FLUSHING (Dutch Vlissingen)  , a fortified seaport in the province of Zeeland, Holland, on the south side of the island of Wa.lcheren, at the mouth of the estuary of the western Scheldt, 4 M. by rail S. by W. of Middelburg, with which it is also connected by steam tramway and by a ship canal . There is a steam ferry to Breskens and Ter Neuzen on the coast of Zeeland-Flandres . Pop . (1900) 18,893 . An important naval station and fortress up to 1867, Flushing has since aspired, under the care of the Dutch government, to become a great commercial port . In 1872 the railway was opened which, in conjunction with the regular day and night service of steamers to Queen-borough in the county of Kent, forms one of the main routes between England and the east of Europe . In 1873 the great harbour, docks and canal works were completed . Yet the navigation of the port remains far behind that of Rotterdam or Antwerp, the tonnage being in 1899 about 7.9 °,o of that of the kingdom . As a summer resort, however, Flushing has acquired considerable popularity, sea-baths and a large modern hotel being situated on the fine beach about three-quarters of a mile north-west of the town . It possesses a town hall, containing a collection of local antiquities, a theatre, an exchange, an academy of sciences and a school of navigation . The Jakobskerk, or Jacob's church, founded in 1328, contains monuments to Admiral de Ruyter (1607—1676) and the poet Jacob Bellamy (1757—1786), who were natives of Flushing . The chief industries of the town are connected with the considerable manufacture of machinery, the state railway-workshops, shipbuilding yards, Krupp iron and steel works' depot, brewing, and oil and soap manufacture .

The chief imports are colonial produce and

wine, wood and coal . The exports include agricultural produce (wheat and beans), shrimps and meat .