About two-thirds of the surface of the department are under the plough. The quantity of wheat grown is more than twice the average quantity produced in the other departments. Tha produce in barley also is doable the average of the whole kingdom. Rye, oats, and potatoes are grown in comparatively small quantities. So great however is the pre ponderance of the wheat crop, that the department le enabled to export from one-fourth to one-third of its harvests ; the greater part of what is exported is sent to Paris. Hemp and flax, pest; beans, beetroot, and all kinds of pot herbs are also cultivated.
The quantity of meadow and grass land is above 80,000 acres ; and there are about 23,000 acres of heath or common, or other nnioclosed pasturage. A great number of horses are kept The number of horned cattle is considerable; but it is a dairy rather than a grazing country, though a great number of cattle, veal calves, and sheep are fed for the Paris market& In the number of cows it far exceeds the average of the department& The cheese known as the Brie cheese is made in large quantities, and Is in high repute. The number of sheep is very great, nearly a million consisting of merinos, croaa-breeds, native-sheep, and English long-woolled breeds. Poultry is very abundant and excellent The vineyards occupy 46,000 acres; the quantity of wine produced is very great, but the quality very inferior ; yet some of the best table grspea in France are grown at Fontainebleau, and other places in this department. The gardens and orchards occupy above 18,000 acres. Some cider is made in the arrondiarement of Melon. The woods occupy about 256,000 acres, of which 40,000 acres are included in the forest of Footaineblean. The oak timber of this forest is very good, and it abounds in game.
The industrial products comprise paper, pottery, porcelain, printed calicoes, cotton yarn, leather, window-glass, &c. The glue factory of Ilagneanx near Nemours turns out glees cylinders and globes of the largest size, also optical and common glass. The commerce of the department is confined chiefly to agricultural produce, wool, cattle, charcoal, and wood.
The department is divided into five arrondissement; as follows :— 1. Of the first arrondissement and of the whole department the chief town is HELMS. Among the other towns, which are small, are C'hautnes, near the Yeree, a few miles N. by E. from Mehl'', popula tion 1685; Brie-Comte-Robert, also near the Yeres, population 2700; and Tournan (population 1765), between the Yeres and the Marne. Brie-Comte-Robert derives its distinctive epithet from Robert, Count of Dreux, brother of Louis VIL, and lord of the town. Robert, son of this count, built the castle of Brie, of which the ruins remain. This castle was in the middle ages the object of frequent attack. There is an elegant church of Gothic architecture, which dates from the 13th century, and contains several remarkable tombs. There is also an hospital, almost as ancient as the church. The town is plea santly situated, and has a considerable weekly market. There are brick-yards and tile-yards, tan-yards and carriers' shops. Considerable trade is carried on in corn, quills, and Brie cheese. Brie-Comte Robert was the capital of Brie-Fransaise. Tournan is a pleasant town, with two fine mansions and parks, and several country-houses in the environs.
2. In the second arrondissement the chief town is FONTAINEBLEAU. Among the other towns is Claileau-Landon, population 2236, situated on a hill above the Suzain, a feoder of the Loing, 17 miles S.
from Fontainebleau. There are quarries in the neighbourhood of bard stone susceptible of a polish like marble. The triumphal arch de l'Etoile in Paris is built of this stone. Spanish white is made in the town, and trade is carried on in core and wine. The town is ancient ; Childebert founded here the abbey of St.-S6v6rin, and Louis is Oros, A.D. 1119, resided in a castle from which the town takes its name. The church of Notre-Dame, consecrated in 1548, contains some remarkable wood carving. Montereau, or Montereau-Fault-Yonne, population 4450, is on the site of the Roman Condate. It afterwards obtained the name of Monasteriolum, from a religious establishment which formed the nucleus of the modern town. Montereau has acquired historical celebrity from being the scene (am 1419) of the assassination of Jean sans Peur, duke of Bourgogne or Burgundy. The town and a strong castle which had been built here, were taken, A.D. 1420, by Henry V., and the duke of Bourgogne ; it was retaken by the French, A.D. 1438. In the civil wars of the 16th century it was repeatedly taken and retaken. On February 18, 1814, a body of allied troops were defeated here by Napoleon. The town ie situated at the junction of the Troyes railroad, 12 miles E. from Fontainebleau, at the junction of the Seine and Yonne, both of which are navigable, and crossed by good stone bridges. There are a collegiate church of considerable antiquity, a modern town-hall, and an hospital. The houses are tolerably well built, and there is a pleasant public) walk along the Yonne. Earthenware, tiles and other pottery, and leather are manufactured ; and trade is carried on in corn, flour, and firewood, for tho supply of Paris. Morel, population 1672, 6 miles by rail from Fontainebleau, is surrounded by a dilapidated wall with three gates : there is one suburb. It has a rained castle, which belonged to the great Sully, and a tolerably handsome Gothic church, at the dedi cation of which St. Thomas-3-Becket officiated. The streets are straight and clean, and the houses well built.. There are several flour mills and some tan-mills ; and trade is carried on in horses, cattle, wine of middling quality, corn, flour, potatoes, wood, and paving stones. The Loing Canal passes close by the town. Nemours, popu lation 3547, stands 9 miles S. from Fontainebleau, in a pleasant valley on the river Lolng, which is crossed by a fine bridge. It is walled, and has four suburbs; the streets are well laid out, and the houses well built. The ancient castle of the dukes of Nemours is yet standing, flanked by four towers, and surrounded by a ditch. In front of the castle is a square of some extent. The banks of the Loing Canal, which passes near the town, and of the river, afford some pleasant walks. There is a bridge over the canal. The pariah church, formerly the conventual church of the Augustinian friary of St.-Jean, is a large and handsome building, with a fine steeple ; but it yields in antiquity to the church of St-Pierre in one of the suburbs. The hospital is attended, like most of the hospitals of France, by the Sisters of Charity. There are several tan-yards and hat manufactories, tan-mills, flour-mills, a brick and tile-yard, lime-kilns, marble-works, and a brewery. Vinegar is made, and trade is carried on in corn, flour, wine, cheese, wood, iron, coal, &a There are two considerable weekly markets and five yearly fairs. There is a public library of 10,000 volumes deposited in the castle.