-K1XK-KT-MARNB. 



SEINE-ET-OISE. 



hu pal lie library of 15,000 volumes, town-hall, cavalry barracks, 

 -i.i(jiU, and a thraue. Cotton fabrics, pottery, flour, leather, 

 MltMtra, and gin* are the chief industrial product* There are im- 

 portant markeU for corn aod chee, wool, cattle, and poultry. The 

 rampart* of tlie town are planted with Uves, and form agreeable public 

 _iw Among the othrr towmare Lu-Pcrtt-mu-Jouam: population 

 4106 te tb commune-. It U pleasantly nituated on the Mornr, in which 

 river thr fa a nnall ialaod cloM to the town, 12 miles by railroad E. 

 from Means. Hound the town are a number of country Beats and 

 imiiii. and near it, on the right bank of the Marne, is the eartle of 

 Bam, flanked with tow.-rm, and commanding a beautiful prospect 

 There U an hotpiul. The chief trade is in the excellent millstones 

 which are quarried near the town, and which are deemed the beat in 

 Europe. About 1200 pain of theae milUtonee are exported yearly, 

 aome of them to England and America. Woolcombera' cards, leather, 

 iron, woollen-yarn, tiles, and pottery are manufactured ; and boats are 

 built for the navigation of the river. There are lime- and plaster-kilns 

 and nuraery-grounda near the town. Trade is carried on in corn, wood, 

 and charcoal for the Ripply of Paris ; and in cattle, sheep, and wool. 

 On a hill above the town is the Tillage of Jotuurre, with a population of 

 STO. Layny, population 2212, on the Marne, is pleasantly situated 

 on the left bank of the Marne, over which there is a bridge, amid vine- 

 eovered hills and green pastures, 10 miles S.W. from Meaux, on the 

 Paris-Strasbourg railway. There are a handsome fountain, an hospital, 

 and aereral flour-mill*. Considerable trade is carried on in corn, flour, 

 wood, hemp, cattle, and cheese. l>ammartin, population about 1800, 

 a pretty little town on the road from Paris to Soissons, 12 miles N.W. 

 from Meaux, stands on the slope of a hill which commands an exten- 

 sive prospect. There are some pleasant shady walks, occupying the 

 site of the former castle of the counts of Dammartin. There is a 

 gothic church, built by Antoine do Chabannes, lord of Dammartin 

 and minister of Charles VII. He is buried in the choir. There is 

 an hospital. Lace is made here, and trade is carried on in corn, wine, 

 and cattle. Dammartin has a good corn-market and important sheep 

 fairs. 



4. In the fourth arrondissement the chief town, Coulommiers, an 

 ill-built place. U situated in a pretty country, on the Grand-Morin, 

 27 miles N.X.K from Melun, and has 4151 inhabitants in the com- 

 mune. It has a tribunal of first instance, flour- and tan-mills, tan- 

 yards, and aome commerce in corn, wool, hides, cattle, and cheese. 

 Among the other towns are La-FerU-Gaucher, which is agreeably 

 situated on the Grand Morin, 10 miles E. from Coulommiers, and has 

 an hospital, tan-yards, a tan-mill, and manufactures of serge and paper. 

 In the neighbourhood are tile-yards and lime-kilns: population 2100. 

 Rltnrit, a small place north of Coulommiers, which was formerly famous 

 for its Benedictine abbey, founded by St-Ouen A.D. 634, and demolished 

 at the time of the first French revolution : population, 1100. Roaoy, 

 11 miles S. by W. from Coulommiers, is a walled town, with about 

 1800 inhabitants. The walls are flanked with towers, and planted with 

 fine trees. It has a parish church remarkable for the rich and delicate 

 architecture of the interior, and an hospital. 



5. In the fifth arroudUsement the chief town, Proving, is 29 miles 

 E. from Melun, and has tribunals of first instance and of commerce, 

 a college, and 5958 inhabitants. It is a town of considerable antiquity. 

 In the middle ages this was one of the principal manufacturing and 

 trading towns in France ; the chief manufactures were woollen-cloth 

 and leather. Provins occupies an extensive area, part of which consists 

 of gardens, vineyards, and fields, and is divided into two parts, the 

 Upper Town on the west side, surrounded by walls, of which the 

 greater part are standing: and the Lower Town, which is also sur- 

 rounded by walls, except where it is contiguous to the Upper Towu. 

 Two small streams, the Vouzie and the Durtein (which unite to form 

 feeder of the Seine), pass through the town. The Upper Town has 

 streets narrow and winding, and houses ill-built and decayed from 

 age. There are several remarkable ruins, among which are those of 

 the old fort, the citadel, the old castle, the chapel of St-Thibaut, 

 the palace of the counts of Brie-Champagnaise, now occupied by the 

 college, and the tower and church of St-Quiriace. The church of 

 SU-Quiriace, now the parish church of the Upper Town, is remarkable 

 for iu size and the beauty of its architecture : the choir has the same 

 dimensions as that of the cathedral of Notre-Darne at Paris. It was 

 begun in the 12th century, but has never been completed. The Lower 

 Town, which is well laid out and well built, contains two churches, a 

 general hospital, and cavalry barracks. Besides these buildings Provins 

 has a civil and military hospital, a school of mutual instruction, a 

 Urge corn-market, and several fountains. The manufactures are 

 drugget* and linsey-woolsey, earthenware, and conserve of roses. The 

 Provins roses, from which the conserve is made, were brought from 

 the But in the 13th century by Thibaut, count of Champagne, on his 

 return from the crusade. There are chalybeate springs, which are well 

 frequented in the season. Among the other towns, all of which are 

 mall, are Braf-iwr-Stau, 11 miles S. from Provins, on the left bank 

 of the Seme, which is here crossed by a stone bridge of 22 arches ; 

 population, 1800 : and ffangit, a well-built markot^town of 2200 in- 

 habiUnU, 14 miles W. from Provins, with a gothic church of solid 

 architecture; and two towers, the remains of the ancient castlo of the 

 marquiee* of Nangis : the park attached to the castle still remains. 



Thii department constitutes the diocese of Meaux. It is included 



in the jurisdiction of the High Court, and within the limits of the 

 University-Academy of Paris; and is in the lat Military Division, tin- 

 head-quarters of which are in Paris. It returns three members to the 

 Legislative Chamber of the French empire. 



SKINE-ET-OISE, a department in France, bounded N. by the 

 department of Oise, E. by Seine-et-Marne, S. by Loiret, W. by Eurc- 

 et-Loir, and N.W. by the department of Eure. The department of 

 Seine is entirely inclosed by this deportment The greatest length of 

 Seine-et Oise, from north-west to south-east, is about 70 miles ; the 

 greatest breadth, at right angles to the length, 52 miles. The area of 

 the department is 2163*5 square miles. The population in 1341 was 

 470,948; in 1851 it increased to only 471,882, which gives 218-11 

 inhabitants to a square mile, being 43-53 above the average per square 

 mile for the whole of France. The department is formed out of 

 portions of the province of Ile-de France, and is named from its two 

 chief rivers. 



The surface is undulating; the hills, which are of only moderate 

 height, being of gentle slope, and admitting of cultivation to the 

 summits. A narrow strip along the western border is occupied by the 

 cretaceous formations, and the rest of the department by the tertiary 

 formations of the chalk basin of Paris. Excellent freestone for build- 

 ing, lithographic stones, gypsum, chalk, marl, potters' -clay, and peat 

 are dug. There are mineral waters at Enghien-les-Bains ; in the valley 

 of Montmoreuci, 12 or 13 mites north of Paris; and at Montlignou, 

 in the same neighbourhood. 



The whole department belongs to the basin of the Seine, which river 

 enters the department on the east side, not far from Corbeil, and flows 

 through it in a north-western direction, but with many remarkable 

 bends, until it finally quits it below the j unctiou of the Epte. All the 

 course of the river between these points does not however belong to 

 this department, but part of it belongs to that of Seine, which, as 

 already observed, is inclosed by this. The Marne has a small part of 

 its course iu the eastern part of this department ; and the Uise flows 

 for some miles through the northern part, from above Beaumont-sur- 

 Oise to its juntion with the Seine. These aro the principal rivers, and 

 all three of them are navigable throughout this department Of 

 smaller streams, the Yeres and the Epte flow into the Seine on the 

 right bank, and the Essoune and the Orge on the left : in the west of 

 the department is the Vesgre, a feeder of the Euro. The Ourcq Canal 

 crosses the east side of the department, from the department of Seine- 

 et-Marne to that of Seine. The department is crossed by all the great 

 lines of railroad which converge on Paris [FBANCK, vol ii., col. 1077], 

 and by the lines that connect the capital with Versailles, 8t. -Germain, 

 and Corbeil. The department is also traversed by the 26 great linos 

 of high roads which lead to Paris from all parts of France ; by 52 

 departmental roads ; and by a great number of communal roads. 



The climate is temperate and healthy. The soil, generally speaking 

 sandy and by no means fertile by nature, is rendered productive by 

 manure. About 906,000 acres, or about two-thirds of the area of the 

 department, are under the plough. The principal crops are wheat, 

 barley, rye, mixed grain, oats, vetches, lentils, potatoes, and all kinds 

 of pot-herbs. Pulse of every kind and hemp are cultivated. 



The meadow and grass lands amount to 50,000 acres. The number 

 of horses is very considerable. The ass is common. The number of 

 milk-cows is very great ; they are chiefly house-fed ; their milk con- 

 tributes to supply Paris and Versailles. The number of oxen and of 

 bulls is small. Veal-calves are fed. Sheep are very numerous, and of 

 good breeds. 



The vineyards occupy about 41,000 acres : the wine is of inferior 

 quality. Market-gardening is a profitable occupation ; the gardens 

 aud orchards occupy above 22,000 acres. Filberts, walnuts, figs, 

 peaches, apricots, cherries, strawberries, grapes, apples, pears, and 

 other common fruits are grown abundantly and in great perfection. 

 The apple and pear are cultivated in the north-west of the depart- 

 ment, where the vine does not thrive, for making cider and perry 

 which form the common drink of the inhabitants. 



Poultry and fish ore abundant ; game has become rare. Bees are 

 kept in some places. The streams and pools abound with fish, espe- 

 cially the trout, eel, carp, pike, and perch ; the tench, barbel, roach, 

 gudgeon, and bleak are taken, the last for its scales, which are used in 

 the manufacture of imitation pearls. Leeches are obtained in some 

 plaoea 



The department is divided into six arrondissemeuta, which, with 

 their subdivisions and population, are as follows : 



1. Of the Drat arrondissement, and of the whole department, the 

 chief tov.-n i Vi I^AII.I.FS, which is united to Paris by two railways. 



