Page:EB1911 - Volume 24.djvu/617

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
SEINE—SEINE-ET-MARNE
587

and are either appendant or in gross. A seignory appendant passes with the grant of the manor; a seignory in gross—that is, a seignory which has been severed from the demesne lands of the manor to which it was originally appendant—must be specially conveyed by deed of grant.

Freehold land may be enfranchised by a conveyance of the seignory to the freehold tenant, but it does not extinguish the tenant's right of common (Baring v. Abingdon, 1892, 2 Ch. 374). By s. 3 (ii.) of the Settled Land Act 1882, the tenant for life of a manor is empowered to sell the seignory of any freehold land within the manor, and by s. 21 (v.) the purchase of the seignory of any part of settled land being freehold land, is an authorized application of capital money arising under the act.


SEINE (Lat. Sequana), one of the chief rivers of France, rising on the eastern slope of the plateau of Langres, about 5 m. N.W. of St Seine-l'Abbaye and 18 m. N.W. of Dijon. It keeps the same general direction (north-westwards) throughout its entire course, but has numerous windings: between its source and its mouth in the English Channel the direct distance is only 250 m., but that actually traversed by the river (through the departments of Cote-d'Or, Aube, Marne, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-et-Oise, Seine, Eure and Seine-Inférieure) is 482 m. Though shorter than the Loire and Rhone, and inferior in volume to the Loire, Rhone and Gironde, the Seine derives an exceptional importance from the regularity of its flow. This feature is due to the geological character of its basin, an area of 30,000 sq. m., entirely belonging to France (with the exception of a few communes in Belgium), and formed in three-fourths of its extent of permeable strata, which absorb the atmospheric precipitation to restore it gently to the river by perennial springs. At Paris the average volume of the river per second is 5300 cub. ft.; after it has received all its tributaries the volume is about 10,600 cub. ft. At Paris it falls as low as 1550 cub. ft., and in exceptional droughts the figure of 1200 is reached. During the flood of 1658 the volume between the quays at Paris is believed to have risen to 88,000 cub. ft. per second. The height of the river above the normal at Paris was probably on that occasion about 21 ft., whereas in the disastrous floods of January 1910 it was over 24 ft. Other notable floods are recorded in 1740, 1799, 1802, 1876 and 1883.

Rising at a height of 1545 ft. above sea-level, at the base of the statue of a nymph erected on the spot by the city of Paris, the Seine is at first such an insignificant streamlet that it is often dry in summer as far as Châtillon (705 ft.) some 31 m. from its source. At Bar its waters feed the Haute-Seine Canal, though navigation thereon only begins at Troyes. It next passes Méry, and at Marcilly receives the Aube (right), at which point the canal terminates and the river itself is canalized; here it is deflected from its hitherto north-north-westerly to a south-westerly direction by the heights of the Brie, the base of which it skirts past Nogent and Montereau. At the latter point it receives the Yonne, its most important left-hand tributary, and is deepened from 5 ft. 3 in. to 6 ft. 6 in. It then resumes its general north-westerly direction, receiving the Loing (left) at Moret; having passed Melun it is joined at Corbeil by the Essonne (left), and after its junction with the Marne (right), a tributary longer than itself by 31 m. at the confluence, reaches Paris. From this point to the sea its channel has been so deepened that vessels of 9 to 10 ft. draught can reach the capital. The river then winds through a pleasant campaign country past St Cloud, St Denis, Argenteuil, St Germain, Conflans (where it is joined from the right by the Oise, 56 ft. above the sea), Poissy, Mantes, Les Andelys, between which and the sea the river is remarkable for its détours, as also in the vicinity of Paris. At Poses the tide first begins to be perceptible. It next receives the Eure (left), and passes Pont de l'Arche, Elbeuf and Rouen, where the sea navigation commences. The river is dyked below Rouen so as to admit vessels of 20 ft. draught, and large areas have thus been reclaimed for cultivation. At every tide there is a “bore” (barre or mascaret), ran ing usually from 8 to 9 ft., and attaining its maximum from Quillebeuf to Caudebec. Below Quillebeuf (where the Risle is received from the left) the estuary begins, set with extensive sandbanks, between which flows a narrow navigable channel. Tancarville (right) is the starting-point of a canal to enable river boats for Havre to avoid the sea passage. The river enters the English Channel between Honfleur on the left and Havre on the right. The Marne brings to the Seine the waters of the Ornain, the Ourcq, and the Morin; the Oise those of the Aisne; the Yonne those of the Armançon. The low elevation of the bounding hills has rendered it comparatively easy to connect the Seine and its affluents with adjoining river basins by means of canals. The Oise and Somme are connected to the Picardy or Crozat Canal, which in turn is continued to the Scheldt by means of the St Quentin Canal and the Oise, and to the Sambre by that of Oise and Sambre. Between the Aisne and the Meuse is the Ardennes Canal, and the Aisne and the Marne are united by a canal which passes Reims. The Marne has similar communication with the Meuse and the Rhine, the Yonne with the Saône (by the Burgundy Canal) and with the Loire by the Loing Canal dividing at Montargis into two branches—those of Orleans and Briare.


SEINE, the department of northern France which has Paris as its chief town, formed in 1790 of part of the province of Ile-de-France. It is entirely surrounded by the department of Seine-et-Oise, from which it is separated at certain parts by the Seine, the Marne and the Bièvre. The area of the department is only 185 sq. m., and of this surface about a sixth is occupied by Paris; the suburban towns also are close together and very populous. In actual population (3,848,618 in 1906) as well as in density (23.7 persons per acre) it holds the first place. Flowing from south-east to north-west through the department, the Seine forms three loops: on the right it receives above Paris the Marne, and below Paris the Rouillon, and on the left hand the Bièvre within the precincts of the city. The left bank of the Seine is in general higher than the right, and consists of the Villejuif and Châtillon plateaus separated by the Bièvre; the highest point (560 ft.) is above Châtillon and the lowest (105) at the exit of the Seine. Below Paris the river flows between the plain of Gennevilliers and Nanterre (commanded by Mont Valérien) on the left and the plain of St Denis on the right. On the right side, to the east of Paris, are the heights of Avron and Vincennes commanding the course of the Marne. Communication is further facilitated by canals.

Market gardening is the chief agricultural industry, and by means of irrigation and manuring the soil is made to yield from ten to eleven crops per annum. Some districts are specially celebrated,— Montreuil for its peaches, Fontenay-aux-Roses for its strawberries and roses, and other places for flowers and nurseries. The plain of Gennevilliers fertilized by the sewage water of Paris yields large quantities of vegetables. Milch-cows are reared in large numbers. The principal woods (Boulogne and Vincennes) belong to Paris. It is partly owing to the number of quarries in the district, that Paris owes its origin: Châtillon and Montrouge in the south yield freestone, and Bagneux and Clamart in the south and Montreuil and Romainville in the east possess the richest plaster quarries in France. Within the circuit of Paris are certain old quarries now forming the catacombs. Most of the industrial establishments in the department are situated in Paris or at St Denis St Denis (qq.v.). The department is traversed by all the railway lines which converge in Paris, and also contains the inner circuit railway (Chemin de Fer de Ceinture) and part of the outer circuit. There are 3 arrondissements (Paris, St Denis, and Sceaux), 41 cantons and 78 communes. The department forms the archiepiscopal diocese of Paris, falls within the jurisdiction of the Paris court of appeal and the académie (educational division) of Paris, and is divided between the II., III., IV., V. and VI. corps d'armée. The chief places besides Paris are St Denis, Asnières, Aubervilliers, Boulogne-sur-Seine, Clichy-sur-Seine, Courbevoie, Levallois-Perret, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Pantin, St Ouen, Colombes, Charenton, Ivry-sur-Seine, Montreuil-sous-Bois, Nanterre, Nogent-sur-Marne, Vincennes and Arcueil.


SEINE, or Sean (O. Fr. seigne, mod. seine, Lat. sagena, Gr. σαγήνη, a draw-net), a type of fishing net, consisting of an expanse of netting weighted at the bottom and floated at the top edge by corks, cast from a boat or ship to enclose a space of water and then drawn into the vessel or to shore.


SEINE-ET-MARNE, a department of northern France, formed in 1790 of almost the entire district of Brie (half of which belonged to Champagne and half to Ile-de-France) and a portion of Gâtinais (from Ile-de-France and Orléanais). Pop. (1906) 361,939. Area, 2289 sq. m. Seine-et-Marne is bounded N. by the department of Oise, N.E. by that of Aisne, E. by Marne and Aube, S.E. by Yonne, S. by Loiret and W. by Seine-et-Oise. The whole department belongs to the basin of the Seine, and is drained partly by that river and partly by its tributaries the Yonne and the Loing from the left, and from the right the Voulzie, the Yères and the Marne, with its affluents the Ourcq, the Petit Morin and the Grand Morin. With the exception of the Loing, flowing from south to north, all these streams cross the department from east to west, following the general slope of the surface, which is broken up into several plateaus from 300 to 500 ft. in height (highest point, in the north-east, 705 ft., lowest 105), and separated from each other by deep valleys. Most of