a department of Central France, formed chiefly of the old province of Touraine, and lying between N. Lat. 46° 45' and 47° 43', and E. Long. 0° 4' and 1° 18'. It is bounded N. by the departments of Sarthe and Loire-et-Cher, E. by those of Loire-et-Cher and Indre, S. by those of Indre and Vienne, and W. by that of Maine-et-Loire. The department is 70 miles in length from N. to S., and 59 miles broad. Area 2360 square miles. Its surface, which inclines to the N.W., is very regular. The chief rivers are the Loire, Indre, Cher, and Vienne. The first flows through the centre of the department and receives the others as tributaries. The Cher joins the Loire near the town of Tours, the Indre joins it about 15 miles further down, and the Vienne about 10 miles further. The Loire and Vienne are navigable for some miles.

Indre-et-Loire, from the different characters of its soil, may conveniently be classified into five divisions. North of the Loire an extensive tract of country, flat and uncultivated, called the Gâtines, forms the first; that between the Loire and Cher, which is almost wholly under tillage, known by the name of the Varennes, forms the second; the Champagne, situated between the Cher and Indre, with a thin soil and great regularity of surface, the third; while the Véron and Brenne constitute the fourth and fifth divisions. The Véron, called also the Jardin de la France, is inclosed by the rivers Loire, Indre, and Vienne. It is the richest and most highly cultivated district of the department, but is subject to inundation. The Brenne, lying between the Claise and Creuse, forms a part of the marshy territory, known by the same name in the neighbouring department of Indre.

The agricultural products of Indre-et-Loire vary much according to the great diversity of its soil. Wheat, rye, hemp, barley, oats, and potatoes, besides various kinds of fruit, are grown with the greatest ease in the divisions of Véron and Varennes, where the soil is deep and very fertile. The Gâtines district, on the other hand, is covered with moors and forests occupied almost solely by the beasts of the chase. In many places the vine is cultivated with success, and the wine of the department is held in estimation; while the mulberry-tree plantations are very productive in silk.

Of 1,510,780 acres contained in the department, there are 827,609 arable, 292,402 woods and forests, 155,628 waste, 86,499 vines, 82,690 under grass, 58,495 various (gardens, plantations, &c.), 50,600 roads, buildings, &c.

The exports from Indre-et-Loire are important, as its productions considerably exceed the consumption of the population. Wheat, hemp, wine and brandy, raw silk, chestnut oil, prunes and honey, are the principal articles of exportation. The cultivation of the vine is on the increase.

In minerals the department is not rich. Iron, marble, and mill-stone, constitute the chief products of this class, but none of them are worked to any great extent. Manufacture is almost entirely confined to woollen cloth, pottery, paper, iron, and the making of fancy goods. Communication is effected by the rivers Loire and Vienne, which are navigable for barges, and by the Tours et Borderouz and Orléans et Nantes railways.

The department is divided into three arrondissements as follows:

| Arrondissements | Cantons | Communes | Pop. 1851 | |-----------------|---------|----------|-----------| | Tours | 11 | 127 | 160,875 | | Chinon | 7 | 87 | 90,137 | | Loches | 6 | 68 | 64,629 |

Total: 24 cantons, 282 communes, 315,641 inhabitants.

Tours, the capital of the department, had in 1851, 30,189 inhabitants.