Orne

Orne, a department of France formed out of the old provinces of Normandy, Alençon, and Perche, is separated from the English Channel on the W. by La Manche and on the N. by Calvados. Area, 2353 sq. m.; pop. (1861) 423,350; (1891) 354,387. A range of wooded hills, nowhere rising above 1370 feet, extends across the south of the department from east to west, separating the streams that flow north to the English Channel from those that go south to the Seine and Loire. Although the soil is fertile, agriculture is not in an advanced state. Apple and pear trees abound, and more than 22,000,000 gallons of cider are made every year. Cattle and horses of the purest Norman breed are reared. There are cotton and hemp spinning and cotton and linen weaving, dyeing, bleaching, and manufactures of gloves, iron, glass, &c. Fishing and bee-keeping are carried on. The department is divided into four arrondissements, Alençon, Argentan, Domfront, and Mortagne; capital, Alençon.