Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/135

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agriculture.]
AUSTRIA
119

character of both. In Austria Proper there were, in 1871, 92 gymnasia, with 1647 teachers (518 being ecclesiastics) and 26,102 scholars; 31 real-gymnasia, with 375 teachers (66 ecclesiastics) and 45,290 scholars; and 33 real-schools, with 777 teachers (91 ecclesiastics) and 15,622 scholars. In Hungary there were 142 gymnasia, 1 real-gymnasium, and 25 real-schools, having in all 33,000 scholars. There are six universities in Austria Proper (Vienna, Grätz, Innsbrück, Prague, Cracow, Lemberg), and one in Hungary (Pesth), with, in all, 707 professors and 10,900 students. Each university (except Lemberg, which has no medical faculty) has faculties for Roman Catholic theology, law and political economy, medicine and surgery, and philosophy. The theological and law courses occupy four years each, the medical five, and the philosophical three. Of the students, 40 per cent, were at the university of Vienna, 18 at Pesth, 16 at Prague, 10 at Lemberg, and 6½ at Grätz. Of the 8532 students attending the six Austrian universities, 1888 were receiving free instruction and 924 were stipendists, and in addition to this, 682 were paying only half fees. The technical high schools or academies have for their object the imparting of a high scientific education. The students generally enter them from the upper real-schools, and the complete technical course extends over live years. There are eight of these institutions in Austria Proper, having in all 284 professors and teachers, and 3179 scholars, of whom 1501 were receiving free instruction, and 231 were stipendists. The principal of these is the Polytechnic institution in Vienna, which has 79 professors and teachers, and 782 scholars. Among the special educational institutions may be mentioned about seventy theological seminaries connected with the Catholic Church, and a number of similar institutions connected with the Eastern Greek and Protestant Churches; a rabbinical school (in Presburg); academies for law, mining, navigation, commerce, agriculture, and the management of forests; normal and military schools; schools for surgery and midwifery; veterinary schools, &c. There are also a number of private schools of various kinds, schools for the deaf and dumb and blind, orphan institutions, &c. In connection with the universities and many of the higher educational institutions are to be found libraries, museums of natural history and antiquities, botanic gardens, observatories, chemical laboratories, &c. There also exist numerous learned and scientific societies. The intellectual progress of Austria is, of late years, particularly manifest in the departments of law, medicine, natural science, history, and Oriental languages.

Industries.

The majority of the people of Austria are engaged in agricultural pursuits or in connection with the forests, the proportion varying in different parts from 50 to 80 per cent, of the entire population. The proportion of those engaged in trade or manufacture varies, amounting to 30 per cent, in Lower Austria, 24 in Bohemia, 22 in Moravia and Silesia, 19 in Upper Austria, 14 in Tyrol, 13 in Salzburg, 11 in Carinthia, 9 in Carniola, 5 in Buckowina, and 4 in Galicia and Dalmatia. In Dalmatia about 8 per cent, of the people are employed in navigation and the fisheries.

Agriculture.

The productive land of Austria Proper is estimated at 89.6 per cent, of its superficial area, and that of Hungary at 84.4—making 86.9 per cent, of the whole country. Farther, the arable land in Austria forms 31.6 per cent., the vineyards 0.7, gardens and meadows 11.7, pasturage 14.7, and forests 30.9. In like manner, in Hungary the arable land forms 30.6 per cent., vineyards 1.2, gardens and meadows 12.8, pasturage 13.2, and forests 26.6. The principal product of the arable land is grain, of which the annual yield is over 400,000,000 bushels. Of this about one-fifth is wheat, one-fourth rye, one-fourth oats, one-seventh maize, one-seventh barley, and the rest buck-wheat and millet. The principal grain-producing districts are Hungary, Bohemia, Galicia, Moravia, and Lower and Upper Austria. In agriculture Austria is still behind many other countries, but great improvements have of late years taken place. Flax, hemp, and beet are chiefly found in Silesia, Moravia, Bohemia, and Hungary; hops in Bohemia, and tobacco (which is a state monopoly) only in Hungary, Galicia, and Tyrol. Among the other products may be mentioned pease, beans, potatoes, turnips, rape seed, cabbages, &c. Though the vineyards are not very extensive, a considerable quantity of wine is produced, and some of the Hungarian wines, as Tokay, are justly celebrated. The annual yield of wine is about 375,000,000 gallons, of which 72 per cent, is from Hungary and the neighbouring districts, 64 from Lower Austria, 5 from Southern Tyrol, 4½ from Styria, 4 from Dalmatia, 3½ from Moravia, and 2 from the Maritime District. The principal garden products are fruit and kitchen vegetables. The best fruit districts are Moravia, Transylvania, Hungary, Bohemia, Upper Austria, and Styria. Certain districts are distinguished for particular kinds of fruit, as Tyrol for apples, Hungary for melons, Dalmatia for figs, pomegranates, olives, &c. In the south of Dalmatia the palm grows in the open air, but bears no fruit. The chestnut, olive, and mulberry trees are common in the south the olive chiefly in Dalmatia, the Maritime District, and Southern Tyrol; the mulberry tree in Southern Tyrol, the south of Hungary, Slavonia, and Styria. The forests occupy nearly one-third of the productive area of the country, and cover 66,600 English square miles.

They are much more extensive in the eastern than in the western half of the country, the relative proportions being 62 per cent, in the former, and 38 in the latter. They are found particularly in the region of the Carpathians, and especially in Galicia and Buckowina. The Alpine regions are generally well wooded, as is also the country of the Sudetes. The forests are chiefly of oak, pine, beech, ash, elm, and the like, and are estimated to yield annually over 27,000,000 cords of building wood and firewood.

Horses.

Austria is distinguished for the number and superiority of its horses, for the improvement of which numerous studs exist over the country. The breeding of horses is more or less extensively carried on in all the crown-lands, but more especially in Hungary, Transylvania, Buckowina, Galicia, Styria, Bohemia, Moravia, and Upper and Lower Austria. The total number of horses in the country in 1870 was 3,525,842, of which 2,158,819 were in Hungary. All kinds of horses are represented, from the heaviest to the lightest, from the largest to the smallest. The most beautiful horses are found in Transylvania and Buckowina, the largest and strongest in Salzburg. The horses of Styria, Carinthia, Northern Tyrol, and Upper Austria are also famous. In Dalmatia, the Maritime District, and Southern Tyrol, horses are less numerous, and mules and asses in a great measure take their place. Of the 13,891 mules in the country, 45 per cent, were in Dalmatia, and 30 per cent, in the Maritime District and Southern Tyrol; and of the 61,831 asses, 28 per cent, were in the former and 21 in the latter. The Hungarian crown-lands contained 2266 mules and 30,482 asses.

Cattle.

Austria cannot be said to be remarkable as a cattle-rearing country. Indeed, except in certain districts, particularly among the Alps, it must be considered to be much behind in this branch of industry. The finest cattle are to be found in the Alpine regions; in other parts the breeds are generally very inferior. The Hungarian crown-lands, however, have of late years been improving in this respect. The country numbered 12,704,405 head of cattle in 1870, of which 5,279,193 were in Hungary, 2,070,572 in Galicia, and 1,602,015 in Bohemia. The cattle of the eastern half of the country considerably outnumbered those of the western; but in quality the latter were far superior to the former. In Hungary and Transylvania there are about 72,000 buffaloes. The rearing of sheep receives a large share of attention, and is carried on to a consider able extent in all the crown-lands, and in some very extensively. Much has been done of late years in the way of improving the breeds, more particularly in Moravia, Silesia, Bohemia, Upper and Lower Austria, and Hungary. The main object has been the improvement of the wool, and with this view the merino and other fine-wooled breeds have been introduced. Some attention, however, is also given to the fattening properties. For mutton, the best sheep are those of Lower Carinthia, the Maritime District, Dalmatia, and the Military Frontier. The sheep are frequently driven from one part of the country to another for the sake of pasture, and even into other countries, as Lombardy, Turkey, and the Danubian Principalities. The number of sheep in the country in 1870 was 20,000,000, of which 15,000,000 were in the kingdom of Hungary. The goat, which has been called the poor man's cow, is also to be found in all parts of the country, but more particularly in the mountainous districts and among the poorer peasantry. The total number in the country in 1870 was 1,552,000, of which 573,000 were in Hungary. Dalmatia, however, is the great country of the goats, where they number 280,656, after which follow Bohemia with 194,273, and Tyrol with 137,698. The number of swine was 6,984,752, of which 4,443,279 were in Hungary. They are naturally most numerous in those crown-lands which contain extensive oak and beech forests, or which have many distilleries. Hence they are mostly found in Hungary, Transylvania, the Military Frontier, Galicia, Styria, and Bohemia. Bees are extensively kept, particularly in the crown-lands of Lower Austria, Hungary, Galicia, and Transvlvania. There, were in 1870 15,300,000 bee-hives in the country, yielding 7,750,000 lb of honey and 340,000 lb of wax. The silk-worm is cultivated in certain parts of the southern districts, particularly in Southern Tyrol, which yields 2,200,000 il of cocoons, being nearly doublo that of all the rest of the country put together. The rivers and lakes in general abound with fish, which are also plentiful along the coast. In Dalmatia, in particular, fishing constitutes an important branch of industry, affording employment to many of the population. Leeches are common in the swamps, and form a considerable article of export. The average annual value of the produce of the land and forests, including the cattle, and hunting and fishing, is estimated at 212,000,000. The value of the real property, including the cattle and agricultural implements, is given at ₤782,000,000.

Minerals.

In the extent and variety of its mineral resources Austria ranks among the first countries of Europe. Besides the noble metals, gold and silver, it abounds in ores of more or less richness of iron, copper, lead, and tin; while in less abundance are found zinc, antimony, arsenic, cobalt, nickel, manganese, bismuth, chromium, uranium, tellurium, sulphur, graphite, asphalt, rock-salt, coal, and petroleum. There are also marble, roofing-slate, gypsum, porcelain