Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 10.djvu/470

Rh —l.")‘..). and Hanover are particularly remarkable in this respect. ' The best meadow lands of Bavaria are in the outer range of the Alps, those of Saxony in the Erzgebirge. The follow- ing table shows the results of a live-stock census in 1873 :— llorses ................................... .. 3,352,231 (‘attle ....................................... ..15,776.702 Sheep ..................................... ..24,999,406 1'i,-gs ......................................... .. 7,124,088 Goats ....................................... .. 2,320,002 '1‘otal ......... ..53,572.-129 The breeding of domestic animals is prosecuted most extensively in Bavaria, and in the maritime provinees. There we ﬁnd 1000 to 1500 head of the larger kinds (horses, cattle, sheep, goats, swine) for every 1000 inhabit- ants; in the rest of eastern Germany 600 to 800 ; and in central and southern Germany only 400 to 600. In the number of horses Germany ranks with Great Britain (about 80 for every 1000 inhabitants); and, although the pro- duction eannot satisfy the home demand, the imports being nearly 30,000 in excess of the exports annually, the breed- ing of horses has attained great perfection. The main centre is in East and West Prussia, where there are more than half a million of horse.=,——about 30 per English square mile; then follow the marsh districts on the Elbe and Weser, some parts of Westplialia, Saxony, and Upper Silesia, Lower Bavaria, Lower Alsace, and Lorraine. Cattle abound in n1ost South-German states, especially P-av-aria and Wiirtemberg, where there are 180 to 200 head for every square mile. In the northern and northeastern dis- tricts, on the other hand, the numbers are small (in some districts only 30 to 50 head to the square mile), except Se‘aleswig—lIolstein and the marsh lands along the shores of the North Sea, whence there is a considerable exportation to Englan-1. The aggregate number of sheep i11 Germany is only exceeded in Europe by that in Great Britain and 1i'.lS~‘ll. The principal sheep districts are Pomerania and .[3::klenb‘-.1rg (300 per square mile). As a rule, sheep- farming is resorted to where the soil of inferior quality anl unsuitable for tillage and the bree:1ing of cattle. Far m)re attention is accordingly given to the roaring of sheep in northern and north-eastern Germany than in Schleswig- llalstein, East Frisia, Westphalia, Ithineland, and South lermany. The exportation of sheep is considerable, amounting in 1871 to 1,160,000 head; in 1875, however, the number was only 1,000,000. At the same time the native demand for wool is not covered by the home pro- duction. The largest stock of swine is in central Germany anl Saxony, in Westphalia, on the lower Rhine, in Lorraine, 1Iesse, the. Central Germany (especially Gotha an .1 lirunswick) exports sausages and hams largely, as well as Westphalia; but the excess of swine imported over the cxp)rts for the whole of Germany ranges from 600,000 to $00,000 annually. At./riculturul Populal£on.—In the census returns of 1871 the number of persons entered as agrieulturists (including pers )ns engaged in rearing stock, in forestry, and the ﬁsheries) was about 12,210,000, comprising 1,844,202 pro- prietors (l,690,031 males and 153,271 females), 2,101,005 agricultural labourers, &c., with 6,764,747 members of their families (2,33S,17-1 males and 4,426,573 females), and about 1,500,000 (660,000 males and 840,000 females) engaged in household duties. Agriculture thus supports three-tenths of the population. WI/:1 .1 aiuzals. -—T he number of wild animals in Germany is not very great. Foxes, martens, weasels, badgers, and otters are to be found everywhere; wolves are rare, but they ﬁnd their way sometimes from French territory to the V'E:.~'lC01‘1l provinces, or from Poland to Prussia and Posen. Among the rodents the hamster and the ﬁeld-mouse are a scourge to agriculture. Of game there are the roe, stag, G E 11 )1 - N Y [Live-s'rocx. boar, and hare; the fallow deer and the wild rabbit are less common. The elk is to be found in the forests of East Prussia. The feathered tribes are everywhere abundant in the ﬁelds, woods, and marshes. Wild geese and dllcks, grouse, partridges, snipes, woodcocks, quails, widgeons, and teal are plentiful all over the country. Geese and ducks are found mostly in the flat districts, where the great abundance of standing water affords ample scope for their increase. Tame geese are bred in large ﬂocks, particularly in Pomerania. The length of time that birds of passage remain in Germany differs considerably with the different species. The stork is seen for about 170 days, the lm11se- swallow 160, the snow-goose 260, the snipe 220. In northern Germany these birds arrive from twenty to thirty days later than in the south. The waters of Germany abound with ﬁsh ; but the genera and species are few. Carp and salmon tribes are the most abundant ; after them rank the pike, the eel, the shad, the roach, the perch, and the lamprey. In addition to frogs, Germany has few varieties of Amphibia. Of serpents there are only two kinds, one of them being poisonous. The rearing of bees is particularly attended to in the heathy districts of Hanover. The number of bee—hives may be estimated at 2 millions, and the produce of wax and honey at 100,000 cwts. The cultivation of silk-worms has been attempted, but has either entirely failed or had very in- different success. In 1852-62 an attempt was made to extend the cultivation of the mulberry in the province of lrandenburg; but disease among the silk—worms, which it was found impossible to repress, rendered it unsuccessful. M1.‘1-as AND Mix I;I:.u.s. Germany abounds in useful minerals, and in consequence takes a high place. among industrial states. The produc- tion falls short, indeed, of that of England, but bears com- Parison with that of F ranee and of the United States. The last annual report of the imperial statistical oﬁice (for the year 1876) classified the mineral produce of Germany under the following heads :— 1l[z'm'ral P:'ud1u't[un in 1876. Minerals. l Quantities. Value. Miners. I Metric Tons.’ :2 Coal, including lignite 49,588,050 15,131,000 208,420 Iron ore .................. .. 3,515,020 1,047,850 24,373 Zine ore ................... .. 503,360 650,340 11,680 Lead ore ................... .. 12,060 1,019,300 16.020 Copper ore ................ .. 30,450 356,250 7,077 Silver and gold ore ...... .. 2,311 219,150 7,475 Tin ore .................... .. 185 6,380 1306 Cobalt ore ............... .. 313 10,000 Nickel ore ................ .. 1,222 5,700 Jon Antimony ore ............. .. 4-3 580 66 _rscnic ore ................ ..' 1,670 2,510 20 llangancse ore ........... ..' 11,651 28,240 70 Bismuth ore .............. ..| 28 13,650 824 Uranium ore .............. .. 9, 2,210 Tungsten ore .............. .. 3 20 Iron pyrites .............. .. 113,703 1 107,200 Alum ores ................ .. 35,320 4,400 Q20 Salt ......................... .. 170,150 60.700 ms Potash, &c. ............... 530,900 234,500 2.05:: Total, al)o11t .......  55,000,000 18,900,000 2w,4n1 —The general value of the production has increased con- siderably during the ten years ending 1876, as will be seen by the following table :— ‘ 1 centncr or 50 kilogrammes -= 110'23 pounds = 0'9851 cwt. In round numbers the centncr is taken as equivalent to the cwt., and the metric ton to the English ten; the exact value of the latter, however, is 19'702 cwts., or 0'9851 tons. £1 sterling = 204294 marks. In round numbers £1 is taken as 20 marks; the values given are therefore too large by 2'15 per cent.