to the
Jura, measuring some 60 m. in the former, and 20 m. in the latter
direction. It is a plain varying from 600 to 800 ft. above the sea, with
few eminences and a slight inclination westwards. Heaths and coppice
alternate with pastures and arable land; pools and marshes are numerous,
especially in the north. Its chief rivers are the Veyle, the Reyssouze and
the Seille, all tributaries of the Saone. The soil is a gravelly clay but
moderately fertile, and cattle-raising is largely carried on. The region
is, however, more especially celebrated for its table poultry. The
inhabitants preserve a distinctive but almost obsolete costume, with a
curious head-dress. The Bresse proper, called the _Bresse Bressane_,
comprises the northern portion of the department of Ain. The greater part
of the district belonged in the middle ages to the lords of Bage, from whom
it passed in 1272 to the house of Savoy. It was not till the first half of
the 15th century that the province, with Bourg as its capital, was founded
as such. In 1601 it was ceded to France by the treaty of Lyons, after which
it formed (together with the province of Bugey) first a separate government
and afterwards part of the government of Burgundy.

BRESSUIRE, a town of western France, capital of an arrondissement in the
department of Deux-Sevres, 48 m. N. of Niort by rail. Pop. (1906) 4561. The
town is situated on an eminence overlooking the Dolo, a tributary of the
Argenton. It is the centre of a cattle-rearing and agricultural region, and
has important markets; the manufacture of wooden type and woollen goods is
carried on. Bressuire has two buildings of interest: the church of
Notre-Dame, which, dating chiefly from the 12th and 15th centuries, has an
imposing tower of the Renaissance period; and the castle, built by the
lords of [v.04 p.0500] Beaumont, vassals of the viscount of Thouars. The
latter is now in ruins, and a portion of the site is occupied by a modern
chateau, but an inner and outer line of fortifications are still to be
seen. The whole forms the finest assemblage of feudal ruins in Poitou.
Bressuire is the seat of a sub-prefect and has a tribunal of first
instance. Among the disasters suffered at various times by the town, its
capture from the English and subsequent pillage by French troops under du
Guesclin in 1370 is the most memorable.

BREST, a fortified seaport of western France, capital of an arrondissement
in the department of Finistere, 155