Hesse Nassau

Hesse-Nassau is a Prussian province made up of the greater part of Hesse-Cassel, part of Hesse-Homburg on the W. of the Rhine, most of the ancient duchy of Nassau, small parts of Hesse-Darmstadt and Bavaria, and the territory and town of Frankfurt, containing in all 6,018 square miles, divided into the government of Cassel, which nearly corresponds with Hesse-Cassel, and contains 3,914 miles, and that of Wiesbaden, which nearly corresponds with the Duchy of Nassau, and contains 2,104 miles. The country is generally rugged, and is occupied in the north by the Harz Mountains, which rise to a greatest height, of 3,600 feet. It is drained by the Fulda, Werra, and other rivers flowing into the Weser, and the Lahn, Ohm, and Main flowing into the Rhine. The climate of the higher regions is severe, but in the Rhine valley the best German wines are produced. Three-fifths of the soil in the valleys and mountain slopes is arable, and there is an improving agriculture, though some of the soil is poor, that of Nassau being the best. Potatoes are largely cultivated and used for food, and there is much barley, rye, and oats. Fruit is tolerably abundant, and the forests are extensive. Woollen, cotton, and linen are manufactured, and there are some minerals, while Homburg and Wiesbaden are noted for their mineral waters. The chief towns are Cassel (capital), Wiesbaden, and Frankfurt.