slopes of the Ardennes and in the rich valleys of the riers, etc. Over 85 per cent, of the total area of the country is taken up as farms, and of that land 31.05 per cent, is under cereals, 10.16 per cent, under vegetables, 4.06 per cent, under industrial plants, 24.46 per cent, under pasture, 2.60 per cent, under orchards, and 27.67 per cent, under forests and heaths. The chief cereal in the country is rye, to which is devoted more than a third of the total area under cereals; next in importance are oats, with some 30 per cent, of the area, and wheat, with slightly less than a fourth, the remaining 12 per cent, of the area under cereals being devoted to barley, buckwheat, spelt, etc. While the area under cereals has decreased during the last half- century, that under beet-root, tobacco, hops, chicory, flax, hemp, rape, and similar plants has increased 60 per cent. The cultivation of beet- root (for sugar) has made phenomenal progress, as is shown by the area devoted to its cultiva- tion at various periods:

YEAR 1846. 1856 1866, ACRES 5.253 19.259 44.133 i8so;:::::::.: «>f^ 1895 133,681

The non-sugar varieties of beet are also raised to a large extent. The chief seat of beet-grow- ing is in the provinces of Braljant and Li6ge. Rotatoes are a leading crop, the acreage devoted to them being greateV than that under wheat. Ko])s and tobacco arc extensively grown, and the production of chicory has reached great pro- portions.

Live Stock. Stock-raising is extensively carried on. and the animals and animal products not only supply the domestic demand, but furnish an important article of export. The dairy industry is especially important— Belgian cheese, and particularly that of Limburg, having a