Seine-et-Oise

Seine-et-Oise, a dept. in the north of France, encloses the metropolitan dept. of Seine. Area, 2163 sq. m.; pop. (1891) 628,590. The principal rivers are the Seine and its tributaries the Oise, Marne, Essoune, Bièvre, Epte, &c. The surface is pretty level on the whole, but the country is charmingly diversified by picturesque valleys and great forests. Vast quantities of wheat, oats, potatoes, beet-root, and fodder crops are produced; and there are several fine varieties of stone and clay. There are numerous branches of manufacture, the most important being porcelain (at Sèvres), paper, cotton, silk, and woollen stuffs, iron goods, sugar, spirits, books, chemicals, laces, fringes, &c. The dept. is divided into the arrondissements of Versailles, Corbeil, Étampes, Mantes, Pontoise, and Rambouillet, and the capital is Versailles.