Prussia. The principal crop in Prussia is rye, of which the ordinary
bread of the country is made; it grows in all parts of the kin dom,
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
round as rye. Barley is most largely grown in Saxony and Silesia.
Other grain crops are s elt (chiefly on the Rhine), buckwheat
(Hanover and Schleswig-Plolstein) and millet; maize is grown for
fodder in some districts. The produce of grain does not cover 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 the provinces of Saxony, Hanover, Silesia, Pomerania and Brandenburg.
Flax and hemp occupy considerable areas in East
Prussia, Silesia and Hanover, while hops are raised chiefly in Posen
and Saxony. The cultivation of rape-seed for oil has fallen off
since the use of petroleum has become general. The tobacco of
Silesia, Brandenburg, Hanover and the Rhine province is inferior
to that of Germany; the annual value of Prussian-grown tobacco
is about £500, o0o, or one-fourth of the total produce of the empire.
Of the total cultivated area less than 5% is divided i11to farms
of less than 5 acres each, about 33% amongst farms ranging from
5 to 50 acres, 32'OI % amongst farms ranging from 50 to 250 acres,
and the rest amongst farms exceeding 250 acres. The provinces
in which large estates (up to 2500 acres and more) are the rule, are
Pomerania, Posen, Silesia, East Prussia, Brandenburg, West Prussia
and Saxony, in the order named. The estates of the old landed
gentry (Rittergwer) of Prussia, taking the estates above 500 acres
each, aggregate in all some 13,400,000 acres. Small estates (peasant
holdings) prevail principally in the Rhine province, Hesse-Nassau
and Westphalia, and to some extent also in Hanover, Silesia and
Saxony, but large peasant holdings (50 to 250 acres) exist only in
Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, East Prussia, Westphalia, Saxony
and Brandenburg. Notwithstanding the continuous decline in
prices, and other drawbacks from which agriculture has suffered
throughout Europe, the Prussian farmers have on the whole fairly
well maintained their position, owing mainly to the fact that they
have been both eager and skilful in availing themselves of the opportunities
offered by the progress of agricultural knowledge. One of
the latest departures in this field has been the establishment of
central stations for the distribution of electric power to the estates
in its neighbourhood, the power to be used for driving both fixed
and movable machinery (mills, chaff-cutters, threshing-machines,
ploughs, &c.). for lighting buildings and houses, for cooking and
heating, and on large estates for giving signals and conveying
orders. The cultivation of the beetroot for sugar has had a far reaching
effect upon Prussian agriculture, especially in the provinces
of Saxony, Silesia, Posen, Hanover, West Prussia, Pomerania,
Brandenburg, the Rhine province, and other parts of the kingdom,
where the beetroot is extensively cultivated. Owing to the deep
cultivation of the soil and the incessant hoeing which the beet
crop requires, the three or four crops which follow it are invariably
good, and the liability to failure of the immediately succeeding crop
is reduced to a minimum. Moreover, the fiscal policy of the Prussian
government has been of first-rate assistance to the Prussian farmer.
Hand in hand with the cultivation of the beetroot has goneithe
cultivation of barley and chicory, crops of scarcely inferior value
from the cultivat0r's point of view. Barley is grown on more
than 11% million acres. The Prussian province of Saxony produces
one-half of the total quantity of chicory yielded every year throughout
the empire; the principal centres for its manufacture in Prussia
are Magdeburg, Berlin and Breslau.
Livestock.-The province of East Prussia, with the principal government stud of Trakehnen, is the headquarters of horse rearing, and contains the greatest number of horses both relatively and absolutely. 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, whence, as from the marshy lowlands of Hanover, they are exported in large numbers to England.
In the matter of freights the government renders material assistance to the Prussian farmer. As the state owns the railways, it carries agricultural produce, especially such as is destined for export, at lower preferential rates.
Forests.-Prussia contains a greater proportion of woodland (23 %) than any other large country in the south or west of Europe (France 17 %, Italy l2%, , Great Britain 3%). 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, Silesia, and Brandenburg, where coniferous trees revail and in the Rhenish and Hessian districts, where oaks and Beeches are the most prominent growths. The north-west is almost entirely destitute of timber, and peat is there used universally as fuei. The government forests cover about 6,000,000 acres, or upwards of oneourth of the whole, and are admirably managed, bringing in an annual revenue of IJ; millions sterling. The state also controls the management of forests in private possession, and exerts itself to secure the planting of waste lands.
Viticulture.-The principal wine-growing districts of Prussia are the Rheingau and the Rhine provinces, though wine is also produced in Silesia, Westphalia and a few other districts. The valleys of the Nahe, Saar, Moselle and Ahr all produce excellent wine. The Prussian state owns several vineyards in the Rhine district. German vine-growers have suffered, in common with vine-growers in other countries of Europe, from the Oidium tuckeri and the Phylloxefa, and the government has spent large sums of money in endeavouring to arrest the ravages caused.
Fisheries.-The fisheries on the Baltic Sea and its haffs, and on the North Sea, are important. 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 last-named especially in the Rhine, are the principal varieties; sturgeon are taken in the Elbe and Oder, and the lakes of East Prussia swarm with bream and lampreys. Game of various kinds abounds in different parts of Prussia, and the lakes are frequented by large fiocks of waterfowl.
Mining and Metal Industries.-Prussia is the largest producer of coal, zinc, salt, lead and copper amongst the states of the German Empire, though in respect of iron she comes second to Alsace-Lorraine. Of the aggregate German output of coal Prussia supplies over 93 %, viz. the huge total of 101,966,158 tons, valued at £43,912,500 in 1900, as compared with some 47,000,000 tons in 1882, representing an increase of about II7%, , and of this the province of Westphalia produces the largest quantity. Next comes the Rhine province, that is, the Saar, Aachen, Düsseldorf and Roer coal-fields; then Silesia. An extremely important role is played in the coal industry of Prussia by the Rhenish-Westphalian Coal Syndicate, which has its headquarters at Essen, and which from the bulk of its output (about 40% of the total German output) has succeeded in regulating the production and price of the coalfields generally. Out of a total output of lignite for the entire German Empire of 40,498,019 tons in 1900, Prussia yielded no less than 84 %, or a total of 34,007,542 tons, valued at £4,012,900, showing an annual increase of over 24 million tons and of 3% millions sterling since 1882. Almost all the zinc produced in Germany comes out of the Silesian mines. The chief iron-producing regions are the Rhine province, Westphalia, Hesse-Nassau and 'Silesia. But in the production of lead and manganese Prussia enjoys almost an unchallenged monopoly. Salt is mined principally in the province of Saxony (Stassfurt, Aschersleben, Erfurt, Halle, Merseburg, Sangerhausen), the kali salts near Magdeburg and Glauber salts in the Rhine province and Hesse-Nassau. Iron is worked principally in the districts of Arnsberg, Dusseldorf, Oppeln in Silesia, Treves and Coblenz, and zinc for the most part near Oppeln in Silesia; lead and silver near Aachen, Oppeln and Wiesbaden, and sulphuric acid in all the mining districts, as well as near Potsdam, Breslau, Magdeburg and Merseburg. Petroleum is extracted to a limited extent at a couple of places in the province of Hanover. Down to 1899, in which year the monopoly was bought out by the Prussian government, 150 to 250 tons of amber were mined in East Prussia. A little is also collected on the coast near Pillau. Industrial Development.-During the last quarter of the 19th century Prussia developed into a great manufacturing country. Among the causes which have been mainly instrumental in fostering the industrial development in Prussia are the fostering care of the government (at once energetic, comprehensive and watchful), co-operation and organization, which has been immensely facilitated by the habits of.prompt obedience and order learnt in the course of the military training; the generally high intellectual level and technical and artistic skill of the workmen, due in part to the enforcement of sound elementary education and in part to the excellent technical high schools, .trades “ continuation schools, ” and hosts of special schools in which the arts and crafts are thoroughly and systematically taught; the use made of scientific discoveries and the power of taking advantage of scientific progress generally; the national aptitude for giving conscientious attention to minutiae, and for thoroughness and mastery of detail;. the extensive employment of commercial travellers, having command of languages, in all parts of the world; and an earnest desire to find out and meet the wants and tastes of customers. Moreover, the social and economic conditions of the people have been in their favour. Wages have on the whole been lower than, for example, in England, though since 1896 they have shown a strong upward tendency, and the standard of comfort, and even in many cases the standard of living, has been lower. Litigation, too, is more expeditious and less costly. But the Prussian manufacturer has derived no small measure of advantage from the fact that he came into the field somewhat later than his foreign rivals. He has been enabled to utilize their experience, to profit from their drawbacks, faults and deficiencies, and to make a clean start in the light of this valuable acquired knowledge. His interests have also been materially
