Arable land occupies seven-twelfths of the surface, woods one-eighth, and pasture land almost as much. The live stock comprises 70,000 horses, 4000 asses, 122,000 sheep (35,500 high-bred), yielding in 1878 660,000 B⅛ of wool of the value of nearly £25,000, 53,000 pigs, 2800 goats, 210,000 horned cattle, 30,000 dogs, 700,000 fowls, 53,000 geese, and 15,800 beehives, each producing on the average 2 lb of wax and 20 ft> of honey. Horse-breeding is the most flourishing business in the rural districts; there are three breeds—those of Perche, Le Merlerault (a cross between Norman and English horses), and Brittany. The great Government stud of Le Pin is situated between Le Merlerault and Argentan. Several horsetraining establishments exist in the department. A large number of lean cattle are bought in the neighbouring departments to be fattened; the farms in the vicinity of Vimoutier, on the borders of Calvados, produce the famous Camenbert cheese, and others excellent butter. In 1882 Orne produced 3,288,000 bushels of wheat, meslin 431,000, rye 315,700, barley 1,510,000, oats 3,410,000, buckwheat 600,000, potatoes 654,000, beetroot 939,000 cwt., colza seed 5000 cwt., hemp 8300 cwt., besides fodder in great quantity and variety, pulse, flax, fruits, <fcc. The variety of production is due to the great natural diversity of the soils. Small farms are the rule, and the fields in those cases are surrounded by hedges relieved by pollard trees. Along the roads or in the enclosures are planted numerous pear and apple trees (nearly 3,000,000), yielding 58,000,000 gallons of cider and perry, part of which is manufactured into brandy. Beech, oak, birch, and pine are the chief timber trees in the extensive forests of the department, of which a third belongs to the state. Orne contains iron ore of poor quality, granite quarries employing from 400 to 500 workmen, and a kind of smoky quartz known as Alençon diamond. Its most celebrated mineral waters are those of the hot springs of Bagnoles, which contain salt, sulphur, and arsenic, and are employed for tonic and restorative purposes in cases of general debility. In the forest of Bellême is the chalybeate spring of La Hesse, which was used by the Romans. The other mineral springs of the department are chalybeate or sulphurous. Cotton and linen weaving forms the staple industry of Orne, 51 establishments (123,000 spindles and 12,170 looms) being devoted to cotton, 2 establishments (500 spindles) to wool, and 3 establishments (2400 spindles and 2800 looms) to linen. Fiers manufactures ticking, table-linen, furniture satin, cotton cloth, and thread, employs 28,000 workmen, and produces to the annual value of «£1,520,000. La Ferté Macé employs 10,000 workmen in the hand-loom manufacture of cotton. Alençon and Vimoutier are engaged in the production of linen and canvas, and have also dye-works and bleacheries. About 2000 workmen are employed at Alençon in the making of the lace which takes its name from the town. Foundries, wire-works, and one blast furnace also exist in the department, and cutlery, boilers, and articles in copper, zinc, and lead are manufactured. Tin wares, pins, and needles are produced at Laigle. Glass-works give employment to 600 workmen, and turn out glass to the value of more than £100,000. There are flourishing paper-mills, tanneries (the waters of the Orne giving a special quality to the leather), and glove-works. There are in all 133 establishments making use of steam (2128 horse-power). There are 848 miles of railway. The department consists of four arrondissements (Alençon,’ Argentan, Domfront, and Mortagne), 36 cantons, and 511 communes, forms the diocese of Sees, depends on the Caen court of appeal, and is included in the corps d’armée of Le Mans. The communes with more than 5000 inhabitants are Alençon (17,237), Fiers (12,304), La Ferté Macé (9396), Argentan (6300), and Laigle (5303).