E. Colonel Montagu says, 'We were enabled to examine the manners of this bird minutely, by taking a female from her. nest, and confining her in a cage for some days. A quantity of mould with emmets and their eggs was given it; and it was curious to observe the tongue darted forward and retracted with such velocity, and with such unerring aim, that it never returned without an ant or an egg adhering to it, not transfixed by the horny point, as some have imagined, but retained by a peculiar tenacious moisture, by nature provided for that purpose. While it is feeding, the body is motionless, the head only is turned to every side, and the motion of the tongue is so rapid that an ant's egg, which is of a light colour and more conspicuous than the tongue, has somewhat the appearance of moving towards the mouth by attraction, as a needle flies to a magnet. The bill is rarely used except to remove the mould in order to get more readily at these insects; where the earth is hollow, the tongue is thrust into all the cavities to rouse the ants: for this purpose the horny appendage is extremely serviceable as a guide to the tongue. We have seen the Green Woodpecker take its food in a similar manner.' The nest is little or null, the smooth, shining, white eggs-from six to ten in number-being generally deposited in the hole of a tree on the decayed wood. The birds are remarkable for local attachment, as the following anecdote, related by Mr. Salmon, will prove :-I wished,' writes that gentleman, 'last spring to obtain the eggs of a wryneck to place in my cabinet, and accordingly watched very closely a pair that had resorted to a garden for the purpose of incubation; I soon ascertained that they had selected a hole in an old decayed apple-tree for that purpose, the entrance to which was so small as not to admit my hand. The tree being hollow and decayed at the bottom near the ground, I was enabled to reach the nest by putting my arm upwards, and I found, on withdrawing the nest, that the underneath part of it was composed of moss, hair, &c., having every appearance of an old nest of the redstart's of the preceding summer, which I suspect was the case: the upper part was made of dried roots. The nest did not contain any eggs, and I returned it by thrusting it up in the inside of the tree. On passing by the same tree about a week afterwards, my attention was arrested by observing one of the birds leaving the hole, upon which I gently withdrew the nest, and was much gratified at finding it contained five most beautiful glossy eggs, the shells of which were perfectly white, and so transparent that the yolks shone through, giving them a delicate pink colour, but which is lost in the blowing. I replaced the nest and visited it during the ensuing week, and was induced, out of curiosity, to examine it again, when, to my astonishment, I found the birds had not deserted the hole, she having laid six more eggs since. I took these away, and was obliged to keep them, as I was only able to replace the nest by again trusting it up in the inside of the tree as before, which I id. I again visited the spot in the following week, and found that they had still pertinaciously adhered to their domicile, having further laid four more eggs. I repeated the experiment, but not having an opportunity of visiting the tree until ten days afterwards, I thought at the time that the nest was abandoned, and was not undeceived until I had again withdrawn the nest, having taken the precaution of endeavouring to frighten the old bird off should she be on the nest, which I found was the case, she suffering me to pull the nest to the bottom of the tree before she attempted to escape: there were seven eggs, which were slightly sat upon. What appears to me extraordinary is, that the bird should suffer her nest to be disturbed five times, and the eggs (amounting altogether to twenty-two) to be taken away at four different periods within the month, before she finally abandoned the spot she had selected.' Colonel Montagu says that the wryneck makes a noise very like the smaller species of hawks, frequently repeating it in spring: Mr. Yarrell describes the note as a sharp sound, repeated several times, and not unlike the whistle of a kestrel. In captivity the wryneck is a favourite, and the bird soon becomes reconciled to the half-reclaimed state in which English and French boys are fond of keeping it, taking it out to the woods with a long string tied to its leg, and suffering it to ascend trees and forage for food geneP. C., No. 1754. rally, within the length of its tether, and letting it climb at intervals about their dress. In the Portraits d'Oyseaux' the following quatrain is printed under the cut of this species: Le Tercot est au pic verd ressemblant, De naturel et non de corpulence, Sa langue longue hors de trois doigts il lance, The two last lines are very nearly a translation from Aristotle. WULSTAN, otherwise WULFSTAN, or sometimes WOLSTAN. Of these names, which appear to be only variations the one of the other, there are three AngloSaxon ecclesiastics and writers of more or less celebrity. 1. WOLSTAN, a monk of Winchester, of the tenth century, to whom all the three forms of the name are given, is the author of a Latin prose Life of Bishop Ethelwold, whose disciple he had been, and also of a work in Latin hexameter verse (with a prologue in elegiacs) on the miracles of St. Swithin. The former, which is a very poor composition, is printed in the 5th sæculum of Mabillon's Acta Sanctorum Ordinis S. Benedicti,' fol., Paris, 1685, pp. 608-624. Of the latter only the introduction has been printed (in the same volume, pp. 628-635); but the whole is preserved in several manuscript copies. The verse, though not of much merit, has the reputation of being the best Latin poetry known to have been produced in England in that age. William of Malmesbury, who calls Wolstan a cantor of the church of Winchester, says that he also composed an exceedingly useful work on the Harmony of Tones; but that is no longer extant. Bale says he wrote a Life of King Ethelwulf, which is probably a mistake. 2. WULFSTAN, who was not a monk, became archbishop of York in 1003, holding along with that dignity the bishopric of Worcester, as had also been done by his two immediate predecessors, and died in 1023. There is extant in MS. a letter addressed by him in Anglo-Saxon to the people of his province; and he is supposed by Wanley, on probable grounds, to be the Lupus Episcopus to whom are attributed certain sermons or homilies of this age written in the same language. The most remarkable of these is printed, with a Latin translation and notes by William Elstob, in the Dissertatio Epistolaris' contained VOL. XXVII.-4 G in the third volume of Hickes's Thesaurus,' fol., 1705, pp. 99-106; and there is also a separate edition of the same matter, published, in folio, at Oxford, in 1701. There are two pastoral letters in Anglo-Saxon written in the name of Wulfstan, by one (which one is matter of dispute) of the two Alfrics, with both of whom he appears to have been well acquainted: they are stated to have been first composed in Latin, and then, at Wulfstan's desire, to have been translated into Saxon, that they might be more generally useful. 3. WULSTAN, bishop of Worcester, is stated by his biographer, William of Malmesbury, to have been born at Icentun in Warwickshire, to a fair estate; the name of his father was Ethelstan, that of his mother Wulfgiva. From the age he is stated to have attained at his death, his birth must have happened in 1007 or 1008. He began his education in the monastic school of Evesham, but was afterwards removed to the more distinguished seminary of Peterborough. Having at the usual age been ordained a presbyter, he soon after became a monk at Worcester, and gradually rose to be at last prior of the monastery there. In 1062 he became bishop of Worcester on the nomination of Aldred, who, having been two years before removed from that see to the archbishopric of York, had attempted at first, as had for some time been customary, to retain both appointments, but was at last obliged to relinquish Worcester in consideration of only being permitted to name his successor. He chose Wulstan, it is said, conceiving that his mild temper and simple character would prevent him from offering any resistance to his patron's appropriation of the estates and aggressions upon the rights of the see. But this turned out to be a great mistake. Wulstan proved a very dragon of a bishop, and, especially after the coming over of the Norman conqueror, to whom he very politically paid court, and who took a great fancy to him, he not only set Aldred at complete defiance, but even compelled his successor, Archbishop Thomas, to make restitution to the see of Worcester of sundry lands or pecuniary dues of which it had been despoiled by his predecessors the prelates of York. He also successfully resisted the claim of the archbishop of York to a jurisdiction over the diocese of Worcester, and got that bishopric declared by the king to be in the province of Canterbury. Wulstan continued in the same favour with Rufus which he had enjoyed with his father; and in the beginning of the new king's reign, old as he was, he proved very serviceable in putting down an insurrection of the adherents of Duke Robert of Normandy, defending his city of Worcester against an army of the rebels led by Roger de Montgomery. Wulstan almost rebuilt the cathedral of Worcester from the foundation; and he died in that city, at the age of eighty-seven, on the 19th of January, 1095. Wulstan is not known to have written anything either in Saxon or Latin, though William of Malmesbury states that he was a ready and effective speaker in the former language; but in the work entitled Antient History, English and French, exemplified in a regular dissection of the Saxon Chronicle, 12mo., Lon., 1830, an attempt is made to show that he was the author of the portion of that venerable record extending from A.D. 1034 to the end of the reign of William the Conqueror. There are two accounts of Wulstan by William of Malmesbury: one in his work De Gestis Pontificum; the other a separate Life, in three books, which is published in the second volume of Wharton's Anglia Sacra.' (Wright's Biographia Britannica Literaria, vol. i.) WURMSER, DAGOBERT-SIGISMUND, COUNT OF, a distinguished Austrian general, was born on the 22nd of September, 1724, in Alsace-the territory which now constitutes the French departments of the Upper and Lower Rhine. He commenced his military career in the French service, and having distinguished himself by his courage in the campaigns of 1745-6-7, was raised to the rank of captain in the cavalry. His father having resolved to settle in the Austrian states, and become an Austrian subject in 1750, Dagobert resigned his commission and accompanied him. Such emigrations from the French Rhine provinces were at that time far from u common: the Alsatians, though French subjects, were then unmixed Germans; indeed the century which has since almost elapsed has only stripped their character of its German nationality, without giving them a French one. Dagobert-Sigismund Wurmser was well received a Vienna. Maria Theresa conferred upon him the office v gentleman of the bedchamber (Kammer-herr), and, what he valued more, a troop of hussars, which he continued to command throughout the whole of the Thirty Years' War. After the battle of Prague he was made Major; after that of Lissa, Colonel; after that of Hochkirken, Major-general; and after that of Leignitz he obtained the cross of the order of Maria Theresa. His kind disposition and generosity rendered him the idol of both the officers and men under his command. There is a story told of him illis trative of these features of his character. Hearing, after the battle of Gorlitz, that a brave but poor lieutenant of cavalry had lost his horse in the action, Wurmser sent him one of the best in his stables, with a message to the effect that, having sworn this horse should belong to ce of the bravest men in the army, he begged his acceptance of it. In 1773 Wurmser became proprietary colonel of the regiment of hussars which subsequently bore his name: and, when the war broke out again in 1778, he was raised to the rank of Lieutenant-general. At the head of a body of 12,000 men, he broke into the territory of Glatz, and ou the 18th of January, 1779, surprised the Prussians at Kubelschwerd and defeated them, taking 1200 prisones. The peace of Tetschen arrested his victorious career, aLL the collar of commander of the order of Maria Theresa was the reward of his exploits during that short campaign. In 1787 he was appointed general-commandant of the province of Galicia, and although the inhabitants were extremely averse to the Austrian yoke, he contrived to make himself a personal favourite. The emperor Joseph be stowed on him the appointment of feld-zeug-meister ma ter of the ordnance when the army is in the field. Wurmser was not employed in the war against the Turks in 1789. The period of Wurmser's career which obtained for him a European reputation commenced in 1793. In February of that year he was ordered to draw together an army in the Breisgau. By the end of the month he was in a codition to advance. On the 3rd of March he entered Manheim and Spire; and attacked the rear-guard of Custice who retreated to Landau. Wurmser pursued him as far a Landau, which he summoned, but without effect. Falling back upon the Rhine, Wurmser joined the prince of Cond at Spire; and having effected a junction with the Prussian army of observation under the Duke of Brunswick, he took up a position at Germersheim to assist in covering the siege of Mayence. After the capitulation of Mayence. Wurmser again pushed forward his corps to the enviros of Landau; attacked the fort of Jocknum, and advanced to the base of the Vosges. On the 13th of October, is concert with the Duke of Brunswick, he attacked and forced the lines of Weissembourg. Wurmser pursued the French into his native province; occupied Hagenau; bombarded Fort Louis, which capitulated on the 14th of No vember; took up a position on the Sarre; and pushed on his outposts to Wantzenau in the vicinity of Strassburg. The miscarriage of an attack by his right on the bridge hampered him considerably; and the Prussians having failed to take Landau, which they were too long of attacking, he was left entirely to his own resources. Pichegre who had been placed at the head of the army of the Rlune in October, and who had judiciously adopted a war of outposts, sharpshooters, and sudden surprises well adapted to the brave but raw troops under his command, when opposed to steady old disciplined troops, harassed him incessantly. Wurmser was obliged to retire within the lines which he had established on the Motter during his advance. The fort of Frischweiler, defended by the electorpalatine, was forced on the 22nd of December, and nothing prevented the French from overwhelming Wurmser. His men gave way in utter confusion at all points, and he was only able to collect the wreck of his army on the right bank of the Rhine. Having succeeded in the course o January, 1794, in re-establishing something like organization among them, he hastened to Vienna, where the eperor by numerous marks of his esteem sought to express his conviction that Wurmser's reverses were owing solely to the faults of others. Six months later Wurmser was again appointed to com mand the army of the Upper Rhine. An accident revealed to him the secret of the correspondence between the Prince of Condé and Pichegru. That Austria should have made no effort to turn that negotiation to account was not surprising. In the sincerity of the republican general that power could have little confidence, and in the judgment of the Prince of Condé still less. Besides the anxiety of Condé and Pichegru to keep their intercourse a secret from the Austrian government was of itself suspicious. The conspiracy was allowed by Wurmser, the archduke Charles, and the cabinet of Vienna to take its course, and it led to nothing but its very natural termination in the ruin of the general who had intrigued with the enemies of his country to subvert the government from which he held his commission. Wurmser defeated the French on the banks of the Neckar, on the 28th and 29th of October, 1794, and entered Mannheim; the citadel surrendered after a bombardment which lasted a few days. On the 1st of January, 1796, Wurmser received the grand cross of the order of Maria Theresa. Hostilities did not recommence that year till the month of May. On the 15th of June Wurmser gave way before the attack of Moreau and abandoned Frankenthal. The Austrian cabinet, which had relinquished the idea of assuming the offensive in Alsace and on the Rhine, ordered him to move thirty thousand of the best troops in the army under his command without delay upon the north of Italy. An opponent full of the impetuosity of youth and the resources of genius awaited the sexagenarian here. On the 29th of July Wurmser advanced towards Mantua. He drove in the French outposts on the Lago di Garda; but Bonaparte, having abruptly broken up the siege of Mantua to precipitate himself on his adversary, met and beat hirm at Lonato on the 3rd of August, at Castiglione on the 5th, then at Roveredo, and on the 8th at the gorges of the Brenta. The Austrian general, far from despairing, made an attempt upon Verona; but, repulsed by General Kilmaine, he retreated along the Adige with 5000 foot and 15,000 cavalry; and, after evading two French divisions detached to watch his motions, threw himself into Mantua. This place was vigorously and skilfully defended by Wurmser; but the defeat of the troops under Alvinzy, want of provisions, and sickness among the garrison, forced him to surrender on the 2nd of February, 1797. Bonaparte, with that chivalrous spirit which marked his early carcer, left the veteran entire personal liberty, saying that he respected his years, and did not wish to make him the victim of the intriguers who would doubtless avail themselves of his absence to undermine him at Vienna. Wurmser repaid the generosity of the French general in kind: having detected a plot to poison Bonaparte, he put him upon his guard. On Wurmser's return to Vienna, the emperor appointed him governor of Hungary, with a salary of 14,000 florins. He did not however survive to take possession of his government, dying at Vienna in the month of June, 1797. He was never married: his estates and honours were inherited by a nephew. 6 The Mémorial de St.-Hélène' erroneously attributes to Wurmser the rank of field-marshal, which he never attained. His military skill is unquestionable, notwithstanding his career during the revolutionary war was an almost unbroken series of reverses. It was his fate to command at a time when the revolutionary fervour for a time broke through all the calculations of tacticians. Time has shown that this preternatural stimulus must wear itself out, and organ sed discipline re-assert its ascendency. Wurmser was one of the most distinguished scientific soldiers of Europ e during the period of the army's reverses. Even did not for a moment obscure his personal merits; and to the hopeful and persevering turn of mind of Wurmser, the archduke Charles, Blucher, and a few others, it was in great measure owing that discipline and tactical skill survived to assert their due influence when the maniacal revolutionary period had passed over. Personally Wurmser was brave, frank, and benevolent, with a strong devotional turn. To his honour let it be remembered that, although a strenuous Roman Catholic, he unceasingly asserted the right of Protestant soldiers in the Austrian army to perfect religious freedom. defeat (The outline of incidents in this sketch of Wurmser is taken from the lives of Wurmser, Pichegru, Condé, and Bonaparte, in the Biographie Universelle and its supplement, checked by reference to the writings of Napoleon, Jomini, the archduke Charles, &c.) | WÜRTEMBERG. This kingdom is situated in the southwest of Germany, between 47° 35′ and 49° 35′ N. lat. and 8° 15′ and 10° 30′ E. long. It is almost wholly surrounded by the kingdom of Bavaria on the east, and by the grandduchy of Baden on the west, these two states meeting on the northern frontier; on the south it is bounded by Switzerland and the Lake of Constance. Its greatest length from south to north, from the Lake of Constance to Simmeringen, is about 140 miles; and its greatest breadth from east to west, from Neresheim and Bopfingen to Herrenwald, nearly 100 miles. The area is variously stated at 7460 and 7540 square miles. The principalities of Hohenlohe Hechingen and Hohenlohe Sigmaringen are almost wholly surrounded by the kingdom of Würtemberg. Face of the Country; Soil; Climate.-Würtemberg is, for the most part, mountainous; on the east the Swabian Alb or Alp enters the country, and the western border is covered by the Schwarzwald (the Black Forest), both of which send out branches in all directions. The Schwarzwald runs from south to north, parallel to the Rhine, and to the Vosges mountains on the other side of that river. It begins between Eglisau and Basle, and extends to Durlach and Pforzheim; its length is about 83 miles, and its mean breadth 14 miles. On the west side its declivity is steep and precipitous towards the valley of the Rhine; on the east it slopes gradually towards the central part of Würtemberg. It consists chiefly of granite and sandstone, and is intersected by many well-watered valleys. It is divided into the Upper or Southern and the Lower or Northern Schwarzwald. The former, which is the most considerable, with its vast masses of rock, its fearful precipices and abysses, is in the grand-duchy of Baden; the highest points are the Feldberg, 4600 feet, and the Belchen, 4370 feet, above the level of the sea. The summits of these two mountains are hardly three months in the year free from snow. The northern part, belonging to Würtemberg, is not so elevated; the highest points are the Hornisgrinde, 3640 feet high, and the Rossbühl, 2940 feet high. The Dobel is the highest cultivated part of the Schwarzwald. The Alb, or Alp, is entirely in the kingdom of Würtemberg (excepting a small part of it which is in Hohenzollern), and runs from south-west to north-east. Its length is between 80 and 90 miles, and its breadth varies from 9 to 18 miles, between the Neckar and the Danube. On the north-west side it is steep, but on the south-east side gradually declines into undulating hills. Though not so elevated as the Schwarzwald, it is more bleak and inclement. There are several large caverns in the limestone of the Alp. The Nebelhöhle near Pfüllingen is 600 feet long, so far as it has been explored, and divided into several chambers, some of them 50 feet high. Both the roof and the sides are covered with beautiful stalactites, which have a magnificent effect by torch-light. The Carlshöhle near Erpfingen was discovered on the 30th May, 1834. It is 568 feet long, divided into seven chambers, from 3 to 22 feet high, the walls of which are covered with white shining stalactites. A quantity of bones, vessels, and utensils, doubtless of Roman origin, were found in the cavern, whence it seems that it must have been known at a former period, and probably served as a place of refuge. There are wide and fertile valleys, the principal of which are that of the Neckar (the Neckarthal) and that of the Danube (the Donauthal) from Tüttlingen to Ulm. The diversity of mountain and valley, the fertility of the soil, and the luxuriance of the vegetation combine to produce an infinite variety of beautiful scenery, and render Würtemberg one of the finest parts of Central Europe, and worthy to be called the garden of Germany. The chief rivers are the Neckar and the Danube, into which almost all the other rivers discharge themselves. The Neckar rises at the foot of the Alp, in the south-west corner of the country, which it traverses from one end to the other, and enters the grand-duchy of Baden at Gundelsheim, which it crosses till it falls into the Rhine. From its source to its junction with the Rhine the distance in a straight line is 100 miles; but it has so many windings that the length of its course is 250 miles, of which 190 are in Würtemberg. At its sources it is 2150 feet, at Gundelsheim 432 feet, and at its junction with the Rhine 284 feet above the level of the sea. The affluents, both on the right and left banks, are numerous; the principal are: on the right side-the Kocher, a considerable river, which has a course of 160 miles; the Rems; the 4G 2 Eyach; and the Jagst; on the left side the Enz, which | oats and barley, besides rye, and some wheat. There is has a course of 98 miles, and at its junction with the Neckar at Berigheim has a volume of water nearly equal to that river. The Danube, which rises in Baden, enters Würtemberg at Tuttlingen, and crossing the kingdom in a generally north-easterly direction to Ulm, enters Bavaria. The chief affluent is the Iller, which joins it on the right side near Ulm. There are numerous other rivers, some of which are tributaries of the Rhine or the Main, and two small streams flow into the Lake of Constance. This is the only considerable lake in the kingdom, which however only touches a small portion of Würtemberg on the southern frontier. The small lakes are numerous. The Fidersee is about 5 miles long and as many broad. The soil is extremely fertile, except in the higher regions of the Alp and the Schwarzwald, where the substratum is unfavourable to vegetation. The climate is, on the whole, temperate and mild, with great difference however arising from the elevation of some parts above the level of the sea. The north-west parts, especially about the Neckar, have a climate as warm as almost any part of Germany, where the vine flourishes and fine fruit is grown; whereas the summits of the Alp and the Schwarzwald are too cold to produce corn, and are covered with forests and pastures. The climate of the southern parts of the kingdom is mild. usually a surplus of 400,000 bushels for exportation. The other agricultural productions are peas, beans, vetches, potatoes (introduced by the Waldenses in 1710, flat, hemp, rape-seed, poppies, hops, and tobacco. Fodder of many kinds is abundant. Of the vineyards more that three-fifths are in the circle of the Neckar, and formerly all the wines of the kingdom were called Neckar wines; but since the acquisition of new territories there are the Tauber and Lake (i.e. of Constance) wines, which are very different from the Neckar wines, rather resembling Rhenish. Memminger says (1822) that the Neckar wines seemed to have degenerated. He ascribes this to the attempt made by the government, in 1748-1750, to improve the quality by the introduction of foreign vines, which were obtained from France, Spain, Italy, and even from Greece and Persia; but the soil not being suited to them, the experiment has not only failed, but the mixture as even deteriorated the quality of the wine. Since Memminger wrote much has been done to recover the antient reputation of the Neckar wines. Würtemberg having been enlarged by countries that produce little wine, there is not sufficient for the home consumption, and more is now imported than exported. 'Horticulture and agriculture, says Fischer, are so blended, that it is difficult to make a d tinction; horticulture, properly so called, has made great progress within a few years. Though the cultivation of fruit is general in the whole kingdom, even on the Schwarzwald and the Alp, and almost all the high roads are bor dered with fruit-trees, there is much room for improve ment in the quality of the finer sorts, to which the new y instituted Pomological Society is expected materially to 6 Natural Productions. Of domestic animals, according to Fischer's work, Würtemberg and its Inhabitants,' published in 1837, there were oxen 132,988, cows 381,000, young cattle 281,500; sheep 580,000, of which about 100,000 are Spanish Merino, and 140,000 of the improved | breed (the total number is doubtless greater at this time, 1843); swine 170,700, goats 21,440, asses 750, horses | contribute. 93,000. The breed of horses has been greatly improved The metals and minerals are copper, lead, zinc, and by the care of the government since the peace, particularly iron (at least 5000 tons annually), marble, alabasteh, by the encouragement given by the king. The very | millstones, freestone, gypsum, quartz, garnets, tourmalin rigorous laws for the protection of the game had caused amethysts, chrysolites, rock-crystal, agate, chalcedony, the wild-boars, deer, and hares in particular, to multiply | carnelian, opal, jasper, porcelain earth, potters' clay, basait, to such a degree as to be most injurious to the farmers. | fullers-earth, chalk, marl, coals, but not in considerable But the judicious and equitable measures of the reigning quantity, and salt. The salt-works are the property of prince have completely put an end to this nuisance; government, which has the monopoly of the salt-trade an ordinance, issued in 1817, commands the wild boars to the annual produce is 24,000 tons. Most of the Swiss rebe extirpated in the forests, and to be confined to the en-ceive their supply of salt from Würtemberg, according to closed parks; the deer to be diminished so as to be in pro- specific conventions. portion to the extent of the forests; and especially the numbers of hares to be reduced. There are still a few stags and deer in the forests, as well as foxes, badgers, some wild cats, squirrels, martens, and weasels. Poultry of all kinds is abundant, and also game and wild-fowl, as pheasants, partridges, wild geese and ducks, quails, bustards, woodcocks, | snipes, and fieldfares. Birds of prey, such as the eagle, the vulture, and the falcon, are very rare. There are several species of owls, which are very numerous. Singing birds abound in all the forests. The many small lakes or meres, and all the rivers, yield a great variety of fish, which are a source of | considerable profit. In some parts of the kingdom bees are kept; there are in all about 70,000 hives. Within these few years silk-worms have been introduced, with every prospect of success. Leeches are bred in ponds appropriated to that purpose, and edible snails in separate reservoirs. Agriculture. The whole of the public and private property contains Würtemberg Acres. 2,440,000 738,000 148,000 84,777 1,798,314 Würtemberg is one of the most fruitful countries of Germany, and agriculture is on the whole carried on upon a good system; the want of sufficient manure is however a great drawback. Great improvements have been made during the present reign by enclosing commons, and the institution of prizes for inventions or discoveries useful to agriculture. On the 26th of September there is an annual fête at Cannstadt, like our cattle-shows, at which prizes are given. A manifest improvement in the breed of cattle and horses is remarked at every new cattle-show. | Manufactures.-There are manufactures of almost every description, and though not on so extensive a scale as m some other parts of Germany, they are of considerable im portance, and extraordinary progress has been made since the conclusion of the general peace in 1815. The pri cipal are linen, woollen cloths, calicoes, silks, lace, hoster, muslin, carpets, leather, porcelain, earthenware, all kinds of articles of iron and steel, and also of gold and silver, tobacco, tobacco-pipes, and gunpowder; there are like wise numerous distilleries and breweries, and manufactories of chemicals. In works of art, as painting, sculpture, et graving, lithography, Würtemberg ranks among these states which by the judicious encouragement of their governments have made a great advance within a few years. Commerce. Though Würtemberg cannot be properly called a commercial country, it has a very considerable and profitable trade. The exports consist both of the natural productions and manufactures, horned cattle, horses, sheep, salt, corn, timber, raw hides, wool, gardenseeds, millstones, and saltpetre; gold and silver articles, leather, hats, paper, white-lead, Tobacco, oil, chemicals vinegar, and printed books. Since the establishment of a free trade within the states composing the German Customs' Union (Der ZollveremTM, to which Würtemberg belongs, it is impossible to state precisely the total amount of the export trade. It was for merly eighteen millions of florins (nearly two millions sterling). The imports consist of raw materials which the kingdom does not produce in sufficient quantity, cotton and cotton manufactures, silks, glass wares, wine, fruit, cheese, china, earthenware, and all kinds of colonial pro duce. There is likewise a very great transit trade. The inland navigation is important, especially on the Neckar. which becomes navigable at Cannstadt: above 2000 ships are employed in it. Population; Religion. With the exception of about 12,000 Jews and a few families of Waldenses, and some The kinds of grain cultivated are chiefly spelt, maize, partly Suabian, partly Franconian, according as they originally belonged to those two circles, the dialect of which they retain. They are,' says Fischer, a robust good-looking race of men, but of late years the health of the women in the middle and higher classes has been less vigorous than formerly, and especially in the Roththal and Kocherthal, where swollen necks and goîtres are extremely common. The main feature of the character of the people is goodnature, rather phlegmatic than lively; they are honest, faithful, and loyal; but the long wars, the heavy taxes, the injudicious police measures, and the licentious spirit of the times have had a pernicious influence on their character and morals. To these circumstances we may ascribe the very extraordinary number of robberies and other great crimes; and the cause of a dissolute and lawless course of life may be found perhaps in the too great leniency which is shown towards the guilty.' With respect to religion the majority are Protestants: the proportion in 1834 was as follows:Protestants Roman Catholics Jews Not specified 1,124,921 498,290 22,266 177 1,634,654 The annual increase by the excess of births is above 9000; but as the loss by emigration much exceeds what is added by immigration, the annual increase is not above 7500. Education.-Würtemberg has always been one of the most enlightened countries in Germany; it has given birth to the most profound thinkers, to some of the greatest poets, and there are few states in Germany which have furnished so many eminent men to the pulpit and to practical life as Würtemberg. For this it is chiefly indebted to its good institutions for education, of which it probably has more than any other country of equal extent in the world. There is not a parish without its school, and the number a: of children attending the schools is one in six of the entire population, a much larger proportion than in England and France. There is a university at Tübingen, with about 800 students, seven gymnasia, four lyceums, seventy-eight | Latin schools, one superior evangelical seminary at Tübingen, fifty-four inferior evangelical theological seminaries, four seminaries for Roman Catholic priests, one seminary for evangelical and one for Roman Catholic schoolmasters, twenty-four schools of philology and sciences, 1470 evangelical and 787 Roman Catholic parish or district schools, and others for particular objects, e. g. for the deaf and dumb, for the blind, for drawing, &c. According to law, every child is to attend school from the age of six years to that of fourteen, and afterwards to receive instruction in the Sunday-school to the age of eighteen. The private literary societies are numerous. Revenue. The finances are in a prosperous condition; the budget is voted for three years; the estimated annual expenditure is something more than nine millions of florins, and the ways and means were calculated in 1835 to afford a small surplus of only 6000 or 7000 florins; at the end of the three years, in 1838, it was found however that the revenue had exceeded the expenditure by 4,731,000 florins, so that the government was able to take off some taxes and pay off a portion of the public debt. The debt amounted on the 30th of June, 1838, to 24,354,202 florins, almost the whole (23,378,000 florins) at 4 per cent. above two years, was equally unsuccessful, but in 1819 he was so fortunate as to agree with the estates on a consti tution which has given general satisfaction. According to this constitution Würtemberg is a constitutional represen tative kingdom, with a diet or parliament, consisting of two chambers. The chambers have a share in the legislature, have the right of presenting addresses and petitions to the king, and of granting taxes. No law can be altered or abrogated without their consent. The king's person is inviolable, and he is not responsible for the acts of the government; but all his ordinances must be countersigned by the minister to whose department they relate, and who is responsible for them. The crown is hereditary in the direct male line, according to the order of primogeniture; and if the male line becomes extinct, in the female line. The constitution secures to the subject every reasonable degree of civil and religious liberty, Christians of the Lutheran, Calvinistic, and Roman Catholic faith being placed on a footing of perfect equality. The liberty of the press was indeed much restricted, if not abolished, by a decision of the German diet of the 10th of October, 1819, to which Würtemberg, as a member of the German Confederation, was bound to conform. Würtemberg has the sixth place in the German diet, and has four votes in the full council. Its contingent to the army of the Confederation is 13.995 men, viz. infantry, 11,856; cavalry, 1750; artillery, 724; with 24 pieces of cannon and 115 pontoneers. Its annual contribution to the chancery of the Confederation is 2000 florins. History. At the beginning of the fourth century the Alemanni appeared in the country, afterwards called Suabia, as successful and dreaded enemies of the Romans; but in 496 the Alemanni were overcome by the Franks under Clovis. This country, as a part of Austrasia, subsequently belonged to the kingdom of the Franks, under whose kings it was governed by dukes. About this time Christianity was introduced into Germany (Alemannia). When Germany was governed by kings of its own nation, we find Suabia under dukes, who were often changed; and, according to the policy of those times, the emperor's own sons were often put in their place. When the princes of the house of Hohenstaufen, who had become dukes of Suabia, had acquired the Imperial crown, they caused Suabia to be governed by members of their family. Philip laid the foundation for the decline of his house, since, in order to gain adherents as emperor, he sold and gave away a great part of the hereditary estates, and thus created a great number of petty principalities in this part of Germany. With the death of Conradin, in 1268, the duchy of Suabia was entirely ruined, and the subsequent attempt of Rudolph I. to restore it was fruitless, for most of the petty lords maintained their independence. Ulrich, count of Würtemberg, who reigned from 1246 to 1265, is the acknowledged founder of the family now on the throne. The accounts up to his time are little more than mere names, and so vague and uncertain, that it is not even positively known who was Ulrich's father. He died in 1260, and left his dominions, considerably enlarged, to his two sons, of whom Ulrich II. died in 1279, and was succeeded by his brother Eberhard, who was a minor only fourteen years of age. Eberhard, who acquired the surname of The Illustrious,' was one of the most distinguished princes of his line, and his long reign was marked by great vicissitudes of fortune. The time at which these two brothers commenced their reign was that in which no law had any force but the right of the strongest (das Faustrecht). This state of things was exactly suited to the restless and daring spirit of Eberhard, whose motto was, The Army.—Every subject of Würtemberg is liable to serve as soon as he has completed his twentieth year, and he has to serve six years. The army consists of eight regi-God's friend; everybody's enemy. Above all he made ments of infantry, four of cavalry, two battalions of artillery, two garrison companies, and a squadron of yagers; in all 18,988 men, including 387 officers: this is the war establishment; but in time of peace only between 5000 and 6000 men are embodied. Constitution.-Würtemberg is an hereditary monarchy. The king governs according to the existing constitution, which was happily completed in 1819 by the present king. His father had drawn up a constitution in 1815, and convoked an assembly of the estates of the kingdom, to which he presented it, fully expecting that it would be joyfully accepted; but the assembly rejected it, and, all negotiations having failed, he was obliged to leave the work unfinished at his death, in 1816, to his son and successor, who, for the Imperial cities, which were rising in importance, feel the weight of his arm; for, like the petty lords, they were taking advantage of the unsettled state of the duchy to make themselves independent; but their increasing wealth laid the foundation for that jealousy which, under the name of the War of the Cities,' continued with little interruption for nearly two hundred years. At first he headed a confederacy against Rudolph I., in which, after partial successes, he was on the point of ruin, when peace was brought about, in 1287, by the mediation of the archbishop of Mainz. Eberhard submitted to the emperor; but fresh disputes arose between him and the emperors Rudolph and Albrecht. which however were terminate by an amicable arrangement in 1304. The cou* * |