OISE

This article appears in Volume V20, Page 54 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: NUM-ORC

OISE , a department of northern France, three-fourths of which belonged to Ile-de-France and the rest to Picardy, bounded N. by Somme, E. by Aisne, S. by Seine-et-Marne and Seine-et-
Oise, and W. by Eure and Seine-Inferieure. Pop. (1906)
410,049; area 2272 sq. m. The department is a moderately
elevated plateau with pleasant valleys and fine forests, such as those of Compiegne, Ermenonville,

Chantilly

CHANTILLY

and Halatte, all in the south-east. It belongs almost entirely to the basin of the Seinethe Somme and the Bresle, which flow into the English Channel, draining but a small area. The most important river is the Oise, which flows through a broad and fertile valley from north-east to south-west, past the towns of Noyon, Compiegne, Pont St Maxence and Creil. On its right it receives the Breche and the Therain, and on its left the Aisne, which brings down a larger volume of water than the Oise itself, the Authonne, and the Nonette, which irrigates the valley of Senlis and

Chantilly

CHANTILLY

. The Ourcq, a tributary of the Marne, in the south-east, and the Epte, a tributary of the Seine, in the west, also in part belong to the department. These streams are separated by ranges of slight

elevation

ELEVATION

or by isolated hills, the highest point (770 ft.) being in the

ridge

of Bray, which stretches from Dieppe to Precy-sur-Oise. The lowest point is at the mouth of the Oise, only 66 ft. above sea-level. The climate is very variable, but the range of temperature is moderate.
Clay for bricks and earthenware, sand and building-stone are among the

mineral

MINERAL

products of Oise, and peat is also worked.

Pierrefonds

PIERREFONDS

, Gouvieux, Chantilly and Fontaine Bonneleau have

mineral

MINERAL

springs. Wheat, oats and other cereals, potatoes and sugar beet are the

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

agricultural crops. Cattle are reared more especially in the western districts, where dairying is actively carried on. Bee-keeping is general. Racing stables are numerous in the neighbourhood of Chantilly and Compiegne. Among the industries of the department. of manufacture of sugar and alcohol from beetroot occupies a foremost place. The manufacture of furniture, brushes (Beauvais) and other wooden goods and of toys, fancy-ware, buttons, fans and other articles in

wood

, ivory, bone or mother-of-pearl are widespread industries. There are also woollen and

cotton

mills, and the making of woollen fabrics, blankets, carpets (Beauvais), hosiery and lace (Chantilly and its vicinity) is actively carried on. Creil and the neighbouring Montataire form an important metallurgical centre. Oise is served by the Northern railway, on which Creil is an important junction, and its commerce is facilitated by the Oise and its lateral canal and the Aisne, which afford about 70 M. of navigable waterway.
There are four arrondissementsBeauvais, Clermont, Compiegne and Senliswith 35 cantons and 701 communes. The department forms the diocese of Beauvais (province of Reims) and part of the region of the II. army corps and of the academie (education4l division) of Paris. Its court of appeal is at Amiens. The principal places are Beauvais, the

capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

, Chantilly, Clermont-en-Beauvoisis, Compiegne, Noyon,

Pierrefonds

PIERREFONDS

, Creil and Senlis, which are treated separately. Among the more populous places not mentioned is Meru (5317), a centre for fancy-ware manufacture. The department abounds in old churches, among which, besides those of Beauvais, Noyon and Senlis, may be mentioned those at Morienval (If th and 12th centuries), Maignelay (I 5th and 16th centuries), Crepy-en-Valois (St Thomas, 12th, 13th and 15th centuries), St Leu d'Esserent (mainly 12th
century), Tracy-le-Val (mainly 12th century), Villers St Paul (12th and 13th centuries), St Germer-de-Fly (a fine example of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic architecture), and St Martin-aux-Bois (13th, 14th and 15th centuries). Pont-point preserves the buildings of an abbey founded towards the end of the 14th century and St Jean-aux-Bois the remains of a priory including a church of the 13th century. There are Gallo-Roman remains of Champlieu close to the forest of Compiegne. At Ermenonville there is a chateau of the 17th century where Rousseau died in 1778.

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