The ordinary cereals are all cultivated with success and there is generally a considerable surplus for export. Rape is grown in the marsh lands and flax on the east coast, while large quantities of apples and other fruit are raised near Altona for the Hamburg and English markets. The marsh lands afford admirable pasture, and great numbers of cattle are reared for export. The Holstein horses are also in request, but sheep-farming is comparatively neg lected. Bee-keeping is a productive industry. The hills skirting the bays of the Baltic coast are generally pleasantly wooded, but the forests are nowhere of great extent except in Lauenburg. The fishing in the Baltic is productive Eckernforde is the chief fishing station in Prussia. The oysters from the beds on the west coast of Schleswig are widely known under the misnomer of "Holstein natives." The mineral resources are almost confined to a few layers of rock-salt near Segeberg. The more important industrial establishments, such as iron foundries, machine works, tobacco and cloth factories, are mainly confined to the large towns, such as Altona, Kiel and Flensburg. The shipbuilding of Kiel and other seaports, however, is important. The commerce and ship ping of Schleswig-Holstein, stimulated by its position between two seas, as well as by its excellent harbours and waterways, are much more prominent than its manufactures. Kiel is one of
the chief seaports of Prussia, while oversea trade is also carried on by Altona and Flensburg. Schleswig is the official capital of the province, but Altona and Kiel are the largest towns. The main exports are grain, cattle, horses, fish and oysters, in return for which come timber, coal, salt, wine and colonial produce.
The population of the province in 1933 was 1,589,824. Among the Germans the prevalent tongue is Low German, but the North Frisians on the west coast of Schleswig and the North Sea islands still speak a Frisian dialect, which, however, is dying out. The peninsula of Angeln, between the Gulf of Flensburg and the Schlei, is supposed to have been the original seat of the English, and observers profess to see a striking resemblance between this district and the counties of Kent and Surrey. The peasants of Dithmarschen in the south-west retain many of their ancient peculiarities. The language boundary between Danish and German now practically coincides with the political boundary. The chief educational institution in Schleswig-Holstein is the university of Kiel.