OISE, a department of northern France, three-fourths of which belonged to Ile r de-France, and the rest to Picardy, is situated between 49° 4' and 49° 46' N. lat. and Γ 40' and 3° 10' E. long., and is bounded on the N. by Somme, on the E. by Aisne, on the S. by Seine-et-Marne and Seine-et-Oise, and on the W. by Eure and Seine-Inférieure. Its greatest length is 75 miles from north-west to southeast, whilst its breadth from north to south varies from 30 to 44 miles. The department is a moderately elevated plateau with pleasant valleys and fine forests, such as those of Compïègne, Ermenonville, Chantilly, and Hallatte, all in the south. It belongs almost entirely to the basin of the Seine,—the Somme and the Bresle, which flow into the English Channel, draining but a small area. The most important river is the Oise, which flows through a broad and fertile valley from north-east to south-west, past the towns of Noyon, Compiègne, Pont St Maxence, and Creil. On its right it receives the Brèche and the Thérain, and on its left the Aisne, which brings down a larger volume of water , than the Oise itself, the Authonne, remarkable for the clearness and copiousness of the springs from which it rises, and the Nonette, which irrigates the valley of Senlis and Chantilly. The Ourcq, a tributary of the Marne, in the south-east, and the Epte, a tributary of the Seine, in the west, also in part belong to the department. These streams are separated by ranges of slight elevation or by isolated hills, the highest point (770 feet) being in the ridge of Bray, which stretches from Dieppe to Précy-sur-Oise. The lowest point is at the mouth of the Oise, only 66 feet above sea-level. Although the rainfall is under the average of France, several of the valleys are, owing to their ...nearness to the sea and the large extent of forests, moist and marshy. The climate is very variable, but the range of temperature is moderate. The population was 404,555 in 1881.
The area of Oise is 2260 square miles, of which four-fifths are arable, one-sixth woods, and one-twentieth pasture-lands. There are 54,000 horses, 5000 asses or mules, 111,000 head of cattle, 517,000 sheep (yielding in 1878 3,700,000 lb of wool), 44,000 pigs, 7000 goats, and 29,000 beehives. In 1882 the produce amounted to 911,335 quarters of wheat, 123,460 of rye, 1,031,700 of oats, with large quantities of beetroot, potatoes, and fodder, besides barley, meslin, buckwheat, colza, hemp, flax, &c. Vegetables, fruits, and milk are supplied to Paris; and wine and cider (6,646,919 gallons in 1882) are made, the latter being the drink principally consumed in the department Industrial pursuits engage more than 160,000 of the population. A number are employed in quarrying building stone, in digging potter’s clay and sand for glass-making, and in cutting turn There are 697 steam and several hydraulic mills. The forges of Montataire near Creil employ 2000 workmen; but agricultural implements, metal utensils, optical glasses, paper, pasteboard, and various kinds of toys and small wares in bone, horn, mother-of-pearl, and ivory are made in the small workshops which are common everywhere. Chantilly employs 2000 women in making the lace for which it is famous. Beauvais, the chief town, besides its clock-making industry, has a national carpet factory, which rivals that of Gobelins at Paris. There are in the department forty-five woollen-mills with 54,000 spindles, and nine cotton-mills with 28,000; and the making of canvas, woollen fabrics, blankets, hosiery, boots and shoes, revolvers, &c., is also carried on, as well as boatbuilding. Sugar is extensively made from beetroot, and the manufactures of pottery, porcelain, and glass are also considerable. Commerce is greatly facilitated by the Oise and the Aisne, and by the lateral canal of the former. There are more than 400 miles of railway; and the roads aye numerous and good. Oise contains four arrondissements—Beauvais, Clermont, Compiègne, Senlis—37 cantons, and 701 communes. It constitutes the diocese of Beauvais. The principal towns are Beauvais (population 17,516), Compïègne (13,567), Senlis (6870), Clermont (5628), Noyon (5780), Creil (7099), an important railway centre, with earthenware manufactures, and Montataire (5385).
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