The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-02-15

The Resources of the German Empire.
There is ground for the common opinion
that Germany Is poor country. AS regards
productive resources. II must apparently
rank below Great Britain. France, and the
United States. But more definite informa-
ton on this head is desirable. and to that
end we would call attention to some strik-
ing data collected by French statisti-
elan.
fact of capital Importance Is the growth
of population in the German empire. 4
gain Of two millions In four years an adj
vance that Is from forty-one millions on
Dec 81, 1871, to nearly forty-three millions
ON Jan. |, ls75-is phenomenon seldom
paralleled In the history Of modern Europe.
Should the present rate Of expansion
be maintained, the German empire will
contain upward Of eighty millions at
the end OF the next half century, whereas
France will scarcely muster forty-iiye.
There is no doubt that this exceptional
progress is partly due to the signal falling
on in emigration from 1869 10 the present
date--a decline caused by the extraordinary
development Of German industry, which
was not entirely arrested by the crisis of
1873, and Of which marked Improvement In
the condition Of the working classes is the
natural consequence A decisive proof of
the relation between the industrial advance
OF Germany and It's gain in population Is
supplied by the fact that the annual in
crease in rural districts was only eight
tcnths OF one per cent. whereas In the cities
and towns IL ranged from ten To seventeen
per cent. As regards the agricultural ca
pacitics OF the empire, 1t is worth noting
that only about eight por cent. Of its area
can be accounted unproductive. Ten
years ago the yield of cereals per acre did
not compare favorably with that Of other
countries in western Europe, but there has
been steady Improvement In this particu-
lar, and large amounts of wheat are now ex-
ported. According to the latest statistics,
the number Of sheep maintained on its pas
lures exceeded twenty-five million head, and
that Of horned cattle was computed ut up
ward Of sixteen millions. The sylviculture
Of Germany appears to be the most extern
sve and fourishing in Europe, having long
been all object OF special care 10 the several
Governments. All branches of agriculture
have derived in recent years much en-
enlargement from number OF banking
establishments founded with the specific Oh
| ject Of lending on real estate Moreover,
agricultural societies for cooperative pro-
duction are numerous. and have deserved
State support by substantial results. We
may add that technical instruction IL offered
to the farming population with liberality
shown by no other country, and that the
agricultural schools of Wurtembcrg and
Prussia enjoy merited notoriety.
1t Is, however, in industrial channels that
the activity Of the new empire Is most con-
spicuous. Take for instance, the produc-
ton OF bituminous coal, which advanced
from some twenty-six million metric tons in
1869 to about forty millions In 1874, while
that OF anthracite mounted from thirty-iive
to hundred millions. Scarcely less nota-
| bic has been the augmented extraction Of
| iron ores, the change being from thirty-six
million tons to fifty millions in the same
period. Passing to the textile industry, we
| find the amount Of cotton employed In Ger
man factories increasing from forty-one
thousand metric tons In 1868 TO one hundred
and eighteen thousand ten years later, and
the progress has since continued, although
at a diminished rate. That manufactures
OF wool, linen, hemp, and iute have likewise
received considerable stimulus Is attcsted
| Wy eho oubihShsNH ihiPoAho VI law Hiab'-
| rial
| But the remarkable gain in almost all de-
partments Of industrial production will be
conclusively shown by some commercial
statistics. In 1872, when, for the first time,
tho value as well as weight Of merchant
| disc was stated in the official reports, the
combined exports and imports Of the Ger
man empire reached the imposing aggrc-
| gate OF one billion four hundred and ninety
million dollars. The next years exhibit
showed gain of two hundred millions, and
Notwithstanding the period Of commercial
| prostration which ensued. the last named
| figure was exceeded IN 1876, when the i'm
| ports alone amounted to nine hundred and
| sixty million dollars. 1t is worth while to
mention that In the same year the COM
bined exports and imports Of the United
States presented a specie value of only one
billion and thirty million dollars. The
truth Is that the foreign commerce Of Ger
many is at present the largest III the world,
after that OF England. This fact Is lit
tie known, and the statistics OF German
navigation will be TO most persons equally
surprising. The aggregate tonnage OF the
empire, including the vessels engaged In the
river and coasting trade. 10 upward of five