THE SUDETES, which form the north-east flank of the Bohemian massif, consist in the main of ancient rock, although the Coal Measures appear in the Waldenburg Hills of Lower Silesia and extend into Bohemia. The mountain slopes are forested, but a certain amount of farming, mainly pastoral, is carried on. The abundance of timber and water-power favoured the growth of various forms of industry in early times, but, until the development of the Waldenburg coalfield, little was done on an extensive scale. This coalfield extends in a semicircle from Bober and Schatzlar at the foot of the Riesengebirge, by Landeshut and Waldenburg, to Eckersdorf, near the banks of the Neisse. Its average annual output is about 5,000,000 tons.
The use of coal has effectively stimulated all the industries of the region, and, although there are no large towns, modern factories are growing up in many places. The linen industry, which is of considerable importance, formerly depended mainly upon the presence of water-power and the large supplies of flax grown in the mountains as well as on the Silesian plain. Now it receives
at least part of its power from the neighbouring coalfield, while for its raw material it relies upon Russia for the coarser, and upon Holland and Belgium for the finer kinds. Langenbielau, with its weaving factories, is the centre of the industry, which is also carried on round Reichenbach, Landeshut, and Waldenburg, and in many villages along the valleys of the Riesengebirge. Other textile pursuits include the manufacture of cotton at Langenbielau, Peilau, and Peterswaldau, and of wool at Schweidnitz, Reichenbach, and Peterswaldau. The abundance of timber for fuel, and of fine sand, has induced the glass industry to spread from Bohemia, while deposits of kaolin in the granitic areas have led to the manufacture of porcelain.