BRITTANY, or BRETAGNE, one of the old pro vinces of France, bounded by Anjou, Normandy, and the Main on the cast, by Poitou partly on the south, and by the sea on the west and north, so as to form a peninsula.
Brittany was formerly one of the most considerable provinces of France, both from its extent, and from the number and riches of its inhabitants. It stretched about 65 leagues from east to west, and about 44 from north to south. Its extent, according to Necker, was 1174 square leagues, or 1801 according to a later writer, M. Bonvallet Desbrosses. The first of these authors reckons the population at 2,276,000, being 1282 inhabitants for every square league ; while the latter makes it 1,620,900, which gives only about 900 souls for every square league.
The climate of Brittany is mild, excepting near the coast, where the air is loaded with vapours. The soil consists chiefly of a gravelly sand, and the face of the country is diversified with hills and plains. In many parts there are extensive heaths, like those of Cornwall, some of which are covered to a great extent with forests of wood.
The principal productions of this province are, wheat, barley, oats, rye, flax, hemp, and wood. In the fertile districts of Vannois and St Brieux, about one half of the barley and rye was exported to Spain and Portugal. The wines of Brittany are chiefly made in the neigh bourhood of Nantes and Rhuys, and arc generally con sumed in the province ; but when they are manufactured in great quantities, a considerable portion of them is converted into brandy. The annual consumption of wines sent from Bourdcaux was 30,000 tonneaux, each of which contains 460 Paris pints.
The forests of Brittany, which consist of oaks, beeches, chesnuts, &c. contain about 161,046 journaux, and 36 cordes.' Great numbers of cattle, and particu larly cows, are fed in 'the pastures, and a considerable commerce in butter is carried on with Anjou. Yellow wax of the very best kind is made in Lower Brittany, and about 150 thousand weight is annually sold. Mines of lead are very abundant. The principal ones are at Carnot, Pontpean, Carce, and Poullaouen. The iron mines are also very considerable, but they have not been wrought to any great extent. At Penhouet, where the river Oudon discharges itself into the Vilaine, there is an excellent quarry of slates, which was let at 15,000 livres a year, for nine years, and which can employ about 200 workmen, who manufacture nearly 50,000 weight a day. This slate, though smaller than
that of Nantes, is sold at Rennes at 22 francs for every thousand weight. In the canton of St Nazaire, there is a field filled with loadstones. Those which lie on the surface have very little force, but those which are found below the surface are remarkably good. The compass, as might be expected, is subject to singular variations in this part of the country. Salt is made in great quan tities in the villages on the bay of Bourgneuf, and in the territory of Guerande and Croisie. In common years, the quantity of salt which is manufactured amounts to 40,000 muids, each muid containing 144 minots, and each minot 100 poids de mare. Supposing the value of each muid to be 100 francs, we shall have 4,00m0a francs for the value of the salt which is annually pro duced. A very considerable fishery is carried on, on the coasts of this province ; about 30 or 40 boats are employed in the fishing of the congo, or conger eels, of which nearly 400 quintals are caught every year. Those which are not consumed in the province are sent to Bourdeaux, and are sold at the rate of 10 or 20 francs per quintal. The fishing of sardines and mack erel is carried on to a great extent at Port Louis, Belleisle, Audierne, and Brest, and great quantities are exported to Provence, Spain, Portugal, and to every part of the Mediterranean. Port Louis alone sells about 4000 barrels of sardines, and the inhabitants of Belleisle make about 1000 or 1200. There is a salmon fishery at Chateaulin, which rents at about 4500 francs annually.
The principal manufactures of Brittany are sail cloths and cordage, fine cloths, and woollen stuffs, The principal rivers are the Loire and the Vilaine, which are united with the Ronce, or Drance, by means of a canal between Rennes and Dijon ; the Coesnon or Couesnon, which is navigable for six or eight months of the year from the sea to the port of Angle ; the Andre or Endre, which is navigable after it receives the waters of the Manclee ; the Alne, which falls into the bay of Brest, and might be rendered navigable by sluices as far as Carhaix ; the Morlaix ; the Odes; the Blavet, and the Ille. The principal ports of Brittany are Brest ; Nantes, St Malo, St Brieux, L'Orient, Vannes, Croisic, Port Louis, and Treguier. This province now forms the departments of Ille and Vilaine, Cotes du Nord, Finis terre, Morbihan, and the Lower Loire, which see under their respective names. (j)