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SOMME

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Originally appearing in Volume V25, Page 393 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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SOMME , a See also:

department of See also:northern See also:France, formed in 1790 of a large See also:part of the See also:province of See also:Picardy (comprising See also:Vermandois, See also:Santerre, Amienois, Ponthieu, Vimeu, and Marquenterre) and a small portion of See also:Artois. Pop. (1906), 532,567. See also:Area 2423 sq. m. It is bounded on the N. by Pas-de-See also:Calais, E. by See also:Aisne, S. by See also:Oise, and S.W. by See also:Seine-Inferieure, and its See also:sea-See also:coast extends 28 M. along the See also:English Channel. Two streams flowing into the Channel—the Authie on the See also:north and the Bresle on the southwest—See also:bound it in these directions. The See also:surface consists of See also:great See also:rolling plains, generally well cultivated and very fertile. The highest point, about 700 ft. above the sea, lies in the See also:south-See also:west, not far from See also:Aumale. From the mouth of the Authie to the See also:Bay of the Somme the coast is lined with a See also:belt of See also:sand See also:dunes about 2 M. broad, behind which is the Marquenterre, a See also:tract of 5o,000 acres reclaimed from the sea by means of dykes and traversed by drainage canals. The Bay of the Somme, obstructed by dangerous sandbanks, contains the three fishing ports of Crotoy, St Valery, which is also the See also:chief commercial See also:port, and Le Hourdel. Next come the See also:shingle See also:banks, behind which the See also:low See also:fields of Cayeux (25,000 acres) have been reclaimed; and then at the See also:hamlet of Ault commence the See also:chalk cliffs, which continue onwards into See also:Normandy. The See also:river Somme rises to the N.N.E. of St Quentin in the department of Aisne, where it has a course of about 25 m.; it traverses the department of Somme from the south-See also:east to the north-west for a distance of about 125 m., through a marshy valley abounding in See also:peat.

Commanded by See also:

Ham, Peronne, See also:Amiens and See also:Abbeville, this valley forms a northern See also:line of See also:defence for See also:Paris. Apart from the See also:water-See also:power it supplies, the Somme is of great commercial value, being accompanied by a See also:canal all the way from its source wherever it is not itself navigable. From Abbeville to St Valery its See also:lower course forms a maritime canal 165 ft. wide, 12 ft. deep, and 8 to 9 M. See also:long, capable of bearing at high See also:tide vessels of 300 tons See also:burden. From St Valery to the open sea the current hollows out a very variable See also:bed accessible at certain tides for vessels of 500 tons. The most important affluents of the Somme—the Ancre from the north-east by way of See also:Albert and See also:Corbie, the Avre from the south-east by Roye, and the Selle from the south by Conty—join the See also:main streams at Amiens. The Authie and the Bresle are respectively 63 and 45 M. long. The latter ends in a maritime canal about 2 M. long between Eu and Treport. The mean temperature is lower. than that of Paris (49° F. at Abbeville). The mean See also:annual rainfall is 33 in. at Abbeville. The department, especially in the north-east, is one of the best cultivated in France. Beetroot for See also:sugar is the See also:staple See also:crop of the Peronne See also:arrondissement; cereals, chiefly See also:wheat, See also:fodder and mangel-wurzels, oil See also:plants, See also:poppy, colza, See also:flax, See also:hemp and potatoes are grown through-out the department, the latter more largely on the seaboard. Stock-raising of all kinds is successfully carried on.

No See also:

wine is grown, the See also:principal drinks being See also:beer and See also:cider. See also:Market gardening is of great importance See also:round Amiens. Peat-cutting is actively carried on, the best qualities and the deepest workings being in the valley of the Somme, between Amiens and Abbeville. Phosphate of See also:lime is also an important See also:mineral product. The manufacture of a great variety of textile goods, especially See also:velvet (Amiens), of See also:beet sugar and See also:alcohol, and of locks, See also:safes and the like (in the Vimeu), are characteristic See also:industries of the department, which also carries on saw-milling, See also:flour-milling, See also:brewing, See also:dyeing, ironfounding and See also:forging, See also:printing and the manufacture of See also:paper, chemical products, See also:machines and ironmongery, See also:hosiery (in the Santerre), &c. Cereals, horses of the See also:Boulogne or See also:Norman breed, See also:cattle, hemp and See also:linen, and the manufactured goods are the exports of the department. St Valery (pop. 3389) exports vegetables and See also:farm-products (to See also:England), and shingle for the manufacture of earthenware. Besides the raw materials for the manufacturing industries, wines and See also:timber, the latter largely imported at St Valery, dyestuffs and See also:coal are imported. The department is served principally by the Northern railway, and its canals and See also:rivers provide 140 M. of navigable waterway. Administratively the department comprises 5 arrondissements (those of Amiens, the See also:capital, Abbeville, See also:Doullens, See also:Montdidier and Peronne), 41 cantons and 836 communes. The department belongs to the academie (educational circumscription) of See also:Lille, and constitutes the See also:diocese of Amiens, which See also:city is also the seat of a See also:court of See also:appeal and the headquarters of the region of the II. See also:army See also:corps, wherein the department is included.

The most noteworthy places are Amiens (the capital), Abbeville, Montdidier, Peronne, Doullens, St Riquier, See also:

Crecy and Ham, which are treated under those headings. The following places may also be mentioned : Albert (pop. 6656), after Amiens and Abbeville the most populous See also:town in the department and a centre for See also:machine construction; Villers-Bretonneux (pop. 4447), a centre of hosiery manufacture; Corbie, once celebrated for its See also:Benedictine See also:abbey (founded in the 7th See also:century) the See also:church of which (16th–18th century) is still to be seen; L'Etoile, with the well-preserved remains of a See also:Roman See also:camp; Folleville, which has a church (15th century) containing the See also:fine See also:Renaissance See also:tomb of Raoul de See also:Lannoy; Picquigny, with the remains of a See also:chateau of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, once one of the chief strongholds of Picardy; See also:Rue, where there is a fine See also:chapel of the 15th century; and Tilloloy, which has a Renaissance church.

End of Article: SOMME

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