829 



PROVINS. 



PRUSSIA. 



230 



rises to 1190 feet above the level of the sea, so that it can be seen at a 

 distance of from 33 to 36 miles. Separated from its northern end by 

 a cut or channel of from 40 to 60 yards wide, is the island of Smta 

 Catalina, 1800 yards long by 1300 yards in its greatest breadth, form- 

 ing the northern boundary of a harbour in Old Providence which 

 affords secure anchorage in 2 to 3J fathoms. The soil is very pro- 

 ductive, and affords rich crops with very little cultivation. The island 

 belongs to the state of New Granada, and the population amounts to 

 only a few hundred persons. 



PROVINS. [SEIXE-EI-MAKXE.] 



PRUSSIA, a kingdom in the north of Europe, consists of two great 

 divisions, which are unconnected with one another. The western 

 and smaller portion, comprising Rhenish Prussia and Westphalia, is 

 situated on both sides of the lower Rhine between 49 and 52 15' 

 Jf. lat., 6 and 9 30' E. long. It is bounded S. by the French depart- 

 ment of Moselle, W. by Belgium and Holland, N. by Holland and 

 Hanover, and E. by Hanover, Lippe, Waldeck, Electoral Hesse, 

 Nassau, Hesse-Darmstadt, and the Bavarian Palatinate. The eastern 

 ami larger portion of the kingdom extends from 49 50' to 55 50' 

 N. lat., 9 60' to 22 50' E. long. On the north-west of it lies Meck- 

 lenburg; on the weat Hanover, Brunswick, and the electorate of 

 Hesse. Alon? the southern boundary are the duchies of Saxe, the 

 kingdom of Saxony, and several portions of the Austrian monarchy, 

 and along the east is Russia. The area and population of Prussia and 

 its provinces are given in the following table : 



The provinces, the 25 government* into which they are divided, 

 and all the chief towns of Prussia are noticed in this work for the 

 most part in separate article*. 



Surface and Soil. Rhenish Prussia is divided into two portions by 

 the Rhine, and each of these divisions consists of an elevated table- 

 land and a low plain. The table-land on the west bank of the Rhine 

 is connected on its south-eastern border with the Hardt Mountains, as 

 the northern extremity of the Vosges is called. The Hardt Moun- 

 tains attain a general elevation, varying between 1100 and 1600 feet; 

 their highest summit however is above 2000 feet. From this mountain 

 region the table-land extends northward to the parallel of the towns 

 of Bonn and Aix-la-Chapelle. Along the right bank of the Moselle is 

 the highest part of the table land, which appears in the shape of a 

 range elevated on a very high base. Part of this range is called the 

 Hochwald, and another part the Soonwald : its mean elevation is 

 more than 2000 feet above the sea-level, while the highest summit, 

 called the Walderbsenkopf, attains nearly 2690 feet. The larger part 

 of the table-land lies to the north of the Moselle, and is called the 

 Eifel, and in its northern district* the Hohe Veen. The mean eleva- 

 tion of thin part is about 1600 feet, and it may be called a plain ; 

 neither the eminences nor the depressions are great. A few hills rise 

 from 500 to 700 feet above it. [ElFEL.] The level country which 

 extends from the northern border of the Eifel between the Rhine and 

 the Maas, is nearly flat. Its fertility is considerable, and it produces 

 rich crops of all kinds of grain. 



Opposite the table-land of the Eifel, on the right hank of the Rhine, 

 is a similar table-land, which extends southward through Nassau, where 

 it rises along the banks of the Main and Rhine to a more elevated 

 ridge known under the name of Taunta which, like the Hochwald 

 and Soonwald, attains a mean elevation of 2000 feet; and its highest 

 summit, the Feldberg, a 2850 feet. From the Taunus the table-land 

 extends northward, and terminates on the northern bank of the river 

 Ruhr, an affluent of the Rhine. It extends about 40 miles farther 

 north than the table-land west of the Rhine, and, between the Lahn 

 and Sieg rivers, is called WuUrmald ; and, between the Sieg and 

 Ruhr, Sana-land. The mean elevation of this district does not differ 

 from that of the Eifel, being also about 1600 feet above the sea-level. 

 But the surface is more uneven, especially that of the Westerwald, 

 which contains several high summits, among which the Salzburger- 

 kopf is 2172 feet high. Lava, trachyte, and basalt are also frequently 

 met With in the Westerwald, but not north of the Sieg river. The 

 oil of the whole region is poor; and it is unsuited for the production 

 of any grain except oats, which supply the inhabitants with bread. 

 The population is considerable, especially on the Sauerland, which is, 

 without exception, the most manufacturing district in Germany, a 



circumstance owing to the abundance of iron and coals which this 

 part of the table-land contains. Agriculture is also in an advanced 

 state in parts of the region, especially in the valleys of the Ruhr, 

 the Senne, and the Lippe, where it is stimulated by the presence of a 

 large mining and manufacturing population. [AENSBERG.] 



The Rhine separates the two table-lands just mentioned, and runs 

 in a narrow valley which is noted for its picturesque beauties. It 

 begins to run between the mountains at Bingen, where its surface is 

 a little more than 200 feet above the sea-level. It leaves the moun- 

 tain region at Bonn, where it is not more than 120 feet above the 

 sea. Between Bonn and Diisseldorf, a distance of nearly 50 miles, the 

 fall is only 26 feet. 



That portion of Rhenish Prussia which lies to the north of the 

 Sauerland, and extends to the northern limits of this part of Prussia, 

 has a soil which varies greatly in fertility. The western portion of it, 

 from the Rhine to the banks of the Ems, is nearly a desert : the cul- 

 tivable ground, which only occurs in isolated places, is but a small 

 portion of the whole. On the east of the Ems the soil is much 

 better, especially as we approach the hilly country, which extends 

 along the western side of the river Weser, where wheat is raised ; 

 some good tracts occur also along the northern declivity of the 

 Sauerland, but they are not extensive. 



The Eastern and larger portion of Prussia is a part of the great 

 plain of Eastern Europe, which extends from the Strait of Dover to 

 the foot of the Uralian Mountains. Mountains occur only along the 

 southern boundary. On the boundary of Prussia and Bohemia are 

 the Sudetic Mountains, whose northern portion is called Rieseuge- 

 birge, or Qiant Mountains. There are mountains also on the line 

 which separates Prussia from Saxony. Where the south-western angle 

 of Prussia is intersected by the duchies of Saxe and the territories of 

 the prince of Reuss, and partly also by Hanover, it comprehends parts 

 of the Thuringerwald and of the Harz mountains. 



The Sudetic Mountains are not connected with the Carpathian Moun- 

 tains. At the north-western extremity of the last-mentioned range 

 there is a nearly level plain, between 45 and 50 miles-wide, on which 

 the Oder rises. This plain is only 600 or 700 feet above the sea-level ; 

 and it descends on the north along the course of the river Oder with 

 a gentle slope, but rapidly towards the south. On the north-western 

 edge of this plain the southern extremity of the Sudetic Mountains 

 commences with the mountain plain of Qlatz, which is surrounded 

 by elevated ranges. It rises with a steep ascent, and extends in a 

 north-western direction for about 70 miles, when it again descends 

 with a similar slope. Its interior, the mountain plain of Glatz, is 

 between 1200 and 1300 feet above the sea; but the ranges which 

 surround it rise to 3500 and 4300 feet. The highest summit, which 

 lies at the south-eastern corner of the mountain mass, is called the 

 Altvater, and is 4281 feet above the sea. The whole region occupies 

 a width of about 27 miles, and is called the Mountains of Glatz. 

 Between the northern extremity of this range and the Giant Moun- 

 tains U a tract, the surface of which is chiefly occupied by high hills ; 

 but its mean level above the sea does not' exceed 1500 feet. It is 

 followed in the same north-western direction by the Giant Mountains. 

 [BOHEMIA.] 



The Thuringerwald, which is at the south-western extremity of this 

 part of Prussia, is a mountain-range nearly 50 miles loni;, but only 

 from 8 to 12 miles wide. The mean elevation may be 2000 feet above 

 the sea, and the highest summit, the Great Beerberg, is 3258 feet. A 

 very small part of this range lies within the boundary of Prussia. The 

 HARZ is about 50 miles distant from the Thuringerwald on the north. 

 The greater part of the country which lies between the Thuringerwald 

 and the Harz belongs to Prussia ; its general level may be about 900 

 feet above the sea, but some hills rise several hundred feet higher. 

 The soil of the valleys, most of which are wide, is generally of excellent 

 quality. 



The great plain is not a dead level ; the surface is diversified by 

 several moderate elevations. Two of these traverse this portion of 

 Prussia from east to west in its whole extent. The northern elevation 

 runs generally parallel to the Baltic, and the southern in its eastern 

 portion parallel to the Sudetic Mountains. The northern elevation is 

 a portion of that high ground which extends eastward from the mouth 

 of the Elbe, at a varying distance from the Baltic, to the sources of 

 the Volga, through a space of more than 1000 miles. It is remarkable 

 for the number of lakes dispersed over its broad surface and on the 

 upper part of its slopes, and for the quantity of erratic blocks of 

 granite which are imbedded in it. In the east of Prussia it occurs near 

 54 N. lat. The mean height of this part of the elevated ground may 

 be about 450 feet above the sea-level ; the lakes are more numerous 

 than in any other part of it, and some are of considerable extent. The 

 lake of Spirding occupies an area of more than twenty square miles, 

 and is nearly 400 feet above the sea-level ; the lake of Mauer is nearly 

 as large, and about 410 feet above the sea. The larger lakes taken 

 together occupy a surface of 312 square miles, and the smaller lakes 

 are very numerous. The soil is sterile, chiefly consisting of loose sand, 

 covered in many places with heath, and in others with stunted pines. 

 The portion of cultivable land is very small ; that which supplies 

 indifferent pasture for cattle and sheep is not much larger. 



From this elevation the country slopes to the shores of the Baltic 

 with an undulating surface, which is seldom varied by a hill. The 



