Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/26

Rh 14 PRUSSIA [SOIL AND PRODUCTS. Ruhr, and there are also extensive coal-fields in Silesia. "With the exception of the Danube Prussia is traversed by all the chief rivers of Germany, comprising almost the entire course of the Oder and the Weser. Nearly the whole of the German coast-line belongs to Prussia, and it possesses all the important seaports except the two most important of all, Hamburg and Bremen. Climate. The climate of Prussia is rendered more uniform than it would otherwise be by the fact that the average elevation in- creases from north to south. The greatest extremes of temperature are found between the east and west, the mean annual warmth in the bleak and exposed provinces of the north-east being about 44 Fahr., while that of the sheltered valley of the Rhine is 6 higher. The difference is greatest in winter, when the respective means are 26 and 35 ; in summer the difference is not above 2 to 4. In Prussia as a whole the thermometer ranges from 1 00 to - 30, but these extremes are rarely reached. The average annual rainfall is about 21 inches ; it is highest in the hilly district on the west (34 inches) and on the north-west coast (30 to 32 inches), and lowest (16 inches) in the inland parts of the eastern provinces. Soil. According to the most recent official returns, about 29 per cent, of the soil of Prussia consists of good loam or clay, 32 per cent, is mediocre or of loam and sand mixed, 31 per cent, is pre- dominantly sandy, and 6 per cent, is occupied by bogs and marshes. The north-eastern provinces contain a high proportion of poor soil, and in the north-west occur large tracts of heath and moor. The reclaimed marshlands in both districts, as well as the soil in the immediate neighbourhood of the rivers, are usually very fertile, and admirable tracts of fruitful ground are found in the valleys of the Rhine and its affluents and in the plain around Magdeburg. Patient and long- con tinned effort has, however, done much to equalize production, and large crops are now grown in some of the most unpromising parts of the kingdom. Prussia contains a greater proportion of tilled land than any of the countries of south Germany, while it is surpassed in this respect by Saxony, Hesse-Dannstadt, and the Thuringiau states. The most fertile Prussian province is Saxony, while the least productive are East and West Prussia. The following table shows the distribution of the cultivable area in the different provinces and in the country as a whole : Province. Area. Arable Land, 50 per cent. Meadow and Pasture, 20 '4 per cent. Forests, 23 '3 per cent. Sq. miles. 14,280 Acres. 4,709,295 Acres. 2 127,317 Acres. 1,681 057 West Prussia Brandenburg Pomerania 9,850 15,410 11,620 3,455,000 4,586,360 4,152,002 1,124,885 1,487,872 1,408,882 1,349,392 3,205,635 1,480,990 Posen 11,180 4,452,360 934,450 1,464,442 Silesia ... 15,560 5,588,090 1,055 487 2,907 570 Saxony 9,750 3,836,192 826 352 1 269 920 Schleswig-Holstein. . Hanover 7,280 14,810 2,712,575 3,126,182 1,357,905 4,365,115 287,917 1,512,567 Westphalia 7,800 2,121,745 1 262,530 1,411,085 Hesse-Nassau Rhenish Prussia Hohenzollern 6,060 10,420 440 1,561,552 3,134,190 130,967 623,872 1,158,065 50,212 1,572,492 2.073,580 94,652 Total.... 134,490 43,566,510 17,782,944 20,311,299 Prussia contains a greater proportion of woodland than any other large country in the south or west of Europe (France 17 per cent., Italy 12 per cent., Great Britain 3 per cent.), though not so large a proportion as Russia, Austria, and some of the minor German states. The most extensive forests are in East and West Prussia, Siles ; a, and Brandenburg, where coniferous trees prevail, and in the Rhenish and Hessian districts, where oaks and oeeches are the most prominent growths. The north-west is almost entirely desti- tute of timber, and peat is there used universally as fuel. The Government forests cover about 6, 000, 000 acres, or upwards of one- fourth of the whole, and are admirably managed, bringing in an annual revenue of 1 j millions sterling. The state also controls the management of forests in private possession, and exerts itself to secure the planting of waste lands. Products. Products. The principal crop in Prussia is rye, of which the ordinary bread of the country is made ; it grows in all parts of the kingdom, especially in the north and east, and occupies about one- fourth of the whole tilled surface. Oats occupy an area equal to about half that devoted to rye, and are also grown most extensively in the north-eastern districts. Wheat, which is chiefly cultivated in the south and west, does not cover more than a fourth as much ground as rye. Barley is most largely grown in Saxony and Silesia. Other grain crops are spelt (chiefly on the Rhine), buckwheat (Hanover and Scnleswig-Holstein), and millet ; maize is grown for fodder in some districts. The produce of grain scarcely covers the consumption and is supplemented by imports of rye and other cereals from Russia and Holland. Potatoes, used both as food and for the distillation of spirits, are cultivated over nearly as large an area as rye and are especially predominant in the eastern provinces. The common beet is extensively grown for the production of sugar in Saxony, Hanover, Silesia, Pomerania, and Brandenburg. Flax and hemp occupy considerable areas in East Pmssia, Silesia, and Hanover, while hops arc raised chiefly in Posen and Saxony. Tho cultivation of rape-seed for oil has fallen off since the use of petro- leum has become general. The tobacco of Silesia, llraiidciiburg, Hanover, and the Rhine province is inferior to that of southern Germany; the annual value of Prussian -grown tobacco is about 500,000, or one-fourth of the total produce of the empire. Only a comparatively small part of the Rhenish wine district falls within Prussia, which does not claim more than a sixth (200,000,000 gallons, value 400,000) of the annual produce of Germany; but this includes many of the choicest varieties, such as Steinberger, Johannisberger, and Riidesheimer. The best vineyards of the Moselle also belong to Prussia, and inferior kinds of wine are pro- duced in Saxony and Lower Silesia. Great quantities of apples, cherries, and plums are raised on the Rhine, in Saxony, and other districts, while market-gardening on an extensive scale is pnnti-. ,L near Erfurt and some other large towns. The hay-meadows of the eastern provinces are the largest, but those in the west bear heavier crops. The richest pasture is afforded by the marshlands along the North Sea and by the plain of the lower Rhine, while the large moors of Westphalia ami Hanover are of comparatively little value in this respect. The accompanying table shows the yield in tons of the principal crops in 1883, in which year, however, the returns were rather below the average : Province. Rye. Wheat. Barley. Oats. Potatoes. Hay. East Prussia .... West Prussia. . Brandenburg. . Poinerania 330,565 269,030 499,957 310,789 866,707 88,585 83,608 55,963 64,406 82,999 71,987 69,600 74,330 59,554 71,156 211,139 119,710 140,382 183,554 93,670 58(5,640 838,953 2,555,660 1,240,691 1,377,857 600,231 320,984 699,751 578,290 435,534 Silesia 481,706 177,981 174 671 330,810 1,929,859 703,269 377,259 197,223 278,237 224,808 1,744,984 424,477 Schleswig- Holstein 181,793 459,780 75,049 130 438 60,775 44,053 196,731 177,401 224,869 1,003,765 375,469 715 734 Westphalia .... Hesse-Nassau . . Rhenish Prussia Hohenzollern . . 264,358 ii7,ii:-is 237,883 85-2 88,153 60,110 151,309 1,894 27,976 28,156 43,078 6,403 116,435 96,642 224,720 9,433 714,486 642,360 1,383,132 19,955 333,833 3.S6.781 478,575 48,197 Total.... 3,898,617 1,257,718 1,010,036 2,125,435 14,263,211 6,101,125 About one-half of the cultivable soil is in the possession of owners with properties exceeding 180 acres in extent and averaging 860 acres, while one -half of the total number of owners occupy only one-fortieth of the entire area. The manner of distribution varies greatly in different parts of the kingdom, large properties prevailing in the less fertile regions in the east and peasant-holdings in the west. In the district of Stralsund the average number of land- owners for each German square mile is 100, while in the district of Wiesbaden it is ten times as high. In Silesia and Posen lati- fundia occupy nearly half the total area, though this disproportion is gradually disappearing there as elsewhere. As a general rule the best crops seem to be raised on the holdings of intermediate size. Live Stock. According to an enumeration made in 1883, Prussia Livn contains 2,417,641 horses, 8,737,367 cattle, 14,752,328 sheep, stock. 5,819,136 pigs, and 1,680,686 goats. The province of East Prussia, with the principal Government stud of Trakehnen, is the head- quarters of horse -rearing, and contains the greatest number of horses both relatively (1 per 5 inhabitants) and absolutely (383,555). The horses bred there are generally suitable for the lighter kind of work only, and are in great request for military purposes. Horses of a stouter type are bred in Schleswig-Holstein and on the Rhine, but heavy draught horses have to be imported from France, Holland, Belgium, and Denmark. The best cattle are reared in the maritime provinces, and the highest proportion (65 per 100 inhabitants) is found in Schleswig-Holstein, whence, as well as from the marshy lowlands of Hanover, large numbers are exported to England. As a rule, however, the south German states are richer in cattle than Prussia. Prussia is one of the leading sheep-breeding countries of Europe, and much has been done to improve the race and increase the value of the flesh and wool. In Pomerania there are 170 sheep for every 100 inhabitants, and West Prussia and Posen also contain a high proportion. The total number of sheep in Prussia is, how- ever, diminishing owing to the spread of agriculture and the in- creased importation of wool ; in 1861 it was nearly 21 millions. Swine abound in the central provinces, and hams and sausages are largely exported from Westphalia, Hanover, and Saxony. Hugo flocks of geese are reared in Pomerania, and bee-keeping is a profit- able industry in Hanover, East and West Prussia, and the province. of the Rhine. Fislwrics, The fishery on the Baltic Sea and its haffs employs Fisheries about 15,000 men, and that on the North Sea about 2000 more. In the former the take consists mainly of herrings, flat fish, salmon, mackerel, and eels, while the chief objects of the latter are cod and oysters. Inland fishery has been encouraged by the foundation of numerous piscicultural establishments and by the enactment of close-time laws. Carp, perch, pike, and salmon, the latter especi- ally in the Rhine, are the principal varieties ; sturgeon are taken in the Elbe and Oder, and the lakes of East Pmssia swarm with