The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-02-07
Letter from Germany.
EItor. Intelligencer:

74|s
LEIPZIG. GERMANY, Jan. 2, 1884.
Leipzig has one hundred and sixty
thousand inhabitants. tits situated in a
flat and somewhat sandy but fertile coun-
try, and is surrounded by prosperous
manufacturing towns of twelve to twenty
thousand inhabitants. In Lindenau, a
town of about twelve thousand inhabit-
ants, within less than half mile from
this city, I noticed eight tall furnace
chimneys within circumference OF q
few hundred yards. and in PlagWitz, a
city adjacent to Lindenau, are large wa
gon, iron and other manufactures.
Like Goettingen, Leipzig has an old
and a new part, though there is no line
hsre which substantially makes tho d.
vision between the old and the ner, as
the wall around the older part of Goet.
tingen does. However, the observer
needs no such determining feature. The
difference in the style, cost and appear
ance Of the buildings, together with the
broader and more regular streets of the
newer portion, are apparent to every
one. Some Of the streets of the older
portion Of the city: are broader and long
er than the others, and are, accordingly,
denominated 'strasse' tstreet);; others,
neither so broad nor so long, are denom-
mated .gassen lane), and others. still
narrower, BY. the diminutive of "gasse," !"
which is ''gaesschen" little lane or
alley).
Ir some of the older cities of Germa-
ny, it is quite possible for people living
on opposite sides Of these narrowest
..alleysn to shake hands with each other
from their respective houses. But SO
great a proximity Of the houses is found
in but.few of the cities of Germany and
in the oldest alleys only. / believe none
off the alleys of Leipzig arc so narrow,
though some are hardly broad enough to
allow wagons to pass persons on foot.
Atpreaent, in some of the cities of Ger
4many, there are Laws regulating the lerec.
ton Of houses and the width of the
streets, which have in view, not only the
prevention of such narrow streets in the
future, but the widening SO far as posi-.
BILE of the old, narrow passages. In
Leipzig it is the rule that house shall
not be built higher than the street is
broad, provided it is erected Immediately
upon the street It is further the law
that the owners Of houses, upon some Of
these narrow ways, which the city seeks
to convert into streets of good width,
may not increase the height ofthe build
ings, and that every new building must
be.placedi far enough back of the old line
to afford the required width of street
when all the old buildings on both sides
shall have been removed aad new ones
built. It is also required, under certain
regulations, that if a house situated on
the old line becomes 30 old that it must
be taken down, the owner may not build
NEW house upon the ground occupied
by the old one, but must erect it upon
the new line. This lsst requisition has
the tendency of keeping many old houses
upon the streets 80 sought to be widened,
but as the house, in most instances, may
be built taller by being moved back,
there Is also q; counter inducement to
build anew house. But there is a por-
tion Of the city where little change is to
be expected, and where some of the
houses are several times higher than the
streets are broad. This portion is some.
what small, however, and the same fea.
ture is observable in perhaps most of the
old cities.
Much more regard is had at present to
& the healthfnl as we'll as asthetical coudi-
tion Of the cities than formerly. In fact,
some of the German physicians have
given estimates as to the direction in
which the streets should run in order to
have the greatest amount of sunshine
and to be penetrated most thoroughly by
the most usually prevalent winds.
The manufacturing and educational
claims of the city are great.
Situated upon two small rivers, the
Pleisse and the Elster, from which two
canals are conducted through the city, it
has considerable amount of water pow
or, which is well utilized. The principal
motor, however, is steam, and the manu-
factories using steam are always able to
compete with those using water as mo-
tive power.
Leipzig claims to have the largest bus
iness in fur goods in the world. Here it
may not be out of place to remark that
soft felt hats rarely, if ever, cost more
than nine "marksi" or about two dollars
and a quarter. The fur from which this
felt is made is that Of the European hare,
an animal which l have never seen in
America. 1t is like our rabbit, but is
three or four times as large, and would,
perhaps, weigh from six to twelve pounds.
Tie hats made from this fur are not as
smooth and flexible as our best quality
of felt hats, but cost only half so much !;
some of the cheapest costing about fifty
cents. The hare is a very common ami
NAL, and is often found in the market for
sale, as an article of food, though not in
such numbers as the rabbits of Bati-
more.
In mentioning this little contributor to