THE RHINE MASSIF.—The economic activity of this region varies greatly from place to place. The Taunus and the Hunsriick are well wooded, and on their southern slopes vines and fruit are grown. Along the foot of the Taunus, also, are mineral springs, which have brought prosperity to Wiesbaden and Homburg. The Eifel and the more elevated parts of the Westerwald and the Sauerland are, in the main, covered with dreary moors, while lower down, in the two latter regions, woods and meadows are common. The valleys are often fertile, and on the slopes of some of them, more especially on those of the Rhine, the Moselle, and the Aar, the vine is extensively cultivated. Mineral wealth is widely distributed. Lignite, which is of special value for the manufacture of briquettes, occurs under the Tertiary layers which occupy part of the Westerwald, and in greater quantity in the hills around Cologne. Manganese ore is obtained in the Sieger land, on the north-west slope of the Westerwald, and red in the districts drained by the Lahn and the Dill. Smelting is carried on in both places, some of the raw iron being sent to the basin of the Ruhr. But it is upon the coalfields on the margin of the massif that economic progress has been most marked. The Saarbriicken field, which lies to the south of the Hunsriick, has at present an annual production of over 10,000,000 tons, or nearly 7 per cent. of the total German output, while its available content, to a depth of 1,000 metres, has been estimated at 12,000,000,000 tons. The coal, though not so useful for heating purposes as that from the Ruhr field, makes good coke. Much of it is exported to the south-west of Germany, Switzerland, and the north east of France, partly by the river Saar and the Main-Rhine and Rhine-Rhone canals, but mainly by rail. A considerable amount is also used by the blast furnaces, machine shops, and glass and porcelain works, which have grown up on the coal field. Saarbriicken-St. Johann is the centre of a group of towns engaged in these pursuits.
The Ruhr coalfield, which lies to the north of the Sauerland, and extends from the Rhine at its confluence with the Ruhr along the valley of the latter river for a distance of forty-six miles, is at present the most important in Germany ; it has an area of over 1,000 square miles, and an estimated available content of 45,000,000,000 tons. The coals from it are the best in Germany for heating purposes, and they are also very suitable for the manu facture of gas and coke. The annual output now averages over 83,000,000 tons, or about 55 per cent. of the entire German pro duction. The greater part of the coal mined on the Ruhr field is consumed in the neighbourhood, but large quantities go up the Rhine to Mannheim, down it to the Netherlands, by the Dortmund canal to the coast, and by rail to Belgium. For the production of coke, Gelsenkirchen on this coalfield is the chief town in Germany.
The iron ore which is obtained along with the coal is limited in amount, but was in earlier times of some importance in helping to build up the great iron smelting industry of the Ruhr district, which now produces over 40 per cent. of the total German output of pig-iron. The chief sources from which the raw material is at present obtained are Lorraine, Luxemburg, and Sweden ; while the greater number of the blast furnaces and iron and steel works are situated in the vicinity of the Ruhr and its tributary the Ennepe at Essen, Miilheim, Hagen, and elsewhere ; in the valley of the Rhine at Dusseldorf and Duisburg-Ruhrort ; and in the basin of the Emscher at Dortmund, Bochum, and Gelsenkirchen. Industries connected with the manufacture of iron and steel goods are also carried on at these and other towns. Solingen is noted for cutlery, Essen and Diisseldorf for armour plate and cannon, Duisburg-Ruhrort for shipbuilding and machinery, and Remscheid for tools.
Upon, and in the vicinity of, the Ruhr coalfield there has also grown up an important textile industry. For cotton-spinning this region occupies the first place in Germany, and has nearly 30 per cent. of all the spindles in the Empire. The adjoining towns of Elberfeld and Barmen in the Wupperthal, and Miinchen-Gladbach and Rheydt to the west of the Rhine, are chiefly engaged in the manufacture of cotton and woollen goods. Crefeld is the principal place in Germany for the production of silks and velvets, and occupies, in this respect, a position in Europe second only to that of Lyons. Linen and plush goods are also made there. Cologne has spinning and weaving establishments. Round Solingen there are many handloom weavers of woollen goods. Elberfeld and Barmen are both noted for their ribbons, laces, braids, and cord.
Among the other and varied industries of this region, the manu facture of chemicals is carried on, especially at Elberfeld, brewing at Dortmund, glassmaking at Dusseldorf, the preparation of cocoa and chocolate at Cologne, and fine metal work at Iserlohn and Altena.
To the north of the Eifel lies the coalfield of Aachen, the eastern extension of that which runs through France and Belgium. Upon it have grown up iron and textile industries.
The Rhine massif, with the coalfields upon its borders, has now become the most important industrial region in Germany. The abundance of coal, the facilities for obtaining iron ore from Lorraine, Luxemburg, and Sweden, the progress of science which has rendered these ores of value in the manufacture of steel, the great waterway of the Rhine, which permits the import of raw material and the export of manufactured goods, and the develop ment of the canal system, which has brought the industrial districts into communication with the German seaboard, have all con tributed to the economic progress of this region, which now contains about one-fifth of the total population of the Empire.