MAYENNE, a department of France, formed out of a part of the lower Mayenne, and a small portion of the ancient duchy of Anjou. It extends in north latitude from 47° 51' to 48° 33' and in west longitude from 0° 16' to 1° 15'. It contains 2161 square miles, or 518,363 hectares. It is divided into 3 arrondissements, 27 cantons, and 288 communes, and is peopled by 336,150 inhabitants. It is bounded on the north by the departments of the Orne and of the channel; on the east by the Sarthe, on the south by the Mayenne and Loire, and on the west by Ille-Villaine. The surface is undulating, with no hills of great elevation. The soil is only partially fertile. The principal river is the Mayenne, which enters the department from that of the Orne, and collects the waters of the Varenne, Colmont, Ernée, Vicoin, and Jouanne, and ultimately falls into the Loire. The agriculture is not well conducted; in many parts the soil is left in fallow for three or four years, and then sowed with oats, followed by buck wheat, and then again left in fallow. In one district named Campagne, all kinds of grain succeeds; but generally pasturage of cows and sheep is found a more beneficial application of the land than the use of the plough. Fruit, especially apples, from which much cedar is made, is an advantageous part of rural economy; and abundance both of walnuts and filberts are collected, and form a substitute for bread. The produce of bee's wax and of honey is very considerable. Some good white wine is made in the parts of the department bordering on Mayenne Loire. There are some iron mines at work, which yield yearly about 4000 tons of iron, partly cast and partly hammered. Manufactories of linen and woollen goods exist, and some of paper, leather, and hardware, but chiefly for the domestic consumption. The department furnishes three deputies to the legislature. The capital is Laval.