fined to the
construction of new docks. The quays flanking the Scheldt are 3-1/2 m.
in length. They are constructed of granite, and no expense has been
spared in equipping them with hydraulic cranes, warehouses, &c.

_Fortifications._--Besides being the chief commercial port of Belgium,
Antwerp is the greatest fortress of that country. Nothing, however,
remains of the former enceinte or even of the famous old citadel
defended by General Chasse in 1832, except the _Steen_, which has been
restored and contains a museum of arms and antiquities. After the
establishment of Belgian independence Antwerp was defended only by the
citadel and an enceinte of about 2-1/2 m. round the city. No change
occurred till 1859, when the system of Belgian defence was radically
altered by the dismantlement of seventeen of the twenty-two fortresses
constructed under Wellington's supervision in 1815-1818. At Antwerp the
old citadel and enceinte were removed. A new enceinte 8 m. in length was
constructed, and the villages of Berchem and Borgerhout, now parishes of
Antwerp, were absorbed within the city. This enceinte still exists, and
is a fine work of art. It is protected by a broad wet ditch (plans in
article FORTIFICATION), and in the caponiers are the magazines and store
chambers of the fortress. The enceinte is pierced by nineteen openings
or gateways, but of these seven are not used by the public. As soon as
the enceinte was finished eight detached forts from 2 to 2-1/2 m.
distant from the enceinte were constructed. They begin on the north near
Wyneghem and the zone of inundation, and terminate on the south at
Hoboken. In 1870 Fort Merxem and the redoubts of Berendrecht and
Oorderen were built for the defence of the area to be inundated north of
Antwerp. In 1878, in consequence of the increased range of artillery and
the more destructive power of explosives, it was recognized that the
fortifications of Antwerp were becoming useless and out of date. It was
therefore decided to change it from a fortress to a fortified position
by constructing an outer line of forts and batteries at a distance
varying from 6 to 9 m. from the enceinte. This second line was to
consist of fifteen forts, large and small. Up to 1898 only five had been
constructed, but in that and the two following years five more were
finished, leaving another five to complete the line. A mixed commission
selected the points at which they were to be placed. With the completion
of