Belgium

a kingdom of Burope, bounded N. by Holland, N. W. by the North Sea, W. and 8. by France, and Ff}. by the duchy of Luxemburg, Rhenish Pru ia, and Dutch Limburg; greatest length, 165 miles; greatest breadth, 120 miles; area, about 11,400 square miles, For administrative purposes it is divided into nine provinces — Antwerp, South Brabant, East Flanders,, West Flanders, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxemburg, and Na~ mur. Pop. (1902) 6,896,079. The greater part of the country is well adapted for agricultural operations, and the inhabitants have so happily availed themselves of their natural advantages that they early began, and in some respects still deserve, to be regarded as the model farmers of Europe. The mineral riches of Belgium are great, and, after agriculture, form the most important of her national interests. ‘They are almost entirely confined to the four provinces of Hainaut, Liege, Namur, and ig! and consist of lead, manganese, calamine or zine, iron, and coal. All these minerals, however, are, insignificant compared with those of iron and coal. The coal field has an area of above 500 square miles. The export is about 5,000,000 tons, forming one of the largest and most valuable of all the Belgian exports, and employing about 125,000 persons. Nearly the whole of this coal is taken by France. r The industrial products of Belgium are very numerous, and the superiority of many of them to those of most other countries is confe ed. The fine linens of Flanders, and lace of South Brabant are of European reputation. Scarcely le celebrated are the carpets and porcelain of Tournay, the cloth of Verviers, the extensive foundries, machine works, and other iron and steel establishments of Liege, Seraing, and other places. The cotton and woolen manufactures, confined chiefly to Flanders and the province of Antwerp, have advanced greatly. Other manufactures include silks, beet sugar, beer. There were 17 pig iron works in operation in 1899; 46 iron manufactories; 15 steel works; 123 sugar factories; and 25 refineries; and 240 distilleries. The railways have a length of about 2,900 miles, three-fourths belonging to the State. The value of the general ecommerce in 1900 was: Imports, 3,- 504,425,067 francs, and exports, 3,297,- 509,775 franes; imports for home consumption, 2,215,700,000 franes; exports of Belgian produce and manufactures, 1,922,900,000 francs; transit trade, 1,374,600,000 frances. The Belgian population is the densest in Europe, and is composed of two distinct races — Flemish, who are of German, and Walloons, who are of French extraction. Almost the entire population belong to the Roman Catholic Church.