Notwithstanding the comparative poverty of much of the soil of the North German Lowland, the area from which a return of some kind or other cannot be obtained is relatively small. The total extent of the region is over 100,000 square miles, and of that about 50 per cent. is under crops, 15 per cent. under grass, and over 20 per cent. under woods, while, of the remainder, parts can be used for grazing purposes. Rye is the cereal best adapted to the infertile conditions which exist, and about two-thirds of the German crop is grown in this region, Brandenburg and Posen, in the zone of Great Valleys having the greatest output, although East and West Prussia, Pomerania, and Mecklenburg also produce large quantities on the Baltic ridge and its northern slopes. Oats comes next to rye as the cereal of the North German Lowland, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of the oats grown in the Empire. Wheat occupies some fertile districts in the north of the plain, but it finds its most favourable environment on the loess soils of Saxony and Silesia, which together produce nearly one-fourth of the wheat grown in Germany. About three-fourths of the potato land of the Empire is also found in the Lowland, where the sandy soils of Brandenburg and Posen, and the less fertile districts of Silesia produce a large part of the total crop, which forms the basis of an important alcohol distilling industry. The cultivation of beetroot in the loess districts around Magdeburg and in Central Silesia finds employment for a considerable amount of labour in a region which, on the whole, is far from fertile. It also renders the land more suitable for the growth of cereals, and the pulp which remains after the sugar has been extracted forms a valuable food for cattle. The discovery of the fertilising powers of Stassfurt salts has increased the area under beet, and at the same time improved the yield per acre, while the proximity of coal has facilitated the manufacture of sugar, in which Germany now leads the world. There is no doubt that the development of this industry was greatly aided by the bounties granted by the Government on foreign exports, and for some time after the Brussels Convention there was a decided decrease in the amount of sugar produced in Germany.
The mineral wealth of the region is not of great importance. Bog ores are found at Grabow in the valley of a tributary of the Warthe, and elsewhere, and sent to Silesia. Cement lime is obtained at Buxtehude, near Stettin, and supplies the large cement works of the latter town. Amber, a fossilised resinous product derived from a former coniferous vegetation, occurs mainly along the coast of Samland. At Sperenberg, south of Berlin, there are salt beds of exceptional thickness belonging to the younger Primary rocks. Manufactures are in the main confined to the larger towns and seaports, which in the east are chiefly concerned with the preparation for market of raw materials, and with supplying the more immediate demands of an agricultural population. In Brandenburg, Berlin with its suburbs is of greater importance, and manufactures of chemicals, textiles, electrical apparatus, machinery, and scientific instruments are all extensively carried on, while clothing and furniture are made in large quantities. Leipzig, which owes much of its importance to its situation on a southern inlet of the North German Lowland offering special facilities for trade, is engaged in the manufacture of textiles of all kinds, machinery, musical instruments, and scientific apparatus. Into the Miinster " Bay," also, industries are beginning to press forward, favoured by the proximity of the Ruhr coalfield, and Mun ster itself is becoming a manufacturing town of some importance. Of the seaports on the Baltic, Stettin is engaged in shipbuilding, and launches some of the largest German vessels ; Danzig is an imperial naval station and dockyard ; and Liibeck is engaged in chemical and other manufactures. Of the North Sea ports, Hamburg has shipbuilding yards, jute mills, chemical works, and various factories engaged in working up raw material imported from abroad. Bremen is employed, but to a less extent, in similar occupations.