Schwartz
BERTHOLD, a monk of the order of Cordeliers, at the end of the 13th century, was a native of Freiburg, in Germany, and an able chemist. It is said that as he was making some experiments with niter he was led to his invention of gunpowder, which was first applied to warlike purposes by the Venetians in 1300. There is, however, much discrepancy in the accounts of this discovery; and it is certain that Roger Bacon, who died in 1292, was acquainted with an inflammable composition similar to gunpowder, the knowledge of which the Europeans appear to have derived from the Orientals. a SCHWARZBURG-RUDOLSTADT, former German principality, now part of the Republic of Thuringia in the German Republic, situated between Prussian Saxony, the Saxon duchies, and the principality of Reuss. It lies on the N. side of the Thuringian Forest, and has an area of 362 square miles. The surface is rugged, and the soil by no means fertile. The most important crop is flax, the culture of which is almost universal.
A great part of the land is devoted to pasture, and great numbers of cattle are reared. The minerals include brown coal. iron, slate, and salt. The principal SCHWARZBURG-SONDERSHAUSEN 287 SCHWEIDNITZ manufactures are glass and porcelain. Napoleon, he took up a position at Pul- The inhabitants are mostly Lutherans. tusk and remained inactive. In the fol- The capital is Rudolstadt. Pop. about 100,000.
SCHWARZBURG-SONDERSHAUSEN, a former German principality on the N. side of the Thuringian For Forest, between the territories of Prussian Saxony and the Saxon duchies, since 1919 a part of the Republic of Thuringia, a state in the German Republic; area, 333 square miles.
It is more fertile than Schwarzburg -Rudolstadt, producing corn for export. One of the principal sources of revenue is derived from the forests, which furnish excellent timber. Flax also is extensively cultivated, and great numbers of cattle, sheep, and swine are reared. The only manufacture of any importance is porcelain. The inhabitants are almost all Lutherans. The capital is Sondershausen. Pop. about 90,000.