WITE'TEMBERG, Tim lirsonom oF, lies in 15' to 10° 30' e.• long., and 47° 35' to 49° 35'n. lat., is bounded on the w., s.w., and n.w. by the Grand Duchy of Baden; e., s.e., and n.e. by Bavaria; and s., for a few leagues, by the lake of Constance and Vorarlberg. Hohenzollern makes a deep indehtation into the land from the s., and the entire bound ' ary is very irregular. Detached pieces of territory belonging to Wiirtemberg also lie in the adjacent countries. Its greatest length, from the village of Simmringer in the n., to the lake of Constance in the s., is 139 m. ; and greatest breadth, from the Katzenkopf, in the Black forest, eastward to the castle of Duttenstein in Nerestein, 105 miles. The following table gives the area and the population according to the census iu 1875: At the census of 1871 the population was 1,818,539. Wtirtemberg is fourth in popula tion of the states of the empire, after Saxony and before Baden; but is third in point of size, having a greater area than Saxony.
The capital of WUrtemberg is Stuttgart (q.v.). Ulm has above 30,000 inhabitalts; and Esslingen and Heilbronn have each about 20,000; but Stuttgart has no rival as to population or importance.
Physical Aspeet.—The surface of Wtirtemberg is composed of terraces of hill and dale, the lowest point being 420 ft. above the sea. In the Black forest circle the moun tains attain the highest elevation, the Hornisgrinde rising above 3,700 feet. One point of the Swabian Alps is nearly 3,000 ft. high. The valleys plains average 500 ft. above the sea. Rich pastures, cultivated fields, orchards, gardens, hills covered with vines, and mountains with forests, give the most diversified scenery. In the s.e. are ex tensive peat-lands.
Rivers, Lakes, ete.—The most important rivers are: the Neckar (q.v.), with its afflu ents; the Danube, which receives the Hier; and the Tauber, a tributary of the Maine. The Neckar and its streams drain 4,2,00 sq.m.; the Danube, 2,037; the rivers which fall into the lake of Constance, 714; the Tauber, 315; and other water-courses, 168 sq. miles. The only lake in the interior is the Federsee, near Buchan, in the Danube circle. There is much traffic both by steam and sailing ships on the Neckar, and from Friedriehshaven, on the lake of Constance.
Railways have been Constructed to the extent of 780 English m., from Bruchsal to Ulm, Ulm to Friedrichshaven, Beitigheim to Hall, Cannstatt to the Bavarian lines, and from Plochingen by Tubingen and Rottweil into Baden and on to Schaffhausen. There
were in 1871, 445 which forwarded 14,800,000 private letters, about 4,000, 000 official letters, and near 21,000,000 newspapers. The postal income in 1875 was 4,919,400 marks, the expenditure about 200,000 marks less. Of telegraphs, there were 1500 m. in operation.
Geology, Mineralogy, prevailing rocks are granite, gneiss, limestone, and various sandstones. Tourmaline, cobalt, bismuth, silver, malachite, chalcedony, gyp sum, copper, rock-crystal, and iron occur. A great variety of fossils have been found. The peat-lands are extensive, and yield annually 450,000 florins. Fire-clay of excellent quality, earths for dyeing, and native sulphate of lime, are worked. Building materials, from the granite of the Black forest to the tufa of the Alb valley, abound. Clay-band ironstone, yielding from 30 to 36 per cent of iron, is worked in eleven different districts, and salt in five. The annual value of mineral products is about £200,000. In 1874, 10,816 tons of iron were produced, valued at £86,113. There are many springs of min eral water, those of Cannstatt and Stuttgart being much frequented.
The climate is mild and healthy, but in the highlands the winters are long and cold, When w. winds prevail, the cold of winter and summer heat are less than in some countries in the same latitude. The greatest quantity of rain falls in summer. Of the total area about 25 per cent is occupied by plains or level ground, 46 per cent is hilly, and 29 per cent mountain land. The soil is for the most part very fertile and well tilled. The vineyards are chiefly in the Neckar circle and that of the Jagst. The forests, grain, and pasturdlands are nearly equally distributed throughout all the circles. Wheat, oats, barley, rye, potatoes, beans, maize, turnips, mangold-wurzel, lucerne, etc., are the prin cipal agricultural products. There are extensive orchards in all parts of the land. Cherries, damsons, walnuts, peaches, apricots, and the more common fruits, are largely grown. Timber is largely grown and exported, especially from the Black forest regions. Large and small cattle are plentifully reared. Large cattle, which in Wurtemberg are generally fed in the stall, constitute the principal export of Wurtemberg to Switzerland and neighboring lauds. Forestry and the various branches of agricultural science are diligently promoted by numerous technical institutes.