The German land is well used. Much of the German plain was originally poor, sandy, and often swampy; but by the application of skill, fertilizer, and hard work it has been made to produce large crops of rye, potatoes, barley, and oats. These are the crops that both men and cattle eat, and before the World War there were more cattle and hogs on this plain than in any area of the same size in the United States. (Fig. 361.) Some wheat is also grown. The people eat some wheat bread, but much more rye bread (Figs.
321, 379). The German people eat more potatoes, and therefore less of some other things, than we do. Potatoes are much used to make flour and alcohol, and as food for pigs and cows.
468. German to make Germany a manufacturing nation, the govern ment has done much to help education. Ger man universities were among the first in the world in teaching chemistry and physics, so that there have been many trained chemists, machinists, and engineers to go into fac tories. Thus Germany be came the leading nation of the world for the manufac ture of chemical dyes, and for many other articles requiring knowledge, skill, and patience.
Germans have written many scientific books, and some of the world's most famous music was composed by German musicians.
469. German manufac is found near the southern edge of the German Plain near Leipzig in the state of Saxony, and also farther to the southeast in Silesia, near the Polish boundary. (Fig. 385.) Here at the southern edge of the plain is one of the most densely peopled parts of Europe. Ancient towns such as Muenster, Hanover, Leipzig, Dres den, and Breslau have long been trading centers, because, like Denver, they stood as gateways to the highlands. Now that coal drives the machinery, these ancient towns have grown to be large manufacturing cities. Leipzig is one of the great book manufacturing cities of the world. The beautiful city of Dresden, capital of the Kingdom of Saxony, is famous for its manu facture of chinaware and porcelain. Not far away are Chemnitz, with many textile industries, and Breslau, with iron manu factures.
470. is now a republic, but it was an empire before the World War. Berlin towers over all the cities of Germany, as Paris and London tower over the other cities of their countries.
Berlin is a great center for canals and railroads, and it has many factories. It has a famous university and a famous opera house.
Many foreign singers have gone to Berlin for study. Many of the streets are wide and ornamented with statues. The Zoo is one of the finest in the world. As in all .capitals, many people in Berlin are kept busy in the offices of the government. Between 1880 and 1910 the city grew almost as fast as Chicago. As in New York, most of the people live in apartments, several families sometimes living on one floor. Many families have only one room. There are no yards around the houses, but many public playgrounds are provided for children.
471. German trade.—The Germans have studied the needs of other peoples carefully, and have worked hard to build up a foreign trade by exporting manufactured goods, so that they could pay for food and raw ma terials. Before the World War, lines of steamers went from Hamburg and Bremen to every continent and to most of the coun tries and great ports of the world. Many of these steamers stopped at Rotterdam and Antwerp to gather up Dutch, Belgian, and German goods from the Rhine district. Splendid harbors have been dug in the meadows beside the Elbe at Hamburg, and beside the Oder at Bremen.
The Kiel Canal was cut to make a quicker outlet from the Baltic to the North Sea. The rivers were deepened, so that boats might cross the German plain from the North Sea to the southern highlands. A great east and west canal was dug so that grain might come from the farms of east Germany to Berlin and Hamburg. We have already seen (Sec. 445) how the Germans have improved the River Rhine. Germany is rebuilding her foreign trade.
472. The Poles, Letts, Lithuanians and Esthonians.
—The peoples of these new nations (Fig. 385) are not so well-educated as the Ger mans and the Scandina vians. The Poles once had a kingdom of their own, but about the time of our Revolutionary War it was divided up between the empires of Russia and Austria, and the big German state of Prussia. For more than a hundred years the Poles have been a people without a country, and have been oppressed by their rulers. They have not had many good schools, although many Poles are well-educated, and some of them have become very famous. During all these generations of oppression they have kept alive the Polish spirit and the hope of being independent. Since the World War they have ruled their own country once more.