Eure

Eure, a department of Normandy, immediately south of the department of Seine-Inférieure, contains an area of 2290 sq. m. Pop. (1881) 364,291; (1891) 349,471; the decrease has gone on steadily since 1846 (423,247), small families, often limited to one child, prevailing among all classes. The surface is generally level; the highest point reaches only 790 feet. The principal river is the Seine. The Eure, from which this department derives its name, and the Rille, both affluents of the Seine, are the only other important rivers; the Eure, which rises in the department of Orne, has a course of 141 miles, and is navigable for 54 miles. The climate is mild, moist, and foggy. Along the Seine the soil is in some parts sandy, stony, and barren, but the greater part is very fertile. The chief natural products are corn, hemp, flax, vegetables, and fruit, particularly apples and pears, from which large quantities of cider and perry are made. The breeding of cattle, horses, and sheep is favoured by extensive meadows and pasture-lands. Iron is found in considerable quantities. There are extensive iron and copper works and pin-manufactories. Cotton goods, cloth, linen, paper, and beet-sugar also are manufactured. The department is divided into five arrondissements—Evreux, Louviers, Les Andelys, Bernay, and Pont-Audemer. The capital is Evreux.