BELGIUM, one of the smaller European states, consists of the southern portion of the former kingdom of the Netherlands (as created by the congress of Vienna).
Geography and S atizties.—Belgium lies between lat. 49° 30' and 51° 30' n., and between long. 2° 33' and 6° 5' e. It is bounded on the n. by Holland; on the e. by Dutch Liin bourg. Luxembourg, and Rhenish Prussia; on the s. and s.w. by France; and on the 11.W. by the North sea. Its greatest length, from n.w. to s.e., is 173 English rn.; and its greatest breadth, from n. to s., 112 English miles. The whole area is 11,373 sq. miles. The pop. at the census of 1876 was 5,336,185. Beneath are given the provinces, their areas, their pop. in 1873, and their chief towns: Provinces. Area in Population. chief cities.
square miles. Dec. Sl, 1873.
Antwerp 1,094 513,543 Antwerp.
West Flanders........... .. 1,250 682,921 Bruges.
East Flanders. 1,160 854,366 Ghent.
Hainault 1,436 932,036 Mons.
Liege. 1,117 623,165 Liege.
Brabant 1,267 922,468 Brussels.
Limbourg 931 202,922 Hasselt, Luxembourg. 1,705 206,069 Arlon.
Namur. 1,413 816,331 Namur.
Total 11,373 5,253,821B. is the most densely peopled country in Europe, the pop. being about 462 to elie sq.m. ; and in the particular provinces of EastFlanders, Brabant; Hainault, West Flan.
dors. and Liege, respectively, the proportion is 735, 728, 649, 557, and 555 to the sq. miles. The rural population is to that of the towns as 3 to 1.
Physical is, on the whole, a level, and even low-lying country; diversified, however, by hilly districts. In the s.e. a western branch of the Ardennes highlands makes its appearance, separating the basin of the Maas from that of the 3loselle, but attains only the moderate elevation of 2000 feet. In Flanders the land becomes so low, that in parts where the natural protection-afforded by the downs is deficient, dikes, have been raised to check the encroachments of the sea. In the n.e. part of Antwerp, a naturally unfertile district named the Campine, and composed of marshes and barren heaths, extends in a line parallel with the coast. The once impassable morasses of the Morini and the Minapii, which stayed the progress of Clcsar's legions, are now drained, and converted into fertile fields, surrounded by dense plantations, which make the land at a distance look like a vast green forest—though, when more closely regarded, we see only numerous dwellings interspersed among fields, canals, aud meadows.
Ilydrography, Climate, Agriculture, etc.—The abundant water-system of 13. is chiefly supplied by the rivers Scheldt and Maas, both of which rise in France, and have their embouchures in Holland. At Antwerp, the Scheldt, which, like the Maas, is navigable all through Belgium, is 32 ft. deep, and about 480 yards 'wide. Its tributaries are the
Lys, Dender, and Rupel. The Maas, or Meuse, receives in its course the waters of the Sambre, the Ourthe, and the Boer. These natural hydrographical advantages are increased by a system of canals which unite Brussels and Louvain with the Rupel, Brus sels with Charleroi, Mons with ,Conde, Ostend with Bruges and Ghent, and this last place with Terneuse. According to the resolution passed by the government in 1842, the long postponed project of cutting canals through the Campine district was at length commenced, and has been very advantageous to the spread of agriculture. A large por tion of the Campine seems destined to perpetual barrenness—a dreary, silent, irreclaim able waste; but wherever it has been possible to rescue a patch from the stubborn heath or the relentless sand, there agricultural colonies have been planted, and cornfields shine, and pastures brighten in the heart of the immemorial wilderness. The climate of B., in the plains near the sea, is cool, humid, and somewhat unhealthy; but in the higher s.e. districts, hot summers alternate with very cold winters. April and November are always rainy months. These varieties of climate are favorable to a greater variety of produce than the neighboring country of Holland can supply. The Ardennes districts yield a large supply of wood; while the level provinces raise all kinds of grain—wheat, rye, barley, oats, etc., leguminous plants, hemp, flax, colza, tobacco, hops, dye-plants, aud chicory. Belgium contains upwards of 7,000,000 acres, of which one half are arable, rather more than'orie fifth in meadow and pasture, the seine in woods and forests, and not above 500,000 acres lying waste. Sonic hundreds of acres are devoted to vineyards, but the wine produced is of an inferior quality. The forests of Ardennes abound in game and other wild animals. Good pasturage is found on the slopes and in the valleys of the hilly districts, and in the rich meadows of the low provinceS. Gardening occupies not less than 130.000 acres; indeed, it has been said that the agriculture of B. is just gardening on a large scale, so carefully and laboriously is every inch of soil cultivated. The spade is still the principal instrument used. In the Campine, the care of bees is very productive, and the cultivation of the silk-worm is There are valu able fisheries on the coast,.which employ about 200 boats. B. is famous for its horses, and in 1866 contained as ninny as 283,163 of these animals, 1,242,445 horned cattle, and 666,015 sheep.