LESSON LIV.
1. In Central Europe we find the German empire, the Netherlands (also called Holland), Denmark, Belgium, France, Austria, and Switzerland.
A dog team in Brussels.
2. The German Empire contains twenty-six different states, of which Prussia is the most important. They are united under one government, and are often called Germany.
The country is rich in minerals of many kinds. A curious product is amber, which is gathered on the shores of the Baltic sea.
Grain is raised in large quantities, Rye is the grain most grown. Many cattle, sheep, and hogs are raised.
The valleys of the Rhine and other rivers are
Homes in Nuremberg Germany.
famed for their grapes. The slopes of these valleys are covered with vines, each fastened to a stake, to support its clusters of fruit. It is a merry time in the vineyards when the ripe grapes are gathered. The wines are celebrated.
In the summer vast fields are to be seen blue with the flower of the flax, and tier many is one of the great linen-making countries of the world. The sugar-beet is widely grown, and a large quantity of sugar is made. From the sheep of Germany the finest wool is obtained.
Many of the toys that Santa Claus brings at Christmas are made in this country. In some of the cities hundreds of the people are employed in making them.
No people in Europe are better educated than the Germans. They are great lovers of music.
Berlin, the capital, is one of the finest cities on the continent. Hamburg is one of the great commercial cities of the world.
3. The Netherlands.—We come now to one of the strangest of all countries, the Netherlands or Holland.
The name means low countries, and low they are. In some places the land is twenty or thirty feet below the surface of the sea. Great embankments of earth, called dykes, have been built to keep out the water. They are like our Mississippi levees.
We see the great white sails of windmills all over the country. What does it mean? Some of these mills are grinding wheat, but most of them are pumping the Netherlands dry.
In this watery land there are a great many canals. They cross the country in every direction and serve instead of roads.
In winter they are, frozen over, and all the people go about on skates and sleds. The women often skate several miles to market, with baskets of eggs on their heads.
The Dutch (as the people of the Netherlands are called) are great cattle-raisers, sailors, and fishermen. They are a most enterprising people, and have a large foreign commerce.
The Hague is the capital.
View in the city of Rotterdam, showing canal and bridge. Notice the steep roofs and high gables of the houses
