Page:EB1922 - Volume 31.djvu/269

Rh Rye is cultivated principally in the N. and E., while the cultivation of wheat is more extensive in the W. and S.

During the war years agricultural production was greatly re- duced, and even in 1920 it had not nearly regained the level of 1913. The cause was the dearth of labour, which was most acute on the large properties, and also, to a great extent, the lack of manures, especially artificial manures. The decrease in production was, on the whole, most marked where large properties predominated.

The average quantities (in tons) produced per hectare throughout the Reich were in 1920 as follows: wheat 1-63 (average of 1909-13, 2-15); rye 1-15 (1-82) ; barley 1-50 (2-08); oats 1-50 (1-98); potatoes 11-48 (13-71); clover and lucerne 5-16 (471); grass 4-31 (4-28). The crops throughout the Reich amounted in 1920 (in tons) to: wheat, 2,255,055; winter spelt, 178,864; rye, 4,971,800; summer barley, 1,799,713; oats, 4,870,126; potatoes, 28,248,765; sugar-beet, 7,964,024; clover and lucerne, 11,419,406; grass, 23,656,436.

The yield of grain and fodder is quite inadequate for the require- ments of the population of the German Reich, and Germany is com- pelled to import the larger proportion of both from overseas. Even the sugar-beet crop of 1920 was insufficient for the requirements of the country, in contrast to the years before the war when Germany was able to export large quantities. During the years 1913 to 1920 the production of raw sugar was as follows (in 1,000 doppelzent- ner; a do p pelzentner or double hundredweight being 220 Ib. or 100 kgm.): 1913, 27,159; 1914, 25,101; 1915, 15,153; 1916, 15,579; 1917, 15,411; 1918, 13,277; 1919,7,890; 1920, 10,633.

The cultivation of hops extended during the years before the out- break of war over approximately 27,000 hectares. The greater part of this, 65 to 70 %, was carried on in Bavaria, and 25 to 30 % in Alsace-Lorraine and Wiirttemberg. During the war, the cultivation of hops declined very considerably. In 1919 only 8,030 hectares were under cultivation, but in 1920 the area rose again to 11,595 hectares, the crop that year amounting to 60,253 doppelzentners (see above). Owing to the restrictions placed on brewing, the demand for hops during the war was, of course, small.

In 1914 the number of breweries within the area in which beer was dutiable (that is, exclusive of Bavaria, Wiirttemberg and Baden) was 3, 602, with an output of 34,2 1 3,000 hectolitres; ; and in 1918 there were 2,192, with an output of 10,422,000 hectolitres. From 1919 onwards the three territories already named were included in the area in which beer was subject to duty. Within this area there were, in 1913, 23,229 breweries with an annual output of some 70 million hectolitres of beer. In 1919 only 11,477 breweries were at work. In 1920 .the output of beer amounted to 23-3 million hectolitres.

The output of spirits amounted, up to 1914, to about 3-5 million hectolitres annually. From 1914 to 1918 there was an average annual output of 2-3 million hectolitres; and in 1919-20 the output dropped to 0-6 million hectolitres. In 1913-4 there were 53,448 distilleries at work, and in 1918-^9 only 30,577.

The area under tobacco cultivation was 14,162 hectares in 1913 with a crop of 258,339 doppelzentners. In 1920 (partly in conse- quence of the loss of territory through the Peace Treaty), the area was 12,927 hectares, the crop in 1919 having fallen off to 205,836 doppelzentners. Tobacco is mainly grown in the territories of Baden and Bavaria (1920, 7,238 hectares). The principal plantations in the E. are to be found in the provinces of Brandenburg, Pom- erania and E. and W. Prussia.

In 1920 the area under vine-culture in Germany amounted to 72,661 hectares, as compared with 120,207 hectares in 1906, but this diminution includes the loss of the Alsace-Lorraine vineyards to Germany. The output of must had fluctuated enormously from year to year. In 1904 it amounted to 3,118,000 hectolitres, as com- pared with 695,000 hectolitres in 1910. In 1920 the output amounted to 2,440,000 hectolitres.

Live Stock. 4)n Dec. I 1913 it was reckoned that there were, within the territory of the late empire, 21 million head of cattle, 5-5 million sheep, 25-7 million pigs and 3-5 million goats. During the war live stock was seriously affected by the curtailment of fodder supplies, and was greatly reduced both in numbers and in weight per head. According to the census of live stock in the reconstituted area of Germany in Dec. 1920, as compared with the same territory in 1913, the figures "were: horses, 3,581,380 (3,821,000 in 1913); cattle, 16,789,844 (18,648,271); sheep 6,139,299 (4,991,959); pigs, 14,149,462 (22,775,120); goats, 4,451,463 (3,256,853) ; and poultry, 60,751,686. Thus the figures for 1920 had fallen far short of those for 1913; but they cannot be viewed in their true light unless ac- count is taken of the comparative weights of animals slaughtered. These were as follows (in kgm.) for the year 1919-20, as compared with pre-war averages: oxen, 155 (250); calves, 31 (40); sheep, 17 (22) ; pigs, 75 (85). These figures show that the reduction in weight of animals slaughtered was considerable under each heading.

The distribution of live stock throughout the different territories is very uneven. Prussia, in consequence of its great extent, has the largest number. Horse-breeding is particularly flourishing in E. Prussia (breeding farm at Trakehnen), Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklen- burg, Oldenburg, Hanover, Saxony (breeding farm at Graditz), and in Wiirttemberg and Bavaria. Bavaria is richest in cattle; in this territory the pastures on the mountains (Alpenrevier, Algau) are particularly favourable to cattle-rearing. But cattle-rearing is also carried on throughout the meadowlands of the hills and valleys of Wiirttemberg, Thuringia and Hesse. It also forms the principal means of livelihood in the marshy lands on the Baltic, in Schleswig- Holstein, Pomerania and Mecklenburg. Pig-breeding is most ex- tensively practised in Central Germany, but it also flourishes in Saxony, Westphalia and on the Lower Rhine. Sheep-breeding, which had been steadily on the decrease before the war, developed enormously in the later years. It is especially active in the northern parts of Germany in the less fertile and productive districts and in those containing large private properties. The development of sheep-breeding has been due to the shortage of wool in Germany and also to the lack of agricultural labour. But in spite of the increase in sheep-breeding, the production of wool falls far short of Ger- many's requirements. Goats and rabbits are especially numerous in Saxony, where there was great shortage of food during the war. Necessity forced the inhabitants of this territoiy to make up the deficiency in food supplies to some extent by keeping small stock.

The comparatively small quantity of live stopk in Germany is totally inadequate for the supply of the population with meat and milk. During the war the people suffered very greatly from this shortage. The only means of securing to every individual a small share of meat and milk was by rationing the supply.

Fisheries. The inland waters of Germany are fairly well stocked with fish. The fisheries on Lake Constance yielded 297 tons of fish in 1920, as compared with 390 tons in 1913. The sea fisheries in 1920 provided a larger yield than in any year before the war, and it was anticipated that, within the next few years, it would have increased to such an extent that Germany would no longer require to import fish from other countries. In 1920, 196,487 tons were caught in the North Sea and the Baltic, as compared with 183,900 tons caught during the most favourable year before the war, 1913.

Mineral Resources. Germany, before the war, was the richest country on the European continent in iron ore, potassium and coal. In the last full year before the war, 1913, the raw mineral output amounted to 323,672,400 tons, with a value of 2,674-6 million marks. Table VIII shows the details.

TABLE VIII. Mineral Products, 1913.

Quantity in 1,000 tons

Value in 1,000 marks

Persons employed

Pit coal

190,109-4

2,135,978

654.017

Brown coal ....

87.233'!

191,920

58,958

Iron ore

28,607-9

II57I8

42,296

Lead, silver and zinc ores.

2,884-8

50,295

21,282

Arsenic ore ....

25-8

292

13,292

Copper ore .... Sulphur ore ....

947-8 268-6

32,028 2,173

821

Wolfram ore ....

I5'8

181

148

Tin, cobalt, nickel and bis-

muth ores ....

34'3

568

585

Mineral oil ....

I2I-O

8,514

964

Asphalt

I5-5

792

215

Graphite

I2-I

266

313

Salt

I3,306-3

135,825

39,269

Total

323,672-4

2,674,550

832,160

During the war the output of minerals increased very considerably. Pit coal, iron ore and asphalt were the only products showing a con- siderable decline, the output of iron ore and coal being lowest in 1915. By the Treaty of Versailles, the German Reich lost valuable mineral resources. The annexation by France of Alsace-Lorraine in particular deprived Germany of its most productive sources of iron ore. In 1913, 74% of the total output of iron ore in Germany came from Alsace-Lorraine. The German political revolution of Nov. 1918, moreover, seriously affected output, since the introduction of the 8-hour day and the 7-hour shift in mines resulted in a great falling-off of production. This was accentuated by the diminished efficiency of labour owing to malnutrition resulting from the blockade during the war. A further economic loss to Germany arose out of the decision of the Peace Treaty to deprive the country for 15 years of all products from the Saar district. Hence, the total output in 1919 amounted to no more than 228,844,100 tons with a value of 77,314 million paper marks; the number of persons employed being 870,112.

The chief metals produced mainly from ores in 1913 were: iron, 16,763,800 tons, valued at 1,087,923,000 marks; lead, 188,000 tons, valued at 77,692,000 marks; copper, 53,800 tons, valued at 67,579,- ooo marks; bronze and brass, 3,000 tons, valued at 3,888,000 marks; raw and refined zinc, 278,800 tons, valued at 124,403,000 marks; tin, 12,000 tons, valued at 48,353,000 marks; nickel, 5,200 tons, valued at 15,509,000 marks. The output of these metals had been greatly diminished in the reconstituted Germany of 1919-20. The output from the smelting furnaces alone had been reduced by 23 % (as compared with 1913). In 1919 the production in Germany was as follows: iron, 5,791,400 tons; lead, 57,600 tons; copper, 38,400 tons; raw and refinld zinc, 97,400 tons; tin, 100 tons; nickel, 500 tons.

Coal and Lignite. The coal output of Germany attained great dimensions in the 2pth century. In 1860 the pit-coal production amounted to 12-3 million tons and the brown-coal (lignite) produc- tion to 4-4 million tons; the output had increased in 1900 to 109-3