THE CARPATHIAN LANDS OF AUSTRIA.—Galicia and Bukovina lie on the outer slope of the Carpathian curve, and consist in part of the sandstone ridges of the Carpathian mountains, and in part of the lowlands which lie beyond and belong physically to the plains of Russia. The climate is accordingly more continental in character than in other parts of Austria ; and the summers are hot and the winters long and severe.
In the uplands large tracts are still covered by forests, but in the lowlands the soil is generally fertile, and agriculture is exten sively carried on, though by somewhat primitive methods. Cereals, leguminous plants, potatoes, and beet are all grown. There is considerable mineral wealth. Petroleum occurs in the sedimentary rocks of the Carpathian range, and is bored for at Boryslaw and elsewhere. Some of the richest petroleum fields in Europe are in this region, but they are as yet only partially known, and during the last five years have yielded on an average less than 3 per cent. of
the world's total output. Salt is found along the whole length of the Carpathian curve, but the principal mines are at Wieliczka. In the west, a small part of the Silesian coalfield lies in Galicia, and coal is mined in the Cracow district.
Notwithstanding the fact that Galicia and Bukovina cover three-tenths of the land occupied by the Austrian Crown (which, of course, does not include Hungary), and that the density of their population is a little above the average for the same area, manu factures are but slightly developed. The bulk of the people are devoted to agricultural pursuits, and such industries as there are consist mainly in the preparation for export of the raw materials produced within the country. There are distilleries (brandy being made from potatoes), sugar refineries, saw mills, flour mills, and a few other industries of a similar nature.