Of the productive portion 50 per cent. is arable land and gardens, 4 per cent. vineyards, 28 per cent. meadows and pastures, and 18 per cent. forests.-The climate,/ being on the whole temperate, is one of the finest in Europe; it is however greatly diversified by the differences of latitude, elevation, soil, exposure, etc. In this respect France has been divided into four regions, each being characterized by a special production: the first, the region of the cereals, extends from the northern frontier to a line drawn from Me-zieres to Nantes; the second, the region of the vine, is comprised between this line and another passing from a point near Nancy to the mouth of the Charente; the third, through which the cultivation of maize prevails, is bounded S. by a line extending from Grenoble to Perpignan; and the fourth, the region of the olive, includes the southeastern part of the country. The air is generally pure and healthy. The mean annual temperature of different parts of France has been estimated as follows by Humboldt: at Toulon, 62° F.; at Marseilles, 59.5°; at Bordeaux, 56°; at Nantes, 55.2°; at Paris, 51.2°; and at Dunkirk, 50.5°. More rain falls annually in the valley of the Rhone than on the Atlantic slope; the average fall in the former being about 30 inches, while it does not exceed 20 inches in the latter.

The centre of the country enjoys a happy medium of temperature and climate; in the south the summers are long, dry, and hot. The mountainous region of Auvergne is visited by long and severe winters. The departments around the gulf of Lyons are subject to disagreeable winds, which sometimes prove injurious to the crops; the most dreaded is the mistral.-Of the vegetable products, the most generally cultivated are wheat, rye, maize, buckwheat, oats, barley, potatoes, colewort, black poppy, etc. The chief grain-growing districts are the departments of Eure-et-Loir, Aisne, Le Nord, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-et-Oise, Seine-Inferieure, Somme, and Pas-de-Calais. Barley, oats, oleaginous seeds, hops, and beet root are mostly cultivated in the department of Le Nord; buckwheat in Brittany. Meadows and pastures are principally found in Normandy. There are vineyards in 76 of the departments. As regards the cultivation of the vine, France occupies the first rank among the states of Europe. Though the amount of wine produced is subject to very considerable variations, it always constitutes one of the most important articles of export.

From 1864 to 1869 the produce was as follows (1 hectolitre=26.41 gallons): 1864, 50,653,000 hectolitres; 1865, 68,-943,000; 1866, 63,838.000; 1867, 39,128,000; 1868, 52,098,000; 1869, 70,000,000. The production of red is to that of white wine nearly as 3 to 1. The average price of red wine is 14 francs a hectolitre; that of white is 11 francs. Apple trees are abundant in the northwest, and the Normandy cider enjoys a wide reputation in France; hemp and flax are raised in large quantities in the same region; attention is given to the mulberry tree in the south and southeast; madder is successfully cultivated in the southeast on the banks of the Durance; tobacco is raised in the departments of Le Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Gironde, Ille-et-Vilaine, Lot, and Lot-et-Garonne. The principal forest trees are the chestnut on the central mountains, the oak in the Pyrenees, and the fir in Gascony. The most richly wooded districts are the Ardennes table-land, the Vosges, the plateau of Langres, the Cote d'Or, the Cevennes and their ramifications, the Jura, and the Alps. The destruction of wood has been considerable within the last two centuries, and the forests do not cover more than 17/100 0f the whole area of the country.

The principal forests still in existence are those of Com-piegne, Fontainebleau, L'Esterel, Rambouillet, Villers-Cotterets, and Orleans. The French flora comprises upward of 800 genera and 6,000 species. The numbers of live stock in 1866 were as follows: horned cattle, 12,333,000; sheep, 30,116,000; horses, 3,163,000; mules and asses, 862,000; swine, 5,650,000; goats, 1,640,000. Within the last 50 years great attention has been given not only to the improvement of native breeds, but to the introduction of foreign ones, which has been gene-rally successful. The best breeds of cattle are those of Auvergne and Gascony; the sheep of Berry are considered the finest; the fattest swine are raised in Lorraine and the Pyrenees; the horses of Limousin, Brittany, Perche, and Normandy are renowned, those of the last two provinces for their strength and size; the mules of Poitou deserve the same praise. Poultry, which is one of the principal articles in the husbandry of France, is raised with peculiar success in Maine, Augoumois, and Burgundy. Eggs are important articles of export, especially to England. Bees are principally raised in the departments bordering on the Mediterranean; the most celebrated honey is that of Narbonne. The wild animals are fast diminishing all over the country; the black bear is confined to the higher ranges of the Alps and the Pyrenees, where the chamois and the wild goat are also found.

The lynx appears rarely in these mountains and the Cevennes. Wolves, notwithstanding the active war of extermination carried on against them, are still found in some central departments, especially the mountainous districts. The wild boar, roebuck, and fox are found in all well wooded parts. The red and fallow deer are becoming rare, while hares and rabbits are abundant. Several kinds of squirrels, the polecat, weasel, marten, hedgehog, and other small animals are common. Otters and a few beavers are found in some of the southern streams. Reptiles are few; a venomous kind of viper and a harmless adder are to be found in some regions. Among the birds, which are very numerous, are eagles, vultures, falcons, etc. The rivers and coasts generally abound with fish; fisheries are consequently an important industry and a great source of wealth. Several points on the N. W. and W. coasts furnish excellent oysters. The pilchard fishey, which is conducted mostly on the shores of Brittany, is the most important of all; about 8,000 barrels of salted pilchards are sent into the market annually, and the inhabitants on the coast live in great part on fresh pilchards during the season.