“ The agriculture of the department is very prosperous. The produce of cereals, chiefly wheat, oats and barley, is in excess of its needs, and potatoes and mangels also give good returns. Extensive areas in the valley of the Loire are under hemp, and the vegetables, melons and other fruits of that region are of the finest quality. Good wine is produced at Serrant and other places near Angers, and on the right bank of the Layon and near Saumur, the sparkling white wine of which is a rival of the cheaper brands of champagne. ”

“ The department belongs entirely to the basin of the Loire, the bed of which is wide but shallow, and full of islands, the depth of the water in summer being at some places little more than 2 ft. Floods are sudden and destructive. The chief affluent of the Loire within the department is the Maine, formed a little above Angers by the junction of the Mayenne and the Sarthe, the latter having previously received the waters of the Loire. ”

“ The fattening of cattle is an important industry round Cholet, and horses much used for light cavalry are reared. Several thousand workmen are employed in the slate quarries in the vicinity of Angers, tufa is worked in the river valleys, and freestone and other stone, mispickel, iron and coal are also found. Cholet, the chief industrial town, and its district manufacture pocket-handkerchiefs, as well as linen cloths, flannels, cotton goods, and hempen and other coarse fabrics, and similar industries are carried on at Angers, which also manufactures liqueurs, rope, boots and shoes and parasols. ”