That portion of Rhenish Prussia which lies to the north of the Sauerland, and extends to the northern limits of this part of Prussia, has a soil which varies greatly in fertility. The western portion of it, from the Rhine to the banks of the Ems, is nearly a desert : the cul tivable ground, which only occurs in isolated places, is but a small portion of the whole. On the east of the Ems the soil is much better, especially as we approach the hilly country, which extends along the western side of the river Weser, where wheat is raised ; some good tracts occur also along the northern declivity of the Sauerland, but they are not extensive.
The Eastern and larger portion of Prussia is a part of the great plain of Eastern Europe, which extends from the Strait of Dover to the foot of the Uralian Mountains. Mountains occur only along the southern boundary. On the boundary of Prussia and Bohemia are the Sudetic Mountains, whose northern portion is called Rieseuge birge, or Giant Mountains. There are mountains also on the line which separates Prussia from Saxony. Where the south-western angle of Prussia is intersected by the duchies of Saxe and the territories of the prince of Reuss, and partly also by Hanover, it comprehends parts of the Thilringerwald and of the Harz mountains.
The Sudetic Mountains are not connected with the Carpathian Moun tains. At the north-western extremity of the last-mentioned range there is a nearly level plain, between 45 and 50 miles-wide, on which the Oder rises. This plain is only 600 or 700 feet above the sea-level; and it descends on the north along the course of the river Oder with a gentle slope, but rapidly towards the south. On the north-western edge of this plain the southern extremity of the Sudetic Mountains commences with the mountain plain of Giatz, which is surrounded by elevated ranges. It rises with a steep ascent, and extends in a north-western direction for about 70 miles, when it again descends with a similar slope. Its interior, the mountain plain of Glatz, is between 1200 and 1300 feet above the sea; but the ranges which surround it rise to 3500 and 4300 feet. The highest summit, which lies at the south-eastern corner of the mountain mass, is called the Altvater, and is 4281 feet above the sea. The whole region occupies a width of about 27 miles, and is called the Mountains of Giatz. Between the northern extremity of this range and the Giant Moun tains is a tract, the surface of which is chiefly occupied by high hills ; but its mean level above the sea does not exceed 1500 feet. It is
followed in the same north-western direction by the Giant Mountains. (Bousatial The Thiiringerwald, which is at the south-western extremity of this part of Prussia, is a mountain-range nearly 50 miles long, but only from 8 to 12 miles wide. The mean elevation may be 2000 feet above the sea, and the highest summit, the Great Beerberg, is 3258 feet. A very small part of this range lies within the boundary of Prussia. The HARZ is about 50 miles distant from the Thfiringerwald on the north. The greater part of the country which lies between the Thfiringerwald and the Harz belongs to Prussia ; its general level may be about 900 feet above the sea, but some bills rise several hundred feet higher. The soil of the valleys, most of which are wide, is generally of excellent quality.
The great plain is not a dead level ; the surface is diversified by several moderate elevations. Two of these traverse this portion of Prussia from east to west in its whole extent The northern elevation runs generally parallel to the Baltic, and the southern in its eastern portion parallel to the SudetIc Mountains. The northern elevation is a portion of that high ground which extends eastward from the mouth of the Elbe, at a varying distance from the Baltic, to the sources of the Volga, through a space of more than I000 miles. It is remarkable for the number of lakes dispersed over its broad surface and on the upper part of its slopes, and for the quantity of erratic blocks of granite which are imbedded in it. In the east of Prussia it occurs near 54' N. lat. The mean height of this part of the elevated ground may be about 450 feet above the sea-level ; the lakes are more numerous than In any other part of it, and some are of considerable extent The lake of Spirding occupies an area of more than twenty square miles, and is nearly 400 feet above the sea-level; the lake of Mauer is nearly as large, and about 410 feet above the sea. The larger lakes taken together occupy a surface of 312 square miles, and the smaller lakes are very numerous. The soil is sterile, chiefly consisting of loose sand, covered in many places with heath, and in others with stunted pines. The portion of cultivable land is very small; that which supplies indifferent pasture for cattle and sheep is not much larger.