P RUSSI A. 



l'J3 



uas 1 in .'.I, ami the general proportion is calcu- 

 "*" "V*" * l*ted as 1 in 



s-ii .iiui 1 IDIII fnrnur observations, some idea must ' 



prodiic- have been formed of the soil. Thou ;h the kingdom is 

 lionn. exiMptc:! fV.ui the bleakness and unproductiveness oc- 



casioned by mountains, a great part of it is far from be- 

 ing -enial or fertile. This results chit/ly from the 

 great tracts of heath and sand which we have already 

 mentioned, and paitly firm the want of cultivation. 

 Silesia, Posen, the neighbourhood of Tilsit in East 

 Prussia, and the provinces bordering upon the Khine, 

 (though the firct in its northern paits partakes a 

 good deal of the sandy features of Brandenburg,) are 

 the most fertile, as well as the best cultivated, produc- 

 ing grain of every description, culinary vegetables, 

 fruits, and even grapes in considerable perfection. Both 

 indeed in the provinces just specified, and in other 

 portions of the kingdom, the soil is loamy, deep, and 

 extremely rich, and, if agriculture were cultivated with 

 much assiduity and judgment, is susceptible of the high- 

 est improvement. But agriculture, though not entire- 

 ly neglected, is yet in its infancy. Farming can scarce- 

 ly be regarded as a distinct profession, as in Britain. 

 Farms are extremely small ; the sum applied to agri- 

 cultural purposes very inconsiderable ; and two-thirds 

 of the farmers are at the same time manufacturers, and 

 realize a livelihood as much in the latter capacity as in 

 the former. The system of green-cropping, of fallow, and 

 of rotation of crops, is beginning to be understood, and 

 in some parts of the kingdom is very generally practised. 

 The quantity of land in tillage in 18 J 7 was 29,000,000 

 acres, exclusive of about 300,000 acres appropriated to 

 girden culture and vineyards. The following is the 

 average increase on the different kinds of grain, which 

 affords a pretty correct estimate of the quality of the 

 soil, or the degree of cultivation which it under- 

 goes. The average increase of wheat is 6' to 1 ,of barley 

 to 1, of rye 4- to 1, and 4 to 1 of oats. But 

 though agriculture be a little deficient, Prussia raises 

 more corn than its consumption requires, and in fa- 

 vourable years the value of the surplus exported has 

 amounted to 2,000,000 florins, or 200,000 Sterling. 

 Buck wheat is more extensively grown than any other 

 species of grain. In speaking of the sandy soils of 

 Brandenburg, Marshal observes (and the remark is ap- 

 plicable to other districts,) that " the inhabitants find 

 that the only very profitable crop upon these lands is 

 buck wheat, which they sow in large quantities, and 

 they get a product which equals the best soils applied 

 to that grain. When a piece of land has been more 

 carefully managed than ordinary, it will yield a good 

 crop of rye ; but as to wheat or barley it is hardly to 

 be seen." Flax is extensively cultivated, particularly 

 in Westphalia and Silesia, and after supplying the de- 

 mand of their own domestic manufactures, the grow- 

 ers annually export about 22,000,000 of pounds. 

 Hops, pease, beans, tobacco, are also grown to a consi- 

 derable extent, and form no inconsiderable articles of 

 export. Wood, which is so abundant in the eastern 

 provinces, is exported, but chiefly that which grows in 

 the vicinity of rivers, as land conveyance is both difli- 

 cult and expensive. Coffee being a favourite beverage, 

 certnin enterprising individuals, thinking that the large 

 quantities of it imported tended to impoverish the na- 

 tion, attempted, so far back as 1780, to find a substi- 

 tute for it on their own soil. Several plants were tried. 

 Succory was found the most suitable, and this plant is 

 in consequence cultivated to a great extent in every 



VOL. XVII. PART I. 



quarter of the kingdom. It is not, however, used P'UMte* 

 alone, but is mixed with coffee, making a very whole- *"" """*" 

 some nnd delicious drink. 



!e are raised in considerable numbers throughout Animal*, 

 all the provinces. Sheep are also common ; but the 

 country docs not seem favourable for them, and their 

 wool is not only diilc-rent in quality in the different 

 district.-, but none of it is good except in Silesia. The 

 breed has of late been much improved by the introduc- 

 tion of tiie Merino and 1'aduan rams, and the manu- 

 facturers are now supplied at home with the name spe- 

 cies of wool which was formerly imported, particularly 

 from Spain. Nor is the rearing of horses neglected, 

 though the breed has not hitherto been brought to great 

 perfection, as horses for the Prussian light infantry are 

 imported from the Ukraine, and those for the heavy 

 cavalry from Holstein. The marmot, a species of cas- 

 tor, and the lynx, may be seen in the uncultivated pro- 

 vinces of the east ; but the bear and the elk are un- 

 known. 



The level and marshy nature of the country is ex- Mineral*, 

 tremely unfavourable to the production of minerals. 

 Iron ore, which makes a- considerable object of manu- 

 facture, is found in many of the marshes ; but little or 

 nothing else of a mineral description can be said to oc- 

 cur, except in the mountainous districts of the Ilartz, in 

 Westphalia, and the mountains in the south of Silesia. 

 In these districts there are mines of copper and lead; and 

 there were formerly mines of gold and silver, but they 

 are not now wrought, as the produce does not defray the 

 expence. Chrysoprase, agates, jaspers, clear crystals of 

 quartz, commonly called diamonds, calamine, cobalt, sul- 

 phur, saltpetre, alum, and vitriol, are also found. Salt 

 from brine springs is common in some parts of Saxony. 

 Goal occurs in several parts, chiefly at Schweidnitz, in 

 Lower Silesia, as also in some parts of Saxony and 

 Westphalia ; but as wood is very abundant, and the 

 conveyance of coal expensive, the latter is not very 

 extensively used as common fuel. There are no mineral 

 waters, if we except one at Warmbrun, in the south of 

 Silesia. 



But Prussia, though not otherwise eminent for mi- Amber, 

 neral wealth, is possessed of one mineral production 

 almost peculiar to itself, namely amber, a substance of 

 great value in ancient times, but now sold in Prussia 

 for a few shillings the hundred weight. It is chiefly 

 found on the Samland shore of the Baltic, on a neck of 

 land formed by the Frisch HafT, extending 25 miles 

 from Pillau to Palmaixen. It is thrown on the coast 

 by the waves, or fished like coral. It is also found in 

 the interior of the kingdom, particularly in Polish 

 Prussia, at the depth of about 100 feet, imbedded in 

 strata of coal, in lumps of various sizes, some five 

 pounds in weight, and is dug like the produce of other 

 mines. By friction amber becomes electric ; and the 

 Greek name (r,X:xTo) has been applied to designate the 

 doctrines and philosophy of electricity. It is used to 

 make trinkets, scented powder, a spirituous acid, and a 

 fine oil used in varnishing, manufactures of it for these 

 purposes being established at Dantzick, Konigsburg, 

 and Stolpe, in Pomerania. It belongs to the crown, and 

 being let to farm, adds .8000 to the royal revenue. 



This country has attained considerable distinction in 

 several departments of manufactures, chiefly in that of 

 linen, the raw material of which is producedat home.'* The 

 rendering Prussia as much as possible independent of 

 foreign countries, fir various species of manufacture:-. ' 

 says an able writer, " was a leading object in the do- 

 2 B 



