SEVRES, Deux, a department of western France, formed in 1790 mainly of the districts of Thouars, Gâtinais, and Niortais, which constituted about one-fourth of Poitou, and to a small extent of a portion of Basse-Saintonge and Angoumois, and a very small fragment of Aunis. It derives its name from the ’ Sèvre of Niort, which flows across the south of the department from east to west, and the Sèvre of Nantes, which drains the north-west. Lying between 45° 58' and 47° 7' N. lat. and between 0° 56' W. and 0° 13' E. long., it is bounded (for the most part conventionally) N. by Maine-et-Loire, E. by Vienne, S.E. by Charente, S. by Lower Charente, and W. by La Vendée. Part belongs to the basin of the Loire, part to that of the Sèvres of Niort, and part to that of the Charente. There are three regions,—the Gâtine, the “Plain,” and the “Marsh,”—distinguished by their geological character and their general physical appearance. The Gâtine, formed of primitive rocks (granite and schists), is the continuation of the “Bocage” of La Vendee and Maine-et-Loire. It is a poor district with an irregular surface, covered with hedges and clumps of wood or forests. The Plain, resting on Oolitic limestone or the “white rock” (pierre blanche), is a fertile grain country. The Marsh, occupying only a small part of the department to the south-west, consists of alluvial clays which also are extremely productive when properly drained. The highest point in the department (892 feet above the sea) is to the east of Parthenay; the lowest lies only 10 feet above sea-level. The climate is mild, the annual temperature at Niort being 54° Fahr., and the rainfall a little more than 24 inches. The winters are colder in the Gâtine, the summers warmer in the Plain; and the Marsh is the moistest and mildest of the three districts.

With a total area of 1,482,655 acres, the department contains 1,043,752 acres of arable ground, 125,534 acres of meadows, 49,129 of vineyards, 106,222 of forests, 20,429 of heath. The live stock in 1880 comprised 36,150 horses, 12,800 mules, 2012 asses, 217,935 cattle, 18,405 sheep (wool clip 102 tons) 78,930 pigs, 50,321 goats, 18,845 beehives (55 tons of honey). The horses are a strong breed, and the department raises mules for Spain, the Alps, Auvergne, and Provence. In 1883 there were produced—wheat, 3,909,260 bushels; meslin, 466,909; rye, 673,920; and in 1880 barley produced 1,293,600 bushels; buckwheat, 133,650; maize and millet, 508,062; oats, 2,744,500; potatoes, 4,312,000; pulse, 192,500 bushels; beetroot, 123,429 tons; hemp, 945 tons; flax, 245 tons; colza seed, 75,900 bushels (640 tuns of oil). The wine and cider amounted in 1882 to 2,859,912 and 210,914 gallons respectively. Vegetables (artichokes, asparagus, cabbage, pease, onions) are largely cultivated. Oaks, chestnuts, and beeches are the most important trees. The apple-trees of the Gâtine and the walnut-trees of the Plain are also of considerable value. Coal (200 miners, and 21,487 tons in 1882) and peat are worked; iron-ore, argentiferous lead, and antimony exist but are not worked; and freestone, both hard and soft, is very extensively quarried. There are several sulphurous mineral waters in the department. The most important industry is the manufacture of cloth—serges, druggets, linen, handkerchiefs, flannels, swan-skins, and knitted goods. Wool and cotton-spinning, tanning, and currying, glove, brush, and hat making, distilling, brewing, flour-milling, and oil-refining are also carried on. In 740 establishments water-power is used to the extent of 3000 horse power; and 301 stationary and 165 movable steam-engines represent respectively 1895 and 677 horse-power. The commerce of the department, which supplies mules, cattle, and provisions for Γaris and the neighbouring great towns, is facilitated by 21 miles of waterway (the Sèvre and its left-hand tributary the Mignon), 289 miles of national roads, 3535 of other roads, and 232 miles of railway. In density of population (350,103 in 1881) the department is below the average of France. It contains 38,000 Protestants, especially in the south-east, there being only three French departments—Gard, Ardèche, and Drôme—which surpass it in this respect. The four arrondissements are Niort, Bressuire (3549 inhabitants in the town), Melle (2433), and Parthenay (4842); the cantons number 31, and the communes 356. It is part of the diocese of Poitiers, where also is the court of appeal; its military headquarters are at Tours. St Maixent (4790) has an infantry school.