Hesse Darmstadt is divided into three provinces, viz.
The principal cities and their population is as follow : Mentz, 25,251 ; Darmstadt, 15,450. Offenbach, 0584; Worms, 6236 ; Geissen, 5500 ; Bi'gen, 3293 ; Alsfeld, 3019 ; Lauterbach, '2836 ; Bieden kopf, '2566 ; and Frietlburg, 2548.
Mecklenburg Schwerin, a grand duchy in the north, is bounded on that side by the Baltic, on the east by Prussia, on the south by Prussia and Hano ver, and on the west by the Danish dominions. The sovereign has his power divided by an assembly of the states, who meet to adjust the finances, and to sanction, but not to originate laws. The revenues amount to about L.210,000 annually, and nearly equals the expenditure ; the debts of the duchy are not more than L. 300,000, and are diminishing, and the taxes are light. In 1817, the army was reduc ed to 3600 men, which is the contingent to the army of the confederation. The whole of the country is a part of that vast plain which extends along the shores of the Baltic Sea. The agricultural produc tions are wheat, rye, barley, oats, pease, and beans. Wheat is about equal in quantity to rye. Barley is much more than oats. The corn exported in some years has amounted to L.260,000 Sterling. The scarcity of wheat in England, during some years of the late war, gave a great stimulus to the cultivation of that grain, and has tended to improve its agricul tore. When the ports of England are closed against foreign grain, a certain, though a lower, market is found he Sweden, where there is always a deficiency. The duchy is rather celebrated for its breed of horses ; the cows produce butter beyond the con: surnption ; and the sheep, whose race is becoming mixed by Merinos, is improving in the fineness of the wool. The trade of Mecklenburg is benefited by the river Elbe, which runs on its southern border, and by the ports of Rostock and Wismar, on the shores of the Baltic ; the principal part of its corn is, however, sent through the free cities of Hamburg and Lubeck. Nearly the whole of the inhabitants are of the Lutheran confession ; the other sects are, Catholics, 800 ; Reformed, 200 ; and the Jews, 2650. In Rostock is a university, and there are many public institutions adapted for all classes of the inhabitants in the duchy.
The divisions are as follow : The cities and their population are, Rostock, 14.334;
Schwerin, 10,103; Gustruw, 7074 ; Wismar, 6692; Parchem, 3993 ; Ludwigslust (the residence of the Grand Duke), 3160; Biitzow, 2659 ; and Botzen burg, 2317.
Nassau, a duchy which is surrounded by the Prus sian dominions, except on the east, where it is bound ed by Hesse Cassel, and a part'of the south, where it joins the territory of Frankfort. The duke was an absolute sovereign till 1817, when a constitution was promulgated, by which his authority is divided with the states, but the operation of this new consti tution is yet very doubtful. The revenue is about L. 180,000; the expenditure not quite equal to it ; and the surplus is carried to a sinking fund to extin guish a debt amounting to L. 500,000. The military establishment is now reduced to 1688 regulars, and the remainder for the contingent must be drawn from the militia, which comprehends all between nineteen and twenty-five, with some few excep tions.
The country is generally hilly, in some places mountainous, and abounds with mineral springs, which, at Wiesbaden, Longenschwalbach, and espe cially Seltzer, have obtained great celebrity.. From the last, 3,000,000 stone bottles are annually filled for distant consumption. The land is thus appro priated; under the plough 491,718 morgens ; in mea dows 139,350; vineyards 11,587 ; woods 525,305 ; the barren and waste land 108,930 Nassau morgens, which are to English acres as 27 is to 28. The best wines of Germany, the Juhanisberg, with some other exquisite kinds, are produced in the duchy. It seldom raises sufficient corn for the consumption, but pays for what it requires in its, wines. Its wheat is of excellent quality. The three course rotation is ge nerally practised, and the land is usually ploughed with oxen. In the year 1818, the number of horses was 9735; asses and mules, 606 ; cows, 175,680 ; sheep, 172,737 ; swine, 64,103; and goats, 10,979. The manufactures are very inconsiderable; and though there are mines of silver, lead, and iron worked, their produce is but trifling. The two de nominations of Protestants, now united in what is called the Evangelical Church, are 161,165; the Catholics are 135,041 ; the Jews, 5529 ; and a few scattered Mennonite families amount to about 850. There is no university, but the youths of good fami lies generally study at Gottinger.