butter and cheese are annually produced. Altogether, the rearing of cattle, with all its actual shortcomings, constitutes a great source of revenue, and yields a certain amount for export.
Fisheries.—The fisheries of Austria are very extensive, and are divided into river, lake and sea fisheries. The numerous rivers of Austria swarm with a great variety of fishes. The lake fisheries are mostly pursued in Bohemia, where pisciculture is an art of old standing, and largely developed. The sea fisheries on the coast of Dalmatia and of the Küstenland constitute an important source of wealth to the inhabitants of these provinces. About 4000 vessels, with a number of over 16,000 fishermen are employed, and the average annual catch realizes £240,000.
In the mountainous regions of Austria game is plentiful, and constitutes a large source of income.
Minerals.—In the extent and variety of its mineral resources Austria ranks among the first countries of Europe. With the exception of platinum, it possesses every useful metal; thus, besides the noble metals, gold and silver, it abounds in ores of more or less richness in iron, copper, lead and tin. Rich deposits of coal, both pit coal and brown coal are to be found, as well as extensive basins of petroleum, and large deposits of salt. In smaller quantities are found zinc, antimony, arsenic, cobalt, nickel, manganese, bismuth, chromium, uranium, tellurium, sulphur, graphite and asphalt. There are also marble, roofing-slate, gypsum, porcelain-earth, potter’s clay, and precious stones. It is therefore natural that mining operations should have been carried out in Austria from the earliest times, as, for instance, the salt mines of Hallstatt in Upper Austria, which had already been worked during the Celtic and Romanic period. Famous through the middle ages were also the works, especially for the extraction of gold and silver, carried out in Bohemia and Moravia, whose early mining regulations, for instance those of Iglau, were adopted in other countries. But the great industrial development of the 19th century, with its growing necessity for fuel, has brought about the exploitation of the rich coal-fields of the country, and to-day the coal mines yield the heaviest output of any mineral products. To instance the rapid growth in the extraction of coal, it is worth mentioning that in 1825 its output was about 150,000 tons; in 1875, or only after half a century, the output has become 100 times greater, namely, over 15,000,000 tons; while in 1900 it was 32,500,000 tons. Coal is found in nearly every province of Austria, with the exception of Salzburg and Bukovina, but the richest coal-fields are in Bohemia, Silesia, Styria, Moravia and Carniola in the order named. Iron ores are found more or less in all the crown-lands except Upper Austria, the Küstenland and Dalmatia, but it is most plentiful in Styria, Carinthia, Bohemia and Moravia. Gold and silver ores are found in Bohemia, Salzburg and Tirol. Quicksilver is found at Idria in Carniola, which after Almaden in Spain is the richest mine in Europe. Lead is extracted in Carinthia and Bohemia, while the only mines for tin in the whole of Austria are in Bohemia. Zinc is mostly found in Galicia, Tirol and Bohemia, and copper is extracted in Tirol, Moravia and Salzburg. Petroleum is found in Galicia, where ozocerite is also raised. Rock-salt is extracted in Galicia, while brine-salt is produced in Salzburg, Salzkammergut and Tirol. Graphite is extracted in Bohemia, Moravia, Styria and Lower Austria. Uranium, bismuth and antimony are dug out in Bohemia, while procelain earth is found in Bohemia and Moravia. White, red, black and variously-coloured marbles exist in the Alps, particularly in Tirol and Salzburg; quartz, felspar, heavy spar, rock-crystal, and asbestos are found in various parts; and among precious stones may be specially mentioned the Bohemian garnets. The total value of the mines and foundry products throughout Austria in 1875 was £5,000,000. The number of persons employed in the mines and in the smelting and casting works in the same year was 94,019. The total value of the mining products throughout Austria in 1902 was £10,500,000, and the value of the product of the foundries was £3,795,000. Of this amount £3,150,000 represents the value of the iron: raw steel and pig iron. The increase in the value of the mining products during the period 1892–1902 was 40%; and the increase in the product of the furnaces in the same period was 35%. The number of persons employed in 1902 in mining was 140,890; in smelting works 7148; and in the extraction of salt, 7963. The value of the chief mining products of Austria in 1903 was: Brown coal (21,808,583 tons), £4,182,516; coal (12,145,000 tons), £4,059,807; iron ores (1,688,960 tons), £615,273; lead ores, £135,965; silver ores, £119,637; quicksilver ores, £92,049; graphite, £78,437; tin ores, £78,275; copper ores, £22,119; manganese ores, £5368; gold ores, £4407; asphalt, £2250; alum and vitriol slate, £992. The production of petroleum was 660,000 tons, and of salt 340,000 tons. The value of the principal products of the smelting furnaces in 1903 was: Iron (955,543 tons), £2,970,866; coke, £862,137; zinc (metallic), £174,344; silver, £141,594; copper, £57,542; sulphuric acid, £8488; copper vitriol, £5710; mineral colours, £5565; lead, £5067; tin, £4566; gold, £878; iron vitriol, £603; litharge, £384; quicksilver, £218; coal briquettes, £92,000.
Industry.—The manufactures of Austria were much developed during the last quarter of the 19th century, although Austria as a whole cannot be said to be an industrial country. Austria possesses many favourable conditions for a great industrial activity. It possesses an abundance of raw materials, of fuel—both mineral and wood,—of metals and minerals, in fact all the necessaries for a great and flourishing industry; and the rivers can easily be utilized as producers of motive power. It is besides densely populated, and has an adequate supply of cheap labour, while the undeveloped industries of the Balkan states also offer a ready market for its products. The glass manufacture in Bohemia is very old, and has kept up its leading position in the markets of the world up to the present day. Industrial activity is greatly developed in Bohemia, Lower Austria, Silesia, Moravia and Vorarlberg, while in Dalmatia and Bukovina it is almost non-existent. The principal branches of manufactures are, the textile industry, the metallurgic industries; brewing and distilling; leather, paper and sugar; glass, porcelain and earthenware; chemicals; and scientific and musical instruments.
The textile industry in all its branches—cotton, woollen, linen, silk, flax and hemp—is mostly concentrated in Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Lower Austria. It is an old industry, and one which has made great progress since 1875. Thus the number of mechanical looms increased more than threefold during this period, and numbered in 1902 about 120,000. In the same year the number of spindles at work was about 3,100,000. Austria had in 1902, 21,837 textile factories with 337,514 workmen. The principal seat of the manufacture of cotton goods is in northern Bohemia, from the Eger to Reichenberg, which can be considered as the Lancashire of Austria, Lower Austria between the Wiener Wald and the Leitha, and in Vorarlberg. Woollen goods are manufactured in the above places, and besides in Moravia, at Brünn and at Iglau; in Silesia; and at Biala in Galicia. Vienna is also distinguished for its manufacture of shawls. The coarser kind of woollen goods are manufactured all over the country, principally in the people’s houses as a home industry. The most important places for the linen industry are in Bohemia at Trautenau; in Moravia and Silesia, while the commoner kinds of linen are mostly produced as a home industry by the peasants in the above-mentioned crown-lands. The manufacture of ribbons, embroidery and lace, the two latter being carried on principally as a house industry in Vorarlberg and in the Bohemian Erzgebirge, also thrives. The industry in stitched stuffs is especially developed in northern Bohemia. Ready-made men’s clothes and oriental caps (fezes) are produced on a large scale in Bohemia and Moravia. The manufacture of silk goods is mainly carried on in Vienna, while the spinning of silk has its principal seat in southern Tirol, and to a smaller extent in the Küstenland.
The metallurgic industry forms one of the most important branches of industry, because iron ore of excellent quality is extracted annually in great quantities. The principal seats of the iron and steel manufactures are in Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Upper and Lower Austria, Styria and Carinthia, which contain extensive iron-works. The most important manufactured products are cutlery, firearms, files, wire, nails, tin-plates, scythes, sickles, steel pens, needles, rails, iron furniture, drains, and kitchen utensils. A famous place for its iron manufacture is Steyr in Upper Austria. The manufacture of machinery, for industrial and agricultural purposes, and of railway engines is mainly concentrated in Vienna, Wiener-Neustadt, Prague, Brünn and Trieste; while the production of rolling stock for railways is carried on in Vienna, Prague and Graz. Ship-building yards for sea-vessels are at Trieste and Pola; while for river-vessels the largest yards are at Linz. Among other metal manufactures, the principal are copper works at Brixlegg and other places in Tirol, and in Galicia, tin and lead in Bohemia, and metallic alloys, especially Packfong or German silver, an alloy of nickel and copper, at Berndorf in Lower Austria. The precious metals, gold and silver, are principally worked in the larger towns, particularly at Vienna and Prague. Vienna is also the principal seat for scientific and surgical instruments. In the manufacture of musical instruments Austria takes a leading part amongst European states, the principal places of production being Vienna, Prague, Königgrätz, Graslitz and Schönbach.
The glass manufacture is one of the oldest industries in Austria, and is mainly concentrated in Bohemia. Its products are of the best quality, and rule the markets of the world. In the manufacture of earthenwares Austria plays also a leading part, and the porcelain industry round Carlsbad and in the Eger district in Bohemia has a world-wide reputation. The leather industry is widely extended, and is principally carried on in Lower Austria, Bohemia and Moravia. Vienna and Prague are great centres for the boot and shoe trade, and the gloves manufactured in these towns enjoy a great reputation. The manufacture of wooden articles is widespread over the country, and is very varied. In Vienna and other large towns the production of ornamental furniture has attained a great development. The industry in paper has also assumed great proportions, its principal seats being in Bohemia, Moravia, Upper and Lower Austria. Of food-stuffs, besides milling, and other flour products, the principal industry is the manufacture of sugar from beet-root. The sugar industry is almost exclusively carried on in Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Galicia. It has attained such large proportions that large districts in those provinces have been converted from wheat-growing districts into fields for the cultivation of beet-root. Brewing is extensively carried on, and the beer produced is of a good quality. The largest brewing establishment is at Schwechat near Vienna, and large breweries are also found at Pilsen and Budweiss in Bohemia, whose products enjoy a great reputation abroad. There were in Austria 1341 breweries, which produced 422,993,120 gallons of beer,