STATE FORESTS OF PRUSSIA. 147 
TOUR THROUGH THE UPPER HARZ. 
31st July and ist August. 
The Upper Harz (Oberharz) is that portion of the Harz district 
which includes the Brocken and the high district to the west, and 
comprises a total area of about 330 square miles. Part of it lies 
in Brunswick and part in Hanover, and, with the exception of 
certain portions adjoining the towns and villages, the whole 
consists of State Forests, comprising nearly 132,000 acres, which 
are under the administration of the Prussian Government. 
The highest point in the Harz is formed by the Brocken, which 
rises to a height of 3747 feet. The streams of the Upper Harz 
drain into the Weser, with, the exception of some insignificant 
streams on the eastern side, which find their way to the Elbe. 
The eastern declivities of the Brocken consist of granite, which, 
to the west, is overlayed by shale and greywacke. In other parts 
of the district, however, we meet with sandstone and limestone, 
which belong partly to the Devonian and partly to the Lower 
Coal-Measures. The district is rich in minerals, which include 
silver, copper, zinc, lead, etc. 
- In winter the weather is usually very severe, the ground being 
generally covered with snow from October till April. The average 
annual temperature (taken at Clausthal, 1930 feet above sea-level) 
is 43° F., as compared with 47°5 in Scotland; while the rainfall 
aggregates 53 inches annually, compared with about 40 inches in 
many parts of Scotland. 
The climate does not admit of the cultivation of cereals in any 
part of the Upper Harz, and fruit-trees are found only in a few 
favoured spots. The potato, however, is cultivated with moderate 
success in the patches and gardens attached to the cottages. 
Most of the surface not under wood is devoted to pasture and 
meadows, but even these do not yield well without abundant 
manure, and this is seldom available. During the summer the 
cows graze in the woods, while in winter they subsist entirely on 
hay. The only kind of bedding used for cattle is sawdust, of 
which large quantities are produced in the numerous saw-mills. 
The cow of the Harz constitutes a distinct breed, and much 
attention has been devoted to its improvement during recent 
years. It is essentially a “cottar’s cow,” giving a comparatively 
large yield on poor fare, and being for the most part in the hands 
of the miners and woodmen of this district of Germany. 
In the Upper Harz the climate makes the cultivation of delicate 
trees impossible, and the tree par excellence of the district is the 
common Norway spruce (Picea excelsa). In the higher and more 
exposed situations even this tree grows only in a somewhat 
