L I L J 809
47° 30 and 48° 20 N. lat. and between 1° 30 and 3° 8 E. long., and is bounded on the N. by Seine-et-Oise, on the N.E. by Seine-et-Marne, on the E. by Yonne, on the S. by Nièvre and Cher, on the S.W. by Loir-et-Cher, and on the N.W. by Eure-et-Loir; its greatest length, from north-west to south-east, is 75 miles, its greatest breadth, from north to south along the meridian of Paris, 50 miles, and its area 2614 square miles. The name is derived from the Loiret, a stream which issues from the ground some miles to the south of Orleans, and after a course of about 7 miles falls into the Loire; its large volume gives rise to the belief that it is a subterranean branch of that river. The Loire traverses the department by a broad valley which, though frequently devastated by disastrous floods, is famed for its rich tilled lands, its castles, its towns, and its vine- clad slopes. To the right of the Loire are Gâtinais (capital Montargis) and Beauce; the former district is so named from its gâtines or wildernesses, of which saffron is, along with honey, the most noteworthy product; Beauce, on the other hand, a monotonous tract of corn-fields without either tree or river, has been called the granary of France. Between Beauce and the Loire is the extensive forest of Orleans, which is slowly disappearing before the advances of agriculture. South of the Loire is Sologne, long barren and unhealthy from the impermeability of its subsoil, but undergoing gradual improvement in both respects by means of pine plantation and draining and manuring operations. The surface of the department presents little variation of level; the highest point (on the borders of Cher) is 900 feet above the level of the sea, and the low r est (on the borders of Seine-et-Marne) is 220 feet. The watershed on the plateau of Orleans between the basins of the Seine and Loire, which divide Loiret almost equally between them, is almost imperceptible. The lateral canal of the Loire from Reanne stops at Briare; from the latter town a canal connects with the Seine by the Loing valley, which is joined by the Orleans canal at Montargis. The only important tributary of the Loire within the department is the Loiret; the Loing, a tributary of the Seine, has a course of 40 miles from south to north, and is accompanied throughout first by the Briare canal and afterwards by that of Loing. The Essonne, another important affluent of the Seine, entering Loiret at Malesherbes, takes its rise on the plateau of Orleans, as also does its tributary the Juine. The department has the climate of the Sequanian region, the mean temperature being almost the same as that of Paris; the number of rainy days is one hundred and twenty, and the rainfall varies from 18.5 to 27.5 inches according to the district, that of the exposed Beauce being smaller than that of the woody Sologne. Two-thirds of the entire area is cultivable; between one-sixth and one-seventh is under wood; vineyards occupy one-twentieth; and the remainder is taken up by meadows, heath, and marsh.
A large number of sheep, cattle, horses, asses, pigs, and goats are reared; poultry, especially geese, and bees are plentiful. The yield of wheat and oats is much in excess of the consumption; the crops of rye, barley, meslin, potatoes, beetroot, colza, and hemp are also very important. Wine is abundant, but of inferior quality. Buckwheat supports bees by its flowers, and poultry by its seeds. Saffron is another source of wealth. The woods consist of oak, elm, birch, and pine; fruit trees thrive in the department, and Orleans is a great centre of nursery gardens. The industries are brick and tile making, and the manufacture of faience, for which Gien is one of the most important centres in France. The Briare manufacture of porcelain buttons and pearls employs 1500 workmen. Flour-mills are very numerous. There are iron and brass foundries, which, along with agricultural implement making, bell-founding, and the manufacture of pins, nails, and files, represent the chief metal-working industries. The production of hosiery, wool-spinning, and various forms of wool manufacture are also engaged in. A large quantity of the wine grown is made into vinegar (vinaigre d'Orléans). The tanneries produce excellent leather; and paper-making, sugar-refining, wax-bleaching, and the manufacture of caoutchouc (in one factory) complete the list of industries. The exports are principally corn, flour, wine, vinegar, live-stock, and wood. The four arrondissements are those of Orleans, Gien, Montargis, and Pithiviers. The capital is Orleans. The population in 1876 was 360,903 an increase of 70,764 since 1801.
LOIR-ET-CHER, a department of central France, con
sists of a small portion of Touraine, but chiefly of portions of
Orléanais proper, Blesois, and Dunois, districts which them
selves formerly belonged to Orléanais. It lies between
47° 11 and 48° 8 N. lat, and between 0° 35 and 2° 15 E.
long., and is bounded on the N. by Eure-et-Loir, on the N.E,
by Loiret, on the S.E. by Cher, on the S. by Indre, on the
S.W. by Indre-et-Loire, and on the N.W. by Sarthe, the
greatest length (north-west to south-east) being 78 miles,
maximum breadth 31 miles, and the area 2452 miles.
Its name is derived from the Loir and the Cher, by which
it is traversed in the north and in the south respectively.
The Loire divides it into two nearly equal portions, the
district on the right of the Loire being known as Beauce,
while that on the right of the Loir again is called Perche;
on the left of the Loire is Sologne. The surface of Perche
is varied, and reaches a maximum height of 840 feet; its
woods alternate with hedged fields and orchards, and
rapid rivulets water the green valleys. Beauce is a rich
agricultural country, where the monotony of the endless
fields of corn is broken only by the houses grouped together
in villages, or by the stacks which surround them.
Sologne was formerly a region of forests, of which that of
Chambord is one of the last remains. Its soil, formerly
barren and unhealthy, has been considerably improved
within recent years. The Cher and Loir traverse pleasant
valleys, occasionally bounded by walls of tufa, in which
numerous dwellings have been excavated; the stone ex
tracted, after hardening by exposure to the air, has been
used for building purposes in the nearer towns. Within
the department the Loir has a course of 56 miles, the Cher
of 50, and the Loire of 37. With the help of the Berri
canal the last-mentioned is navigable throughout. The,
chief remaining rivers of the department are the Beuvron,
which flows into the Loire on the left, and the Sauldre
on the right of the Cher. All these named have a south
westerly course, following the slope of the department.
The climate is temperate and mild, and healthy if Sologne
be left out of account. The mean temperature ranges
between 52° and 53° Fahr., and the rainfall is 25.4 inches.
Of the total area more than a half is arable; one-sixth is
under wood, and one-sixth is waste; vineyards, meadows,
and pasture lands occupy the remainder.
Sheep are extensively reared, and the Perche breed of horses is much sought after for its combination of lightness with strength. There are more than twenty thousand beehives within the department. Beauce is the most productive district; in 1878 it yielded 342,000 quarters of wheat, 556,000 of oats, and 1,500,000 bushels of potatoes, besides meslin, rye, barley, buckwheat, beetroot, maize, colza, and hemp. In the same year the production of wine amounted to 27,000,000 gallons, the most valuable being that of Côte du Cher. The forests are an important source of wealth. Sologne supplies pine and birchwood for furnace fuel, and in the neighbourhood of Blois there are oak, elm, and chestnut plantations. In the river valleys fruit trees and nursery gardens are numerous. Formerly the speciality of Loir-et-Cher was to supply Europe with gun flints. Building stones, and also clay for bricks and pottery, are also abundant. The chief industries are the manufacture of cloth at Romorantin (where spinning, ribbon-making, and tanning are also carried on), of white leather and gloves at Vendôme, distilling, glass-making, paper-making, pottery-making, and the like. The exports are wine, brandy, vinegar, wood, cloth, wool, leather, grain, legumes, wax, and leeches. Of the castles which adorn the department the finest and most famous is that of Chambord, near the left bank of the Loire opposite Blois (the capital). The three arrondissements are those of Blois, Romorantin, and Vendôme. In 1876 the population was 272,634, an increase of 55,721 since 1801.
LOJA, or Loxa, a town of Spain, in the province of
Granada, lies in a beautiful valley through which flows the
Genil, here crossed by a Moorish bridge, about 33 miles
