Belfast

the chief commercial and manufacturing city of Ireland. It is situated at the head of a bay on the northeast coast of the island, and is nearer to Glasgow than to Liverpool. The country round about is strongly Protestant. Belfast is scarcely less Presbyterian than is Glasgow. It is situated on low ground made by the alluvial deposits of a small river. As late as 1612 it consisted of 120 mud huts thatched with straw, so that it did not have much the start of Boston. Its present population is about two-thirds as great as that of Boston. The country round about is productive, and insures the city a thriving trade. The region is noted for the production of a superior quality of flax, which has made Belfast the leading linen city of the world. Immense factories are engaged in flax spinning and in linen weaving. Oil mills, distilleries, flouring mills, shipyards, foundries, sawmills, printing offices, manufactories of felt and tobacco, and rope works add to the business interests of the city. Commercially it is the fifth city in the United Kingdom. The city is built of brick. The streets are spacious and well kept. Five bridges span the river. There are evidences of commercial thrift, churchgoing, and education on every hand, as well as signs of vagabondage and poverty; but the antiquities for which the tourist looks in a European city are wanting. There are several educational institutions including Queens' College and the Presbyterian Theological College. See Ireland; Linen