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south and decreasing in height from east to west. The most easterly of these chains, that forming the Pays de Gex in the extreme north-east of the department, contains the Cret de la Neige (6653 ft.) and other of the highest summits in the whole range. The See also:

DISTRICT

district of Bugey occupies the triangle formed by the Rhone in the south-east of the department. West of the Ain, with the exception of the district covered by the Revermont, the westernmost See also:

CHAIN (through the O. Fr. citable, chcene, &c., from Lat. catena)

chain of the Jura, the See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country is See also:

FLAT (a modification of O. Eng. flet, an obsolete word of Teutonic origin, meaning the ground beneath the feet)

flat, consisting in the north of the south portion of the Bresse, in the south of the marshy Dombes. The See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief See also:

rivers of the eastern region are the Valserine and the Seran, right-See also:

hand tributaries of the Rhone, which forms the eastern and southern boundary of the department; and the Albarine and Oignin, See also:

LEFT

left-hand affluents of the Ain. The Bresse is watered by the Veyle and the Reyssouze, both flowing into the Saone, which washes the western limit of the department.

The See also:

CLIMATE

climate is See also:

COLD (in O. Eng. cald and ceald, a word coming ultimately from a root cognate with the Lat. gelu, gelidus, and common in the Teutonic languages, which usually have two distinct forms for the substantive and the adjective, cf. Ger. Kolte, kalt, Dutch koude

cold in the eastern and central districts of Ain, but it is on the whole healthy, except in the Dombes. The See also:

AVERAGE

average rainfall is about 38 in. The See also:

SOIL

soil in the valleys and plains of the department, especially in the Bresse, is fertile, producing large quantities of See also:

wheat, as well as oats, See also:

BUCKWHEAT

buckwheat and See also:

MAIZE, or INDIAN CORN

maize. East of the Ain, forests of See also:

fir and See also:

OAK (O. Eng., (lc)

oak abound on the mountains, the See also:

LOWER

lower slopes of which give excellent pasture for See also:

sheep and See also:

CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle, and much See also:

CHEESE (Lat. caseus)

cheese is produced. See also:

HORSE (a word common to Teutonic languages in such forms as hors, hros, ros; cf. the Ger. ross)

Horse-raising is carried on in the Dombes. The pigs and fowls of the Bresse and the geese and turkeys of the Dombes are largely exported. The vineyards of Bugey and Revermont yield See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good wines. The chief See also:

MINERAL

mineral product is the See also:

ASPHALT, or ASPHALTUM

asphalt of the mines of Seyssel on the eastern frontier, besides which See also:

potter's See also:

clay, See also:

BUILDING

building See also:

stone, See also:

HYDRAULIC

hydraulic See also:

lime and See also:

CEMENT (from Lat. caementum, rough pieces of stone, a shortened form of caedimentum, from caedere, to cut)

cement are produced in the department. There are many See also:

corn and saw See also:

mills and the See also:

wood-working See also:

INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

industry is important. See also:

SILK

Silk fabrics, coarse woollen See also:

CLOTH

cloth, See also:

paper and clocks are manufactured. Live-stock and agricultural products are exported; the chief imports are wood and raw silk. The department is within the judicial circumscription of the See also:

APPEAL

appeal See also:

court of See also:

Lyons and the educational circumscription (academie) of Lyons.

It forms See also:

PART

part of the archiepiscopal See also:

province of See also:

BESANCON

Besancon. The Rhone and the Saone are navigable for considerable distances in the department; the chief railway is that of the See also:

Paris-See also:

Lyon-Mediterranee See also:

COMPANY

Company, whose See also:

LINE

line from See also:

Macon to Culoz traverses the department. Ain is divided into five arrondissements—those of Bourg and Trevoux in the west, and those of Gex, Nantua and See also:

BELLEY

Belley in the east; containing in all 36 cantons and 455 communes. Bourg is the See also:

capital and Belley is the seat of a See also:

bishop. Jujurieux, in the See also:

ARRONDISSEMENT (from arrondir, to make round)

arrondissement of Nantua, has the most important silk factory in the department, occupying over too workpeople. See also:

Bellegarde on the eastern frontier is an in ustrial centre; it has a manufactory of wood-pulp, and saw and See also:

FLOUR

flour mills, See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power for which is obtained from the See also:

WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters of the Rhone. Oyonnax and its environs, north of Nantua, are noted for the See also:

PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production of articles in wood and See also:

horn, especially combs. St See also:

RAMBERT, EUGENE (1830-1886)

Rambert, in the arrondissement of Belley, besides being of See also:

INDUSTRIAL

industrial importance for its manufactures of silk and paper, possesses the remains of a See also:

BENEDICTINE

Benedictine See also:

abbey, powerful in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The See also:

GOTHIC

Gothic See also:

church of Ambronay in the arrondissement of Belley, the church of St See also:

Paul de Varax (about 9 m. S.W. of Bourg), a building in the Romanesque See also:

style of Burgundy, and that of Nantua (12th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century), are of architectural See also:

INTEREST

interest. Ferney, 4 m. S.W. of Gex, is famous as the See also:

RESIDENCE (Latin residere, to remain behind, to dwell, reside)

residence of See also:

VOLTAIRE, FRANCOIS MARIE AROUET DE (1694–1778)

Voltaire from 1758–1778.

End of Article: AIN

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