INDRE, a department of central France, consisting of parts of the old provinces Bas-Berry, Orleanais, and Marche, is bounded N. by the departments of Indre-et-Loire and Loir-et-Cher, E. by Cher, S. by Crouse, Haute-Vienne, and Vienne, and W. by Vienne and Indre-et-Loire. It lies between 46° 22' and 47° 15' N. lat., and between 0° 52' and 2° 13' E. long., being 60 miles in length from north to south and 54 miles in breadth from east to west. It derives its name from the river Indre, which flows through it from south-east to north-west. The Creuse, Claise, and Vienne, tributaries, like the Indre, of the Loire, are the other principal streams. The surface forms a vast plateau, sloping from south to north, and divided into three districts, the Bois-Chaud, Champagne, and Brenne, varying with the characteristics of the soil. The Bois-Chaud is a large well-wooded plain, comprising seven-tenths of the entire area, and covered with a sandy and stony soil. In the river valleys, however, the soil is extremely fertile. The Champagne, a bare though fertile district to the northwest, produces abundant cereal crops, and affords excellent pasturage for large numbers of sheep, celebrated for the fineness of their wool. The Brenne is an unhealthy marshy district to the south. The climate of Indre is mild and temperate, though moist. On the southern heights the cold is often severe, and throughout the department the crops suffer much from hailstorms. The growth of cereals in Indre exceeds the requirements of the inhabitants ; the pasturage is good and abundant ; and there are numerous valuable forests of oak, elm, beech, and other timber. Fruit-trees are plentiful, and market-gardening is a flourishing industry. The vine is cultivated to a small extent, and yields a mediocre red wine. Chestnuts, potatoes, turnips, beetroot, hemp, and colza are also grown. The rearing of horses and horned cattle is carried on in the Bois-Chaud, and of sheep in the Champagne. The mineral resources of the department include large quantities of iron, besides marl, sandstone, limestone, marble, lithographic and mill-stones, granite, and other stones. The chief industry is the working of the iron ; tobacco, paper, parchment, cloth, woollen goods, leather, felt, pottery, porcelain, bonnets, scythes, and tiles are also manufactured. Indre has considerable trade in its natural productions and manufactured articles, and in wool, horses, and oxen. The department is divided into the arrondissements of Chateauroux, Le Blanc, La Chatre, and Issoudun, with 23 cantons and 245 communes. The chief town is Chateau-roux. The total area is 2624 square miles, and the population in 1866 was 277,860, and in 1876 281,24-8.