266 



GERMANY. 



The centre of the town is still quite mediaeval in its aspect, and the Gothic 

 cathedral, together with the old buildings in its vicinity, forms a very picturesque 

 object. Erfurt is famous for its market gardens and nurseries, irrigated by canals 

 derived from the Gera. Eeichard, in the eighteenth century, contributed much 

 towards their flourishing condition. All kinds of vegetables, medicinal and orna- 

 mental plants are exported into every part of the world. The partial destruction 

 of the old ramparts has admitted of an extension of these productive gardens.* 

 Arnsfadt (9,243 inhabitants), higher up on the Gera, is the principal town 



Fig. 152.— JzNA. 

 Scale 1 : 100,000. 



2 Miles. 



of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. Its brine baths and delightful environs attract 

 many visitors. Ohrdruf (5,626 inhabitants), a small manufacturing town, lies in 

 a lateral valley, but it is at the foot of the hills, in the wide basin irrigated by 

 the Unstrutt, that the largest towns next to Erfurt and Gotha are met with. 

 The Unstrutt, not far from its source, has a sufficient volume to be useful 

 as a motive power, and the city of 3I'uhlhamen (20,926 inhabitants) — that is, 



* These gardens cover an area of 420 acres. The principal vegetables exported are asparagus, 

 cauliflowers, cress, and cucumbers. Asters and wallflowers are cultivated with special care. 



