SAONE, HAUTE, a department in the cast of France, is bounded N. by the department of Vosges, E. by that of Haut-Rhin, S. by that of Duuba and Jura, and W. by that of Cotesi'Or, and Haute-Marne. The greatest length is from east-north-east to west-south-west, 72 miles ; the greatest breadth, at right angles to the length, is 38 mike. The area of the department is square miles. The population iu 1841 was 347,627; in 1851, 347,469, giving 168.3 iuhabitante to a square mile, or 6.2 below the average of the French departments.
The eastern side of the department is occupied by the branches of the Vosges, the main ridge of which is just upon the border. The principal elevations are Le Ballon do Servauce, 3967 feet; and Lc Ballon do Lure, 3718 feet. A range of heights branching from the Vosges skirts the right bank of the Oignon, as far as the road between Vesoul and Besancon, and indeed rather farther ; and some of the branches of the Faucilles overspread the northern portion of the department.
The east of the department is occupied by the primary rocks which form the nucleus of the Vence. The country on the west and south of this primary district is occupied by the sandstone of the Vosges and other of the lower secondary formations, but the greater part of the department is occupied by the secondary formations which Intervene between the cretaceous group and the sandstone of the Vosges. The minerals are granite, porphyry, freestone, stone fur lithography, and excellent grindstones, gypsum, and a white sand valuable for the Manufacture of glass, coals, and iron. Numerous coal- and lion-mines are worked. There is a large number of furnaces and forges fur the manufacture of pig- and bar-iron and steel. Peat is also procured. There are several mineral-springs, of which those of Luxenil, a town at rho foot of the Vosges, are the most frequented.
The department belongs to the basin of the Saone. The &Ale, the ancient Aran rises in the department of Vosges, and enters Haute Same near Jonvelle. Hence it runs iu a general southern direction through this department past Gray and across an angle of COte-d'Or. It then enters the department of Sa6nemt-Loire, passing Chalon, and machete the department of Ain below Touruus. From this to Its junction with the Rhone at Lyon, it flows nearly due south. The whole length of the Saone is 2S0 miles, of which 162 below Gray are by steamers and large bargee. During the freshes of the
river many large rafts of square timber, loaded with staves, Iron, and other heavy produce are floated down to Gray and the towns above it. Near Se-Jean-de-Lome it is joined by two canals, which connect it with the Rhine and the Seine. The stream is proverbially gentle. The principal tributaries which it receives are the Coney, the Supetbe, the Lauterue, the Drejoo, the Romain, the Norte, and the Oignoo, on the left bank ; and the Amauce, the Gourgeon, and the Saulon on the right bank. Of these the Oignon is the moat important: it rises near the eastern extremity of the department sued the Vosges, and flows south-west, pertly within, partly upon the border, 90 miles into the Sa6ne. The department is crossed by 5 state and 14 departmental roads. The department has no canals nor railroads. A railway however is authorised to be made from St: Meier, in Haute-Marne, to Gray, which will connect the basin of the Upper Saone with the Strasburg-Parits line.
The heat of summer and the cold of winter are leas intense than in the adjacent departments, the autumn is usually fine; but the spring is variable. The soil is on the whole fertile. About half the area of the department is under the plough. The chief crops are wheat, rye, maalln (wheat and rye mixed), maize, barley, oats, and potatoes. A surplus of wheat is grown for export to the southern departments from Gray, which is one of the greatest corn-markets in France. Millet, beet-ruot, pulse, and aeeda for oil are also grown. The grasslands occupy an area of nearly 150,000 acres ; they are chiefly along the banks of the Saone and Oignon, and afford abundance of good pasture. The heaths and commons occupy nearly 65,000 acre& The number of horned cattle is above the average ; but the number of horses, and still more of sheep, is below the average. Piga, goat& and asses are reared, but the mule is rare. The vineyards occupy nearly 30,000 acres ; the wine is of very ordinary quality. The woods occupy nearly 400,000 acres, and contain abundance of oak, beech, and hornbeam ; on the slopes of the is abundance of fir-timber. The wolf, the fox, the squirrel, and the otter are common. Caine is tolerably plentiful The rivers abound with fish, including trout, carp, pike, barbel, eels, and crayfish.