a department of Central France, consisting of part of the old province of Berry; lying between N. Lat. 46° 22′ and 47° 15′, and E. Long. 0° 52′ and 2° 13′; bounded N. by the department of Loire-et-Cher, E. by that of Cher, S. by those of Creuse and Haute-Vienne, and W. by those of Vienne and Indre-et-Loire. It is 60 miles in length from N. to S., and 54 miles broad. Area 2629 square miles. The surface of the country, which slopes to the N.W., is generally flat, with undulations here and there, and rounded granite hills towards the S.E. The chief rivers of the department are the Creuse, Indre, and Claise. The Indre traverses the centre of the department for a distance of 80 miles, and passes the towns of La Châtre, Châteauroux, and Châtillon. In the S.W. the department is also watered by the Creuse and its feeder the Claise. None of these streams are navigable within the department. The quality of the soil is various. In the higher regions of Indre, to the E., there is a flat, dry, and flinty tract of land called the Champagne, forming one-fifth of the whole department. In the centre, and stretching westwards, the marshy tract of the Brenne occupies a tenth of the depart- ment. The other parts have a richer soil, which is either wooded or under cultivation. The climate of Indre varies considerably from the prevalence of northerly winds in the winter, and southerly in the summer. The Champagne in particular is subject to great extremes in temperature. The agricultural products of the country are unimportant. Large flocks of sheep graze on the plains, and their wool, which is of fine quality, forms a considerable branch of trade; while cereals, such as buckwheat, maize, flax, and hemp, are easily raised on the richer soils. In the neighbourhood of the towns and villages, grapes and other fruits are grown in considerable quantities. But the natural resources of the department are not adequately developed, and with greater agricultural skill there can be little doubt but that double the present amount of grain could be produced. There is, nevertheless, a sufficiency for the requirements of the population without having recourse to importation. Of 1,682,560 acres contained in the department, 992,214 are arable, 210,794 under grass, 185,366 waste (heaths, &c.), 166,607 woods and forests, 44,751 vines, 31,053 rivers, canals, &c., and 18,273 orchards, gardens, &c. There are also on an average 900,000 sheep, yielding yearly about 16,964 cwt. of wool. The vine is little attended to, and the wine is consequently indifferent. Manufacturing industry is almost wholly confined to woollen yarn, made at Châteauroux and Argenton. Hosiery and paper-making, as well as the spinning of linen, are carried on in a small scale. Flour mills are very numerous on the banks of the rivers. The minerals of the department are of no great value. Coal, iron, marble, lithographic stone, and clay, are found, and worked in some places, but not with great profit, from the want of proper means of communication. A branch of the Orleans and Bourges railroad enters the department and passes by Issoudun and Châteauroux to Argenton.

Indre is divided into four arrondissements as follows:

| Arrondissements | Cantons | Communes | Pop. 1851 | |-----------------|---------|----------|-----------| | Châteauroux | 8 | 84 | 102,949 | | Le Blanc | 6 | 56 | 67,744 | | La Châtre | 5 | 59 | 57,344 | | Issoudun | 4 | 49 | 50,268 |

Total: 23 cantons, 248 communes, 271,388 inhabitants.

Châteauroux, the capital of the department, had, in 1851, 14,276 inhabitants.