mountains, with many branches, rich in brown coal and culminating in the
Goeblberg (2950 ft.). Upper Austria belongs to the watershed of the Danube,
which flows through it from west to east, and receives here on the right
the Inn with the Salzach, the Traun, the Enns with the Steyr and on its
left the Great and Little Muehl rivers. The Schwarzenberg canal between the
Great Muehl and the Moldau establishes a direct navigable route between the
Danube and the Elbe. The climate of Upper Austria, which varies according
to the altitude, is on the whole moderate; it is somewhat severe in the
north, but is mild in Salzkammergut. The population of the duchy in 1900
was 809,918, which is equivalent to 174.8 inhabitants per sq. m. It has the
greatest density of population of any of the Alpine provinces. The
inhabitants are almost exclusively of German stock and Roman Catholics. For
administrative purposes, Upper Austria is divided into two autonomous
municipalities, Linz (58,778) the capital, and Steyr (17,592) and 12
districts. Other principal towns are Wels (12,187), Ischl (9646) and
Gmunden (7126). The local diet, of which the bishop of Linz is a member _ex
officio_, is composed of 50 members and the duchy sends 22 members to the
Reichsrat at Vienna. The soil in the valleys and on the lower slopes of the
hills is fertile, indeed 35.08% of the whole area is arable. Agriculture is
well developed and relatively large quantities of the principal cereals are
produced. Upper Austria has the largest proportion of meadows in all
Austria, 18.54%, while 2.49% is lowland and Alpine pasturage. Of the
remainder, woods occupy 34.02%, gardens 1.99% and 4.93% is unproductive.
Cattle-breeding is also in a very advanced stage and together with the
timber-trade forms a considerable resource of the province. The principal
mineral wealth of Upper Austria is salt, of which it extracts nearly 50% of
the total Austrian production. Other important products are lignite, gypsum
and a variety of valuable stones and clays. There are about thirty mineral
springs, the best known being the salt baths of Ischl and the iodine waters
at Hall. The principal industries are the iron and metal manufactures,
chiefly centred at Steyr. Next in importance are the machine, linen, cotton
and paper manufactures, the milling, brewing and distilling industries and
shipbuilding. The principal articles of export are salt, stone, timber,
live-stock, woollen and iron wares and pap