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"/give thtft Books
for the foi^ndijig'ilf a. College in this Colony"

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A NEW GEOGRAPHY

A NEW GEOGRAPHY
ON THE COMPARATIVE METHOD
WITH
MAPS AND DIAGEAMS

BY

J. M. D. MEIKLEJOHN, M.A.
PROFESSOR OF THE THEORY, HISTORY, AND PRACTICE OF EDUCATION IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS, FELLOW OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL
SOCIETIES OF LONDON AND EDINBURGH

LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL AND CO.
AND HAMILTON, ADAMS AND CO.
ST. ANDREWS: A. M. HOLDEN ^
1889

[All Bights Reserved]

PREFACE
I HAVE tried to make this Geography clear, simple, and
connected : clear, that the knowledge in it may be easily
and quickly seized ; simple, that it may be easily held ;
and connected, that it may be easily reproduced.
The arrangements of the printing are intended to put
the different parts of the subject in their proper perspective.
The most important facts have been put in large type ; the
notes in smaller type are meant to give sets of interesting
facts that can be easily remembered, and that will bring
a greater amount of connection and association into the
various elements. The symbol of association is a spider's
web, any point in which may be reached from any other
point along the connecting lines. In these subordinate
paragraphs my aim has been to introduce as many hooks,
burrs, and tentacles as possible ; so that something is sure
to stick to the memory of even the most careless.
The Comparative Method has been employed throughout ;
and the unknown constantly referred to and compared
with that which is known. The memory has been assisted,
wherever it was possible, by grouping, by connection, and
by association ; and I have done what I could to inform
the subject through and through with thinking.
The Political Geography is placed on the firm foundation
of Physical Geography ; and it is hoped that the frequent
appeal to the Eye in the Maps and Diagrams will give
the matter a permanent lodging in the memory.

Vl PREFACE
The Commercial Geography of each country and continent
has been treated with great fulness ; and I hope that this
feature will make the book useful in the new examinations.
But my strongest hope is that the study, or even the
mere reading, of this book will make Geography a favourite
study, and induce students to pursue the subject after they
leave school, while it will enable them to survey with
interest and to interpret with exactness the phenomena
of politics and commerce, of history and travel. Even
the youngest learner can form some kind of connected
idea of the life of a country— as it is determined by its
position, soil, climate, and connections ; and it has been
my chief purpose, in writing this book, to give to the
student, in as clear and vivid fashion as possible, such a
notion of the life of each country and continent as would
enable him to add to it without making miscalculations
or falling into error.
The key-note of the whole book is that statement of
Humboldt's : " Only maps that appear empty take a firm
hold on the memory ; " and I have tried to sketch the
outlines (the large print) in a few clear and firm strokes,
while the learner may select for himself those facts given
in the notes which may appear to him most interesting
The book contains all that is necessary for the Examina
tions of Pupil Teachers and Students in Training Colleges ;
and also for Candidates for the Oxford and Cambridge
Local Examinations.
''' '^'"la^'T""^ ^ "" '"""' '°'"°*'°' tuble-lMuJs. The darker the aUndlng, the higher Uie table-
Ill) Tho numbers after each town stand tor thomailda. Tlins, Calcutta (900) = Calcutta 900,000.
J. M. D. MEIKLEJOHN.
LoNjjoN, 107 Piccadilly,
January 1st, 1889.

CONTENTS

P.AQE

PAGE

Introduction,

xi

Italy,

190

Astronomical Geography,

xii

The Pbninsdla,

201

Mathematical Geography

, xvi

Spain, .

207

Physical Geography, .

xxi

Portugal,

212

The Air,

xxi

Asia,

219

The Water,

xxvi

India, .

241

The Land,

xxxii

Indo-China,

262

The Oceans,

xxxvi

The Chinese Empire, .

268

Political Geography, .

xlvi

The Japanese Empire,

280

Europe in General,

1

Asiatic Russia, .

287

The British Isles, .

23

Asiatic Turkey, .

299

England and Wales, .

25

Arabia,

307

Scotland,

61

Persia,

313

Ireland,

78

Afghanistan and Behi-

France,

87

chistan, .

317

Belgium, .

100

The Malay or East

The Netherlands,
107
Indian Archipelago,
322
The Alps,
115
Africa, ....
329
Switzerland, .
119
The Barbary States, .
347
Austria-Hungary, .
129
Egypt,'
350
Germany, .
139
Nubia and the Eastern
Denmark,
154
Soudan, .
355
Scandinavia, .
159
Abyssinia, .
357
Russia in Europe, .
168
The Soudan,
358
The Balkan Peninsula,
181
Western Africa, .
359
viii

CONTENTS

PAGE

PAGE

Africa — continued —

Oceania, .
445
Eastern Africa, .
361
Australia,
•445
Southern Africa,
362
Victoria,
454
Islands connected with
New South Wales,
456
Africa,
368
Queensland,
457
The New World, .
375
South Australia, .
458
North America,
376
West Australia, .
459
Greenland,
387
Tasmania,
460
British America,
387
New Zealand,
460
Newfoundland, .
396
Polynesia,
464
The United States,
397
Tables —
Mexico, ....
410
The British Empire :
Central America,
413
its Colonies, etc., .
469
The West Indies, .
415
Letters and Postcards,
473
South America,
420
Telegraphs in Miles, .
474
Colombia, .
432
Railways, .
475
Venezuela, .
433
Imports and Exports,
476
Guiana,
434
Manufactures,
477
Brazil,
435
Agriculture,
477
Paraguay,
436
Iron, Production, Con
Uruguay, .
437
sumption,
478
Argentina,
438
Income of Nations,
478
Chili, .
439
Distances of GreatCities
Bolivia,
440
from London,
479
Peru, .
441
Map-Drawing, .
480
Ecuador,
443
Vocabulary,
¦4S7
INTRODUCTION

A NEW GEOGRAPHY

INTEODUCTION
Geography is a description of the Earth on which we live.
Geography views the Earth more especially as the abode of Man, and
as containing the circumstances and conditions under which he is
obliged to work in order to live.
The Greek ff5=the earth ; and graplw, I write, give us the word.
2. Geography is generally treated under four heads : Astronomical ;
Mathematical ; Physical ; and Political Geography.
(1) Astronomical Geography treats of the Earth as a member of the Solar System.
(ii) Mathematical Qeography discusses the Doctrine of the Circle — as the figure which
is universally appllcahle to lines upon a globe.
(iii) Fhyelcal Oeograiihy treats of the phenomena of Nature, in so far as they affect
plants, animals, and man ; treats of climate, winds, altitudes, soils, and the natural
wealth which is found in or under the soil.
(iv) Political Geography treats of the life of man in cities ; of men as grouped in tribes
or nations ; of governments ; and of the present state of nations as evolved from their
past. Political Geography is based upon the three other kinds, and resorts to them
for explanations of the human phenomena which it observes.

ASTEONOMICAL GEOGEAPHY.
1. The Fixed Stars. — The countless points of light which we see in
the nightly heavens, and which do not seem to change their position
with relation to each other, are the Fixed Stars.
(i) They have light of their own ; and are bodies of great size, like our Sun.
(ii) The nearest fixed star is at least 20 billions of miles from our Earth.

xii INTRODUCTION
2. The Planets.— Besides the fixed stars, there are in the sky several
stars which move among the others and change their position with
relation to them. These are either Planets or Comets.
Planet cornea from the Greek planetea, a wanderer ;
Comet from Cametea, long-haired— from the long tail of comets.
(i) Planets have a quiet, and not a twinkling, light ; hence they look like small
discs, and not like points.
(ii) Oometa distinguish themselves by a tail of light, which is attached to a more
dense nucleus.
3. The Sun. — The Sun which we see in our heavens, is a fixed star ;
the Earth on which we live is one of the planets which revolve round
this Sun as a centre.
(i) The diameter of the Sim is=108 diameters of our Earth.
(ii) The planets in the Solar System are— in the order of their nearness to the Sun ;
Mercnry : VennB ; the Earth ; Mars ; two groups of Asteroids ; Jnpiter ; Saturn ; TTrantu ;
and Neptune.
(iii) Mercnry has the smallest orbit, and takes only 88 days to go round the Sun
Neptune has the largest, and requires 165 years to perform one revolution round the
Sun. Thus one year in Mercury = 88 days ; one year in Neptune = 165 of our years.
(iv) Jupiter is the largest of all the planets, and is 1400 times as large as tlie Eartli.
(v) The Moon is a satellite of our Earth ; just as our Earth is a satellite of the Snn.
It goes round the Earth in 29J days. The Earth is in volume 50 times as lai^ as the
Moon. (vi) The Earth is a spherical body with a circumference of about 25,000 miles ; and a
diameter of nearly 8000.
4. The Solar System. — The Solar or Planetary System of which our
Earth forms part consists of four groups : (i) the Sun ; (ii) the Planets :
(iii) the Satellites of the planets ; and (iv) the Comets.
(i) The Sun is a spherical body with a diameter which measures 853,380 miles. It
is 91 millions of miles distant from our Earth. In volume it is 1,200,000 times as large
as the earth ; in weight, it is 300,000 times as heavy. Its substance must tliei-efore be
four times as light as the substance of our Earth. It rotates ou its own axis from
east to west ; and gives light and heat to many bodies. But out of 227,000,000
measures of heat which the Sun sends out, our Eartli receives only one.
(ii) The Flanete are divided into Interior and Exterior. The Interior Planets are
tliose whioh revolve round the Sun within the orbit of the Eartli, and therefore take
a shorter time to accomplish their revolution. They are Mercnry and Venos. The

THE MOON XUl
Exterior Planets— Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, aud Neptune— revolve outside the
Earth's orbit, and take a much longer time to go round the sun. Neptune is the
most distant of all the planets from the Sun— it is 2862 millions of miles from it.
It has therefore the largest orbit.
(iii) Several of the planets have Satellites (=Attendants) or Moons. Thus Jupiter
has four moons ; Saturn eight (and also a series of rings, the inner one of which is trans
parent) ; Uranus four ; and Neptune, so far as we at present know, has one. Our
Earth has one Satellite, which is always called The Moon.
(iv) The Comets are probably white-hot masses of gas, which rush towards our Sun,
go round him, and then rush away again.
5. The Moon. — The Moon is a small body, only 2153 miles in
diameter, and 240,000 mUes from the Earth. It has three motions :
(i) it rotates on its own axis ; (ii) it revolves round the Earth ; and
(iii) it travels round the Sun along with the Earth. The Moon has
no light of its own ; when it is " shining," it is the Sun's light upon
the Moon that we see.
(i) The Earth is, in bulk, fifty times as large as the Moon ; in weight, it is eighty
times as great.
(ii) The Phases of the Moon are as follows : (a) When the Moon comes between the
Earth and the Sun, the illuminated half of the Moon is turned towards the Sun, and
the dark half to us. There is then " no Moon." (&) When the Moon is a little beyond
the straight line between the Earth and the Sun, we then see the edge of her lighted
up by the Sun ; and this is called " New Moon." (c) When the line joining the Earth
and the Sun is at right angles to the line joining the Earth and the Moon, we see
half of the Moon's disc lighted up ; and we have then " Half Moon." At this time,
when the Sun sets in the West, the Moon is in the South. (iJ) When the Earth is
between the Sun and the Moon, the entire disc of the Moon is lighted up by the Sun,
and we have " Full Moon."
(iii) The semicircle of the New Moon always looks to the right. Wlien the Moon is
waning, or is in its third and its last quarters, its semicircle looks to the left.
6. The Motions of the Earth. — The Earth hae three motions : (i)
One on its own axis ; (ii) One round the Sun ; and (iii) One through
space along with the Solar System to whioh it belongs.
(i) The Earth turns on its axis once in every twenty-four hours. This is called its
Diurnal Motion. Hence half of the Earth is always in darkness ; and half in light.
This turning takes place from west to east. Hence, as the Earth lifts itself towards
the Sun, the Sun seems to "rise" in the East, and to " go down" to the West. Wc
have the same illusion in a railway carriage when, if we do not perceive the raotion

xiv INTRODUCTION
of the carriage we are in, the houses and lamp-posts seem to move. Every place on
the Equator moves towards the sun at the rate of more than 1000 miles an hour ;
that is, it spins 26,000 miles in 24 hours. The rate of movement diminishes as we
leave the Equator and approach the Poles. (The exact period of the Earth's daily
revolution is 23 hrs. 56" 4'.)
(ii) The Earth also travels round the Sun in 365i days ; and this is caUed its
Annual Motion. The path along which the Earth travels round the Sun is called its
Orbit. This orbit is not a circle, but an ellipse. The annual motion of the Earth
causes the different kinds of climate known as the Four Seasons.
(iii) The Earth travels, along with the Solar System, through space at the rate of
160,000,000 miles a year.
"7. The Seasons. — The axis of the Earth is not perpendicular to its
orbit, but inclined. It has an inclination of 23J°. Hence, in our
Summer, the North Pole is inclined towards the Sun, whose rays
shine 23^° past the Pole. In our Winter, the North Pole is inclined
away from the Sun, whose rays stop shining 23j° from the Pole. In
Spring, on March 22d, the sun's rays touch both poles ; and this is
also the case on September 22d.

H /

w'

Dec.22rJ^-,

\

22«" Mar.

,\ J

Jdne 22^?

22?? Sept.

(i) Tho above gives the position of the Earth with relation to the Sun : A shows tlie
Earth with its North Polo pointing to the Sun ; and hence the Northern Hemisphere
has its summer, and the Sun is vertical to tlio Tropic of Cancer— B shows the Earth

THE SEASONS XV
with its Nortli Pole pointing away from the Sun ; and the Northern Hemisphere
"has its winter, and the Sun is vertical to the Tropic of Capricorn. — C shows the
Sun vertical to the Equator. Hence the Sun's rays become more and more slanting
as they approach the poles ; and they touch the poles at the very smallest possible
angle. Consequently, the farther we go from the poles at this time (Spring or
Autumn), the larger the angle at which the Sun's rays strike the Earth, and the
warmer climate we find. — D also shows the Sun vertical to the Equator; but the
Earth is now going towards winter.
8. The Seasons and Light. — We can recognise the Seasons not only
by the angle which the Sun's rays make with the ground, but by the
height of the Sun in the sky and the length of time he shines — that
is, by the length of the day. In mid-Spring and mid- Autumn, the
day and night are equal all over the globe. In mid-Summer, the day
in our latitude is 18 hours long ; in mid- Winter, it is only 6 hours.
(i) March 22d is called the Vernal Equinox. — September 22d is called the Autumnal
Equinox (Lat. aeqiui, equal ; and nox, night).
(ii) In our Midsummer, the Earth has a long time to get warm ; a short time to
throw off heat, or to cool : hence the days get warmer and warmer.
(iii) This may be seen by a diagram ; and it will also be seen that tlie louger the
course the Sun has to make, the higher he rises in the sky in our latitude.

DayofShours Day of 18 hours

(iv) The nearer the North Pole we go in owr summer, tke longer the day, and the
shorter the night. At Tomea, at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia (lat. 66°), mid
summer day is 72 hours long. At the North Pole itself, the day is six months long.
9. The Eclintic. — The Ecliptic is the path which the Earth travels
in his annual journey round the Sun, and which the Sun appears to
follow in the heavens. It has this nnme, because all Eclipses take
place, and must take place, in this path.

xvi INTRODUCTION
(i) It cuts the Equator at two opposite points. These points are called t e
Equinoctial Points or Equlnoxea. These are on the 22d of March and the 22d of Septem
ber. At these times the day and night arc of equal length ; the Sun rises and sets due
east and due west— which he never does at any other time of the year. As at these
times the sun "crosses the line," the systems of winds follow the sim, and there is a
great disturbance of the equilibrium of the atmosphere. Hence the Equinoctii 1 gales
which blow in spring and autumn.
(ii) TheSolrticeearethe positions occupied by the sun in that part of the Ecliptic
which is most remote from the Equator. The sun seems to "stand stUl" for a few
days before it "goes back "and begins to tum towards the Equator again. Theseare
of course on June 22d and December 22d, when the sun is vertical over the Tropic of
Cancer and the Tropic of Capricom. (Lat. sol, the sun ; and stare, to stand.)

MATHEMATICAL GEOGEAPHY.
1. The Circle. — A Circle is an endless line drawn round a point—
and always at the same distance from that point. That point is
called its centre.
(i) In ordinary language, the whole space witliin the endless line is called the
circle. In that case, the line itself is called the circumference. A straight line drawn
from one part of the circumference through the centre to the opposite part is called its
diameter. Half a diameter is a radins.
(ii) The following are the properties of a circle : —
1. All its diameters are equal.
2. All its radii are equal.
3. Each diameter=any two radii.
4. Two circles are equal, if their radii are eqnal.
(iii) Every circle, whatever its size, is divided by mathematicians into 360 p-irts,
which are called degrees. Each degree is again subdivided into 60 minutes ; and eadi
minute into 60 seconds. Minutes and seconds are indicated by ' and ".
2. The Globe. — A Globe or Sphere is a solid body with an endless
surface, every point in which is equidistant from the centre.
(i) If we take a semicircle of card-board and tum it in the air until it comes back
to the place from whioh it started, the outline ot a spherical body or sphere will have
been described in the air. The centre of the semicii-cle will then be the centre of the
sphere described.
(11) The following are the properties ofa sphere : —
1. All the diameters of a sphere arc equal.
**, All its radii are equal,
3. Two spheres are equal, if Uioir radii are equal.

THE EARTH AS A GLOBE XVII
3. The Divisions of a Globe. — If a globe be cut right through the
centre, its two parts must be equal. The mark made by the cutting
line is called a great circle ; and the centre of any great circle is the
same jis the centre of the globe.
(i) \ great circle, then, is the largest circle which can possibly be drawn upon a
globe. A great circle always divides the globe on which it is drawn into two equal
parts. These parts are called hemispheres.
(ii) The foUowing are the properties ofa great circle :
1. All great circles on a gicbc r.re equal lo one another.
2. Every great circle divides a globe into two equal parts.
(lii) The following are the properties of a globe :
1. Any number of great circles may be drawn ona globe.
2. A globe may have any number of diameters.
4. The Earth. — The earth on which we live is a sphere or globe.
The diameter on which it spins is called its axis ; and the ends of
this axis are the poles. The Earth is slightly flattened at either pole,
like an orange.
More correctly it might be called a spheroid, that ifl, a body of a Bphere-like character. A flphero
flattened at the polea ia called an oblate spheroid ; one drawn out at the poles, a prolate
spheroid.
(i) The following are the proofs that the earth is a globe :
1. Every horizon we can see has a circular form.
2. A ship leaving port conceals it hull flrst of all behind the rotundity of the
globe : next the masts, and so on. Coming home, the top-masts first of
all come into the view of the spectator ; and the hull last. Hence every
part of the earth ofwhich we have experience is "curved."
3. The shadow thrown by the Earth on the Moon in an eclipse is always
circular.
4. The earth has been often circumnavigated.
5. The other planets are spheres. Analogy is often a strong argument.
5. The Two Poles. — The end of the Earth's axis which points to the
Pole Star is called the North Pole ; the opposite end of the axis is the
South Pole.
6. The Lines on the Globe.— The Great Circle dra.wn round the
globe at an equal distance from both poles is called the Equator.
(i) The Equator is 24,900 miles in circumference. B

xviii INTRODUCTION
(ii) The axis of the Earth, or Polar Diameter, is 7899 mUes long. The diameter from
ona part of the Equator to another, through the centre of the earth, is 27 mUes longer.
(iii) The two halves into which the Equator divides the globe, are called the Northern
and Southern Hemispheres.
7. Parallels.— Circles— not great circles— which are drawn parallel
to the Equator, between it and each of the Poles, are called Parallels
of Latitude.
(1) These parallels must of course become smaller and smaUer as they approach the
poles. (ii) The four most important parallels are those called the Tropic of Cancer (23i* North
lat.), the Tropic of Capricorn (23^' South lat.), the Arctic Circle (665° North lat. ), and the
Antarctic Circle (665° South lat.).
8. Meridians. — A Meridian is a semicircle drawn from the North to
the South Pole, cutting the Equator at right angles.
The word meridian comes from the Lat. meridies, mid-day or noon. All places on one and the
same meridian have their twelve o'clock at the aame time.
(1) What is called the First Meridian is dra^vn through the middle of the Observatory
at Greenwich.(11) French Geographers draw their flrst meridian throngh Paris.
(iii) German Geographers draw it through Ferro, one of the Canary Islands ; because
in this way they have most land in their Eastern, and most sea in their Western
Hemisphere. 9. Latitude. — Latitude is distance north, or south, from the Equator.
The greatest latitude that any place can have is 90°, and this is the
latitude of each of the poles.
(1) Nearness to the Equator is called low latitude ; greater distance from it, high
latitude. (ii) We can leave the Equator in two different directions. If four pereous at
opposite points in the Equator left it, two going due North, and two due South,
eaeh pair would meet at tho North Pole and South Pole respectively : and each person
would have travelled through 90°.
10. Latitude and Climate. — The more we increase our latitude, the
farther we go from the Equator. The farther we go from the
Equator, the more the sun's rays slope. The more the sun's rays
slope, the fewer rays fall upon a given surface. Hence, the more the
sun's rays slope, or the farther we are from the Equator, the colder
the climate.

LONGITUDE AND POSITION xix
(i) If the globe were covered with water, or consisted entirely of level land of the
same quality, and if it did not revolve round the sun with an inclining axis, then
latitude would be the sole conditioning cause of climate.
(ii) It must not be forgotten that the above paragraph is entirely true only when
the Sun is vertical to the Equator, that is, on the 22d of March and September.
11. Longitude. — Longitude is distance east or west tcom the
meridian of Greenwich. The maximum longitude is 180°-
(i) If two persons leave Greenwich, one going East, the other West, and both
travel at the same rate, they will meet half-way round the globe — or at 180° of longi
tude, that being half of 360°.
(11) The Fyi Islands are in East or West long. 180°.
12. Longitude and Time. — As the Earth rotates on its own axis,
when we travel to the East, we see the Sun rise earlier. When we
travel West, we see him rise later. Hence, by travelling either East
or West, we alter our apparent time. By travelling 180° East, we
lose 12 hours ; by travelling 180° West, we gain 12 hours.
(1) The globe contains 360°. In one rotation, the globe passes through 360°. But,
as there are 24 hours in the day, it passes through 15° in one hour. 360-7-24=15.
(ii) New York is 3000 miles west of us, or 75°. Hence, when it is noon in London,
it is only 7 a.m. in New York. By travelling to New York, we seem to gain 5 hours.
(iii) The person who travels round the globe going east, loses 24 hours or one day ;
the person who travels westwards, gains one day. Hence, if two sea-captains who had
circumnavigated the globe in different directions were to meet in Liverpool at the
table of a Liverpool man, one captain would maintain that Saturday was Sunday ; the
other tliat Monday was Sunday ; while the Liverpool man, who had stayed at home,
would maintain that Ais Sunday was Sunday. Thus there would be "three Sundays
in the week."
13. Position. — If a place be on a line of latitude^ and also on a line
of longitude, it is evident that the position
of that place is at the intersection of these
two lines.

m.

b.

This is tme of a place on any two lines. Thus if a
place stands on the line a b, and also on the line c d,
it must stand at the point where those two lines cut
each other — it must stand at the point m.

XX INTRODUCTION
14. Annual Revolution of the Earth.- The Earth, as we have seen,
revolves round the sun with its axis always in the same direction,
and always parallel to itself. This gives rise to three weU-marked
positions of the sun's rays-one on March 22d and September 22d ;
one on June 22d ; and one on December 22d.
(1) On March 22d and September 22d, the sun's rays are vertical to the Equator.
Day and Night are, on these dates, each 13 hours long all the world over.
(11) On June 22d the sun's rays are vertical to a line called the Tropic of Cancer.
This is the farthest line north to which they are ever vertical ; and hence, at this time,
the Northern Hemisphere has its snmmer.-The Tropic of Cancer is in 235° North lat.
(iii) On December 22d the sun's rays are vertical to a Une called the Tropic of Capri
corn. This is the farthest line south to which they are ever vertical ; and the Southern
Hemisphere has now its Summer. TTie Tropic of Capricom is in 235° South lat.

15. Tropical and Polar Lines. — When the Sun is vertical to the
Tropic of Cancer, his rays cannot go beyond 66|° South lat
Through this point a line has been drawn called the Antarctic Circle. —
When the Sun is vertical to the Tropic of Capricorn, his rays cannot
wo beyond 66^° North lat. ; and through this point has been drawn
the line called the Arctic Circle.
(i) The Antarctic Circle is therefore 235° ^om the South Pole. The sun's light stops
there on the 22d of June ; and there is complete darkness to every place lying between
that line and the South Pole. The South Pole itself has a day of six months and a
night of six months.
(ii) The Arctic Circle is 235° from the North Pole. The sun's light stops there on the
22d of December ; and all beyond is in the dark. The North Pole has also a day ot six
months, and a night of six months. This day begins to dawn on March 22d, and ends
ou September 22d.— The day-dawn for the South Pole begins on September 22d.
16. Zones. — The Zones (or Belts of Climate) on the surface of the
Earth are marked off by the Tropical and the Polar Lines. These
zones are five : one Torrid ; two Temperate ; and two Frigid Zones.
(1) The Torrid Zone lies between the two Tropical Lines. The Sun's rays are always
vertical over one part or another of it. That is, there is always some place within
the Tropics where objects cast no shadow at twelve o'clock. The Torrid Zone is 47°
broad. (Within the Torrid Zone, above tho sea-level, there may be said to be a third
temperate zone ; that is, on the table-lands and high mountain-slopes. From this point
of view it is very interesting to remark that all the highest land of the World lies
within the Tropics.)

THE AIR XXI
(ii) The North Temperate 2one lies between tho Tropic of Caucer and the Arctic
Circle— hetween 23J° and 66J° North lat.
(iii) The South Temperate Zone lies between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic
Circle— between 23J° and 66i° South lat.— Each of the Temperate Zones is ahout 43°
broad. (iv) The North Frigid Zone lies within the Arctic Ocean, and has the North Pole
as its centre.
(v) The South Frigid Zone lies within the Antarctic Ocean, and has the South Pole
as its centre.
17. Tlie Sliadow. — All tliese lines may be also fixed by tlieir rela
tion to the sliadow which every object casts when shone on by the
Sun. The Sun is always highest in the sky at noon ; within the
Tropics, he is at noon in the very highest point in the sky, or in the
zenith ; and, in such places, there is no shadow at all. Thus we
have :
(i) The Equator is the Noon-shadowless Line of March 22d and September 22d.
(ii) The Tropic of Cancer is the Noon-shadowless Line of June 22d.
(iii) The Tropic of Capricom is the Noon-shadowless Line of December 22d.
(iv) In the Temperate Zones, the Sun is never in the zenith ; hence they are the
Zones of Perpetual Shadow.

PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY.
Two coverings envelop the body of the earth : Air and Water.
The air-covering or atmosphere enwraps and contains the earth like
a hollow baU : the water covers about three-fourths of the surface of
the whole globe. The land which rises above the water-covering
amounts therefore to only one-fourth of the actual surface of the earth.
I. The Air.
1. Composition of Air. — Air consists of two gaseous substances —
called oxygen and nitrogen. Air also contains a small quantity of
carbonic acid gas, and a variable cjuantity of invisible water whicli
we call vapour.
(i) By volume, there are 79 parts of nitrogen to 21 of oxygen.
(li) By weight, there are 77 parts of nitrogen to 23 of oxygen.

XXII INTRODUCTION
2. Pressure of Air. — Air, being a material body, has weight ; and
it therefore exercises a certain amount of pressure on every body
which it touches. Air is also a very elastic body ; and hence the
layers of air at the surface of the earth, being helow large masses of
air, are more compressed and denser than those above them. Hence
the density and pressure diminish rapidly as we go up.
(1) The pressure of air at the sea-level is 15 lbs. to each square inch. If, then,
the surface of a man's body amounts to 15 square ft., the whole body is subject
to a pressure of about 14 tons.
(11) The 1]arometer is the instrument with which we measure the weight and pres
sure of the air. The mercury in the tube is balanced by the weight of the air outside.
It the air is heavy, then the mercury rises ; if light, it falls. Hence we say : " the
glass has fallen."
Barometer come3 from two Greek words, haroa, weight, and metroH, a measure.
(lii) Cold dry air is the heaviest. Warm dry air comes next ; and warm moist air is
the lightest air of all.
(iv) The barometer is used to measure the heights of mountains. For every 1000 ft.
we ascend, the barometer falls one inch. Hence,— the barometer usually standing at
30 inches,— if we go up 10,000 ft, the barometer will stand at only 20 inches.
3. Height of the Atmosphere.— The height of the atmosphere, or
the depth of the ocean of air at the bottom of which we live, has been
estimated at from 120 to 200 miles.
The height of the atmosphere is greater between the tropics than round the poles.
4. Temperature of the Atmosphere.— The temperature of the air at
a particular place depends chiefly on three things : (i) the slope of
the sun's rays ; (ii) the length of the day (or length of the time the
sun shines) ; and (iii) the height of the place above the sea-level.
(1) The sun's rays are vertical or perpendicular at noon at some place within the
tropics. Outside the tropics, they have a slope with .an angle which becomes smaller
and smaller the farther we go from the Tropical Lines. The angle which tlie sun's
rays makes with the ground is the smallest possible at the Arctic Circle on the 22d of
December. Hence the angle of the sun's rays depends on the latitude.
(il) The very hottest part of the earth must be that which combines two things-
perpendicularity of rays, and a longer day than 12 hours. Hence the hottest part of
the earth is not at the Equator, where the d.iy is alwaj-s 12 hours long ; but at places
north and south of the Equator.

WINDS XXIU
(iii) The thermometer, which is the measure for the temperature of the air, falls
V Fahr. for every 333 ft. of height (at least for the first mile or 5280 ft. above the
surface). Tlio'mometer comes from iJiei'mos, heat, nnd meiron, a measure.
(iv) Those lines which are drawn through places with an equal average annual
temperature are called isotherms (Gr. isos, equal).
(v) The anow-Une, or limit of perpetual snow, above which there is neithar animal
nor vegetable life, depends mainly on the latitude. It is highest at or near the
Equator ; aud lowest at or near the Polar Circles.
5. Motions of the Atmosphere. — The motions of the atmosphere are
called winds. When the equilibrium of the air is altered through
any cause, wind is produced ; and the equilibrium of the air is
altered when its temperature is altered.
All bodies expand under the influence of heat. When the air is heated, it
expands and becomes lighter. The equilibrium or equal level of the ocean of air is
destroyed ; and at once other air flows in to supply its place. This flowing in of air
is called a wind.
6. Kinds of Winds. — Winds receive different names according to
(i) their direction, (ii) their strength, (iii) their regularity, and (iv)
their temperature.
(i) Direction. — This is named according to the quarter from which the wind blows—
North, South, East, or West.
(ii) Strengtb. — Strong winds are called gales, storms, hurricanes, cyclones, tornadoes,
etc. The strong winds are always rotatory or spiral. Such a wind moves at the rate of
from 70 to 80 miles an hour ; and particular gusts in the storm move at from 120 to
150 miles an hour. The worst circular storms are met with in the West Indies, the
Indian Ocean, and the Chinese Seas.
(iii) Eegolarity. — (a) The two most regular systems of wind on the face of the globe
are the North-East Trades and the South-East Trades, They blow with the mi>st iierfect
constancy all the year round over the surface of the ocean. They begin at about 30°
North and South lat., in the Northern Hemisphere from the north-east ; and in the
Southern Hemisphere from the south-east. Tliese two systems of Trade-winds blow
towards the Equator ; and they have between them a Zone of Calms, which is generally
found between 3° and 9° North lat. The reason why this belt of calms is found north
of the Equator is that the oceans in the Southern Hemisphere being much broader
than those in the Noithern, the South- East Trades are a larger and heavier body of
wind than the North-East Trades, and hence push them back. The Zone of Calms,
however, alters its place with the movement of the Sun ; and it is always as near as
possible to the Sun's vertical rays. This Zone of Calms is, moreover, the zone of
perpetual downpour of rain; and it is often the scene of terrible thunderstorms.

XXIV INTRODUCTION
The air ifl hottest at the Equator ; coldest at the Poles, Hence, about the Equator, it is always
expanding and rising higher ; and hence alao colder air must always be flowing in to supply
its place. If the earth were fixed, there would be only two sets of winds— a north and a
south towards the Equator on the surface, and return winds in the upper regions towarda
the Poles. But the Earth spina from west to eaat ; and the solid body slipping under the
winds makes them be felt aa coming /rom the east; and hence the north and south winds
become north-east and south-east winds. Besides, the earth's surfece moves more rapidly
at the Equator than at 30" of lat. ; and therefore the wind seems to come from a slower to a
more rapidly-moving part of the earth.
(6) The irregular systems of winds are found on both hemispheres north and south
of 30° lat. The prevalent wind in the Northern Hemisphere is the warm south
west ; in the Southern Hemisphere the warm north-west. Both these winds blow
on an average two days out of every three throughout the year. The average
duration of a sailing voyage from Liverpool to New York is 33 days; from New
York to Liverpool, 22 days.
(c) The chief periodic winds are the monsoons, which are found in their greatest per
fection in the Indian Ocean. In our summer, the air over the immense masses of
plateau in the south of Asia becomes greatly heated and rarefied; hence the ordinary
North-East Trades are deflected from their course, are turned round, and become a
south-west monsoon. The south-west monsoon blows from May to September ; the
north-east monsoon (properly, the usual trade-winds) blow from October to April
(that is, when the sun is south of the Equator).
Monsoon comes from the Arabic mauaivi, a season.
(d) Land and Sea Breezes. — These winds are monsoons on a small scale. Wlien the
shores of continents or of oceanic islands (especially in the tropics) become greatly
heated — and this occurs in the day-time— winds from the sea rush in to supply the
place of the rarefied air. This is a sea-toeeze. At evening, as soon as the sun has set,
these coasts cool very rapidly, and the sea in the night-time is warmer than the land.
A land-hreeze springs up for the same reason, and blows out to sea. The change is
not sudden ; a calm comes between the two sets of winds.
(iv) Temperature. --The hot wind from the Sahara, which blows upon Italy, is
called the Sirocco ; the same wind in Spain is called the Solano. In Switzerland it is
called the Fohn— it rapidly melts the snow, and unroofs houses. In Egypt the hot
sand-wind from the desert is called Khamsin (a word meaning fifty), because it blows
for fifty days during and before and after May ; a similar wind is called, in Syria and
Arabia, the Bimoom (a word meaning poisonous). In the south of France a cold wind
from the Alps is called the Mistral. There are many other names for local winds.
7. Moisture of the Atmosphere.— The higher the temperature of
the air, the more moisture it can hold in an invisible state. This
invisible moisture is called vapour. Each degree of temperature'
has its own maximum of vapour that it can hold without showing
that vapour.

iUVINS AND CLIMATE XXV
(i) When the thermometer is at 32° (freezing-point), the air can hold only xi^^ytl^
part of its own weight in vapour. When it is at 60°, it can hold twice as much,
or -^th. When it is at 113°, it can hold eight times as much, or ^th.
(ii) When the temperature toUs, the moisture in the air runs together or con
denses ; the air cannot hold it in an invisible form, and it becomes visible or falls.
It becomes visible as Cload or mist ; it falls in the shape of rain or dew, or as snow, haU,
or rime. 8. Distrihutiou of Bain. — The Zone of Calms near the Equator is
the Zone of almost Daily Rains, — accompanied by terrific storms of
thunder and lightning. The Tropics are the Zone of Summer Rains.
In the Warm-Temperate Zone, the belt from lat. 28° to about 35° is
the Zone of Winter Rains. From 35° to 42° is the Zone of Spring
and Autumn Rains.
(i) In the Belt of Equatorial Calms, the rains occur when the sun is in or near the
zenith, that is, in the hottest part of the day. There are almost daily thunder
showers. This is called the Zone of Constant Precipitation.
(ii) Within the Tropics, aU the rain of the year falls in tbe few months when the sun
is near the zenith. The rest of the year is the Dry Season. In the Ealny Season, as
many as 21 inches of rain have been known to fall in a single day at Cayenne, in French
Guiana. This is as much as falls in a whole year in some parts of the Temperate Zone.
At Chirra Poonjee, in the Khasia Hills, the annual rainfall has been 615 inches.
(iii) North of the Tropic of Cancer runs the mighty Rainless Belt of Desert through
the Sahara, the deserts of Arabia and Northern India, and the desert of Gobi or Shamo.
Corresponding to this belt we find in the Southern Hemisphere the desert of Atacama
in South America, of Kalahari in Africa, and of Central Australia.
(iv) The quantity of rain decreases, and the numher of rainy days increases as we go
from the Equator to the Poles.
(v) The quantity of rain inceases with the increase in altitude. In the Great Plain
of Europe it is only 20 inches & year ; in some parts of the Alps it is 104 inches.
(vi) Mountain-chains act as condensers of vapour by driving the warm moisture-
bearing winds high up into the colder strata of air, when the moisture is condensed.
The most remarkable example of this is found in the Andes.
9. Climate. — The word climate is a general term which includes
warmth and cold, wind, rainfall, cloudiness, and other conditions of
weather. It depends chiefly on seven things : (i) Latitude ; (ii)
Altitude ; (iii) Nearness to the Sea ; (iv) Direction of Prevailing Winds ;
(v) Direction of Mountain-Ranges ; (vi) Slope of the Country ; and
(vii) Nature of the Soil. The grand division of climate is into Oceanic
and Continental.

xxvi INTRODUCTION
(i) Within the Tropics, the sun's rays are, at one place or other, vertical at n»on.
Therefore a larger number of rays fall upon a square foot of ground than in those
parts of the world where the rays are more or less sloping. Cayenne, lat. 6" North, is
very much hotter than Paris, lat. 49° North. The elm comes into leaf at Naples in the
beginning of February ; in England 10 weeks later.
(ii) The thermometer falls 1° for every 333 ft. of rise above the sea-levcL Hence
Quito, which, though in lat. 0°, stands 9600 ft. above the sea-level, has a mili and
spring-like climate.
(iii) Water cannot take in as much heat aa land ; it takes heat in also more slowly,
and parts with it more slowly. Hence the presence of large masses of water lowers
the temperature of a country in summer and raises it in winter, when the wind blows
from the water to the land. Such a climate is called maritime or oceanic ; it is a mild
or moderate climate. Again, a country (in the Temperate Zone) which is in the
heart of a great continent, aud to which the winds come from the land on all sides,
has a climate intensely cold in winter and extremely hot in summer. Snch a climate
is called Continental.
(iv) The south-west winds are the prevailing winds which blow upon Great Britain.
They bring warmth and moisture from the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic. The
South-west monsoons modify the climate to a very great degree in India.
(v) If the Eocky Mountains stretched from west to east across the head of the
Mississippi Valley, the cold winds from the Arctic Ocean would be shut off and
confined to the valley of the Mackenzie. — If the Carpathians were removed from the
north-east of the Hungarian Plain, that plain would be swept by cold north-easters
in the winter, and would not be nearly so fertile.
(vi) If a country slopes away from the rays of the sun, it will not be so fertile as
one that slopes towards them. In the Northern Hemisphere, land ought to slope to
the south ; in the Southern Hemisphere, to the north.
.(vii) If a soil is hard and sandy, it will retain much heat in the day and give it
out rapidly at night. If a soil is clayey, aud covered with forests, it will hold a
great deal of water, which it will part with slowly. Hence the rivers of a forest
country are not subject to sudden floods. Since the forests were cut down on the
western slopes of the Alps, the floods of the Garonne have been very sudden and
dangerous.
II. The Water.
1. Introductory. — As the outer envelope of the globe is the Air,
the underlying envelope is Water. "Water is generally divided into
two classes : Ocean-waters and Continental waters.
2. Ocean-waters. — The continuous mass of water which fills the
greater depressions and covers three-fourths of the crust of the

THE SEA XXVll
earth is called the Ocean. The divisions are themselves called
Oceans ; and their subdivisions Seas. The ocean is, on the one hand,
a separating, on the other, a connecting, element.

The total area of the surface of the Earth is about 197,000,000
square miles. Of this area, the water covers 145,000,000 square
miles, leaving only 52,000,000 square miles of dry land.

3. Differences between Ocean and Continental Waters.— The waters
of the ocean difi'er from those which we find upon the land in the
following respects : (i) a larger amount of salts in solution ; (ii) a
more equable temperature ; (iii) peculiar motions, such as those of
waves, of the tides, of currents ; (iv) far greater depth ; (v) the electric
sblnlng of its water ; and (vi) a deeper bine colour.
4. The Saltness of the Sea. — Sea-water contains 3^ per cent, of
various salts, estimated, not by volume, but by weight. Most of
these salts are what is called Common salt.
Where evaporation is very strong, the amount of salt increases. Hence it is
greatest (4 per cent.) within the Torrid Zone. Where the evaporation is small and the
amount of river-water flowing into a sea is great, there is very little salt. In the
Baltic there is only f per cent, of salt.
5. The Temperature of the Sea. — The temperature of the sea depends
on the slope of the sun's rays, — that is, on the latitude. But the
waters below a depth of 300 ft. are, in general, unaffected by the
surface temperature.
(i) On the shores of Great Britain the surface temperature of the sea is about 49° :
in the Red Sea it has been noted at 94° — the temperature of a hot bath.
(ii) There is an expansion of the sea- water in equatorial regions ; an overflow towards
the poles ; and, correspondingly, an inflow of cold water towards the Equator.
6. Motions of the Sea. — The principal motions which take place in
the waters of the sea are : (i) the tides ; and (ii) the currents.
(i) The chief cause of the tides is the attraction of the Moon, whioh is very near to
our Earth. "The solid part of the globe resists the strain of the attraction ; but the
liquid ocean, unable to do so, is drawn outwards so as to be heaped up on that side

INTRODUCTION

where the attraction is exerted." The Sun also exercises some attraction ; bnt the
power of attraction exercised by the Moon is three times as great as that of the Sun,

o

on account of the much greater nearness of the Moon to the Earth, (a) When the Sun
and the Moon are "in conjunction," or on the same side of the Earth ("at new
Moon "), their combined powers of attraction, being exercised in the same direction.

o

are very great ; and we have then our highest tides, called spruie-tideB. (6) When the
Sun and the Moon are "in opposition," — that is, on opposite sides
of the Earth (at " full Moon"),— the two forces act on the water of
the Earth in opposite directions, but in ihe same line; and we have
again our highest tides, (c) But when the two forces act at right

O

angles to each other, that iy, at half-moon, then they counteract or
neutralise each, other ; and we have our lowest or neap-tides. Tides
rise and fall, or " ebb and flow," twice in every 25 hours. — In the
open ocean the utmost height of the tide-wave or upward rising of
the waters is 6 ft. ; in the Bay of Fundy, which is very long and very narrow, it is
sometimes 120 ft.

O

(ii) The Corrents of the Ocean. — Ocean-Currents are " rivers " in the sea, the beds
and banks of which are composed of other sea-water. They are caused by the differ
ence of temperature in different parts of the Ocean (water, like air, always trying to
restore an equilibrium when the level has been disturbed), by the revolution ot the
Earth on its axis, by the winds, etc. The three greatest currents are : the Eqoatorial
Cnrrent, the Arctic Current, and the Antarctic Current, (a) The Earth spins from west
to east ; the water on the globe cannot go so fast as the cold parts, and "hangs back " ;
hence the Equatorial Current is felt as going from east to west. This current also
receives aid from the north-east and south-east trades. It has a breadth of about 50%
and is felt in each of the three great oceans— the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian.
(6) The Arctic or Polar Current is a cold icy current, which flows down into the
Atlantic. It is felt most strongly in Davis Straits ; bnt a Polar current comes down
on each side ot Greenland and unites off Cape Farewell. That part of tho Polar
cnrrent whioh flows along the Labrador Coast is called the Labr idor Current, (c) The
Antarctic Drift Current flows northward, into warmer seas. Both Polar Currents make

RIVERS XXIX
towards the Equator. (The other Ocean-Currents are described in the paragraphs on
the different oceans.) Thus is kept up, in each of the three great ocean-basins, »
constant circulation of water — the warmer waters going towards the poles, the colder
towards the equator ; and thus these currents form the chief regulators of the tempera
ture of different lands on the globe.
7. The Depth of the Ocean. — The greatest depths of the sea are
believed to correspond with the greatest heights of the continents,
and to be from 25,000 to 30,000 ft.
Captain Ross reported a sounding, west of St Helena, of 27,000 ft., without touch
ing bottom. A sounding of 4561 fathoms (=27,366 ft.) has been obtained north of the
Virgin Islands in the West Indies.
8. Continental Waters. — These waters are of three kinds — springs,
rivers, and lakes.
(i) A spring is the outflow of waters which have accumulated beneath the surface
of the ground. A spring is often the source of a river. Some springs have a uniform
flow throughout the year ; some cease entirely in times of drought ; and some are
intermittent. Springs are most numerous in and around mountainous regions.
(ii) Elvers are streams of fresh water which flow along the surface of the earth.
(iii) Lakes are bodies of water, generally fresh, found in natural depressions in the
earth's surface.
9. Rivers. — (i) A river is a stream of fresh water flowing from high
ground across the surface of the earth into a sea or lake.
(i) A river is the visible form (or expression) on land of the invisible river of mois
ture which is carried tbrough the air to the sources of the visible river.
(ii) The whole collection of brooks, rivulets, strearas, and streamlets which go to
make up the chief central river is called a river-syBtem. It is frequently in shape very
like a leaf witb its veins.
(iii) Tbe area drained by such a river-system is called a rlver-baaln. Or, the whole
tract of country drained by a river and its tributaries is called its basin. Viewed as
'* catching" or receiving rain, it is called a catchment-ljasln.
(iv) The ridge of land, more or less elevated, which separates the basin of one
stream from another is called a water-shed or water-parting.
(v) The amount of curving which the river makes in its flo^ from its source to its
month is called its development.
Eivera develop or curve most in level plains. Thus the MissiBsippi curves a great deal {the dis
tance between ::t. Louie and New Orleans is over 500 miles ; the direct route ia only 100).
(vi) If one river, having a very low water-shed, sends a part of its waters to another
river by a side stream, that side-arm makes with the two other streams a bifurcation.
The beat-known bifurcation ia the Caaiquiare, which is a natural canal connecting the Orinoco and
the Rio Negro, the main northern tributary of the Amazon. The Chiana alao connects the
Amo and the Tiber.

INTRODUCTION

(vii) The spring, fountain, glacier, or lake in which the main branch of the river
takes its rise is called its source ; the channel in which its waters flow is called its bed ;
and the current is always most rapid in the middle. The right and left banks are
distinguished by looking down the river.
(viii) When a river branches off and enters the sea by several mouths, the two main
branches include between them a triangular piece of land shaped like a Greek D (A).
It is hence called a delta. When the tide widens out the mouth, it is called an estuary.
The best-known delta ia that of the Nile, The delta of the MiaaiBsippi ia more than twice aa large
aa Yorkshire.
10. Rivers. — (ii) A river has an upper, middle, and lower course ;
and each part has its own special marks or characteristics.
(i) The TTpper Course is generally through a hilly or mountainous country ; and is
hence the most rapid of the three. It is here often broken by waterfalls, cataracts, or
rapids. This course is not navigable. A lake frequently terminates this part of a
river's course, and serves for a filter.
Thus the CTpper Course of the Ehone ends in X^ake Geneva ; of tbe Ehlne, in Lake Constance.
Both streams enter muddy, and come out clear.
(ii) The Middle Course is frequently over table-land or hiUy land. The v^ey opens
out ; and the stream itself grows wider : the fall is less ; and the current is much
slower. Navigation and cultivation on its banks begin.
(iii) The Lower Course is generally through an almost level country. The body of
water is here largest ; and it has frequently to be kept within its banks by artificial
dams, dykes, levees, etc. Here, too, occur the most numerous and the largest curves,
with sandbanks, islands, etc.
The river Po ia, in its lower course, high above the towns "on its banks" : and the lowest iiart of
the Mississippi is only kept in by levees from flooding the delta.
(iv) It is a remarkable fact that the two largest rivers in four of the six continents
flow at right angles to each other.

11. Lakes.— (i) Lakes are accumulations of water in the natural
depressions in the surface of the earth. They are generally divided
into two classes : Mountain Lakes, and Lakes in Plains. They are
mostly expansions of rivers. They serve as mters, and are regulators
of the supply of water.

LAKES xxxi

(i) The main Contrasts between the two classes are :

Mountain Lakes
1. Are very deep.
2. Have high and steep shores.
3. Are generally long and narrow.

4. Are irregular in shape.
5. Lie generally in picturesque scenery.

Lakes In Plains

1. Are generally shallow.
2. Have low sloping shores.
3. Are often broad, with shores that
are out of sight when a ship is in
the centre.
4. Have a regular and monotonous
shape.
5. Are surrounded generally by tame
scenery.
(ii) The best examples of mountain-lakes are to be found in the Alps — on both slopes.
Thus (as regards 4) Lake Lucerne fills four distinct mountain- valleys, which meet one
another nearly at right angles. — The largest lakes on the globe — the Caspian and Aral
Seas, and the great North American lakes, all belong to the class of lakes in plains.
12. Lakes. — (ii) Lakes are, from the standpoint of their relation to
rivers, divided into three classes : lakes of transmission ; lakes of
emission ; and lakes of reception.
(i) Lakes of Transmission both receive and emit rivers. Most lakes belong to this
class. In fact, lakes are mostly expansions of the rivers themselves ; and, in
mountain-lands, their bed has been scooped out for them by tbe long action of ancient
glaciers, which plane and grind away the rocks ; and the scratchings and groovings
made by the movement of the ice may still be seen on the rocky shores.
(ii) Lakes of Emission appear to receive no supplies from rivers ; and are yet the
sources of rivers. Such lakes are supplied by springs which rise in their beds.
(iii) Lakes of Beception are those which receive rivers, but send out none. They
part with the waters they receive by means of evaporation— that is, by invisible rivers
through the air ; and hence they do not overflow. Such lakes are generally salt ;
because the evaporation carries off only fresh water, and leaves the salts brought
down by the rivers.
The beat example ol thia type is the Caspian, which receives the mighty Volga aud other rivers,
and is yet never larger ; because the evaporation on its surface is very great.
(iv) There are many small lakes, such as mountain-tarns, and lakes in the craters of
extinct volcanoes, which have no visible affluents nor outlets.
(v) The Basin of a Lake is the area of land which drains into it.
(vi) The largest lake in the world is the Caspian. It is nearly twice as large as
Great Britain. Itis salt. — The largest fresh- water lake is Superior, which is nearly as
large as Ireland. The Dead Sea is the lowest lake in the world : its surface is 1312 ft.
below the level of the Mediterranean.
(vii) The Northern Hemisphere has very many more lakes than the Southern ; and
most of these lakes lie in the Temperate Zone, and in the west part of it.

XXXII

INTRODUCTION

IIL The Land.
1. Introductory. — That part of the surface of the earth which is not
covered by the sea is called the Land ; and it consists of larger and
smaller masses. The larger masses are called Continents ; the
smaller, Islands. The Land occupies one-fourth of the whole surface.
(i) The continents may be reckoned as two : the Eastern Continent or Old World, and
the Western Contlneut or New World. From this point of view, Australia is looked
upon as the largest island in the world.
(ii) Or as six : Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Australia.
—In this case, New Guinea is the largest island in the world.
2. Distribution of Laod. — By iax the largest amount of land on the
globe lies
around
Londonas a cen
tre. If we
take Lon
don as the
centre of
a hemi-
sphere,
thishemi-sphe r e
includes six-sev enths of
all the
land, and
is hence
called the
Land HemispHere. The other half or Water Hemisphere, which has
New Zealand as its centre, contains only one-seventh of all the land
on the globe.

THE OLD WORLD AND THE NEW XXXIU
(i) The land masses which lie round London take the shape of a star-flsh. The
continiious masses of land are found in the middle ; and towards the circumference
the land fringes out into peninsulas and islands.
(ii) Europe is nearest to most of the other continents ; Australia farthest away.
The consequences of this position are shown in their degrees of civilisation : Europe
with the most varied historical life, with all the arts and sciences cultivated for many
centuries ; Australia inhabited by a people who do not even plough, and where the first
beginnings of civilisation are due to tbe commerce introduced from 15,000 miles away.
3. Tlie Eastern and Western Continents Compared. — There are
several very striking comparisons and contrasts between the Old and
the New World. They are as follows :

The Old World
1. Has its greatest length from east to
west.

The New World
1. Has its greatest length from north
to south.

Both worlds have theix greatest land-mass on tlie same parallel 50° North lat.

2. Tapers to the south.
3. Has a continent (Africa) almost
severed &om the main mass.
4. Has its great peninsulas pointing
south. Jutland points north ; Asia Minor, west.
5. The greater mountain-ranges run
from west to east.
6. Has its long slope to the north.

2. Tapers to the south.
3. Has u, continent (South America)
almost severed from the main mass.
4. Has its greater peninsulas pointing
south.
Yucatan points north ; Alaska, west.
5. The greater mountaji-ranges run
from north to south.
6. Has its long slope to the east.

Nos, 5 and 6 are tme also of the neighhouring islands.
4. Contour. — The contour of a continent or country is its outline.
Two things have to be taken into consideration : (i) the relation of
the limbs to the mass of land ; and (ii) the length or development
of the coast.
(i) The limbs of a continent are its peninsulas and islands. The peninsulas are
frequently continuations of mountain-ranges.
(ii) A neck of land which joins a peninsula to the main mass is called an Isthmus
(Gr, isthTnos, a neck).
(iii) The longer or more highly developed a coast line is, the greater the inducement
for the inhabitants of the country to take to a seafaring life, to engage in commerce,
and to exchange culture and ideas as well as goods. The peninsulas and islands of
C

XXXIV INTRODUCTION
Greece made the Greeks very early a seafaring people ; and the position of Great
Britain, neither too near nor too fer from the continent of Europe, has helped to
make her the greatest Oceanic Power the world has yet seen.

5. Islands. — Islands are, according to their position, divided into
Continental Islands and Oceanic Islands. A continental island was at
one time a part of the mainland ; possesses the same flora and fauna
as the mainland ; and owes its present position to the gradual sink
ing of the edge of the continent near which it stands. An oceanic
island is the summit of a mountain or the highest part of a submarine
plateau rising out of the sea.

(i) The best example of a Continental Island is Great Britain. Were the bed of the
North Sea raised 300 ft. above its present level, Great Britain would again form part
of the continent of Europe.

(ii) A group of islands is called an Archipelago.

The best example of a Continental
Archipelago is to be found
in the mighty East Indian
Archipelago, the islands in
which once formed part of
Asia and Australia. Torres
Strait is only 180 ft. deep.
(iii) SmaU islands which
lie in crowds dose to the
shore of a country, are
Skerries. They are very
numerous on the coasts of
Norway and Scotland.

Lagoon
CoraJ Island

Coral ryland

(iv) Oceanic Islanda are either high
islands of volcanic or granitic rocks ;
or low islands, made by the coral
polype. Volcanic islands are most
numerous on the shores of the
Paciiic Ocean. These islands are
often a combination of both for
mations. A coral island enclosing
a lagoon is called an atoU. Oceanic
islands stretch across a line 8000
miles long from Japan to Easter
Island— the most easterly of all the
innumci'able islands in tho Pacific.

THE BTHLD OF A CONTINENT XXXV
6. Build. — The tuild or vertical form of a continent or country is
the form it takes as it rises from the sea-level and is seen against the
sky. If we call its horizontal shape its sea-line, this may be called
its sky-line. There are three principal kinds of vertical build : low
land, table-land, and mountain.
(i) The absolute height of a point is calculated from the level of the sea; the relative
height, from the neighbouring land.
(ii) Lowland is land which rises from the level of the sea to about 600 ft. Above
that, it is generaUy called plateau or table-land. A lowland may have hills rising
from it ; may be a plain ; or a rolling country. Savannahs, Selvas, Prairies, Llanos,
Pampas, Steppes, Heaths, Moors, Landes, Tundras, are different names for different kinds
of lowland. Almost aU deltas and alluvial lands are low plains.
ia) Savannahs and PraiT^s are the great plains of North America.
(5) Selvas are the forest-plains of the Amazon Valley ; Llanoa the grassy plains annually flooded
by the Orinoco ; Pampas, the broad pasture-lands of the La Plata.
(c) ffeatha and Moors are common in the lowlands of North Germany.
(d) The Landes are the sandy plains of the south-west of France.
(e) Steppes are the open treeless plains of Itussia,
(/) The Tundras are the marshy plains of Europe and Asia which lie on the Arotlc Ocean.
(iii) A table-land is an elevated plain whieh, in general, forms the base of a mountain-
range. Sometimes a mountain-range is only the buttress or edging-range of a plateau.
This is the case with the Plateau of Thibet and the Himalayas. The Old World
is the continent of Plateaus ; the New World, of Plains. Asia has an immense table
land running from Asia Minor, on the IVIediterranean, to Corea, on the Pacific, for a
distance of 5500 miles.
(iv) An eminence (generally of a rounded or conical shape) not more than 500 or 600
ft. high, is called a hill. If the eminence is higher than this, it is called a mountain.
A series of mountain-peaks, seemingly separated, but belonging to one system, is called
a range or chain. When the mountain-masses stand close together, they are called a
group. We speak of the Pennine Eange and the Cumbrian Group. The indented line of
the summits of the whole range is called the crest. The tops of separate mountains
are called by various names, according to their shapes : Peak, Head, Pome, Horn, Needle,
Saddle, Table. A depression between two summits is called a Pass or Col. — A long
depression between two ranges of mountains or two rising grounds is called a Valley,
Passes are frequently the gates of commerce hetween the two slopes of ^ mountainland.
7. Volcanoes. — A volcano is an opening in the earth's crust, which
communicates with the internal fire of the globe, and through which
is thrown out steam, gases, smoke, fire, ashes, molten rock, and
streams of lava. The ashes and fragments of rock thrown out take
the form of a cone, and produce a volcanic mountain.
The word volcano is derived from the name Vulcanus, the God of Fire, who was supposed by the
ancients to have his forges at the roots of Mount Etna.

xxxvi INTRODUCTION
(i) The size of a volcano may vary from a mound a few yards in diameter (like
the mud-volcanoes on the shores of the Caspian) to a mountain like Cotopaxi in the
Andes, the height of wbich is nearly 19,000 ft., and the upper 4000 ft. of which is
a smooth regular cone.
(ii) At the summit of a volcano is a hollow called the crater (Latin for eup) ; and
in the middle of the crater is the mouth of a perpendicular shaft or chimney, which
emits the steam, ashes, cinders, lava, etc.
(iii) The amount of matter sometimes thrown out by volcanoes is enormous. The
whole island of Hawaii, the largest of the Sandwich Islands, is only an accumulation
of lava thrown out by its four craters ; and all high oceanic islands are built up in the
same way. The two Italian cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii were buried beneath
a rain of hot wet fine ashes thrown out by Mount Vesuvius in the year 79 a.d.
(iv) It is estimated that there are on the face of the globe nearly 700 volcanoes. Of
these, 270 are active. Of the active volcanoes, 175 are on islands ; and 95 stand near
the sea-shore.
(v) There are on the globe two great Volcanic Zones. The first zone consists of tbat
enormous girdle which encircles the Pacific Ocean with a belt of " burning mountains."
The second zone runs between the Northern and Southern Continents, and intersects
the first zone nearly at right angles. The most intense volcanic activity occurs at the
intersection of the two zones, — in Central America and the East Indian Archipelago.
Central America and Mexico contain 85 volcanoes ; the East Indies, 117.
(vi) Small volcanoes are called fumaroles or soUataras. The first term means smoTce-
holes ; and smoke or gases issue from them. The second are volcanic vents from which
su'^hAirous gases escape.
(vii) There are numerous extinct volcanoes in the south and middle of France, in
north-west Germany, in Bohemia, etc.

THE OCEANS.
1. Introductory. — There are upon the globe five chief seas or Oceans,
all of which are connected with each other. These are : the Arctic and
Antarctic Oceans ; the Atlantic and Pacific ; and, between the two last,
the Indian.
2. The Arctic Ocean.— The Arctic Ocean lies round the North Pole,
between the continents of Europe, Asia, and North America. It is
nearly circular in form, and its edges aie about 20° from the North
Pole. The coasts are in general low and flat, for they are continua
tions of the low plains that lie in the north of the three continents.
The islands in the Arctic are very numerous ; and Greenland is
the largest. The Arctic Ocean has two openings — a broad one

THE ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC OCEANS XXXvii
into the Atlantic ; and a very narrow one into the Pacific. Out of
it flows into the Atlantic the great current called the Arctic Current ;
and, on the other hand, branches of the Gulf Stream penetrate far
within its limits. Its chief sea is the White Sea.
(i) The highest point yet reached in this ocean is 83° 24'— about 400 miles from the
North Pole ; it was reached hy Lieutenant Lockwood, of Greeley's Expedition. In
1850 Captain M'Clure entered the Arctic Ocean by Behring Strait, and brought his
ships home by Davis Strait ; he thus sailed throngh the whole "North- West Passage,"
but in the reverse direction.
(ii) The area of the Arctic is about 5,500,000 sq.uare miles, or a little more than half
the size of Africa.
(iii) The whole ocean is covered by ice-fields of from 6 to 60 ft. in thickness. On
the west coast of Greenhind are numerous glaciers, the best known of which is the
Humboldt Glacier, in 79° North lat. When these glaciers reach the sea, the ends break
off under the lifting swell of the waves; and these broken ends are icebergs. This
process is called the "calving of the glaciers."
(iv) This ocean receives enormous supplies of fresh water. The Siberian Plain, the
north of Europe, and the great northern plain of North America, all drain into it, all
send down streams of great volume into its basin.
(v) The Arctic Current meets tbe Gnlf Stream off the Banks of Newfoundland ; and a
number of remarkable phenomena take place, (a) The cold icy air above the Arctic
Cnrrent condenses the warm moisture above the Gulf Stream ; and almost perpetual
fogs are the result. (6) The icebergs ground on the Banks ; they melt ; and the rocks
and stones brought down by them are deposited on the Banks and add to their extent.
(c) The Arctic Current flows past the Gulf Stream, hugging the coast of North
America ; and it is this cold current that supplies the fish for the rich tables of the
United States.
(vl) No part of the Gulf Stream finds its way into the White Sea ; and hence that
sea is blocked with ice for many months.
3. The Antarctic Ocean. — The Antarctic Ocean is not properly a
separate ocean : it is the common centre from whioh the three great
oceans radiate. It lies round the South Pole. The three great oceans
may almost be regarded as mighty gulfs radiating from this. It has
no shores ; but it is probable that a continent lies at the heart of it.
On this continent a lofty range of mountains has been seen ; and in
this range two volcanoes — Mount Erebus and Mount Terror — were
descried. The Antarctic is a much colder ocean than the Arctic ;
and sends out into warmer seas a larger number of large icebergs than
the Arctic Ocean. The Antarctic Ocean is deeper than the Arctic ;

XXXVIU INTRODUCTION
but much shallower than either the Pacific or the Atlantic. From it
proceeds the Antarctic Drift Current — a stream of intensely cold
water — which goes northwards along the coasts of Chili and Peru,
and is known at the Cape of Good Hope as the A^nlhas Current.
(i) The Arctic Ocean is contained by continents ; the Antarctic contains a continent.
(ii) It is from the Antarctic Ocean that the tides start, and make their way into the
other great oceans of the world.
(iii) The highest latitude yet reached in it was attained by Captain Sir James Ross,
who, in 1841, penetrated to 77° 15' South lat. — or about 800 miles from the South Pole.
(iv) The continent within this ocean was named by Sir James Boss, Sontli ^ctoria.
The part sighted by Admiral Wilkes of the United States Navy was caUed Wilkes Land.
" It is a continent nearly circular in form, and more than twice the size of Australia ; it
is covered by eternal snows, and is wholly devoid of vegetation ; its shores are guarded
by active volcanoes, or by impenetrable barriers of ice, and its interior has never been
trodden by the foot of man." Mount Erebns (12,400 ft.) is a volcano in a state of
almost constant activity ; Mount Terror (9000 ft.) is also a volcano — but extinct.
(v) The icebergs sent out by the Antarctic contain a much larger amount of cold
than those of the Arctic ; hence they melt more slowly ; hence, too, they reach lower
latitudes before entirely disappearing. Icebergs have been met in 43° South lat.;
they have even been seen in the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope— lat. 34°.
No Arctic iceberg has been seen in the Atlantic further south than 38°.
(vi) No terrestrial quadruped is known to inhabit the Antarctic Continent ; whales,
seals, walruses, and other mammals, frequent the seas.
4. THe Atlantic Ocean.— (i) The Atlantic Ocean, though only half
the size of the Pacific, is the most important of all the oceans on the
surface of the globe. More great rivers go down into it ; it has a
longer coast line, with more and larger inland seas, bays, and gulfe ;
its shores are bordered by more fertile countries ; and hence it
possesses a far larger commerce than any other ocean. Its coasts are
better surveyed, better provided with lighthouses, and its currents
better known than those of any sea in the world. Its shape is like
the letter S— a longitudinal valley, a long winding belt of water
running through three zones, a sea-canal between the Old and New
Worlds. Its area amounts to 35,000,000 square miles— that is, nearly
one-fifth part of the globe's surface. It receives a larger amount of
river-water than any other ocean. It connects, rather than separates,
the Old and the New World ; and all the greatest vaUeys of both
hemispheres slope down to this ocean.

THE ATLANTIC

XXXIX

(i) The coast line of the Atlantic amounts to nearly 55,000 miles, or twice the
length of a line drawn round the globe at the Equator.
(ii) The east and west coasts are remarkable for their wonderful parallelism.
(iii) The river-basin (19,000,000 square miles) of the Atlantic is the largest in the
world. It is from the two Americas that it receives the largest contributions.
(iv) The Atlantic is the Mediterranean of the whole world. The Baltic is the
Mediterranean of Northern Europe. The Gulf of Mexico is the Mediterranean of the
New World.

5. The Atlantic Ocean. — (ii) The bed of the Atlantic is a rolling
plain, with weU-marked ridges rising from it. The most important
rising in tiiis plain is the "Telegraphic Plateau" between Ireland
and Newfoundland. The average depth of the Atlantic is about
15,000 ft. — Both sides of this ocean are rich in islands, more especially
the west side ; and the West Indian Archipelago is surpassed only
by the island- world of the East Indies. — The warmest part is the
Gulf of Mexico, where the surface-water reaches a temperature of 88° ;
and escapes through the Florida Pass as the Gulf Stream. The South
Atlantic is a much colder ocean than the North Atlantic. The
following are the chief contrasts between the

Atlantic

1. The Atlantic is a belt, almost equally
broad at all parts.
2. The Atlantic is open to the Poles.
3. Its greatest length is from north to
south.
4. It receives an enormous quantity of
river-water.
5. The greatest rivers in the world fall
into the Atlantic.
6. Has a large number of large islands.
7. It is the chief highway of commerce
on the globe.
8. It has the longest coast line In pro
portion to its size.

and the Pacific
1. The Pacific is a very wide oval.
2. The Pacific has the very narrowest
connection with the Arctic Ocean.
3. Its greatest length is from east to
west.
4. It receives very little river-water.
5. Only on one tef its shores does the
Pacific receive great rivers.
6 Has a very large number of islands
of all sizes.
7. Its trans-oceanic (non-local) com
merce is only beginning.
8. It has a comparatively short coast
line.

xl INTRODUCTION
(i) All of the Atlantic Cables which connect Europe and North America lie on the
Telegraphic Plateau. Our chief station is Talentia, on the west of Ireland.
(ii) It is the North Atlantic that is richest in islands. The only coral islands a.-e
the Bezmndas.
6. The Inland Seas of the Atlantic. — (i) The Atlantic possesses a
great many large inland seas on both of its shores ; and in this respect
it is distinguished above all other oceans. On the east, it has the
North Sea, the Baltic, and the Mediterranean (which is continued in
the Sea of Marmora, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov).
(i) The North Sea or German Ocean is enclosed on three of its sides by Teutonic
countries. It is a very shaUow sea (between Great Britain and the continent of Europe)
which covers a submarine plateau, the emerging parts of which are the British Isles.
This plateau ends with a steep cliff about 230 miles from the west coast of Ireland. If
the sea-level were to fall 60 ft., the Dogger Bank— a bank rich in fish, especially cod-
would appear; and, if it fell 100 ft., we could walk dry-shod on an isthmns which
would connect Lincolnshire and Holland. Three- fourths of the area of the North Sea
are occupied by sand-banks ; and, owing to its shallowness, storms rise and feU with
great rapidity. Its water is bluish-green ; but the water of the open ocean is deep
blue. — Its shores are planted with numerous very busy seaports. — An important
branch of the North Sea is the South Sea (or Znyder Zee), in Holland.
(ii) The Baltic is also a very shallow sea. Its average depth is only 20 fathoms.
Parts of it are often frozen over. It is also very fresh — it has, at the head of the Gulf
of Bothnia, only ^d per cent, of salt. This is due to two causes : (a) the large number
of large rivers that flow into it ; and (&) the sniall amount of evaporation from its
surface. It is rich in cod and herring.
(iii) The Mediterranean is the largest inland sea in the world. It is 2300 miles long.
Half of its shores belong to Europe ; the other half, in almost equal parts, to Africa
and Asia. It is richer in far-drawn gulfs and bays, and also in islands, than any other
sea ; it pierces more deeply into the land. Its waters are very salt ; because (a) it
receives few rivers in comparison with its size, and (6) the evaporation by hot winds is
very great. The evaporation carries off three times as much water as the rivers bring
down ; and the deficiency is made up by an inflowing current fi-om the Atlantic It is
divided into two basins by a submarine ridge wliich runs between Cape Bon and
Sicily. The average depth of the western basin is 1200 fathoms ; of the eastern, 2000.
On the north side it is rich in gulfs, such as the Adriatic, the Ardiipelago, etc Its
waters are intensely blue. The tides in this sea are hardly perceptible— they rise at
most a few inches.— The cutting of the Suez Canal shortened the route to India and the
East by 6000 miles, has restored to the Mediterranean much ot the commerce which it
had lost, and has brought back navigation to its ancient paths. It has a large number
of famous seaports on its shores ; and tho great nations bordering on it— the Greeks,
Romans, Moors, Spaniards, etc.— have made tliis the richest in history of all the seas
of the world. For three thousand years it was the " Great Sea " of all civilisation.

THE ATLANTIC xli
When the Cape of Good Hope was discovered in 1479, ocean-ti-ado desei-ted tlie Mediterranean.
^Vhea the Suez Canal was opened iu 1869, much of theocean-trafflo came back to its old routea.
(iv) The Black Sea is an islandless waste of waters which is celebrated for fogs and
sudden storms ; hence its name. It is often frozen in winter near tho mouth of its
northern rivers. It is a little larger than the Baltic ; and its drainage basin is three
times as large as that of the Mediterranean. It receives many large rivers— the
Danube being the largest. Its eastern basin is the Sea of Azov, the shallowest sea in
Europe. West of the Sea of Azov is a marsh called the Putrid Sea. The Black Sea has
excellent fishing-grounds.
(v) The Sea ot Marmora is a small sea which lies between the Black Sea and the
Archipelago. It is very deep in comparison with its size.
7. The Inland Seas of the Atlantic— (ii) On the western side of the
Atlantic the most important inland seas are Hudson Bay, the Gulf of
Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea.
(i) Hudson Bay on the west corresponds to the North Sea on the east, and lies nearly
in the same latitude. It is connected with the Atlantic by Hudson Strait, whioh,
however, is frozen over for about nine months in the year. In commercial advantages,
it presents a very striking contrast to the German Ocean.
(ii) The Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico correspond to the Mediterranean ;
though the latter lies much farther north.

8. The Currents of the Atlantic. — The chief curreuts in the North
Atlantic Ocean are the Equatorial Current, the Gulf Stream, and the
North African Current — these three making one great circular move
ment as of a vast whirlpool, with the Sargasso Sea in the middle. In
the South Atlantic, we have, in addition to the South Equatorial
Current, the Brazil Current, the South Connecting Current, and the
South African Current — these four also moving in a circular manner,
with a smaller " Sargasso Sea " in the middle.
(i) The Gulf Stream is the outfiow of water that has been heated up in the caldron-
shaped Gulf of Mexico. It flows through the Florida Pass at the rate of about four or
five mUes an hour, and moves northward parallel with the coast of North America,
from which it is separated by a current of cold water flowing in the opposite direction.
South of the Banks of Newfoundland, it turns east and spreads itself all over the
Atlantic ; one branch goes north between the BritLsh Isles and Iceland and on to
Norway, another turns south and flows along the coasts of Spain and Africa. It is
the presence of the Gulf Stream that gives to Great Britain and Norway their warm,

xiii

INTRODUCTION

moist and foggy winter climate. Norway is in the latitude of Greenland, and Great
Britain in that of Labrador ; but Greenland and Labrador have aa almost eternal

THE OUBEENTS OF THE ATLANTIC.
winter. The sea-water at Hainmerfest is as warm in winter as it is at Xew York —
nearly 2000 miles farther south.
(ii) The circular motion in the North Atlantic hrings together m the middle, drift
wood, sea-weed, and other floating d6bris ; and it also affords a field for the collection
and growth of the floating "gulf-weed," on which a large number of peculiar animals
live. This Sargasso Sea of floating weed is so dense that it retards the progress of ships.

THE PACIFIC xliii
(iii) The Brazil Current flows to the south ; the Connecting Current to the east, and, off
the coast of Africa, joins the South A&icau Current, which goes to the north, and merges
into the great Equatorial Current.

9. The Pacific Ocean. — (i) The Pacific Ocean is the largest sheet of
water on the face of the globe. It has been called a "World-Ocean."'
It lies in three zones. It is an immense oval basin, which contracts
towards the north, and which has its greatest breadth on the Equator.
Its area contains 68,000,000 square miles — nearly double the size of
the Atlantic. Its length from east to west is 12,000 miles ; its greatest
breadth a little more than 9000. Its coasts are very regular, with
few indentations ; and hence its coast line is comparatively short.
(i) The Germans call the Pacific the " Great Ocean." Magellan gave it the name
of the Pacific ; because, when he crossed it, the weather was exceptionally fine. But,
in many regions, it is frequently the scene of the most terrible storms.
(ii) The Pacific covers about one-third of the whole surface of the globe, and one-
half of its water surface. It could hold all the land in the world within its
boundaries. (iii) The Asiatic coast is much more highly developed than the American. The
only indentation of importance on the American side is the Gulf of California.
10. The Pacific Ocean. — (ii) The river-drainage of the Pacific is, in
proportion to its size, remarkably small. It is from the Asiatic
slopes that this ocean receives most rivers ; the two Americas seem
to "tum their backs" upon it, and send down very small con
tributions of water. The bed of the Pacific is tolerably uniform in
character ; and much of it is gradually sinking. The greatest known
depth is 4975 fathoms, or nearly 5J miles. It is girt by a mighty
ring of volcanoes — an almost unbroken belt of volcanic activity on
both its shores.
(i) Though the Pacific is more than double the size of the Atlantic, its drainage
basin is less than half. The drainage basin of the Atlantic is 19,000,000 square railes ;
of the Pacific SJ millions.
(ii) South America sends to the Pacific only a few mountain-torrents ; Australia,
very few and not large rivers.
(iii) The greatest depth in the Pacific has been found north of the Carolines.

xliv INTRODUCTION
(iv) From Behring Strait down to the Philippines there runs a well-marked line of
volcanic activity. Another line mns through the Sunda Islands, through New
Guinea, and on to New Zealand.— On the eastern shore, we find a row of lofty
volcanoes, many of them active, in the Andes, in Central America and Mexico, in the
Rocky Mountains (where all are extinct), and on to Behring Strait again.
11. The Inland Seas of the Pacific. — The western coast abounds in
inland seas— all shallow ; but they are very small — compared either
with the size of the ocean itself, or with those of the Atlantic. Its
inland seas are, indeed, rather large bays, enclosed by a breakwater of
islands, than interior seas like the Baltic or Mediterranean. — On the
east coast, there are no inland seas at all.
The Bebring Sea is enclosed by the Aleutian Islands ; the Sea of Okhotsk by the
Knrile Islands ; the Sea of Japan by the Japanese. Archipelago. The Yellow Sea, the
Obina Sea, and the Gulf of Siam are also important openings on the west coast.
12. The Currents of the Pacific. — The chief currents in the Pacific
Ocean are the Equatorial Current ; the Peruvian Current ; and the
Japan Current.
(i) The Eiiuatorial Current, which goes slowly to the west, is generally spoken of as
two currents— the North Equatorial and the South Equatorial.
(ii) When it strikes the Japanese Islands, it is forced up in a north-easterly direc
tion, and becomes the Japan Current or Kuro Sivo (=" Black Stream"), the dark
colour of whose waters forms the most striking contrast with the pale muddy colour
of the Yellow Sea.
(iii) The Peruvian or Humboldt Current is a stream of ice-cold water, from the Ant
arctic Ocean, which makes its way up the west eoast of South America.
13. The Islands of the Pacific. — The countless groups of islands,
which lie in the Middle Section of the Pacific, have been compared
with the uncounted stars in the " MUky Way " in the heavens. The
Pacific Islands are of two kinds : Continental and Oceanic. The
continental islands are fragments of Asia or Australia, and lie on the
submarine plateau between these two continents. The oceanic
islands are either of volcanic or of coral formation.
(i) The continental islands include the Aleutian Isles, the Eurile Isles, the Japaa
Islanda, the PhiUppines, and all that immense archipelago which lies on the submarine
table-land between Asia and Australia.
(ii) Tho oceanic islands are found chiefly in the South Pacific. The most northerly
group is the Sandwich Islands ; the most soutliei'ly. Hew Zealand.

THE INDIAN OCEAN xlv
14. The Commerce of the Pacific. — The commerce of this mighty
ocean is only in its first beginnings. There are four rising ports on
its east coast : San Francisco, Panamd, Callao (the port of Lima), and
Valparaiso. There are four great ports on its western shores :
Tokohama, Hong-Eong, Singapore, and Sydney.
The chief agencies in creating the commerce of the Pacific are : (1) the colonisation
of Australia ; (2) the extension of the United States to the western coast ; (3) the dis
covery of gold in California and Australia ; and (4) the opening of the Chinese and
Japanese ports to all comers.
15. The Indian Ocean. — (i) The Indian Ocean, " the Region of the
Monsoons," lies mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, within the
Torrid Zone, and between the three continents of Africa, Asia, and
Australia. It contains two mighty gulfs — the Arabian Sea and the
Bay of Bengal. Unlike the two other great oceans, it has no connec
tion with the Arctic ; though its whole southern border lies open to
the Antarctic. It is nearly one-third smaUer than the Atlantic.
(i) The limit of the Indian Ocean is said to be 38° South lat.
(ii) Its area is 25,000,000 square miles.
16. The Indian Ocean. — (ii) The Indian Ocean has only two inland
Seas — the Eed Sea and the Persian Gulf. It possesses a very large
drainage-basin, and several of the largest rivers in the world bring to
it their contributions. It is a very deep ocean ; its average depth is
about 15,000 ft. It is also a warm ocean, lying for the most part
under the vertical rays of the sun ; and the surface temperature
sometimes rises to 90°.
(i) The Bed Sea receives no river ; most of it is within the Tropics, and there is
enormous evaporation from its surface it and hence its level at Aden is several feet
higher than its level in the Gulf of Suez. The Persian Gulf receives only one river of
any size — the Shatt-el-Arab.
(ii) The contributions of river- water from Asia are by far the largest. Almost all
the melted snows of the Himalayas find their way into the Indian Ocean through
the Indus, the Ganges, and the Brahmapootra. It also receives the waters of Peninsular
India. The mountains of Burmah also contribute, through the Irrawaddy and other
great streams. Africa contributes very little ; Australia still less.
(iii) At the depth of 12,000 ft., however, there is a uniform temperature of 85°

xlvi INTRODUCTION
17. The Indian Ocean. — (iii) The chief currents in this ocean are
the Equatorial, the Mozambique, and the Agulhas. Its islands, like
those of the Pacific, are mostly of volcanic or of coral origin. Its
commerce is large, and, since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869,
has been yearly increasing. The chief ports are Bombay, Madras,
Calcutta, and Kangoon.
(i) The MozamWque Current is a branch of the Equatorial, and runs southward
through the Mozambique Channel, between Madagascar and AMca. It joins the
Agulhas Current near Cape Agulhas (="Cape Needles").
(ii) The two largest islands are Madagascar and Ceylon; but they are continental
islands. The largest oceanic groups are the Laccadlves (=" Hundred thousand
Islands"), and the Maldives (=" Thousand Islands"), which are coral islands, with
numerous atolls.
(iii) The Suez Canal leads straight into the most commercial part of the Indian
Ocean. Its existence has almost stopped the old passage round the Cape of Good
Hope— 5000 miles longer— and has thus revolutionised modem commerce.

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY.

1. Introductory. — Political Geography tries to give some account of
how men live in states and nations ; what circumstances help them
to gain a livelihood ; and what form of human life — what manners
and customs, arts and sciences — they have gradually built up.
Peoples and Races.
2. Population. — There are in the world, at the present time, about
1500 millions of human beings. Of the continents, Asia contains the
largest number ; Australia the smallest.
(i) But Europe is the most densely peopled continent ; and the density of its
population increases as we go west, the farther we get from Asia. The average density
in Europe is about 90 persons per square mile ; in Asia it is only about half— or 47.
(ii) The most populous country in Europe is Belgium ; the most populous part of
Asia is the Plain of Cbina.

RACES xlvii
3. Races. — There are, in the human family, five great races,
differing from each other in colour, features, the character of the hair,
etc. ; though the hair constitutes the most distinguishing and per
manent difference between them. These five races are : the Caucasian,
the Mongolian, the Negro, the Malayan, and the Indian.
(i) The Caucasian (Indo-European) or Wlilto Race is distinguished by a white
or fair skin, oval face, straight eyebrows, long silky hair (black, light, or auburn),
and harmonious proportions of body. The facial angle is from 80" to 90°. This race is
found in Europe and the south and south-west of Asia. — The European section of this
race has spread itself over almost the whole globe.
(ii) The Mongolian or Yellow Race has high cheek-bones, small, oblique, and narrow
eyes ; a skin of an olive-yellow to deep brown ; long, thick, and lank hair ; and little
orno beard. The north and east of Asia are their chief abodes.— But, in Europe, the
Finns, Lapps, and Samoyedes ; the Magyars of Hungary ; the Tui-ks, and the Esqui
maux, all belong to this race.
(iii) The Negro (Ethiopian) or Black Race has flat features, a flat thick fleshy nose,
thick protruding lips, a black skin, and short, woolly, curly black hair. The
facial angle is from 70° to 75°. This race inhabits Africa from the southern edge of the
Sahara to Bechuana Land ; in the United States of North America and in South
America (to both of wbich continents they were carried as slaves), and in Mahometan
countries, where they live mostly in a state of slavery.
(iv) The Malayan or Tawny Race has some of the marks of the three chief races : the
skuUand eyes of the Caucasian, the long coarse black hair of the Mongol, and theflattened
features of the Negro. The Malays have a brown or tawny skin. They are found
on the widespread island-world which lies between Madagascar and Easter Island, in
Polynesia— over more than 200 degrees of longitude.
(v) The Indian (American Indian) or Copper-coloured Race has a red, bronze, or
copper-coloured skin, black lank hair, high cheek-bones, and long eyes. This race is
limited to America, and is gradually dying out. In South America, the Patagonians
are the best specimens of this race. (The term Indian is a mistake ; as the "Red
Men" have no connection with India or the Sindiis. It arose from the error of
Coliimbus, who thought that the island of St. Salvator on which he landed was a part
of the Indies, and hence called the whole archipelago the " Indies.")
4. Populousness of Races. — The Caucasian Kace numbers about 640
millions ; the Mongolian nearly 600 ; the Ethiopian 200 ; the Malay
40 ; and the American Indian only 20 millions.
5. Languages. — The languages of the Mongolian Kace are mono-
syllaMc, and entirely without inflexion. The Indo-European or
Caucasian Races speak languages which are rich in inflexion.

xlviii INTKODTTCTION
(i) The monosyllahio languages use any word either as a noun, verb, or adjective
-solely according to its position in the sentence. These languages are spoken chiefly in
China, Japan, and Further India.
(ii) Of the Indo-European languages the most widely spread in the Ancient World
was latin ; in the Modem World it is EngllBh. English is spoken by about 100 miUions
of people ; Bussian by 63 ; German by 62 ; and Spanish by 55 millions. Spanish is
spread all over South America, and is the commercial language of that continent.
6. EeUgions.— The Eeligions of the world are generally divided into
Polytheistic and Monotheistic— The three most important kinds of
Monotheism are : Christianity ; Judaism ; and Mahometamsm. The
chief forms of Polytheism are : Buddhism and Brahmlnism.
Greek polya, many, and theoa, a god ; manoa, sole or one.
(i) Christians are said to number 400 millions ; Mahometans 200 ; and Jews, only
7 miUions. The larger half of mankind— 830 millions— are polytheists or heathens.
(ii) Mahomotanism or lal4m (=God's will be done !) Is professed in Asia (Arabia.
Persia, India, etc.), in North and Central Africa, and also in Europe (Turkey, etc.).
Its followers are called MoBlems or Mussnlmaiu.
(iii) BaddUsm, or the Eehgion of Buddha, a great sage and meditative philosopher
of the 6th century B.C., is the most widely spread religion of the East. It is pro
fessed in Further India, the Malay Peninsula, China, Japan, etc.
(iv) Brahminisin, or the Eeligion of Brahma— the chief god of the Hindus, is the
religion most prevalent in India.
(v) There are also lower forms of heathenism — such as Fetichism and shamanism.
Fetichism is the worship of beasts (tigers, etc.), useful or hurtful plants, and even
stones and carved blocks of wood. Shamanism is the worship of invisible spirits who
are believed to be able to do harm as well as good— but who are generally more able
and willing to do harm, and who have to be flattered or propitiated by magical arts.
Those Mongols — in Siberia, etc. — who are not Buddhists, are in general Shamanists.
(vi) Again, there are higher forms, such as the worship of Fire among the Parsees
in India, etc.
7. Forms of Lahour. — The simplest kind of labour is hunting ; and
under this kind may also be included fishing. Labourers of this
class have no property. The second stage is that of the propertied
classes. These are, again, subdivided into wandering and settled
peoples. Wanderers (or Nomads) generally possess herds of cattle
and sheep. Settled peoples are for the most part engaged in agricul-

MAN IN SOCIETY xlix
ture. — A third stage is that of handicraft or manufacture, where the
raw material owes much or most of its value to the labour and skill
put into it. — A fourth stage is the exchanging of surplus products of
agriculture or manufacture ; and this gives rise to commerce. — The
highest stage of labour is the cultivation of art, literature, or science.
(i) The Eskimoes and the Samoyedes are in the lowest stage.
(ii) The Bedouins in Arabia, the Turcomans in the Turanian Lowland Desert, and
the Tnaricks in the Sahara, are Nomads.
(iii) Agriculture has two main branches : tillage and stock-raising.
(iv) Commerce exports either raw materials or manufactures ; and its ultimate aim
is to bring about an equilibrium in the exchange of both all over the world. Great
Britain has too much hardware; Cliina has more tea than she needs : they exchange.
(v) If there is in any country a snrplos of producers, emigration takes place ; and
colonies are founded.
(vi) It is in the Temperate Zones of the world that different kinds of labour and
enterprise have grown to their highest perfection. In these zones nature grants
nothing -without a struggle. In the Torrid Zone nature is lavish of her bounties,
and does not compel man to work for a living. In the Frigid Zone the struggle is so
severe that man spends the whole of his life in getting a mere living.
8. Kinds of Societies. — Man is a very gregarious animal. It is not
good for him to be alone. Men come together in hamlets, villages,
towns, and cities. Towns or villages rise at a bridge over a river ;
on a coal-field ; or where two main roads intersect each other. The
largest towns are found where three things — agriculture, manufactures,
and commerce, exist together in the highest degree. Many of the
largest towns in the world are seaports.
(i) Bristol (formerly Brigstow)=tTie " stow" (or place) on the bridge over the Avon.
(ii) All the largest manufacturing towns in England and the Continent stand on or
near coal-fields. Coal-flelds generally contain iron-ores ; and these two minerals, coal
which gives power) and iron (which provides the raw material for machinery) form the
backbone of all industrial manufacture.
(iii) Two main roads of traffic may meet at the confluence (a) of two rivers, or (b) of
two railroads, or (c) where two caravan-routes intersect, (a) Allahabad stands at
the confluence of the Jumna with the Ganges ; St. Louis, where the Missouri and
Mississippi join. (6) Birmingham stands at or near the intersection of the Midland
and North- Western Systems, (c) Moscow stands at the meeting-point of all the high
roads from north to south and from east to west in European Eussia. Damascus
stands at the intersection of the routes between Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Asia Minor.
D

1 INTRODUCTION
(iv) Out of about 260 towns in the world whieh have a population of more tlian
100,000, about 110 are seaports. These seaports either stand on the coast, or— if on
rivers— at the head of the tidal waters.
(v) London is the town which unites in the highest degree the products of agri
culture, manufactures, and commerce.
(vi) Towns like Chicago, San Francisco, and Sydney may be said to stand at the inter
section of great trade-routes. Chicago stands on Lake Michigan and intercepts the
immense quantities of wheat that are brought to it by rail from the rich prairie-lands.
Behind all three to-wns, there are either fertile lands, or rich mines, or both ; and these
towns stand at the meeting-points of the railway-system and the water-journey.
9. Kinds of Government. — The unit or core of society is the family.
A number of families living together under one head (a chief or
sheikh) is called a clan. This is the lowest stage of government. A
higher stage is where the families or people of a country are organised
into a state. A state may be either a monarchy or a republic. A
monarchy may be either absolute or limited. A republic may be
either aristocratic or democratic.
(i) Rule by a chief is called patriarchal rule. In Mongolia a clan is called a horde.
(ii) The only absolute monarchies in Europe are Russia, Turkey, and the small princi
pality of Monaco, in the north of Italy.
(iii) The other monarchies of Europe are lunited by the conditions laid down in the
Constitution, and by the powers of Parliament. Parliament generally consists of two
Chambers — an Upper and a Lower. (In Great Britain, the Upper Chamber is the
House of Lords ; in the United States, it is the Senate.)
(iv) An aristocratic republic is ruled by a /ewj, and is hence called an oligarchy
(Greek oligoi, the few). Such was the republic of Eome. — Modem republics are demo
cratic (Greek Demos, the people) ; as France, Switzerland, and the United States. Tlie
legislative power is in the hands of the Parliament ; the executive power is generally
vested in the President, who is chosen for a fixed term of years. Tlie President, besides
being the head of the State, is also Commander-in-chief of the Army, etc

EUROPE

lii

EUROPE
1. Introductory. — Europe is the smallest of the three continents
which make up the Old World. It is in, reality, a large peninsula
joined to Asia ; and it assumes more and more of a peniosular char
acter, the farther it goes from that continent. Though the smallest
of the five great continents, it is the centre of civilisation, of com
merce, of intercourse, and of travel. This distinction it owes partly to
the fact that it lies in the middle of all the land in the world, and
partly to its astonishing wealth in coast line and varied build of land.
2. Boundaries. — Europe is bounded on three sides by the sea. On
the land side, the Ural Mountains separate it from Asia. Its extreme
point on the north is Cape Nordkyn ; on the west. Cape Roca ; and
on the south. Cape Tarifa.
(i) The following are its boundaries :
1. H. —The Arctic Ocean.
2. E. — The TJral Mountains, TTral River, and Caspian.
3. 3. — The Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Caucasus.
4. W.— The Atlantic.
The Bussians make " European " Bussia embrace a large amount of territory east of
the Urals, and even as far as the Tobol. They also draw the southern boundary
through the "Depression of Manytch," so that the whole of the Caucasus Bange is
made to belong to Asia.
(ii) Nordkyn (—North Chin) is the extreme point of the mainland — North Cape,
which is further north, being in the island of Mageroe. *
Tarifa gives our word tariff. It was off this cape that the Moors and Spaniards used to collect
dues for allowing ships to enter the Mediterranean.
3. Sliape. — The most striking characteristic of Europe is the
" absence of mass " — the immensely rich articulation of its coast line.
No other continent has a coast line so highly developed, so richly
articulated. It possesses 1 mile of coast for every 190 square miles of

2 EUROPE
surface. Long peninsulas run out into the sea ; long arms of the sea
run into the heart of the land. Hence Europe possesses the maxi
mum of accessibility by sea, and the maximum of marine influences
upon the land. The farther it goes west, the more peninsular does it
become ; and the peninsulas form one-third of the whole. This
highly peninsular character is continued and intensified by the large
number of islands along its coasts.
(i) This rich articulation of limbs gives easy communication with the sea and
favours the growth of civilisation. For this reason Greece and Italy were at one
tirae masters of the Mediterranean ; while, to-day. Great Britain, which may be
regarded as a large peninsula, is Mistress of the Oceans of the world.
(ii) Africa stands at the other end of the scale. Compared with its size, Europe
has a coast relatively 5 times as long as that of Africa.
(iii) As Europe goes to the west, it becomes narrower ; and the inflowing seas come
nearer to each other. Thus, north of the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean is only 240 miles
from the Bay of Biscay ; and the French are now engaged in cutting a canal which
will save the long round along the coast of Spain. — Even in Bussia, the most con
tinental part of Europe, no town is more than 700 miles from the sea.
(iv) Europe has 9 peninsulas ; four in the south ; four in the north ; and one in the
west, (a) The IH^ in the South are : The Peninsula ; Italy ; the Balkan Peninsula;
and the Crimea. (&) The four in the North are ; Jutland ; Scandinavia ; Eanin ; and
Kola, (c) The one in the West is Brittany. — The isthmus of Corinth (4 m.) connects
the Morea with the mainland of Greece. The isthmus of Ferekop connects the Crimea
with the mainland of Eussia.
(v) The capes at the ends of these peninsulas are : Nordkyn, North Cape, and tbe Naze,
in Norway ; the Skaw, in Jutland ; Ortegal and Finisterre ( = "Land's End ") in the north
of Spain ; Koca and St. Vincent, in Portugal ; Trafalgar and Tarlia in the south of
Spain : Di Leuca and Spartivento, in Italy ; and Matapan, in the south of Greece.
(vi) Most of the islands lie very close to the continent, are easily accessible from it,
and were at one time parts of it. Their presence gives rise to all kinds of exchanges,
intercommunication, and interplay of life and forces.
4. Extent.— The area of Europe amounts to about 3,700,000 square
miles. Its greatest length, from Cape St. Vincent to the Urals, is
3370 miles ; its greatest breadth, from Cape Matapan to Nordkyn,
is 2400 miles.
(i) Europe occupies about ^th of the land-surface of tlie globe.
(ii) Asia is about five times as largo ; Afi-ica, three times.

SEAS OP EUROPE 3
5. Seas. — Europe is pre-eminently the Continent of Inland
Seas. Three mighty seas bathe it on the south; and three seas,
corresponding to them, lave its shores upon the north. The three
on the south are the Caspian, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean ;
the three on the north are the WTiite Sea, the Baltic, and the German
Ocean. (i) The Caspian belongs partly to Europe, partly to Asia. It is shallow in the north
and very deep in the south. In correspondence with this, the shores on the north are
low and flat ; on the south, they are high and mountainous.
(ii) The Black Sea is twice the size of Great Britain, and receives the drainage of
nearly one-third of all Europe. It is subject to sudden storms and to dense fogs.
Its branch, called the Sea of Azov, is very shallow, and is slowly silting up with the
mud brought down by the Don. — The Sea of Marmora lies to the west of the
Black Sea.
(iii) The Mediterranean is the largest inland sea in the world. It is 2300 miles long, -
and lias an area of nearly 1,000,000 square miles. It has hardly any tides. — The
Mediterranean includes four minor seas— the Adriatic (with the Gulfs of Trieste and
Quamero), the Tyrrhene, the Ionian; and the .ffigean or Archipelago. It includes also
the great Gulfs of Lions, GJenoa, and Corinth on the Eiu'opean side ; and Sidra and
Eabes on the African.
Tbe "Oalf of Lions" has nothing to do witb the city of Lyons. The Gulf is ao called from its
stormy character,
(iv) The WWte Sea is a vast bight of the Arctic Ocean— everywhere very shallow.
(v) The Baltic is a sea about twice the si^e of England and "Wales. It is almost
tideless. It is very shallow ; and its waters are much fresher than those of the ocean.
Its chief Gulfs are those of Bothnia, Finland, and Biga.
The -word Baltic mea.n& "Sea of Belts." Ii is itaelt a, belt ; and it is entered by the Great Belt a.nA
tbe Little Belt.
(vi) The North Sea or aerman Ocean is a shallow sea between Great Britain and the
Continent. It is nearly twice as large as the Baltic. It contains numerous sand
banks ; and, over some of these, there is only 100 ft. depth of v^Rtei. It has two
large bights— the Znyder Zee and the Dollart. Both were formed by an inbreaking of
the sea in the 13th century.— The Irish Sea— between Great Britain and Ireland— may
be regarded as part of the North Sea, though it is very much deeper.
The worA Zuyder Zee mea^na "South Sea." It is so called to distinguish it ftom the iVbr(7t Sea, and
from the East Sea— wbich is the German name for the Baltic.
6. The Baltic and tne Mediterranean : a Contrast. — The Baltic is

EUROPE

the Mediterranean of the north ; and, as these seas are contrasted in
position, they are also contrasted in many other respects.

The Baltic
1. Is a shallow sea with low shores.
2. Lies in a region of rains all the
year through.
3. Is fed by numerous and large rivers,
4. Lies in a region of low temperature
and small evaporation. From De
cember to April it is closed by ice.
5. Has its level raised by the rivers
that flow into it.
6. Has water which is almost fresh in
some parts. It is only one-fourth
as salt as ocean-water.
7. The Baltic is always overflovring ;
and a current runs from it into the
German Ocean.

The Mediterranean
1. Is a deep sea with lofty coasts.
2. Lies in the region of autumn and
winter rains.
3. Is fed by few rivers— compared with
its great area.
4. Lies in a region of high temperature,
and great and rapid evaporation.
It is never closed.
5. Has its level lowered by the water
evaporated fi-om it.
6. Has water which is Salter than that
of the ocean.
7. The Mediterranean is always defi
cient ; and a current is always run
ning into it firom the Atlantic.

V. Water-ways. — Europe is also the continent of great natural
Water-ways. The most important channels are the passages between
the North Sea and the Baltic ; between the Atlantic and the
Mediterranean ; and between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
(i) The Skager Back and Cattegat (= " Cat's throat") form one continuous highway
into the Baltic, which is blocked up by a group of islands. Between the mainland
and these lie the Sound, the Great Belt, and the LitUe Belt, the first of which is the
most frequented passage. On the south side, the Straits of Dover and the EngUsh
Channel (called by the French " La Manche " or the Sleeve, from its shape) form the
great water-way from the North Sea into the Atlantic.
(ii) The Straits of Gibraltar (9 m, ) is the passage into the Mediterranean. The Strait of
Messina leads from the Tyrrhene into tho Ionian Sea. The Strait of Otranto leads
from the Ionian into the Adriatic. The Dardanelles lead from the Archipelago into
the Sea of Marmora. The Bosphoma ( = Ox-ferry) leads from the Sea of Marmora into
the Black Sea. The Strait of Kertch leads from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov.

8. The Islands of Europe. — Happy in its peninsulas, Europe is still
more and singularly happy in its islands, which may in some cases
be regarded as parts and continuations of its peninsulas. No

BUILD OF EUROPE 5
continent in the world, if we take its size into consideration, has so
many islands as the continent of Europe. It is also a point in its
favour that the richest islands lie in the best climate — that is, in
the south. The islands of Europe lie in the Arctic and Atlantic
Oceans, and in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas. Many of thera
may be regarded as stepping-stones of ciTiUsation and commerce.
(i) The chief islands in the Arctic are Jan Mayen, Vaygatz, and the archipelago
of Nova Zembla ( = " New found land ").
(ii) In the Atlantic Ocean are the innumerable group of the Loffodens, on the coast
of Norway ; Iceland and the Faroes ; the British Islands ; the Channel Islands, off
the north coast of France ; and the Azores, which lie 900 miles west of Portugal.
(iii) In or at the entrance of the Baltic are the Danish Archipelago (Zealand, Funen,
etc.) ; Riigen and Bomholm ; Oeland and Gothland ; Dago and Oesel ; and the group
of the Aland Isles.
The prefix oe means simply water. Hence Oeland ii=water-land or iala^id. Oeael has the same
meaning. Oe takes the form of ea and becomes a suffix in English. Thus J?aMer8ea=St.
Peter's Island ; .4n?!csea=Angles' Island ; (7/te^ea=CheseI or Shingel Island.
(iv) In the Mediterranean lie the Balearic Islands (the largest of which is Majorca) ;
Corsica and Sardinia (with Elba) ; Sicily and Malta ; the Ionian Islands, west of
Greece ; the Cyclades and Sporades in the Archipelago (with Negropont, the largest
island in that sea) ; Candia and Cyprus. Sicily is the largest island in the Medi
terranean ; Sardinia comes next. Cyprus is generally reckoned with Asia.
9. Build. — If Europe is rich in coast line and in variety of hori
zontal form, it is still richer in variety of build. As there is the
maximum of inter-connection between land and sea in this continent,
so there is the maximum of interchange between different forms and
heights. The variety of build is astonishing : Alpine mountaln-
syatems, lower ranges of mountains, hills — in groups and ranges —
table-lands, steppes, plains, alluvial valleys. All these forms are
found in more or less close neighbourhood — especially in the west of
Europe. The vertical build is in fact more highly and richly
developed than even the horizontal shape. But, on the whole, low
lands predominate : they occupy two-thirds of the whole surface.
Hence we may say : Europe is the Continent of Low Plains.
(i) High and wide plateaus, which interfere greatly with the intercourse of peoples,
are completely absent in Europe. Nor are there any deserts.
(ii) The character of the mountains of Europe is also favourable to intercourse.

6 EUROPE
10. The Two Halves of Europe. — If we foUow the line of 27° East
long., we shall find that Europe falls easily in two halves : The
Eastern Half and the Western Half. The character of the first is uni
formity ; of the second, the richest variety.
(i) The Eastern Half consists of a great plain, which stretches firom the Urals to the
river Memel.
(ii) The Western Half falls gradually by three mighty steps towards the Baltic and
the German Ocean. The highest step is the Alps ; the second the Fraaico-German High
land ; the third is the Franco-German Plain. This last is sometimes called the West
European Plain.
(iii) If, however, we divide Europe into Northern and Southern portions, we shall
find that one mighty northern plain stretches from the Pyrenees to the Urals. This
X^lain, running to the south of the Ural Range, joins the colossal plains of Siberia. We
can travel from Holland to the east of Russia without seeing a single mountain or going
through a single tunnel.
11. The Mountain Systems of Europe. — The mountain-lands of
Europe lie mostly in the south and in the north-west. The ranges of
the first rank are : the Sierra Nevada ; the Pyrenees ; the Alps ; the
Carpathians ; the Balkans ; and the Scandinavian Mountains. The
Caucasus separates Europe from Asia.
(i) The Sierra Nevada is the highest range in Spain : The highest peak, Mulhacen,
is 11,660 ft. above the sea-level.
(ii) The Pyrenees are a high and broad range between France and Spain : the highest
point is the Peak of Nethou (11,168 ft.). Some parts are above the line ot perpetual
snow. They have never been tunnelled ; and the railways go round either end.
(iii) The Alps are the grandest mountain-system in Europe. Most of the peaks are
covered with perpetual snow, whicli melts at the edges of the snow-fields, but is con
stantly renewed. The highest peak is Mont Blanc (15,rs4 ft.), in Savoy, just -within
the French frontier. The Alps form the boundary between Italy and the northern
countries of France, Switzerland, and Germany.— The Apennines run off from them
through Italy.
(iv) The Carpathians stretch in the form of a mighty horse-shoe from Pi-essbnrg on
the Danube to Orsova on the same river, enclose the Great Plain of Hungary, and
shelter it from east winds.
(v) The Balkans, in the widest sense of the word, is the name for a number of ranges
whioh sweep from the Adri.-itic to tho Black Sea. In tho stricter sense, it is the name
of the range whioh divides Bulgaria from Ronmelia. The mean height of the highest
range is 6600 ft.

PLATEAUS, VOLCANOES, AND PLAINS 7
(vi) The Scandinavian Monntalns is the general geographical name for the mountain-
ranges in Scandinavia. Each range has a different local name. The southern portion
is the higher (the highest peak is 8400 ft.— about half the height of Mont Blanc) ; the
northern cuLninates in Sulitelma, which is only 6320 ft. high.
12. The Plateaus of Europe.— Europe, unlike Asia, has no very high
or very extensive table-lands. But it possesses four well-marked
plateaus in its western half. These are the Spanish Plateau ; the
Swiss and Bavarian Plateau ; the Plateau of Transylvania ; and the
Balkan Plateau.
The Swiss and Bavarian Plateau is the southern and highest part of a low plateau
which goes down from the foot of the Alps, by a series of terraces, to the Baltic and
the North Sea.
13. The Volcanoes of Europe.— The volcanoes of Europe are (with
the exception of Mount Hecla) limited to the islands and peninsulas
of the Mediterranean. The principal active volcanoes are Mount
Hecla ; Etna ; Vesuvius ; and Stromboli.
(i) Monnt Hecla (5096 ft.— one-third the height ot Mont Blanc) is the highest among
20 active volcanoes in Iceland. It is also the second highest mountain in the island.
(ii) Motmt Etna (10,840 ft. — or about two-thirds the height of Mont Blanc) is the
highest mountain in Sicily.
(iii) Mount Vesuvius (4610 ft.) is a flattened conical mountain on the Bay of Naples.
(iv) stromhoU is one of the Lipari Islands. It is in a state of periodic eruption every
five minutes ; but it vomits only steam.
(v) There are many extinct volcanoes in central France, in the north-west of
Germany, in the Eastern Pyrenees, etc.
14. The Plains of Europe. — The Great Plain of Europe stretches
from the Pyrenees to the Urals, and embraces about two-thirds of
the surface of the continent. It is sometimes called Low Europe.
Its greatest breadth is attained in Eussia. — But there'are also plains
in High Europe, entangled, as it were, among the mountain-systems
and table-lands of that region. These are the plains of : Hungary ;
Wallachia-and-Bulgaria ; Lomhardy ; Languedoc ; Upper Rhine ;
Bohemia ; and Andalusia.
(i) The Plain of Hungary lies between the Carpathians and the Alps, and is watered
by the Danube and the Theiss.

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(ii) The Plain of Wallachla-and-Bolgaria is also called the "Plain of the Lower
Danube.*' (iii) The Plain of Lombardy is the valley of the Po, between the Alps and the
Apennines. (iv) The Plain of Langaedoc lies in the south of France, between the Alps and the
Cevennes. (v) The Plain of tho TTpper Bhlne lies between the Black Forest and the Vosges.
(vi) The Plain of Bohemia is a lozenge-shaped table-land, west of the Carpathians,
and drained by the Elbe.
(vii) The Plain of Andalusia is the lower part of the valley of the Guadalquivir.
15. The Watershed of Europe. — The great Watershed of Europe runs
from north-east to south-west. It begins at the Urals ; goes through
the Valdai Plateau — which is its culminating point ; and keeps going
ever farther and farther south, till it reaches the Pyrenees. The north
western slope is not nearly so wide as the south-eastern ; and hence
the longest rivers flow into the southern seas. The Black Sea has
the largest drainage area of all the European seas.
(i) The longest rivers are "nearly all directed towards the vast depression which
separates Europe from Asia."
(ii) The White Sea drains an area of 200,000 square miles. If we take the drainage-
area of the White Sea as the unit, then the Baltic drainage-area =4 ; that of the
Mediterranean IJ; that of the Blaek Sea4i; and that of the Caspian 3 J.
16. The Rivers of Europe.— Europe is rich in rivers. They are
equally distributed over the continent ; and they flow in every
direction. Another distinguishing feature is that most of them are
navigable, and have good harbours at or near their mouths. Their
other characteristics may be placed in a tabular form.
characteristics of tbe Rivers of Europe.
1. Their mouths are pretty equally distributed along the coasts of the seas.
2. They do not cut their way through mountain-ranges, but flow on diflerent sides
of them to different seas.
S. Most of the larger rivers have navigable tributaries. Tlie Danube has siity.
4. Most of the tributaries flow at right angles to the main stream, and thus bring
distant parts of the country into communication.
5. Most of them have been easily connected by canals ; and thus the seas of Uie
south have been joined to the seas of the north— in tlie West as well as in the East.

KIVERS OF EUROPE

17. The Three River Systems. — The rivers of Europe may be
divided, according to their destinations, into three systems : the
Arctic ; the Atlantic ; and the Caspian.
(i) The largest river that flows into the Arctic Ocean is tho Petchora.
(ii) The largest river that flows (a) directly into the Atlantic is the Loire, (i) The
largest river that falls into the Baltic is the Vistula, (c) The largest that joins the
North Sea is the Bhlne. (d) The largest into the Mediterranean is the Khone. (e) Into
the Black Sea, the largest is the Danube ; after it, the Dnieper. (/) The largest into the
Sea of Azov is the Don.
(iii) The largest river that falls into the Caspian is the Volga.
(iv) The foUowing table gives, in approximate numbers, a comparative view of the
length of some of the European rivers : —

Unit ot 200 miles.

Unit of 400 miles.

Unit of 600 miles.

Hlnho

1

Weser .
Glommen f

Loire ^
Elbe j ¦ ¦

Tiber \
Thames

n-
Ebro
H-
Vistula.
n-
Onadlana
IJ
Dniester
n
Severn .
Scheldt .
1111
Douro 1
Seine )
u
Bhlne
Don .
11
18
Tagus .
11
Dnieper
2
Bhone \
Danube . .
2J
Oder I
11
Meuse )
18. The River Sources. — There are two chief Continental Centres
which are the sources of European Elvers. These are the Lowland
Centre and the Alpine Centre. The Lowland Centre is the Valdai
Plateau ; the Alpine Centre is the mass of Blount St. Gothard.
(i) From the Valdai Plateau flow six great streams in difl'erent directions to tour
Inland seas : — (a) The Dwlna to the White Sea ;
(6) The Volga to the Caspian ;
(c) The Don and Dnieper to the Black Sea ;
(d) The Dnna and Nlemen to the Baltic.
(ii) Mount St. Gothard sends flve great streams to four inland seas : —
(a) The Ehlne to the North Sea ;
(b) The Bhone to the Mediterranean ;
(c) The Fo and the Adige to the Adriatic ;
(d) The Danube to the Black Sea,
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19. The two great Water-ways of Europe. — The two greatest rivers
of Europe — greatest from almost every point of view — are the Danube
and the Rhine. The Danube is the largest river in Europe in respect
of its volume of water — it is the only large European river that flows
due East ; and it is therefore the great highway to the East for
South Germany, for Austria, for Hungary, and for the younger
nations in its valley. It flows through more lands, races, and
languages than any other European river. The Rhine is the great
water-highway for Western Europe ; and it carries the traffic and the
travellers of many countries and peoples. Both streams give life to
the whole continent ; they join many countries and the most varied
interests ; while the streams of France exist only for France itseK.
The Danube runs parallel with the mighty ranges of the Alps ; the
Rhine saws its way through the secondary highlands which lie
between the Alps and the Netherlands.
(i) The Danube rises in Baden, on the south-eastern slope of the Black Forest.
(a) The TTpper Danube (which runs from Baden to Presburg) flows across the Plateau of
Bavaria, and begins to be navigable at Ulm. Its most northerly elbow is reached at
Ratisbon. On its left bank it receives few tributaries ; on the right, it is joined by
the Iser (on which Munich stands) and by the Inn — a stream at that point larger than
itself— which falls into it at Passau. Below this point, its valley is contracted by the
granite masses of the Bohemian Forest Bange. At Vienna it divides into countless
branches. — It is its upper course that is the most beautiful ; and the river flows pasta
succession of smiling valleys, which are overlooked by lofty mountains clad with dark
forests and topped by glittering snow and ice. (6) The Middle Danube is that part of the
river which runs from Pressburg to the Iron Gate below Orsova. At Pressbuig, where
it passes through the Carpathian Gate, it alters its course to the south-east, and
flows through low and level plains. It also frequently divides here, encloses
numerous islands which are called the "Golden Gardens." At Waitzen its course
forms a right angle ; and it begins to flow due south. In this part of its course,
it is joined on the left bank by the Theiss (the river of the Himgarian Plain) which
flows trom the Carpathians, and by the Drave .and Save, wliich come ftom tlie Eastern
Alps. Below Orsova, it is hemmed iu by the Transylvaniau Alps aud the Servian
Highlands, flows for sixty miles tlirough a series df difficult gorges, and passes by
dangerous rapids to reach the Walladiian Plain. Tliis narrow pass is called tlie
"Iron Gate." Some of the shallows have been removed by blasting, (c) Tlie Lower
or WaUachlan Danube runs from tho Iron Gate to the Black Sea. In this part of
its course, it flows in a broad bed, with much splitting up and forming of islands,
slowly and powerfully in the direction of the East. At the Dobrudscha— a low
steppe-like plateau, it is forced to turn to the north ; but at Galatz it again turns
to the easl, and reaches the Black Sea by three arms whioh enclose a marshy delta.

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This delta is constantly being further extended into the Black Sea. Only the middle
arm, the Bullna Month, is navigable for large ships. It is only on its left bank that
the Lower Danube receives any large tributaries ; and the largest of these are the
Aliita, the Bereth, and the Pruth (Proof). It is worthy of remark that on its banks
stand a number of large cities in pairs : the largest of these is Buda-Pesth. The Danube
is joined by 60 navigable rivers. Five capitals stand either on the main stream or on
its tributaries. It is, in general, too broad to bridge ; and there is no bridge below the
Suspension Bridge at Pesth. Its direct length is 1750 ; its full length 2000 miles ; and
its basin IJ times as large as the whole of France.
<ii) The Ehlne is the only Alpine stream among the rivers of Germany ; and the only
stream, too, the basin of which Is inhabited solely by German-speaking peoples. With
the Danube, it at one time formed the boundary of the Roman Empire. Before 1870,
part of its left bank was in the possession of the French; but, since the Franco-
German war of 1870-71, both banks, from Basle to the mouth, are in the keeping of
the German Empire. It flows by more great cities than any other river in the world.
(o) The Rhine rises in two streams— the Vorderrhine and the Hinterrhine — on the eastern
flanks of Mount St. Gothard, drawing its water from 400 glaciers and snow-fields. It
flows northwards into Lake Constance, which serves its waters as a filter. Leaving
this lake, it strikes westward, falls over a rock 70 ft. high, forming the Falls of Schaff
hausen, and goes still westward till it reaches Basle ; at this point ends the Upper
Rhine. In this part of its course, it receives, on its left bank, the clear and rapid
waters of the Aar, which have been filtered through four difl'erent lakes. — (6) At Basle, it
takes a sudden bend to the north, right imder the balcony of the " Hotel of the Three
Kings," and flows through a long and narrow plain, which is walled in by the Vosges
and the Black Forest, and is known as the Plain of the Middle Khine. In this part of its
course the river receives, on its right bank, tbe Neckar and the Main. At Slainz
(which receives its name from the Main) it strikes against the base of the Tannns,
and suddenly turns to the west, striking north again at Bingen. From Bingen to
Bonn, it saws its way by a long and narrow corridor through the Rhine-Wighland ; and
this part of its course is the most beautiful and picturesque, — below high mountains,
past lovely side-valleys, steep clifi's, romantic crags, terraced sunny vineyards, noble
heights crowned with ruined castles, crowned also with castles that are inhabited.
In spite of the extreme narrowness of its banks, on this part of its course, a railway
runs on either side of the river. Here, too, it receives many tributaries from long side-
valleys between the mountain-ranges, the best-known of which are the Ahr and the
Moselle, both on the left bank. — (c) The Lower Rhine flows through the Rhenish Lowland
or North Gennan Plain, ftom Bonn to its mouth on the North Sea. Below Cologne it
is a sluggish winding stream, which receives no important tributaries on its left bank,
but on the right several— among which the best-known are the slow-winding Rnhr and
the Llppfi. At Nimeguen, the Rhine once more takes a westerly direction, which it
keeps till it reaches the sea. About 100 miles of its course lies through Holland. In
this lowest section of its course, it divides into several ai-ms, which intermingle mth
two other rivers, the Dutch Tasel and the Maas of Holland, Belgium, and France— in
such a way that even pilots hardly know which river they are on. With these streams
it forms a mighty delta, which constitutes much of the wealth of Holland,— It is

14

EUROPE

navigable for steamers the whole year round as far as Mannheim. It is 800 miles in
length, and drains an area 1} times the size of England.
(iii) The Canals of the Rtilne.^By means of canals, the Rhine is connected with the
Rhone and Saone ; with the Scheldt, the Meuse (or Maas), and the Danube. The
Rhine-Rhone Canal goes through the celebrated "Burgundian Gate" — a depression
between the Jura and the Vosges.
(iv) The Rhine receives 12,000 tributaries ; but very few are navigable, A French
writer says : " A history of the Rhine would be a history of the western lialf of Europe.
The Germans love it like children, and call it ' Father Rhine.' The Rhine is as rapid as
the arrowy Rhone, as broad as the Loire, as hemmed in as the Meuse, as tortuous as
the Seine, as clear and green as the Somme, as historic as the Tiber, as regal as the
Danube, as mysterious as the Nile, as full of legendary story and historic associations
as the Indus or the Ganges. "
20. The Rhine and the Danube : a Comparison. — There are certain
interesting points of comparison between these two rivers.

] . Flows at right angles to the moun
tain-ranges it breaks through.
2. Plows from south to north.
3. Is almost solely a German river.
4. The Dutch and Germans guard and
take care of the lower parts of the
Rhine.

The Danube
1. Flows mostly at right angles to the
mountain-ranges that seem to bar
its way.
2. Flows from west to east.
3. Is a cosmopolitan stream.
4. The Commission which has charge
of the Mouths of the Danube has
representatives from all European
nations.

21. The Lakes of Europe.— As the rivers of Europe have their chief
sources in the highlands of the south-west, and in the low plain of
the north-east, so is it with the lakes. The Baltic forms the centre
of a mighty ring of lowland lakes, the outflowing streams of which
run into it. The Western Alps form another great lake-centre ; but
the rivers which flow from these run in all directions. The lakes of
the north-east are in general shallow, with low shores ; those of the
south-west are deep basins, lying in longitudinal valleys of the great
Alpine system, and surrounded by the grandest and loveliest scenery.
The two largest lowland lakes are Ladoga and Onega; the two largest

LAKES OF EUROPE

IS

mountain-lakes are, on the north of the Alps, Geneva and Constance,
on the south, Garda and Maggiore.
(i) Ladoga is rather more than four times the size of Norfolk. Onega is more than
halfthe size of Ladoga. Both discharge by the Neva into the Baltic. Saima is the
largest of the countless lakes on the Finnish plateau.
(ii) Geneva (which lies both in France and Switzerland) is nearly as large as Middle
sex. It is the filter for the Rhone. Lake Constance is rather larger than Rutlandshire ;
Garda is a little SmaUer. Maggiore is a little more than half the size of Garda.
(Ui) The lakes in the Scottish Highlands— Loch Lomond, Loch Katrine, etc.— nave
an Alpine character. The largest is Loch Lomond, which is about one-third the size of
Maggiore.— Lough Keagh (in Ireland), which is a little larger than Lake Garda, has the
character of a steppe-lake.
(iv) European Lakes : a Contrast.- The north-east and the south-west are the chief
lake-regions of Europe ; and the characteristics of the two groups stand in singular
contrast.

South-West Lakes.
1. They lie in a mountain land, among
the highest mountains in Europe.
2. They are small.
3. They have high, steep, and rocky
shores.
4. They are deep.
5. They are surrounded by the most
varied and beautiful scenery.

North-East Lakes.
1. They lie in a low land — nearly the
lowest part of Europe.
2. The Russian lakes are large.
3. The shores of these lakes are low,
flat, of sand or of clay.
4. These are shallow, when compared
with their size.
5. The surroundings of the Russian
lakes are dreary and monotonous
in the extreme.

22. Climate (1). — There are six important facts on which we must
fix our attention, when we are considering the climate of Europe.
(i) Most of its land is within the North Temperate Zone — and also in
the northern or colder half, (ii) Its most southerly points are 9° of
latitude away from the Tropic of Cancer, (iii) It lies back to back
with 5000 miles of land-surface in Asia, (iv) The west and south is
surrounded by seas (some of which pierce far into the land), among
which the Atlantic Ocean is the greatest storehouse of moisture and
warmth, (v) The prevalent winds on the western half of the conti
nent are south-west, and from the Atlantic : they blow two days out

1 6 EUROPE
of every three, (vi) There are no transverse mountain-ranges to stop
the progress of these south-west winds.
In North America, the high transverse— or almost transverse— ranges in the west
keep much of the moisture from the table-lands of the interior.
23. Climate (2). — From these facts we may safely draw the follow
ing conclusions : (i) There are no violent contrasts of temperature ;
the sea-air everywhere reduces and softens extremes, (ii) Europe is
considerably warmer than any other continent in the same or a
similar latitude, (iii) The temperature falls as we go from south to
north ; but much more as we go from west to east, (iv) Kegular and
plenteous rains fall upon the larger part of Europe, (v) There are no
deserts in this continent. — To sum up : the characteristic of Europe
is a happy mixture of the continental and the oceanic climate.
(i) The Oulf-Btream is, as it were, an immense warming-pan at the feet of Great
Britain and Norway. The winds which blow from it raise the temperature every
where in winter. Hence the difference between the vrinter and the summer tempera
tures becomes always greater as we go east. Thus, at Greenwich, the difference
between the heat of January and of July is only 23° ; at Saratov, in East Russia, but
in the same latitude, it is 57'. That is to say, Saratov has au extremely cold winter
and a very liot summer.
(ii) The rain-fall also decreases from west to east. Thus, in Skye, in the west of
Scotland, 103 in. of rain fall in the year ; at Stockholm, only 16 in.
(iii) In the South of Europe, there are practically only two seasons : a hot dry
summer and a rainy " winter.'' — In Middle Europe, there are four seasons ; and most
of the rain falls in summer. In the North, there are again only two seasons : a short
very hot summer, and a long cold winter. Spring and Autumn are almost entirely
crushed out. The heat of the summer is due to the fact tbat the sun is so long above-
the horizon, and the nights are so short, that the soil has not time to cool down.
The long hot, almost tropical, summer of Mediterranean lands may be contrasted with
the long cold winter of Northern Europe.
(iv) The number of rainy days increases .is we go north ; the quantity of r.iin
decreases. 24. Vegetation. — Europe, as regards its flora, has been divided into
four pretty clearly marked horizontal zones, (i) The Northern or
Barren Zone lies to the north of 64° N. lat. (ii) The Grain and Forest
Zone, from 64° to 48° N. lat. This zone embraces the British Isles,

VEGETATION OE EUROPE 17
the northern half of Middle Europe, the south of Scandinavia, and
the larger part of the East-European Plain, (iii) The Zone of the
Vine, south of 48° N. lat. to the neighbourhood of the Mediterranean.
(iv) The Zone of Evergreens, which stretches from the southern slopes
of the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Balkans to the different extremities
of the Continent. To these four horizontal zones correspond four
Zones of Vertical Vegetation : (i) The Alpine Region ; (ii) the Region
of the Lower Alps ; (iii) the Region of the Vine ; (iv) the Evergreen
Region. Only Southern Europe possesses all the four vertical zones ;
Middle Europe has three ; and Northern Europe only two.
(i) The Northern Zone produces only birches and dwarf pines ; mosses and berries ;
a little oats and barley ; but no fruit.
(ii) The Grain and Forest Zone produces evergreen pine-woods ; barley and oats in
the north ; rye in the middle. Oaks, beeches, etc. , mix with pines and firs ; deciduous
trees prevail more and more as we go south, and with them, wheat and fruit.
(iii) The Vine is found as far north as 51° North lat. on the sunny terraces that look
southwards on the banks of the Rhine. This zone belongs to the valleys and plains of
the mountains of Middle Europe, and to the southern part of Eastern Europe.
Chestnut-trees grow well ; maize as well as wheat is cultivated ; fruit-trees reach
perfection ; and evergreens begin to make their appearance.
(iv) The Evergreen Zone grows rice, in addition to wheat and maize ; cypresses and
olive-trees abound ; the nobler fruits— figs, oranges, grapes', almonds, and others
whose thriving depends on the mildness of the winter as well as on the high temper
ature of summer. In the farthest south, tropical plants begin to make their appear
ance—sugar-cane, cotton-trees, palms, and even bananas.
(v) Among the Vertical Zoues, the Lower Alps are also called Forealps. — The
Region of the Vine is also that of the chestnut and the oak. In the Evergreen Region
the most characteristic plant is tbe olive-tree.
(vi) The northern limit of wheat is the parallel of 57° ; of barley 70°. Fruit-trees
and deciduous trees go with wheat ; pines and firs with barley.
(vii) The chief cereals of Europe are wheat and rye— the latter in Germany,
Scandinavia, and Russia. Each feeds about one-third of the wholg population.
25. Animals. — The almost universal spread of agriculture in Europe
has very greatly diminished the number of wild animals. The wild
boar and the brown bear are still found in the German forests, in the
Alps, and the Pyrenees, and the wild ox is still extant in the great
forests of Eussia. The chamois and the ibex (or steinbock) roam
over the higher parts of the Alps and Carpathians ; but the latter is

1 8 EUROPE
growing very rare. The beaver is also dying out. — On the other
hand, Europe is rich in domestic animals, — of which the most impor
tant are the sheep and the horse. — It is also rich in singing birds. —
Both the mountain-lakes and the inland seas are plentifully furnished
vvith food-fishes. There are few insects and very few reptiles.
(i) Since the abolition ot serfdom in Russia, the wolves have increased , and the
annual battles between the herds of horses and the famished packs of wolves have
become fiercer than ever.
(ii) The polar bear roams the coasts of the Arctic Ocean.
(iii) The beaver is still found in Russia, Poland, Sweden, Finland, and Lapland ;
and his name survives in Biberach (in Germany), Beverley (in Yorkshire), and many
other names of to\vns.— The -wild sheep is still hunted in Corsica and Sardinia.
(iv) The only kind of monkey found in Europe inhabits the Rock of Gibraltar ;
but it is more Asiatic than African in its character.
(v) The bearded vulture (or lammergeier) is the largest of European birds : it is
found in the Alps, the Caucasus, and (perhaps) in the Pyrenees. The vulture is also
seen in the high mountain-regions. The stork, the crane, and the heron are found in
the north and west ; the pelican, the spoonbill, and even the flamingo in the south.
(vi) The salmon is one of the most important fishes in the north and west ; and
the sturgeon in the south and east. The herring and cod are the cliief food-fishes of
the north ; the tunny, which is the largest of edible fish, is found in the Mediterranean.
(vii) Bee-keeping is an extensive industry almost everywhere, especially in Russia ;
and the silkworm is reared in hot countries, — wherever the mulberry can be grown.
(viii) Lizards are common in warm countries ; and the adder is well known in
Central Europe. Land-tortoises are found in the south ; the turtle is caught in the
Mediterranean ; and the chameleon is peculiar to Spain.
26. The Minerals of Europe. — Europe is richly furnished with
mineral wealth ; and it has, more especially, abundant stores of iron,
coal, lead, copper, and salt. Great Britain, Germany, and Austria-
Hungary are the three countries which contain the largest quantity
of minerals. For most of the precious metals Europe is indebted to
other continents.
(i) Iron and coal are found chiefly in Great Britain, the north-western countries
of Europe, and Russia.
(ii) Spain, Germany, aud Great Britain yield most copper.
(iii) Russia produces most gold.

RACES OF EUROPE 19
(iv) Quicksilver comes almost wholly from Spain.
(v) Great Britain produces most tin.
(vi) Germany produces most lead ; then Spain ; and next. Great Britain.
(vii) Germany produces by far the largest quantity of zinc ; after it, Italy ; and
next, Belgium.
(¦^Tii) The most productive salt-mines are in the Carpathians, and in Cheshire and
¦Worcestershire in England.
27. Population.— There are about 340,000,000 of people in Europe.
The thinnest population is found in the north and east ; the densest
in the west, where the crowded populations of Belgium and England
recall the teeming millions of India and China.
28. Races. — The people of Europe belong almost wholly to two
races — the Caucasian and the Mongolian. To the former nineteen-
twentieths of the population must be reckoned. Of Caucasians
there are four varieties : — the Germanic race ; the Romanic ; the
Slavonic ; and the Celtic. The Slavonic peoples have this peculiarity,
that they have made for themselves no path to the sea.
(i) The Germanic or Teutonic Race (HO millions) lives in the heart of Europe, on
the western islands, and north-Avestern peninsulas. There are three great divisions :
(a) Germans (with Dutch, Frieslanders, Flemings, etc.) ; Scandinavians (Danes, Swedes
and Norwegians) ; Englishmen (with Scotch, Irish, etc.).
(ii) The Bomanlc or Graeco-Latin Race (100 millions) inhabits the three southern
Ijeninsulas ; the plains to the north of them— the Wallachian, Lombardian, and French
Plains ; and the morjitain-lands between. To this race belong Italians, Spaniards,
Portuguese, French (except in Brittany), and Wallachians.
(iii) The Slav or Slavonic Race (100 millions) live chiefly in the east of Europe — be
tween the Adriatic and*;he Black Sea on the south, and the Baltic and White Sea on
the north. The nmibers of this race are divided into three families : (a) the North
western, which induces Bohemians (Czechs), Moravians and PoUs ; (6) the South-Westem,
which includes Croats, Servians, and BulgpClaus; -and (c) the Eastern, which consists
mainly of Russians. f^' '
(iv) The Celtic Race (47 millions) Has been gradually edged off to the extreme west of
Europe — the north-west of Scotland^ the west of Ireland, the west of England, and
the west of France. At one time it iniabited almost all the western half of Europe.
\
(v) The Slavs have, in general, left the coasts even of seas wliich they dominate to
other races. Thus the Adriatic has been left to Italians ; the Baltic to Germans ;
and the Black and "White Seas to Tartar peoples.

20 EUROPE
(vi) There are nearly 6,000^000 Jews (belonging to the Semitic race), who are most
numerous in Poland, Austria, Germany, and Roumania.
(vii) To the MongoUan Race in Europe belong three great families : the Fiima ; the
Magyars of Hungary (7 millions) and the Tnrks (2 millions). The Tartars are also a
kind of mixed Mongols. To this variety belong the Eamoiedes (who are idolaters) in
the north-east ; and the Kalmucks on the south-eastern steppes.
29. The Languages of Europe. — The languages of Europe belong to
the Indo-European or Aryan Family — with the exception of Turkish
and other kindred languages. Like the races of Europe, they fall
into four classes : — Teutonic ; Romanic ; Slavonic ; and Celtic.
(i) The chief members of the Teutonic family are English and High-German (English
is a variety of Low-German). High. German is the German spoken in the high lands
or table-lands of Central Europe ; Low-German, that spoken on the low plains. The
Teutonic family has three chief varieties : High-German ; Low-German ; and Scandinavian.
—Low-German embraces English, Dutch, and Flemish ; Scandinavian embraces
Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish.
(ii) Romanic or Graeco-Latin languages are spoken in France, Spain, Portugal Italy,
Greece, and a small part of southern Switzerland. (French, Spanish, and Italian are
simply Latin with the inflexions ' ' bitten off " or altered. )
(iii) Slavonic languages are spoken in Russia, Poland, Bohemia, Senia, and Bulgaria.
(iv) Celtic languages are spoken by a few peoples in the west of Europe. In Ireland,
the Celtic tongue spoken is called Erse ; in Wales, Cymric ; in Scotland, Gaelic ; in
Brittany, Br^zonao ; and, in the Isle of Man, Mam.
30. The Religions of Europe. — Europe is pre-eminently the Christian
Continent. There are only a few Mahometans and Jews ; and a very
few heathens. The three chief forms of Christianity professed are
the Roman Catholic ; the Protestant ; and the Greek.
(i) The Roman Catholics number 155 millions ; and tliey are found cliiefly in the
south of Europe, among the Latin Races. But the smaller half c f the German people,
the Poles, the Bohemians, and the Magyars, profess this religio i.
(ii) The Protestants number 85 millions ; anC *i'is form is almost entirely restricted
to the Germanic part of Europe.
(iii) The Greek Church numbers 80 millions, and includes chiefly Russians, Greeks,
and "Wallachians.
(iv) There are about 7 millions of Mahometans in Europe, mostly in Turkey ; nearly
6 millions of Jews ; and abcrat--^)n^- fifth of a million of heathens (Kalmucks and
Satnoiedes).

CIVILISATION AND GOVERNMENTS OF EUROPE 21
31. Civilisation. — The lowest stage in civilisation — hunting and
flailing— is found only among the Lapps ; and even nomad life is
restricted to about half a million of Kalmucks and Kirghis Tartars.
The great variety of soil, shape, and build in the continent favours a
great variety of occupation ; and hence ¦we find almost everywhere
agrictature, pasturage, manufactures, commerce, and seafaring.
These, too, are found in union with science and art in a degree
unknown in any other quarter of the globe.
(i) A good test of an active civilisation is found in the amount of emigration.
Great Britain stands lirst in this respect ; and Germany comes next. There are ahout
365 millions of Europeans settled in other continents. Thus Europe may he said
to possess half of all the land in the world, and half of all the inhabitants.
(ii) Another test is the Edacation of the young. Germany] stands easily at the head
of all the nations in this respect ; for she has given most thought, labour, and money
to this work. Great Britain comes next.

32. Governments. — Two ancient forms of government have entirely
disappeared from Europe — the patriarchal and the despotic. The
prevailing form is hereditary monarchy with constitutional checks ;
and, after that, the most common form is the repuhlican.
(i) The Ottoman government of Turkey is despotic both in Asia and in Africa ;
but in Europe, to a very mild degree.
(ii) Great Britain has the most purely parliamentaiy constitution. Germany, Austria,
and other countries have followed her in this.
(iii) France is a republic. Switzerland is a federal republic, made up of cantons, as
the United States are of states.
(iv) The six "Great Powers" of Europe are : Great Britain ; Germany ; Russia ; France;
Anstrla ; aud Italy.
33. Politloai~DiviBlons. — There are in Europe eighteen countries,
varying in size, position, productiveness, race, language, and religion.
The following is a list, with a few figures regarding them : —

22

EUROPE

CODNTEIES.

III II

¦ ^ .
0 453
Hi11^

Capitals.

Laegest Towns.

1. Great Britain |
and Ireland, )

120

40

333

London.

London.

2. France,

201

40

195

Paris.

Paris.

3. Belgium,

11

6

645

Brussels.

Antwerp.

4. Holland,

12i

S

400

The Hague.

Amsterdam.

5. Switzerland,

16

3

190

Berne.

Geneva.

6. Germany,

212

48-

230

Berlin.

Berlin.

7. Austria-Hungary,

241

41

170

Vienna.

Vienna.

S. Denmark,

14

2

145

Copenhagen.

9. Norway and ^
Sweden, )

294

7

24

( Christianiaand
1 Stockholm.

Christiania and
Stockholm.

10. Bussia )
(in Europe), /

2000

90

45

St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg.

11. Turkey . )
(in Europe), i

64

6

178

Constantinople.

Constantinople.

12. Montenegro,^

3i

i

70

Cettiiye.

Podgoritza.

13. Servia,

19

2

93

Belgrade.

Belgrade.

14. Kouinania, .

43

6

125

Bucharest.

Bucharest.

15. Greece,

25

n

iflo

Athens.

Athens.

16. Italy, .

114

30

260

Rome.

Kaples.

17. Spain,

198

18

90

Madrid.

Madrid.

IS. Portugal,

34

6

145

Lisbon.

Lisbon.

^ MoiiteuegTO is a principality.
(i) Concloiions from the above Table. —Numerous comparisons between figures in tbe
above table may be made ; and many interesting conclusions drawn from tliem.
Comparing, for example, the populousness of various countries, and taking Scandi
navia as the unit, we shall find that —
(a) Greece is 4 times as populous ;
(6) Great Britain is 14 times as populous ;
(c) Belgium about 23 times as populous ; and so on.
(ii) If, again, we try to people other countries on the scilo of Belgium or Great
Britain, we should come to some astonishing results. Taking Belgium as tho
standard, Russia, at this rate, ought to have a population of 1,080,000.000. And soon.

THE BRITISH ISLES 23

THE BEITISH ISLES.
1. The British Isles. — The British Isles consist of two large and a
great number of small islands which stand up from a submerged
bank or submarine plateau, in the north-west of the continent of
Europe. The islands exceed 500 in number. The two largest are
Great Britain and Ireland. These two islands, but three kingdoms,
form politically The United Elng(}om.
(i) Great Britain is the largest island in Europe. It is 600 miles long, and has an
aiea of nearly 90,000 square miles. It contains three countries— England, Wales, and
Scotland. (ii) The area of Ireland is 32,500 square miles — little more than one-third of the area
of Great Britain. The two Islands are separated by the Irish Sea, whose waters are
much deeper than those of the German Ocean.
(iii) The crowns of England and Scotland were united in 1603 ; the parliaments in
1707. The parliaments of Ireland and Great Britain were united in 1801.
2. The Submarine Plateau. — The submarine plateau, of whioh the
British Isles are prominent or outstanding parts, is a vast continua
tion of the European continent, and stretches from the corner of the
Bay of Biscay to the north of the Shetland Isles. It drops, in a
long steep cliff, to the deeper depths of the Atlantic Ocean, a little to
the west of Ireland. Were the bed of the German Ocean raised only
200 ft, we could walk dry-shod from England to France. Thousands
of years ago, the British Isles formed a part of the continent.
(1) The submarine telegraph wire, which connects Valen tia in Ireland with America,
was once broken by sawing against the edge of this submarine cliff.
(ii) Were St. Paul's Cathedral, which is 425 ft. high, put down in the middle of the
German Ocean, half of it would stand clear out of the water.
(iii) The following are some of the proofs that Great Britain was once united to the
continent : (a) The granite of Cornwall is the same as tliat of Brittany ; (6) The chalk
hills and cliff's of Kent are a prolongation of the chalk hUls of northern France, (c)
The Great Plain of England is a continuation of the Great Plain of Europe, (d) The
rooks of Shetland and the north of Scotland are the same as those of Scandinavia.
(e) Ireland and Britain were also at some former time one ; for the hills in the north
east of Ireland are a continuation of those in the south-west of Scotland.

24 EUROPE
(iv) " To the seas which surround them the British Islands are indebted for the
mildness of their climate, their security from foreign invasion, their commerce, and
the wealth yielded by productive fisheries."
3. Geographical Position. — The British Isles occupy the best geo
graphical position in the world. If we place one leg of a pair of com
passes on Falmouth, and carry the other round half of the globe, we
shall find that that half embraces almost all the land on the surface of
the planet. — They have also a direct connection with all the oceans of
the world : with the Atlantic ; with the Indian by the Suez Canal ; and
(before long) with the Pacific by the Panamd Canal. Great Britain also
lies directly opposite the most industrial, the most wealthy, and the
most densely peopled plains of Europe. — And lastly, our isolation in
and by the sea, has enabled us to work out our own destiny, with
little or no interference from the powers and peoples of Europe.
(i) If Great Britain had lain in the heart of a vast continent, like Thibet, its
development would have been very dififerent.
(ii) The currents of the North Atlantic lead to Great Britain ; and the prevalent
south-west winds, which blow two days out of three on an average, carry ships
easily to it from the two Americas.
4. Commercial Position. — From the point of view of commerce, too,
the position of these islands is no less happy. They lie off the
middle of the European continent, and can trade as easily with
Spain as with Scandinavia. They can, moreover, trade as easily with
the East and the West, as with the North and the South. Their
long and deeply indented coasts give opportunities for splendid
ports — the eastern ports, such as London and Hull, trading with
Europe and the East, the western, such as Liverpool and Glasgow.
trading with the New World of the West. Again, the broadest and
wealthiest part of England lies nearest to the Continent and to its
greatest markets. — Lastly, our position on an island has forced a
large part of our population to become sailors, to become the carriers
of the world, — to found new colonies for au overflowing population,
and thus to create new markets in other parts of the world.

ENGLAND AND WALES 25

ENGLAND AND WALES.
1. England and Wales.— England (with Wales) forms by far the
larger part of the island of Great Britain. It is about two-thirds the
size of the whole island.
i^. Boundaries. — The following are the boundaries of England : —
1. N.— Scotland.
2. E. —The German Ocean.
3. S. — The English Channel.
4. W. — The IriBh Sea, Wales, and the Atlantic.
(i) Wales has the sea on three of its sides ; the Irish Sea on the nortli ; St. George's Channel on the
west ; Bristol Channel on the south ; and England on the ea^t.
(ii) The boundaiy line between England and Scotland mns from the Tweed to tho Solw.iy Firth
through the Cheviot Hills.
3. Size. — The area of England amounts to 60,823 square miles ;
that of Wales to 7363. The total area of both is, therefore, 58,186
square miles. The greatest length is 430 miles ; and the greatest
breadth, 370 miles.
(i) The greatest lengtii is measured from the Lizard to Berwick.
(ii) The greatest breadth is measured from the Land's End to Lowestoft Ness.
4. Shape. — In shape, England is an irregular triangle, with its
apex at Berwick-on-Tsveed, and its base between the Land's End
and Dover. Its coast line is very highly developed ; and there are
numerous openings for excellent harbours. So deeyly hollowed out
is the coast line by bays and inlets, so cut in and indented by long
arms of the sea and estuaries, that no point in the interior is more
than fifty miles from sea-water. The total length of the coast line
is 1800 miles.
The only countries in the world with a longer coast line, compared with their
size, are Greece, Norway, Ireland, and Scotland.

26 EUROPE
5, The Western Coast. — The West Coast of England is high,
mountainous, and rocky, with bold cliffs and projecting buttresses of
old hard rock, standing out into the sea. It contains four deep and
wide bays, separated by rocky headlands.
(i) Tliese inlets are : the Solway rirth ; Morecambe Bay ; the Mouths of the Bibble,
Mersey, and Dee ; Cardigan Bay ; Milford Haven ; and tbe Bristol Channel (within which
are also Carmarthen Bay, Swansea Bay, and Barnstaple Bay).
(ii) The chief rocky and lofty headlands are : St, Bees Head ; Point of Aire ; Great Orme's
Head ; Bralch-y-pwll ; St. David's Head ; Worms Head ; Hartland Point ; and Land's End.
(i) The Solway Firth is noted for its salmon fisheries. — Milford Haven is one of the grandest
natural harbours in the world. — In the Bristol Channel the tide msbea np the estoary of the
Severn aa a " bore." At Chepstow it rises 45 ft. This is higher than in any oUier part of
Europe.
(ii) St. Beea Head Is a continnation of the Cumberland Monntalns. Great Orme's Head (673 ft)
is the loftiest point on the coast of England and Wales. land's End is an abrupt rnage of
granite rock.
6. The Eastern Coast. — The East Coast has a regular line, broken
only by the estuaries of rivers ; and its shores, which consist chiefly
of gravel, clay, and sand, are low and monotonous. It has four river
openings, which increase in size as we go south.
(i) These openings or inlets are : The mouth of the Tees ; tbe Hnmber; the Wash;
and the mouth of the Thames.
(ti) The chief headlands are : Flamborongh Head ; Spurn Head ; Hmutantoa Point :
Lowestoft Ness ; the Naze ; and the North Foreland.
(i) The Humber is the estuary of the Yorkshire Ouse and the Trent ; and is navigable for the
largest veaselfl up to Hull.— The IVash is too shallow for navigation : itis useless for shipping
— The Mouth of the Thames is the most important harbour in England.
(ii) Flamborough Head (the *' Head of the Flame Hill"— so called from the beaoon-fiics lighted
on it) is the end of a scries of white chalk cliffs.— Hunstanton Point is the end of the
East Anglian Heights,— ^Vess and A'aze are different forms of the word nose. "We find the
same word in Dungeness, Caithness, and th© Naze in Norway. Lowestoft Ness is the most
easterly point in England.
7. The southern Coast.— The South Coast of England combines the
Ijeculiarities of the Eastern and the Western Coasts. That half which
lies to the east of the Isle of "Wight is a low clay shore, broken here
and there by chalk cliffs ; the half to the west is high and bold,
composed of old and hard rocks. The two harbours behind the Isle
of AVight are among the best in England.
(i) The chief inlets i, which are small) are : Portmouth Harbonr and Southampton
Water ; Weymontb Bay ; Torbay ; Plymoath Sound ; Falmouth Harbonr ; and Mounfi Bays

KJSGLAND AND \VA[.ES 27
(ii) The chief headlands are: the South Foreland ; Dungeness ; Beachy Head; SeUea
Bill ; St. Albans Head ; Portland BIU ; Start Point ; and the Lizard.
(i) Portsmouth Harbour is completely landlocked, and forms a magnificent port.— Plymouth
Soimd is protected by an artificial breakwater a mile long, and is one of the gi-eat naral
stations of Britain.— Mount's Bay receives its name from St. Michael's Mount— a conical rock
about three miles from the shore.
(11) Dungeness (=¦' Danger Ness") is alow clay 8pit.-Beiichy Head is a chalk cliff. -5(ar( means
(nil ; and we have the same word in redstart. It is the "tail of England."— Lizard Point
(the most southerly in England) and Land's End (the most westerly) are two abrupt masses
of volcanic rock.

8. Islands and Straits. — The larger islands of England lie off the
west and south coasts. These are : the Isle of Man ; Anglesea ; and
the Scilly Isles, in the west ; the Isle of Wight, in the south. Off the
coast of Northumberland lie Holy Island and the Fame Islands. — The
most important straits are the Straits of Dover in the east ; the Spit-
head and Solent — east and west of the Isle of Wight — in the south ;
and the Menai Straits — ^between Anglesea and the mainland — in the
west. (i) The smaller islands are : (a) East : Coquet ; Sheppey (in the estuary of the
Thames) ; and Thanet — the two last now joined with the mainland. (&) West : Walney
(off the coast of Lancashire) ; Holyhead (next Anglesea ; hut only an island at high
tide) ; and Lundy Island (at the mouth of the Bristol Channel).
(ii) On the east coast, too, we have Tarmoath Boads and the Downs, where sailing-
ships lie waiting for a fair wind.
(i) The Isle of Man stands midway between the three countries. It is ruled by the " House of
Keys." It has valuable lead mines. The highest point ia Snae/ell {200i ft,). The word
Anglesea means " Angles Island." Sa or ey is a Norse word meaning island; and we fiud
it in Chelsea, Battersea, Jersey, Athelney, etc.- The Scilly Isles are a group of 145 islets.
of which 6 are inhabited. They send early vegetables to London. — The Isle of Wight Is
called the "Garden of England." It is one of the loveliest places in the world.
(il) Roads are places in the sea where ships can ridein safety.— The Downs lie between the Good
win Sands and tbe coast of Kent, and are the largest natural *' harbour of refuge" in the
world. Hundreds of vessels may be seen there at one time. \
(iii) The " Channel Islands," Jersey, Guernsey, Aldemey, and Sark (Jersey is the largest) belong
geographically to Prance ; but have been in our hands since 1066, Alderney is celebrated
for a very Gue and beautiful breed of cows.

9. The Build of England. — The build of England and Wales is some
what difficult to understand at first. The elevated regions lie mostly
in the west ; the low plnins in the east. A line of mountains, called

28 EUKOPK
the Pennine Bange (which is the backbone of England), starts from
the Cheviot HiUs, and runs due south as far as Derbyshire. From
this county, England is almost entirely a plain, traversed by ranges
of low hills, those in the south — the North Downs and the South
Downs — being at right angles to the main axis of elevation. In the
extreme west we find three sets of highlands rising up : the Cum-
hrlan Group of Mountains ; the Welsh (or Cambrian) Mountains ; and
the Devonlau-Comish Highlands. East and south of the Pennine
Range is the Great Plain of England, — a broad expanse which is in
reality a continuation of the Great European Plain. West of the
Pennine Range — between it and the Welsh Mountains — there is also
a narrow plain, which stretches between the Irish Sea and the Bristol
Channel. England-and- Wales is thus made up of (a) a long range ;
(6) a group of mountains ; (c) the mountain-land of Wales ; (d) a
highland in the far south ; (e) a long and broad plain on the east,
and (/) a narrow plain on the west.

(i) The Watershed of England runs soutli, along the Pennine Range ; goes still
further south in a very irregular line, when — a little south of the Cotswold HiUs — it
deflects on the right to the North Foreland, and, on the left, to the Land's End.
Thus it has the remarkable shape of a T turned upside down : thus J_*
(ii) The Eastern Slope of England is the broader and more gradual ; hence its rivers
are better fitted for navigation ; and the plains in it are more fertile. The Western
Slope is shorter and more rapid ; and its climate is also much more rainy.
(iii) The plains ot England, except in a few cases, are not flat, bnt have a gently
rolling surface.

10. Mountain-Systems.— The mountains of England He in four dis
tinct groups : the Pennine Eange ; the Cumbrian Mountains ; the
Welsh (or Cambrian) Mountains ; and the Highlands of Devon and
Cornwall. Tlio Cheviot Hiixs are also partly In England, Cheviot Top (2676 ft.} is in Xorthumberiand.
(i) The Pennine Range is really a large table-land (about 200 miles long), composed

EXGLAND AND WALES 29
of moors and masses of hills of an average height of from 1000 to 2000 ft. Cross FeU
(2S92 ft), where the five counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, ¦Westmoreland,
Durham, and Yorkshire meet, is its culminating point. South of the Peak, in Derby
shire, the range dies down into the Central Plain of England. It forms nearly the
boundary line between the six northern counties ; and the traffic between England
and Scotland runs to the west and to the east of this range. The Midland Railway
crosses the head of it between Carlisle and Settle.
other high peaks in it are Mickle Fell, Whemfiido, Ingleborough (-sFlame Height), and
Pen-y-gent (or Penuigant).
(ii) The Cumbrian Group lies west of the Pennine Chain, with which it is connected
by a spur of high moorlands running out from 'Wheniside. The mountains stand in
three counties, Cumberland, "Westmoreland, and Lancashire — in the lovely and
picturesque district of ' ' The Lakes, " and near the coast of the Irish Sea. The highest
peak is Scafell (3208 ft.), which is the loftiest mountain in England.
Other high peaks are HelveUyn. Skiddaw, Fa.irfield {^Far feU, or "HUl of sheep"), Saddle
Back, Coniston Old Man, etc.
(iii) The Welsh Mountains (or Cambrian System) lie between the Valleys of the Dee
and Severn and the Irish Sea. They contain many mountain-ranges, of wliich the
Snowdon Range and the Plinllmmon Range are the best known. The whole district is
remarkable for "the great beauty of its glens and mountain-gorges, and the abundance
of its tarns and running waters." The highest peak is Snowdon (3570 ft.), which is the
highest mountain in South Britain.

other high peaks are Cader Idris (=Chair of Arthur or " Arthur's Seat"), Flinlinunon, and
Brecknock Beacon.

(iv) The Highlands of Devon and Cornwall lie in the great south-western peninsula of
England. They are separated from the low uplands of Southern England by the
Valley of the Parret and the Vale of Taunton. Yea Tor (2040 ft.) on Dartmoor, is
the highest point in Devonshire; Brown Willy (136S ft.) is the highest peak iu
Cornwall. other high points are Cawaand Beacon ou Dartmoor : aud Dunkerry Beacon on Kxmoor (but
in Somerset).
(v) There are in England many other ranges of hills which it is useful for us to
know something about. Almost all are below a thousand feet above the sea-level.
They are of two kinds : Oolitic or Limestone Ranges and ChaJk Ranges. The chief Oolitic
Range which runs from near Bristol to the Humber (and reappears in Yorkshire),
forms the eastern boundary of the manufacturing districts. To the west and north
west of it, lie all the manufacturing centres of England ; to the east and south-east,
F

30

EUROPE

districts that are (with the single exception of London) entirely agricultural and
pastoral. They may be best set forth in a tabular form :—

Oolitic Ranges.

Position.

Cotswolds, .
Edge Hills, .
Lincolnshire Wolds,
Torkahire Wolds,
Yorkshire Moors,

Gloucestershire— They part the Severn
and the Thames Valley.
Warwickshire, on the borders of Oxford
shire.
Northamptonsh ire.
In the west of Lincolnshire.
Near Flamborough Head.
North of Yorkshire, west of Whitby.

Chalk Ranges.

Position.

Dorset Heights,
Salisbury Plain, .
Marlborough Downs,
ChUtem Hills, .
East Anglian Heights, .
Gog Magog Hills, .
Hampshire Downs,
Inkpen Beacon,
Korth Downs,
South Downs,

Dorsetshire. Wiltshire.Wiltshire.Oxfordshire.From the Chiltem Hills to the Wash.
Cambridgeshire.Hampshire. Dorsetshire.
Hampshire, Surrey, and Kent.
Hampshire and Sussex.

(i) The word oolitic means egg-stoned, from the Greek obn, au egg, and lithos, a stone. The lime-
Btoue ofwhich these rangen aro composed is made up of multitudes of little round ^s-lik^
particles, (li) The Cotswolds ha i^e their steep escarpment towards the SeTem. (iii) The
Yorkshire Moora ai'e the Mildest partof Eaiitem England, (iv) The Xorth and South Downs
hranch off, forkwiae, from the Hampshire Doavuh. (v) The Mendip Hills, in Somerset, are
famous for tbeir lead mines, (vi) Other well-known hills are the Clee Hills, in Shropshire ;
the Wrekin, a solitary cone, also in Shropshire ; the Malvern Hills, in Worcester and
Herefordshire ; Cient Hills, in Worcestershire ; and the Quantock Hills in Somerset.
11. Plateaus. — England does not possess table-lands like those of
France or Southern Germany, still less like those of Spain or Arabia.
But parts of the Pennine Range, Dartmoor and Exmoor in Devonshire,
are all real table-lands.
(i) Where Mickle Fell, Whernside, and Ingleborough rise up, the Pennine Range is a
table-land 40 miles wide.
(ij) Dartmoor is a table-land of moor between 1000 and 2000 ft. high. Exmoor is a
treeless table-land cleft by wooded ravines. Its elevation is about 1000 ft.
12. Plains. — England may be fairly described as, on the whole, a
country of low plains, two-thirds of its area being lowland. The

ENGLAND AND WALES 31
three largest plains are : the Eastern Plain ; the Central Plain ; and
the "Western Plain.
(i) The Eastern Plain is agaiu sub-divided into the Plain of York; tlie Fen District ;
and the Plain of the three Eastern Counties. The Plain of York is the lower valley of
the Yorkshire Ouse, and is extremely level. The Fen District is the most low-lying
region in England. It was once a district of marsh, bog, and fen ; but most of it has
been drained, and is now good corn-land. The Eastern Counties are rolling country,
which becomes more and more level as we go to the south, where it ends in the wide
clay flats of Essex.
(ii) The Central or Midland Plain is a low plateau, whieh includes raost of
Leicester, Derby, Stafford, aud Warwickshire.
(iii) The Western Plain extends from the base of the Westmoreland Hills on to the
basin of the Severn, from which it is separated only by a low watershed.
(iv) The other smaller plains are: the Plain of Csrllsle, round the head of the
Solway Firth ; the Plain of the Severn ; the Hampshire Plain, between the chalk hills
of Dorset, Hampshire, and Sussex, and the sea ; the Weald of Sussex, between the
North and the South Downs.
13. Rivers. — The higher mountains of England rise in the west of
the country ; and, though the watershed of a country does not
always coincide with the line of highest elevation, yet the watershed
of England is much nearer to the west than to the east coast. Hence
the long and gentle slope of the country is that towards the North
Sea ; the short and abrupt slope goes down to the Irish Sea. There
is also a short slope to the south. These three slopes naturally divide
the rivers of England into three classes : the Eastern, the Western,
and the Southern Rivers. The largest rivers are the Eastern — those
which belong to the North Sea drainage.
(i) The watershed between the basins of the Mersey and the Trent is 25 miles from
the tidal waters of the Mersey, and five times that distance from the tidal waters of
the Humber,
(ii) As there is much more rain on the western slopes of England, the western
rivers contribute much more water to the sea than tbe Eastern,
14. The Eastern Rivers. — The chief rivers of the Eastern slope are
the Tyne, the Wear, the Humber, and the Thames. They are all that
great commercial rivers ought to be — slow in current ; with broad
mouths ; with high tides ; and without bars.
(i) The Tyne (73 miles), though so short, is a great commercial aud industrial

32

EUROPE

river. It rises In two streams — the North Tyne from the Cheviots, tbe Bontli Tyne
from Crossfell. They unite a little above Hexham; and then the united stream
flows eastwards between Newcastle and Gateshead, and across the great coal-field
of Northumberland. It falls into the sea between Tynemouth and South Shields.
(ii) The Wear (65 miles) is a great shipping river. The busy port of Sunderland
stands at its mouth.
(iii) The Humber is the great sea-river or estuary into which the Yorkshire Ouse
from the north, and the Trent from the south, empty their waters. The Ouse (150
miles) is made up of five tributaries from the west, one from the south, and one from the
east. The five from the west, spread out "like the five fingers of a hand," are the
Swale, the Ure, the Nidd, the Wharfe, and the Aire (with the Calder), which rise in
lonely valleys along the Pennine Chain. The Derwent, the eastern tributary, comes
from the Yorkshire Wolds. The Ouse flows through the Vale of York, which is about
50 miles wide, and is the largest vale in England. There is also no river in. England
which has so many large and wealthy towns in its basin as the Yorkshire Ouse.— The
Trent (ISO miles) rises in the southern end of the Pennine Chain. It flows across the
Staff'ordshire coal-field, through the Central Plain, and then throngh the Eastern
Plain into the Humber.
Its chief tributaries are the
Derwent, Soar, Tame, Dove,
and Sow. The Trent itself
is navigable for barges np
to the brewing town of
Eurton-on-Trent The Trent
basin, is a very industrial
district ; it contains pot
tery-works, Ironworks, coal
mines, breweries, and many
nivEii HtmBEE. kinds of factories.— The
basin of the Humber is the largest in England. It contains 9550 square miles —
that is, about one-sixth of the whole country.
(iv) The Thames (215 miles), though much the most important, is only the second
longest river in England. It is tho water-way across southern, as the Trent is the
water-way across central, England. It rises in the Cotswold Hills, abont three miles
from Cheltenham, and only nine miles from the tidal waters of the Severn. The two
rivers aro connected by a canal. Its chief tributaries are : on the right, the Kennet,
Wey, Mole, Darent, and Medway ; on the left, the Cherwell, Thame, Colne, Brent,
Lea, and Boding. It is navigable for the largest ships that float to near London
Bridge, and for small boats to Lechdale, about ICO miles from the sea. On its banks
stand many lovely cities and towns— Oxford, Windsor, Richmond, etc
The smaller rivers of the Enstorn Slope nro ; the Tees, which forms tlie boundary between Durham
and Yorkshire,— Tho Witdam, Wklland, Nek, and Great Ovsv., which all enter the Wash
by Blow and winding couraos.— The Yark (which enters the sen at Yarmouth), the Orwell, the
SToutt of Essex, the Col\-e (on which Colchoater stands), and the Obklmer, all rise In the
East Anglian Heights and fall into the North 80,1 — The Stoi'r of Kent rises in the Wealdeu
Heights aud f'llls into the Straits of Dover.

ENGLAND AND WALES 33
15. The Weatem Rivers.— The three most important rivers of the
western slope are the Mersey, the Bristol Avon, and the Severn.
(i) The Mersey (6S miles) is a very short and insignificant stream ; but its broad
and deep estuary (the " Liverpool Channel ") is one of the greatest harbours in the
world. Its two main tributaries are the Irwell (on which Manchester stands), and
the Weaver, which flows through the " salt-cellar " of Cheshire.—" The Mersey is the
geographical centre of Great Britain and Ireland."
(ii) The Briatol Avon (78 miles), which is also called the Lower Avon, is only navig
able when the tide is full.
(iii) The Severn (240 miles) rises on the slope of the Plinlimmon Range, and falls into
the Bristol Channel. The tide rises higher in the Severn than in any other harbour
in Europe. It is navigable as far as Welshpool (in Montgomery) ; and steamers go up
to Gloucester. Its chief tributaries are the Teme and the Upper (or Stratford) Avon.
The "bore" of tbe Severn — tbe rushing up of the foam-crested spring-tide wave-
is well known.
The smaUer rivers of the Western Slope are : the Edks, which flows from CrossfeU, througb a
moat lovely and well-wooded valley, into the Solway below Carlisle ; the Lunk, which flows
Into the south of Horecambe Bay, after passing Lancaster {=Lunecaster} ; the Kibble, on
which " Proud Preston " stands ; the Dee (on which Chester stands), which flows through
Bala X^ake, and enters the Irish Sea by a Channel now largely silted up ; and the lovely
winding Wye, wliich rises near the Severn on Plinlimmon, and enters its estuary. The
Use, Taff, Towy, and Teify, are famous Welsh rivers.
16. The Southern Rivers. — The rivers which fall down the southern
slope of England are short, shallow, and of little value to commerce.
The most important is the Tamar ; and next to it come the Exe and
the Avon of Salisbury.
(i) Tlie Tamar (45 miles) rises in the northern slopes of Dartmoor, forms the
boundary between Devon and Cornwall, and falls into Plymouth Sound.
(ii) The Exe (55 miles) rises in Exmoor, flows right across the peninsula, past Exeter
(=Execaster), and enters the English Channel at Exmouth.
(iii) The Avon of Salisbury flows across Salisbury Plain, and enters the sea at
Christchurch. The still smaller rivers of the Southern Slope are : the Pai (ou whicU Falmouth stands) : the
Dart (with Dartmouth) ; the Tkicic (with Teignmoutb) ; the Stour of Dorset ; the Itchih
(which flows into Southampton Water) ; the AKtm (on which Arundel stands) ; the Sussex
Odbe ; and the Rothee. wliich forma the boundary between Sussex and Kent,
17. Lakes. — The Lakes of England lie almost wholly in the "Lake
District" — a mountainous region in the north-west of the country.
All of them, seven in number, lie round the central mountain-mass of
Helvellyn, from which they radiate like the spokes of a wheel. They

34

EUROPE

are : Windermere ; Ulleswater ; Thirlmere ; Derwentwater ; Butter-
mere ; Wastwater ; and Coniston Water.
(i) Windermere (14 miles long), which points to the south, is the longest, largest,
and most beautiful. It is called the "Queen of the Lakes." It lies between Lan
cashire and Westmoreland. Its greatest depth is 40 fathoms. The northern end is
surrounded by some of the grandest and most picturesque peaks and masses of the
Lake District. It sends the river Leven into Morecambe Bay.
(ii) TJUeswater, between Westmoreland and Cumberland, is the second largest of
the lakes. At its head towers Helvellyn,
(iii) Derwentwater is also a lovely lake, and lies at the foot of Skiddaw.
(iv) Thlrlmere, a beautiful and very clear lake, supplies Manchester with drinking
water. — Conlaton Water lies at the foot of Coniston Old Man. Wastwater lies highest
up among the mountains, and is also the deepest of all the lakes.
(v) Grasmere and Rydal Water are lovely lakes, imperishably connected with oar
English Literature. The names of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey, De Qm'ncey,
Hartley Coleridge, and others, are linked with these scenes.
(vi) Lake Bala is a beautiful lake in North "Wales. It is the largest in the country ;
and the Dee flows out of it.
18. Minerals. — The most important minerals found in England are
coal and iron ; and these are the chief sources of the wealth of the
country. Copper, lead,
_ ^ ".." ''. " "^v, ^ zinc, and tin ; salt, mar
ble, huilding-stone, and
slate are also found in
considerable quantities.
A line from Exmouth to
the Wash marks the
southern boundary of
the Mineral Districts.
(i) The chief coal-fields of
England are : (1) the Northum
berland and Durham Coal-field,
which lies between Warkworth
and Darlington; (2) the York
shire and Derbyshire Coal-field,
between Leeds and Derby ;
(3) the Lancashire Coal-field,
between the Eibble and the
^Mersey ; (4) the North Stafford-
Bhire Coal-field, in the Potteries District; (;>)the South StaSordahlre Coal-fleld, In the

THE COAIrFIELDS OF ENOIAND.

ENGLAND AND M^ALES 35
Wolverhampton Iron District ; (6) the Bristol Coal-fleld ; and (T) the South Wales
Coal-fiold, between Pontypool (in Monmoutli) and St. Bride's Bay. The flrst-mentioned
is the largest and richest. Nearly 1 40 million tons of coal were raised in England and
Wales in 1887 ; and the value ot this total is nearly £34,000,000.
(ii) England is the greatest mining country in the world. Her "Black Indies"
have heen a greater source ot wealth to her than the possession ot Mexico or of
California. Her coal-flelds have an area of over 12,000 square miles— twice the size of
Yorksliire. (iii) Iron is found in many of the coal-flelds, especially in those of Staffordshire and
Yorkshire, and to a smaller extent in Wales. The Cleveland District, south of the
Tees, produces exceUent iron. Brown iron-ore is found in Lincolnshire and North
amptonshire ; and red iron-ore in the Fumess District, in the north-west of Lancashire,
near the Lakes. The annual value of the iron is not one-tenth that of the coal.
(iv) Lead and zinc are mined in Cumberland and Westmoreland ; in Durham and
Yorkshire ; in Shropshire and Wales ; and in the rocks ot the Isle of Man.
(v) Copper is found chiefly in Cornwall and Devon; tin, entirely in these two
comities. The copper from Spain and South America has so lowered the price, that
most of the Cornish mines have been abandoned.
(vi) Salt is found chiefly in Cheshire in the valley ot the Weaver—' ' the salt-cellar of
England." It is obtained both by mining and by pumping up the brine. There are
also thick beds ot rock-salt in Worcestershire and Durham.
(vii) Bnllding-stone is found chiefly in the northern counties ot England. But the
Isle ot Portland, in Dorset, produces the best freestone for building.
(viii) Slate is extensively quarried in Wales (where the grey-green kind, which com
mands the highest price, is produced), and in Cumberland and Westmoreland.
19. Climate. — England stands in the northern part of the Temperate
Zone ; it has therefore a cool-temperate climate. It stands in the
sea ; and has therefore an insular climate — that is, one whioh is
both mild and moist. The west coast is, on the whole, warmer and
moister than the east coast. The temperature decreases with the
latitude in summer ; but, in winter, many districts in the north are
quite as warm as London. It is the presence of the Gulf Stream that
gives us our warmer climate, and also most of our supplies of rain.
(i) aondlness is a strong characteristic of the English climate. It may rain any
day ; it sometimes rains every day.
(ii) If latitude were the sole, or even the chief, determining cause ot climate, we
should have the cold of Labrador, whioh lies between 60° aud 60° ; and London would
have the winter of Nain in Labrador.
(iii) Themean temperature of London Is the same as that ot KielT (in the south of
Russia) ; but Kiefl' has a very much colder winter and a much hotter summer, and
thus the two extremes come to the same average as the two means.

36 EUROPE
(iv) The isotherm of January (29° Fahrenheit), goes rouJid the whole island ; and it
is as warm— sometimes warmer — on the Moray Firth as it is in Kent or Surrey.
(v) The rainiest county is Cumberland ; the driest, Cambridge. At Seathwaite, in
the Cumbrian Group, as much as 180 inches or 15 ft. of rain has been known to &11
iu a year ; at Cambridge, the average is 20 in.
(vi) The flg and the grape ripen in the open air in the south of England ; the
myrtle and arbutus can stand the winter ot Devonshire and the Isle of Wight.
(vii) The Atlantic coasts are kept comparatively cool in summer, and warm in
winter, by the south-west breezes which blow, two days out ot every three, from the
Gulf Stream. The south-east ot England, being close to the Continent, partakes more
ot continental extremes ; it is two or three degrees wanner in summer, and colder in
winter, than the west,
(viii) "The westerly winds, which preponderate throughout the year, and more
especially in summer and autumn, carry with them the warmth and the moisture of
the Atlantic."
20. Vegetation. — England belongs to the belt of deciduous trees ;
Scotland to the belt of pine-woods. The only two native trees that
still exist in England are the yew and the Scotch fir ; all the others
have been introduced by man. The oak, beech, and elm are common
in most parts of England ; the ash, birch, chestnut, hazel, aspen,
poplar, willow, and maple, are also well-known trees. The hawthorn
hedge thrives in our moderate climate, and is a familiar charac
teristic of our landscape. On the whole, the vegetation is that of
the same latitude on the Continent ; only England lies beyond the
limit of the vine.
(i) The English oak is the typical tree. It is a striking feature iu the landscape ;
it used to be the naval defence of our shores : and it is said to represent the
English character.
(ii) The forests still existing in England are : the New Forest in Hampshire ; the
Dean Forest in Gloucestershire ; Windsor Forest in Berks ; and Sherwood Forest in Notts.
(iii) The limit of the vine on the Continent is 52" — half a degree north ot London.
But the climate of England has been gradually cooling do^vn during the last few
hundred years. At Hatfleld (Lord Salisbury's house), near London, the gardens used
(in- the 17th century) to grow 1400 standard vines in the open air ; there is now not
one. Many towns in the south have tho word "Vineyard" as the name of a suburb;
but no vines grow there now (except on a southern wall or under glass).
21. Animals. — The destruction of the forests and the spread of
tillage have led to the disappearance of most of our wild animals.
The bear, wolf, boar, and beaver of Old England are no longer to be

ENGLAND AND WALES 37
seen. The wild animals are not large: the best known are the
badger, the otter, the rabbit, the squirrel, the hedgehog, and the
weasel. The deer, the hare, and the fox would probably be rooted
out quickly, if they were not preserved. The seal sometimes visits
our northern shores. The domestic animals are among the best and
strongest of their kind.
(i) The brown bear had disappeared trom England before the Norman Conquest.
(ii) The last woU is said to have been killed in 1710.
(iii) The beaver is said to have become extinct about the time of Richard i . (1157-90).
It is now rare even in Central Europe.
(iv) The fox is still truly wild in the north of England.
22. IniaWtants. — The people of England — Angles, Engles, or
English — belong to the Teutonic stock of the Aryan or Indo-
European family ; the people of Wales and Cornwall to the
Celtic. In the east there is much Scandinavian blood ; in the west,
a good deal of Celtic. With the Conquest, a strong strain of Nor
man-French was introduced into the country. In spite of all these
mixtures, the Englishman is and remains a Northern. Teuton.
The ar in Aryan la the same as the or in arable. Hence " Aryan " means originally " the tilling
race."
(i) The £ngUsh belong to the Low-German branch of the Teutonic race. Zow
Germany is that part which lies north ot the southern table-lands : and along the
lower courses ot the rivers.
(ii) The Welsh belong to the Cymric branch of the Celtic race. The Celts were
gradually and surely edged off to the west — to Wales, Cornwall, etc. — by the steady
pressure of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes.
(iii) " The Danish element is strongly represented in the fifteen counties, from
Hertford to Durham, which was formerly known as the district of the Banelagh."
23. Population and Populousness. — The population of England and
Wales amounted (in 1889) to nearly 30,000,000 ; qf which not quite
two millions belong to Wales. This gives an average of nearly 500
persons to each square mile ; and England is thus the most densely
populated country in Europe, with the exception of Saxony and
Belgium. The prevailing tendency at present is to the rapid increase
of the urban population.
(i) In 1801, the population was under 9,000,000 ; in 1851, it had doubled itself;
and in 1900, it will probably have doubled itself again.

38

EUROPE

(ii) More than three-fifths of the people live in towns. London alone contains
more than one-sixth of the whole population.
(iii) The two most thickly peopled towns are Liverpool and Manchester.

24. Industries. — England is a commercial and maniifacturin^
nation : agriculture has been for the last hundred years gradually-
receding into the background. The change from an agricultural
condition to one of trade and manufactures is due to the discovery of
the vast supplies of coal, and to the application of coal to the cheap
production of steam-power. This has made England the workshop
and market of the world, and her ships the ocean-carriers for herself
and many other nations.
25. Manufactures. — The two greatest manufactures of England are
textiles and Lardwares, The three staples are cotton ; wool ; and
iron. Cotton is the most important of all the English manufactures.

(i) The annual value of the textiles produced in the United Kingdom amounts to
nearly £200,000,000 ; of the hardware to about £130,000,000. This is equivalent to
about £10 for each inhabitant : in Eussia, manufactures amount to only 16s. per head.

(ii) South Lancashire is the chief seat of the cotton manofacturc.

Manchester is the
cotton capital ;
Idverpool, the
cctton port. In
tlie square form
ed by Preston
and Burnley,
Liverpool and
Manchester, stand many
towns all more
or less engaged
in cotton-spin
ning and cotton-weaving. "The English cotton-mills contain as many spindles
and power-looms as those of all the rest of the world combined." The other towns
engaged in the cotton-manufacture are Preston, Burnley, Blackbnm, Bolton, Bury, Aahtonf
Stockport, Oldham, and many smaller ones.
(iii) The West Riding of Yorkshire is the chief seat of the woollen manufacture. The
two principal centres are LeecU and Bradford. The other towns engaged in it are
Halifax, Huddersfiold, Wakefield, Bewsbory, Barusley, etc.

THE COTTON AND THK WOOLLEM" DISTRICTS
OF ENGLAND.

ENGLAND AND WALES

39

(iv) South Staffordshire, with portions of the threo counties which touch it on the
south, is the chief seat of the Iron manufactui'e. Birmingham is its centre and capital.
— Shefi&eld produces most and the best cutlery ; and there are also large manufactures
both of iron and steel at Newcastle and at Middlesborough, in the Cleveland District.
The minor indn-tries of England are almost countless. Some of them are ; Pottery, In North
StnfEordshlro ; Silk, in Manchester, Derhy and Coventry ; Eosiiir.y and Laci: in Leicester ;
Lace in Nottingham ; Li»en In Leeds ; paper, glass, watches, clocks, etc.. In miuiy other
t<3\ras.

26. Commerce. — Great Britain holds the first place among the nations
for manufactures ; and she also holds this position with regard to com
merce. Her exports and imports are much greater than those of any-
other country ; and the annual grand total of both amounts to nearly
£600,000,000. The six chief articles of import are : grain ; raw
cotton ; wool ; sugar ; metals ; and
timber. The six chief articles of
export are : cotton goods ; woollens ;
iron in all forms ; machinery ; coal ;
and linen manufactures.

(i) "The British Isles are rich in deep
and spacious harbours." It is also worth
noticing that these harbours lie almost
opposite eacb other ; and that the land at
these points contracts almost to the narrow
ness of an isthmus.
(ii) "England, besides, enjoys the advan
tage of higher tides than most other coun
tries, which enables vessels of considerable
burden to penetrate almost to the heart of
the country. "
(iii) "The English have become the ocean-
carriers of the entire world,"
(iv) " Back to England as to a common
fountainhead flows the might, the fulness,
and the wealth, of her thousandfold rela
tions with the world." — Rittee.

GREAT BRITAIN.

27. Great Cities. — England is the home of great cities and large
towns. Her ancient agricultural wealth, her modern mineral wealth,
her colossal industries and unresting enterprise, her world-wide com
merce  all have contributed to build great cities and to bring workers

40 EUROPE
together in immense numbers. There are in England 25 towns with
a population of over 100,000 inhabitants. Of these, 11 contain more
than 200,000 ; and of these again, four contain more than 400,000.
By far the largest city in England is the capital ; and LONDON is not
only the largest city in England, it is by far the largest on the face of
the globe. The population of London is now over 5,000,000.
LONDON (5200) is the largest, wealthiest, and most populous city in the world. It
stands in four counties— Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, and Essex. It is a province of
houses— a forest of human beings. It is a great agricultural market, a cluster of
large manufacturing towns, an enormous railway centre, a great maritime port, the
central city of commerce for the entire globe, the banking-city (the money market)
of the whole commercial world, the legal capital of England, and a great pleasnre-
city in addition to all these. All the roads and railways of England converge upon
it ; all the water-ways of the globe— all the great lines of navigation lead to it ;
it stands opposite Europe; but its trade-dealings are -with Asia, Africa, the two
Americas, as well as with the continent to which it belongs. It is abont fifteen miles
long by ten broad, A house rises out of the ground every hour of the day and night ;
a village of more than 300 persons is added to its population every day ; by its growth
it swallows up new villages and smaller townships as it grows ; and a town as large
as Brighton is added every year without the addition being noticed. It is an " ocean
of bricks and mortar." Its houses, if placed end to end, would stretch across all
Europe and Asia. It is one of the ugliest cities in the world, and one of the most
beautiful. The squalor of its lower regions is indescribable ; the scene firom the
Kensington Gardens Bridge is one of the finest in Europe. It has some of the noblest,
as well as many of the meanest, buildings in the world. — Its inhabitants come from
all parts of the globe. It contains more Scotsmen than Edinburgh ; and more Irish
men than Dublin. — Its river, the Thames, is spanned by twenty bridges ; and, of these,
London Bridge is the most frequented in the world. It is daily crossed by at least
half-a-million persons. The number of persons who come into London by railway
every day is over a million. It not only contains many wonders ; it is itself the
greatest " wonder of the world."
(a) There are, officiaUy, 17 distinct Londons :— Post-ofiBce London ; Police London ; Board of
Works Loudon, etc. Now, however, London has been created into a Cou>'Tr ; and there is
therefore one Countt of Loi^doit.
{b) There is no point from which the whole of London can he seen at once. There is no man living
-who has ever seen all its 28,000 streets.
(c) liondon grows chiefly towards the west— like other great cities. The pre\-alent winds of
Europe are westerly ; and hence It is from thia direction thnt the purifying breezes come.
(d) Besides ft large number of towns, London contains two cities— tliose of London and West
minster. It contains more of the history of England than any other English dty. London
is oIbo tho see of a bishop.
(c) Tho Port of London extends fi-om London Bridge to tlia soa ; and has nlso a largo nmnber of
very large docks. It la tlio greatest mart for colonial produce In the world.
(/) " Inhuildings of the highest historical interest Loudon comes second only to Kome."

ENGLAND AND WALES 41
io) " Of northern capitals London with all its drawbacks la the handaomeat."
(Ji) *' London sits enthroned at the gates of the sea, the mighty centre, commercial, financial,
political, social, and intellectual, of a vast realm, where English laws, English institutions,
the English tongue, and all the treasures of English literature rsign and govern and enrich
the lives and the minds of millions of men, generation nfter generation, all over the globe,
with a sovereignty that seems imperishable and destined never to pass away."

THE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES.
Counties. — England and Wales are dirided into fifty-two counties
or shires — England containing forty, and Wales twelve. The largest
is Yorkshire ; the smallest Rutland.
(i) The four largest are Yorkshire, Lincoln, Devon, and Norfolk. The four smallest are Rutland,
Middlesex, Huntingdon, and Bedford.
(ii) jSfttre is the noun from the Old English verb sciran, to cut. Other words from it are sAare,
shore, score, sheer, short, sharp, scarp, shred, sJierd, etc
(1) The six Korthem ConntleB are : Cnmberland and Korthomberland ; Westmoreland
and Dnrham ; Lancashire and Yorkshire.
(ii) The six Western Counties — are : Chestdre ; Shropshira ; Hereford ; Momnontb and
Gloucester ; and Somerset. The first four march with Wales.
(iii) The five Eastern Countiei— going from north to south — are : Lincoln ; Norfolk ;
Suffolk ; Essex ; and Cambridge, which marches with Norfolk and Suffolk.
(iv) The nine Sonthem Counties are : Kent ; Sorrey and Snssez ; Berkshire and Hamp
shire ; Wiltshire and Dorsetshire ; Devon ; and Cornwall.
(v) The fourteen Midland Counties are : Stafford, Derby, Nottingham ; Worcester,
Warwick, Leicester, and Butland ; Northampton and Huntingdon ; Oxford and Buckingham ;
Middlesex, Hertford and Bedford.

L — The Northern Counties.
1. Northumberland. — This county (which is twice the size of
Durham) consists of a hilly and moorland district, with arable low
lands on the coast. The uplands contain lead-mines ; the lowlands,
large coal-fields. The largest town is Newcastle ; the county town is
Alnwick, but county business is done also in the largest town.
The word means "Land north of the Humber"; and the old name " Northombria " covered the
ground from tho Humber to the Tweed

42

EUROPE

<i) Tlie largest towns in tlie county— Hexham, Newcartle, Tynemoutb, North Shleldj—
all stand on the Tyne,
(ii) KswcaaUo (200) is the chief seat of the coal-trade, a great foreign port, and a
centre of shipbuilding. The Tyne
from Newcastle to the sea is one of
the busiest and noisiest regions in the
world — one unceasing clang and din
resounds as you go up. Shipbuild
ing yards, factories for machinery,
chemicals, glass, etc, line the banks
on both Bides.— Benrick-on-Tweed,
tbough on the Scottish side of the
river, is now a part of Northumber
land. — Hexham is a small town that
THE TTNi! DISTRICT. makes gloves and hats.— Hodden
rield, -where James iv. of Scotland fell in 1513, is in the north of the county.

2. Durham.— This county (half the size of Northumberland) con
sists of wide moors on the Pennine slope, and a hroad arable plain in
the east. Its coal-field constitutes its chief wealth. It is full of
busy towns. Sunderland is the largest ; Durham is the county town.
The word Durham ia a corruption of DimftolTn— the holm or ijlimd on the dun orhilL The
Bi3hop of Durham signa his name Dokelu.
(i) Sunderland (140) is a busy seaport as well as a great shipbuilding place.— totes-
head (which is joined to Newcastle by several bridges) and South Shields are the largest
towns in the north ; Darlington, Stockton, and Hartlepool— all ou the Tees— are the
busiest and richest to^vns in the south.
(ii) Durham, ou the Wear, has one of the noblest Cathedrals in England. It has also
a University, one of the colleges of which is in Newcastle.

3. Yorkshire. — This county, the largest and most diversified in
England, is a country in itself. It consists of three regions : (i) a
high upland — the Moors and Wolds — ^in the east ; (ii) the Vale of
York in the middle ; and (iii) the picturesque valleys on the Pennine
slope. — It is also divided into three parts : the North, East, and West
Ridings. The West Riding is the richest and most populous, for it
contains a very large coal-field, which is the chief seat of the great
Woollen manufacture of England. The largest town is Leeds.
The Roman name for York was Eboriicum ; and tho Archbishop signs his name Ebob — Riding
AVos at first ihrilhino or fA)'idmi7=third part. The awkwardness of the sound of Nort/t
r/ti'iding made tlie last t/i drop off, (So tithing=tonth part ; fVirthing=fourth pai-t)

ENGLAND AND WALES 43
(i) York (60), the capital of the county, stands on tho Ouse, at the meeting-point of
the three Ridings. It is one of the most interesting and most historic towns in
England. It was the capital of Roman Britain ; it is the seat of one of the two great
archbishoprics of England ; the flrst English Parliament met here under Henry ir.
in 1160 ; and, iu 1G44, Fairfax defeated Prince Rupert, not far off, at Marston Moor.
At Stamford Bridge, a few miles east, Harold defeated his brother Tostig ; but the
long marcli south lost him the Battle of Hastings.
(ii) The largest towns in the West Elding are : Leeds (360) ; Bradford (250) ; Hudders-
field (100) ; Halifax (85) ; and Wakefield. Most of them are in the Aire Valley ; and all
are engaged in the wool-trade.— Sheffield (340), on the Don, in the farthest south, is
the seat of the cutlery trade.— Rlpon, in the north, is a small cathedral city
(iii) Hnll (205) formerly Kingston-on-Hull, in the soutli of the East Elding, is one of
the great ports of England, and has a large Baltic trade.
(iv) The largest town in the North Elding is Bffiddleaborough, a busy port, and the centre
of the Cleveland iron and salt district. Fifty years ago, it was a small unknown
village. Scarborough and Whitby, two famous bathing-places, stand on the coast.
Northallerton is famous for the Battle of the Standard in 113S.
4. Cmnljerland. — Cumberland is a mountainous county, with much
high pastoral upland. The lovely Eden Vale opens out into a broad
plain at Carlisle. In the west, on the Irish Sea, is a small but rich
coal-field. The largest town is Carlisle ; the county town is Penrith.
Cai}ii)erland means the land of tlie Gymri — the ancient name for a, family of Celts, and the
name by which the Welsh still coll themselves.
(i) Carlisle (45), on the Eden, is one of the greatest railway centres in the kingdom.
The North-Westem, Midland, and several other systems meet there. It has a fine
catbedral and an old castle.
(ii) Whitehaven is the chief port for the coal-field ; and Workington and Maryport also
export coal. Keswick (wbich, has a mine of plumbago or "black lead") is a pretty
town in the heart of the Lake District.
5. Westmoreland. — This county is an upland pastoral region of
mountains and hills. There is a little lead in some of the mountains.
Kendal is the largest town ; Appleby is the county t(^wn.
The name= Weat Moor hand.
Kendal (on the Kent) has some small woollen manufactures. Appleby, iu a little
round wooded valley, is the smallest county t-iwn in England.
6. LancasIiiTe. — This county (whicli is nearly twice the size of
Durham) consists of a hUly region (Furness) in the Lake District ; an
upland region on the western slopes of the Pennine chain ; and a

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broad plain in the south. Its great wealth and populousness are due
to the large coal-field which lies between the Kibble and the Mersey.
South Lancashire, like the West Biding, is one of the busiest and
most populous places in England. It is thick with towns, most of
which are engaged in the cotton manufacture. The two largest towns
are Liverpool and Manchester. The capital is Lancaster.
Iinncashlre=-Lancastershire, or the shire of Lune Caster, the Boman camp on the Lune.
(i) Liverpool (600), on the Mersey, is the second largest town in England, and now
the largest seaport (London has most ships ; Liverpool, the largest tonnage). All the
great highways of the British Isles converge upon Liverpool ; nearly all the cotton of
the world finds its way here, and is distributed over England, Scotland, and the
Continent ; and it is the chief emigration port for Europe. The great American
Lines of Steamers have their headquarters here. Both shores of the Mersey are lined
with the most capacious docks for eight miles. It is connected with its Cheshire
suburb, Birkenhead, by a tunnel under the river.
(ii) Manchester (400), on the inky waters of the Irwell, is the market and business
centre of the cotton manufacture ; though its factories are now surpassed by those in
the outlying towns. It is the centre of a constellation of cotton towns, such as
Oldham (150) and Bochdale ; Burnley and Blackburn (125) ; Preston (110); Bury, Bolton
(120), and Wigan.— Salford (240), another large cotton and iron town, makes one town
with Manchester ; and the two together form then the second largest city in England.
(iii) Barrow-in-Fumess is the port for the iron ores of the district, and has the largest
steel manufactures in the kingdom. Forty years ago, there were only a few huts ou
the site.

IL The Western Counties.
7. Cheslaire. — This county, which is a little larger than Durham,
chiefly consists of a rich pastoral plain, which has long produced
excellent cheese and butter. The north possesses part of the Lanca
shire coal-field ; the south is rich in salt-mines. The largest town is
Birkenhead ; the county town is Chester,
C/ie8Aire==Chestershire, ihe ahire of the Chester or castra or camp {the standing camp) of tho
Somans on the Dee. Tho main high-road built by the Komims through BritAiu to tho north
runs hetween Dover and Cheater.
(i) Birkenhead (105), on the Mersey, is really a suburb of Liverpool, and owes its
rise to the neighbourhood of that city. It is famous for its docks and its sliipbuild-
ing. Fifty years ago it contained only a few houses. Birkenhead, Middlesborough,
and Barrow are the three most remarkable instances in England of rapid growth —
more like that of American towns.

ENGLAND AND WALES 45
(ii) caiortor (40), on the Dee, is tho most singular town in England. Itis surrounded
by avails; and in the "Rows," there are miles of covered walks. Its cathedral, its
castle, its old and quaint houses, its towers, its picturesque streets, make it unique
among towns. As in York, there are many old Roman remains.
(iii) The to\vns in the north, Stockport (65), Stalybridge, etc., form part of the cotton
circle ; Macclesfield (40) spins and weaves silk.— Runcorn, on the Mersey, has large iron
and chemical works. — Nantwich, and the other towns ending in loich, are engaged in
the mining of salt.
8. Shropshire. — Shropshire or Salop is a county one- third larger
than Durham. It is divided into two almost equal parts by the
Severn. The north-eastern portion forms part of the Central Plain ;
the south-western is a hilly region, with the characteristics of Wales.
The largest town, which is also the county town, is Shrewsbury.
Shropafiire is a softened form of Scrob or Scrubahire, called so from the low shrubs that uaed to
cover the land. Shrewsbury is alao a softened form of Scrobbesbyrig =Scrub-horough.
Shrewsbury (30) stands on the Severn, not far from the coal-Iield in the east of the
county. Wellington, Bridgenorth, Coalhrookdale, etc., aro all in the coal and iron dis
trict. Oawestry, a woollen-manufacturing place, stands in the north-west.
9, Herefordshire. — This is a pretty agricultural county, almost
bisected by the Wye. It is tjie flattest and richest of the western
counties. The rich red soil produces excellent hops and apples.
The county town, which is also the largest town, is Hereford.
The word Het'eford means "furd uf the army." It was jin importiuit point on the Marches of
"Wales ; as it was one of the few places where au Eiisllsh army could cross the Severn.
(i) Zareford (20) is a pretty cathedral town.
(ii) Near Leomlnater is ilortimer's Cross, one of the battlefields iu tlio Wars of the
Roses, Tlie battle was fought in 1461.
10. Monmouth. — Monmouth (about half the size of Durham) is a
hilly grazing county, with mines of coal and ironstone in the west,
next to the South Wales coal-field. Most of the coimty consists
of the Valley of the Usk. Many of the people still speak AVelsh.
The largest town is Newport ; the county town is Monmouth.
Monrmuth is= Munnowmouth. The Munnow is a tributary of the Wye ; and Monmouth stands
at thejunction.
(i) Newport (30), at the mouth of the Usk, is a port for minerals, whicli arc sent
down from Tredegar and Pontypool.
(ii) Momnontb, on the Wye, is tho assize town. G

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11. Gloucestershire is an agricultural county, with the coal-field of
the Forest of Dean in the west, and the Bristol coal-field in the south.
The centre of the county is occupied by the fertile plain of the
Severn ; on the west is the elevated Forest of Dean ; and, on the
east, the long range of the Cotswold Hills. The largest town is
Bristol ; the county town is Gloucester.
(i) Bristol (206), on the Avon of Bristol, is the seventh town in England, a great
seaport, and a busy seat of manufactures of glass, sugar, etc Its trade is chiefly
with Ireland, the West Indies, and South America.
(ii) Gloncerter (40), on the Severn, is a cathedral city. Cbeltenliam (45) is a famou:;
inland watering-place. Stroad makes woollen cloth.
12. Somerset. — This is a grazing county, with wide level plains.
On the west rises Exmoor ; in the east the Mendip Hills with
picturesque cliffs and caverns in the limestone rocks. The largest
town is Bath ; the county town is Taunton.
(i) Bath (60) has its name from the hot baths and mineral waters which have been
famous for two thousand years. It was a fashionable place in the time of the Bomans ;
it is a fashionable place still. It is also a cathedral city : the bishop is the Bishop of
Bath and Wells.
(ii) Taunton (= Tone-town) stands in the pleasant valley of the Tone. — Bridgewater, <«
port on the Parret, is connected with Exeter by a canal ; and thus small sliips are
saved the voyage round the Land's End. — Between Bridgewater and Taunton is
Sedgemoor, the scene of Monmouth's defeat in 1685. — Athelney, the hiding-place of
Alfred from the Danes, lies at thejunction of the Tone and the Parret.

III. The Eastern Counties.
13. Lincolnshire. — This, the second English county in point of size,
is an agricultural district. In the north rise the Lincolnshire Wolds ;
in the south sinks down the low fen country called Holland
(= Hollow Land). The county town is Lincoln ; the largest town is
Great Grimsby.
Liucoln recelTfid its namo from the Romans, who called it Lindum. A8 it wm .^ Koman colony, it
wtvs colled " Lindum Colonia," which wan shortened into Xiineoln.
(i) Lincoln (40) is an ancient cathedral city on the Witham. It stands ou the edge
of tho Oolitic Hidge, and commands a wide view over the Trent valley.

ENGLAND AND WALES 47
(ii) Sreat Srlnuby (45) is a rising seaport on the south shore of the Humber.— Boston
is a small port on the Witham ; Grantham (where Sir Isaac Newton was born) is an
important corn-market on the Great Northern EaUway.
14. Cambridgeshire (exactly half the size of Somerset) is an agri
cultural county, nearly all very flat. Its northern half— the Isle of
Ely — is fenny and marshy ; in the south, it is crossed by the chalk
range of the Gog Magog HUls. Its largest town is Cambridge, whioh
is also the county town.
C9jnbridge=Eiidge on the Cam. Gam is a Celtic word whioh means eroolced. The word reappears
in Morecambe (Bay).
(i) Cambridge (40), on the Cam, a tributary of the Ouse, has one of the two great
Universities of England.
(ii) Ely (=BeZ ey or island) is famous for its cathedral, which stands on a slight
rising ground in the fens — once an island in the midst of the waters. In the Isle of
Ely rents used to be paid in eels.
15. Norfolk is an agricultural and manufacturing county — a gently
rolling district, with a light soil on a basis of chalk. In the east are
the "Broads" — magnificent sheets of water haunted by crowds of
wild-fowl and sea-birds. The largest town is Norwich, which is also
the county town.
NorfoVc=yorth Folk or Northern Angles. Norfolk aud Suifolk (=Sonth Folk) form together
*' East Anglia."
(i) Norwich (95), an ancient cathedral city, a seat of the woollen manufactures, and
the capital of East Anglia, stands on the Wensum, a tributary of the Yare.
(ii) Tarmonth (50) is a seaport and fishing-port ; cures herrings ; and is famous for
its excellent roadstead called " Yarmouth Eoads."— lynn (or " King's Lynn"), at the
mouth of the Great Ouse, is the chief port on the Wash.
16. Suffolk. — Suifolk is a wheat-growing county, with a heavy
soU. The west is a chalk upland ; the east is a very low plain with
long sea-inlets. Ipswich is the county town, and tho'largest.
(i) Ipswich (55), on the Orwell, has large manufactures of agricultural implements.
(ii) Lowestoft is the most easterly town in England. It is an important station for
the herring-fishery. — Buy St. Edmnnds, a market-town, was named after St. Edmund.
the Saxon king and martyr, who was put to death by the Danes in S70.
17. Essex. — The county of Essex has a range of chalk hills in the
west ; but in the east it sinks into wide muddy flats and marshes.

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which are greatly cut into by the sea. There is much heavy land
good for corn ; but the cheap wheat from America and India has
thrown most of it into pasture. The largest town is Colchester ; the
county town is Chelmsford.
E38ex=East Saxons.
(i) Colchester (35), tbat is, the Chester or camp ou tlie Colne, lias oyster fisheries.
(ii) ChelmBford( = Chelmersford) stands on the Chelmer.— Harwich is a rising port for
steam-packets to Belgium and Holland.- Shoeburynesa is the chief artillery station
in Britain.

IV. The Southern Counties.
18. Kent. — Kent, the " Garden of England," is a smiling county of
corn-land and pasture, of hop-gardens, cherry-orchards, apple-orchards,
and filbert-orchards. A chalk range — a prolongation of the North
Downs, runs through it, and ends in a line of cliffs stretching from
Folkestone to the North Foreland. The whole coast is Mnged with
thriving towns : and hence it has a population double that of Essex.
Maidstone is the county town ; Woolwich the largest.
Kent ia a form of the Celtic word cann, a head. The same word is fomid in the Mall of Cantire,
in tho south-west of Scotland. The spelling with o re-appears in Caii(cr6«ri/=Cant-wara
byrig, the bormtgh of the men (wara) of Kent
(i) Maidfltone (35) =Medway's Town, is tlie assize to^vii.— Not fiir from it, is the
triple to-vvn of Chatham, Strood, and Bochester. Chatlium, ou the estnary of the
Medway, is the second naval arsenal in the kingdom. Rochester is an ancient
cathedral city.— Sheemess, on the Isle of Sheppey, is another naval arsenal.
(ii) Woolwich (70) is the chief military arsenal of Great Britain. It is abuost a part
of London.— Greenwich, now a part of London, has a famous Observatory, from which
longitude is counted. It is itself, therefore, in longitude 0°.
(iii) Dover and FolkeBtone aro the two steam-packet stations for France — the one
connected witli Calais, tlio other with Boulogne.— Margate and Bamsgate, on the Isle of
Thanet (no longer an island), are much-frequented batliing-places. — Deal (one of tiie
old " Cinque Ports ") stands opposite the Goodsvin Sands. It was the place where
Julius Cjesar landed, b.c. 55, to conquer tlie Britons.
The original CInquo Ports (=" Five Ports") were Sandwich, Don.1, Dover, Hj-the, ahd Eomney.
To these were added Byo, WinchUsQa, and Hnstings, in Sussex. Their dui^- was to pForide
n navy for tho protection of the oonets. Some of these ports havf been silted up.

ENGLAND AND WALES 49
(iv) Canterbmry (25), on the Stour, is the capital of Kent and the ecclesiastical
metropolis of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury being the " Primate of AU
England." It is one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in the country. The
cathedral was founded in 1070, and rebuilt in 1174. It contains the shrine of St.
Thomas il Becket, which enriched, by the offerings made on it, the catbedral and city
for hundreds of years.
19. Surrey. — The chalk range of the North Downs crosses the
county from west to east. The highest point is Leith Hill. Much
of the land is heath and wood ; the south is a lovely and fertile
country. The largest town is Croydon ; the county town is Guildford,
Surrey=Sitt}i Rice, or " South Kingdom." We find rice also in the word bishopric.
(1) Croydon (S5) really owes its great size to the fact that it is a suburb of London.
(ii) Guildford (12) is a pretty to^vn on the Wey (an affluent of the Thames), where it
cuts a passage through the chalk do\vns. — ^Bichmond is a kind of suburb of London,
with a most beautiful park. — KingBton-on-Thames possesses the stone on which the Saxon
kings sat when tbey were c^o^vned. — Bunnymede, where King John signed tlie Great
Charter in 1215, is in the west of the county.
20. Sussex. — Sussex is a fine agricultural county, with the Weald
— ouce a great forest, in the north, and the South Downs in the
southern part. Where the South Downs reach the sea, they form
the chalk cliff of Beachy Head. The largest town is Brighton ; the
county town is Lewes.
5i««a;=Suth Seaxe, or " South Saxons."
(i) Brighton (120) is really a seaside suburb of London. It is rightly called " Lon-
don-super-Mare." In fact, the whole coast is strung with towns which are supported
by London visitors — Worthing, Eastbonme, Hastings (with St. Leonards running into it),
etc. Not far from Hastings is the little town of Battle, near which the *' Battle of
Hastings," more correctly the Battle of Senlac, was fought in 1066. Duke "William
landed in Pevensey Bay— a little east of Eastbourne.
(ii) Lewes (12) is a small town on the Sussex Ouse.— Chichester, ift the' extreme west,
is a cathedral city.
21, Berkshire. — The little county of Berks is a fertile agricultural
district, the northern part in the Valley of the Thames, the southern
in the Vale of Kennet. Reading is the county town.
(i) Beading (50), the "Town of Biscuits," stands at the junction of the Kennet
with the Thames,

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(ii) Windsor Castle, above tlie town of Windsor, is the chief royal residence of the
Sovereigns of England.— WautagB, the birthplace of Alfred the Great, king of Wessex,
is also in this county.
22. Hampshire. — Hampshire (or Hants) is an agricultural county,
with low chalk hills which run into the North Downs, — a plain in
the middle, which is a continuation of Salisbury Plain, and in the
south, another range of heights which runs into the South Downs.
In the south-west is the New Forest. The largest town is Portsmouth ;
the county town is Winchester.
Eampahire is Bhort for SoiUhamptomhire ; the legal tiUe is " the Countr of Southampton."
(1) Portsmouth (140)— really four strongly fortified towns joined into one(Portsea,
Southsea, and Gosport are the others) — is the greatest naval arsenal in the kingdom.
(ii) Southampton (60), at the head of the estuary called Southampton Water, is a
large port for passenger steamers to all parts of the world. — ^Winchester (16) is an
ancient cathedral city, mth a great public school. It was the capital of Wessex, and,
for a time, also the capital of England.
(iii) The Isle of Wight forms part of Hampshire. It is a lovely and fertile island,
and has been called the " Garden of England." Newport, Byde, Tentnor, and Cowea are
places of residence, sea-bathing, or yachting stations. Near Newport is Carisbrooke
Castle, where Charles i. was imprisoned. Osborne is cue of the Queen's residences.
(iv) The arm of the sea to the east of the island is called Splthead ; to the west,
the Solent, The isolated rocks to the west, pared down by the sea and " weathering,"
.are called the Needles.
23. Wiltshire. — Wiltshire (or Wilts) is an inland agricultural county,
with the Marlborough Downs in the north, and a wide chalk upland
called Sallshury Plain, in the south. It contains the head- waters of three
drainage-systems ; and sends water into the Thames (by the Kennet),
the Severn, and the English Channel. Prom Inkpen Beacon, in
the east of the county, branch out four ranges of hUIs : the Chiltem
Hills, the North Downs, the South Downs, and the Dorsetshire
Downs. The largest town, whioh is also the county town, is Salisbury.
(i) Salisbury (15) ia a cathedral city, on the Avon of Salisbury. The cathedral is
the longest in England and has the highest spire. . The spire is 404 ft. high (30 ft,
higher than St. Paul's).
(ii) ** West of England cloth " is made at Bradford, Ti«wbridge, etc
(iii) On Salisbury Plain stand tho remains of an old Druid open-air temple — Stouehenge.

ENGLAND .4ND W.\LES 51
•24. Dorsetshire. — Dorsetshire is an agricultural county, with u
light soil and a thin population. (The population of the whole
county is not equal to that of Newcastle.) It consists of a plain
between two belts of downs. The popular division is into " the
sands," " the chalks," and " the clays." The largest town is
Weymouth ; the county town is Dorchester.
(i) Weymoutli (14) is a watering-place, which George in. made fashionable. It has
also a few steam-packets. Dorchester (7) was an old Roman town.
(ii) Portland Isle, which is really a peninsula connected with the mainland by a long
beach of shingle called ChesU Bank, has large quarries of good building-stone ; and
contains a convict prison. The "Trough of Poole," a barren waste, yields blue clay
for the Potteries of StafEbrdishire.
Chesil Bank is a neck of laud ten miles long — " a ridge of millions of loose pebbles " (the word
Chesil is found in Chelsea=Ea or island of Cheail).
25. Devonshire. — Devonshire is, like Yorkshire and Kent, a country
in itself. In the north is the high moorland called Ezmoor, whioh
also runs into Somerset ; in the south are the bare granite uplands of
Dartmoor. The low grounds are very fertile ; and the warm moist
climate favours a luxuriant vegetation. The Vale of Exeter is the
most fertile part. It is a grazing, an orchard, and also a mining
county. The largest town is Plymouth ; the county town is Exeter.
(i) Plymouth (80, but with nevonport and Stonehonse, which are next it, 150)
stands on the noble estuary called Plymouth Sound, which is one of the chief
stations for our Navy. In front of the Sound is a breakwater a mile long ; and, not
far off, rises Eddystone Lighthouse.
(ii) Exeter (40) is an ancient city, built before the Komans came, with a beautiful
cathedral. It is the "Capital of the West. "—Torquay, on the northern horn of
Torbay, is a very warm place of residence for invalids.
(iii) The county has many small seaports, both on the Bristol Channel and the
English Channel. Thus we have Exmouth on the Exe ; Dartmouth on the Dart ;
Sldmouth on the Sid : Barnstaple on the Tawe, etc. William of Orange landed in
Torbay in 1688.
Tor means " projecting toc)i.."— Exeter was formerly Exanceaater, tbe east&r (castra) or camp
on the Exe.
26. Cornwall. — Cornwall is a county of hills and rocks, of cliffs and
headlands, of " sheltered bays and white-beached sapdy coves." The
soil is thin ; the chief wealth of the county consists in its fisheries

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(pilchards) and its mines. The old Cornish toast was *' Fish, tin, and
copper ! " The largest town is Penzance ; the county town is Bodmin.
Corn'wall=Corn wealhas—i'^e wealhaa or Welsh (=foreignera) on the hom or peninBula, The old
name -wafl "Weat Wales," The Comiah language, akintoWeUh, died out onlr last centurj'.
(i) Fenzance (16)— (the word means " Holy Head ") — is the most westerly borouglt
in England, and the extreme terminus of the Great "Western Eailway
(ii) Bodmin (6) is the county town ; but Truro (11) is looked upon as the capital of
the mining district. (The tin and copper imported from America and Spain have
caused the abandonment of many mines.) Latmceaton is also a mining town, ralnonth
is one of the noblest harbours in the country ; bnt it is too far from the industrial
centres to become a great port. Itis the centre of the "Land-Hemisphere" of the
globe. (iii) The Scilly Isles, off the coast, send early vegetables to London.

The Midland Counties.

27. Stafifordshire.- — Staifordshire is a mining, manufacturing, and
agricultural count}'. The northern part contains the Potteries Coal
field ; the middle is jiarfc of the Central Plain ; the south contains
the coal-field of the Black Country. The largest town is Wolver-
liampton ; the county town is Stafford.
Stafford ia=Staff or Stave-ford, the ford on tbe Sow (an afflaent of the Tremi that needs a staff
to cross it with. Near it is Statieford, the ford crossed on atejiping-stones.
(i) Wolverhampton (85), Wert Bromwich, Walsall, Wednesbary, etc.. are all engaged iu
different kinds of iron manufactures. Wolverhampton is the centre of a group of towns.
(ii) Enrton-on-Trent, in the east, brews iniineiise quantities of beor. wliicli is exported
to all parts of the world.
(iii) In the Potteries, seven towns stand cln'^e together, the best known of which are
Hanley, Stoke-apon-Treut, and Etmrta, and all ofwhich are engaged in "potting."
(iv) Stafford (l.*)), the county towni, makes boots and shoes. — ^Lichfield, a OAlhedral
city, was the birthplace of Dr. Jolinson.
28. Derbyshire. — Derbyshire is a mining, manufacturing, and agri
cultural county. In the north we find the hilly region called ** The
Peak," which is the end of the Pennine Chain ; the east forms a part
of the Leeds and Nottingham Coal-field ; and the south is a rolling
pastoral country, which forms part of the Centi-nl Plain. There

EKGLAND ANT) WALES nS
.ire many lead and iron mines in the county. The largest town,
which also is the county town, is Derby.
(i) JJerby is=.^J)eorbv. the by (torni) of Deer. In Old English daer meauL any wllj beast.
{U) *• The Peak " is not a peajt, but a high mountainous limestone conntry, with vast caverns and
underground rivers.
(i) Derby (100), on the Derwent (a tributary of the Trent), is a .seat of the silk manu
factures. The first silk-mill was established here in 1717.
(ii) Olossop (20) is the centre of large cotton-works.— Chostertold has manufactures
in wool, cotton, and silk.— Uatlock and Bnxtoa are noted for hot mineral springs.
¦29. Notttaghamslilre.— The county of Notts ia a long belt of low
rolling country, traversed by the Trent. The largest town is Not
tingham, which is also the county town.
(i) Nottingham (-40), on the Trent, is the centre of lace-making in England, and also
manufactures hosiery, etc.— Newark and WorkBop are also busy manufacturing towns.
(ii) The Forest of Sherwood, in the west of the county, faraous for the exploits of Robin
Hood, is a remnant of the primeval forest that once covered almost the whole county.
.30. Worcestershire. — Worcestershire is ;i grazing county in the
central valley of the Severn. The north has coal and iron mines, and
forms part of the "Black Country"; in the west are the Malvern
Hills ; and the south is famous for its orchards and hop-gardens.
Dndley is the largest town ; the county town is Worcester.
(i) Ihidley (50) stands on the South Staffordshire Coal-field, and is engaged in the
coal and iron trade and hardware manufactures. — Elddermlnster makes carpets ;
Stourbridge, glass and pottery ; Droltwlch, s.alt, from its hrine-springs.
(ii) Worceater (35), a beautiful to%vn on the Severn, has a cathedral, and is famous
for its blue porcelain. Cromwell gained a victory here over Charles ii. In 1651. —
Ualvem is a lovely place of residence for invalids. The air is clear and bracing.
" Round about the Malvern Hill
A man may live as long as he will.'
(iii) Eveaham, in the Vale of Evesham, was the scene of the brittle fought in 1265, in
which Earl Simon de Montfort fell.

31. Warwickshire. — This county — the central county of England
— lies in the very heart of the Midland Plain, and is traversed by the
Avon of Warwick— a tributary of the Severn. In the north is a

54

EUROPE

small coal-field, and this part is one of the busiest manufacturing
districts in England. Birming'liaia is the largest town; the county
town is Warwick.
(i) Birmlngliam (460) is the third largest town in England and the greatest hard
ware manufecturing town in the world. It
makes anything, from a pin or a steel-pen
to a hundred-ton gnn or a man-of-war's
anchor. (ii) Coventry (50), which used to make silk
ribbons, has now tamed its energies to
bicycles, tricycles, watches, and clocks. —
Leamington is a pleasure-town, much affected
by Americans. — Kugby has a famous public
school. (iii) Warwick (11), on tbe Upper Avon, the
county town, has a magnificent baronial
castle. — Etratford-on-Avon was t^e birth-
place of William Shakespeare, in 1564. — At
Edgehill, in the south-east, Charles r, fought a battle in 1642.
32. Leicestersliire. — This is an agricultural county, with consider
able manufactures. It lies in the Central Plain, but contains some
hilly and rocky ground in Charnwood Forest. In the north-west is
the small coal-field of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The largest town, which
is also the county towUj is Leicester.
Leicester waa a fortified Bomnji town ; and tbe name is a corruption of Legionia Ca*tra="the
Camp of the Legion,
(i) Leicester (150), on the Soar, is a great centre for woollen manufactures, boots
and shoes, etc. — Looghborough is also engaged in the manufacture of hosiery.
(ii) Bosworth Field, where Bichard iii. fell in 1485, in the last battle of the Wars of
the Roses, lies a few miles west of Leicester.— From Bardon Hill, the liighest point in
Charnwood Forest, you can see right across EDgland, from the Welsh HiUs on the
west to Lincoln Cathedral in the east.

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33. Rutland. — Rutland is the smallest county in England. It is a
farming county, and grows good wheat. The county town is Oakliam.
KutlandBRed Laud.
Uppingham is famous for its public school ,
ENGLAND AND WALES 55
34. NorthamptouBhlre. — Northamptonshire, a rolling country with
a fertile soU, consists chiefly of the Valley of the Nen. The north is
fen-land. Northampton, the largest town, is also the county town.
(i) NorthAmpton (60), on the Nen, is the boot and shoe making town of England.
Cettering, WeUlagborough, and other to^vns, also make shoes. — Nasety, where Cromwell
gained a victory in 1645, is about twelve miles from Northampton.
(ii) Peterborongh (25) has a beautiful cathedral, in which Catherine, the first wife of
Henry viii., and Mary Queen of Scots, were buried ; but the body of the Scottish
Queen was removed to Westminster Abbejs by her son in 1612.
35. Huutingdonshire. — Huntingdonshire (or Hunts) is a gently-
undulating dairy county, with flat fen-lands in the north. The
population of the whole county is only half that of Brighton. The
county town is Huntingdon ; and it is also the largest town.
Hontingdon (7), on the great Ouse, was the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell (1599).
36. BedfordsMre. — Bedfordshire (or Beds) is a, small agricultural
county, with some flat fen-land. The county town is Bedford.
Bedford (20), on the Great Ouse, was the birthplace of John Bunyan in 1628. It has
an excellent Grammar School.— Luton and SnnBtalile manufacture straw-plait.
37. OzfordslilTe. — Oxfordshire is an agricultural county. It con
sists of a long strip of land on the left bank of the Thames, with the
chalk range of the Chiltem Hills, which are richly wooded, in the
south. The county town is Oxford.
(i) Oxford (40), on the Thames, has one of the two great Universities of England.
It is also a bishopric, but without a cathedral. The city itself, with its noble college-
buildings, is one of the most beautiful in the world.
(ii) Woodstock was once a royal manor. — chalgrove Field, iu this county, was the
place where John Hampden received his death-wound in a skirojish (in 1643).
38. BuckingliamBhire.— Buckinghamshire (or Bucks) is a dairy
county. It has chalk hUls — the Chiltems— in the south ; the rich
Vale of Aylesbury in the centre ; while the northern part belongs to
the basin of the Great Ouse. Buckingliam is the county town.
(i) Buckingham (4),"on the Great Ouse, is a quiet country town.— Aylcslnry (7) makes
condensed milk.

.'56

EUROPK

(ii) Eton, on the Thames, right oppo.site Windsor, is the greatest public school in
England. Many of our great statesmen, and some of our great poets (Gray among
others) were educated there. The school was founded by Henry vi. in 1440.
39. Hertfordsbire. — Hertfordshire (or Herts) is a chalk district,
with uplands in the south. It grows a good deal of corn. It
also possesses small industries in paper-making and straw-plaiting.
The county town is Hertford ; the largest town is St. Albans.
Hertford (7) is a pretty little town on the Lea. — St. Albans (10) is now the see of a
bishop, and owes its larger population to its nearness to London. (A Boman soldier,
Albanus, was the flrst martyr to Christianity in Great Britain.) — Bamet, almost a
suburb of London, was the scene of a battle in 1471, in which the Earl of Warwick,
the "King-maker," was slain.
40. Middlesex. — Middlesex is the second smallest county in Eng
land. It is only one-fifth the size of Kent. But it is one of the
most densely peopled counties ; for it contains by far the largest
part of London. It is low and level towards the Thames ; but, in
the north, it has many picturesque hills, among which are Harrow
Hill and Hampstead Heath. The county town is Brentford — a small
town on the Brent.
(i) The population of this county i.s larger than that of all Scotland.
(ii) Harrow-on-the-HlU is the seat of one of the great Schools of England.

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VI. The Welsh Counties.
1. Divisiona of Wales. — The Principality of Wales is usuaUy divided
into North Wales and South Wales, each containing six counties. —
The six counties of North Wales are : Anglesea, Carnarvon, Denbigh,

ENGLAND AND WALES 57
and Flint ; Merioneth and Montgomery.— The six counties of South
Wales are : Cardigan and Radnor ; Pembroke, Carmarthen, and
Brecknock ; .and, in the farthest south, Glamorgan.
2. Anglesea. — This county is an island, which is separated from the
mainland by the Menai Strait. It has a small coal-field. Holyhead,
on Holy Island, is the largest town ; the county town is Beaumaris.
Anglesea=the ea or island of the Auglea, a name ivlikh wan given to it wlien it was conquered by
the English in the 9th century.
Holyhead is the packet-station, on the North Western Railway system, for Dublin.
3. Camarron. — This county contains the highest ranges and the
grandest scenery in Wales. The highest point is Snowdon (3571 ft.).
The county town is Carnarvon ; the largest town is Llandudno.
(i) Carnarvon has a noble castle, where Edward ii.— the flrst "Prince of Wales "—
W.XS bom in 1284.— The castle at Conway, near Llandudno, is one of those which
were buUt by Edward i. to keep down Wales.
(ii) Uasdmlno, at the foot of Great Orme's Head, is a bathing-place frequented by
people from Lancashire and Yorkshire. — There are large slate-quarries near Bangor,
which is the seat of a bishopric.
4. Denbighshire. — Denbigh is a hilly county, with a coal-field in
the north-east. It has also mines of lead, iron, and slate. The
county town is Denbigh ; the largest town is Wrexham.
Denbigh stands in the quiet agricultural Vale of Clwyd ; Wrexham is the centre of
a busy mining district.
5. Flintshire. — This county is a narrow strip of land between the
estuary of the Dee and the Vale of Olwyd. A rich coal-field lies
between the towns of Mold and Flint. There are also mines of iron,
zinc, and lead. Holywell is the largest ; Mold is the county town.
Holywell stands in the middle of the coal district.
6. Merioneth. — Merionethshire is a tract of wild hUly ground, from
which the peak of Cader Idris towers to the height of about 3000 ft
— with other high summits near it — over Bala Lake, the largest sheet
of water in Wales. Dolgelly is the largest ; Bala is the county town.
Dolgelly makes Welsh flannel.

58 EXTROPE
7. Montgomeryshire. — This county is a hilly district, wliich contains
mines of lead and copper ; quarries of stone and slate. More lead is
mined here than in any other Welsh county. Montgomery contains
the head- waters of the Severn and the Wye. Welshpool is the largest,
Montgomery the county town.
Welahpool, at the head of navigation on the Severn, has a large trade in Welsh
flannels. Montgomery also stands on the Severn.
8. Cardiganshire. — This county is a fine sweep of land round
Cardigan Bay ; low on the coast ; then with high uplands ; last with
mountain-ranges, the highest point in which is Plinlimmon. There
are mines of lead, zinc, and copper. Aberystwith is the largest town ;
Cardigan is the county town.
Aherystwlth is a bathing-place at the mouth of the Tstwith. — Cardigan is a fishing-
port at the mouth of the Teify.
Aber ia a Celtic word meaning Tncvih. We have tlie word in Abergele. Berwick (= Aberwick), etc
9. Radnor. — This county lies mostly in the basin of the Wye, and
is a district of elevated pastoral moorland. It is the most thinly
peopled county in South Britain. The largest town is P^esteigI^
which is also the county town.
Fresteign has a population under 3000.
10. Pembrokeshire. — Pembrokeshire is a peninsula bounded by the
sea on every side except the east. It is a county of low hills. A
long narrow strip of coal-field runs through it. In the south is the
magnificent natural harbour of Milford Haven. The county town
is Pembroke, which is also the largest
(i) Pembroke, like the other chief towns, stands on Milford Haven. St. David's is
the cathedral city of the county.
(ii) LIUford Haven has so many branches, arms and roadsteads, that there are
sheltering places from every wind that blows. Nelson thought it the finest harbour in
the world ; and it would hold easily the whole of the British Navy.
11. Carmarthenshire. — This county, the largest in Wales, consists
chiefly of the "VaUey of the Towy. Part of the county stands on the

ENGLAND AND WALES 59
great coal-field of South Wales. Uanelly is the largest ; Carmarthen
the county town.
UaneUy is a port which ships coal, iron, and copper.
12. Brecknock. — Brecknockshire (or Brecon) is an elevated pastoral
district lying along the head-waters of the Wye and Usk. It also
touches the northern edge of the South Wales Coal-field. Brecon, on
the Usk, is the county town.
13. Glamorganshire. — The northern part of this county is hilly ;
the south — the " Garden of Wales " — is level and very fertile. It is
by far the most populous and most wealthy of all the counties of
Wales ; and it is the only county in Wales with large towns. This
is due to the fact that it contains the greater part of the most
extensive and important coal-field in Great Britain — the South Wales
Coal-field — "the largest storehouse of coal and ironstone in this
island." It fiUs an area of 1000 square miles. The Vale of TafiF is
the chief mining and manufacturing district. The largest town is
Cardiff, which is also the county town, and the chief seaport of the
whole of Wales.
(i) Cardiff (110) is a town that has grown with immense rapidity. In this respect
it ranks with Middlesborough, Birkenhead, and Barrow-in-Fumess. It ships
large quantities of coal.
(ii) Uerthyr Tydvll (95), the second largest town in Wales, stands in the centre of
the South Wales Coal-field, and manufactures large quantities of steel.
(iii) Swansea (70), on Swansea Bay, the third largest town in Wales, is chiefly
engaged in copper-smelting. It is cheaper to bring the copper to the coal, than to
carry the coal to the copper. Hence ships bring copper ore here from Spain, South
America, etc., etc Swansea is also a seaport.
14. The Isle of Man. — The Isle of Man lies in the Irish Sea, almost
equidistant from Scotland, England, and Ireland. It is about one-
fifth smaller than Middlesex ; but the population is under 60,000.
A mountain-range fills the larger part of the island ; and the highest
summit is Snaefell (2024 ft.). There are a few lead-mines; but the
chief industries are agriculture and fishing. The largest town is
Donglas, which is also the capital.
The old name for 3f an was Jfona (which was also the ancient name for Angleaea.).— Snae/ell i
Norse for Snow-hill. Man was at one time a part of the Scandinavian idngdom of the
" Southern IbIpb."

60, KUROPE
(i) Donglaa is a. well-known bathing-place.— The other towns are CaeUetown (the
former capital), Kamiey, and Peel. Peel is the headquarters of the herring fishery.
(ii) Manx is a dialect of the Irisli branch of the Celtic language. It is like Gaelic—
the language spoken in the Highlands of Scothmd. Manx is not taught in any of tho
schools, and will probably soon become extinct.
15. The Channel Islands. — These islands are, geographically con
sidered, a part of France ; but they have been attached to the king
dom of England since Duke William of Normandy began to reign in
this country (1066). The largest and best-known islands are Jersey,
Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark. The area of the whole is about one-
half that of Eutland ; and the population is under 90,000. The
language spoken is Old Norman-French. The climate is warm ; and
fine fruits flourish on the islands. Guernsey pears are famous. The
two largest towns are St. HeUer and St. Pierre.
(i) St. Holier is the capital of Jersey.
(ii) The capital of Guernsey is St. Pierre.

SCOTLAND 61

SCOTLAND.
Introductory. — Scotland is the part of Great Britain which lies
north of the Cheviot Hills and the Tweed. It is a much more
mountainous country than England ; and the northern part of it
resembles Scandinavia in its scenery, its coast line, and the large
number of its islands.
Scotland (=" Land of the Scots") received its name from an Irish tribe who settled
in the Mull of Cantire in the 6th century. The older name was Aibyn (=.the " land
of white heights ") ; and the Romans called the country Caledonia.
2. Boundaries. — Scotland is bounded : —
1. N. and W. — By the Atlantic Ocean.
2. E.— By the North Sea.
3. S. — By England and the Irish Sea.
(i) The line between England and Scotland is formed by the Solway Firth, the
Cheviot Hills, and the Tweed.
(ii) The south-west of Scotland lies opposite Ireland.
(iii) The east of Scotland lies opposite Denmark and Norway.
3. Size. — The area of the mainland of Scotland is about half that of
England. The area of Scotland with its islands is a little more than
half that of England and Wales.
(i) The area of the mainland amounts to over 26,000 square miles.
(ii) With the islands, the area is 29,820 square miles. *
(iii) The islands number 788, of which 600 are uninhabited.
(iv) The longest line, from the Mull of Galloway to Dunnet Head, is 288 miles.
(v) The breadth varies from 175 miles to 32 miles.
4. Shape.-^The coast line is extremely long in comparison with the
size of the country. It reaches the high total of 2500 miles, which
gives one mile of coast line to every 12 square miles of area. Thus
H

62

EUROPE

there is no part of the country that is more than 40 miles from sea-
water. (i) The coast line is 700 miles longer than the coast of England — u country rmirh
larger. (ii) Greece and Norway are the nnly two countries in Europe that have as long a
comparative coast line,
(iii) The most northerly point is Dunnet Head ; the most southerly, tlie Mull of
Oalloway ; the most easterly, Bnclian Kess ; and the most westerly, Ardnamnrchan Point.
5, The North Coast. — The North Coast is <;omposed of hard rocks,
— is wild, rugged, cleft with deep fissures, and varied by high and
bold headlands.
(i) The chief openings are : Dnnnet Bay and Loch ErlboU.
(ii) The chief capes are : Sonnet Head and Cape Wrath.
6. The East and Weat Coasts. — The contrasts between these coasts
are very striking ; and it may be well to set them forth in order.
The West Coast
1, Is very like the coast of Norway.

The East Coast
1. Is somewhat like tho east coast of
England.
2. Is formed of soft sandstones and
clays.
3. Is very regular and littlf indented.
4. Is generally low and shelving.
5. Has very few islands.
6. Has a gradual slope with long rivers.
7. The openings have the Scandinavian
name of Fir(7i.
S. The headlands have the Scandinavian
name of Ness.

2. Is forraed of hard rocks.
3. Is highly irregular, and has very deep
indentations.
4. Is like a mountain-wall.
5. Is guarded by a double row of islands.
6. Has a steep slope with short rivers.
7. The openings are called hy the Celtic
name Loch.
S. The headlands have the Celtic name of
Mull.

7. The East Coast.- — The East Coast is in general low and mono
tonous ; but it is marked by bold headlands, which are the ends of
mountain-ranges or of mountain-spurs running out into the sea.
(i) The chief openings are : Dornoch Firth ; Cromarty nrth ; Moray Firth ; the Firth of
Tay ; and the Firth of Forth.

SCOTLAND 63
(11) The chief headlands are : Snncansby Head (iu Caithness) ; Tarbet Ness (iu
Cromarty) ; Kinnaird Head (in Aberdeenshire) ; Buchan Nesa (iu Aberdeenshire) ; Buddon
Ness (in Forfar) ; Fife Ness ; and St. Abb's Head (iu Berwickshiru).
8. The West Coast. — The West Coast is distinguished by deep-
drawn sea-lochs (most of them trending to the north-west), by rocky
shores, long peninsulas, and steep headlands.
(i) The chief openings are: Loch Broom (in Ross-shire); Loch Llnnh^ (which is con
tinued into Loch. Eil and the Caledonian Canal) ; Loch Pyne ; the Pirth of Clyde (which
is connected with Loch Long) ; and Loch Eyan (in "Wigtowiislure).
(ii) The chief capes are : Ardnamurchan Point ; the Mull of Cantire (both in Argyll
shire) ; MxUl of GaUoway ; and Burrow Head (both in Wigtownshire).
9. Islands.^ — North Britain has a very much larger number of
islands on its coasts than South Britain ; and these islands lie
mainly in the north and west. The western groups form a strong
double breakwater against the yiolence of the Atlantic billows. The
whole may be divided into four systems : The Orlmeys ; tlie Shet-
lands ; the Hebrides ; and the Firth of Clyde Islands.
(i) The Orkneys lie north of Great Britain. The largest is Pomona (or Mainland) ; and
the chief town is Kirkwall.
(ii) The Bhetlanda lie north-east of the Orkneys. The largest is Mainland ; and the
chief town is Lerwick.
Moat of the names of the islands in these groups end in a. This is a form of the Norse word oe
=i3lajid. Thus Sa7ida=Sand Island; Westra=West Island, etc. Oilier names ara
stacks, sketries, and holms.
(iii) The Hebrides are composed of the Inner and the Outer Hebrides. The Inner
Hebrides lie close to the coast, and are mostly masses of volcanic rock. The largest
are Skye, Mull, Jura, and Isla. * ' Skye is one of the most picturesque islands of the
Hebrides, with serrated ridges, streets of lava, cup-shaped caldrons, silvery cataracts,
mountain-lakes, and spar caverns." The islets of lona and StaffI, west of Mull, are
famous — the former for its remains of Early Irish Christianity, the latter for its
basaltic pillars and cavern (Staffa=a or isle of staves). The Outer Hebrides lie farther
out, but still parallel ^\ith the coast ; and the largest are lewis-and-Harrls ; North tJIat
and South TTist.
(iv) The largest island in the Firth of Clyde is Arran. It is a mountainous island,
and its highest summit is Goat Tell— the highest peak in South Scotland. To the
north of Arran lies Bute, separated from the mainland by the lovely and winding
arm of the sea called the Kyles of Bute.

64 EUROPE
10. Straits. — Amid so many islands and peninsulas, with so many
openings into the land, there must be many straits, channels, sounds,
and sea-passages for ships. The most frequented channel is the North
Chaimel, between Cantire and Ireland.
The otDers are : Fentland Firtb, between the mainland and the Orkneys ; the Sonnd
of Bleat, between Skye and the mainland ; the Sonnd of MtUl, between Mull and Morvem ;
tbe Sonnd of Jnra ; the North Mlnch and the Little Minch, between the Outer Hebrides
and the mainland.
11. The Build of Scotland. — Scotland consists of a northern moun
tain-mass, a lowland plain, and a southern region of uplands. The
highest ranges lie, as in England, in the west of the country ; but the
general direction of these ranges is at right angles to the Pennine
Eange, or from west to east.
(i) The northern mountain-mass, or Highlands, lie between the Fentland Firth and
the Lowland Plain.
(ii) The Lowland Plain merely fills the isthmus which connects the mountain-systems
of the north mth the hills of the south ; and it varies in breadth from 30 to 60 miles.
(iii) The Sonthem Uplands lie between the Lowland Plain and the Cheviot HUls.
12. The Mountains. — -A line drawn from Stonehaven (in Kincardine
shire) to the Mull of Cantire, would form the southern boundary of
the Scottish Highlands ; but the whole mountain-mass is cleft in two
by the long, deep, and narrow fissure of Glenmore, which runs from
Loch Eil to Inverness. The mountain-regions north of the Tay may
be divided into two systems : the Northern System and the Central
System. The Southern Uplands lie south of the Firth of Forth.
(i) The Northern System includes all the mountain-ranges north of Glenmore. The
highest summit is Haam-Snil (8862 ft.).
(ii) The Central System contains a large number of ranges, generally running east
and west; and the most widely known range is the Grampians. The highest
mountain is Ben Nevis (4406 ft.), which is also the highest summit in the tliree
kingdoms ; and the second highest is Ben Macdhnl (4000 ft.). Other high peaks
are Calmtonl, Ben More (= Great Ben) ; and, coming down to the south-west of Perth
shire, we find Ben Ledi (=Hill of God), and Ben Lomond, ou the edge of the picturesque
district called the Trossaohs.
'• Crags, knolls, and mounds confusedly hurVd,
The fragments of an earlier world."
South of tho Grampians arc the lower ranges of the Sidlaws and tlie Ochils.

SCOTLAND 65
(iii) The Sonthem Uplands contain a number of low ranges, the best known of which
are the MoSat Hills, the Lowthen, the Moorfoots, and the Lammennoors. The highest
peak in the whole system is Moont Merrlek (2764 ft.).
(iv) There is a continuous belt of high ground between Cape Wrath and Loch
Lomond. This forms the great "wind-and- water-parting" of the country. In old
days it had the name of Dmmalhyn, or the Backbone of Albyn (=Sootland).
13. Plains. — There is properly only one plain in the whole of Scot
land—the Lowland Plain, which lies between the Grampians and the
Southern Uplands. The most clearly marked section of this plain is
Strathmore (=the Great Valley), which lies between the Grampians
on' the north, and the OcMls and Sidlaws on the south. There are
also many minor low plains along the coast.
(i) The best known of the minor plains are : the Plain of Caithness ; the Plain of
Cromarty (along the Cromarty Firth) ; and the Plain of the Porth-and-Clyde.
The great Homan wall of Antoninus ran through this plain. Jt was erected to keep out the
harharians of the North. " This region, formerly of such strategic importance, has, owing
to its vicinity to two seas, its small elevation, and the riches of its soil and suh-soil, become
one of the most prosperous of Great Britain, and. Indeed, of the whole world. Edinburgh
and Glasgow are the two eentinels of this Scotch isthmus. It was the action of the ancient
glaciers which destroyed the more solid rocks, and spread their waste over the plain, thus
creating the most fertile soil to be met with in all Britain." — K^CLUS.
(ii) The most level part of the Lowland Plain is the Carse of Stirling, which is the
alluvial plain of the lower Forth. It is as level as a bowling-green.
14. Rivers. — The watershed of Scotland being near the west coast,
the rivers of the eastern slope are much the longest. The most
famous are the Tweed, Forth, Tay, Dee, Spey, and Ness. The largest
on the western slope are the Clyde and Ayr.
(i) The Tweed is the boundary river of Scotland. Itis famous for salmon.
(ii) The Forth is a short river ; but its estuary (which begins at Alloa) makes it the
second greatest commercial river of Scotland. Both sides of the estuary have large
numbers of ports, the most famous of which is Leith.
(iii) The Tay is the largest river in Scotland, and also in Grea* Britain. It is navi
gable to Perth ; but by far the greatest port on its banks is Dundee.
(iv) The Deo has a higher source than any other river in Great Britain. It rises
on a flank of Cairngorm. In its upper valley stands Balmoral. At its mouth stands
Aberdeen (=Deemouth), between the Dee and the Don.
(v) The "thundering Spey" is the most rapid of Scottish rivers.
(vi) The Ness is the outflow of Loch Ness. InT6me8B(=NcssmouUi) stands at the
mouth of it.

66 EUROPE
(vii) The Clyde is the flrst commercial river of Scotland, and takes rank mth the
Mersey and the Thames. Its lower basin " forms one vast town of mining works, and
factories for iron, silk, wool, and cotton." Between Glasgow and Greenock it is the
greatest shipbuilding river in the world.
15. Lakes. — The lakes of Scotland are renowned for their pictur
esque beauty. Most of them lie in mountain-valleys, and are there
fore of a long and narrow shape. The three largest are : Loch Lomond ;
Loch Awe ; and Loch Ness. Other famous lakes are Locli Tay ; Loch
Maree ; and Loch Eatrine ; and, in the lowlands, Loch Leven.
(i) Loch Lomond is the largest lake (45 square miles) in Great Britain. It has "the
form ofa thin wedge driven up into the heart of the mountain-masses."
(ii) Loch Maree is surrounded by high and rugged mountain-walls.
(iii"^ Loch Eatrine lies in the Trossachs, looking, in the evening light, ' * one burnished
sheet of living gold." It is the scene of Walter Scott's "Lady of the Lake."
16. Climate. — The climate of Scotland ia colder and damper
than that of England. It has a long winter (" winter lingering chUls
the lap of May") and a cold summer. The west coast and the
mountain-districts are much rainier than the east coast and the
regions of the Lowlands ; and the long coast-line gives openings for
the warm and moist sea-breezes. But, in winter, much of Scotland
is warmer ihan even the south of England.
(i) In winter the mean temperature of the Orkney Islands is about the same as
that of London ; and the "isotherms follow the meridians."
(ii) "January is a far colder month on the Thames than in the Hebrides."
(iii) The rainfall on the west coast is in many places double that on the east.
17. Vegetation. — Scotland is the land of the pine and heather ;
though, in the lowlands, oaks, beeches, and elms grow well The
hardier grains — oats and barley — are characteristic of Scotland ; but
good crops of wheat are also raised in the richer alluvial soUs. A
veiy large part of the country is permanently under grass.
18. Minerals.— -Scotland is very rich in coal and iron. These are
found in large quantities within the great quadrangle which lies
between Dundee and St. Abb's Head on the east, and Dumbarton
and Girvan on the west. The richest coal-fields lie in the Plain of
the Forth and Clyde. Lead is found iu the south.

SCOTLAND b7
(i) Excellent fireestone for building abounds iu the soutli of Scotland. Aberdeen
has a great deal of granite, which is .ilso found in Arran, etc.
(ii) Tlio village of Leadhills, iu Lanarkshire, is llic higliest inliabitcii place iu Great
Britain. 10. Population and Populousness. — The population of Scotland
amounts to a little over 4,000,000. This gives about 140 persons to
the square mUe. By far the larger part of the population is crowded
into the Lowland Plain, especially into the coal and iron centres.
(i) England is neai-ly four times as populous as Scotland.
(ii) The population of Scotland has an increasing tendency, as in England, to crowd
into towns. As Loudon contains nearly one-fifth of the population of England, so
Glasgow contains nearly one-fiftli of the population of Scotland.
(iii) There are two well-marked races iu Scotland — the Teutonic and the Celtic. Tlic
Lowlanders are mostly Teutons, and, on the east coast, of the Scandinavian branch, —
with a strong dash of Celtic blood ; while tlie Highlanders arc, in general, pure Celts.
The Highlanders speak Gaelic — whicb is a relation of Erse, Manx, and Brezonec.
20. Industries. — Mining, manufactures, and commerce are now the
chief industries of the country ; though the ancient industry has
always been, as in other lands, agriculture.
(i) The Highlands are mostly given up to pasture ; llio Lowlands produce exoellcut
cereals of all kinds, but chiefly barley and oats,
(ii) The manufacturing districts lie mostly in tlie neighbourhood of Glasgow.
21. Manufactures. — Tbe chief textile manufactures of Scotland are
those of cottons, woollens, linen, jute, and silli. All kinds of
machinery and hardware are made. Shipbuilding is also an important
industry ; and there is also a very large production of paper.
(i) The cotton manufacture is carried on chiefly in Glasgow and Paisley. Paisley
makes immense quantities of thread.
(ii) The wooUen manufacture goes on in Galashiels and ^awick (in the Tweed
Valley) ; in Stirling, Kilmamock, Bannockburn, ete.
(iii) Linen and Jute manufacturing have their centres in Dundee and other towns of
Forfar ; in Dunfermline and other towns of Pife.
(iv) Silk is woven in Glasgow and Paisley.
(v) The shipbuilding of the country has its chief seat on the Clyde— where the largest
Atlantic and Pacific steamers, and the most immense iron-olads, are built. Aberdeen
is also faraous for its " clippers."

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(vi) Paper-making is a specialty of Scotland. Midlothian and Aberdeenshire are the
chief centres. Along with this goes the industry of printing ; and Edinburgh is the
greatest centre of printing in the United Kingdom.
22. Commerce. — The Commerce of Scotland is a steadUy growing
quantity. There is not a port in the world where her ships are not
known. Her chief ports are : Ctlasgow, Aberdeen, Leitb, Dundee, and
Greenock. (i) Glasgow, besides being tlie great manufacturing capital of Scotland, is also the
commercial capital. Her annual tonnage is second only to that of Hull. Vessels
of over 3000 tons burden can reach the heart of the city. Greenock is her sister port.
Both of these ports have a large trade with the two Americas.
(ii) The three eastern ports have a large Baltic trade, aud send ships also to other
parts of Europe, and to the East.
23. Commimioations. — Scotland has 4000 miles of excellent road :
more than 3000 miles of railway ; and over 200 miles of canal.
(i) Even in the most thinly inhabited parts of the Highlands there are good roads.
(ii) The network of railways is densest in the coal and iron district : and especially
in the Forth and Clyde Basin.
(iii) The longest canal is the Caledonian Canal ; but it is of slight use for shipping,
as it lies quite out of the main track of commerce.
24. Religion and Education. — The most widely spread form of
religion is Presbyterianism ; but all creeds, sects, and religions have
complete freedom. The Lowland Scotch have always highly valued
and ardently promoted education ; and there are at present good
schools in every part of the country.
(i) There are four Universities : Edlnhnrgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and St. Andrews.
There are excellent secondary schools in every large town.
(ii) Since the Act ot 1S72, elementary education lias grown greatly and prospered
exceedingly.

SCOTLAND 69
THB COUNTIES OF SCOTLAND.
The Counties oe the Southern Lowlands.
1. Wigtown.— Wigtownshire is the most southerly county in Scot-
laud. It contains the extremities of the southern uplands. It is a
pastoral county. The largest town is Stranraer • the county town is
Wigtown. (i) Wigtown, a small country town, stands on Wigtown Bay.
(ii) Stranraer is a port on Loch Ryan. It has a good Grammar School.— Port-Patrick
is only 22 miles from Donaghadee, a port on the east coast of Ireland.
2. Kirkcadbrigbt. — This county contains the wildest parts of the
Southern Uplands. The highest point is Merrick (2764 ft.). The
county town is Kirkcudbright, on the Dee.
Kirkcudhrlght (pronounced A'tj'tcoo6ry) Is a contraction of "Kirk of St. Cutlibert, "— Wigtown
and Kirkcudbright have the common name of " Galloway."
3. Dumfries. — This county has an upland pastoral region in the
north ; and, in the south, a broad agricultural region, whioh consists
of two fertile vaUeys — Nithsdale and Annandale. The largest town
is Dumfries, which is also the county town.
Dmnfries, a market for agricultural produce, is also a seaport on the Nith.
4. Roxburgh. — Roxburgh is a lovely pastoral and agricultural
county, which consists of the Valley of the Teviot, and part of the basin
of the Tweed. It extends to the Cheviot Hills. The largest town is
Hawick ; the county town is Jedburgh.
(i) Hawick (20) is a thriving town which manufactures " tweeds " and hosiery.
(ii) Jedburgh, on the Jed, was famous for a kind of justice call^ " Jethart Justice,"
which consisted in hanging a man first and trying him afterwards. It has a fine old
abbey church. — Eelso, on the Tweed, has the ruins of a noble abbey. — Melrose has
another ruined, though still lovely, abbey, celebrated by Sir Walter Scott in his " Lay
of the Last Minstrel." Abbotsford, the house of Walter Scott — " a poem in stone " —
built by himself, stands also on the Tweed, not far from Melrose.
5. Ayrshire. — Ayrshire is a large and wealthy county on the Firth of
Clyde. Its wealth consists in four things : excellent pasturage (it is

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called the " Dairy County "), fertile corn-lands, a large coal-field, and
thriving manufactures. The largest town is Kilmamock ; the county
town is Ayr.
(i) Kilmamock has large ironworks, engineering establishments, carpet and woollen
manufactures. (ii) Ayr, at the mouth of the river Ayr, is a busy port which exports much coal and
iron ; and is also a manufacturing town. The great Scottisli poet, Robert Bums, was
bom here in 1759.
6. Renfrewshire. — This county consists chieiJy of a broad plain,
which lies between the Clyde and the Firth of Clyde. The lower
lands abound in coal and ironstone. Mining, manufactures, and ship
building are the chief industries. The two largest towns are Greenock
and Paisley ; the county town is Renfrew.
(i) Greenock (75) is a seaport at the mouth of the Clyde with a large foreign trade.
Here James Watt was born in 1736. — Port-Glasgow lias large shipbuilding yards.
(ii) Paisley (65), one of the rainiest places iu Great Britain, manufactures thread,
cotton cloths, and shawls.
7. Lanark.^ — Lanarkshire consists chieiiy of Clydesdale, or the basin
of the Clyde. It is the wealthiest and most populous county in
Scotland. In the south or upper part of the county agriculture and
sheep-rearing are the chief industries ; in the north or lower, mining
and manufactures. Glasgow is the largest town.
(i) GLASGOW (750), on the Clyde, is by far the largest city in Scotland, and the
second largest city in the United Kingdom. It is a great port, a vast manufacturing
town — in cotton, iron, and other materials — and a centre of commerce of every kind.
It stands on the great Clyde coal-field, and has overflowing supplies of coal and iron.
In the West End are noble streets, and the fine buildings of the University. A little
to the south is Langside, where Mary Queen of Scots fought her last battle in 156S.
(ii) The mining districts jire crowded with manufacturing centres, such as : Hamil
ton, Airdrie, Coatbridge, Wishaw, Motherwell, etc.
(iii) Lanark, the county town, stands near the picturesque FaUs of Clyde.
8. PeeblesBbire. — Peeblesshire is a hilly county among the southern
uplands, on the upper waters of the Tweed. The northern part
touches the Midlothian coal-field. Most of the county is purely
pastoral. Peebles is the county town.

SCOTLAND. 71
9. SeUdrkehlre. — This is a pretty pastoral and hilly region, lying
among the southern uplands. It consists of the two valleys of the
Ettrick and Yarrow. Ettrick Pen (2170 ft.) is the highest point in
the county. Galasblels is the largest ; Selkirk is the county town.
(i) Galashiels (=the shiels or houses on the Gala) is a flourishing "tweed" manu
facturing town.
(ii) Selkirk, the county town, stands on the Ettrick. James Hogg, the " Ettrick
Shepherd," a famous Scottish poet, was born in the Forest of Ettrick in 1770.
10. Berwicksbire. — This county lies between the Lammermoor
Hills and the Tweed. The wide fertUe plain in the middle is called
the Merse. The county town is Greenlaw, a mere village.
Berwick is^Aberwick — the wick or creek or hay at the aber or mouth of the Tweed.— hammer-
moor la =Moor of Lamba.
Drybnrgh Abbey, a beautiful ruin on the Tweed, holds the tomb of Sir Walter Scott.
11. Linlithgow. — Linlithgowshire, or West Lothian, is a region of
craggy hills, with low ground on the Firth of Forth. In the west is
a coal-field ; in the east an oil-shale district. Batbgate is the largest
town : Linlitbgow is the county town.
(i) Bathgate is a mining centre.
(ii) Linlithgow, on a lake, has the remains of a large palace, in which Mary Queen of
Scots was bom in 1542.
12. Bdinburghsbire. — This county, which is also called Midlotbian,
is the largest and most important of the three Lothians. In the
south are the Pentland Hills and the Moorfoot Hills ; in the north, ^
fertile plain along the Forth. In the east is the Midlothian Coal-field ;
in the west, the oil-shale district. Edinburgb is the largest and the
county town ; Leitb is the chief seaport.
Edlnburgh=Edwin'3 Burgh or Btronghold. Edwin was a Saxon Prince, who flrst fortified the
Castle Kock.
(i) EDUTBUSGH (300), on some Steep slopes and ridges which rise from the Firth of
Forth towards the Pentlands, is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The
Old Town is built on a narrow ridge which is a continuation of the Castle Rock. The
New Town stands on a steep slope which runs down to the Forth. Edinburgh is the
seat of the Law Courts of Scotland ; and of the largest University in the country.

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(ii) Leith (70) is practically one toivn with Edinburgh. It is the third seaport in
Scotland. It has large docks, and two piers each a mile long. It has a growing trade
with the Baltic and North Germany.
13. Haddingtonshire. — Haddington (or East Lothian) consists of
hiUs and moorlands in the south, and fertile lowlands on the Firth
of Forth. The county town is Haddington.
(i) Haddington, a small country town, was the birthplace of John Kno:^.
(ii) nunbar, n small seaport, is memorable for the victory of Cromwell over the
Scottish army in 1650.— At Frestonpans, near Edinburgh, Sir John Cope, in command
of the Royalist forces, was defeated by Prince Charles in 1745.

The Lowland Counties of the North.
14. Dumbartonshire. — This county is a long strip of land between
Stirlingshire and Argyllshire, and most of it between Loch Lomond
and Loch Long. In the south-eastern part there is much coaL The
largest town is Dumbarton, which is also the county town.
Dnmbarton=t\ie dun or fortified hill of the Britons. The town w.as the capital of the ancient
British kingdom of Strathclyde. Cf. Dunkeld, tho fortified hill of the Celts.
(i) Dnmbarton (15), at the junction of the Leven and the Clyde, is a busy port, with
large shipbuilding yards. — The Vale of Leven has several manufacturing to-wns.
(ii) HlrklntUloch, which stands in a detached portion of the county between
Renfrewshire and Stirlingshire, has mines of coal and ironstone.
15. Stirlingsbire. — This county is mountainous in the north-west,
hilly in the middle, more level and fertile towards thfe south-east.
The iiat alluvial plain between Stirling, and Alloa^ is called the
" Carse of Stirling," and is one of the richest parts of Scotland. Part
of the Western Coal-field lies in this -coHnty. The two largest towns
are Stirling and Falkirk ; the former is the county town.
(i) Stirling (IS), with its castle, which commands the entrance iuto the Lowlands,
is one of the most historic towns in Scotland. It was frequently the residence of the
Scottish Kings. Not far from the town is Eannockbnm, tlie scene of the defeat of
Edward ii. by Robert Bruce iu i:J14.
(ii) Falkirk (16) is a cattle-market, and au iron-working town.

SCOTLAND 73
Id ClackmaimanshiTe. — This is the smallest county in Scotland.
It lies between the Ooliil HUls and the Forth; and the lower part is
on a valuable coal-field. Clackmannan, a mere village, is the county
town ; the largest town is Alloa.
(i) The whole county contains only 47 square miles — about one-third of Rutland.
(ii) Alloa, on the Forth, is a small shipping-port for coal and iron.
17. EinroBS-shire. — This is a small pastoral and agricultural county
between Perthshire and Fife. Kinross is the county town.
Kinross stands on the western shore of Loch Leven. Loch Leven Castle, on an
island in the lake, was the prison from which Mary Queen of Scots escaped in 156S, to
fight the battle of Langside.
18. Fife. — Fifeshire is a lowland county with high hUls in the west, .i
broken and hUly surface almost throughout, with a fertile valley called
the " How of Fife,'' which is drained by the Eden. In the south
west there is a large and valuable coal-field. The county lies between
the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Tay. Its manufacturing towns,
its residence-towns, and its girdle of towns and ports round the coast,
make it a kind of " Scottish Kent." The county town is Cupar ; the
largest town is Kirkcaldy.
James vi. compared Fife to a "beggar's mantle fringed with gold."
(i) Cnpar (6) is a very quiet little country town.— Not far from it is St. Andrews, the
ancient ecclesiastical capital of Scotland, and the seat of her oldest University.
(ii) Kirkcaldy (30), "the lang toun," is a busy seaport, an oil-cloth manufacturing
town, and a market for coals and corn.— Dnnfermline, in the south-west, stands in the
middle of the coal-fleld, and manufactures table-linen.
19. Forfar. — Forfarshire (or Angus) consists of foup parallel belts of
country ; the " Braes of Angus " in the north ; the fertile Valley of
Strathmore ; the chain of the Sidlaw Hills ; and the lowland strip
between them and the coast. This county is the chief seat of the linen
and jute manufacture ; and it is one of the busiest counties in Scotland.
Dundee is by far the largest town ; the county town is Forfar.
S!rathmoi-e=a\e great strath (or rlrer-valloy).

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(1) Dundee (200), on the Firth of Tay, is the third largest city in Scotland. It ia
the chief seat of the jute manufacture and also a great seaport, from which ships go
out to the whale and seal fisheries.
(ii) Montrose and Arbroath (or Aberbrothock = Mouth of the Brothock) are both
thriving manufacturing towns and seaports. OflF Arbroath is the Bell Rock Light
house, which is built on the " Inchcape Rock."
20. Kincardinesliire. — Kincardine lies between Forfarshire and the
river Dee. Agriculture and fishing are the chief industries. The
county town is Stonehaven, an important herring-fishing station.

The Counties of the Southern Highlands.
21. ArgyllBhlre. — Argyll is a county of mountains, moors, islands,
sounds, lochs, and other deeply penetrating arms of the sea. The
great inlet of Loch Linnhe cuts the county in two. The highest
mountains are Ben Lui (3708 ft.) and Ben Cruaohan (3611 ft.). The
two largest towns are Otan and Campheltown ; the county town is
Inveraray. The Mull of Cantire has been cut by the Crinan Canal.
(i) Oban (5), the terminus of the West Highland Railway, is the capital of the
West Highlands. Campbeltown (8), the largest town, in the south of Cantire, has a
small coal-field.
(ii) Inveraray ( = Mouth of the Aray) stands at the head of Loch Fyne.
(iii) Glencoe, the scene of the treacherous massacre of the Macdon.alds in 1692, lies
in the north-east of this county.
22. Bute. — Buteshire consists of the islands of .Ajran and Bate,
with some others in the Firth of Clyde. Arran is mountainous ;
Bute is hilly in the north, level and fertile in the south. The county
town is Rothesay (a place frequented by people in search of health),
on the island of Bute.
The long winding mountain-bordered channol between Bute and the malnlAud Is caUed the
"Kylea of Bute."
23. Perthshire. — Perthshire is the loveliest and most varied county
in Scotland. It is a large irregular circle which holds the entire
basin of the Tay, and part of the basin of the Forth. It is almost
equally divided between highlands and lowlands — bet^^'een mountain

SCOTLAND 75
and plain. Everywhere Perthshire is beautiful ; and the Perth
shire Highlands, in the west and south-west, contain some of the
grandest and most picturesque scenery in the countrj'. "The
Trossachs " have been described by Sir Walter Scott in the " Lady of
the Lake." Above Loch Tay, the largest lake, towers Ben Lawers
(3984 ft.), the loftiest mountain of Perthshire. Loch Katrine is
the loveliest of many beautiful lakes. Part of the great hollow of
Strathmore lies in this county ; and also the very fertile " Carse of
Growrie.'' The largest town is Perth, which is also the county town.
(i) Perth (35) is a beautiful city on the right bank of the Tay. Kear it is Scone,
where the Kings of Scotland were crowned in ancient times.
(ii) Dunblane on the Allan, an aflQuent of the Forth, has a lovely cathedral. Not
far from it is Sherl&nnlr, where a battle was fought in the Rebellion of "the Fifteen "
(1715). West of Dunblane is Callander, a pretty town at the entrance to the Trossachs.
(iii) The Pass of Ellliecrankie, on the Garry, was the scene of the death (in 1689) of
Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, while fighting against the forces of William nr.

The Counties of the Northern Highlands.
24. Invemess-shlre. — Inverness-shire is the largest of aU the Scot
tish counties. It is a land of lofty mountains, rugged and craggy
hills and bare high moorlands — a land inhabited mostly by sheep,
deer, grouse, and other game. The highest mountain — and it is the
highest summit in the British Isles — is Ben Nevis (4406). The
county is out in two by the " cleft of the Great Glen (Glenmore) " —
the longest, straightest, and deepest in Great Britain. The lakes in
this Glen are connected by the Caledonian Canal, which gives a
passage for ships from the Atlantic into the Moray Firth. To this
county also belong the islands of Skye (the largest of the Inner
Hebrides), Harris, North Uist, etc. The largest town is Inverness,
which is also the county town ; the chief town of Skye is Portree.
The Hebrides were caUed by the Norsemen Sudreyar (=Southem Isles). Hence the title ' ' Bishop
of 5odor and Man." Hence also the name Sutherland ior i\\e most northerly county in
Seotland,
(i) Inverness (20) is the capital of the Highlands. It stands at the mouth of the
Ness. A little east is Cnlloden Moor, where Prince Charles was finally defeated in 1746,
(ii) Portree is a small fishing town.

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25. Nairn. — This county consists of a hiUy and moorland district in
the south, with a low fertile plain on the Moray Firth. Agriculture
and fishing are the chief pursuits. Nairn is the county town.
26. Elgin. — Elgin (or Moray) is in build similar to Nairn ; but the
level plain on the sea-coast is more fertile. Elgin is the county town.
Elgin possesses the remains of a beautiful cathedral.
27. Banffshire. — Banff is a long county, whioh, like Nairn and
Elgin, has a strip of fertile land along the shore. The south is both
hilly and mountainous. Fishing and agriculture are the industries.
— The county town is Banff.
28. Aberdeenshire. — This county has also two different regions—
a highland and a lowland. The highland and mountainous region is
in the south-west ; the lowland is in the north and east. The chief
valleys are those of the Dee and the Don. Farming, fishing, ship
building, and granite- working are the main industries. The largest
town is Aberdeen, whioh is also the county town.
Aberdeen= Mouth of the Dee.
(i) Aberdeen (120) is a great seaport, a mauufacturing town, and a place of com
merce. It possesses a University.
(ii) Peterhead, near Buchau Ness, is the chief port for the whale-fishery in Scotland.
(iii) In the upper valley of the Dee, at the foot of Braemar, stands Balmoral, the
Highland residence of the Queen.
29. Ross-shire. — Ross-shire is a rugged highland region, with good
corn-land in the low districts on the Moray Firth. The county of
Cromarty consists of fragments scattered up and down Eoss-shire.
Lewis (the northern part of the island of Lewis-and-Harris) belongs
also to Eoss-shire. Dingwall is the county town ; Stomoway (a fish
ing port) is the capital of Lewis.
30. Sutherland. — Sutherlandshire is a wild and rugged region,
very mountainous in the west. Most of it is deer-forest and sheep
farm ; and it is the most thinly peopled county in Scotland. The
county town is Dornoch, a small fishing village.
Sutlterland^Southora Land, and received Ita name from tho Norsemen, lo whom it was south.
There aro many Norse namua In the county, such as Helhisdalo, Laxford (=Salmon ford), etc.

SCOTLAND 77
31. Caithness. — Caithness is a wide, bare, treeless, sterile table
land, surroun^ded by a wall of steep rock going right down into the
sea. Fishing is almost the only industry. The largest town is Wick.
L'aitliness is also fiiU of Norse names. Wick means creek. 77Hn"80=tlie oe or island of Thor, tlib
Nui-se god of thunder.
(i) Wick is the capital of the herring-fishery.— Thurao is famous for its salmon.
(ii) " Johno* Groat's House," near Duncansby Head, is the most northerly building
in Great Britain. Hence the phrase " From Land's End to John o' Groat's."
32, Orkney and Shetland. — The Orkney and Shetland Isles form
one county. This archipelago consists of several hundreds of islands,
islets, skerries, and rocks. There are a few stunted and wind-blasted
trees ; some thin oats and green crops. The chief industry is fishing.
The inhabitants are descendants of the old Scandinavians. Kirkwall
is the chief town in the Orkneys ; Lerwick in the Shetlands.
The names in these islajids are almost entirely Norae (Scandinavian). A or o or oe ifl=i8liviid.
Thus Sanda=iiaid island ; Strojn8oe=the island in the stream or current.
(i) Kirkwall (4) stands on Pomona (or Mainland), the largest island in the Orkneys.
It has a grim old cathedral called after St. Magnus.
(ii) Lerwick (3), on Mainland — the largest island in the Shetlands— is a well-known
harbour of refuge.

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lEELAND,
1. Introductory. — Ireland is the third largest island in Europe
(counting Iceland), and the pendant to the larger island of Great
Britain. It forms a breakwater to the sister-island in several senses ;
it prevents the billows of the Atlantic from striking part of the
British shores, and it takes the first supply of rain from the Atlantic,
so that the clouds which move on to Great Britain carry a smaller
quantity of rain. It is separated from Great Britain by a sea much
deeper than that which separates Great Britain from the Continent.
(i) The nearest point to Scotland is Fair Head. Between it and the Mull of Cantire,
there ia a distance of only 13J miles.
(ii)' Between Camsore Point, in the south, and St. David's Head in Wales, there is a
distance of 50 miles. In other words, St. George's Channel is nearly four tames as
broad as the North Channel.
(iii) The chief passenger communication between England and Ireland is from
Holyhead to Kingstown — a distance of 63 miles.
2. Boundaries. — Ireland is bounded
1. N. W. and S. — By the Atlantic Ocean.
2. E. — By the Nortb Channel, the Irish Sea, and St. George's Channel.
(i) The Irish Sea divides Ireland from England.
(ii) The North Channel divides it from Scotland.
(iii) St. George's Channel divides it from Wales.
3. Size. — The area of Ireland amounts to 32,535 square miles, or
more than half that of England and Wales,
(i) The longest line that can be drawn' within the island is fi-oui Ton Head iu tlie
north-east to Mizen Head in the south-west — a distance of 302 miles.
(ii) The greatest breadth ia, from Howth Head to Slyne Head, 174 miles.

IRELAND 7 9
4. Shape, — The shape of Ireland is broader, shorter, and more
compact than that of Great Britain. It is like " a lozenge set corner-
wise in the ocean." It is a rude parallelogram. The coast line is
about 2000 miles long : and there are many excellent harbours,
especially on the south and west coasts.
(i) The most northerly point of Ireland is Malln Head : the most easterly, the town
of Donaghadee ; the most southerly, Mizen Head ; the most westerly, Dunmore Head.
(ii) The coast line gives 1 mile of coast to each 15 square miles of area. No part
of the country is more than 50 miles from good navigation.
(iii) The harbours of Bantry Bay and Cork could hold the whole British navy.
5. The Nortn Coast. — The northern coast of Ireland is high, rocky,
wild, and rugged in character. It has two deep-drawn bays, and a
few bold promontories,
(i) The two bays are Loagh Swllly and Loagh Foyle.
(ii) The headlands are : Hom Head ; Malln Head ; Bengore Head (with the Giant's
Causeway) ; and Benmore or Fair Head.
(iii) The Giant's Causeway is a "pavement formed of the tops of 40,000 columns of
basalt." 6. The West Coast. — The western coast is, like the northern, bold,
wild, mountainous, and rugged. Three great mountain-masses project
into the sea — those of Donegal, Connaught (Mayo and Galway), and
Kerry ; and between these are numerous bays and estuaries, the
Mouth of the Shannon being the most important.
(i) The chief openings and inlets on the west are : Donegal Bay ; Sllgo Bay ; KlUala
Bay ; Clew Bay ; Oalway Bay ; the Month, of the Shannon ; Dingle Bay ; Eenmare Biver ;
and Bantry Bay,
(ii) The most important headlands are : Bossan Point ; Erris Head ; Achlll Head;
Slyne Head ; Loop Head ; Dunmore Head ; and Crow Head.
7. The South Coast. — The southern coast is lower than the western ;
and it possesses several magnificent openings.
(i) The chief openings are : Cork Harbonr ; Kinsale Harhour ; and Waterford Harbour.
(ii) The chief capes are: Mizen Head; Cape Clear; Hook Point; and Camsore Point. —
"Cape Clear, the southern point of Clear Island, is a mere mass of barren cliffs," It
is the first land sighted coming frora America.

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8. The East Coast. — The eastern coast, like the southern, has a
long regular line of low shore, which is interrupted by only two
mountain-masses — those of the Wicklow Mountains and the Moume
Mountains. Some of its bays are closed by sand-banks.
(i) The chief openings are : Wexford Hwbour ; Dublin Bay; DundalkBay; Carllngford
Lough ; Dtmdrum Bay ; Strangford Lou^ ; and Belfast Lough. The best harbour among
these is Strangford Lough.
Lough is a Celtic word (in Scotch Celtic, Loch) which is applied indifferently to a lake or to a deep-
drawn arm of the sea.
(ii) The chief headlands are Wicklow Head and Howth Head.
" Almost all that Ireland possesses of picturesque beauty is to be found on or in the immediate
neighbourhood of the sea-hoard ; if we except some patches of river scenery on the Uore and
the Elackwatei', and a part of Lough Erne, The dreary expanse called the Bog of AJIen,
which occupies the centre of the island, stretches away for miles — flat, sad-coloured, and
monotonous, fissured in every direction by channels of dark- tinted water, in which tiie very
fish take the same sad colour. This tract is almost without'trace of habitation, save where
at distaut intervals, utter destitution has raised a mud hovel undistinguishable irom the
hillocks and turf around it."
9. Islands. — The islands^ of Ireland are small in size, and are
situated near the mainland. They are, in fact, parts of the mainland,
the softer rocks between having been pared away by the action of
water and weather. They are most numerous on the west coast,
especially off Donegal, Mayo, and Galway.
(i) On the north eoast we flnd Rathlin Island (which contains the same basaltic
rocks as the Giant's Causeway), and Tory Mand.
(ii) On the west coast : Korth Aran ; AchiU ; Clare ; Aran Islands ; and Valentia.
From Valentia starts the telegraphic cable to America.
(iii) On the south coast : Clear, and Spike (in Cork Harbour).
(iv) On the east coast : the small islands of Dalkey and Ireland's Eye.
The endings ey, ay, and the word eye are all the same. They are forms of the Scandinavian word
for islaud — oe. The Celtic or Erse word for island is Ennis, Innish, or Jiicft. The endios
ford in Wexford, Waterford, etc., is another witness to the presence of Norsemen ou the
east coast of Ireland. They were governed in Dublin by their owu laws up to the 13tU
century.
10. The Build of Ireland. — Ireland is a wide limestone plain, in
terrupted by one low range (the Slieve Bloom HiUs), and surrounded
by a broken belt of mountains and high lands. The belt of moun
tains is most continuous in the south and south-west. The central
plain, which fills most of the country, and which consists of undulating

IRELAND 81
ground, has an average height of 200 ft. above the sea-level, and is
nowhere higher than 300 ft. The country has no backbone, and no
geographical centre.
(i) Scotland has the Grampians as its backbone ; England has the Fennine Chain ;
but the interior of Ireland is occupied by a vast watery plain, covered with lakes
and badly drained by slow-flowing rivers.
(ii) Ireland is a much lower country than either England or Scotland. Its average
height is 400 ft. ; that of England 600 ft. ; of Scotland 1000 ft.
(iii) In the Central Plain are numerous bogs, which altogether cover an area of
4420 square miles (more than twice the area of Norfolk), and which are among the
most extensive in Europe. A dreary, sad, wide, deserted country — "where mud-
cabins as black as the peat in the midst of which they rise are rare objects I "
11. Mountain Systems. — There are four clearly-marked systems of
mountains — or rather, of highlands, in Ireland ; and these are the
Northern, Western, Southern, and Eastern Highlands.
(i) The chief ranges in the North are : The Mountains of Antrim and the Mountains
of Donegal. Between them lie the Carntogher Mountains in Londonderry. The highest
point in the Mountains of Donegal is Mount Errigal (2462 ft.).
(ii) The chief ranges in the West are : The Nephin Beg Mountains (in Mayo), which
terminate iu the bold clifl's of AchiU Island ; the Connemara Mountains, the western
end of which clusters in the group of Twelve Pina ; and the Mountains of Kerry, the
highest range of which is the Macgilllcuddy Keeks, which culminate in Carrantual
(3414 ft.).
(iii) In the South are : the Enockmealdown Mountains — north of the Blackwater
Valley ; and, parallel "with them, the Gfaltees, the highest peak being Galtymore. —
Still further to the north are the Silver Mines and the Slieve Blooms.
(iv) In the East are two granite mountain-masses : the Wicklow Mountains and the
Moume Mountains. The highest point in the former is LugnaquiUa (3039 ft.) ; in the
latter Slieve-Donard (2796 ft.). The scenery of the Wicklow Mountains, with their
lovely lakes, clear rivers, and noble waterfalls, is surpassed only by that of Eallarney.
12. The Plain of Ireland. — The Great Central Plain of Ireland fills
about four-fifths of the whole country. It is an " immense pasture-
field," lying between Dublin Bay and Galway Bay. Much of it is
covered by bogs and morasses, the largest of which is the Bog of
Allen ; and the total extent of bog-land is said to amount to 12,000
square miles — or nearly two-fifths of the whole area of the country.
It is watered by one large river — the Shannon.

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13. Rivers.— The rivers of Ireland rise in the heights which border
the Central Plain, and fall into the sea on the same side of the island
on which they rise. Hence they are short, unimportant, and of little
use for commerce. To this general statement there is one striking
exception — the Shannon, which flows through the centre of the Great
Plain. The two next in size are the Barrow and the Bann.
(i) The Shannon (224 miles), the greatest river in the British Islands, rises in the
mountains of Fermanagh and Leitrim : flows throngh Lough Allen, Lough Eee, and
Lough Derg to Limerick, where it opens out into a wide and splendid estuary. It is
navigable to Lough Allen— a distance of 213 miles. At a distance of 200 miles from
the sea the Shannon is only 160 ft. above the sea-level ; and hence it has only a faU
of about 9 inches to the mile.
(ii) The Barrow (114 miles) rises in the Slievebloom Mountains, flows past Athy
(up to which town it is navigable), and falls into Waterford Harbour, By means of
a branch of the Grand Canal, it coimects Dublin and Waterford.
(iii) The Bann (lOO miles) flows out of Lough Neagh — the largest lake in the British
Islands. It forms the boundary between Londonderry and Antrim. — Almost parallel
with it is the Foyle, which flows into Lough Foyle.
(iv) The other well-known rivers are : (a) On the East : the Boyne, which flows
through County Meath, and on which the " Battle of the Boyne" was fought in 1690 ;
the Eifley, on which Dublin stands ; the Slaney, which flows into Wexford Haven. (6)
On the South : the Suir and Nore, which are tributaries of the Barrow ; the Blackwater,
which falls into Youghal Harbour ; and the Lee, the estuary of which forms the noble
harbour of Cork, (c) On the West : the Moy, which flows into Killala Bay ; and the
Erne, which is almost one long lake, and which flows into Donegal Bay.
(v) There are a good many rivers with the name Blackwater ; and all the tributary
streams might be divided into "blade and [white. When a river has a long course
through a. bog, it carries with it large quantities of tannin, which gives it a deep
brown colour ; and imder a cloudy sky this brown looks intensely black.
14. Lakes,— There are a great many lakes in Ireland — both in the
mountainous and lowland districts. The Provinces of Ulster and
Connaught abound with them ; but Connaught has most. The largest
is Lough Neagh, between Antrim and Tyrone ; the most beautiful
are the Lakes of Killarney, in County Kerry.
(i) Lough Neagh has an area of 153 square miles. It is three times as large as
Loch Lomond, and fifteen times Lake Windermere.
(ii) Loughs Erne, Conn, Mask, and Oorrlb are singularly picturesque.
(iii) Loughs Allen, Ree, and Derg are expansions of the waters of the Shannon.
(iv) The Lakes of KlUomey lie among the loveliest scenery iu Ireland.

IRELAND 83
15. Minerals. — Ireland is rich in iron, but poor in coal. There are
only four small coal-fields, the largest of which is the Leinster Coal
field, between the Nore and the Barrow. Peat is the fuel generally
used ; and coal has to be imported. There is some copper ; a little
lead and zinc ; and a little silver. Many beautiful marbles are
quarried in different parts of the island.
(i) " Of the Upper Carboniferous beds which at one time overspread the Central
plain of Ireland, only small patches remain in isolated spots, serving chiefly as an
indication of the immense loss that has been sustained in an important element of
material prosperity." — Encyc. Brit. xiii. 217.
(ii) This loss is believed to be due to the fact that, ages ago, Ireland lay beneath
an immense glacier, which planed and scraped away the beds of coal.
16. Climate. — The climate of Ireland is moister, more equable, and
warmer — latitude for latitude — than that of England. It is a
maritime climate — a climate of the North Atlantic. No other
country in Europe is so abundantly supplied with rain. Hence the
island keeps, both in winter and summer, a fresh and vivid green,
which has given to it the appellation of the " Emerald Isle.''
(i) The rainfall for the whole island averages 36 inches ; for England it is only
30 inches. (As in the case of Great Britain, the west coast is rainier than the east.)
(ii) " Occasionally the downpour along the western coasts is so considerable that
the sea, for a great distance from the land, becomes covered with a tliick layer of
fresh water." — Forbes.
(iii) The arbutus or strawberry tree (which cannot live in England) grows in the
open air among the Lakes of Killarney as it does in Madeira, Portugal, etc.
(iv) The rainfall at Cork is 40 inches a year : at Dublin only 31 inches. The high
mountains on the west coast drive the rain-clouds into the higher (and colder) strata
of air, where they are condensed, and discharge great quantities of rain.
17. Vegetation. — The climate is hurtful to cereal crops, and grass is
*
the vegetable growth that is most successful. The most fertile part
of the country is the tract in the Province of Munster known as the
" Golden Vale," which stretches from Oashel in Tipperary to near
Limerick, and occupies part of the valley of the Suir.
18. Inhabitants. — The majority of the people of Ireland belong
to the Celtic Race. The admixture of Teutonic blood has been

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greatest in Ulster, where many of the inhabitants are of Scottish
descent, and in Leinster, on the east coast, where many are of Norman
and English descent.
(i) The "native" language is called Erse— a language akin to Gaelic in Scotland,
Cymric in Wales, Manx in Man, and Brezonec in Brittany. It is spoken still by about
800,000 people ; but there is not a single newspaper printed in it.
(ii) " Even the poorest Irishmen, notwithstanding their abject condition, still retain
excellent qualities. They love each other, assist one another in misfortune, and
always keep the door of their cabin hospitably open. The least benefit conferred upon
them lives ever after in their memory." — R^cltjs.
19. Popvaation and Fopulousness. — The population of Ireland
numbers only about 5,000,000 ; and, since 1847, it has been steadily
diminishing — chiefly by emigration. In 1841, the population was
over eight miUions. The most populous province is Ulster ; the most
thinly populated Connaught.
(i) Famine and emigration are the two chief causes of the diminution in the popu
lation of Ireland. In the great potato-famine of 1846-47, over a million persons died,
either of famine or of the typhus that followed it ; and more than a million emigrated
to the United States.
(ii) From 60,000 to 80,000 emigrate every year. This is more than a thousand ii
week. '* In no other country has famine committed such ravages as on the fertile soil
of Ireland ; and no other country has poured forth so broad a stream of emigrants."
20. Industries. — The chief industry is the raising of live-stock.
Cattle, pigs, and farm-produce, constitute the chief industrial wealth.
— In the north and east there are manufactures of linens and woollens.
(i) Nearly one-seventh of the country is bog or water ; and only about two-thirds
can he described as good land, fit for ploughing or for pasture.
(ii) The want of a suflicient supply of coal has depressed manufactures ; and the
water-power of the country has been little used.
21. Commerce. — The commerce of Ireland consists chiefly in the
export of various kinds of agricultural produce, and in the import of
coal, hardware, clothes, and other British manufactures. Her chief
market for produce is Great Britain.
(i) The chief ports are Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Waterford, Limerick, Oalway, and
Londonderry. These are also her largest towns ; and, from the nature of the interior,
we should expect the largest towns of Ireland to lie on the sea-coast. The most
lloui'ishing sea-board is that which faces England (and Dublin lies right opposite
Liverpool) ; though the west coast possesses splendid natural hai-bours.

IRELAND 85
(ii) Glasgow, Liverpool, and Bristol— all on the west coast of Great Britain, are
the ports which receive most merchandise from Ireland.
(iii) Her exports amount to about £20,000,000 a year ; and, of this, £19,000,000
worth comes to Great Britain.
(iv) "Through a strange irony of fate, the poorest Irishman takes most delight in
dressing In swallow-tailed coats and breeches, and in wearing black hats. Whole
shiploads of cast-off garments of this description are annuaUy sent across the
Channel." 22. Communications. — There are good turnpike roads ; there is
ample water communication by river, lake, and canal ; and there are
about 2700 mUes of railway.
(i) The chief canals aro the Royal Canal and the Grand Canal. Both connect
Dublin with the Shannon.
(ii) The chief railways are : (a) The Great Sonthem and Western, from Dublin to
Waterford, Cork, and Limerick.— (6) The Midland, from Dublin to Galway— right
across the Central Plain. — (c) The North-Westem, from Dundalk to Londonderry. —
(d) The Northern Counties, from Belfast to Londonderry.
23. Divisions. — Ireland is divided into four provinces ; and these
are again subdivided into counties — of which there are 32 altogether.
The four provinces are : Leinster, in the east ; Ulster, in the north ;
Connaught, in the west ; and Munster, in the south.
(i) These provinces correspond in some degree to the ancient kingdoms of Ireland.
Before the English invasion, the country was divided into five kingdoms — Ulster,
Connaught, Munster, Leinster, and Meath, the two last being afterwards joined.
(ii) Leinster contains 12 counties : Longford, West Meath, Meath, and Louth ;
King's County, Queen's County, Kildare, and Dublin ; Kilkenny, Carlow, Wicklow,
and Wexford.
(iii) Ulster contains 9 counties : Donegal, Londonderry, and Antrim ; Tyrone, Armagh,
and Down ; Fermanagh, Monaghan, and Cavan.
(iv) Connaught, 5 : Mayo, Sligo, and Leitrim ; Galway and Rosqpmmon.
(v) Munster, 6 : Clare and Tipperary ; Kerry and Limerick ; Cork and Waterford.
24. Large Towns. — The presence of large towns in a country is, ia
general, due to the combination, in a high degree, of prosperous
manufacture with busy commerce ; but, in Ireland, this combination
hardly exists. Hence there are only three towns in the whole

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country which have more than 50,000 inhabitants. These are Dublin,
Belfast, and Cork. The three next to these in size are Limericli:,
Londonderry, and Waterford.
(i) Dublin (360), the metropolis of Ireland, stands on the Liffey. It is no larger
than Sheffield ; hut its position on the part of the Central Plain which faces England
makes it a centre of internal and foreign trade. It has a university, and two
cathedrals. The port is KingBtown.
(ii) Belfast (210), in Antrim, at the head of Belfast Lough, is the centre of the
linen and cotton manufactures of the island. It has a larger foreign trade than
even Dublin, and nine-tenths of all the Irish shipping is built at Belfast,
(iii) Cork (82), on the Lee, is the capital of the largest county in Ireland, is the
largest city in Munster, and the third largest in the whole country. It has a good
foreign trade, and also some woollen and linen manufactures. QueenBtown — a splendid
natural harbour — is its port, and the first place of call for American steamers.
(iv) Limerick (40) stands on the Shannon, just where it begins to widen into an
estuary, and at the western end of the fertile district called the * ' Golden Vale. "
(v) Londonderry (30), on the Foyle, is a busy seaport and manufacturing town. It
is famous for the terrible siege it sustained from James ii. in 1689. It stall preserves
its old walls and the cannon on them used in the defence.
(vi) Waterford (25), at the junction of the Suir and the Barrow, is the seat of the
export trade to Bristol.
25. Historic Towns. — There are several towns in Ireland which
have made their mark in the sad history of the country, the most
famous being : Drogheda, Dimdalk, Galway, Armagh, and Trim.
(i) Drogheda, on the Boyne, was stormed by Cromwell in 1649 ; and the garrison ol*
2000 men put to the sword.— A little above the town, the Battle of the Boyne was
fought in 1690, which put an end to the influence of James ii. in Ireland.
(ii) Dtmdalk, in County Louth, at the head of Dundalk Bay, is an ancient city,
where Edward Bruce (the brother of Bobert) crowned himself King of Ireland in
1318. He was the last king of all Ireland.
(iii) Galway, on Galway Bay, is one of the oldest and quaintest towns in Ireland.
It was once the seat of a considerable trade with Spain. A line of steamers from
Galway to New York existed about thirty years ago ; but it did not succeed. It is
the seat of one of the Queen's CoUeges.
(iv) Armagli was, from the 5th to tho Qth century, the metropolis of Ireland. It is
still the ecclesiastical metropolis. Its cathedral was founded by St. Patrick.
(v) Trim ia the county town of Meath, which was the estate of the cliief king of
Ireland, whose palace was at Tara.— The Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley)
was born near Trim in 1769.

FKANCE 87

FEANCE.
1. Introductory. — " Fair France " {La Belle France) is the country
in Europe which lies nearest to Great Britain. It is one of the Five
Great Powers. It is also one of the richest countries in the world.
(i) France Ues almost exactly half-way between the North Pole and the Equator,—
ber northern boundary being about 39' from the North Pole, and her southern about
42' from the Equator. The limits are 42° and 51' North lat.
(ii) Her chief towns lie on the same lines of latitude as the great towns of Europe.
Thus we have :
Latitude of North, 51° - Dunkirk ; Cologne ; Breslau ; Kiev.
Latitude of Middle, 47° : Lyons ; Milan ; Trieste ; Sevastopol.
Latitude of South, 43° ¦- Toulon ; Florence ; Varna ; Tiflis (Georgia).
2. Boundaries. — France has boundaries both of sea and of land.
The sea-boundaries are the Eoglisli Channel, the Atlantic, and the Medi
terranean. The land-boundaries are the broad mountain-masses of
the Pyrenees on the south ; the Alps, the Jura, and the Vosges on the
east. On the north there is no natural boundary ; and the country
is guarded on this line by a chain of fortresses.
(i) On the north, it is bounded by Germany and Belgium ; on the soutli, by Spain ;
on the aaat, by Germany, Switzerland, and Italy ; and on the weat, by the sea.
(ii) She has nearly 2000 miles of coast line, of which only 382 lie on the Mediter
ranean. (iii) The boundaries are highest where they separate France from kindred peoples.
Thus, had it not been for the Alps and the Pyrenees, the three Latin nations— the
French, the Italians, and the Spaniards — would probably have been only one. In
the north, where the frontier is open, the races do not mingle, for they iire antagon
istic in blood, in language, and in feeling. Hence the Unity of France. It is a nation
separated from those of similar race and language by high mountain-ranges, and from
neighbouring peoples by differences of language, race, and religion. A Frenchman
learns a foreign language with the very greatest difficulty.
3. Commercial Position. — France commands a large part of the

88

EUROPE

trade of the two busiest seas in the world — the Atlantic and the
Mediterranean. She also touches the German Ocean ; and these three
commercial seas provide her with trade, and minister to her wealth.
(i) France is on the high road between the south and the north of Europe ; and,
when Rome was a great power, it was up the Rhone valley that civilisation flowed.
(ii) From Paris stretch out railways to all the great cities of Europe.

4. Shape. — France has a
very compact shape.
Roughly speaking, it is an
octagon, with f ourre-entrant
sides. A meridian drawn
through the capital j oins the
two opposite angles and
divides the country into two
almost equal portions.
(i) Four ofthe sides of theoctagou
are on the sea.
(ii) The re-entrant angles are at
La Rochelle, on the Bay of Biscay,

and the west end of the Lake of Geneva

5. Size. — France has an area of more than 204,000 square mUes —
that is. more than twice the size of Great Britain.
(i) The longest line that can be drawn in it runs from the south-east comer to
Dunkirk, — a distance of about 670 miles.
(ii) Though France is so large, and has a long coast Une on the Atlantic and the
Mediterranean, it has not nearly so many good harbours as Great Britain. Hence it
can never be so great a maritime power.

6. The Slopes of France. — France has three great slopes : — to the
A.tlantio and the West ; to the Mediterranean and the South ; to the
German Ocean and the North.
(i) The slope to the west is by far the largest, and constitutes almost the whole
of Prance. Three of the largest rivers of France flow down this slope.
(ii) The slope to the south is long and narrow and contains the vaUey of the
Sa6ne and the Rhone.

FRANCE

89

(iii) The slope to the north is only a fragment of that northern slope which throws
down the rivers of Belgium and Germany into the North Sea. In this slope France
possesses no complete rivers — but only the upper parts of the Belgian and German
streams. (iv) It should be noticed that the northern slope of France slopes away from the
sun's rays ; the western slope to the afternoon sun ; and the southern slope to the
mid-day sun.

7. The Build of France
triangular plateau of r—
granite, called the
Central Table-land or
the Highland of Au-
vergne (Ovem). The
eastern edge of this
plateau is a range of
low mountains called
the Cevennes. The
general height of the
Central Plateau is
somewhat above
3000 ft. (ii) The high
lands continue from
the north of the

-(i) The core of France consists of a

Cevennes on to the Vosges ; and between the Vosges and the Ardennes
there is one uninterrupted table-land, (iii) The larger part of France
forms part of the Great Plain of Europe, which here bends to the south.
A wide plain in the west ; a, table-land in the middle ; mountains in
the east ; a narrow plaiu (the Valley of the Rhone) sloping to the
south — that is the simple build of France.
(i) The Central Table-land descends on the west and north-west by a series of
terraces to the lowland plains.
(ii) On the east and south-east its borders are very abrupt, and have a sharp
descent into the VaUey of the Rhone.
(iii) The Cdte d'Or ( = "The Golden Slope"), the Plateau of Langres, are the names
ofthe chief ranges in this highland district ofthe north-east.
8. The Coast of France.— The coast of France, taken as a whole, is
low and flat.

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(i) The Mediterranean Coast is high and rocky in the east. The spurs df the Alps
run out into the sea, and end in cliffs. The western part is low, flat, and sandy, and
well known for its salt lagoons.
(ii) The Atlantic Coa»fc in the south is very low and sandy, and edged by sand-
dunes, behind which are rows of shallow salt lakes. Ia Brittany, the coast line is
mostly of granite, with high cliffs and deep indentations. Between the mouths ofthe
Seine and the Somme runs a line of chalk cliffs of the same character as those on
the English side of the Channel.
(iii) The coast line of France is wanting in good harbours. Those on the south side
of the Enghsh Channel form a striking contrast to the spacious English harbours on
the north side, Calais cannot be compared with Dover.
9. Bays and Straits. — The great sea-opening on the Mediterranean
Coast is the GiQf of Lions ; on the Atlantic, the Bay of Biscay. The
Strait between France and England is called the Straits of Dover.
Ci) The Gulf of Lions is so called from the storminess of its waters.
The French coll it Golf de Lion ; hence we ought to call it Lion Gulf It is often incorrectly
called the Gidf of Lyons.
(ii) The Bay of Biscay is one of the stormiest seas in the world. It is open to tiie
strongest winds — those from the south-west ; and there are currents within it which
fight with the tides.
(iii) The Straits of Dover divide France and England, while they connect the English
Channel and the Atlantic with the German Ocean. Their breadth is 20 miles ; and their
greatest depth does not exceed 177 ft. No fewer than 200,000 vessels pass these
Straits every year ; and, when the weather is clear, it is sometimes difficult to cotmt
the sails in sight. — It is proposed to tunnel the Straits ; and this tunnel would go
easily through a bed of grey chalk at a depth of 414 ft.
10. Capes and Islands, — The chief capes on the north-west coast are
Gris-Nez (Gree-nay) ; Barfleur; La Hogue ; and Point St. Matthew.
The chief islands off the west coast are Ushant, Belle Isle, r6, Oleron ;
and, in the Mediterranean, the Hy^res (Ee-air) ; and Corsica.
(i) Not far from Gris Nez is a headland called Blanc Nez ( = Wlute Xose), which
our sailors have, misled by the sound, corrupted into Black Nose.
(ii) The Hyferos are a group of mountainous islands offthe coast of Provence.
(iii) Corsica is a very mountainous island, which, by geographical position, race and
language, belongs to Italy. It lias several summits above 8000 ft in height. It has
belonged in succession to each of the powers tliat have ruled in the Mediterranean —
the Phcenicians, the Carthaginians, the Romans, Sai-acens, Pisans, Genoese, etc. It
is now one ofthe 86 departments of France. The most commercial to^vn in the island
is Bafltia ; the best known is Ajacclo, where Napoleon was bora in 17(30.

FRANCE 91
11. Mountains and Tahle-lands. — There are jfive external mountain-
chains which form the natural frontier of France : the Ardennes, the
Vosges, the Jura, the Alps, and the Pyrenees. The chief internal
chain is the Cevennes, which run on under different names into
the Vosges. The chief table-land — and it is also the central table
land — is the Highlands of Auvergne.
(i) The Ardennes is the weakest part of the frontier.
(ii) The Voagea run between France and Alsace, now (since 1871) a province of
Germany. They separate the basin of the Moselle from that of the Rhine.
(iii) The Jura is a limestone range — with fantastic forms, dark pine-woods, and
sunny green meadows on the edges of the forests— between France and Switzerland.
(iv) The ranges of the Alps between France and Italy are the Maritime and Cottian
Alps. They separate the basins of the Rhone and Po. The mountain-mass called Mont
Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps (15,780 ft.), is almost wholly within France.
Its glaciers and snow-fields cover 104 square miles. The largest glacier is the Mer de
Glace {Sea of Ice), which flows at the rate of 11 inches a day on an average.
(v) The Pyrenees separate the basins of the Garonne and the Adour from those of
the Ebro and the Douro. The highest summit is Mount Maladetta (fhe Accursed),
which is 11,168 ft. high.
(a) "The mountain-chainfl which form the moat formidable barrier, divide France from the
nations moat akin to herself."
(6) The passes over tho Pyrenees are ao dangerous from wind and storm that the proverb goes,
"The son would not wait there for his father ; nor the father for hia son,"
(vi) The Cevennes— a granite range — separate the basins of the Rhone and Sa6ne
from those of the Loire and the Garonne The highest peak is Mont M^zenc, ii
mountain with three " teeth."
(vii) The Mountains of Auvergne separate the basin of the Loire from that of the
Gajonne. The plateau contains a large number of extinct volcanoes. In the neigh
bourhood of Clermont there are about seventy cones— locally called puj/s (Latin puteus,
a pit)— from which lava once flowed. The Puy de D6me is the highest.
12. Plains.— Most of France is lowland ; but there are few level
plains. The lowest part of the French plain is the Landes, on the
Bay of Biscay. The Mediterranean coast, west of the Rhone, is also
very low and flat.
The Landes is a wide stretch of gravel, sand, heath, and moor, and was long ago
the bed ofthe sea. In 1800 land here was very cheap ; and "for a few francs a shep
herd might purchase all around him as far as his voice could be heard." There was,
a hundred years ago, a danger of the Landes being buried under the drifting sand ;
but pines were planted— and, from the Adour to the Gironde, most of it is one vast
pine-forest. In some parts, the shepherds still walk on stilts called changues (a cor
ruption of shanks) ; and, through a mist, the figure looks like a walking tower.

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13. Rivers. — France is very rich m rivers. She has nearly a
hundred navigable rivers ; and most of these have their entire
course within the country itself. The highlands in which they rise
lie very far back in the country, and this gives them room for a long
course ; the lower plains are tolerably level, and this makes their
current slow and gentle. The four chief rivers are the Seine, the
Loire, the Garonne, and the Rhone.
(i) The Seine (482 miles long) rises in the table-land of Langrea and falls into the sea
at Havre. It is navigable up to Troyes- a distance of 340 miles. Its chief tributaries
are the Mame and the Yonne, which are also navigable far into the heart of the land.
It is from the Tonne that a canal connects the Sa6ne and the Rhone with the Seine
—that is, the Mediterranean with the Atlantic.
(ii) The Loire (609 miles long) rises in the Cevennes ("among the glittering
micaceous rocks of the Mezenc ") and falls into the sea at St. Nazaire. After flowing
270 miles, it is joined by its twin river the Allier. The other cliief tributaries from
the south are the Cher and the Vienne. The Loire is navigable for about 450 miles —
about twice the whole length of the Thames.
(n) The liOire is subject to great floods — it sometimes rises 20 ft. above its usual level. These
floods are due to two canses : (i) the small height of the mountains from -which the river is
fed ; and (ii) the very hard character of the rocks of these mountains. The first does not
permit ofthe formation of glaciers which might feed the river during summer ; the second
allows the rain to run ofi" too rapidly.
(6) There are more historical castlea and towns on the Loire than on any other French river.
(iii) The Garonne (with the Gironde 616 miles long) rises in tlie Spanish Pyrenees, plunges
into a deep hole called the Tron du Taureau (Troo du roro=BuIl's hole), flows under
ground for 2J miles, and reappears at the foot of the mountains. It is navigable to a
point above Toulouse — 270 miles. The chief tributaries on the right bank are the Lot
(Lo), the Tam, and the Dordogne (Dordonn). A canal and the river Aude connect the
Garonne with the Mediterranean,
The Garonne senda much more water to the ocean than the Loire, and Is about twice aa large
as the Seine. Floods oocur often — mostly in May and June when the smows melt. In 1S75,
the river rose 40 ft, above its usual level, destroyed 7000 houses (chiefly in Toulouse) aud did
damage to the value of £3,400,000. Forests ought to be planted ou the mountain-slopes.
(iv) The Rhone (with the Sadne 637 miles long) rises on the side of Mont St. Gothard
in Switzerland, flows through the Lake of Geneva, turns to the south at Lyons, and
enters the Mediterranean by a delta which begius at the " Forks " (Foorque) a little
above the city of Arlea. Its chief tributary from the north is the Sa6ne (with its
tributary the Donbs) ; from the east, the Isire and the Durance. Since the opening of
the Lyons and Marseilles railway, the Rhone is little used for navigation. But it may
become of the highest value for irrigation. The sixty-two steamers that used to ply
on it have dwindled down to six or eight.
Lord Macaulay writes iu his diary : " I wiia delighted by uij- lirsi sight of Ihe blue, rushing.
hcalthful-loolctiig llhone. ' It is a vehement, rapid sti-eani; It seems cheerftil and full of
animal 8i)li'Its, mon to petulance ! " Later on, ho 8a^'a, " My old fi'ipnd the Kbone ia the
bluest, brlghtoBt, Bwlftest, moat joyous of rivers,"

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14. Lakes. — France is singularly destitute of lakes. But there are
numerous lagoons on the south and south-west coasts.
(i) Most of the lakes are in the French Jura ; but they are very small.
(ii) The most important of all the lagoons is that of Thau (To), which is a little sea
of nearly 20,000 acres separated from the Mediterranean by a narrow strip of land. —
From many of the lagoons salt is made.
15. Climate. — (i) There are in France three zones of climate which
are pretty plainly marked ; the zone of the northern slope ; of the
western ; and of the southern. The mean temperature of the year
for the first is ahout 50° j for the second, 54° ; for the third, 59°.
(i) The chmate of the northern slope resembles that of the south of England.
(ii) The great central plateau divides the middle from the southern zone. The
Mediterranean slopes have a climate and landscape almost African in their aspect.
16. Climate. — (ii) The climate also varies from east to west. Owing
to the Gulf Stream and the warm south-west winds, the temperature
of the Atlantic coasts is higher than in corresponding latitudes
farther east. As we go east, the equalising influence of the ocean is
less and less felt ; the winters are colder and the summers hotter.
(i) Westerly winds blow on an average two days out of every three.
(ii) The quantity of rain increases as the land rises ; and therefore as we go from
west to east, and also ftom north to south.
17. Vegetation. — There are three belts of vegetation in France —
those of com ; wine ; and oU. The first and the last are separate
from each other : but they overlap the second.
(i) In the northern or com region, wheat and beetroot (for sugar) are largely grown.
Apples and pears are very plentiful in Normandy and the north.
(ii) In the central or wine region, both white and red wines are produced. The chief
kind is claret ; the others are burgimdy and champagne. France is the greatest wine
growing country in the world. Terrible storms of wind and hail destroy every year
about one-tenth ofthe produce.
Vineyards cover one-twentieth of the whole soil of France ; and wine is the common drink.
Forests cover one-tenth.

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(iii) In the southern or olive-oil region, maize takes the place of wheat ; the mulberry-
tree is much planted for the use of the silk-worm ; and melons, oranges, figs, and
almonds take the place ofthe northern apples and pears.
ia] Half the field-work in France is done by the alow and patient ox ; m the north, however, by
tho borse ; in the south, by the mule.
(b) Most of tho farmers and labourers in France own the land they tilL A father is compelled by
law to make an almost equal division of his property among hifl children. — Hence the large
niuuber of small farms.

18. Animals. — Wild animals are found only in the forests and
mountains. The black and the brown bear ai-e found in the Pyrenees ; the lynx in the High
Alps, but not often ; the chamois and the wild goat in tbe mountains of the east and
south. Wolves are numerous in the large forests.
19. Minerals. — Compared with its agricultural wealth, the mineral
wealth of France is very small. It is less than that of any other
country of the same size. There are only two large coal-fields : — one
in the north, the other on the eastern edge of the central plateau,
(i) There is a good deal of iron ; but most of the iron is found far away from the
coal. The cost of transporting the coal to the centres of industry is very heavy.
(ii) On the northern coal-field, cotton, linen, and woollen are the chief industries ;
on the eastern, ironworks.
(iii) About 8,000,000 tons of coal are raised every year ; and about 21 million tons
of iron and steel are smelted.
(iv) France is exceedingly rich in building materials. Most of the to%vns are built
of solid stone.
20. Manufactures. — France is one of the greatest manufacturing
countries in the world. Her greatest manufacture is silk ; next
wine ; then woollen goods. In articles that require taste, power of
design, and clever workmanship, she surpasses every other country
on the face of the globe.
(i) The textile industries alone occupy more than 2,000,000 hands. The articles;
of silk, wool, cotton— such as cloth, carpets, flannels, lace, etc., are said to be of tho
annual value of £192,000,000.
(ii) There are three sources of power in France : steam ; rivers ; nnd latterly, the tides.
The steam-ongines do the work of nearly 30,000,000 labom-ers

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(iii) The total products in France manufactured every year have been valued at over
500 millions of pounds.
(iv) The six great French exports to Great Britain are Bilk ; wooUen goods ; wine ;
butter ; eggs ; and brandy.
(v) In the making of fumitui'e, jewellery, and other objects of art, France is
unsurpassed, (vi) Nine-tenths of the ailk woven is made at Lyons. — Woollen goods are produced in
Lille, Boaen, St. Qaentin, and Sedan. — Cotton goods in the same towns ; and also in
Alsace. — Linen is produced chiefiy in the Department of the Nord.
21. Commerce. — The commerce of France is on the largest scale.
Her position on three seas gives her the greatest advantages for
foreign commerce ; her magnificent network of rivers, canals, and
railways encourages a lively trade at home. The home -trade is larger
than the foreign trade.
(i) Commerce, hke agriculture and manufactures, has made immense strides during
the last fifty years. Paris, Marseilles, and Havre do a larger trade with foreign
countries now liian the whole nation did in 1840.
(ii) France, though very poor in ports, carries on two-thirds of its foreign trade
by sea. Her largest customer is Great Britain ; then come Belgium, Germany, the
United States, and Italy.
(iii) France has a very small commercial navy of her own ; she prefers to hire
British and Norwegian ships.
(iv) For her home-trade France has a good system of railways ; and the most com
plete system of canals and canalised rivers of any country in Europe.
(v) The imports of France consist of raw materials ; the exports of manufactures.
22. Chief Ports. — The four great ports are Marseilles, Bordeaux,
Nantes, and Havre.
23. Railways and Telegraphs. — France possesses a magnificent
system of internal communications. There are m©re than 20,000
miles of raUway. There are 60,000 miles of telegraph line.
(i) She possesses about 330,000 miles of carriage road ; 5000 miles of navigable
rivers ; and more than 3000 miles of canal.
(ii) Many of the railway lines belong to the State.
24. Population and Populousness. — The population of France
amounts to a little more than 38,000,000 souls. — As regards density

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of population, France occupies a mediocre position ; she has only
187 persons to the square mile.
(i) Switzerland comes next to France — with 185.
(ii) The most crowded part of France is the Department of the Seine, which con
tains Paris ; the most thinly peopled is the Department of the Lower Alps.
25. Large Towns. — France possesses a very large number of large
towns. She has about fifty with a population of more than 30,000 ;
and of these, thixty-two have more than 50,000. Of the latter, eleven
have more than 100,000 ; and of these again, five have more than
200,000. These are Paris ; Lyons ; Marseilles ; Bordeaux ; and Lille.
(i) PARIS (2500), on both banks of the Seine, and on an island in the middle, is one
of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is the largest city on the Continent. In
its very centre, on the ' ' Isle de France," stands the cathedral of Notre Dame, a marvel
of architecture. On every side rise the noblest and grandest buildings ; and there is
no city in the world that can show so many. Nowhere are there finer, gayer, or more
splendid streets ; and people from all nations go to Paris to " shop." It is also the
pleasure city of Europe and America. Its buildings are not only beautiful in them
selves, but serve as records ofthe greatest events in French history. — There are many
noble scientific and art collections. — It is also a large manufacturing town ; and its
specialty is the making of "articles de Paris." — Besides all this, Paris has a larger
coramerce than any other town in France. — Its fortifi^cations are 22 miles round.
There are also strong detached fortresses on the surrounding hills ; and Paris with
its environs forms the largest military camp in the world.
(ii) Lyons (420), at the confluence of the Rhone and Sa6ne, is the chief seat of the
silk manufacture. It is one of the great world-centres of industry. Silk stuffs to the
amount of £20,000,000 sterling are annually produced.
(iii) MarseiUes (1390) is not only the largest port of France, but also the chief com
mercial port on the Mediterranean. It has also lai^e manufactures. It competes with
Brindisi and Trieste in forwarding travellers to the East.
(iv) Bordeaux (250) is the chief wine-shipping port of France. The town has also
large sugar refineries, potteries, fouudries and other industries. Richard ii. "of
Bordeaux," was bom here, while his father, the Black Prince, held his court in the
city, as Governor of Aquitaine.
(v) LiUe (200), on a tributary of the Scheldt, has large manufactures of cotton and
woollen goods. It was the ancient capital of Flanders.
26. Other Large Towns. — The five towns next in size to the largest
are : Toulouse • Nantes ; St. Etienne ; Havre ; and Rouen,

FRANCE 97
(i) Toulonie (150), on the Garonne, has an excellent position for commerce, as it
stands between the Atlantic and the MediteiTanean, with which it is connected by
river and canal.
(ii) Nantes (ISO) is a flourishing port on the Loire. The port of St. Nazaire, at the
mouth ofthe river, is taking much of its commerce ; for large vessels cannot safely
go up to Nantes. It has a large colonial trade.
(iii) St. Etienne (120), near the Upper Loire, is the chief seat of the ironworks of
France. The town owes its prosperity to its large and rich coal-fields.
(iv) Havre (135), at the mouth of the Seine, is the chief port of Western France, and
also the port of Paris. It imports all kinds of "colonial wares ; " and exports silks
and other French manufactures, chiefly to England. It has lines of steamers to all
poris of Europe and America.
(v) Kouen (110) is the chief centre of the French cotton industry, and it makes
woollen goods also. It is famous for its flne Gothic buildings, the cathedral being
one of the noblest. Joan of Arc was burnt here by the English in 1431, and a
monument to her memory stands in the town.
27. Historic Towns. — There are many towns in France which have
made for themselves great names either in the history of their own
country, or iu the history of England. The most famous of these
are : Bheims, Amiens, Brest, Toulon, Orleans, Calais, Versailles, Bou
logne, Caen, and Dunldrk.
(i) Kheima (100), "The Canterbury of France," is one of the great historic cities
ofthe country. Her kings were always anointed there. The cathedral is one of the
most perfect Gothic buildings in the world.
(ii) Amiens (85), the old capital of Picardy, on the Somme, possesses a cathedral
of the 13th century — " a masterpiece of Gothic architecture " and one of the most
richly decorated edifices in France. The "Peace of Amiens," between England and
France, was signed here in 1802.
(iii) Brest (72), one of the chief naval stations of France, is also one of the best
harbours in Europe. It was held by England in the 14th century.
(iv) Tonlon (71) is the chief naval station of France in the Mediterranean. It is
also one of the strongest fortresses in Europe. Napoleon — thefc a simple artillery
officer — here first showed his ability, when Toulon was besieged by the English in
1793. (v) Orleans (62), on the north bank of the Loire, gave the title of "Maid of
Orleans " to Joan of Arc, when she besieged the English there in 1429.
(vi) Calais (60) was held for two centuries (1346-1558) by the English ; and was
only lost in the reign of Queen Mary. It is connected with Dover by lines of
steamers. It exports millions on millions of eggs.

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(vii) TeriaiUea (50) is properly a large suburb of Paris. It possesses the most
magnificent and the largest palace in France — built by Louis xrv. The picture-
gallery contains miles of pictures which commemorate the "glories of France." But
this palace saw the humiliation of France in 1871, when the king of Prussia had
himself declared Emperor of the Germans in one of its halls.
(viii) Boulogns (47) is connected by steamers with Folkestone. It was here that
Napoleon prepared, in 1803, his immense flotilla for the invasion of England.
(ix) Caen (44) T^as the residence, and is the burial-place, of William the Conqueror.
(x) Dunkirk (40) is a large fishing town. It was destroyed by the English in 1713,
bnt has since been rebuilt and enlarged.
28. Political Divisions. — Prior to the Eevolution of 1789, France
consisted of thirty -four provinces, which were at one time duchies,
counties, or even kingdoms. In 1790, however, it was divided into 86
Departments, of which the Italian island of Corsica counts as one.
These departments are not called by names that have been given them
by, the people who live there ; but by the Central Government. They
have been named mostly after the rivers that flow through them.
By the addition of Nice and Savoy (which gave two) in 1860, the
number of Departments was raised to 89. But by the loss of Alsace
and Lorraine in the war of 1870-71, the number fell to 87.
(i) Such names as Seine, Seine et Mojme, Hautes Pyr^nies (Upper Pyrenees), Basses
Pyrenees (Lower Pyrenees), are the most usual.
(ii) Nice and Savoy were ceded by Victor Emmanuel to the Emperor Napoleon as a
return for his aid in defeating the Austrians in the war of 1859.
(iii) Many of the French Provinces have made for themselves a great name in
history. The best known are : Normandy ( = the Land of the Normans, in the valley
of the Seine); Brittany (=the Land of the Britons, in the west); Provence (=the
Roman Provincia, in the lower valley of the Rhone) ; Borgnndy (an ancient Teutonic
Dukedom in the south-east); Champagne ( = the "Wide Field, from Latin campus, n
plain) ; and Isle de France (" Island of France," so called because all the great valleys
of France meet in that district).
29. Cliaracter and Social Condition. — The French people consist of
a mixture of races — Celtic, Eomanio, and German ; and their char
acter gives evidence of the mental habits of all three. The French
man is said to be light and frivolous, but in most cases he is a very
serious person ; brave, when he is succeeding — but too easily de
pressed ; very clever with his hands, and generally amiable, polite,
and urbane. Intellectually, the Frenchman is famous for lucidity of

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thought and expression, for fine taste and eloquence of style, for
suppleness and even subtlety of intelUgenoe, and for rigour and
consecutiveness in his reasoning and methods. Few nations in the
world have done so much for literature and art. The Frenchman is
also a lover of justice, and has a keen feeling of his own dignity and
equality. The working classes, more especiaUy the small farmers,
possess the virtue of thrift in the highest degree.
30. Government. — The government of France is now a Republic.
There are two Chambers — a Senate and a House of Representatives.
The Executive is in the hands of the President.
(i) The present is the third Republic that has existed within the last hundred years.
(ii) 'Within the memory of middle-aged men, France has been a kingdom, a republic,
an empire, and a republic again.
31. Religion and Education. — By far the larger part of the French
nation belongs to the Roman CathoUc Church ; of Protestants there
are not much more than half-a-million. — The Universities and
Secondary Schools are in a very healthy state ; but Elementary
Instruction has a great deal of lee- way to make up.
(i) The State endows the Protestant clergy, as well as the Roman Catholic
(ii) A considerable percentage of the people can neither read nor write.
32. Language. — The French Language is, to a large extent, a kind
of Latin. The endings and the vowel sounds have been greatly
changed. The Latin uimts becomes un ; duo, deux, etc.
33. Colonial Possessions. — The most important foreign possessions
of France are Algeria and CocMn China. The total area of her colonies
is larger than France herself by 95,000 square nules.
(i) In the 18th century, France held Canada and Louisiana ia North America, and
vast tracts in India.
(ii) In Africa, she holds, in addition to Algeria, a part of Senegamliia, — In the West
Indies, she possesses three islands, the largest of which is Martinique. — In South
America, .she has French Guiana, the capital of which is Cayenne. — In India, she has
Pondicherry, etc. ; in Further India, Lower Cochin China, and a protectorate over
Cambodia, Annam, and Tonquin. — In Oceania, she has New Caledonia, the Marquesas,
Tahiti, etc.

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BELGIUM.
1. Introductory. — Belgium is a small triangular kingdom, which
was cut out of Holland in the year 1830. It is the most thickly
peopled, the most commercial, and the most industrious country on
the continent of Europe.
(i) Saxony is in fact more densely peopled, but it ia usually considered only as a
part of the German Empire.
(ii) Brussels, the capital, which stands near the centre of the cotmtry, is in the
same latitude as Cape Clear, Dresden, Eiefl, and Vancouver Island.
2. Boundaries. — Belgium is bounded —
1. N. —By HoUand.
2. E. — By Holland, Khenlah FroBSla, and Lnxembnrg.
3. -S, — By France.
4. W. — By the German Ocean.
3. Commercial Position. — Standing in the west of Europe, on one
of the most commercial seas in the world, it occupies a position which
is very favourable for trade both with the New World and with the
Old. Hence it has a large trade with both, and also with that
island which stands between the two worlds — Great Britain.
The position for commerce of Antwerp, the largest Belgi.an seaport, is nearly as
good as that of London.
4. Shape and Size. — Belgium is almost a triangle. It contains
11,373 square miles — that is, not quite twice as many as Yorkshire.
The longest line that can be drawn in it measures only 190 miles.
5. Slope, Build, and Coast Line. — Belgium slopes from south to
north, as may be seen from the direction of the rivers ; that is, it
slopes away from the sun. It also slopes from east to west. The

BELGIUM 101
highest land in the east is about 2000 ft. above the sea-level ; the
lowest land on the west is below the level of the sea. The coast line
is only 42 miles long ; and much of it is faced with sand-dunes.
Low fertile land in the west ; a tumbled country in the middle ; a rocky, hilly, and
almost mountainous land in the east and south-east — such is the build of Belgium.
6. Mountains and Plains, — The northern half of the country belongs
to the Great Plain of Europe. The low mountain-land in the east
consists of the plateau of the Ardennes, some peaks of which reach
the height of 2300 ft. In the middle of the country, to the north,
we find a wide plain caUed the Campine — a plain of moor, marsh,
peat-bogs, and sand, overgrown with heath, broom, and dwarf firs.
In the west, the country is both low and flat. Dunes, about 40 ft. or
50 ft. high, keep out the sea ; and much of the land consists of
polders, defended by dykes, and intersected by canals.
(i) The plodding energy of the Belgians is transforming the Campine. Clay is
often found at the depth of 2 or 3 ft. ; and this, mixed with sand, gives a soil which
produces good crops.
(ii) About one-sixteenth part of Belgium consists of polders, which have been gained
from the sea and the rivers.
7. Rivers. — Belgium does not possess a single river from its source
to its mouth. The two chief rivers are the Meuse and the Scheldt.
The Meuse is a river of the mountains ; the Scheldt a stream of the
plains. The basin of the Scheldt embraces the larger part of Belgium.
(i) The Uense rises in the plateau of Langres in France ; flows north-west through
the fortress of Sedan, and enters Belgium near Dinant. At Namur, also a strong
fortress, it receives the Sambre. North of Li6ge, it enters Holland, and is there
called the Maae. The total length is 560 miles, of which only 100 are in Belgium.
(ii) The Scheldt also rises in France, and is there called the Escaut. It flows through
the famous towns of Cambray and Valenciennes, and enters Belgium a little south of
Toumay. It receives several tributaries— among others the waters of the Senne, on
which Brussels stands. Both of its mouths are in thehands of the Dutch. Its total
length is 250 miles, ot which half are in Belgium.
8. Climate. — The climate is like that of the south of England^ but
more continental — that is, hotter in summer, and colder in winter.
In the east, the winters are very severe ; in the west, fogs are frequent.

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The rain-fall amounts to about 28 inches a year in the west, and
increases with the rise of the land.
(i) This is about 3 inches less than the fall at London.
(ii) East of the Meuse, it is very rainy. M in England, the people can never
count on a series of fine days,
9. Plants and Animals. — The trees, plants, and grains are much the
same as those grown in France and Germany. The chief grains are
rye, wheat, and oats. A great deal of beet and flax is also raised.
About one-fifth of the country is covered with woods and forests.
The oak is the prevalent tree ; but the birch, beech, lime, and
maple, are common. It is too cold for the chestnut. The roe, the
stag, and the wild boar are stiU found in the forests of the Ardennes.
The beaver has died out ; and the hedgehog is following. Other wild
beasts are the wolf, the fox, the polecat, and the weasel.
(i) The grains raised yearly in Belgium are worth £11,000,000.
(ii) Belgium sends us yearly eggs to the value of £750,000.
(iii) There is very little waste land in Belgium- not one-tenth of the whole conntry.
10. Minerals. — Belgium is rich in minerals. Coal is the most
abundant mineral ; then iron, zinc, and lead. Marble is also plenti
ful ; and the black marbles of Dinant are highly valued.
(i) After England, Belgium is the greatest coal-producing country in Europe. It
sells one-third of its coal to France.
(ii) There are two great coal-fields — ^the western one in the provinces of Hainault
and Namur, the eastern in Namur and Li6ge. These coal-fields lie on the outermargin
of the table-land.
11. Manufactures. — Belgium has more manufactures than any
other country of the same size in the world. It owes this chiefly to
its large supplies of coal. Mining is a chief industry. The chief
manufactures are cotton, linen, woollen, and silk goods, and machinery.
(i) Cotton and ailk goods are manufactured chiefly in the province of East Flanders
and Antwerp. The greatest cotton factories are at Antwerp and Ghent.
(ii) The linen trade is carried on chiefly at Ghent and St. Nlcholai. Mechlin (Malines)
and Brussels are the headquarters of lace.
(iii) The woollen manufacture has its seats at LWge and Verviers — a town on the
eastern frontier. Brussels carpets are made chiefly at Tourual.

BELGIUM 103
(iv) Id^ge is the Birmingham of Belgium ; and it is also to a groat extent the Leeds.
Steam-engines, locomotives, flre-arms, and all kinds of machinery are made at Li6ge.
Namur is noted for its cutlery.
(v) But,' indeed, in all the towns on the coal-flelds — Mons, Cbarleroi, etc., the manu
facture of iron and steel goes on.
12. Agriculture. — Belgium stands higher than any country in the
world as regards agriculture. No country is more carefully culti
vated. Most of the work is done with the spade ; and the farms
look like large gardens. The country, though so densely peopled,
grows twice as much food as it requires ; and exports corn, instead
of being obUged, like England, to import it.
(i) The industry of the plains and the river-valleys is agriculture ; of the hills and
table-lands mining and manufactures.
(ii) For its size, Belgium produces more grain than any other country in the world.
(iii) Nearly 8 million acres yield two harvests a year.
13. Commerce. — Belgium has a, very large trade with other coun
tries ; and yet most of her carrying is done by EngUsh ships. Since
the birth of the kingdom in 1830, the trade has increased more rapidly
than in any other European country. It even exceeds that of the
vast Empire of Austria-Hungary. The largest trade is done with
France ; and all the Belgian railways converge upon Paris.
(i) Antwerp imports raw material not merely for Belgium, but also for the middle
basin of the Rhine.
(ii) About two-thirds of the commerce is carried on across the land-frontiers ; only
one-third by sea.
(iii) France buys yearly from Belgium goods to the value of over £16,000,000;
Great Britain and Germany from 9 to 10 millions each.
14. The Large Towns. — Belgium possesses seventeen towns with a
population above 20,000 ; and, of these, four have more than 40,000 ;
and four over 100,000. The four largest are Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent,
and Li^ge. Belgium is, in fact, the small counti^ of large cities.
Philip II. of Spain, when traveUing through it, exclaimed " Why !
this is all one town 1 "
(i) Ihe Capital.- BEtlSSELS (430) stands in the heart of the kingdom, at the meeting
of hill and plain, and almost on the edge of the lowland. It is divided into the
Upper and the Lower Town. Its town-hall is one of the most splendid buildings in the
world. Up to the fifteenth century it was roofed with plates of gold. Palaces, noble

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buildings, wide streets, and high houses, make of Brussels a noble city. Its museums
are rich in the rarest treasures— paintings, carvings, precious stones, antiquities.'
The town is gay, lively, and well built, and is often called "the Little Paris."
(a) A canal brings vessels firom the sea to the quays of Brofi&elB.
(b) Ten miles to the Houth jb the field of Waterloo (June 18, 1815) ; and near, the battle-fields of
Quatre-Bras (=Fout Arms or Koads, June 16), and Ligny (June 16).
(c) Bnissela is In the same longitude as Lyons, AtarseiUes, and Cai)e Town.
(ii) Antwerp (210), on the Scheldt— a wide and deep river— is the only large seaport.
Vessels of the largest size lie at its quays. It is also a fortress, which could hold the
whole army of Belgium. It possesses a most beautifal cathedral, the spire ofwhich
is 402 ft. high — that is, 42 ft. higher than the cross of St. Paul's. Antwerp was the
birthplace of the great painter Rubens. — In the 14th and 15th centuries, the com
merce of Antwerp and Bruges rivalled that of Venice and Genoa.
(iii) Ghent (150), in East Flanders, is one of the great cotton-spinning towns of the
world. It is the third Belgian city in population, but the first in industry. It was
the birthplace of John of Gaunt ( = Ghent), the father of Henry iv. It stands at the
junction of the Scheldt with three tributaries. Bivers and canals divide it into 24
quarters, which are connected by 100 bridges. " Ghent might have become a Belgian
Manchester if it had had a Liverpool nearer to it than Antwerp." Its floral shows
are wonderful, and have given it the name of the " City of Flowers." The capital
employed by the gardeners of Ghent amounts to £3,000,000. It was here that the first
English book was printed by William Caxton— a book called The Histories of Troy.
(iv) U6ge (140), "the capital ofthe "Walloons," lies in a very picturesque and hilly
region on the Meuse. The river is here spanned by 17 bridges. It is the busiest town
in Belgium. Near Liege is Seraing, the largest ironworks in Belgium. It makes
steam-engines ; and can tum out 365 tons of steel rails in a day.
15. The IVUnor Towns. — Among the minor towns the most impor
tant are Bruges ; Mechlin ; Louvain ; Tonmai ; Namur ; and Ostend.
(i) Bruges (=Bridges, 50) is a decayed and decaying town. It had at one time a
population of 200,000. It is intersected by many canals, which are crossed by more
than 50 bridges : hence its name. There is a navigable canal for large ships between
Bruges and Ostend ; but the town can never overtake Antwerp. Most of the poor
people make lace— but hardly a living by it. Paupers abound. Many streets are
silent and desolate : "without hurry, noiseless feet the grass-grown pavement tread."'
It is full of beautiful churches. —Insurance societies were first started at Bruges.
(ii) Mechlin (or Malines, 50) is the religious metropolis and Canterbury of Belgium ;
its Archbishop being Primate of the kingdom. Mechlin lace is famous everywhere.
(iii) louvain, a little east of Brussels, was once a great place of manufiictures. It is
now greatly decayed. It makes chiefly starch, paper and beer. The to-\vn-haU is one
olthe finest buildings in the world, and has been compared to a jewel-casket.
(iv) Tournai is " the raost venerable city of Belgium." The cathedral belongs to the
12th century ; it has a thousand columns, uo two of which are alike.— Tournai now
makes carppts ; and most of the weavers work at their own horaes.

BELGIUM 105
(v) Namur, at thejunction of the Meuse and the Sambro, is one of the strong points
of Belgium. It has stood many a siege. Bombardments have robbed the town of
nearly all its ancient buUdings.— The town makes glass and cutlery.
(vi) Ostend is a small port, and a large bathing-place. It stood a three years' siege
of the Spaniards in the 17th century. The rising port of Flushing, in the island of
Walcheren, in Holland, is taking away its trade. About 20,000 strangers, mostly
from France and Germany, come yearly to take sea-baths at Ostend.
16. Railway System. — Belgium, is one vast and intricate net-work
of railways. There are nearly 3000 miles of line in this small
kingdom. The fares charged are lower than in any other European
country. The rolling stock, if placed in a line, would stretch from
Ostend to Cologne — a distance of 202 mUes.
(i) Contrait. — Turkey, in the south-east of Europe, has only 1000 miles of railway.
(ii) Belgium has, in proportion, the same amount of railway that England has.
England is flve times the size of Belgium.
17. Telegraphs and Post-ofBces. — Belgium is very well supplied
with telegraphs. It has about 4000 miles of line, and more than
four times this of wire. About seven millions of messages are sent
every year. — But the people do not write nearly so many letters as
we do in England. They send 90 millions of letters and 105 millions
of newspapers annually.
This is at the rate of 15 letters per head per annum. England sends 49.
18. Canals and Koads. — Belgium is magnificently equipped with
canals ; and its canals and canalised rivers play a very large part in
the commercial life of the country. There are about 1000 mUes of
navigable water-ways in the country ; and, of these, more than half
are canals. The traffic on the rivers and canals is much larger than
that on the railways. Belgium has also more roads and better-kept
roads than any other country except England.
(i) Each mile of water highway carries about 500,000 tons of goods a year.
(ii) There is not a town of any importance but has a canal.
(iii) Some of the canals are used for irrigation.
19. Population and Populousness. — The population of Belgium
amounts to nearly 6 miUions. This gives a density of 514 persons
per square mUe.
(i) In the province of Bratant, in which Brussels stands, the density rises to 835.

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(ii) There is nothing in the world to compare with the populousness of Belgium—
except Saxony, the Plain of China, and the Valley of the Ganges.
20. Political DlviBions. — Many of these divisions have played an
important part in the history both of Europe and of England ; and
hence we ought to know them. The following is a Hst, with the chief
towns in each : —

1. Weflt Flandera — Bruges, Ostend.
'J. East Flanders — Ghent, St. Nicholas.
3. Ealnanlt — Mons, Tournai, Charleroi.
4. Brabant— Brussels, Louvain.

5. Antwerp — Antwerp, Mechlin.
6. Limburg — Hasselt.
7. Uige — Liege, Verviers, Spa.
S. Ramnr — Namur, Dinant.
9. Luzembiirg — Arlon.
21. Languages. — There is no Belgian language. There are two
languages spoken in the country— Flemish and Walloon. Flemish
belongs to the same famUy as Dutch, German, and English ; WaUoon
is a kind of Old French.
(i) About 2J millions speak Flemish ; about 2^ Walloon. All the book-reading
classes speak Parisian French. The oificial language, too, is French.
(ii) Two-thirds of the newspapers are printed in French ; but the greatest writer of
the country — Hendrik Conscience — writes in Flemish.
22. Character and Social Condition. — The Flemings belong to the
Teutonic race. They have Ught-coloured eyes, fair hair, and fresh
complexions. They are seldom tall. — The WaUoons belong to the
Celtic race. They are darker in complexion ; many have brown eyes ;
and most of them are taUer and stronger than the Flemings.
Flemings are found chiefly in Flanders, Antwerp, Brabant, Limburg — that is, in
the north and west ; Walloons, in the more hilly country of the east and south-east.
23. Keligion and Education. — Most of the people are Eoman
Catholics ; but aU opinions are tolerated. — There are four Univer-
versities, Brussels, Louvain, Ghent, Li^ge ; there aje many middle-
class schools ; but the elementary schools are far from good.
(i) There are good technical schools in all the large towns.
(ii) About 40 per cent, of the people can neither read nor wiitc.
24. Government.— The King, a Senate, a House of Representatives
— these form the working Constitution.
(i) The standing army numbers nearly 50,000— on a war-footing, 100,000 men.
(ii) There is no navy.

THE NETHERLANDS 107

THE NETHERLANDS.
1. Introductory. — The kingdom of The Netherlands, or HoUand, as
we call it, is one of the most commercial countries on the face of
the globe. The soU it occupies had to be won from the sea ; and,
smaU as the country is, it struggled for, and in the 16th century,
wrested its freedom from an empire (Spain), that at the time ruled over
two-thirds of the known world. Attacked by the sea from without,
and by rivers from within ; gaining land from the ocean, and saving it
from river-floods ; daUy using the powers of wind and steam against
the powers of water ; employing the powers of water against hostUe
armies ; gaining land here, losing it there — but on the whole steadUy
gaining ; wresting new lands and farms from the depths of the sea
and the beds of lakes, and thus making the whole kingdom grow and
expand ; eternaUy on the watch against inundations, — such is the life
of the nation caUed the Netherlanders. The sea is the standing
enemy of the Dutch — an enemy always at their gates. After win
ning a foothold for themselves and maintaining 'it against all comers,
they sent out fleets which founded colonial settlements all over the
world. And, at home, always looking out for fresh conquests over
the sea, the Dutch have actually increased the size of their country
since 1833 by one-half.
(1) "There is aland where the rivers, so to speak, flow over the heads of the
Ijeople ; where mighty towns rise below the level of the sea, "vriiich dominates and
almost overwhelms them ; where broad tracts of cultivated ground are alternately
rescued from and swallowed up by the waters."— Esquieos.
(ii) The Dutchman's allies against the water are wind, steam, sand, and the
stork. (iii) The name is a corruption of Ottant=mB,ishy ground.
(iv) The sea is a protector as well as a foe It bears their ships, forms a boundary,
and throws fertile alluvium on the shore.

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2. Holland is bounded —
1. N.— By the North Sea,
2. E. — By Germany.
3. S.— By Belgium.
4. W.— By the Nortli Sea.
3. Commercial Position. — Situated in the north-west of Europe, at
the mouth of the Rhine — its great western highway, opposite the
midland counties of England, next to the busiest and richest states
of the Continent, with easy access to the North Sea and the Atlantic,
Holland occupies a wonderfuUy advantageous position for commerce
with the rest of the world.
Amsterdam is in the same latitude as Cambridge, Berlin, and Manitoba.
4. Shape and Size. — The length of HoUand from north to south is
about 150 mUes ; its average breadth, about 100 mUes. Its area
contains 12,648 square mUes. This land has been formed partly by
deposits from rivers and partly by conquests from the sea-. In
addition to the continuous land, it contains two archipelagoes, one in
the south and one in the north.
In 1833, Holland contained only 8768 square miles. It is now a little more than
twice the size of Yorkshire.
5. Surface and Slopes. — The whole country slopes, but very gently,
to the west and north. The surface of most of it is as flat as a
bowling-green ; and a large portion is below the level of the sea.
Much of it consists of rich alluvial soil. HoUand is, in fact, the
lowest and western end of the Great Plain of Europe.
The alluvial soil out of whieh Holland is built, is brought down by the Scheldt
from the north of France ; by the Meuse from the Ardennes ; and by the Khine and
its tributaries from the Alps and the higher lands of Germany. A lai^ part of
Holland consists simply ofthe off'scourings ofthe Alps.
6. Bays and Straits. — The most important bays are the Zuyder
Zee ; the Lauwer Zee ; and the DoUart. The chief strait is the open
ing into the Zuyder Zee caUed The Helder.
(i) The name Zuyder Zee is=South Sea, to distinguish it from the North Sea. The
Gcnnans call the Baltic the East Sea.
(ii) The Zuyder iZeo was formed by irruptions of the North Sea into a lake called
Flevo, in the 12th, ISth, aud 14th centuries Thousands of people were drowned.

THE NETHERLANDS 109
7. Islands.— The delta formed by the Maas and the Scheldt contains
a number of islands, which form the province of Zeeland ( = Sealand).
The best known is Walcheren. — ^In the Archipelago which fringes the
north of Holland, the largest islands are Texel and Terschelllng.
Walcheren occupies a melancholy position in our history. To help the Austrians,
an English army was sent in 1809 against Antwerp, which was then held by Napoleon.
The English army was landed on this island. Flushing was taken ; but 7000 men died
of marsh-fever ; 13,000 were sent home sick ; and the rest were recalled.
8. The Coast, Dunes and Dykes. — The coast is everywhere very
low ; and the sea is kept out by dunes. These are larger and higher
than in Belgium. The Blinkert Dune, near Haarlem, is 197 ft. above
the sea-level : and from its summit can be seen the most historicaUy
celebrated portion of HoUand. — Where dunes are insufficient, strong
dykes formed of pUes and huge blocks of granite, are constructed.
These are 30 ft. in height, and some 350 ft. thick.
(i) There are in Holland about 1550 miles of dykea alone ; and the construction of
them cost 12J millions sterling.
(ii) The strongest is the Westkappel Dyke, which defends the west coast of Wal
cheren. It is over 4000 yards long ; and a railway runs along the top.
(iii) The coast south from the Helder is protected by a barrier of natural sand-hills,
about 60 ft. high. They are planted with grasses and reeds, the roots of which bind
the sand together. The stork, which keeps down reptiles, is protected by law.
9. Rivers. — The great rivers of Holland are the Rhine, the Maas,
and the Scheldt, aU only in their lower courses. Some of them flow
above the level of the land ; hence it is easy to feed the Dutch canals.
(i) The BUne divides into two arms ; the southern, called the Waal, and the
northern, which retains the name of the Rhine.
(ii) At Gorkum the Waal is joined by the Maas.
(iii) The total length of the navigable river-channels is 1135 mites.
(iv) The floods on the rivers are almost as disastrous as the irruptions of the sea. At
Utrecht, after a long course of continuous westerly winds, the Lek rises 18 ft. above
the pavement of the streets. In winter, when the ice breaks np, the dykes some
times give way, and large districts are flooded.
10. Climate. — The climate of HoUand may be described as mild,
and not unlike that of England, but more humid. The soil is damp ;
L

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and the air is damp. It is chiefly in Friesland and the east that frost
is continuous in the winter, and that the countless canals and ditches
give scope to the art of the skater.
(i) Holland, lying lower, is colder than any part of England in the same latitude.
Cows may be seen in the fields wearing greatcoats.
(ii) The strong winds, which blow across the country as steadily as over the ocean,
not only form a permanent supply of very valuable power to the windmills, they also
sweep away the exhalations which rise from the marshes and stagnant ponds.
11. Agriculture. — In spite of the diUgence of the Dutchman, a
large part of the land of his country is unfit for cultivation. FuUy 18
per cent, of the land is covered with fens ; 45 per cent, is poor and
sandy ; and only 34 per cent, is reaUy good. Rye and wheat are the
most important cereals. Oats, barley, potatoes, and beet-root are
grown on a large scale. The orchards yield large crops of apples,
plums and cherries ; whUe the gardens grow tulips and other flowers
in great splendour and profusion. But the fat meadows and fertile
grass-lands form the chief agricultural wealth of Holland ; and butter
and cheese are the most valuable products.
(i) We buy from HoUand every year butter and margarine to the value of about
£4,500,000. Hence Holland may be regarded as the Dairy Farm of England.
(ii) In the 17th century as much as £2000 was paid for one tulip-bulb.
12. Polders. — Polders are the fertUe beds of lakes that have been
drained by wind and steam. They form a very important part of
HoUand, and their verdure is a striking feature in the landscape.
Between 1815, the year of Waterloo, and 1875, the Dutch reclaimed
nearly 143,000 acres of good land. This is at the rate of 6^ acres
every day.
(i) The polder of the Zuyder Zee wUl be the largest m Holland, when it is flnished.
(ii) The polder of the Haarlem Meer (70 square miles— half the size of Rutland) is
the largest at present. It was drained by steam. The drainage cost nearly a million ;
but the crops produced yearly amount to a quarter of a million.
13. Fisheries.— One great source of Dutch wealth is the fisheries.
The coasts abound with fish of many kinds, such as herrino- cod
turbot, and soles. About 10,000 men are employed in fishing.
(i) The "deep-sea fishery" is in tlio German Ocean, for cod, herring, and flat flsh.
The greatest cod-fishery is on the Dogger Bank.

THE NETHERLANDS 111
(ii) The "inner fishery" is pursued in the Zuyder Zee, the rivers, and the inland
waters. In the Zuyder Zee flat fish, herrings, anchovies, and slirinips are caught.
14. Manufactures. — Holland does not rank high as a manufacturing
country. There is very little coal. Clay, which is used in the mak
ing of earthenware, is the only mineral product of any importance.
There are factories of cotton, woollen, and silk stuff's ; glass houses ;
machine works ; and many gin distilleries. The chief power is wind.
(i) Holland imports more raw cotton, in proportion to its population, than any
other country in Europe, except Great Britain.
(ii) Much of the pottery is made at Delft, which gives its name to this ware.
(iii) Windmills grind com; clean flax; bruise oil-seeds; mash paper-pulp ; saw
wood ; and drain land.
15. Commerce. — HoUand was, in the 17th century, the greatest
commercial country in the world. Its merchant fleet was equal to
aU the other fleets of Europe taken together. Other countries have
taken away much of this trade ; and most of the Dutch transit trade
is now carried on by English ships. But HoUand is still the " Colonial
Grocer " for Europe. We buy from HoUand every year goods to the
value of about £25,000,000.
The internal trade is enormous. It is carried on chiefly by water. There are
over 1500 miles of canal, and nearly 1200 miles of river highway.
16. Towns. — HoUand, like England and Belgium, is a country of
large towns. There are fifteen towns with a population of more than
25,000 ; of these five have more than 50,000 ; and of these again
three have more than 100,000.
17. The Capital. — The true capital of Holland is Amsterdam ; the
seat of the Court and Government is The Hague.
(i) Amsterdam (380), on the Zuyder Zee, is a city nearly as large as Manchester. It
stands at the mouth of the Amstel, and on the branch of the Rhin# called the Yj (pro
nounced I), on 90 distinct islands, which are joined to each other by 300 bridges.
Most of the houses are built on piles driven into the marshy ground ; and hence it has
been said that the iiihabitants are "like rooks, perched on the tops of trees." The
Town Hau stands on 13,000 piles. Many of the pUes have slipped ; and hence some
houses lean forward, some backward, some to the right, some to the left, some against
each other. Each house is different from another — in height, or design, or shape, or
colour, or ornamentation ; for the Dutchman is even more original and individualistic
than the Englishman. Amsterdam was once the greatest port in the world ; but it is

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not now so large as Rotterdam. Its canal is the broadest and deepest in Europe. It
possesses the special industry of diamond-cutting, whioh employs about 1000 hands.
The Kings of Holland are crowned here ; but they live at The Hague.
(ii) The Hagne (140) is a city nearly as large as Leicester. It is, like most other
Dutch towns, bounded by canals, and penetrated by canals. It is the seat of the
Court and of the Government. It contains a palace, a noble picture-gaUery, and a
well-stocked museum. A shady avenue, three mUes long, leads to the weU-known
bathing-place Scheveningen. It was at Scheveningen that Charles ii. embarked in
1660 to get " his own again.''
18. Other large Towns. — The largest town after Amsterdam is
Rotterdam (180), which is about the size of Hull. Next to The
Hague comes Utrecht (80), a town as large as Halifax. The only
other towns worthy of mention are Haarlem, Leyden, Dort, and Delft.
(i) Rotterdam stands at the mouth of the Rotte, which oozes (we cannot sajfiows
or fails) into the Maas. It is the chief port of HoUand, and also of the whole Bhlne
basin. This port is the larue mouth of the Rhine. To it belong about 3500 merchant
ships ; but two-thirds of these sail under the British flag. Its chief trade is in
colonial produce. It was the birthplace of one of the greatest and wittiest of men,
Gerard Gerard, commonly caUed Erasmus. The broad streets are lined with trees,
and up the middle of each street runs a beautiful canal, in which the neatest,
trimmest, and cleanest of barges lie.
(ii) Utrecht, on the Old Rhine, is the oldest town in Holland.
(iii) Haarlem, in the province of North HoUand, is famous for its linen manufactures,
its great organ, its splendid gates, its tuUp-gardens, and its trade in flower-bulbs.
(iv) Leyden stands on the Old Rhine, six mUes above its mouth at Katwyk. It is
famous for its University, which was founded in 1576, by the Prince of Orange, as a
reward for the bravery of the inhabitants and their endurance of famine during the
siege of 1574. The University possesses one of the ridiest Natural History Museums
in the world.
(v) Dort or Dordrecht, at a point where the Waal meets the Maas and the Scheldt.
The great rafts of timber sent down the Rhine are broken up and distributed at Dort.
(vi) Delft stands half way between Rotterdam and The Hague, and is a famous
pottery town. There is also here a great school of hydraulic engineering.
19. Railway System. — HoUand possesses a good network of
railways — to the amount of 1600 mUes. Utrecht is the centre ;
and this city can be reached by six difl'erent lines.
20. Telegraphs and Fost-offlces. — Holland has 3000 mUes of tele
graph line. About 4,000,000 messages are sent yearly. The number
of letters and post-cards carried annually amounts to 87 milUons ;
of newspapers, 77 millions.

THE NETHERLANDS 113
21. Canals. — Holland possesses a splendid network of canals, the
united length of which amounts (Uke the railways) to nearly 1600
mUes. There are canals everywhere, going in aU directions. The
towns in the centre of the largest islands communicate with the sea
by canals ; and every river or branch of a river is joined to some
other in this way.
(i) The canals join the rivers : aud the ditches join the canals. Canals in
HoUand ai'e as numerous as roads in England.
(ii) With its canals and rivers Holland has a more complete system of waterways
than any country in the world.
22. Population and Populousness. — The population is about 4^
mUUons. This gives an average density of nearly 350 persons to
the square mUe.
The densest population is found in South Holland, where it reaches 770.
23. Political Divisions. — As the names of many of these occur
frequently in the history of our own country, it is weU for us to know
them. The most important of the eleven provinces of the Nether
lands (with their chief towns) are :

1. North HoUand — Amsterdam, Haarlem.
2. South Holland — Rotterdam, The
Hague, Leyden, Schiedam.
3. Zeeland — Middleburg, Flushing.

4. North Brabant — Breda.
5. TTtrecht — Utrecht.
6. Gelderland — Nimeguen, Zutphen.
7. Friesland — HarUngen.

When the southern half of the Zuyder Zee is drained, ^ twelfth province will
have been added to the Netherlands.
24. Character and Social Condition. —The Dutch character has been
determined mainly by two things — the long struggle against the
Spaniards, and the perpetual struggle against water. The Dutch love
freedom and are very independent; they are hard-working and thrifty ;
they are brave and self-possessed ; and they are generous to those
who have been overtaken by disaster. The Dutchman is slow in
promising ; but he always keeps his promise. He is slow to make up
his mind ; but, having once made it up, he acts with untiring energy.
He has plenty of common sense, and is fond of method. Generally
taciturn and thoughtful, he is boisterous in his amusements. He is

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fond of old customs and old costumes ; and quaint distinctive dresses
still linger even in the towns. His most remarkable external virtue
is cleanliness. (i) The two conditions of wealth — industry and thrift — are found in their highest
degree in HoUand.
(ii) Cleanliness is a passion with the Dutch ; and it is forced upon them by the
moistness of their climate. From morning tiU night scouring, rubbing, scrubbing
and washing goes on. Even the barges shine with polishing, and are " as clean as a
new pin." "Stables are kept with the same care as a drawing-room." Houses,
bams, gates, and fences, are always bright, clean, and in thorough repair.
25. Language. — Dutch belongs to the Low-German family of
languages, and is very like English and Flemish.
(i) The Dutch spoken in Friesland, caUed Frisian, is the Continental dialect which
bears the strongest resemblance to EngUsh. There is a weU-known couplet, every
word in which is both Frisian and English : —
* ' Good butter and good cheese
Is good English and good Fries."
(ii) They say moder for mother; stroom for stream; huis for house; zee for sea, etc.
26. Government. — The King and the States-General (which con
sists of two Chambers) form the Government of HoUand.
(i) The army numbers over 50,000 men.
(ii) The navy is very powerful. It consists of nineteen ironclads, six of them very
large; and one — ^the "King of the Netherlands" — is of 5400 tons burden and 4660
horse-power. 27. Eeligion and Education. — There is no estabUshed reUgion ; but
the King and two-thirds of the people belong to the " Reformed
Church " — that is, are Protestants. The others are mostly Roman
Catholics. Education of aU kinds is spreading in HoUand ; and the
Dutch have always been a thoughtful people.
There are three grades of schools, and over aU, the four Universities of Leyden,
Groningen, Utrecht, and Amsterdam— with about 2000 students.
28. Colonial Possessions.-— The Dutch possessions abroad are 64
times larger than Holland itself, and have a population more than
six times as large. They mostly consist of islands both in the East
and in the West Indies.

THE ALPS 115
(i) Tliey consist chiefly of (a) Tho Great Simdas, such as Java, parts of Sumatra,
Celebes, and Borneo ; (5) The Lesser Snndas, as Bali, Lombok, etc. ; (o) parts of the
Moluccas or Spice Islands ; (d) Curacoa and St. Martin in the West Indies ; (e) Dutch
Guiana (or Surinam) in South America.
(ii) The value of the foreign commerce of Holland, proportionately to the popula
tion, is greater than tliat of any other country in the world.

THE ALPS.

1. Extent and Shape. — The Alps are the great mountain-system
which encircles the north of Italy in the form of a mighty bow,
stretching from Nice to Vienna, or from the western Mediterranean to
the Danube. They form the dividing Une and watershed between
Middle Europe and Southern Europe. Pive countries contain parts
of this mountain-system — France, Switzerland, Italy, Bavaria, and
Austria ; five great rivers— the Danube, Rhine, Rhone, Po, and
Adige — are fed by its perennial and inexhaustible snows, and flow
from its sides to four different seas. For highest average elevation,
for the largest number of very high peaks, and for variety of scenery,
they are by far the most important mountain-system in Europe.
They form also — in their snow-fields, glaciers and lakes — the greatest
reservoir of water in this continent.
(i) The Alps, the " crown of Europe," formed at one tirae the dividing line between
the barbarous and the civiUsed peoples of the Continent. This is no longer the case ;
but they stiU divide the west of Europe — "the true Europe," — into two halves, a
northern and a southern, which are essentiaUy different in climate and vegetation — as
weU as in the languages and habits of the peoples who dwell on either side.
(ii) The Alps contrast strongly with the central ranges of Asia. They are much
more habitable and fertile ; they are very much more accessible ; and the passes, not
high like the Himalayan passes, but crossing the deep depressions between the
different ranges, may be counted almost by hundreds. The Alps are open everywhere
to all kinds of influences ; and they have been caUed " the most sociable mountains "
in the world.
2. Nature of Bocks. — The inner kernel of the Alps consists of hard
crystalline rocks (such as granite and gneiss, etc.) ; and this kernel is
enfolded to the north and to the south in outlying masses of
limestone.

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(i) The elevation of the Alps by the internal flre-forces has taken place from south
west to north-east. Hence the longitudinal vaUeys run fi-om west to east.
(ii) This mountain-system is comparatively young, compared with those of Scan
dinavia and of Brittany. Hence the sharpness of most of its peaks ; whUe those of
Scandinavia have been ground down by aU kinds of weather-forces. The usual
names for the sharp peaks are, in the French Alps, Dent (Tooth), AiguUle (Needle), Bee
(Beak), Pic (Peak), Pointe (Point); in the German Alps, Stock (Stick), Hom (Hom),
Kamm (Comb), Spitz (Spit), Kugel (Ball), Eck (Comer), and Haupt (Head).
3. Vertical Arrangement. — From the point of view of height or
vertical distribution, the Alps are divided into Fore Alps, Middle
Alps, and High Alps. The Fore .Alps are the lower ranges which rise
to the limit of trees (about 5500 ft.) ; the Middle Alps rise from
the limit of trees to the line of perpetual snow ; and the High .Alps
are those which rise above the snow-line.
(i) The Fore Alps (such lower ranges as are caUed " Foot-hills " in the United
States) are the seat of the liveliest and most industrious populations, and are gay -
with pastures, orchards, vineyards, villages, and towns.
(ii) The Middle Alps contain the summer-pastures of the Swiss and other flocks and
herds (each pasture is called an ' ' alp "), and are the abodes of the chamois, the ibex,
the marmot, etc.
(iii) The snow-line on the south side of the Alps is higher than on the north — ^partly
because the climate is hotter, and partly because the southern slope is steeper. In
the High Alps steep slopes of grey naked rock abound ; and the last trace of vegetable
life is found in the tiny mosses, which appear as red patches on the snow.
4. Horizontal Extension and Divisions. — The whole system of the
Alps, which consists of a very large number of chains, is divided —
according to horizontal extension — into Western, Middle, and Eastern
Alps. The Western and Middle -Alps meet at the enormous and
massive group of mountains which is caUed after its highest point,
Mont Blanc. The Western Alps lie between the Mediterranean and
Mont Blanc ; the Middle Alps between Mont Blanc and the deep
depression called the Brenner Pass ; and the Eastern Alps, between
the Brenner and the Hungarian Plain on the Danube.
(i) In the Western Alps, the chief ranges are the Cottian Alps (with Jlont Cenis)
and the Graion Alps, with the well-known Pass of the Little St. Bernard.
(ii) The Middle Alps form the true core of the Alpine System, for they unite the
greatest elevation with n considerable horizontal extent. Their western portion

THE ALPS

117

consists of two lofty, noble, and snow-crowned parallel chains : the Pennine Alpa and
the Bernese Alps, (a), The Pennine Alps are the grandest chain in the whole systera.
At the south-west end of this chain rises the isolated group of Mont Blanc (15,781 ft.),
the highest mountain in Europe ; and, in the middle, but facing tlie south, Monte
Eosa (15,217 ft.), with its nine glorious peaks. (&) The Bernese Alps are the chain

most thickly peopled and most frequently visited. The eastern half is called the
Bernese Oberland. It contains the largest and longest glacier in the Alps,— the
Aletsch. Its culminating point is the Pinateraarhorn (14,026 ft.), though the Jungfrau
(="the Virgin") with its vast snow-fields, its glaciers, and its magnificent situation
at the head of a long and broad valley, is better known and more admired.
(iii) Between the eastern and western portions of the Middle Alps rises the central
ihountain-mass of the St, Gothard, which forms the centre of the whole Alpine
system, and is alao the centre of the watershed — streams which rise on its side
flowing in four different directions.
(iv) The Eastern Alps diminish in height, but increase in breadth, as they go
eastwards, and almost fill the vast space that lies between th* Danube and the
Adriatic. The highest mountain is the Grossglockner (12,405 ft.)— a mass which
presents the most splendid peaks, the largest glaciers, the steepest precipices, and
large numbers of high waterfalls. In the south, the Dolomite AlpB— -a limestone range,
are famous for their striking and fantastic forms. — 'the Julian and Dinarlc Alps run to
the south-east, and parallel with the Adriatic,
5, Glaciers. — The glaciers of the Alps, which may be described as
slow-moving rivers of ice flowing out of the vast snow-fields behind

118 EUROPE.
them, form their most striking characteristic. They are found chiefly
on the more gentle northern slope, the southern slope being too steep
for them and too much exposed to the hot rays of the sun. The
largest is the Aletsch Glacier, which descends into the valley of the
Upper Ehone ; the most frequented is'the Mer de Glace ( = " Sea of
Ice ") on the side of Mont Blanc. Most of the Alpine streams have
their origin in glaciers.
The " Sea of Ice " is weU named. The effect Ifl that of a billowy sea suddenly frozen— high -wares.
rounded at the top, run parallel with each other, and with the lengrth of the glacier : the
feeling given by the " bluiah-'ffhite silence " is that of deep awe and almost terror.
6. Passes and Tunnels. — There are 60 Alpine passes that are
traversed by carriage roads ; and the main chain is pierced by three
tunnels. The most frequented pass is that of Great St. Bernard,
which is crossed by about 30,000 persons every year. The Simplon
Pass is crossed by one of the noblest roads in Europe. The St.
Gothard and the Furoa Passes are also very famous; and the Brenner
and Senunering, in the east, are crossed by railways. The three
tunnels are those of Mont Cenis, St. Gothard, and Arlberg.
(i) The Pass of the Great St. Bernard lies hetween the valley ot the Rhone and
that of Aosta, in the north-west of Italy. It was probahly the road chosen by
Hannibal to cross into Italy.
(ii) The Semmering carries tbe railway between Vienna and Trieste.
(iii) The St. Gothard Tunnel is the longest in the world. It is nearly ten mUes in
length. It took eight years to make, and cost £162 per yard. This tunnel is on
the shortest road from England to India.
7. Climate and Zones of Vegetation. — The vegetation that we find
between the foot of the Alps and the snow-line marks also the
climate of the dififerent heights. The different steps up the mountain-
slope may be described as : the Olive Region ; the Vine Region ; the
Begion of Deciduous Trees ; that of Conifers ; that of Upper Pastures ;
and, last of all, the Limit of Perpetual Snow.
(i) The Olive requires, to produce fruit, " temperature ot at least 75° for four
months in the year. It therefore thrives best in the deeper valleys.
(il) The Vine stands cold better than the olive, but thrives best on tbe sunny sides
of the lower valleys.

SWITZERLAND 119
(iii) DeddnoM Trees gi'ow up to the line of 4000 ft. on the northern side of the Alps ;
on the southern side, to the line of 5000 ft.
(iv) Conifers grow, on the northern side, to the line of 6000 ft. ; on the southern
side, to 7000 ft.
(v) The Upper Pastures yield a short, soft, close-growing, rich grass ; and cattle are
fed on them in summer.
(vi) The limit of Perpetual Snow varies from SOOO to 9600 tt.

SWITZERLAND.

1. Introductory. — Switzerland is a small country in the very heart
of Europe — of the true Europe (leaving out Russia, which is a semi-
Asiatic country). — It is the most mountainous country on the Con
tinent. Composed entirely of mountain and table-land, it has long
been the playground of the civilised world ; and its most important
buildings are hotels. From the military point of view, it is a great
natural fortress — a defensive power and a guarantee for peace in the
very midst of strong military states. Politically, it is the best
example we have of an old republic, — one of the smallest countries
in Europe — holding its own against great military monarchies. As
regards natural scenery, it is the synonym for all that is pictur
esque, beautiful, and sublime.
(i) " Two hundred Switzerlands would scarcely equal Europe in area."
(ii) Whenever a mountainous point of any country is strikingly picturesque and
beautiful, it is called "a little Switzerland."
2. Boundaries. — Switzerland is bounded —
1. N. — By Germany.
2. E. — By Germany and Austria.
3. S. —By Italy.
4. W. — By France.
(i) Its natural boundaries are the Khine ; the Jura ; and the Alps.
(ii) It is the only country in Europe that has no coast line.
(iii) Its federal capital, Berne, lies nearly on the same parallel as Hantes (in France),
Astrakhan, and Quebec.
3. Commercial Position. — Though Switzerland has no coast line
and no water-communication with the sea, it occupies a magnificent
commercial position. For it touches the three greatest industrial and

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commercial countries of continental Europe — France, Germany, and
Italy ; gives trade to them and receives trade from them.
(i) Its 2000 miles of railway connect it with every large town on the Continent.
(ii) For its industries, it has everywhere at hand the enormous water-power of the
Alpine streams.
4. Shape and Size. — Koughly speaking, Switzerland is a semicircle.
It is nearly 16,000 square miles in area, or a little more than half the
size of Scotland. Yet it supports a population of about 3 millions.
5. BuUd. — About two-thirds of the country is filled with lofty
mountains ; and the remainder with a high plain or table-land,
studded with picturesque hills, with an average elevation of 1300 ft.
above the sea-level. It is from this plateau that the Alps rise. In a
few words, Switzerland is the land of the Central Alps, the Jnra, and
the Plateau between them. The chief ranges of the Swiss Alps are
the Pennine, the Lepontine, and the Bernese Alps.
The Alps fonn the boundary between the region where the rainfaU is greatest in eiimmer, and tbat
where it is greatest in autumn.
(i) The Pennine Alps run south of the Valais or valley of the Upper Shone. The
highest peak— and it is also the highest point in Switzerland— is Monte Bosa (15,217 ft.)
The pen iu Pennine is tbe same as tbe pen in Fenmaenmawr ; as tbe ben in Benledi, etc. ; as the
pen ill Apenniiie. It is the Celtic word for mountain.
(ii) The Lepontine or Helvetian Alps lie to the east of tbe Pennine Alps, and fonn the
watershed between the basins of the Khine, the Ehone, and tho Po. The highest
point is the Simplon (11,510 ft.).
(iii) The Bernese Alps form the watershed between the basins of the Aar and the
Upper Ehone. The highest peak is the Flnsteraarhom (14,100 ft.).
Those mountains are also called tbe Bernese Oberland (=Upper]and). Tbey form tbe aoutbeni
boundary of tbe Canton Berne. Seen trom the city of Berne, tbey rise &om the end of the
table-land like a great snow-capped waU.
(iv) The highest mountain entirely within Swiss territory is the Matterhorn — nearly
16,000 ft. high.
(v) The Jura has a steep and uniform slope. "Towns and villages form a tliin
white streak along its foot ; fields and vineyards occupy the lower slopes ; and sombre
pine-woods cover all above up to the bluish pasture-grounds in tlie far-off distance."
6. Rivers.— Switzerland has no rivers that it can call entirely its
own. But it possesses the head- waters of the greatest rivers of

SWITZERLAND 121
Europe — the Rhine, the Rhone, the Po, and the Danuhe. Thus
Switzerland sends water to the North Sea, the Black Sea, and the
Mediterranean — and, in the Mediterranean, to both sides of the
peninsula of Italy.
(i) The only navigable stream of any importance is the Aar ; the other rivers are
mostly mountain-torrents.
(ii) The Rhone has its source in a glacier on the west side of Mont St. Gothard.
It flows to the south-west, takes a sudden and sharp bend at the town of Martigny,
and falls— a rapid and muddy stream — into Lake Geneva. It leaves the lake as a
clear blue river, and enters France.
(iii) The Tlctao is the largest river sent down by Switzerland to the Po. It has the
largest catchment-basin of all the Swiss tfivers, and is the least fed by glaciers.
(iv) The Inn rises in the Bhaetlau Alps, flows through the well-known deep and
narrow valley called the Engadine, and falls into the Danube at Passau, where in fact
it is much larger than the stream into which it falls.
(v) The Aar rises out of the glaciers of the Finsteraarhorn ; flows through Lakes
Brienz and Thun ; washes the towns of Interlaken, Thun (Toon), and Berne ; and falls
into the Rhine at Waldshut, above Basle. The volume of water it brings into the
Rhine is greater than that of the Rhine itself; and, just as the Danube ought to
be called the Inn, so the right name of the Rhine is the Aar.
(vi) Fed by glaciers, the Swiss rivers are larger in summer than in winter ; as the
glaciers then melt more rapidly.
7. Lakes. — The Alps are the Lake-Country of the south-west of
Europe ; just as the Neva basin is of the north-east. The Swiss lakes
and glaciers are never-failing reservoirs of the water which fertilises
many of the surrounding plains. The lakes are remarkable for
their number, their size, their great depth, and the beauty and
grandeur of the scenery which surrounds them. The largest and
most important are Lakes Geneva, Constance, NeucliS.tel, Maggiore,
Lucerne, and Zurich.
(i) There are in all 15 lakes in Switzerland ; of which 11 are in the basin of the
Aar, and none at all in that of the Inn. — Geneva and Constance balance eaeh other
at the opposite ends of the country ; and the rivers that flow out of them flow in
opposite directions.
(ii) Geneva or Leman is a crescent-shaped lake, about one-ninth the size of Lake
Wener in Sweden. It is the filter of the Rhone, and is nearly a thousand feet deep.
Its bottom extends down almost to the level of the Mediterranean.

122 EUROPE
(iii) OoDBtance or Bodeiuee is a little smaller than Geneva, and not quite so deep.
It is the Alter ofthe Rhine, and lies partly in Gennan territory.
(iv) Neuchatel is the largest of the lakes which lie entirely in Swiss territory. It
lies on the fable-land, and hence is not so deep as those lakes whioh are found in
longitudinal mountain valleys.
(v) MaggloTe is a lake only 9 miles ot whioh belong to Switzerland. It is very deep
—1230 ft. The Tioino flows throngh it, and falls into the Po.
(vi) lucems is also called the Lake of the Pour Forest Cantons— Lucerne,
Unterwalden, Uri, and Schwytz. It is about half the size of Maggiore, and two-
thirds as deep. It is in shape somewhat like a starfish ; and its steep mountainous
shores make it more like a Norwegian fiord than any other Swiss lake. The Eensa
(Boice) flows out of it into the Aar.
(vii) Zurich is a lake one-sixth the size of Constance, and less than one-half the
depth. The Limmat flows out of it into tbe Aar.
(viii) The Lake of Bienne is used as a regulator of the Aar. The Aar is led into the
lake by an artificial channel ; and thus, when the river is flooded, the surplus water
is retained in the lake, and the country below saved from inundations.
8. Climate. — Altitude is the complement of latitude ; and the
climate of the Arctic Ocean may be found on the Equator, if we
go high enough. Hence Switzerland has a climate colder than its
latitude would lead us to expect. But, when we consider the
climates within Switzerland, we must proceed according to altitude,
and not according to latitude. The climate is distributed vertically,
not horizontally ; and Switzerland contains all the steps in the
climate of Europe within very short distance of each other. The
average height of the snow-line is about 9000 ft. ; but the growth of
grain ceases at about 4000 ft. In proportion to its size, Switzerland
receives a larger quantity of rain than any other country in Europe.
(i) Summer and winter may be said to be within a few hours' walk ot each other.
(ii) The southern slopes of the Alps, which face the sun, have a warmer climate
than the* northern slopes. Thus rye is grown in the Grisons at a height of 5900 ft.
The vine flourishes ou Monte Rosa as high as 8000 ft. ; but in the canton of St. GaU
1700 ft. is the limit.
(iii) The canton of Ticino has the warmest climate in Switzerland. Figs, almonds,
olives, and maize are grown.
(iv) In Italian Switzerland, the winter lasts three months ; in the Engadine six.
9. The Sou of Switzerland. — There are more than 6 million acres
of land in Switzerland. Of these, nearly 3 millions are entirely

SWITZERLAND

123

unproductive, partly because they are rocky, partly because they are
above the region of tOlage ; nearly 2 millions are under forest ; and
only a little more than 1 J million are arable. Thus only about one
quarter of the soil of the country is available for agriculture.

10. Vegetation.— This
figure gives the gamut of
vegetation in Switzerland ;
and the vertical zones ofthe
Alps correspond to the
horizontal zones of Europe
between latitude 46° and
the Arctic Circle.
11. Agriculture. — Swit
zerland is an agricultural
country, with a strong
tendency to manufactures. The cliief wealth of the country consists
in its forests, its meadows, and its mountain pastures ; and the
grain grown does not supply more than half the bread eaten by
the Swiss. The most important kind of farming is dairy-farming ;
and the chief product is cheese. In the warmer parts of the country
maize, vines, and tobacco are grown ; and there are rich orchards in
the lower grounds.
(i) The pastures are always green. Rain in the winter, melting snow in the
summer, and irrigation in the lower meadows, keep them so.
(ii) In spring, the cows leave the stables where they have spent the long winter,
and, headed by a "leader" — a cow crowned with flowers and decked with sweet
sounding bells, make for the Alps. As the snow melts away, they go higher and
higher. They stay in the lower pastures during May ; a little highgr in June ; high
est of all in July ; and, in the next three months, return through the same stages.
Every patch of pasture is used ; and, if cattle cannot reach it, sheep and goats are
driven up. Sometimes, the herdsman will even carry the animals up on his back.
The higher they go, the more they find of those aromatic herbs which give so delicious
a flavour to the milk. The herdsmen live in wooden huts called chalets.
(iii) The Swiss peasant is singularly careful about his grass and hay. He climbs
up into nooks where even the goat cannot make his way, cuts the grass there, and
throws it down the precipice.

1 24 EUROPE
12. Animals. — The wolf, ibex, chamois, and marmot are found in
the mountains ; but all grow scarcer every year.
(i) Wolves frequently invade the sheepfolds.
(ii) The chamois is being hunted to destruction— 820 were killed in one year ; but
some ofthe cantons have instituted a "close-time."
(iii) The marmot is a pretty rodent, larger than a rabbit, living in families, and
sleeping all the winter till April.
13. Minerals. — Switzerland is singularly poor in minerals. There
is very little Iron ; no coal ; and the only mineral whose export
exceeds its import is asphalte.
'* The Alps are supposed to be rich in iron ores ; but, owing to the want ot fuel, it
would not pay to work them."
14. Manufactures. — Poor in arable soU, poorer stLU in minerals,
what is it that makes Switzerland so rich ? It is water-power, hard
work, and thrift. Most of the raw material for manufactures has to
be imported ; but the rivers and waterfalls supply a splendid motive-
power without cost. The north and west are the chief manufacturing
districts. The largest manufacture is sUk ; then cottons ; next,
watches and jewellery.
(i) Silks are manufactured chiefly in Ziirich and Basle.
(ii) Cotton-spinning goes on in the German cantons of Glarus, Ziirich, and St.
GaU. (iii) Geneva and The Jura (NeuchStel, etc.) are important centres of watchmaking.
15. Conunerce. — In spite of the absence of sea-board, and the
presence of high mountain-ranges, Switzerland possesses a large
commerce in proportion to her size. She has commercial inter
course with Austria, France, Germany, and Italy ; and she also
does a large trade with Great Britain and the United States.
Her chief exports are silks, cottons, clocks, and watches ; cheese
and condensed milk.
(i) Her exports to Germany amount to about £6,000,000 a year : her imports from
Germany, to nearly ten millions.
(ii) France is her next best customer ; then Great Britain ; then the United States.

SWITZERLAND 125
16. Large Towns. — There are only seven towns in Switzerland with
more than 25,000 inhabitants ; and only two of them have above
50,000. The two largest towns are Geneva and Basle. Next come
Berne ; Lausanne ; Zurich ; Chaux-de-Fonds ; and St. Gall.
If we include ita suburban pftrishes, Zurich is the Utrgeat town iu Switzerland— with nearly
80,000 in hfthitants.
(i) Geneva (70), at the south-western end of the lake, occupies a splendid geo
graphical position ; for upon it converge all the roads which connect Central Germany
mth Southern France. It is frequently chosen for international meetings, and is
hence known as "the greatest amongst the small towns" of Europe. It is the in
tellectual centre of French Switzerland.
(ii) Sasle (65) stands on a terrace at the great elbow of the Rhine, where it begins
to sweep to the north, and is to Germany and Northern France what Geneva is to
Southern France. It has large manufactures of silk, ribbons, and chemicals. It is
also one of the great exchanges and money marts of the world.
(iii) Berne (45) stands in a peninsular loop of the Aar, — which has here high aud steep
banks, — half-way between the Rhone and the Rhine. It has greater extremes of
temperature than any other town in Switzerland. The view from the town of the
snow-clad Bernese Alps is most magnificent.
(iv) Lausanne (30) stands on a hill near the middle of the north bank of the Lake
of Geneva. It is a place surrounded by the loveliest scenery.
(v) Zurich (28), the intellectual and commercial capital of German Switzerland,
stands at the foot of the lake of the same name, and is nearly in the middle of the
most fertile plain in the country. It has also better communications both by road
and rail with Germany and Austria than any other town. It has silk-mills and
cotton-mills ; foundries and machine-shops. It has also a good Technical School.
(vi) Chanz'de-Fonds (26), in a valley of the Upper Jura, is the industrial centre of
the canton of Neuchatel. It is still the chief centre of watch-making in the world.
(vii) St. GaU (25), the capital of the canton of that name, is a very busy pushing
town, which has its agents in all parts of the world. Embroidered muslins are the
chief manufactures.

17. Watering-places. — There are in Switzerland more than five
hundred watering-places ("baths") or health-resorts. Indeed, this
country is the sanatorium of Europe. Sulphur baths, salt baths, the
whey cure, mineral waters — all are used, to bathe in or to drink.
Altitude is so important an element in the " cure " that 240 of
the hotels stand about 4000 ft. above the level of the sea.
M

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(i) One of the highest hotels ia on the top of the Eigi, a mountain more frequented
by tourists than any other in the world. There are now two railways to the top ; one
of these remarkable railways has a gradient of one foot in foiu-. The chief object of
tourists is to see the sun rise over the wonderful frozen sea of mountains which lies
beneath the eye of the spectator standing on the top of the Eigi.
(ii) "Switzerland has almost become one huge hotel. During the summer season,
strangers arrive in thousands, and all the languages of Europe may then be heard."
(iii) The amount of money annually left behind them in the country by strangers is
nearly £5,000,000.
18. Roads aud Railways. — Switzerland is well provided with roads.
The magnificently built roads across the Passes of the Alps — several
of them constructed by Napoleon — are among the wonders of the
world. "The real centre of all Switzerland is the high valley of
Andermatt ; and it is not a mere accident if the four cardinal roads
of the Alps converge upon it." There are about 2000 miles of rail
way in the country ; and these are, of course, mostly on the plateau.
The tunnels through the Mont St. Gothard and the Simplon have
brought Italy within half-an-hour's distance.
(i) Switzerland, in respect of roads, stands at the opposite pole to Russia. The
material for making them is everywhere ; in many parts of Eussia, it is nowhere.
(ii) At present, the plain of Switzerland has more railways in proportion to its
area tban any other country in Europe.
19. Tele^aphs and Letters. — Switzerland is fitted with a very com
plete telegraph system. There are in the country nearly 4500 miles
of telegraph line. The telegraph is especially active during tbe
summer months. — About 250 millions of letters and post-cards are
transmitted by the post-offices every year.
England and W.iles send about 1400 millions ; but then England and W.-Ues have
a population more than eight times as large as Switzerland.
20. Population and Populousness.— The population of Switzerland
amounts to a little over 3,000,000. This gives an average density of
about 200 per square mile. Geneva is the most densely peopled
canton ; Grisons the least.
(i) The following is the order of density iu the cantons : Geneva, Basle, Zurich.
(ii) The density of population in the above gives also the order of rank as regai-ds
industries and commerce.

SWITZERLAND

127

(iii) In spite of its extensive glaciers and snow-lields, the populatiou is denser in
Switzerland than it is in France, and much denser than in Scotland.
21. Political Divisions, — Switzerland is— not divided into, but —
made up of twenty-two small independent states, called cantons.
The Swiss Confederation at first (Jan. 1, 1308) consisted of only
three cantons ; and these gradually grew to the present size and
number. The most important are :

Cantons.
1. Geneva
2. Vaud
3. Neuchatel

Towns.
Geneva.Lausanne. Neuchatel, Chaux-
de-Fonds.
Berne, Thun, In
terlaken.

Cantons.
5. Zurich
6. Basle .
7. St. Gall
8. Schwytz
9. Lucerne

TOWNH.
Zurich.
Basle.
St. Gall.
Schwytz.Lucerne.

(i/ Liiusaime. Here Gibbon wrote hie work on the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
(ii) Thun, on Lake Thun, is one of the loveliest towns in Switzerland. It is a quaint town, with high
towers, odd houses, and " rows," like those of Cheater. It is the military capital of the Confederation.
(iii) Interlaken (=between the Lakea), a pretty place between Lakes Brienz and Thun.
(iv) Schwytz was the canton after which the whole country was named.
(v) The largest canton is the Grisons-aljout the size of Lincolnshire.

22. Cliaracter and Social Condition. — The average Swiss is " a man
with large, strongly cut features, broad chest, a heavy gait, bright
eyes, and strong fists." He is slow, but sure. He is thrifty and
fond of money ; but he is still more fond of liberty— and Switzerland
has won more liberty for herself than any other nation on the continent.
Frankness, industry, love of liberty, a burning love of country—
these are the main characteristics of the Swiss.
Nearly every mountain village has some special trade. "The emigrants from
one village are all of them chimney-sweeps ; those from another gltfziers or masons.
The men from one valley in the Ticino are chestnut-roasters ; the Grisons supply
Europe with pastry-cooks."
33. Languages. — There are four languages spoken in Switzerland
— German, French, Italian, and Roumansch. More than two-thirds
of the people speak German ; and about one-sixth, Prench.
Eoumanach is a kind of Latin. It is spoken only in the Grisons.

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(i) The Alps form a very difficult boundary on the Bouth, hence the weakness of
the Italian element; the Jura is not so difficult, hence the greater strength of the
French element ; the Swiss table-land is only part of the South German Plateau,
hence the number of Germans is greatly in excess.
(ii) German is spoken by the majority of the people in 15 cantons ; French in
five ; and Italian in one — Ticino.
24. Ctovemment. — The Swiss Parliament has two Chambers — the
State Council and the National CouncU, both elective. The army
consists of all the men able to bear arms between the ages of 20 and
32. Those above 32 form a reserve force. On a war-footing it
numbers 200,000 men. There is no navy.
The valley forraed the original natural unit of society and government.

25. Religion and Education. ^About 59 per cent, of the Swiss
people are Protestants ; the remaining 41 per cent. Catholics. The
Protestant part of the community have education which is compulsory
and free ; and it is free both in the secondary and in the primary
schools. Each canton has a Normal College for the training of
schoolmasters. There are four Universities ; and Ziirich has one of
the largest and best Technical Colleges in Europe.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 129

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.
1. Introductory. — A land of endless variety — of hiU and dale,
mountain and plain, forest and river ; a land of the most varied
scenery ; a land of many different peoples and nationalities —
European and Asiatic, German and Magyar, Italian and Slav, where
there are twenty different languages spoken, and half-a-dozen
different coinages in use ; a pudding-stone of states ; a conglomerate
of duchies, grand-duchies, kingdoms, and principalities ; an Empire-
Monarchy with an Emperor-King, — such is Austria.
(i) Austria comprises five kingdoms ; one principality ; two arch-duchies ; eight
duchies: two margraviates ; four counties (—provinces ruled only by Counts); and
several lordships — in all, 56 States.
(ii) No common bond either of nationality, race, or speech holds them together.
The necessity of Christians combining against the Turk originally brought them
together ; and now the Hapsburgs keep them. To-day, the army is the chief bond.
(iii) About half the people belong to the Slav race.
2. Commercial Position. — Although Austria has a very short sea
board, yet, lying as it does, almost in the very middle of Europe,
having communication with the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the
Baltic, and the German Ocean, and touching so many countries
Austria-Hungary occupies a magnificent position for commerce.
(i) Austria's neighbours are the commercial countries of Germany and France.
(ii) The Suez Canal has increased the Mediterranean traffic of Austria.
3. Boundaries. — Austria-Hungary is bounded —
1. N. — By Frtusia and Bussia.
2. E. — By Russia and Roumania.
3. S.^ By Montenegro, Servia, and Roumania.
4. W. — By Bavaria, Switzerland, and Italy.
(i) The Rhine, for a short distance, separates it from Switzerland.
(ii) The Camic Alps separate it from Italy.
4. Size. — As regards area — 241,000 square miles — Austria-Hungary
ranks third among the European States. From north to south it
measures 700 miles ; from east to west 900.

130

EUROPE

(i) Russia is the largest state in Europe ; Scandinavia the second.
(ii) Austria- Hungary is raore than four times larger than England and Wales.
5. Shape. — Austria-Hungary is an immense oblong, with two
excrescences — one on the west, the other on the south. The following
is a diagram-map of the different parts of this composite empire :

The key to this confusion is to be found in the river Leitha — a stream
which falls into the Danube east of Vienna. All the countries
west of this stream are known as the Cis-Lelthan ; those east as the
Trans-Leithan. Cis IB a Latin word meaning on this side of, whUe trans raeans beyotid.
Bohemia, like a huge quadrangular citadel, advances into the heart of the Xorth
German Plains.
6. BuUd. — ^Austria-Hungary is made up of three great mountain-
systems ; a vast plain watered by two mighty rivers ; a great plateau ;
and exterior slopes towards four great seas.
(i) The three mountain-systeras are : the Eastern Alps ; tlic Bohemian-Moravian
System ; and the Carpathians.
(ii) The vast plain is the Plain of Hungary, which is watered by tlie Diinube and the
Theiss. Hungary is an oval plain .surrounded by mountains.
(iii) The great table-l.nnd is the Flateaa of Bohemia.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

131

(iv) The four e.xterior slopes are :^(a) a narrow slope west, iu Dalmatia, into the
Adriatic ; (b) a long slope east, in Galicia, in the Dniester valley, into the Black
Sea ; (c) a long slope north, in Bohemia, towards the German Ocean ; and (rf) a short
slope south, in the Adige valley, towards the Adriatic.

7. The Coast Line. — The coast line of Austria is, in comparison
with the vast extent of territory, very short. The coast of Dalmatia
is high and rocky, and valueless for commerce. Istria has the com
mercial port of Trieste.
The Danube compensates to a large extent for the shortness of the sea-coast.

8. Mountains and Table-Lands. — After Switzerland, Austria-
Hungary is the most mountainous country in Europe. Three-
fourths of it is mountain-land. Nearly half of the Alps lie in
Austrian territory. On the north, spurs from the main range go
out to meet the Little Carpathians ; to the south, the Julian Alps run
into the moun
tains of Dal
matia. — In the
north-west, the
lozenge - shaped
Plateau of Bo
hemia is hemm
ed in by the
ranges called Bo
hemian Forest,
Erz (Ore) Moun
tains, Biesen
fGiant) Moun
tains, and the
Moravian Forest.
— East comes

THETABIELAND OF BOHEMIA.

the mighty range of the wooded Carpathians, which are continued
into the Transylvanlan Alps ; and the two together defend the wide
fertile plain of the Danube against east and north-east winds.

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(i) The OrosB Clockner (12,455 ft.) rises "like a bleached citadel" at the end of the
Great Alps. Frora this point, the other ranges spread ont like a fan : and, as they
go east, they increase in breadth, but decrease in height.
(ii) Sir Huraphry Davy says : " I know no country to be compared in beauty
of scenery with the Austrian Alps. The variety of the scenery, the verdure of the
meadows and trees, the depths of the valleys, and the altitude of the mountains, the
clearness and grandeur of the rivers and lakes give it, I think, a decided superiority
over Switzerland." The chief ranges of the Alps in Austria are the Bliaetian, Moric,
Camic, Julian, and Dlnaric Alps.
(iii) The most picturesque ranges are in Tyrol, which is the most Alpine part of the
country ; and here also is the highest peak — Ortler Spitz (12,817 ft.).
(iv) In the Giant Mountains, the loftiest peak is the Schneekoppe (snow-peak), which
is, however, only 5248 ft. above the sea-level.
(v) The Carpathians cover an area of 72,000 square miles — more than twice that
of the Austrian Alps. The highest part of them is called the latra Group— an enormous
mass of granite. They begin at the Iron Gate on the Danube, and, sweeping round
Transylvania and Hungary, again approach the Danube near Pressburg.
9. Plains. — There are in Austria-Hungary four important and
fertile plains : the Tulner Basin ; the Vienna Basin ; the Little
Hungarian Plain ; and the Great Hungarian Plain.
(i) The lulner Basin is called after the town of Tuin , and lies highest np the Danube.
(ii) Vienna lies in the middle of the Vienna Basin.
(iii) The Little Hungarian Plain has an area of about halfthe size of Yorkshire.
(iv) The Great Hungarian Plain is more than ten times as large as the Little Plain,
and is one of the great granaries of Europe. Extensive marshes, liowever, lie along
the banks of the rivers.
10. Eivers. — The highlands of Austria-Hungary form part of the
great watershed of Europe ; and its rivers flow north, south, and
east. All its rivers have their mouths in other countries. The
Danube, Dniester, Vistula, Elbe, and Adige are the chief rivers. The
mountains of Bohemia and Moravia give birth to the three great
rivers of Northern Germany — the Elbe, the Oder, and the Vistula.
(i) The Danube (which is 1770 miles long) has 846 miles in this empire, of whidi
620 are in Hungary. It enters Austria at Passau ; and is tlie great artery of the
country. It leaves Hungai-y at the dangerous rapids called the Iron Gate, at Orsova.
(ii) The Elbe has 230 miles in Bohemia ; but the Moldau, its tributary, is larger
.and more useful than the main stream.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 133
11. Lakes.— There are many lakes; but most of them are small.
The largest is the Balaton or Flatten See (in Hungary) ; and the
second largest is the Neusiedler See (also in Hungary).
(i) The latter lake is soinetimes quite dry in summer. Most of its bed was culti
vated in the years 1865 and 1870.
(ii) Lake Zirknltz, in the east, lies in a chalk country ; and it alternately disappears
and reappears through the Assures. " In former times, the villagers alternately
gaiued a livelihood by fishing and by tilling tbe land when it emerged."
12. Climate. — Austria lies mainly to the south of the mountain-
barrier of Europe. There are three well-marked climates : (1) the
climate of the Northern Slope, on which the vine does not prosper ;
(2) that of the Plain and Southern Slopes of Hungary ; and (3) that
of the Mediterranean Slopes. The rainfall is much less than in
England. The annual temperature falls as we go east.
(i) The flrst climate lies north of 49° North lat.
(ii) The second, between 46° and 49°, is favourable to the vine and wheat.
(iii) The third lies south of 46° ; and olive-oil and silk can be produced in it.
(iv) Vienna bas the same average climate for the year as London ; but it is much
more continental — with a hotter summer and colder winter.
13. Vegetation. — In the southern zone, the vine, maize, and the olive
flourish ; and in the south of Dalmatia, tropical plants grow well. —
In the middle zone, we find, on the warm slopes to the south, the
vine, and — in the plains — maize and wheat. — In the northern belt
wine and maize cannot be grown ; but the chief crops are wheat, rye,
hemp, and flax. The forests are chiefly of oak, ash, elm, and beech.
In Dalmatia the orange, lemon, and pomegranate grow well.
There are splendid forests, especially in Bohemia, which is famous for its large
trees. Buckowina (in the east) means the Land of Beeches (= Buckingham).
14. Animals. — The bear, wolf, and lynx are stiU numerous in the
forests and mountains of the east. The otter is very common in
Hungary ; and the wild boar is hunted in many districts. There are
enormous numbers of birds ; and of diSerent kinds of birds.
The golden eagle is seen among the Alps ; and herons of brilliant plumage
abound in the Hungarian swamps.

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15. Minerals. — The mineral wealth of Austria is as great as that of
Germany, though it is not so carefuUy worked. There is much coal
— especially in Bohemia. — There is a good deal of iron. — The gold
mines in Transylvania are the richest in Europe. — Silver and lead
are also found on the Bohemian side of the Erz Mountains. Quick
silver is obtained at Idria in Carniola — the richest mines after
Almaden in Spain. But the most valuable mineral is salt. The
salt-mines at Wieliczka (near Cracow) are the most important ; and
the galleries in the mines are more than 50 miles in length. In
Salzburg, there is a whole mountain composed of salt.
(i) The Carpatbians are very rich in metals ; the Alps extremely poor.
(ii) In the mines of wieliczka, halls and even a chapel with pulpit, crucifixes,
and statues have been cut out ofthe solid rock-salt.
(iii) In the precious metals, Austria is inferior only to Bussia.
16. Industries. — The most important industry in this empire is
agriculture. About 60 per cent, of the whole population are engaged
on the land. More than one-third of the land is under tillage ;
and there are immense breadths of rich pasturage. The five chief
crops are oats, wheat, rye, barley, and maize.
(i) Oats is the crop that comes first : there are so many horses in the country.
(ii) The most fertile lands are Bohemia, Silesia, Dalmatia, and Galicia. Some of
the fertile districts in Bohemia are called "Golden Rod," "Paradise," etc
(iii) The Pusztas or Hungarian Steppes, swarm with cattle. "Troops of horses
pasture in battle array ; herds of oxen are scattered over the plain ; buffaloes rest
in the swamps. Now and then a stork or long-shanked crane is seen."
(iv) In the cultivation of maize Austria holds the first place in Europe.
17. Manufactures. — Manufactures are most highly developed in
the German parts of the Empire — and in Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia
and Styria. In Hungary there are very few ; in Dalmatia, none.
(i) The manufaotui-es (after woollens, linens, cottons, and beverages) are, to a large
extent, of sniall wares. Bohemia is known everywhere for exquisite glass.
(ii) Bohemia, "the brightest jewel in tbe imperial crown," is the richest manufac
turing country of all in the Empire. Hungary stands at the opposite pole : it is the
region of raw raaterials.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 135
18. Commerce. — The commerce of Austria is chiefly with difl'erent
parts of herself — especially the east with the west. The principal
seaport is Trieste ; and nearly one-third of the whole sea-trade of the
country is carried on there. The chief exports are grain, flour, and
fuel. Austria's best foreign customer is Germany. Her land-trade
is larger than her sea-trade.
(i) Her land-trade is carried on by her navigable strearas and her network of rail
ways. Almost all her rivers are navigable ; but they possess the disadvantage of
having their months in foreign countries.
(ii) The centre of the railway system is Vienna.
(iii) Tbe sea-trade is limited to the Mediterranean.
(iv) The hard wheat of Hungary is among the best in the world for making flour.
(v) Great Britain sends to Austria chiefly cotton goods, iron, and machinery.
(vi) Two-thirds of the commerce of the country passes overland through Germany.
19. Cities and Towns. — There are in Austria-Hungary 27 towns
with more than 20,000 inhabitants ; of which 16 have more than
40,000 ; and of these, 6 have over 100,000. The two largest cities are
Vienna, which has over a million ; and Pesth, which has nearly half a
million of inhabitants. The four next in size are Prague, Trieste,
Lemberg, and Gratz.
(i) VIENNA, the capital of Austria, on an arra of the Danube, where the little river
Wien joins it, is one of the great world-cities of the Continent, (a) It stands at the
intersection of the high roads from Bohemia, Silesia, and the Adriatic, and was for
centuries the outpost of civilisation. ¦ (&) It stands in the plain where the three great
mountain systems of Austria meet, but without touching, (c) It stands where the
Danube begins to open out, and to become more useful to navigation ; hence it is the
central point of the commerce between the upper and lower Danube, (d) It lies at that
part of the Danube which is nearest to the Adriatic, (e) It lies where the Alps are lowest
and can most easily be crossed (the Semmering Railway). Hence it is probably
destined to become the central city of the Continent. — The city is«upplied with pure
water from the Alps by an aqueduct 56 miles long. It has large manufactures of
silks, velvets, porcelain, etc. The spire of the Cathedral of St. Stephen's rises from
the centre of the city to the height of 453 ft.
(ii) Buda-Pesth, the capital of Hungary, stands on the Danube— Buda (its German
name is Ofen) on the right bank, and Pesth on the left. The cities stand at the last
narrow part of the Danube, whioh can therefore be bridged ; and the two cities are
joined by a noble suspension bridge. ¦ Buda is built on clifi's ; Pesth on a plain. The
twin-city occupies an excellent geographical position on a very comraercial river.

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(iii) Prague (170), the capital and the centre ot Bohemia, stands on the Moldau— the
largest affluent of the Elbe. It is a great trade centre ; and also a manufacturing
town. This " town of the hundred towers " is one of the finest cities in the world.
(iv) Trieste (150), on the Gulf of Trieste, a branch of the Adriatic, is the seaport of
the Empire. It stands where the roads from the Danube and across the Alps meet
and strike the Adriatic. It far surpasses Venice in commercial activity.
(v) Lemberg (110), the capital of Austrian Galicia, stands on an affluent of the
Bug, which is a tributary of the Vistula. Standing between the Dniester, Vistula, and
Bug, between the Baltic and the Black Seas— and between Dantzig and Odessa— it
enjoys a brisk trade. Three railways converge upon it.
(vi) Oratz (99), the capital of Styria, is the largest town in the Austrian Alps, and
stands half-way between Vienna and Trieste. Mines have made its prosperity.
(vii) Brunn (85), the capital and "the pride" of Moravia, stands on a tributary ofthe
March. It has large woollen manufactures ; and woollens are the staple of Moravia.
20. Historic Towns. — Austria, standing in the heart of Europe,
between north and south, between east and west, holding in control
so many races, and facing the armies of the Turks, has had a very
varied history, which has left its marks on many of her towns.
(i) Innsbriick (=Innbridge) is the capital of Tyrol. It stands near the Brenner
Pass, and contains the tomb of the Emperor Maximilian. — Trent, further south, is an
Italian-speaking city, famous for the meeting of tbe gi-eat Church-council, called the
Council of Trent, in 1545-63.
(ii) Cracow (68) was the old capital of Poland. The kings of Poland were buried in
the cathedral. A monument to Kosciuszko, tbe hero of dying Poland, stands to the
west of Cracow.
(iii) Pressburg (50), on the Danube, was the ancient capital of Hungary.
(iv) Petorwardein is a very strong fortress. It was caUed after Peter the Hermit,
who here marshalled the crowd which went on pilgrimage in the First Crusade (in 1095).
21. Railways. — Austria-Hungary possesses about 14,000 mUes of
railway, of whioh about 8600 are in Austria.
(i) The three chief railways which cross the passes of the Alps and connect the
North with Italy and the Soutli are the Brenner, the Semmering, and the Bndolf lines.
(ii) There are about 53,000 miles of good road in tbe empire-kingdom ; and more
than 60 mountain passes have been pierced by roads.
(iii) The Danube remains the chief high-road for commerce.
22. Telegraphs, ete. — The country has over 36,000 miles of telegraph
line. The telegraphs carry more than ten miUion messages every

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

137

year : the number of letters, post-cards, etc., sent by the post,
amounts, in Austria, to 600 millions ; in Hungary, to 200 millions.
This gives in Austria an average of 13 letters per head per annum.
23. Population and Populousness. — Austria-Hungary possesses a
population of nearly 40 millions. This gives an average of about
170 persons to the square mile.
Austria-Hungary takes the third place for population in Europe. In populous
ness it is only seventh.
24. Political Divisions. — There are many divisions in the Austrian
Empire ; but the following are those of most general interest, with
some of their chief towns : — ®

1. Lower Aostria
2. TTpper AtiBtria
3. Salzburg
4. Tyrol
5. Bohemia

Vienna. Linz. Salzburg.
Innsbriick. Prague, Carlsbad,
Toplitz.

6. Moravia
7. SUesla .
8. Galicia
0. Dalmatia
10. Hungary

Brunn.
Troppau.
Lemberg. Zara.
Buda-Pestli , Press
burg, Tokay,

(i) LiNZ (45), ou the riglit bank of the Danube, is the natural centre of the highways from the
north and the south. It has large manufactures.
(ii) Salzbubg (25), ou the Salzach, an afBueut of the Inn, is a lovely town in the midst of Alpine
scenery. Mozart was bom there in 1756.
(iii) Carlsbad and Topmtz .are two famous watering-places, much frequented by people fi'om all
countries. The springs of Carlsbad are the hottest Iu Europe.
(i\) Troppau (26), on an affluent of the Oder, ia the capital of Austrian Silesia. It has large manu
factures of cloth.
(v) Zaua is the capital of Dalmatia. It is famous for a liqueur called Maraschino,
(vi) TuKAV, on the hot southern slopes ofthe Carpathians, is famous for a very rich wine.
(vii) SzEGEDiN (75), the second largest city iu Hungary, ia a very thriving place, because it stands at
the centre of two great systems of railway, and at the jimction of the Maros with the Theiss, It was
nearly drowned out by an inundation of the Theiss in 1879.

25. Government. — Austria, or the Cisleithan Government, is an
Empire, with a parliament and executive of its own. Hungary, or
the Transleithan Government, is a Monarchy, and has also a parlia
ment and executive of its own. The Emperor of Austria is always
King of Hungary ; and he has to go to Pressburg, the ancient

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capital, to be crowned. But the two countries have an army, navy,
and diplomacy (or their relations to foreign countries) in common.
(i) The Army numbers nearly 300,000 men on the peace-footing ; and nearly 2,000,000
on the war-footing.
(ii) The Navy consists of 12 iron-clads, two of which are over 7000 tons burden.
Pola, on the Adriatic, is the chief naval port ; Trieste, the chief arsenal.
26. Languages. — There are more than twenty different languages
spoken in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. German is spoken in
Upper and Lower Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol, and the north-west of
Bohemia. Magyar, a kind of Finnish, is spoken by the Magyars of
Hungary. Czecb, a kind of Slavonic, is the language of Bohemia. —
Polisli, Kutbenian (a kind of Russian), Eomanio, and many others,
are also spoken.
(i) Up to 1S49, Latin was the language of the Hungarian law-courts and
Parliament. (ii) No other state iu Eui'ope, except Russia, embraces within it so many distinct
nationalities. 27. The State religion of Austria is the Roman Catholic ; but there
is complete toleration. — In Hungary there is no State religion ; but
most of the people are Catholics. There are about 3,600,000 Pro
testants — most of them in Hungary.

GERMANY 139

GEEMANY.
1. Introductory. — Germany is the name of the great military power
which stands in the middle of Europe, and which is the chief guardian
and guarantee for peace between the large and warlike empires that
flank it on three of its sides. It stands between the shallow waters
of the Baltic and the high mountain masses of Switzerland. It is a
great and solid Empire ; and it contains within itself four kingdoms,
besides many other states.
(i) The German Empire is to be distinguished from Germany. Germany is wherever
the Gennan language is spoken and where the German race is found. Hence Germany
includes Upper and Lower Austria.
(ii) The German Empire contains 4 kingdoms ; 6 graud-duchics ; 5 duchies ; 7 princi
palities ; 3 free towns ; and one imperial province.
2. Boundaries. — The German Empire is bounded —
1. N. — By the Baltic Sea and Denmark.
2. E. — By Bohemia and Russia.
3. S. — By Switzerland, Anstrla, and Bohemia.
4. W. — By the Ketherlands, Belglnm, and France.
3. Commercial Position. — Germany touches every one of the great
European States, and trades with and for them. Its position on the
Baltic enables it to trade with the Baltic countries ; its coast upon
the German Ocean gives it free access to Great Britain and America.
By rail it communicates with every country on the Continent.
4. Shape and Size. — Germany consists of a large parallelogram,
with a smaller one on the south of it. Its total area contains nearly
212,000 square miles.
(i) It is a little larger than France, and a good deal more poijulous.
(ii) France has 187 persons per square mile ; Gennany 226.
5. Build. — Eoughly speaking, Germany may be said to consist of
three parts : (i) The Northern Lowland Plain ; the Southern Table
land ; and (iii) the Rhine Basin.

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(i) The German Lowlands are a rolling country, with here and there level tracts,
through which rivers meander very slowly. The rivers that flow through it into the
Baltic are remarkable for their parallelLsm.
(ii) The German Table-land begins at the Harz Mountains (which are in the latitude of
London); though the higher part of it really begins at the river Hals'. Germany south
of the Main is called Upper Germany, and the language spoken there is called High
German ; north of the Main, Lower Germany, and the language, Low German.
(iii) The Rhine Basin connects the lofty peaks and immense table-land of the Alps
witb the low flat alluvial country of HoUand.
6. The Coast, Bays, etc. — The Baltic Coast is low and ilat, and is
distinguished by Hatfs and Nehrungs. The coast on the North Sea
is very much like that of HoUand, with its dunes and polders ; and
is distinguished by flatness and fertility.
(i) A Haff is a shallow lagoon at the mouth of a river, protected by a very long
spit of land called a Nehrung. Into the Enrischer Haff flows the river Nienien. The
Pregel flows into the Frischer Haff, which lies inside the Gulf of Dantzig. The Oder
flows into the Stettiner Haff — to the north-west lies the lovely island of Rugen.
(ii) On the North Sea we find two openings : the Dollart Zee and the Gnlf of Jahde.
7. Mountains and Table-lands. — To understand the mountain-system
of Germany, we must firmly seize with our minds the central knot of
the Fichtel Gebirge, in the north-east of Bavaria. From this centre
almost all the mountain-ranges of Germany radiate. These are : the
Erzgebirge and the Bohemian Forest to the east — and still farther east,
the Riesengebirge ; the Thuringian Forest and the Franconian Jura
to the west. — South of the Franconian Jura runs the range of the
Swabian Jura, which joins the Black Forest. Parallel with the Black
Forest, but on the western side of the Rhine, run the Vosges. — AU
Germany south of the Harz Monntalns is more or less of a table-land ;
but the highest table-land is south of the Main ; and the highest part
of it — about 1600 ft. — is in Bavaria.
The Geminn word berg meiiua mountain ; hihI Qebil'ge is Uie eoUectjve u.-uue for .i set or nvuge of
inouutamB. Fo8f7ea ia pronounceil Voji'. Erzmc:m& Ore ; ^iA Riesen-GiaHts.
(i) The minor ranges are : (a) To the north of the Thuringian Forest the Haiz,
with the Brocken as its highest peak. The Spectre of the Brocken is one's own
shadow projected and magnifled in tlie mist, (ii) To the north of tlie Black Forest,
the Odenwald and then the Taunus— the latter famous for ininei'al springs.

GERMANY 141
(ii) Tho Voages now forms part of the Franco-German frontier. The Black ForeBt
(Schwarz Wald) is so called from its covering of dark pines. The Swablau Jura is in
Wirtemberg. 8. Plains. — The Great German Plain forms part — the western part
— of the Great Plain of Europe. It is of a regular build — with a
good deal of rolling country ; and its regularity of build is seen in
the wonderful parallelism of its rivers, the Vistula, Oder, etc., and
also in the parallelism of their tributaries. The most striking features
in this plain are the Marsh-land, the Lake-land, and the Moors.
(i) The Marsh-lajid is on the north-west coast of Germany. It is very fine grazing-
land. Gennany has been compared to "an old Frisian mantle, made of coarse sack
cloth, but fringed with silk." The silk fringe is the raiarsh-land; the sackcloth the
barren heathland in the interior.
(ii) The Lake-laud lies on a set of low table-lands, which run along the Baltic.
9. Rivers. — The great rivers of Germany are the Vistula, the Oder,
the Elbe, and the Rhine. Of these by far the most important are the
Rhine and the Elbe. — The minor rivers are the Ems, the Weser, the
Pregel, and the Niemen.
(i) The Viatula rises in the Carpathians and falls into the Baltic after a course of
600 miles. Its chief tributary is the Bug, a stream nearly as large as itself. It is
navigable through the larger part of its course ; and it carries vast quantities of
wheat, timber, and other produce down to the Baltic ports.
(ii) The Oder rises in Moravia, and falls into the Baltic, after a course of about
500 miles. Its chief tributary is the Warta. It is the only one of the great German
rivers whose navigable course lies entirely within the German Empire.
(iii) The Elbe rises in Bohemia, flows through Saxony and sorae of the smaller states,
and falls into the German Ocean about 60 miles below Hamburg. In Bohemia it is
joined by the Moldau, on which stands the city of Prague. The most picturesque part
of its course is through *' Saxon Switzerland," where the sandstone rocks, broken up
by the action of water and weather, take the most picturesque and astonishing shapes.
Its chief tributary in Germany is the Havel. Into the Havel flows the Spree, on
which stands Berlin. *
10. Climate. — There are in Germany three well-marked climatic
regions : (i) The climate of the Nortli Sea Region ; (ii) the climate of
the Baltic Region ; and (iii) the climate of the Interior Table-land.
(i) The first has the warm climate of Western Europe, with a mild winter and a
heavy rain-fall, the Harz being the rainest district in the whole Empire. The Rhine
valley in this region has the warmest climate of all, as is seen in the fact that the vine
grows farther to the north in this valley than in any other part of Europe.
N

142 EUROPE
(ii) The climate of the second region is cold and damp, like the Russian
(iii) The third is completely continental, and is noted for the suddenness of its
changes. This is due to the neighbourhood of high mountain-masses.
(iv) The increase in elevation to the south tends to reduce the temperature ; and
thus altitude counteracts the effects of latitude.
11. Vegetation. — Forests cover one-fourth of the surface of the
Empire — hardy pines (" needle-wood ") in the north and east,
deciduous trees in the south and west. The chief crops are rye,
potatoes, and beet-root. In the warmer vaUeys, flniit and wine are
largely produced ; and, in the south, tobacco, maize, and hops.
12. Minerals. — As a mining country Germany is second only to
Great Britain. The Erzgebirge are rich in lead, silver, tin, and copper.
One of the richest coal-fields in the country lies at their base, Chenmitz
— the " Saxon Manchester." At the foot of the Riesengebirge, in
Prussian Silesia, are found large quantities of coal, iron, and zinc.
Hence the greatness of Breslau as a manufacturing centre. — The Harz
region yields every kind of metal, and almost inexhaustible suppUes
of coal and iron. Hence we find here the busiest industrial district
of Germany, where the towns lie almost as thick as in South Lanca
shire or West Yorkshire.
(i) In the valley of the Buhr (a tributary of the Ehine) lies a large coal-fleld ; and
here we find great manufacturing towns, such as Elberfeld, Barmen, Crefeld, SuBseldorf,
etc. "The coal-basin of the Ruhr is the veritable Lancashire of Prussia, where town
presses upon town, and the network of railway is most bewildering."
(ii) Mineral springs are abundant in almost every part of Germany.
13. Industries and Manufactures. — The chief industry in the Empire
is agriculture (with cattle-rearing) ; and the most widely grown
cereal is rye. — The German iron and steel works are very important ;
and the teartile manufactures rank next to these. The manufac
turers use up all the coal produced in the country.
(i) The RMne Province (with the towns of Eberfsld, Crefeld, and Cologne) is engaged
in the manufacture of silks, cottons, and hai-dwares. Saxony (which is famous for
its breed of sheep) produces woollens, linens, and fine porcelain. Breslau, the capital
of Silesia, has largo manufactures of cloth— both linen and woollen. Berlis is famous
for glass, jewellery, and metal works. Bavaria exports vast quantities of beer.

GERMANY 143
(ii) In the production of coal and iron, Germany surpasses all other countries on the
Continent. The greatest ironworks are at Easen, in Westphalia, where the famous
Krupp bas his steelworks, and where he casts his large guns.
14. Commerce. — Germany has a large internal as well as a large
foreign trade ; and both are growing. Her commerce is nearly equal
to that of France. Her chief exports are com, live-stock, wool, and
timber. Her chief imports are cotton and silk goods, wine and spirits.
Her largest customer is Great Britain.
(i) The chief exports of food and fuel are to England and France.
(ii) Much of the inland trade is carried on by means of Fairs, of which the largest
are at Leipzig and Frankfort.
15. Chief Ports. — The great ports of the Empire are Hamburg,
Bremen, Dantzig, and Lubeck. The chief gates of commercial inter
course with us are Hamburg and Bremen.
(i) Hamburg (310), about 60 mUes above the mouth of the Elbe, is one of the old
Hanse Towns, and is still a Free Town, with a constitution and laws of its owu. It
has a small territory of about half the size of Middlesex. It is the most populous city
in the Empire, after Berlin ; aud tbe largest port on tbe Continent.
(ii) Bremen (150), about 50 miles above the mouth of the Weser, ranks next to
Hamburg. It is also a Free Town and State, with a territory of a little more than
half the size of Rutland. It is the chief outlet for German emigrants, who go mostly
to the United States. Its sister-port is Bremerhaven.
(iii) Dantzig (116) is an old Hanse Town, but not a Free Town. It is the chief outlet
for all the com and timber grown in the basin of the Vistula. It is a kind of Northern
Venice, many of its houses being built on piles, and canals running through its
streets. Wheat is carried down the Vistula in great mounds on rafts ; the rafts
are broken up at Dantzig ; and the raftsmen return on foot to their homes in
Poland, etc.
(iv) Lubeck (60) is a Free Town ; and was once the capital of the Hanse League.
16. Eailway System. — Germany has a large and admirable system
of raUway communication. It has nearly 25,000 miles _^of line. The
network is closest about Dresden, Frankfort, and Cologne.
17. Telegraphs and Post-ofSces. — There are in the German
Empire about 53,000 miles of telegraph line. The Imperial Post
carries 1000 millions of letters and post-cards every year.
(i) Great Britain has 30,000 miles of telegraph lines, and therefore nearly twice as
much as Germany, in proportion to its size.

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EUROPE

(ii) England alone carries more than 1200 millions of letters a year, which is
equivalent to 45 per head of the population. Germany carries only 21 per head.
18. Canals and High-roads. — Germany has not only many navigable
rivers, but about 1500 mUes of canals. There are nearly 70,000 miles
of good macadamised roads.
(i) The Great Plain of Germany is so level, and the rivers have courses so highly
developed, that few canals are needed. Between the Oder and the Elbe — especially
on the Spree — are many natural canals. " In the Spree country children go to
school in boats ; hay is brought home, cattle taken to pasture, neighbours visit,
wedding parties go to church, and coffins are taken to the churchyard, in boats."
(ii) The Ludwig Canal connects the Rhine and the Danube.
19. Population and Populousness. — The population of the German
Empire amounts to nearly 48,000,000. This gives an average density
of about 226 persons per square mUe.
The kingdom of Saxony is the most thickly peopled part of the Empire : it
reaches 470 per square mile.
20. Political Divisions. — The following table gives the most
important members of the German Empire with their capitals : —

(i) Kingdoms

Capitals

(iii) Grand-Duchies

Capitals

FmsBia,

. Berlin.

Baden .

Karlsruhe.

Bavaria

. Munich.

Hesse-Darmstadt .

Darmstadt.

Saxony

. Dresden.

Mecklenbni^-Schwerin .

Sdiwerin.

Wurtemberg

Stuttgart.

Mecklenburg-Strelltz .

Strelitz.

(ii) Imperial Pbovince.

Capital.

Saxe-Weimar
Oldenburg .

Weimar. Oldenburg.

AlBace-Lorraine .

Strasbturg.

(a) Taking England (50,000 square miles) as the unit, we shall flnd that Prussia is 2^ times as lalge
as England.
(&) England is 0 times as large aa Saxony or Baden.
(c) Bavaria is just half the size of England aud Wales (56,000 si^uare miles).
(d) Wurtemherg is oue-seveutli the size of Euglaud.
21. Government. — The German Emperor, who is the King of
Prussia, has the question of peace and war in his own hands ; but,
if he wishes to begin an offensive war, he must have the consent of
the " Federal Council." Parliament consists of two bodies : the
Federal Council and the Imperial Diet. The members of the first are
sent up by the various states ; of the second, by the people.

GERMANY 1 45
(i) The Emperor is Commander-in-chief of the Army, which numbers, on a peace-
footing, nearly 600,000 men; on a war-footing, more than treble this number. In
time of war, however, more than 2J millions of trained soldiers could be placed in the
field ; and, if tbe Empire were invaded, the number of trained and half-trained lighting
men would rise to about 6 millions.
(ii) The Navy consists of 14 ironclads, with a large number of frigates, corvettes,
gun-boats, torpedo-boats, etc.
22. Religion and Education.— In the whole Empire, about 63 per
cent, of the people are Protestants (mostly Lutherans) ; and nearly
36 per cent. Eoman CathoUcs. Education is compulsory throughout
Germany ; and the German people are, on the whole, the best edu
cated people in the world. There are 21 Universities in the Empire ;
and aU are flourishing and hard-working.
(i) The best educated part of Germany is the North. The percentage of persons in
Xorth Germany who can neither read nor write is less than 1,
(ii) The largest university is Berlin, which has about 4600 students.
23. Character and Social Condition. — The Germans, on the whole,
are a straightforward, honest, steady, hard-working, brave, and
loyal people. The Empire is growing rapidly in population and
in wealth ; and, as a military power, it is the first in the world.
The tendency towards living in towns increases with every decade ; and in
many of the rural districts the population is steadily decreasing. This is also the
case in England.
24. Language. — German belongs to the same family of languages
as English. The German printed in hooks is High-German ; English
is a kind of Low-German. German is a very pure language ; English
is greatly mixed with Latin and French words.
25. Colonial Possessions. — The Germans who emigrate prefer the
United States, where there is no mUitary service. But the Empire,
under the vigorous leadership of Prussia, is extending its foreign
territories on the west and south-west coasts of Africa ; has taken
about 100,000 square miles on the east coast; has seized about
70,000 square miles in the north of New Guinea ; and a number of
islands in the Pacific Ocean, called the Bismarck Archipelago.

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26. The Great Cities of Germany.— The German Empire contains
53 towns with a population of more than 50,000. Of these, 19 have
more than 100,000 inhabitants.
(i) FmBsia, as the largest, richest, and most populous kingdom, has 26 towns of over
50,000 ; of which 13 have more than 100,000.
(ii) Saxony has three towns with raore than 100,000 ; Bavaria, only two.

Prussia.
27. PRUSSIA. — The kingdom of Prussia is the leading power in
Germany, and the greatest military power in the world. Its chief
profession is war ; but it is also most diligent and persevering in
agriculture, manufactures, mining, and commerce. It occupies two-
thirds of the area of the German Empire ; and has about three-fifths
of the population.

28. Population and Industries. — The population of Prussia is
nearly 30 millions — about the same as that of Great Britain. —
Agriculture is the pursuit of about 75 per cent, of the people. — The
manufactures consist chiefly of linens, cottons, wooUens, and silk. —
The chief ports are Dantzig and Stettin.
29. Provinces. — Prussia is divided into 12 provinces, of which the
most important are : —

Provinces.

Towns.

1. East PruBBla Konigsberg.
2. West FroBsla Dantzig.
3. Blleala . Breslau.
4. Brandenburg . Berlin, Frankfort-
on-the-Oder.

Provikces. Toavns.
5. Saxony . . Magdeburg, Halle.
6. Rhenish Prussia Cologne, Dusseldorf,
Aix-la-Chapelle.
7. Hesse-Nassaa . Frankfort-on-the- Main.

30. Large Towns. — Prussia, being the most densely populated part
of Germany, has also the largest towns. It has 13 towns with a
population of more than 100,000. Of these, the eight largest are :
BERLIN ; Breslau ; Cologne ; Frankfort-on-Uie-Main ; Konigsberg ;
Hanover ; Dusseldorf ; and Dantzig.

GERMANY 147
(i) BEBUN (IJ millions), the capital of Prussia and of the German Empire, though
built on a barren and sandy plain, has a first-rate position for commerce. It com
mands the Baltic and the North Sea, is at the central knot of railways between Stettin
(which may be regarded as the port of Berlin) and Halle, between Hamburg and Breslau;
and it controls the commerce of the Elbe and the Oder and their hasins. It is a great
commercial and manufacturing town, as well as a "Residence and University City."
(ii) Breslau (310), on the Oder, is the second city in Prussia. It stands right in the
middle of the trade hetween the North and Baltic Seas and the Danube basin. It has
large manufactures of woollens ; and is also a great grain-mart.
(iii) Cologne (170) — in German, Koln — is the largest city in Rhenish Prussia. The
cathedral, or Dom, which took more tban six hundred years to build, is one of the
grandest Gothic buildings in the world. Cologne makes cotton, woollen, and silk
fabrics. It is the headquarters ofthe steam-navigation of the Rhine.
(iv) Prankfort-on-tlie-Maln (160) is one ofthe great banking cities of the world. Its
capital supports the industries of Switzerland, the Rhine-lands, and the Netherlands.
It was once a Free City. Goethe, tiie great German poet, was bom here in 1749.
(v) Konigsberg (155) is the capital of East Prussia, and the Kings of Prussia go to
be crowned — or rather, to crown themselves there. It exports "Baltic produce."
(vi) Hanover (145), the capital of the old kingdom of Hanover, which was annexed
after the war of 1866, is a busy manufacturing town. It was the birthplace of
Herschell, the great astronomer, in 1738.
(vii) Dusseldorf (120), on the Rhine, is the centre of the most populous and industrial
part of Prussia ; and, along with the double town of Elberfeld-Barmen, Crefeld, and
others, manufactures cottons, silks, woollens, and hardware, Dusseldorf is also the
seat of a famous school of art, and of fine picture-galleries.
(viii) Dantzig (117), on an arm of the Vistula, stands second only to Odessa as a com
port. It is the largest trading town on the Baltic, and was once a Hanse Town.
31. Historic Towns. — The cMef historic towns of Prussia axe Aix-
la-Cliapelle, Bonn, Magdeburg, Erfurt, and Potsdam.
(i) Aii-la-Cliapelle (97) — called in German ' Aachen^s one of the oldest cities in
Germany. It was the capital of the Empire founded by Charlemagne ; and thirty-
seven emperors have been crowned here in the cathedral.
(ii) Bonn, on the Rhine, was an old Roman station. It has now a famous university.
It was the birthplace of the great German musician Beethoven.
(iii) Magdeburg (115), on the Elbe, in Prussian Saxony, is the great central fortress
of Gennany. It was captured by Tilly in 1631, and burnt to the ground.
(iv) Erfurt (60), in Prussian Saxony, is famous for its lovely cathedral and its large
market-gardens. Luther was known as the " Monk of Erfurt."
(v) Potsdam (51) is the summer residence of the Kings of Prussia. It was a favourite
resort of Frederick the Great. Here Frederick iii. , the late Emperor, died.

148 EUROPE

Bavaeia.
32. BAVARIA is the second in size and population among the German
States. It is of about the same size as Scotland ; but its population
is at least a million larger. The Palatinate, on the left bank of the
Rhine, is an appanage of the Bavarian crown.
33. Build. — The country consists chiefly of a high table-land crossed
by ranges of hills and mountains. Most of it is in the basin of the
Danube ; though the northern part drains into the Main. One half
of the soil is under tillage ; one-sixth in grass ; the rest under vines
and forests. It is a busy and flourishing agricultural State.
34. Population and Industries. — The population of Bavaria is about
5|^ millions. Half the people are engaged in agriculture ; and about
28 per cent, in manufactures, mining, and other pursuits. There are
about 3300 mUes of railway in the state.
35. Large Towns.— There are very few large towns in . Bavaria : as
most of the people live and work in the country. There are only
four towns with more than 50,000 inhabitants. These are : Munich ;
Niimberg ; Augsburg ; and Wurzhurg.
(i) Munich (270), on the Isar " rolling rapidly "—a southern tributary of the Danube
— is a " show-city," a sort of Museum of Architecture and Painting. There are build
ings of all styles and of all ages ; there are paintings in-doors and out-of-doors ; there
is statuary everywhere. The city stands on a table-land 1700 ft. above the sea-level.
It is famous for excellent optical instruments ; and it is the leading corn-mart of
Germany. It is the capital of Bavaria. Not far from Munich is Hohenlinden— where
a battle was fought between the French and Austrians in 1800.
(ii) Niimberg (120), the second city of Bavaria, stands upon an affluent of tlie Main.
In the Middle Ages it was the town richest in art in all Germany ; and it was also tlie
centre of the trade between Germany and Italy. It is stUl the flrst manufacturmg
town in Bavaria. Watches were invented here : they were called " Nuremberg eggs."
(iii) Angnbarg (70), on the Lech, was .it one time a. very wealthy city : and it is still
a busy commercial town. It is a great banking-place. Not far from it is Uie viUage
of Blenheim, whioh gave its name to Marlborough's famous victory in 1704.
36. Historic Towns. — The two most famous historic towns in
Bavaria are Ratisbon and Spires in the Palatinate.

GERMANY 1 49
(i) Ratisbon (40)— or, as it is called in German, Kegensbnrg— stands on a great bend
of the Danube, just where steam-navigation begins. It was long a favourite residence
of the German Emperors. At one time, its merchants frequented every fair in Europe.
(ii) Spires. It was here that the word " Protestant" was flrst employed — in 1529.
Saxony.
37. SAXONY. — The Kingdom of Saxony ranks third among the
states of the German Empire. It is a little country, not quite one-
fifth the size of Scotland, but with a population nearly as large.
Saxony is not quite so large as Yorkshire.
38. Build. — Saxony is triangular in shape, and consists mostly of
the long northern slope of the Erzgebirge, which goes gradually down
into the Great German Plain. Near the capital, where the Elbe
breaks through the mountains, is a highly picturesque district called
" Saxon Switzerland."
39. Population and Industries. — The population of Saxony amounts
to about 3j millions. It is by much the most densely populated part
of Germany, and — after Belgium — the most densely populated part
of the Continent. Manufactures, agriculture, mining, breeding sheep
(for " Saxony wool "), and pottery, are the chief occupations of the
people. Two-thirds of the inhabitants are engaged in manufactures.
It owes its high position in woollens, machine-making, and paper to
its large coal-fields. It takes the first rank among European States
for scientific mining.
(i) The density of the population amounts to 470 per square mile — which is three
times that of Bavaria.
(ii) SUver is the metal most mined ; and it is believed that more than £10,000,000
worth of silver is taken out every century. Freiberg is the mining capital.
40. Large Towns. — Every village has its manufactures ; and hence
the town population is not so large. There are in Saxony only five
towns with a population of over 50,000 ; and three of these have
more than 100,000 inhabitants. These three are : Dresden ; Leipzig ;
and Chemnitz.
(i) Dresden (200), the capital, stands on both banks of the Elbe. " It is the most

150 EUROPE
pleasant town of Gennany, owing to its numerous museums and the gentle manners
of its inhabitants." Its gallery of pictures is the richest in Gennany ; and this aud its
fine situation have given it the name of the " German Florence." Meissen, lower down
the Elbe, is famous for its flne porcelain, which is called " Dresden China."
(ii) Leipzig (180) is, after Hamburg, the chief trading city in Germany. Its
position gives it this pre-eminence. It stands at the meeting-point of the largest
number of high-roads and railways from North Germany and South Germany. For
this reason it has been the scene of many a battle ; the greatest being the Battle of
Leipzig in 1813, when Napoleon suflfered a terrible defeat. Leipzig is the centre of
the German book-trade ; and the largest market for leather in the world. The &irs
of Leipzig are the most celebrated in Germany.
(iii) Chemnitz (120) is the " Saxon Manchester."
WURTEMBERG.
41. WURTEMBEBG. — The Kingdom of Wurtemberg is about one-
fourth the size of Scotland. It has 2,000,000 inhabitants.
42. Build. — This Kttle country has two slopes — the northern,
which drains into the Neckar ; the southern, which drains into the
Danube. Between the two slopes runs the rugged range called by
the peasants the Raube Alp.
43. Industries. — Wurtemberg is a land of corn-fields, vineyards,
and orchards. Three-fifths of the area is under tillage ; and hence
the chief industry is agriculture. There is also some cotton-spinning ;
and a little mining.
44. Towns. — There are only four towns with a population of over
20,000 ; and of these only two have more than 30,000. These two
are Stuttgart, the capital, and Ulm.
(i) Stuttgart (130) stands on an affluent ot the Neckar. It is surrounded by vine-
clad hills ; and its environs are so pretty that they have earned the name of the
"Swabian Paradise."
(ii) Ulm (36) is a strong fortress at the head of navigation on tlie Danube.
Baden.
45. BADEN.— The Grand Duchy of Baden extends along the right
bank of the Rhine from Constance to Mannheim. It is a little
larger than Saxony ; but has only about half the population.

GERMANY 151
46. Build. — Speaking generally, the country consists of two parts
— the narrow fertile half- valley of the Rhine, and the Black Forest
which lies on the edge of it,
(i) Stand on any height in the south of either the Vosges or the Black Forest, and
the long narrow Rhine valley looks like a narrow ribbon of most vivid green.
(ii) The Black Forest (Schwarz Wald) presents a, short steep front to the Rhine
valley, and its long slope goes off into the Swabian Plateau. The range is full of
lovely and also of savage scenery. It is thickly wooded.
47. Population and Industries. — The population is a little over 1 J
millions j and the two chief industries are agriculture and forestry.
The areas of tilled soil and forest land are very nearly equal.
The people in the Black Forest make large quantities of wooden toys, which are
exported to all parts of Europe.
48. Large Towns. — There are in Baden five towns with a popula
tion of over 20,000 ; and of these, two have more than 60,000
inhabitants. These are Earlsrulie and Mannheim. Baden-Baden, a
celebrated Continental watering-place, has also, in the summer-time,
as large a population.
(i) Karlsrnhe=" Charles's Rest" (62) is the capital of Baden. The Grand Ducal
Palace occupies the centre of the town ; and all the streets, thirty-two in number,
radiate from it. It is the centre of a network of railways.
(ii) Mannheim (62) is a very busy commercial town at the head of the steam-naviga
tion of the Rhine, It stands at the meeting-point of the Rhine and Neckar. It is
built in the American fashion, with streets at right angles to each other,
(iii) Baden-Baden (13) is noted and frequented for its hot mineral springs and its
lovely scenery.
49. Historic Towns. — The two towns of Baden best known in
history are Heidellaerg and Constance.
(i) Heidelberg is said to be the most beautiful town in all Germany. It has an old
university, and a splendid castle which overlooks the valley of the Neckar.
(ii) Constance, on the Lake. It is famous for the " Council of Constance," which con
demned to death the reformers John Huss and Jerome of Prague.

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The Minor Grand Duchies, Duchies, etc.
50. Hesse. — The Grand Duchy of Hesse consists of two parts — one
south and the other north of the Main. It is a prosperous little
agricultural state. It has four towns with more than 20,000 inhabi
tants. The two largest are Mayenoe and Darmstadt. Worms (23),
on the left bank of the Khine, is the town at which the " Diet of
Worms" was held, and before whioh Luther appeared in 1521.
(i) Mayence — or Mainz, as it is called in Gennan, from its position on the Main (70) —
is one of tbe strongest fortresses in Germany.
(ii) Darmstadt (55) is the capital. It stands away from the Rhine, in the middle of a
sandy plain, but at the beginning of an immense range of forests — chiefly of beech.
51. Mecklenburg-Schwerin. — This Grand Duchy lies on the Baltic.
It is a fertile little agricultural state, with a small but diligent
population. Although four-fifths the size of Saxony, it has only
one-sixth of the population, and only 40 miles of railway. The
two largest towns are Eostook and Schwerin.
(i) Ro&tock (40) is a busy corn-port. It has also a university.
(ii) Schwerin (32), on Lake Schwerin, is the capital. Near it is Parchim, where the
great Moltke was bom.
52. Saxe-Welmar. — This little Grand Duchy — about the size of
Wiltshire — lies in Thuringia, in the heart of Germany. The capital
is Weimar, a quiet pretty little town, where the greatest of German
poets and thinkers, Goethe, lived for many years, and where he died
in 1832.
53. Oldenburg. — The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg lies on the North
Sea. It is surrounded by Hanover on three sides. The capitEil is
Oldenburg, which lies among green meadows, where an excellent
breed of horses is raised,
54. Brunswick. — The Duchy of Brunswick lies about in small
portions in the provinces of Hanover and Prussian Saxony. The

GERMANY 1 5 3
capital is Brunswick (88), a busy commercial town. The state has
only 25 mUes of railway.
Its fragmentary condition may be compared with that of Cromarty, in Scotland,
which lies in pieces np aud down Ross-shire.
55. Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.— This small Duchy lies in Thuringia.
There are two pretty little towns : Gotha (30) and Coburg (18). It
has only 16 mUes of railway.
Gotha is the capital and the seat of the reigning prince. Prince Albert, the
husband of Queen Victoria, was a younger son of this Ducal House. His second son,
the present Duke of Edinbui'gh, will be the nejct reigning prince.
56. Alsace-Lorraine. — The "Imperial Land," or Province, of
Alsace-Lorraine is territory that was taken from the French in the
war of 1870-71, and handed over into the possession of the Emperor
of the Germans. Alsace (Elsass in German) lies on the left bank of
the Rhine, opposite Baden, and contains the Vosges. Lorraine
(Lotbringen in German) lies between the rivers Saar and Moselle.
The three largest towns in the double province are Strasburg, Mubl-
haosen, and Metz.
(i) Strafiborg (120) is one of the strongest fortresses in the world. It stands near
the confluence of the 111 and the Rhine. It is famous for a cathedral, — one of the finest
in Europe. The spire is 466 ft. high, and contains a curious astronomical clock.
(ii) Muhlhausen (75)= " Mill Houses," is the chief manufacturing town of Alsace.
(iii) Metz (55) is a very strong fortress, with an entrenched camp 15 miles in circum
ference. It was taken from France in 1870. In the neighbourhood were fought some
of the bloodiest battles recorded in history.

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DENMARK.
1. Introductory. — Denmark, "Keeper of the Baltic Portals," is
yet one of the smallest, weakest, poorest, and least populous of all
the states of Europe.
It has a smaller population than Greece, which is a growing power, while Denmark
has for a long time been dwindling.
Denmark means the Mark of the Danes ', as Finnmark is the mark or limit or land of the FinoB.
2. Boundaries. — Denmark is bounded on three sides by the sea.
1. N. — By the Skagerrack.
2. E. — By the Cattegat, the Sound, and the Baltic'
3. S. — By the Baltic, the Little Belt, and the German Duchy of Schleswlg.
4. W.— By the North Sea.
(i) The northern point is only ahout 32° from the North Pole.
(ii) Copenhagen lies in almost the same latitude as Edinburgh and Moscow.
The word Cattegat means Cut's throat.
3. Size and Shape. — Denmark consists of a small peninsula —
Jutland, and an archipelago of islands, the largest of which is
Zealand. The country occupies 14,124 square nules, an area not
quite twice the size of Wales, and less than half the size of Scotland.
Jutland is the only peninsula in Europe that runs to the north.
The name means the Land ofthe Jutes. (It has nothing to do with tbe verb j'at)
4 Coast Line and Slopes. — The coast line is much broken up by
long fiords, and rises to the high total of 5000 miles. Greece is the
only country that has a longer comparative coast line. The short
slope is to the German Ocean ; the long slope to the Baltic.
The whole wostoni coast of Jutland is a long succession of s.-uid-ridges .and shaUow Lagoons, very
dangerous to shipping. Sandy heaths aud small lakes arc conunon iu the «c8t.

DENMARK 155
5. The Surface. — Denmark is a low rolling country ; but, in some
of the islands, the surface is very varied. Denmark is, in fact, the
northern end of the Great European Plain. The highest point in the
country is the Himmelblerg ( = Heaven Hill), which is only 500 ft.
above the sea-level, not much higher than Primrose Hill in London.
6. Gapes, Fiords, and Straits. — The only important cape is the
Skaw, a long low sandy spit which stretches far into the sea.
Jutland, like Norway, is much cut up by fiords. The longest is
the Lym Fiord. The chief Straits are the Sound, the Great Belt,
and the Little Belt.
(i) The fiords of Norway are bordered by high rocky clifi's, sometimes 6000 ft.
high; those of Jutland by low shores. The Lym Fiord gives an entrance by a
natural canal into the Cattegat.
(ii) The Sound lies between Sweden and Zealand ; the Great Belt between Zealand
and Funen ; and tbe Little Belt between Funen and Jutland.
(iii) The Great Belt is the only strait deep enough for vessels of war.
7- The Islands. — The islands of Denmark lie close to one another —
with the exception of Bomholm, — and form a cluster that almost closes
the entrance to the Baltic. Zealand is the largest ; Funen comes
next ; Laaland ( = Lowland) next ; and there are many others.
The most easterly island is Bomholm, wliich, by its position and the character of
its granite rocks, belongs to Sweden.
8. Rivers and Lakes. — There is no room in Denmark for a river to
develop. The only river of any standing is the Gudenaa, a narrow
stream about 90 miles long. — There are many lakes or meres ; and
some of them, overhung vdth beeches, are very beautiful.
9. Climate. — In considering the climate of Denmark, we must
remember three things : — (i) that it lies far north ; (ii) that the land
is low ; and (iii) that the sea is everywhere near. The country
lies between Eastern and Western Europe, and partakes of the
climates of both. It is hotter than England in summer ; colder in
winter.

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10. Vegetation.— The forest is mostly of beeches. There is a great
deal of excellent grass. As a corn-land, Denmark ranks with
England and Belgium. Eye is the chief grain ; then barley, wheat,
and oats. Agriculture supports three-fifths of the people.
(i) There is more corn grown in Denmark than in any other country in Europe,
in proportion to her population.
(ii) Grazing is one of the chief industries of the country ; and large numbers of
horses and cattle are reared.
11. Animals. — The wild animals and birds are those of Central
Europe. The larger quadrupeds are extinct.
The red deer is now found only in preserves ; but at one time the nrochs, the
bear, the beaver, and the wolf lived in the Danish forests.
12. Minerals. — In this source of wealth, Denmark is one of the
poorest countries in Europe. There is very little coal ; no iron ; and
none of the precious metals. The country, however, is rich in clays,
which are used in the manufacture of fine porcelain.
13. Manufactures. — The most notable Danish industry is the
manufacture of porcelain. The linen, woollen, and cotton manu
factures are carried on for local consumption.
14. Commerce and Porta. — The largest export of the Danes is
butter ; next come swine and cattle ; and next hams and horses.
(i) Great Britain is their largest customer ; then Germany ; then Sweden and
Norway — all of them neighbours.
(ii) The chief ports are, Copenhagen, Helsingor (Elsinore), Aarhuus and Aalborg.
15. The Capital. — The capital of Denmark is Copenhagen (or in
Danish, Kiobenhavn), a word which means Merchants' Haven. It
has, with its suburbs, a population of about 300,000, and is therefore
about the size of Sheffield. It is the only large town in the country,
the only manufacturing town, the university town, the arsenal,
and the chief port.
(i) Copenhagen has been called the Constantinople of the north. But Amsterdam
and Antwerp occupy far more important positions for trade.

DENMARK 157
(ii) All the passenger and goods traffic between Great Britain, Germany, Sweden
aud the Baltic, converges on Copenhagen.
Copen is the same word as chap (=3ell) in OAapmanj cftep in Chepstovi; and chip in Chip
penham, Chipping Xorton, etc.
16. Other To'wns. — The two towns next in size to Copenhagen are
Aarhuus (25), and Odensee (21). Odensee is the capital of Funen ;
and Aarhuus is the chief port on the Cattegat.
(i) Oden or Odin or Woden was the Norse God of War. We have his name in Wed/nes-
bury and Wedn.esday. Odensee was the birthplace of that most delightful of story
tellers, Hans Christian Andersen.
(ii) The suffix ee in Odensee is the same suffix as ea in Chelsea, Battersea, Anglesea,
and as ey in Athelney (Noble's Island), Putney, etc.
(iii) The smaller to^vns are Aalborg (=Eels' To-wn), which sends lobsters and flat.fish
to London; — Elsinore (or Helsingor), which used to collect the old Sound Dues.
(a) Abont 50,000 vessels pass yearly in firont of Elsinore.
(6) The beach at Elsinore is low and pebbly ; grass grows within a few feet of the sea ; and noble
beeches line the coast. Thus Shakespeare's
dreadful summit of the cliff
That beetles o'er his base into the sea
ISanilet, i. 4), and Campbell's "wild and stormy steep," are entirely due to the imagination
of the writers.
17. Railways and Telegraphs. — There are about 1300 miles of
railway in Denmark. The railways run north and south through
Jutland ; east and west through the Islands : and thus form a right
angle, like the letter Ls The total length of telegraph lines amounts
to 2500 mUes.
18. Population and Populousness. — The population of Denmark is
2,000,000. This gives a density of 145 to the square mUe.
The population of England and Wales is about 30 miUions; and the average
density is about 490 per square mile. »
19. Eace, Character, and Social Condition. — The Danes, like the
Norwegians and Swedes, belong to the Scandinavian branch of the
Teutonic race. They are yellow-haired, blue-eyed, and of middling
stature. They are very independent in feeling and manners ; weR
educated ; and of a " surprising gaiety." They are also, with the
Swiss, the most thrifty people in Europe, 0

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(i) Their average savings per head a year are about £6, 8s. ; those of Englishmen
not more than £2, 2e.
(ii) Nearly half of the people live by agriculture.
20. Language. — The Danish language is a first cousin to English.
It prefers hard consonants. When we say Church, the Dane — like
the Scot— says Kirk; when we say Chipping ( = Marketing), the
Dane says Kiohing.
We have adopted many words from the Danes, who settled in large numbers on
the east coast of Great Britain. Such are beck (a stream) ; firth (or fiord) ; fdl (a hill
or table-land) ; force (a waterfall) ; thorpe (a viUage); thwalte (a forest clearing), etc.
21. Government. — The Government of Denmark is a Limited
Monarchy. There are two Houses of Parliament — the Laadstbing
or Senate ; and the Folksthing or House of Commons.
22. Education. — Public instruction in Denmark is in a flourishing
state. In the large towns there are good classical schools and
technical colleges, and the villages have good elementary schools.
23. Foreign Possessions. — Denmark possesses Iceland and the Faroe
Isles in the North Atlantic ; three islands in the West Indies ; and
a few settlements on the coast of Greenland.
(i) Iceland is a large island about 1600 miles from Denmark. It is three times as
large as that country; but its whole population is only about one-fourth that of Copen
hagen. It is a land of ice and snow, of active volcanoes and streams of lava, of plung
ing torrents and shifting sands, of dreary deserts of rocks, cinders, and bogs. Most
of the interior is fiUed with high plateaus and lofty volcanoes — of which there are more
than twenty. The highest point is the Oraefa Jokull (6410 ft.) ; but the best known is
Hecla (nearly 6000 ft.) or " Cloak Mountain," so named from the clouds of vapour in
which its summit is generally cloaked. Its last eruption was in 1S75. The hot springs
caUed Oeysers have long been famous. The " Great Geyser " throws a column of hot
water to the height of 60 ft. The capital is Reikiavlk(=*' Reek" or "Smoke Town"X
a ¦village of wooden houses, with a population of about 3000. No trees or grain can
grow in the islands ; only potatoes and a few cabbages.
(ii) The Faroe Islands are high table-shaped volcanic rocks, — huge masses of basalt,
whioh rise'from a submarine plateau connected by ridges witli tlie Hebrides. The
people are of Norwegian origin. The capital of the ardiipelago is Thorahaven (=Thor's
Haven), a small village. The only export is feathers.
(iii) The West India Islands belonging to Denmark are Santa Cruz, St. Thomas, and
St. John.

SCANDINAVIA 159
SCANDINAVIA.
1. Introductory. — Conceive a long slowly-rising billow — what is
called a " roller '' — beginning at the edge of the Baltic Sea, and rising
gradually higher and higher as it goes westward, tiR at length it
suddenly breaks and falls almost perpendicularly, breaking into
thousands of pieces upon the shore which it has reached. Conceive
this long billow petrified, becoming a large peninsula, and ending
its course on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Then we should have
Scandinavia; and the long rising slope from the Baltic would be
Sweden ; the sudden f aU into the Atlantic, Norway ; and the countless
pieces into which the billow breaks would be represented by the
innumerable islands which fringe the western coast of the mighty
northern peninsula.
2. Chief Points. — The most northerly point in Norway — and it is
the point farthest north in the Continent — is Nordkyn. The most
northerly point of Europe is North Cape, which is the end of the
island of Mageroe. The most southerly point of Norway is Lindesnaes
or the Naze ; of Sweden, Sandbammar.
(a) Nordkyn means North Chin ; North Cape, North Head.
(6) Lindesnaes means Lime Nose ; Sandhammar, Sand Rock.
3. Shape and Size. — The Scandinavian Peninsula is the largest and
longest in Europe, and stretches through 16° of latitude. Of these, 6°
are within the Arctic Circle. The peninsula is narrow in the north and
middle, but becomes broader as it comes south. Like Italy, it splits
into two in the south. The whole occupies nearly 300,000 square
miles, — more than five times as large as England and Wales.
(i) The exact numbers are 294,184 square miles. >
(ii) Of this, Sweden has about 171,000, and Norway, 123,000.
4. Build. — The whole peninsula is an elevated table-land, which
increases in height as we go south. There is no true mountain-
chain ; but here and there groups of peaks which appear like huge
rocks dotted over the surface. The short slope of the peninsula is
Norway ; the long slope is Sweden. Norway is a narrow region of

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plateaus and mountains — "a strange labyrinth of plateaus,'peninsulas,
and insular masses ; " Sweden a broad region of vast sloping plains,
or rather of a series of shelves or broad terraces, which go down by
steps to the Baltic. Norway is one plateau— one mountain mass, split
into pieces by deep gorges, fissures, and rock-bound fiords. Sweden
consists of a plateau, some middle terraces, and a long low plain.
fi) Hence the rivers of Sweden are the longest and largest.
(ii) Most of the Norwegian rivers throw themselves over enormous waterfaUs direct
into the deep fiords. "In many of the fiords the cascades have an unbroken fall of
over 2000 ft., seeming to faU from the skies, when the brinks of the precipices are
shrouded in mist."
5. Coast Line. — Two very remarkable features characterise the
West or Norwegian coast. These are : (i) the deep indentations
caUed fiords; and (ii) the countless numbers of islands or skerries
that fringe the coast. The fiords of Norway are more numerous,
much longer and deeper, than those of Sweden. The longest fiord in
Norway is the Sogne Fiord, which runs up into the heart of the
country a distance of 100 miles ; the best known among the others
are the Trondhjem, Hardanger, and Bukke Fiords. The most famous
islands on the Norwegian coast are the Loffodens ; on the Swedish,
Gotland and Oeland. The coast line has never been measured ; but
the navigable channels in Norway alone amount to 12,000 nules.
(i) The Sogne Fiord may be described as a long sea-canal (100 miles long), flanked
by high mountains and, in many places, perpendicular cliffs which ran right into the
heart of the country. At its entrance, it is more than 4000 ft. deep. It has numerous
branches — seven of them very large — right and left, which run off at right angles ;
and these again have other branches. The grandest of these is the Naero (narrow)
Fiord, which has perpendicular waUs 6000 ft. in height, over which fall large rivers
in enormous cascades which seem, to those sailing below, Uke torrents faUing out of
the sky.
(ii) The Hardanger Fiord is SO miles long.
(iii) Both in Norway and Sweden the coast line very seldom comes into im
mediate contact with the main sea. It is girdled by a belt of skerries, holms, or
islands, which is called the ' ' skerry-guard " or fence of skerries. These, off the coast
of Norway, form a breakwater against the billows of the Atlantic, and allow small
vessels to navigate in smooth water — as in a kind of soa-canal — many thousands of
miles. The skerry-guard of Norway is = one-fourteenth of the mainland, and is
inhabited by one-eighth of the population.

SCANDINAVIA 161
(iv) The Loffodens Ue off the northern coast of Norway. They are granite rocks and
mountains, rising in hundreds of peaks with jagged and fantastic outlines, sheer out
ofthe sea, some of them to the height of 3600 ft. The cod-fisheries of these islands
are everywhere well kno^vn.
(v) Gotland and Oeland are both limestone islands, with a very fertile soil.
Gotland means the Land of the Gotha ; Oe is the Swedish for island.
6. The Fjelds. — The high table-lands of Scandinavia are caRed
Fjelds (fe-yelts). They are not mountain-ranges, but high bald bleak
dreary plains — in some parts almost flat. The best known are the
Dffvrefleld, the Langefield, and the Haxdangerfield. The long strip of
high lands north of the Dovrefield is caRed The Keel (or Kiolen).
(i) The word J^eld is said to mean cleared space. The atlases often represent these
high lands as mountain- ranges ; but this is a mistake.
(ii) In the eastern parts of Norway, when a person is going to take a trip across
the mountain-land, he says, " I am going over the keel (Kiolen)." Hence the word is
not really a proper name.
7. Mountains. — The highest part of the Scandinavian Plateau Res
between 60° and 63° ; and hence it is from this part that the highest
mountains rise. These mountains are commonly known as the
Scandinavian Alps. In the Jdtunfjelds (" Giant Mountains ") stands
the loftiest peak in Norway, the Galdhbppig (8400). Next comes
the Skagestblstind (7875 ft.). The next highest peak is Snaehatten
(7770 ft.) in the Dovrefield Highlands. The fourth highest is Sulit
elma (5320 ft.), on the Kiolen Plateau, and within the Arctic Circle.
Tind is the Norsk for peak. Snaehatten means snow-Jiat.
(i) Among the Scandinavian Alps there are many large glaciers.
(ii) On the flanks of Skagestdlstind is the most extensive snow-field in Europe,
Jostedalsbrae, with an area of 400 square miles, from which flow many glaciers.
(iii) The mean height of the Norwegian summits is only half that of the Alps.
8. Elvers. — All the rivers of Scandinavia are remarkable for their
great volume of water — a volume which becomes aR the more strik
ing if we compare it with their length and the smaR area of their
drainage. The chief are the Glommen, the Gota, the Dal, and the

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Tomea. All are more useful for " power " than for navigation. The
rivers of Sweden are wonderfully parallel in their courses, and " are
directed straight to the Baltic by the tRt of the land."
The great volume ofthe Scandinavian rivers is due to three causes : (a) the large rain-fall ; (&) the
very small evaporation in so cold a country; and (c) the hardness of the rocks, which do not
permit any water to sink into the ground.
(i) The Glommen falls into the Skager Rack after a course of 400 mUes.
(ii) The Gota is the outflow of Lake Wener. Not far from the lake are the famous
faUs oflrollhatta.
(iii) The Tomea is the boundary between Sweden and Russia. At its mouth the
longest day is 72 hours long ; and about midsummer there is practicaUy no night for
four weeks.
(iv) The water-falls of Norway are the highest and grandest in Europe. They are
called fosses (in Cumberland this word becomes force). The Riukanfoss (Reek or
Smoke Fall) has a vertical fall of 804 ft. But indeed every vaUey has one or more
magniflcent waterfalls. Sweden, however, has the largest waterfaU in Europe — the
" Hare-leap " on the Greater Lulea.
(v) Norway has the largest amount of water-power of any country in tlie world.
9. Lakes. — The Swedish part of Scandinavia abounds 'with lakes —
each river ha'ving a large lake in some part of its course. But the
great lake region is in the south — one-eighth of the area of which is
water ; and the three largest lakes are Wener, Wetter, and Maelax.
Miosen is the largest lake in Norway. AR these lakes are ice-bound
for from 100 to 200 days.
(i) The lakes on the river-courses admirably fulfil the purpose of regulators, and
equalise the floodings of the rivers. Their level rises fi-om 3 to 12 ft. during flood ;
and thus floods on the rivers do not lay waste the country.
(ii) Wener has an area of about 2300 square mUes — three times as large as Geneva.
(iii) Lake Maelar is reaUy an inlet of the sea. There are 1300 islands in it
10. Climate. — The west coast of the peninsula is warmed by the
Gulf Stream, so that none of its harbours are ever frozen. There is
no other country in the world in so high a latitude with so mUd a
climate. The lofty table-lands between Norway and Sweden keep
back the warm moist winds from the Atlantic ; and hence the
Swedish coast is much drier and colder, and has a somewhat con-

SCANDINAVIA 163
tinental climate. The interior has a short warm summer and a long
cold winter ; the west coast a cool summer and a mUd winter.
(i) "This stream of warm water gives to Norway its climate, to the people their
trade, commerce, daUy food, their very lives, so to speak ; for, but for it, the shores
of the flords would be blocked with ice and uninhabitable."
(ii) The interior of southern Norway has a -winter of 200 days ; aud a hot summer
infested hy mosquitoes.
(iii) "From the crest of the Avasaxa, overlooking the Tornea valley, near the Arctic
Circle, the sun may be seen, between June 16th and SOth, describing complete circuits
in the heavens." Thus the heat does not go off in the night ; it is accumulated ; and
hence the short hot summers.
(iv) The rain-faU on the west coast is over 70 inches a year ; in Sweden about 20.
11. Vegetation.-— Nearly one half (44 per cent.) of Sweden is
covered with forest ; about one-fourth of Norway. On the high
plateau we find chiefly mosses, Rchens, and low shrubs. Pines, firs,
and birches grow in the north ; ash and elm in the middle ; and oaks,
beeches, and fruit-trees are found in the south. Wheat succeeds as
far north as 63° ; oats at 68° ; and barley grows up to 70°. In
Sweden only 7 per cent, of the land is tilled ; in Norway the triangle
of land which has Lake Miosen as its apex is the most fruitful region.
(i) Norway is obliged to buy com. One-fifth of aU her imports consists of grain.
(ii) " The perfume of aU plants and fruits increases gradually as we go north ; the
sap diminishes proportionally."
(iii) The uninterrupted sunshine ripens grain quickly. In 70° North lat. barley is
ripe in 90 days — " precisely the same time that it takes on the banks of the Nile."
(iv) Most of the wood grown in Norway and Sweden is used up in the manufacture
of paper. Even saw-dust is made into newspapers. " A tree in the morning is a
newspaper in the evening."
12. Animals. — The vast forests of pine and fir are still the haunts
of the largest European carnivora — the bear, the lynx, and the wolf ;
but the numbers of all of these are rapidly decreasing. Large herds
of reindeer roam over the fjelds ; and the elk is common in Sweden.
Eagles and falcons pursue the game-birds (such as the woodcock,
grouse, and ptarmigan) ; the wild swan and the eider-duck are hunted
for their down ; and countless flocks of sea-fowl inhabit the rooky
islands of Norway.

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(i) About fifty years ago, between 500 and 600 wolves were killed annually in
Sweden ; now the number is only 30 to 40.
(ii) In Norway, the wolf is found chiefly in Finnmark ; about 150 are kiUed every
year ; and about 120 lynxes.
(iii) The beaver stUl survives ; and the hare is white in -winter.
13. Minerals. — Sweden is rich in iron ore — and that of fine quality.
Zinc and copper are also mined ; and a little silver. There is a good
deal of coal. Norway is poor in minerals ; there is a Kttle sRver,
not much copper, and very httle iron.
In spite of the large veins of coal in Sweden, that country has to import about
eight times as much coal as she raises.
14. Industries. — In Sweden, agriculture is the chief industry; in
Norway, the fisheries and sea-faring. The second industry in Sweden
is mining ; in Norway, agriculture. In both countries forestry is a
necessary labour.
(i) More than half the population in Sweden are engaged in agriculture.
(ii) In Norway, about 120,000 men and 30,000 boats are engaged in the fisheries—
about three-fourths of them in catching and preserving cod. The Loffoden Isles are
the seat of the cod-fishery ; and their seas are aUve in the season with thousands
of craft. In a good season, 67 millions of cod may be taken.
(iii) The timber of Scandina-via is exceUent ; because the fibre is close ; and the fibre
is close because the short summer makes the annual rings lie close together.
15. Commerce. — The chief exports from Sweden are timber, metals,
and grain ; from Norway, timber and flsh. The chief imports into
Sweden are cotton and woollen goods and colonial products — such as
coffee and sugar. The chief imports into Norway are com, colonial
products, and manufactured goods of various kinds.
(i) Great Britain is the best customer of Sweden and Norway.
(ii) The chief port in Sweden is Stockholm ; but Gothenburg is rising rapidly. The
chief port in Norway is Christiania ; next to it Bergen, especiaUy for dried fish.
(iii) Norway has the largest commercial navy in the world, relatively to its popula
tion. The navy is one-half larger than that of France. "Most of the poorer classes
in the towns," says B6clus, " instead of placing their spare cash iu the Sa-vings Banks,
invest it in a share of some vessel, so tliat all are shipowners, directly or indirectly."

SCANDINAVIA 165
(iv) Absolutely, Great Britain comes flrst in its mercantile shipping ; Italy second ;
and Norway close on Italy.

16. Railways and Telegraphs. — Sweden has a very high mileage of
railway in proportion to its population j Norway, which is the most
thinly-populated country in Europe, has but a small amount of
railway communication. Sweden has about 4300 miles ; Norway,
not quite a thousand. — There are about 13,000 miles of telegraph
wire in Sweden ; and, in Norway, about 10,000 miles.
(i) Sweden possesses the most northern railway in the world. It goes to the iron
mountains of GeUlvara, where the iron does not need, to be dug for, but is quarried in
the open air. The engine blows its whistle when it is crossing the Arctic Circle.
(ii) "Sweden is the only country in the world which possesses over 700 miles of
rail to one million of the population."
(iii) The Norwegians have been very enterprising in their telegraphs. They have
carried their lines even up to HammerfeBt. The lines go up the highest plateaus, across
deep arms of the sea, over rapid rivers, along the edges of the steepest precipices ; and
the voiceless messages of electricity pass through every part of the inhabited land.
(iv) The Swedish post-office sends about 90 millions of letters, post-cards, and
papers every year ; Norway, about 35 millions. (The population of Sweden is more
than four times that of Norway.)

17. Population and Populousness. — Sweden contains about 171,000
square miles ; Norway, 123,000. Scandinavia ranks in size next to
Russia. Sweden has a population of more than 4-^ millions ; Norway
of not quite one million. Sweden has, on an average, 28 persons to
the square mile ; Norway, only 18.
(i) Norway is the most sparsely peopled country in Europe. The coast is the
most thickly inhabited. In the fjelds there is not 1 person to the 10 square miles.
(ii) The south of Sweden is the most thickly peopled ; and the*density decreases
(a) as we go to the north, and (b) as we leave the coast.
(iii) The population of Sweden-and-Norway tc
of Belgium ; while the area is 26 times as great.
(iv) The density of population in the whole peninsula varies proportionally with
three things ; (a) t^ temperature ; (&) the latitude ; and (c) the height of the land.
The higher the temperature, the denser the population ; the higher the land, the
thinner the population.

166 EUROPE
18. The Towns of Sweden. — There are only two towns in Sweden
with more than 50,000 inhabitants: Stockholm and Gothenburg.
There are three more with over 20,000: Malmo, Norrkoping, and Gefle.
(i) Stockholm (220) has a situation of the most marvellous and picturesque beauty
near the mouth of Lake Maelar. It stands on nine islands ; and splendid buildings,
rocky heights, winding waterways, — alive with boats of all sizes, trees, bridges of
stone and bridges of boats, noble quays, forests of tall masts, irregular peninsulas,
sea and mountain, form scenes which vary at every step we take. Houses, towers,
and steeples are mixed with rock, wood, and water. No city has such picturesque
suburbs and such varied walks. It has been called the Venice ofthe North. — All the
highways of Sweden radiate from it.— Not far from Stockholm is TTpsala, the chief
university of Sweden, where Linnseus, the great botanist, was a professor.
(ii) Gothenburg (95) is a rising city, with an excellent harbour, which is very rarely
closed by ice. It has one of the finest botanic gardens in Europe.
(iii) Malmo (45) is the chief port of transit to Denmark and Germany.
(iv) Norrkoping (=" North Cheap" or Market) is the "Scandinavian Manchester."
A river rushes through the heart of the town in waterfalls and rapids, and supplies
" power" to the cotton and woollen factories.
(v) Gefle is the outlet for the timber, iron, and copper, of the basin of the Dal.

19. The Towns of Norway. — Norway has only one town with a
population of over 100,000 — the capital, Christiania. The next
largest town is Bergen, which is about half the size of Derby. There
are also three towns with more than 20,000: Trondhjem, Stavai^r,
Drammen. Hammerfest is the most northerly town in Europe.
(i) Christiania (130), a town nearly as large as Portsmouth, stands at the head of
the lovely Christiania Fiord, which is studded with countless grassy and woocled
islands. Most of the houses are of wood, painted white, with green blinds. The
fiord is blocked by ice for four months in the year. It was once known as 'TAe
Vik" (Gulf), and was much frequented by Vik-ings (sea-robbers who lay in creeks).
(ii) Bergen (47) is the great fish-port. It was the old capital. The houses are
built on slopes which run down Into the deep sea. It is one of the wettest places on
the face of the globe ; and leprosy still exists there. It has a large trade in dried
fish with the Catholic countries of Southern Europe. The Bergen Fiord is seldom
frozen, as the warm waters of the Gulf Stream flow into it
(iii) Trondhjem (=The Home of the Throne) was the oldest capital. It is still the
religious metropolis ; aud iu the cathedral the Kings of Norway are crowned, Itis
about one quartf^r uf the size of Birkenhead.

SCANDINAVIA 167
(iv) Stavanger, on the west coast, is the fourth largest city and port in Norway. Its
chief trade is in herrings.
(v) Dranunen. on the east coast, ships timber and minerals.
(vi) At Hammerfest the summer day and the winter night last SJ months each.
20. Government. — Norway and Sweden are independent of each
other, have separate parliaments, but are under one King.
(i) Each country has also a separate army and navy ; and the King can only
transfer 3000 Norwegian soldiers to Sweden, or the same number of Swedish soldiers
to Norway.
(ii) The King resides in Stockholm ; but he is bound by the Constitution to pass a
part of every year in Norway, and to transact some business there.
21. Religion and Education. — Both countries are Lutheran Pro
testant. — Sweden has excellent public schools ; and about 94 per
cent, of the children attend them. Norway is not so weU off ; but
every Norwegian can at least read and write. Sweden has two
universities ; Norway, one.
Till recently, most of the Norwegian schools were "ambulatory." The
teacher went round among the hamlets, stopped for a few weeks at a farm-house, and
gathered the children round him. When he left, "tutors" took up the work and
practised the children in what they had been taught. " Thanks to these migratory
teachers, a love of learning was awakened in the remotest hamlets."
22. Language. — Both Swedish and Norwegian (Svenst and Norsk)
belong to the same family of languages as English, German, and
Dutch. Written and printed Norwegian is exactly the same as
Danish ; spoken Norwegian is a little different. Swedish differs
greatly from Norwegian both in its vowels and its consonants, but
is fundamentally the same speech.
23. Cliaracter aud Social Condition. — The Norwegians are a sin
gularly courteous, helpful, and kindly people : they are a nation of
gentlemen. They are the " English of Scandinavia," and are famous
for their tenacity of will. — The Swedes are also good-natured, polite,
and hospitable — " cheerful without excess, firm without violence ; "
and they are also hard-working and thrifty. The vice of both nations
is intemperance.

168 EUROPE

RUSSIA IN EUROPE.
1. Introductory. — Conceive a vast plain, stretching from the warm
seas of the far South to the frozen seas of the farthest North, swept
by cold winds from the one or by hot breezes from the other, much
of it a dead level, with here and there low table-lands rising gently
from the surrounding country, here and there sunk basins filled with
marshes, a land permeated everywhere by rivers that wind on the
largest circles, — a land of wide plains, forests, lakes, marshes, and
rivers, — this is Bussia.
2. Boundaries. — Eussia is bounded —
1. N. — By the Arctic Ocean.
2. w. — By a waving line which mns along Sweden, throngh the Baltic,
along Prnssia, Austria, and Ronmania.
3. s. — By the Black Sea, the Caucasus, and the Caspian.
4. £. —By the Ural river, the Ural Mountains, and the river Kara.
(i) The Urals are not the boundary through the whole length of their course; as
the Russian "government" of Perm reaches across on the eastern side, and the
boundary between Asia and Europe is here quite artificial.
(ii) Half the frontier line is marked by seas— mostly inland.
3. Commercial Position. — Touching the ocean on the North and
the great Seas of the South, Eussia holds a commanding position for
commerce. But it is for commerce with herself — with the different
t
ports of her own wide domains ; and not with the outside world.
She has no ports either on the Atlantic or on the Mediterranean.
" With its enormous internal resom-ces of every sort, this mighty Empire is
almost entirely independent of the rest ot the world."
4. Size and Sliape. — Eussia in Europe, including Poland and
Finland, flUs an area of a little more than 2,090,000 square miles.

EUSSIA IN EUROPE 169
It is 2400 nules from north to south, and about 1800 miles from west
to east. In shape it is an irregular four-sided figure, with monotonous
outlines, only broken by two re-entrant seas, and two peninsulas.
(i) Eussia is about 10 times the size of France, and 23 times that of Great Britain.
(ii) AU the land subject to the Czar inEuropeandin Asia amounts to over 8,600,000
square miles,— that is one-ninth of aU the land on the globe. But the Bussian
Empire has only a population equal to one-flfteenth of all mankind.
(iii) The two re-entrant seas are the White Sea and the Sea of Azov ; the two
peninsulas are Kanin and the Crimea.
5. Build. — European Eussia is a vast plain, slightly elevated — and
deeply cut into by river- valleys. It is the eastern, and much the larger,
part of the Great European Plain. It has a low table-land running
through the middle, and a few low table-lands in the north. But we
may cross Eussia from sea to sea without ever leaving the boundless
moorland tracts, " apparently as unruflBed as the surface of the ocean
in a calm.'' The highest part of the plain is the central table-land
called the Valdai Hills, which reach the height of 1100 ft. above the
level ofthe sea.
(i) Contrast with Western Europe, — (a) Western Europe has a long coastline, with
numerous peninsulas stretching out into the sea, and many long gulfs and inland seas
penetrating the land. Russia has a monotonous outline and little coast in compari
son with its vast size. (&) Western Europe has the greatest variety of surface,
mountain ranges, table-lands, well-defined valleys, rolling country, lowlands. Russia
is almost one uniform plain, (c) Western Europe has sharply defined water-partings.
In Russia the head-waters of the great rivers rise in low depressions or in vast
sluggish marshes, where there can be no well-marked watersheds.
(ii) We may also compare Russia with the central plain of Ireland, where so much
water collects in marshes. In Russia, as in Ireland, the rivers often overflow.
(iii) On the northern shores of the Caspian, the land of Russia is below the level
of the Mediterranean. The surface of the Caspian itself is 85 ft below that of the
Mediterranean. " ^
6. Coast Line. — The frozen and dreary Northern Coast runs along
the Arctic Ocean, round the edge of the White Sea, and the Varauger
Fiord. It is in general very low and marshy. The coast on the
Baltic is also very low. This is also true of the northern Black Sea
coast, except where a continuation of the Caucasus through the south
of the Crimea lends beauty, diversity, and grandeur to the landscape.

170 EUROPE
Where the mighty Caucasus Range itself borders the Black Sea, we
have a coast of the boldest and grandest kind.
(i) Baya and Straits.— The White Sea (which may be regarded as a great gulf), the
Baltic (which is an opening from the German Ocean); the Black Sea or Enxine (which
is an inlet of the Mediterranean) ; and the Sea of Azov — the shallowest sea in the,world—
(which is an opening from the Black Sea) are the most important. The Caapian is
the largest inland sea in the worldj It is three times as large as England and Wales.
It is the remains of a great inland sea which stretched from the Black Sea to the
Frozen Ocean, east ofthe Urals.
la) The Russian part ofthe Baltic containa tho Gnlfa of Bothnia, Finland, and Eiga. )
(6) The marsh west of the Sea of Azov is called the Pntiid Sea.
(ii) Capes and Islands. — The entrance to the White Sea is commanded by Cape
Kanln. Russia possesses no oceanic islands. All the islEmds that belong to
her are merely separated fragments of the mainland, and partake of its character,
in build, in soil, in occupation, and in animal life. In the Arctic Ocean we find
Vaigatz, Nova Zembla, and Kolgouev ; further north, Spitzbergen and the Seven Slsten ;
in the Baltic, the Aland Isles, Dago, and Oesel.
(a) Vaigatz is the "Holy Island" of the Samoyedes, a wandering tribe of idolatera. They are
the only idolatera in Europe.
(6) Nova Zembla {New Land) is a continuation of the Ural Eange, and hems in the " Barents
Sea." It is frequented hy fishers.
(c) Spitzbergen ia an archipelago of five large and many email islands. It is visited only in fiummer.
[d) The Aland Isles— the tops of a dangerous granite reef— are a countless group (eighty of them
inhabited) at the mouth of the Gulf of Bothnia, fortified by Eussia. In the winter they
are connected witb the mainland by ice.
(e) Dago and Oesel are low marshy islands, north of the Gulf of Riga.
7. Mountains and Tal3le-lands. — On the south we find the mighty
range of the Caucasus, with its culminating point in Mount Elburz
(18j570 feet) — the highest mountain in Europe. On the east runs
the low gently swelling range of the Urals, the highest point in which
is Toll-Poss-Is (5540 ft.). The Valdai Plateau is merely the highest
part of the low water-parting between the Arctic and the Caspian.
(i) The Caucasus or " The Great Caucasus," is an enormous moimtain mass which
stretches between the Black Sea and the Caspian, a distance of 720jniles. It appears,
when seen from the Russian Steppes, as "an unbroken rocky barrier, surmounted all
along the line by a series of magnificent snowy peaks."
It may be compared with the Pyrenees. Both run hetween two seas; both possess tbe Sierra
fonnatiou, and both are divided into two parts of unequal length- The pass in the middle
is called the Gorge of Dariel.
(ii) The TTrals— formerly called by the Russians "The Girdle of the Globe "—is a
range about 1200 miles long. The Middle Urals are rich in copper, iron, gold, and
platinum. The Southern Urals consist of three chains which spread out ftom the
centre Uke a fan. In some parts the slopes ai'C so gradual one hardly knows that one
is crossing a mountain range,

RUSSIA IN EUROPE 171
(iii) The Valdai Plateau attains its greatest heiglit in Popovo Bora (1170 ft. above
the sea). The region which gives birth to the Volga is the swampiest in West
Enssia ; and in the same district rise the Dwina and the Dnieper. Thus the threo
great rivers of Eussia radiate from a common centre.
8. Plains. — Eussia is virtually one vast plain ; though it is necessary
to distinguish a little. In the farthest north we find the low marshes
called the Tundras ; next come the North-Eusslan Lowlands ; next the
North-Russian Table-land ; then the sandy plains called Steppes : and
last of aU, in the far south, the Caspian Depression.
9. Eivers. — Eussia is extremely well provided with rivers, — remark
able both for their length and their enormous windings. It is possible
to travel by river and canal from the Caspian, the Sea of Azov and the
Black Sea to the White Sea and the Baltic. Into the Arctic Ocean
flow the Petchora, Mezen, Dwlna, and Onega ; into the Baltic the Neva,
Duna, Niemen, and Vistula ; into the Black Sea, the Dniester, Dnieper,
and Don ; into the Caspian, the Volga and Ural. The three most
useful streams are the Volga, the Dnieper, and the Don. In the
south-east many rivers are absorbed by the soil before they can
reach the sea.
(i) The Volga (2230 miles long) rises at the foot of the Valdai Hills ; flows east ;
meets the Oka at Nijni Novgorod ; flows on still east till it meets the Kama (1000 miles
long) ; now turns south and a little west ; comes within 40 miles of the Don,
when it tabes a short bend to the south-east, and enters the Caspian by a delta which
contains about 200 mouths. It is the longest of Russian and also of European rivers ;
thongh the Danube gives more water to the sea. The right bank is called the
" Hill- Bank," because the Middle Plateau comes up to the river in many places ; the
left bank is called the " Meadow-Bank." The right bank is thus generally the
higher and steeper ; the left bank is oftener flooded : hence, below Kazan, there are
only 4 towns on the left, and 3D on the right bank. Its catchment basin is more than
three times as large as France, and nearly seven times Great Britain. With its long
tributaries it provides Eussia with 7200 miles of navigable waters. . ft communicates
with the White, the Black, and the Baltic Seas. by means of Canals. The V-olga is,
indeed, the centre of the Russian system of canals, which is the greatest and most
important system in the world.
(ii) The Dnieper rises not far from the Volga ; flows west ; then south ; west again ;
until, at Kherson, it enters the Black Sea by an estuary 40 miles long. It is the third
river in Europe for the volume of its waters. It receives a large nuraber of tributaries,
the best known of which are the Beresina and the Prlpet. It is almost doubled in size
by receiving the Pripet, The Pripet flows through a marsh called the PimiH Marab,

172

EUROPE

which is larger than the whole of Ireland. The basin of the Dnieper covers abont
246,000 square miles. It crosses three distinct zones— the Forest Begion, the Black
Lands, and the arid Steppes.
(iii) The Neva, though a very short river (only 46 miles long), is one ofthe great
rivers of Europe. It gives more water to the sea than the Volga. It drains Lakes
Ladoga, Onega, and Ilmen. It is frozen about 20 weeks in the year, when it becomes
a mueh frequented highway, gay with sledges, and lighted with the electric light.
10. The Cliaracters of the Russian Rivers : Contrasts. — It is to their
rivers that the Russians owe their chief and their cheapest nieans of
communication. It is the rivers that have developed the life and
industries of the country. But they are not aU that they seem to be
on the map. They have disadvantages as well as advantages.

Advantages.
1. They are long.
2. They are highly developed, with
immense curves ; and the largest
are connected by canals with seas
and other rivers.
3. They bave a gentle fall, and therefore
a slow current; and many are
navigable nearly to their sources.
4. They receive immense tributaries,
and flow from the heart of the
country through cultivated lands.
5. In the rivers that flow south the ice
in the lower parts melts first.

Disadvantages.
1. They have not much water.
2. They freeze in winter, and dry np in
summer. The navigation of some
is impeded by rapids.
3. Most of them are navigable only in
spring-floods.
4. They end in inland seas. Some have
their heads turned the wrong way
and flow into the Arctic Ocean.
5. In the rivers that flow to the north,
the ice in the upper parts melts
first ; and the countries round the
mouths are flooded.

11. Lakes. — The Russian lakes are on as large a scale as the
Russian rivers. The north-west of Russia contains the largest lakes
in Europe. These are Ladoga, Onega, Peipus, and Ilmen. The
enormous number of lakes in the north-west of Europe is to be
explained by the sunken nature of the ground. Finland may be
described as a lake-plateau (it is indeed *^the lake-country of
Europe") — most of its lakes being connected with each other.
The largest lake in Finland is Lake Saima.
(i) Ladoga is the largest lake in Eui'ope. It is nearly as lai^e as Wales. The
mean depth is about SOO ft. ; although in some parts it is over 700. The water is

RUSSIA IN EUROPE 173
very clear and very cold. The lake is sometimes swept by gales which raise heavy
seas and high waves like those of tlie open ocean. It is frozen for about 120 days
each year. About 60 rivers flow into it, the largest of which is the Svii.
(ii) Onega is also a very deep lake (in some parts 740 ft.), and dangerous for
navigation, owing to its reefs. It is about two-thirds of the size of Ladoga.
(iii) Felptts and nmeu are both shallow.
12. Climate. — Although Eussia stretches across nearly 27 degrees
of latitude, touching the Arctic Ocean on the one side and Asia
Minor on the other, the climate is almost as remarkable for its
uniformity as the soU is for its monotony. The whole plain is open
to cold blasts from the north, and to the warm winds that come from
the south, there being no transverse range of mountains from east to
west to separate the north from the south. Hence the extremes of
temperature are great, and the rainfall is small.
(i) Moscow, the centre of the Russian Plain, is in the same latitude as Edinburgh.
But the mean winter temperatm-e at Edinburgh is 37° ; at Moscow it is 18° below
freezing-point. The mean summer temperature of Edinburgh is only 59° ; at Moscow
it is 65°.
(ii) By Christmas, the rivers of the country are highways for sledges, aud remain
so for from three to four months.
(iii) In winter, the northern Steppes are dreary wastes of snow, scoured by packs
of wolves ; in spring, they are covered with grass and flowers ; in summer, they are
dry plains thick witb dust
13. Vegetation. — Six different Zones of Vegetation stand out with
sufficient prominence. In the farthest north, we find the Arctic Zone
or Zone of the Tundras ; next, the Cold Zone of Low Timlier and
bushes ; third, the Forest Zone ; fourth, the Temperate Zone of
Deciduous Trees ; fifth, the Warm Zone of Wheat and Fruit ; sixth,
the Hot Zone of Maize and the Vine. South of t^is last Zone,
comes the Pastoral Region, which includes much of the so-called
Steppes. " The steppes proper are very fertile elevated plains, slightly undulated, and intersected by
unmeroua ravines, which are dry in sunuuer. Not a tree is to be seen."
(i) The Tundras are vast marshy wastes, thousands of square miles in extent,
where nothing grows but reindeer moss, lichens, and stunted shrubs. The ground,
even in summer, thaws only to the depth of one foot. Samoyedes, a wandering
tribe of idolaters, are the chief inhabitants. It is here that fossil ivory is found,
P

174 EUROPE
(ii) The chief trees in the region of Low Tlmher are the silver birch and the pine
(iii) The Forest Zone includes large birches, and many kinds of cone-bearing trees.
The birch supplies the peasantry with firewood ; and from the bark they make
cordage, nets, and sails. The forest produces timber, resin, potash, etc. It is so
dense that a squirrel could travel hundreds of miles in a straight line without
touching the ground. The largest continuous forest in Europe— and it is larger
than Great Britain— stretches from the Onega to the Mezen. Two-fifths of Bussia
are covered with trees.
(iv) The Zone of Deciduous Trees is also the Zone of the four chief products of
Russia — rye, barley, fiax, and hemp. It is also the InduBtriaJ Zone of the country,
which relies for its fuel on the wood of the Forest Zone,
(v) The Zone of Wheat and Fruit may also be called the Agricultural Zone. It is the
famous " Black Earth Region," where grain can be grown without manure, and with
less labour than in any other part of Europe. This region is almost entirely treeless.
(vi) The Zone of Maize and the Vine lies on the shores of the Black Sea, and in the
south ofthe Crimea—" a second Italy."
(vii) The grassy Steppes are full of life. Herons, storks, flamingoes, and ducks
frequent the ponds and marshes ; the air is full of the song of larks and other singing
birds ; and swarms of bees range from flower to flower.

14. The Black Lands. — The Black Lands are the heart of Russia,
and the main source of its wealth. They stretch like an isthmus
between the Carpathians and the Urals. They comprise about one-
third of the country, that is, nearly 240 millions of acres. The soU
which gives its name to this region is a thick sheet of black earth —
a kind of "leaf mould" — composed of decayed vegetable matter,
and varying from three to twenty feet in depth. Corn has been
grown on much of this land for seventy years without manure.
(i) This "black earth" may be compared with the loess or "yellow earth " ofthe
Hoang-ho basin. It is the richest soil in China ; needs no manure ; and goes on pro
ducing heavy crops for ages without the smallest sign of exhaustion. Many parts of
the Black Lands give two crops a year. Clover grows in it to the height of 15 ft ;
and stalks of hemp have been seen 20 ft. high.
(ii) The area of the Black Eaith region is three times the size of Great Britain.
15. Animals. — Nearly all the wild jmimals of Europe are found in
Russia. The polar hear roams the shores of the Frozen Ocean ; fur-
bearing animals are numerous in the north ; the hear, wolf, lynx,

RUSSIA IN EUROPE 175
glutton, fox, abound on the Finland plateau ; the brown bear, wild
hoar, elk, and wUd ox inhabit the virgin forests ; and the wolf is
common in all parts of the country.
There are said to be 175,000 wolves in Russia. They devour annually 180,000
cattle, over half a million sheep, and 100,000 dogs. This is equal to £13 a year for
the food of each wolf.
16. Minerals. — Gold, iron, and copper are found in great abundance,
chiefly on the eastern slopes of the Middle Urals. Russia produces
more platinum than any other part of the world. Iron is very widely
diffused ; and, in the extreme east, there are four large mines of
magnetic iron ore. The coal-fields in the neighbourhood of Moscow,
in the Donetz region, and in the Urals, contain large supplies of coal :
but they are insufficiently worked.
The Sonetz is a tributary of the Don ; and the coal-field in its basin fills 16,000
square miles — an area nearly three times as large as Yorkshire. This is probably the
largest coal-field in Europe.
17. Agriculture. — The chief industry of the people of Russia is
agriculture. Although only 21 per cent, of the land is under tillage,
yet more than 90 per cent, of the population are engaged in this kind
of work. Hence Russia is, after the United States, by far the largest
corn-producer in the whole world.
(i) The chief products are Wheat, Maize, Oats, and Rye,
(ii) Russia holds the first place for Fla^ and Hemp ; and she produces as much of
these crops as all the rest of Europe together.
18. Other Industries. — Manufacturing industries are still feeble in
Russia ; and fisheries, the chase, and grazing keep ahead of them.
The Russian fisheries are the most productive in Europe ; those of the
Caspian (sturgeon, etc.), being enormously rich — especially at the
mouths of the rivers. Russia is richer in live stock than any other
European state — notably in horses.
(i) Russian leather is the finest in the world ; its peculiar odoui' is due to an oil
extracted from birch-bark.
(ii) In the Steppes, cattle-breeding is the chief industry.
(iii) There are 22 million horses in Bussia, that is, one for every four inhabitants.
The United States is the only country that comes near this.

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EUROPE

19. Commerce. — The wealth of Russia lies mainly in its forests,
black lands, mines, and fisheries. The chief export is wheat ; and
this takes up more than half the total value of all the exports ;
next come timber, flax, and wool. The principal imports are raw
cotton, tea, and iron. But the chief commerce of Russia is with
herself. On the Caspian there is a new industry in petroleum.
(i) Great Britain buys from Russia every year about £8,000,000 worth of wheat.
(ii) We buy also, of timber, to the value of £3,000,000 ; of flax, over £2,000,000.
(iii) You can travel in the Russian Empire through 95° of longitude, without having
to open your portmanteau to a custom-house officer.

20. Large Towns. — Of the 88 millions of people who Kve in Russia,
only 10 millions or 9 per cent, live in towns. Hence, considering the
vast size and wealth^f the country, there are not many large cities.
There are eleven with a population of over 100,000 ; and of these
two have more than three-quarters of a miUion of inhabitants —
St. Petersburg and Moscow. The other large towns are Warsaw, Riga,
Odessa, Kazan, Kieff, and Saratoff. In iiddition to these, there are
22 towns with more than 50,000 inhabitants.
(i) The Capital. — St. Peterahurg (1000), on the Neva, is not a city that has grown out
of the needs and habits of a people, but

rchaingel

a capital buUt by the strong wiU of Peter
the Great. It was founded in 1703. It
is buHt on a quagmirB surrounded by
dreary wastes ; and the foundations were
laid and piles fixed by whole armies of
serfs before a building could rise. It is
the fifth city in Europe for population,
and is still growing rapidly. It covers
40 square miles of ground ; and some of
its palaces and government offices are
the largest buildings in the world. The
Nevski Prospekt (Nova View) is the
grandest street in Europe ; it is three
mUes long. All kinds of nationalities
are to be found in it : jiU ranks — princes
and beggars, merchants and moujiks (=peasaiits). It is also a seaport, as a deep ship
canal has recently been made ; and it carries on halfthe foreign trade of tlie country.
Before this canal was opened, Cronstadt was the port of tlie capital. St. Petersburg

RUSSIA IN EUROPE 177
has a large University ; and the Imperial Library contains more than a million
volumes. (ii) The Old Capital.— Moscow, (SOO), the old Capital— and still the tme centre of
Russian Nationality — stands on the Moskva, which flows into the Oka, a tributary of
the Volga. It is more of an Asiatic and Oriental than a Kuropean city. St. Peters-
bui^ is a western city ; Moscow an eastern. Moscow is the holy city of the Russians,
the city of convents, churches, towers, steeples, cupolas, church bells and chimes. It
has " forty times forty " bulb-shaped domes. It is the centre of the internal trade of
the country, commanding, as it does, great streams such as the Volga, Oka, Don, and
Dnieper, and communicating with four seas— the White, Black, Baltic, and Caspian,
with the ports of "Western Europe, and even of Asia. Its manufactures are larger
than those of St. Petersburg. It covers 40 square miles of land ; but it is not closely
built. The houses are of all sizes, shapes, and colours— red, green, yellow, etc. It
has a University ; and it is also a great centre of the Russian book-trade. It is in
Moscow, too, that the Emperors of Russia are crowned and buried.
(a) The Kremlui is a cluster of buildings in the heart of the city — a fortress which also contains
cathedrals, convents, palaces, public offices, arsenals, museums, and barracks. Some of
the buildings are in style similar to the palaces of Venice and of India. The whole pre
sents a strange assemblage of domes, turrets, cupolas, pinnacles, clock-towers, colonnades
— glitteriug in gold or in silver, or painted green, red, blue, or purple.
(6) Kremlin also contains the " Queen of BeUs." It weighs 200 tons, but is cracked. There is
also an enormous cannon which cannot be used. Hence the remark: "Moscow is
famed for a bell that never lings, and a gun that never fires,"
(c) Moscow was the grave of Napoleon's ambition. Rather than give shelter to the French
Army in the winter of 1812, the people set fire to the city ; and, as most of the houses
were of wood, it was soon reduced to ashes.
(iii) Warsaw (410), on the Vistula, the capital of the dead kingdom of Poland, is a
city nearly as large as Birmingham. It stands at a point where most of the large
tributaries converge, and hence possesses splendid water-communications. Moreover,
it stands almost in the centre of Europe. It has a University ; and large trade.
(iv) Riga (175), a town as large as Newcastle, is the fifth city in the Empire, and the
capital of the Baltic Provinces. It stands on the Dwina, about 7 miles from its mouth
in the Gulf of Riga. It exports flax, tallow, timber, and other articles of the " Baltic
trade." Itis the third seaport in Russia, ranking after St. Petersburg and Odessa.
It was one of the old Hanse Towns.
(v) Odessa (160), on the Black Sea, is the great emporium of South Russia. The
mouths of the Dniester and Dnieper being useless for navigation, Odessa may be
regarded as the true port of these rivers ; just as Venice is of the Po, and Marseilles
of the Rhone. It is the port of the ' ' Black Lands. "
(vi) Kazan (150), near the left bank of tbe Volga, is the old capital of the Tartar
Khan. It was once the great entrep6t between Europe and Asia.
(vii) Kiefl (130), on six miles of the right bank of the Dnieper, is a " Holy City."
It fills an area of 20 square miles, and is a centre of trade for South-western Russia,
(viii) Saratofl (120), a town a little larger than Cardiff, is the largest city in the
Lower Volga basin.

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21. Towns of Historic and other Interest. — There are many other
towns in Eussia whioh are worth our knowing, either from their
relation to English history or from the part they play in the life
of the Russian nation. Such are : Sebastopol ; Novgorod and Nijni
Novgorod ; Astrakhan and Archangel ; Tonla and Helsingfors ; Stav
ropol and Tiflis.
(i) Sebaatopol (26), in the Crimea, was talcen by the Anglo-French army in 1856,
after a twelTemonth's siege, which reduced the city and torts to " a mass of ruins
surrounded by graveyards." Before and during the siege, the battles of Alma, Bala-
klava, and lokermami were fought.
(ii) Novgorod (20), near Lake Ilmen, was at one time the largest market in Eussia :
but its trade left it after the building of St. Petersburg. Hijid Hovgorod (70), at the
confluence of the Oka with the Volga, has ten miles of river wharfage, and is the
scene of one of the great Russian fairs.
(iii) Astrakhan (70), on the Volga, about 30 miles from the Caspian Sea, is still the
great Caspian port ; but Baku is trying to outstrip it. Archangel, on the right bank of
the Dwina, has a very good export trade in furs, fiax, hemp, tallow, tar, etc.
(iv) Toula (64), on an afiluent of the Oka, is the Russian Birmingham.
(v) HeUingfors (42) is the capital of Finland, and the birthplace of the great
sailor, Nordenskiold. It possesses the most northerly botanic garden in the world.
(vi) Stavropol (42), the capital of the government of Stavropol, and Tiiis (105), the
capital of Caucasia, are really in Asia ; bnt the Russians have placed them in their
map of Europe. Armenians are the chief inhabitants.
22. CMef Ports. — The greatest port on the Baltic and in the
country is St. Petersburg ; next comes Odessa ; and next, Riga. The
chief port on the Caspian is Astralshan. The oldest seaport in the
country is Archangel. The chief naval arsenals are : on the Baltic,
Nlcolaleff and Cronstadt ; on the Black Sea, Sebastopol and Batoum.
23. Water-ways and Land-ways. — There are in Eussia about
24,000 miles of navigable water-way ; and of these, 400 miles are
canal. The roads are bad. Indeed, there is in Eussia hardly such
a thing as we should call a road. There are few stones or none ;
there is not a single human being engaged in road-making or road-
mending ; and, when a rut gets too deep, the driver simply makes a
new one to the right or to the left of the old.

RUSSIA IN EUROPE 179
(i) In the Black Earth country one may walk for liundreds of miles without seeing
a .single stone. In wet weather, it takes six horses to draw a cart.
(ii) In winter, the snow makes the whole country one broad road ; and one may
go anywhere in a sledge.
24. Railways, Telegraphs, and Post Offices. — Russia possesses about
17,000 mUes of railway. This gives her the fifth place in the whole
world as regards railway communication. The centre of the system
is Moscow, where the five main lines converge. There are about
70,000 miles of telegraph.
(i) The letters carried every year approach 130 millions. This is less than 2 per
head of the population. In England they are 49 per head.
(ii) Great Britain and Ireland have about 20,000 miles of railway. This, propor
tionately to the size of the country, means 20 times more than Russia.
25. Fopniation and Populousness. — The population of Russia
amounts to 88 millions, and is more than one-fourth of the popula
tion of Europe. The average is 42 persons to the square mile.
(i) The Government ot Archangel has 1 ; Moscow, the most densely peopled, 102.
(ii) The Black Earth Region is the most densely peopled ; and yet it has only 100
people to the square mile. Belgium has 540.
(iii) The basin of the Oka is the tine centre of European Russia, both as regards
industries and population.
26. Political Divisions. — European Russia is divided into 69 pro
vinces or " governments." Of these the most important are :
(i) Great Enssia or Muscovy : Moscow, Nijni-Novgorod (on the Volga), Archangel.
(ii) East Enssia : Astrakhan, Saratoff, Kazan, Perm.
(iii) The Baltic Provinces : St. Petersburg, Riga, Helsingfors.
(iv) Sooth EofiBia : Odessa, Kherson, Taganrog.
(v) West Bassla or Polish : Warsaw, Vilna.
(vi) Finland : Helsingfors, Abii.
(vii) Ihe Cancasns and Transcancasla : Tiflis and Batoum (both on the Asiatic side
of the mountains).
Archangel is the "fourth capital of the Empire;" and, ill spite of ice for seven months, it
has a good trade in flax, hemp, timber, tallow, etc.

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27. Character and Social Condition. — The Russians belong to the
Slav or Slavonic race. The Great Russians have broad shoulders,
open features, and massive brows. The peasants are hard-working,
fond of music and song, light-hearted, kind, courteous, extremely
loyal, but dirty, superstitious, and given to intemperance. They
can put their hands to anything, " can take to trade after trade, with
no appearance of clumsiness in any."
(i) No state in the world can show a greater variety of nationalities than Russia.
Forty^ different languages are spoken in it,
(ii) But five-sixths of the people are Slavs.
28. Government. — The Czar of all the Russias is an absolute
monarch ; except in Finland, which has a constitutional government,
with the Czar as Grand Prince.
29. Religion and Education. — The Russian religion is that of the
Greek Church ; though there are about 130 sects in the countrj\ The
priests are called " popes," and are allowed to marry once only. The
Emperor is Head of the Church. There are eight Universities ; a
large number of secondary schools ; and numerous good agricultural,
mining, industrial, and other special schools. But, in the elementary
schools, there are only about 2,000,000 children.
Only about 20 per cent, of the people can read or write.
30. Army and Navy. — Eussia has one of the largest and strongest
armies on the Continent. In peace, the army numbers about three-
quarters of a million men ; on a war-footing, nearly 2J millions. The
navy consists of the Baltic, Black Sea, and Caspian Fleets — com
prising 40 iron-clads (of which 32 are in the Baltic), and a large
number (120) of torpedo steamers.
(i) Every one is liable to the conscription, aud must serve for six years.
(ii) There are about 26,000 sailors in the Russian Xavy.

THE BALKAN PENINSULA 181

THE BALKAN PENINSULA.
1. Position. — The Balkan Peninsula is the most easterly of the three
Southern Peninsulas of Europe. It is the mighty " Bridge between
Europe and Asia across which people and ideas and civilisation have
so often passed." It is surrounded on three sides by the sea ; on the
north, it is bounded by the Save and the Danube. As it goes to the
south, it becomes more and more highly articulated — takes on more
and more of a peninsular character — gets more and more under the
influence of the sea ; until at length it breaks out into a great wealth
of islands in the west, south, and east.
(i) The Balkan Peninsula may be compared with Further India, which grows always
raore peninsular as it goes south, and then ends in countless islands, which were at
one time part of the mainland.
(ii) The northern half itself contains three peninsulas : (a) the Peninsula of Oon-
Btautinople ; (&) the long and narrow Peninsula of Gallipoli; and (c) the "three-
fingered " Peninsula of Chalcidic^.
(iii) The southern half is much longer and narrower, and is a true "Peninsula of
Peninsulas." It contains three divisions: (a) Northern Greece — marked off by the
Gulfs of Volo and Arta; (6) Middle Greece — "the true Hellas," which sends out into
the sea the peninsula of Attica ; (o) Southern Greece, which consists of the Morea
(="Miilberry Leaf").
(iv) All this high degree of articulation is emphasised and intensified by the count
less islands round the coast— especially in the east. The chief groups are the Sporades
(="Seattered Islands"), the Cyclades ( = "Circled Islands ")— both in the Archi
pelago ; and the Ionian Islands, in the Ionian Sea. *
2. Coast Line. — Long land-arms stretching out into the sea, deep
re-entrances of the sea into the land — such is the horizontal character
of this Peninsula. The following are the best-known Gulfs and Capes :
(i) Gulfs ; Beginning in the Archipelago (or iEgean Sea), in the east, we flnd the
Gulfs of Saros, Orfani, Saloniki, Volo, ^giua, Corinth, Patraa, Arta.

182 EUROPE
(ii) Capes : Colonna (so called from the white marble columns — the remains of a
temple to Minerva — which form a landmark for sailors), l£atapan, and Llnguetta
(=" the Tongue").
3. BvUld. — Spain consists almost entirely of one lofty pkteau ; Italy
is a land of highly articulated mountains ; the Balkan Peninsula unites
the characteristics of both. Between the Adriatic and the jEgean (or
Archipelago) stretches a large and lofty table-land, with ranges of
mountains running from west to east. At right angles to that
stretches another table-land, with numerous ranges of mountains run
ning from north to south. The table-land formation reappears in the
Morea, which is a kind of miniature of the whole Peninsula ; for in
the north of the Morea we have ranges running from west to east ;
and, at right angles from these ranges, several which run north and
south. The river-valleys are everywhere small in comparison with
the size of the whole peninsula : and they become smaUer and smaller
as we go to the south.
Balkan ia a Turkish word meaning high range. The Balkan range (called in ancient times Mount
HEemus) is only a small part ofthe Peninsula, and lies in the extreme north-east.
4. Mountains. — The mountain system of the Balkan Peninsula will
become clear to us, if we seize firmly on the Tchar-Dagh.
(i) From the Tchar-Sagh mountain -ranges and river valleys radiate in every direction.
North-west run tlie niyric and Dinarlc Alps ; due south, the Pindus Kange.
The pin in Pindus ia the same word as pen in PenniTie and Apennine ; as Pen in Wal^ ; and Ben
in Scotland. They all mean mountain.
(ii) North runs the mighty Balkan Sange from the Timoh (a tributary of the Danube)
to Cape Eraineh in tlie Blacli Sea. The l)o1}rudJa Plateau touches the Balkans. South
and south-east runs the nespoto Dagh (called by the Greets Rhodop^).
(iii) Parallel witli Mount Pindus, and, bounding on the east the Plain of Tliessaly,
is a range which contains many famous pealcs— Mount Olympus ; Ossa ; Fellon ; and Othrys,
Mount Olympus is the highest peak in tlie whole Peninsula ; it is 9750 ft. high.
(a) Mt. Olympus was the ahode of tbe Gods. Farther south are the isolated Mt. Parnassus and
Mt. Helicon (both hamits of the Nine Muses).
(6) Mt. Pamasflus is visible from all parts of Greece ; and, as Delos, the shrine of Apollo, was
there, it formed a visible symbol of Greek \mity.
(iv) In the heart of the Morea lies tlie table-land of Arcadia (now called Tripolitza),
fi'om which short ranges run out to the ends of the four minor peninsulas. The
highest range ia Mount Taygetus, called by the Modern Greelcs Pentedactylo (=" Five-
Fingered ") from its flve peaks. The extremity of Taygetus forms Cape Matapan— the
most soutluuly point in Europe.

THE BALKAN PENINSULA 183
5. Rivers. — The northern slope of the Balkan Peninsula drains
into the Danube ; and the two most important streams on this side
are the Morava and the Isker. The three largest rivers on the
southern slope are the Maritza, the Strumar, and the Vardar.
It is up the vaUey of the Morava that the great railway from Vienna to Con
stantinople m]l run. This railway will join the East and the West, and will do much
to open up — and to break up — the Turkish Empire.
6. Islands. — The larger separate islands are Candia (or Crete) and
Enboea (or Negropont). The chief groups are the Ionian Islands in
the Ionian Sea on the west ; and the Cyclades and Sporades, on the
east, in the jEgean or Archipelago.
(i) Crete is about 160 miles long. It belongs to Turkey. It is one mass of
mountains (some ot them over 8000 ft. in height), the highest called in ancient times
Mount Ida.
(ii) Negropont is about 100 miles long. The channel which separates it from the
mainland is so narrow that it is spanned by a bridge.
(iii) The largest of the Ionian Islands is Cephalonla. The best known is Corfu, whicli
lias a University. All are fertile, rich in wine and olives ; all have excellent harbours.
(.v) The Cyclades belong mostly to Greece. The largest island is Naxos, wliich is rich
in marble, and also in emery powder. But Syra is the most important ; for it is the
chief centre of commerce in the Levant. Pares yfelds the finest statuary marble.
(v) Of the Sporades the largest is MytUene. In Scio Homer was supposed to have
been bom — " the blind old man of Scio's rocky isle." The most famous is Rhodes.
7. Climate and Vegetation. — In the north we find the Continental
Climate, or climate of extremes ; as we go farther south, the land
comes more and more under the influence of the sea-winds, the
climate becomes more mOd, and the temperature has a narrower
range. The rains are summer-rains ; and they are very abundant,
for the Peninsula has wide stretches of sea on the east as well as on
the south and west. In Greece, however, there is an almost rainless
summer. In the Morea, the nearness of very high mountains to low
valleys brings the opposite seasons — summer and winter, ripe crops
and snow, within sight of each other. — On the high mountains, pines
and flis grow ; in the lower ranges, beeches and oaks ; in the warm
vaUeys, thick-leaved trees, such as olives and oranges.

1 84 EUROPE
8. Populations. — The Peninsula is not densely peopled. This is
due partly to the enormous quantity of mountain-land ; partly to the
want of good roads ; and partly to the desolating misrule of the Turk,
who has never encouraged industry, or manufactures, or commerce. —
The chief peoples belong to four difl'erent races : (i) The Slavs, who
constitute the larger half of the population. The chief Slav peoples
are the Bulgarians in the east, and the Servians in the west ; (ii) The
Albanians, who occupy Albania — the region between Servia and
Greece ; (iii) the Greeks, in the kingdom of Greece, on the .^gean
coast, in Crete and other islands ; and (iv) the Turks, who form no
more than one-seventh of the population, but are found all over the
peninsula as owners of the soU. The traders in the cities are generally
Jews aud Armenians.
(i) The average population over the whole peninsula is about 70 to the square mile.
(ii) The Greeks and Slavs are members of the Greek Church ; the Turks are Maho
metans. 9. Political. — The Balkan Peninsula is occupied by the provinces
of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which nominally belong to Turkey, but are
under the protection of Austria ; the small mountainous principality
of Montenegro ( = " Black Mountain"), which is independent; the
kingdom of Servia ; the kingdom of Roumania ; the principality of Bul
garia, which is independent, but pays a small tribute to the Sultan ;
East Roiunelia, which is nominally in Turkey, but has a Christian
Governor ; Ttirkey, which now only consists of Eoumelia and Albania,
the one on the Black Sea and the jEgean, the other on the Adriatic ;
and Greece, or Hellas, which is the young rising power in the Pen
insula, and the one which has the greatest future before it. — AU
these states and kingdoms have been cut out of Turkey since 1830
(the year in which Greece was declared a kingdom) ; and every state
and people in the Peninsula is in a condition of ferment, unrest, and
eagerness for revolution. It is this want of security — this perpetual
uneasiness — that constitutes the Eastern Question.
10. BOSNIA. — This state is inhabited by persons of Servian nation
ality ; but the landowners are Mahometans. The capital is Bosna
Serai (22). The Herzegovina is now a part of Bosnia.

THE BALKAN PENINSULA 185
11. MONTENEGRO.— This little land is an impreguable mountain-
fortress, which has fought for its independence against the Turks
for 200 years, and had it at last recognised by the Great Powers in
1878. The capital is Cettinj^.
12. SERVIA. — The Servians are a people of shepherds and warriors.
Servia was in the 14th century not merely a kingdom, but a large
and powerful empire, stretching from the Danube to the Morea ; but
its power was broken by the Turks. Since 1882, it has become once
more a kingdom. The chief river is the Morava ; and all the larger
towns stand on its banks. The capital is Belgrade (45)— a strong
fortress on a high rock at the meeting-point of the Save and the
Danube. The religion is Greek. The people (2,000,000) are much
given to the rearing of swine. The chief export is pigs, which feed,
in countless herds, on the acorns grown by the boundless oak-forests.
13. ROUMANIA. — This country was separated from Turkey in the
year 1861, but was not made a kingdom tUl 1881. It is nearly as
large as England (without Wales) ; but its population is below
6,000,000. It lies between the Danube and the Pruth, and contains
the old provinces of WaUaclila, Moldavia, and the Dobrudja. The
chief rivers are the Aluta and the Sereth. The immense Danubian
plains have been for ages among the great grain-growing regions of
the world. The capital is Bucbarest (230), on a northern tributary of
the Danube ; and the other large towns are Jassy (100), near the
Pruth, and trading largely with Russia, — and Galatz (90), the great
river-port of the kingdom. The chief export is cereals, to the value of
about ,£8,000,000 ; the chief imports are textiles (about £5,000,000)
and metals.
14. BULGARIA. — This country was cut out of Turkey and created a
principality by the Berlin Treaty of 1878. The population is little
over two millions ; and the capital is Sophia (20), on the Isker. The
country is composed of a series of terraces which faU from the crest of
the Balkan Range down to the Danube. The largest town is Rustcbuk
(27), on the Danube ; the only large port Varna (25), on the Black

186 EUROPE
Sea. The people live by agriculture, and by their flocks and herds.
They belong to the Greek religion ; but 30 per cent, are Turks, and
therefore Mahometans. The chief export is com.
15. EASTERN ROUMELIA. — This smaU narrow state was created in
1878, by the Treaty of BerUn. The capital is FMlippopoIis (35), on
the Maritza. The country is about twice the size of Yorkshire ; but
contains less than a mUUon people. The chief occupation is agri
culture. 16. TURKEY. — This once great and powerful Empire, which, in the
17th century, held the whole of the Balkan Peninsula, the whole of
Hungary up to Pressburg, the whole of Transylvania, Moldavia, and
all the coast of the Black Sea — which was then a " Turkish Lake" —
has, from 1672, been graduaUy dwindling, till its territory in Europe
now consists only of a narrow strip of land between the Adriatic
and the Black Sea. Kingdom after kingdom, state after state, has
been cut out of it by Eussia and by Austria, with the consent of the
other Great Powers. — It is the one non- Christian state in Europe.
17. Population of Turkey. — The population of European Turkey is
now only about 5 millions, most of whom are Turks and Mahometans.
— As yet, there are only 100 miles of railway.
(i) The Turks are an Asiatic race, without literature, without art (painting and
sculpture are regarded as leading to idolatry), and essentially of warlike character.
(ii) The Sultan (= Emperor) or Padishah is also the Csllph or Head of tlie Church.
His Prime Minister is called the " Grand Vizier" ; the State is called the *• Sublime
Porte " ; aud the High Priest " Sheik-el-Islara " (=Cliief of Islam),
18. Large Towns. — There are in European Turkey only six towns
which have more than 20,000 inhabitants ; and, of these, only two
have more than 100,000. The three largest are : — Constantinople,
Adrianople, Salonica.
(i) OONaTAiraiNOPLE(900)isoneof the great cities of the world. It is called " Stam
houl" (=" The City") by the European Turks, and "Rome" by the Tm-ks of Asia
(and lienco tlie province in whicli it stands is called " Rouniclia "). It occupies the
finest site in Europe. It stands on a lovely poninsida, between the Sea of Marmora
and "the curved inlet called from its shape, its beauty, and the valuable cai-goes

THE BALICAN PENINSULA 187
wliich float upon its waters, the ' Golden Horn.' " Like the other Rome in Italy, it
rests on seven hills. It stands at the intersection of two great world high-ways of
commerce— the water high-road from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean, and the
land high-road from Asia into Europe. It thus occupies one of the most important
commercial sites on the glohe. It was taken by the Turks in 1453 ; and as the
great Greek and Latin scholars had to flee, mth their books and mss., this terrible
event was the means of spreading scholarship throughout Europe, and was the initial
cause of the " Revival of Learning." Mosques and towers, vast domes encircled by
smaller domes, high, minarets with light balconies round them, enormous palaces,
forests of masts and rigging, gardens and cypress groves — all these, under a sky of
the brightest sapphire, go to make up a set of pictures such as can be seen in no other
partof the world. — The city within is full of narrow, tortuous, and filthy streets,
which are deaned out only or chiefly by periodical fires. — The Golden Hom is one of
the great harbours of the world. It could hold a thousand sail of the line, and is
deep up to the very quays.
(ii) Adrianople (100) stands on the Maritza, at the intersection of the high-road
from Belgrade to Constantinople. These plains produce the famous "attar of roses."
Out from the midst of countless orchards, groves of poplar and cypress, rise the
minarets of 150 mosques.
(iii) Salonica (60), the Jincient Thessalonica, stands at the head of the gulf of the
same name. This " emporium of Macedonia " not only has a good harbour, but it lies
on the straight line— the shortest route— which joins London and the Suez Canal.
Its commercial position is therefore as good as, or better than, that of Marseilles.
19. Other Towns. — There are other towns in Turkey worth our
knowing : — Gallipoli ; Seres ; Mount Athos ; Kasanlik ; and Candia.
(i) Gallipoli, "the Constantinople of the Hellespont," stands at the western end of
the Sea of Marmora. It was the first city that the Turks captured on the soil of
Europe. It is the naval arsenal of Turkey. Near it are the twin fortresses— three on
each side — called, the "Dardanelles," which command the strait.
(ii) Seres, a thriving town in Macedonia, is the centre of the culture of cotton.
(iii) Mount Athos or Monte Santo ( = " Holy Mountain ") is a high mountain inhabited
by 6000 monks, who form a kind of republic, under the protection ofthe Porte.
(iv) Kaaanlik, in East Ronmelia, is the centre of the manufacture of attar of roses.
" Rose gardens, waving fields of yeUow corn, quiet Osmanli hamlets, sparkling
rivulets clumps of mighty walnut-trees, red-tiled roofs, and tall white minarets,
raake up a pleasing picture of quiet industry."
(v) Candia, the capital of Candia (Crete), is also the chief port of the island.
20. GREECE.  The little country of Greece or Hellas is a sub-pen
insula of the Balkan Peninsula. It was once a province of Turkey,

188 EUROPE
fought against the Turks for its freedom from 1821 to 1829 ; and
was at length acknowledged in 1830 as an independent kingdom,
under the protection of Britain, France, and Kussia. In 1863 Britain
presented it with the Ionian Isles ; and in 1881 it extorted, again
by the aid of the Great Powers, from Turkey most of Thessaly and a
strip of Epirus. Turkey is the old, sinking, despairing, and dwind
ling power on the Peninsula ; Greece the young, hopeful, and growing.
(i) Aucient Greece was the most highly civilised country in the world. It was " the
mother of arts aud industries;" its language was the noblest literary language that
ever existed ; and its literature is unequalled among the literatures of other countries.
(ii) Greece has giveu the world its greatest narrative poet — Homer; and two of its
greatest thinkers — Plato and Aristotle.
21. Area and Population. — Greece contains four divisions, which
are strongly marked out by nature. The mainland is almost divided
into two parts by the Gulfs of Corintli and iEgina ; and the two
remaining parts consist of the Ionian Islands i^ the west, and the
Cyclades and Sporades in the east. The total area is about 25,000
square miles — or twice the size of Holland. The population amounts
to nearly 2 millions, which is about half the population of Scotland,
and less than half that of Holland.
(i) The largest island in Greece is Negropont. The narrow channel which separates
it from the mainland is called Euripus.
(ii) The island of Corfu is the most densely peopled district in Greece ; with 350 to
the square mile.
22. Trade and Industry. — The chief export is currants, the yearly
sale of which amounts to .£2,000,000. Next comes oil, then lead ;
and, much behind both, a little wine. — The chief imports are cereals
and textile goods. — The most important industries are agiicoltnie
and navigation. This little people has been a seafaring nation for
thousands of years ; and at the present time it possesses a merchant
navy of about 80 steamers, more than 3000 sailing vessels, and
about 6000 coasters. The chief port for currants is Fatras. — There
are 450 miles of railway. — There is some mining in irou, lead, etc.
The word currant.^ is a corruption ofCoritiths ( = Corinth gmpes).

THE BALKAN PENINSULA 189
23. Towns. — Greece has only four towns with more than 20,000
inhabitants. These are Athens ; PItebus ; Patras ; Hermopolis.
Among rising towns we ought to note Corfu ; Zante ; and Larissa.
(i) ATHENS (90), " the eye of Greece," as Milton calls it, " the city of Pallas beloved,"
is the capital of the country. It was also the capital of the ancient republic of Attica.
It was once the home of poets, philosophers, artists, orators, and conversationalists.
Here Socrates, Plato, Sophocles, and Demosthenes might have been heard discoursing
or reciting poetry or malung speeches. The noblest architectures, the most beautiful
temples, the loveliest statues adorned its heights, its river-banlcs, and its streets. It
was for many centuries the heart and the brain of Ancient Greece. Poets in all ages
have sung its praises. MUton calls the city the " Mother of arts and eloquence."
To-day Athens is the seat of government, and of a thriving University.
(ii) Pineiut (22) is the Port of Athens, and connected with it by railway.
(iii) Patras (26), on the southern shore of the Gulf of Corinth, is a rising port.
(iv) Hermopolis (22), on the island of Syra, has an excellent harbour, and occupies
the most central position in the Archipelago. It is the commercial metropolis of the
Cyclades. It has steam communication with Malta, Constantinople, etc.
(v) Corfu (18) is the largest town in the Ionian Islands.
(vi) Zante (17) is " the wealthiest and cleanest town in the Ionian Islands."
(vii) Lailsaa (14), on the Salamvria, is the largest town in Thessaly.
24. Character. ^The Greeks have two strong passions — one for sea
faring, the other for learning. They are the most seafaring people in
the Mediterranean ; and, were it not for their commerce and their
eager enterprise, they would have no place in the list of nations.
Since they gained their freedom from the Turks, the country has
risen rapidly in prosperity, in population, and in education. —
Schools have been established in nearly every village ; and the little
Greek boy learns whole pages of Homer by heart every week.
(i) The mercantile marine of the Greeks is superior to that of Bussia, and almost
equal to that of Austria. It is six times as large as the Belgian marine. Every sailor
has an interest in the cargo ; all are anxious to earn profits ; and hence the charges
for freight are very low.
(ii) If the people are too poor to raise school-buildings, the classes meet in the
open air. "The scholars, far from playing truant, hardly raise their eyes from their
boolss to notice a passing stranger or the flight of a bird."— "Amongst the students
ofthe University of Athens there are many who work half the night at some handi
craft, to enable them to pursue their studies aa lawyers or physicians."
Q

190 EUKOPE

ITALY.
" O land of beauty, garlanded with pine
And luscious grape-vines, 'neath whose vaulted skieti
Of blue eternal, marble mansions rise.
And roseate flowers from every lattice shine ! "
1. Introductory. — Italy is the central of the three great peninsulas
of Southern Europe. It is the " land of the sun" — the land of song,
of music, of poetry, of painting, of architecture, of every kind of art.
It has produced the greatest painters and poets ; and artists of every
country in the world look towards it with longing eyes, derive
from it their strongest and highest inspiration, and leam from it their
noblest lessons. The traveller who comes to it from the north finds
a soft and delightful climate, clear skies, lovely and picturesque
scenery, and perceives that he has indeed entered a " new world."
2. Boundaries. — Italy is bounded —
1. N. — By the Alps, which separate it from France, Switzerland, and
Anstrla.
2. E.— By the Adriatic.
3. S. and W. — By the Mediterranean.
3. Commercial Position. — So far as the sea is concerned, Italy has
the best position in the Mediterranean ; and her wealth of coast line,
her excellent harbours, and her large islands, enhance and strengthen
that position. So far as the land is concerned, she lies next to the
greatest industrial and commercial States upon the Continent ; and
the three great tunnels through the Alps, Mont Cenis, Mont St.
Gothard, and the Simplon, bring her into direct communication with
France, Germany, and Austria.
But there is no part of Europe so entirely shut off by Nature ft-oiu the other
countries of tlio Continent. She is ¦iliut otr hy the Alps.

ITALY 191
4. Shape and Size. — In shape Italy has been rightly compared to a
boot, the heel being Cape di Leuoa ; the toe, Cape Spartivento ; and
the instep, the Gulf of Taranto. — Its length from north to south is
about 700 miles ; its average breadth, 100 miles. Its area, including
Sardinia and Sicily, amounts to 110,620 square mUes, or a little more
than twice the size of England.
(i) If we turn the map of New Zealaud upside down, we shall see that the two
islands, looked on as one, are almost exactly of the same shape as Italy. Italy is the
boot for the right leg ; New Zealand, the boot for the left.
(ii) "From Shetland to Land's End may represent its length; from Hull to Liver
pool its average breadth."
5. Build and Slopes. — Italy may be conveniently and naturally
divided into three parts : Continental, Peninsular, and Insular Italy.
Continental Italy consists of a level and fertile plain — the Plain of
Lomhardy — guarded by mountains both on the north and the south.
Peninsular Italy is a mountainous plateau, almost filled by the
Apennines and their branches. Insular Italy is composed of Sicily
and Sardinia — both of them mountainous table-lands, with only one
or two narrow plains, — Elba, the Lipari Islands, and a few others.
(i) About the middle of the Peninsula, the Apennines become a double chain ; and
these two chains support between them the wild table-land of the Ahruzzi.
(ii) The long slope of the Apennines is to the west ; the short, which is only about
half the other, is to the east. Similarly, the southern slope of the Alps is very
much shorter aud steeper than the northern slope.
6. The Coast. — In the north of the Adriatic, the eastern shores are
low and sandy. About Eimini, spurs from the Apennines reach the
coast, which becomes high and rocky ; and, in the extreme east, rises
Monte Gargano, whioh appears on the shore as the cape called by the
Italians Gargano Head. On the west and south, th§ coast is in
general high and rocky, except in the district between the mouth of
the Amo and Terracina, which contains three stretches of low and
marshy land known as the Maremma, the Campagna, and the Pontine
Marshes. It is the western coast that is most varied by bays, gulfs,
and other openings.
(i) GoUa and Bays and Straits. — In the north, we find the Grulf of Genoa, on which the
wealthy city of Genoa stands ; about the middle, the deep embayment called the

192 EUROPE
Gulf of Gaeta, with the fortress-port of Gaeta at the end of it ; next the Bay of Naples,
celebrated for its beauty all over the world ; and lastly, the Gulf of Salerno, at the head
of which stands the port of Salerno. In the south we flnd the deeply-cut Golf of
Taranto, where dwell the Tarantese, the most indolent people in all Italy. Between
SicUy and the toe of the boot run the Straits of Messina, soon to be abolished for
travellers by the driving of a tunnel beneath their waters,
(ii) Capes. — Between Capes Spartivento and Di Leuca comes Cape Colonna, which
receives its name from the marble pillars of a ruined Greek temple on the headland.
The southern end of Sicily is called Cape Fassaro ; the western end. Cape Boeo.
(iii) The Maremma, in Tuscany, is one of the most unhealthy districts in Europe.
The Campagna lies round Bome, and is also a district haunted by fevers. The Pontine
Marshes, north of the Gulf of Gaeta, are the most unhealthy of the three malarial
districts. Once, twenty-three cities flourished in the district ; it is now tbe haunt of
wild boars, deer, and half-wild bufl'aloes. " If a brigand seelis refuge in it, pursuit is
stopped, and he is allowed to die in peace."
7. Mountains and Table-lands. — The Alps encircle the fertile valley
of the Po — or the Italian Netherlands — with a mighty mountain- wall
in the form of an arch. The Apennines start from the Maritime Alps
and fiU nearly the whole of the Peninsula ; while, with a short break
at Messina, they stretch themselves, under different names, over the
whole of Sicily. They are like a herring-bone, with the spurs at
right angles to the main chain. The highest peak of the Apennines
is the " Great Eock of Italy" (9545 ft.), called also Monte Como.
(i) No other region in Europe can rival the valley of the Po for the magniflcence of
its distant prospects. The whole elevated mass of the Alps rises before the eye— from
the vineyards aud mulberry trees of the plain, to the forests of beech, hirch, and
pines, then the mountain-pastures, and last, tbe naked rocks and the dazzling" white
snow-fields. Above all, the peak of Moute Bosa —
" hanging there
A thousand shadowy-pencUled valleys
And snowy dells in a golden air."— Tennyson.
(ii) The volcanic mountains of Italy lie on one line— Vesuvius, the lipari Islands
and Mount Etna, (a) Mount Vesuvius is a flattened cone, about 4160 ft. in height In
the year 79, an eruption buried the two cities of Herculaneum .nnd Pompeii under
showers of ashes and streams of mud. Tlie last eruption was in 1S72. (6) The Lipari
Islands, " horn in the shadow of Mount Etna," all consist of heaps of lava and cinders.
Two of them, Vulcano aud Stromboli, are active ; and the latter perpetually sends
out clouds of steam at intervals of flve minutes, (c) Moont Etna rises to the height
ot nearly 11,000 ft., with a slope so gradual that its base covers several hundreds of
square miles. So long is the neck of this volcano that eruptions now take place
through the sides ; and 700 smaller ones exist ou Hie slopes of the moimtains.

ITALY 19.3
8. Plains. — By far the largest and richest plain in Italy is the Plain
of Lombardy, which in reality comprises the three distinct territories-
Piedmont, Lombardy, and Venetia. It is also called the " Lombardo-
Venetian Plain," or the Valley of the Po. It is one of the most
fertile portions of the earth's surface ; it is cultivated by a hard
working population ; and it is full of large and wealthy cities.
9. Rivers. — Italy has only one great river — the Po. Some of the
others, as the Ajno and the Tiber, are famous in history, but are of
very little use either for navigation or for irrigation. The Adige
belongs partly to Italy, and partly to Austria.
(i) The Po is one of the great rivers of Europe. It rises in two little dark lakes on
the north flank of Monte Viso. It is fed on the one hand by the " aged snows " of the
Alps, and on the other by the heavy rains of the Apennines. It drains an area of
nearly 27,000 square miles (an area not much smaller than Scotland), of which nearly
11,000 are level, and indeed almost flat. It flows through and forms the very life of
"the pleasant garden of great Italy;" and its course marks the line at which the
sediment and debris from the Alps meet the sediment and debris from the Apennines.
Its largest tributary is the Ticino (.Titcheeno). During countless ages, it has been
raising its bed ; so that now, at Perrara, the surface of the river is higher than the roofs
of the houses, and 30 ft. above the level of the neighbouring country. Like all large
rivers it is building its delta out into the Adriatic (at the rate of 32 ft. a year) ; and,
in some hundreds of years, it will have blocked up the Gulf of Trieste. The town of
Adria, which gave its name to the Adriatic, now stands 20 miles inland.
(o) ThePo ifl useful for irrigation aa well as for navigation. Its waters irrigate 5000 square miles ;
and Bome parts of thia irrigated area produce eight crops a year.
(6) The embankments along the Po must be compared with those of the NetherlaudB. They
protect 3 million acres of fertile land, which yield produce annually to the value of £8,000,090.
(ii) The Amo rises in the Apennines, and flows to the west past Florence and Pisa,
through a lovely and well-cultivated valley. It has a short course of only 150 miles.
(iii) The Tiber rises not far from the sources of the Arno ; and the two rivers form
two sides of a triangle. They are connected by a canal through the tributary called
the Chiana {Keeahna.).
The waters of tbe Chiana flow partly into the Amo .ind partly into the Titer ; and this may be
compared with the Casalquiare, which Is a natural canal joining the Rio Negro and the Orinoco.
(iv) The Adige rises among the Ehaetian Alps ; flows east and south : passes Trent
(where the great Church Council was held in the 16th century) ; bursts through the
Camic Alps ; enters Italy : and falls into the Adriatic after a course of 250 miles.
10. Lakes. — The chief lakes of Continental Italy are, in the order
of their size, Garda, Maggiore, and Como. Each of them sends down
a large river into the Po.

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(i) Lake Garda is the largest of all the Italian lakes. Out of it flows "the smooth-
sliding Mincio." Lake Garda covers an area of 140 square miles, and is very deep.
(ii) Maggiore (which means the " Greater Lake ") is longer than Como, but not so
large as Garda. Part of this lake is in Switzerland. It is 2666 ft. deep ; and, as its
surface is only 645 ft. above the level of the Mediterranean, its deepest part must he
more than 2000 ft. below it. Its outflow is the Ticino.
(iii) Como is one of the loveliest lakes in the world. Romantic scenery, steep Mils,
rocky headlands clothed with noble trees, beautiful gardens, tiny hamlets nestling in
the woods on the shore, scattered white dwellings — all these can be seen ; and at every
turn new beauties. This lake discharges by the Adda.
11. Climate. — Italy stretches between 38° and 46° N. kt., and
therefore possesses different climates. Continental Italy has a
continental climate — of extremes. Peninsular Italy has, in general,
a dry, very warm, and equable climate. The climate of Insular Italy
is almost sub-tropical ; but the heat is tempered by sea-breezes.
(i) In winter. Lakes Garda and Maggiore are sometimes frozen over ; snow falls
even in Lombardy ; and the Plain of Northern Italy is chilled by cold winds from
the Alps. The winter temperature of Turin is lower than that of Copenhagen.
(ii) The rainfall in the high valleys of the Alps is as great as in the wettest
districts of Portugal ; and, in the Plain of Lombardy, it is equal to that of Ireland.
(iii) The singular clearness of the air is the special characteristic of Italy. Ton feel
as if you could touch with the hand mountains that are miles away ; and the lines
of tower and church and castle stand out with clear-cut perfection.
12. Vegetation. — In the northern plain we find maize, wheat,
vines, olives, and mulberries, and they may sometimes be seen all
growing in the same field. Rice is grown on the irrigated fields beside
the Po.— The flora of the Apennines is very like that of Central
Europe ; and the truly Mediterranean vegetation — myrtles, olives,
and other evergreens — is confined chiefly to the coast. The shores of
the Tyrrhene Sea present one almost continuous grove of orange,
oUve, lemon, and citron trees. — In the extreme south, the vegetation
is sub-tropical — the sugar-cane, the Indian fig, and the date-palm.
(i) Forests of the sweet chestnut clothe the sides both of the Alps and the
Apennines ; and in some districts supply the chief food of the inhabitants.
(ii) One of the great misfortunes ot Italy has been the almost universal destruction
of the forests. The consequence is, that in many parts of the Roman Apennines
even the soil has been washed away by the heavy rains.

ITALY 195
13. Animals. — The larger beasts of prey are nearly extinct; but
there are stiU in the forests a few wolves, lynxes, and stags;
and, in the south, the wUd boar and the porcupine are seen.
Scorpions and mosquitoes are a pest on some parts of the coast.
14. Minerals. — There is no true coal ; but antliraoite or stone-coal
is found in some places. The iron ores are the most important
minerals of the country ; and Elba has the largest iron-mines.
Copper ores of great richness are found in Tuscany ; and lead in
Sardinia. Solphur is of great importance to the wealth of Italy ; and
the largest mines are in Sicily. — Near Carrara, Massa, etc., marble
is found in great quantities ; and the Carrara variety is that pure
white statuary marble which is famous all the world over.
15. Industries. — Agriculture is the chief Italian industry. Com,
wine, and oil are the staple products ; and sericulture is successfully
carried on in the north. Indeed, the most valuable product of Italy
is silk. Flax and hemp are also largely grown ; as the climate
allows Hnen clothes to be worn during most months of the year.
The pastures of the north are rich ; and hence the making of cheese
is a flourishing industry.
(i) The making of oUve-oil and of wine is followed in most provinces.
(ii) In France, corn, wine, and oil are grown in different zones ; in Italy, they are
grown together almost everywhere.
(iii) Italy is the chief olive-producing country in Europe.
(iv) "As a silk-producing country Italy ranks second only to China, .ind leaves all
its other competitors far behind,"
16. ManuSactures. — The manufactures of Italy are of small
things, and on a small scale ; and there are few manufactures in
which the country is independent of foreign industry. There are
cloth factories in Piedmont and Lombardy ; cotton factories and
iron foundries in Genoa and Naples ; and much earthenware is made
in Milan.
It is for minor manufactures that Italy is most noted : such as straw-plaiting,
mosaics, cameos, and coral ornaments ; and in works of this kind she is unrivalled.

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17. Commerce. — The Suez Canal has brought back to Italy much
of the commerce which, before it was cut, was gradually leaving the
Mediterranean. Her best customer is France ; and she sells to that
country five times as much as to any other. After France comes Great
Britain ; then Austria ; Germany ; and Switzerland. With four of
these she is connected by railway. Silk is the chief article of export ;
next wine ; next olive-oil ; next fresh fruit ; next eggs ; and then
come sulphur and raw cotton.
The value of the silk exported exceeds that of all the other exports together.
18. Large Towns. — Italy is a country of large and numerous cities.
There are at least sixty-six which have a population of more than
20,000 ; and of these, fifteen have more than 50,000. Of these again,
nine have more than 100,000. The nine largest cities are Naples;
Milan ; Rome ; Turin ; Palermo ; Genoa ; Florence ; Venice ; and Bologna.
In spite ofthe fact that by far the greater number of Italians are given to agricnltare. an tmiiBiial
proportion are congregated in towns. The Italian " dreads of all things an isolated dweUing.
If he cannot live in the capital, then In a provincial city ; if not, in a country town ; if not, in
a village : only never in a country house."
(i) THE CAPITAL.— EOME (280) is now, and has been since 1871, the capital of Italy ;
and was for ages the capital of the Roman Empire. She was once the Mistress of the
World, and her steps to power were "the necks of Kings." She is stUl the most
wonderful city on the face of the globe. Rome contains within itself three Romes
—Pagan Rome ; Mediaeval Rome ; and Modem Rome. The ancients spoke of it simply
as ITrbB, "TheCity;" and it is often called " The Eternal City." Itis also called the
' ' City of Seven Hills ; ' ' but there are really nine hills within the walls, which have a
circuit of fifteen miles. It is above all a city of arts and artists ; and there is no city
that has within it so many splendid examples of all kinds of art — ^painting, sculpture,
architecture, engraving, carving. The number of museums and collections of art in
every period is endless. The countless churches and chapels, of all sizes and of every
age from the rise of Christianity, are themselves so many picture galleries. The
three most importajit buildings in Rome are the Coliseum, St. Peter's, and the Vatican.
"Rome is great because of her past; and her ruins are more attractive than her
modern buildings ; she is a tomb rather than a living city."
(a) The Coliseum v/aa an immense oval building, which enclosed flve acres, and could hold 80,000
pei'sons, who met to see men flght with and kill men, or to contest nlth wild beasts.
(b) The Vatican ia the residence of the Pope. It contains 4000 rooms, filled with the most
valuable gems of ai-t ; and a library of more th:ui 100,000 volmnea.
(o) St. Peter's is the ftuest chmtih in tlie world. It cost £12,000,000 to build.
(ii) Naples (470), the largest city in Italy, stands on the famous Bay of Naples, Tlie
Italian proverb is " See Naples and die I*' For you will have seen the loveliest sight
this world can show. The ground rises from the shore in terraces aud hills clotlied

ITALY 197
with groves of orange, olive, lemon, and palm trees ; and behind all, the peaks of
the snow-clad Apennines.
(iii) MUan (300)," the Great," is the capital of Lombardy. The great centre of
interest in tbis city is its cathedral, built of white marble. It contains more
than four thousand statues of saints, kings, and princes. The city stands on the
railway which mns through St. Gothard tunnel, and is consequently a very important
centre of trade.
(iv) Tarin (240) stands iu the upper valley of the Po, at a point towards which three
Alpine passes converge. Its chief work is manufacturing silk.
(v) Palermo (210) is the capital of Sicily. It is a busy place of trade. Around the
city stretches a beautiful and fertile plain called " The Golden Shell."
(vi) Genoa (145) "La Superba" (the Proud), on the Gulf of Genoa, is the chief sea
port or "Liverpool of Italy." All the railways of Continental Italy converge upon
Genoa. Columbua was bom there in 1446.
(vii) Florence (137) "La Bella" (the Fair) stands on the Amo. It was at one time
one ofthe most powerful cities in Italy, and the home of great artists. It has pro
duced a larger number of great men than any other city in Europe: among others,
Dante, one of the three great poets of the world ; Petrarch, a noble Isrric poet ; Michael
Angelo, painter, sculptor, and architect; Leonardo da Vinci, a great painter; and
Galileo, the astronomer. Straw-plaiting and silk manufactures are its chief industries
' ' The brightness of the world, 0 thou once free
And always fair, rare land of courtesy !
O Florence 1 with the Tuscan fields ajid hills,
And famous Arno, fed with aU their rills ;
Thou brightest star of star-bright Italy I "
(viii) Venice (135) " the Rich," " the Queen of the Adriatic," stands on 72 islands in
the Adriatic. The streets are noiseless — they are canals ; the cabs, gondolas ; and
the doors of the'houses open rigbt on the water. " The salt seaweed clings to tbe
marble of her palaces." It looks like a floating city. A bridge of 222 arches and 2000
ft. in length connects it with the mainland. The manufacture of looking-glasses, lace,
and of glass beads has given a new stimulus to the trade of Venice.
"White phantom city, whose untrodden streets are rivers, and whose pavements are the
shifting shadows of palaces and strips of sky. " — LoNOFBiiOw.
(ix) Bologna (110) "the Learned," at the intersection of the railway from Milan to
Brindisi, and from Venice to Leghorn, is a town of some trade. Its position is midway
between Continental and Peninsular Italy. »
19. Towns of Historic and other Interest. — The towns of Italy
which are interesting from the point of view of history — the history
of war, of peace, of art, of commerce — are countless in number ; and
we can make ourselves acquainted with but very few of them,
(i) Alessandria (31) is a strongly fortified town on the Tanaro. It is the terminus of
eight railways, and one of the most stirring towns iu Italy. East of it is Marengo,
where the great Napoleon defeated the Austrians in 1800.

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(ii) Mantna (28), on an island in the Mincio, is one of the four fortresses of the
famous "Quadrilateral," Between Mantua and Milan are the battle-fields of Solferino
and Magenta, where the French gained great victories in 1859.
(a) The plain between the Mincio and tbe Adige has been the scene of nmuy a battle. " Ho spot
on the earth's surface has been so freq^uently saturated with human blood."
{b] The Quadrilateral was " the key of the house " ; and it is now in the poBsesaion of Italy herself.
(iii) Verona (00), on the Adige, is a strong fortress built to command the long narrow
pass which goes down into Italy from the north.
(iv) Ravenna, once on the Adriatic, now four miles from it, was the Venice of ancient
times. It is now remarkable as the city which contains more monuments and build
ings of early Christian ari; than any other. Dante lies buried here.
(v) Pisa (38), on the Amo, once a mighty republic, the rival of Venice, now a dull
place, famous for its leaning tower built of white marble. Macaulay calls it "the
proud mart of Pisa " ; but its trade is gone, for the mouth of the Amo is silted up.
(vi) Reggio, a town nestling in groves of lemon and orange trees, stands on the
Straits of Messina, and is a twin city with Messina.
The Italian cities are unrivaUed in their treasures of art. " In almost every alley of every qoiet
country town, the past lives still in some lovely statuette, some exquisite wreath of
sculptured foliage, or some slight but delicate fresco, a variety of beauty which no English
architect or sculptor has ever dreamed of." There is no other country in the world which
can boast of an equal number of cities remarkable for their architecture, their statuary,
their paintings, and their decorations.
20. CMef Ports. — The chief ports of Italy are Genoa ; Leghorn ;
Ancona ; and Spezzia (the last the great naval arsenal). Brindisi is a
rising, as Ostia is a declining, port.
(i) Leghorn (80) is the " Hull of Italy," and the outlet of the Amo valley,
(ii) Ancona (32) is, after Venice, the best harbour on the Adriatic. BrindM is the
third port ; and, as the mails and passengers from England and France are shipped
here for India, via the Suez Canal, it is a rising place.
(iii) Spezzia, on the Gulf of Spezzia, is the " Portsmouth of Italy."
(iv) Ostla (a word meaning mouths) is a decayed port at the mouth of the Tiber. It
is now five miles from the sea, " buried beneath fields of cereals and thistles."
" Not ever again at even shaU ship sail in on the breeze.
\Vhere the hulls of their gilded galleys came home from a hundred seas.
For the marsh plants grow in her haven, the marsh birds breed in her bay,
And a mile to the shoreless westward the water has passed away." — Eenxkll Bodd.
(v) Not very far from Ancona is the small republic of San Marino. It has been a
sovereign state since the 4th century.
21. Railway System. — Italy possesses a very complete railway
system, especially in the continental part. There are altogether
above 7000 miles of railway ; and about 3000 more -will be built in
the course of the next fifteen years.

ITALY 199
(i) The network in the VaUey ot the Po is very dense.
(ii) The long railway lines from north to south are compelled to run on either
side of the Apennines ; and they form a network only in the Valley of the Arno.
22. Telegraphs and Letters. — There are nearly 20,000 ivdles of
telegraph line in Italy. — The post carries about 200 million letters
and post-cards. This is at the rate of 7 a head per annum.
(i) Great Britain has 30,000 miles of telegraph.
(ii) British post-offices cany 1700 million letters and post-cards a year ; which is
at the rate of 50 a head.
23. Canals. — The canals in the Lombardian Plaiu are chiefly for
the purpose of irrigation ; the CMana Canal connects the Arno and
the Tiber ; and the streets of Venice are one vast and intricate net
work of canals (about 250 in number).
5000 square nules in the valley of the Po are irrigated by canals. Indeed, this
valley is the birthplace of canal-engineering.
24. Population and Fopulonsness. — The population of Italy amounts
to about 30,000,000 souls. The average density is about 260 per
square mile ; and this is the greatest , density among the larger
countries in Europe.
(i) The density in the province of Milan is nearly 1000 per square mile.
(ii) The average density in Belgium is about double that in Italy.
25. Political Divisions. — Italy is now divided into 69 provinces ; but
it is not necessary for us to learn their names. The ancient divisions,
which have a place in history, and still live in the hearts of the
people, are of more importance. The following are the chief of these :

1. Fiedmont — Turin, Alessandria.
2. Lombardy — Milan, Cremona, Mantua.

4. Tttscany — Florence, Leghorn, Pisa.
5. Campania — Naples, Salerno, Gaeta.

3. Venetia^Venice, Padua, Verona. i 6. Calabria— Reggio.
26. Cliaraoter and Social Condition. — The Italians' are a mixed
race— the descendants of Romans, Greeks, Gauls, Goths, Normans,
Arabs, and — in the north— Germans. The common notion is that
they are extortioners, uncivil, given to revenge, assassination, lying,
treachery, and dirt. This is a mistake. The most impartial
traveUers speak warmly of " the disinterested courtesy, the unselfish
kindness with which they have been universally treated." The

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genuine Italian is kind and courteous to aU — high and low, rich
and poor ; and his courtesy is enhanced by a wonderfuUy gracious,
charming, and attractive manner. He is sober and thrifty, and an
ardent lover — as he cannot help being — of his country.
(i) " Italian men," says Mr. Hare, " are generally courteous, brave, and high-
minded ; and the women are as kind and modest as they are unaffected."
(iii) ' ' No Italian emigrates with the view ot founding a new home elsewhere ; but
all return sooner or later with the money acquired abroad. The Italian migrates,
never emigrates."
27. Govermnent. — Like most other European Governments, the
Italian is a " Limited Monarchy." The King and his Ministers form
the Executive ; and the Legislative Power is composed of two
Chambers — the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
(i) One deputy is elected tor every 57,000 ofthe population.
(ii) The standing army numbers nearly a million ; and, with the militia, the whole
army counts nearly 2,400,000.
(iii) The navy is very powerful ; and it contains ten iron.clads of the first-class.
Two ot these are the largest war-ships in the world.
28. Religion and Education. — The Boman CathoKc religion is
the reUgion of Italy ; but aU creeds and forms of worship are
permitted. Elementary education is far behind ; about 62 per cent.
of the people can neither read nor write. But the government is
pushing on ; and there are now about 60,000 schools. There are
more than four hundred technical schools, and twenty-one Universities.
(i) There are in Italy only 62,000 Protestants.
(ii) In Upper Italy the percentage ot " illiterates " is 40 ; in South Italy, 79.
29. Language. — Like French, Spanish and Portuguese, Italian is
a descendant of Latin ; and, of all its descendants, it is least changed
from the parent-tongue. It is so full, so clear, so given to vowel-sounds
that it is used in most countries as the best vehicle of music.
The Latin unus (one) becomes in Italian, uno; secundus, secundo ; gnartus (fourth),
quarto; docius (learned), dotto; saxum (a rock), sasso.
30. Colonial Possessions. — The ItaUan does not emigrate : he loves
Italy too well. Hence there are no Italian colonies.
There are some Italians in Buenos Ayres.

THE PENINSULA 201

THE PENINSULA.
1. Introductory. — The Iberian Peninsula, in the extreme south
west of Europe, is generaUy caUed The Peninsula, because it is of all
the European Peninsulas the best known to us, and because it is
much the largest of those which touch the Mediterranean.
(i) The Bomans called it Hesperia, the land of HespSrus, the Evening Star.
(ii) It may be compared with Africa. Both have a simple outline : no islands near
the coasts ; few plains that open out on the sea. It is an Africa in miniature. The
south ot Spain ia like Barbary ; the Sierra Nevada and the Atlas are twin ranges.
2. Boundaries. — The Peninsula has the sea on all of its sides, except
where the Pyrenees bound it on the north with a mountain-chain 250
nules long, between the Mediterranean and the Bay of Biscay.
(i) It lies between latitude 36° aud 43° 45' N.
(ii) The south of Spain is iu the latitude of Tennessee ; the north in that of Boston.
(iii) Madrid is in the latitude ot Naples, Constantinople, Pekin, and New York.
3. Commercial Position. — Standing between the two commercial
seas of the world, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, the
Peninsula is as favourably situated for commerce as France, and
it has far more large harbours ; hence it ought to be one of the great
trading countries of the world. It is not ; and we shaU see why
later on.
4. Shape and Coast Line. — Its shape is very simple — almost
square. It is also very compact. The coast line is only 2300 miles
long, which gives one mUe of coast to 98 square mUes of surface.
(i) Its shape is like a bull's hide nailed upon a board — the neck at Gibraltar.
(ii) Like Africa, it is a "peninsula without peninsulas." Neither country has
inlets of any size. Both are high table-lands.
5. Size. — The whole Peninsula contains about 225,000 square miles.
This is about four times the size of England and Wales.

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6. Build. — The Peninsula consists of one immense table-land,
buttressed by very high ranges on the north and south, crossed by
lower ranges from east to west, intersected by long valleys, and edged
by a more or less narrow strip of lowland along most of the coast.
The larger part of this vast plateau is upwards of 2500 ft. in height.
(i) The lowlands comprise only ,'gth part of the whole area. Spain is a land of
heights. It has the highest railway in Europe— across the Cantabrians ; the highest
city — Madrid ; and the highest palace— San Udefonso, which stands on ground higher
than the summit of Mount Vesuvius.
(ii) The northern half of the table-land, comprising Leon and Old Castile, has an
average height of 2700 ft. ; the southern half, made up of New Castile and Estrema-
dura, is only 2600 ft. above the sea-level. The average elevation of the whole surface
is probably greater than that of Switzerland.
(iii) Most of the table-land consists of arid and treeless steppes. Hence the phrase,
" tawny Spain," aud the saying "Africa begins at the Pyrenees."
(iv) The build resembles that of France in several respects : (a) both slope to the
Atlantic ; (&) the main watershed in both runs from north to south ; (c) the largest
rivers flow to the Atlantic, only one large river with some minor ones to the Mediter
ranean ; (d) there are few lakes in either.
7. Mountain Kanges. — The mountain-ranges which buttress the table
land on the north are the Tyreaees and their continuation the Cantabrian
Mountains ; the range on the south is the Sierra Nevada. The three
chief ranges which rise from and run through the heart of it, are the
Sierra de Guadarrama ; the Sierra de Toledo ; and the Sierra Morena.
(i) The chief roads and the only railways between Fiance and Spain are round the
ends of the Pyrenees. But two tunnels are in progress. The highest point in the
Pyrenees is the Peak ot Nethou, on Mount Maladetta (11,168 ft.).
(ii) The Sierra de Guadarrama forms the southern boundary of the Douro basin.
(iii) The Sierra de Toledo bounds, on the south, the basin of the Tagus.
(iv) The Sierra Morena forms the southern edge of the Ouadiana basin.
(v) The Sierra Nevada (about 60 miles long) separates the valley of tlie Ouadalquivir
from the Mediterranean. Its highest summit is Mulhacen (11,660 ft); but it has
several other peaks above the limit of perpetual snow. In one valley there is a
small glacier, the most southerly in Em'ope. The eye alone can trace the succeeding
zones of vegetation from the foot to the ilne ot perpetual snow : vines and olive-
trees ; walnut-trees ; oaks ; bushes and turf ; snow.
Sierra has nothing to do with the Latin serra, a saw ; it is only another form of ;^aAara=de8ert
land. The Portugueso form of tbe word Is Serra.

THE PENINSULA

203

8. Capes. — The chief cape on the north is Cape Ortegal ; on the
west. Capes Finisterre, Roca, and St. Vincent ; on the south, Tarifa ;
on the east coast, Ciata, Palos, St. Martin, and Creux.
(i) Ortegal is the north-west end of the Cantabrian Mountains.
(ii) Finisterre means Land's End ; and the most westerly points of England,
France, and Spain all have this name.
In France it ia called FinlBtlire=yint8 terrae, the end of the land.
(iii) Eoca means the Rock of Lisbon.

9. Bays and Straits. — The Peninsula is a "peninsula with
out peninsulas," and with very few re-entrances from the sea.
The most remarkable inlets are the Rias on the north coast.
They are very deep, are bounded by steep cliffs, and may be
compared with
the fiords of Nor
way and the long
sea-lochs of Scot
land. These rias
make fine natural
harbours. — The
only strait with
which the Penin
sula has to do is
the Strait of Gib
raltar, and that is
in the keeping of
England. THE STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR.
(i) It was from the Ria of Comnna that the " Most Holy and Invincible Armada"
started in 1588 to swallow up England. *
(ii) The Straits of Gibraltar are about 13 miles wide. The Eock ot Gibraltar has
been held by the British since 1704.
10. Lowland Plains. — Almost everywhere between the table-land
and the coast is a strip of low land, but the only lowland plains of
importance — and these are not large— are the plains in the lower
valleys of the Guadalquivir, the Tagus, and the Ebro.

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11. Rivers. — The five great rivers of the Peninsula are the Ebro,
the Douro, the Tagus, the Guadiana, and the Guadalquivir. The first
of these flows into the Mediterranean ; the last four into the Atlantic.
The minor rivers are the Minho, the Segiira, and the Xucar. Of
these the first flows into the Atlantic ; the three last into the Medi
terranean. The minor rivers which flow into the Mediterranean,
though all useless for navigation, are the cause of almost unparalleled
fertility to the land which they irrigate.
(i) The Ebro rises in tlie Kontebre (=Fountain of the Ebro) in the Cantabrian
Mountains, and falls into the Mediterranean after a course of 466 miles — nearly twice
that of the Severn. Its basin — ^the largest in the peninsula— is a vast triangle
bounded on the west by the midland plateau. One part of it is made useful for
navigation by the Imperial Canal.
(ii) The Douro rises in the Lago Negro (Black Lake) in the Cantabrian Mountains.
It receives a large number of feeders ; but all are mere torrents. It flows into
Portugal through deep gorges — like the canons of America, and, for fifty miles, forms
the boundary between Portugal and Spain. It is navigable only in PortugaL Its
length is 500 miles — more than twice that of the Severn.
(iii) The Tagus, the central river of the Peninsula, dividing its area into two
nearly equal portions, rises in the Fuente (=fountain) Garia in the knot of mountains
in the north-east, from which rivers flow in every direction. It is longer by 50 miles
than the Douro. It is of little value to Spain — of great value to Portugal ; as
near its mouth it expands into a basin 7 miles broad which could hold the navies of
the world.
(iv) The Guadiana (=Wadi Ana) rises in the Sierra Morena, disappears under ground
for about 20 miles, and rises to the surface in a set of springs called tlie Ojos
(Eyes) de Guadiana. It has the same length as tbe Tagus, but a smaller basin and a
stiU smaller rainfall. These three streams drain the great central plateau.
(v) The Guadal(iuivlr (='Wadi-el-Kebir, or Great Wadi) rises in the Sierra Nevada,
and flows through the fertile plain of Andalusia. It is the only river that at all
seasons is a full-bodied stream, fed in winter by the rains, in summer by the
snows. This and the Ebro are the only two rivers that flow tlirough true valleys ;
the rest have a troubled course through rocks, gorges, caiions, defiles, and passes.
The Guadalquivir is the only river iu the country of much avail for navigation;
steamers go up as far as Seville. It is about 340 miles long.
(vi) The Segura rises in the Sierra de Segura (at the east end of the Sierra
Morena) and flows — some of it — into the Mediterranean. Its i^Titers are so dammed
up, led mto innumerable channels, aud utilised for irrigation, that only one-tenth
reaches the sea.

THE PENINSULA 205
(vii) The XxLcax rises not far from the source of the Tagus, and lias a course of
317 miles ; but most of its waters are captured for the irrigation of about 30,000
acres. The huertas (gardens) of the Xucar yield twenty millions ot oranges a year.
.Ul along this Mediterranean slope, there are innumerable sniall streams wliich give to this buminfl
coast beauty and fertility— .ilmost tropical vegetation and the finest fruits. Scarcely a drop of
their water reaches tho aca ; all is used up for irrigation.
12. Lakes. — The lakes of the Peninsula are neither large nor
numerous. Many of the rivers take their source from lakes of great
beauty ; but the only lakes of any importance are the five lagoons on
the east coast, the largest of which is that of Valencia.
(i) A great deal of salt is made from these lagoons.
(ii) The Lagoon ot Valencia is haunted by countless wild-fowl.
13. Climate. — The Peninsula possesses five -well-marked climates.
These differ in temperature, rainfall, and prevailing winds. First,
there is the climate of the Pyrenees and the North, with abundant
rain ; second, the Western or Atlantic climate, with season rains ;
third, the Mediterranean climate of the Eastern slope ; fourth, the
African climate of the South ; and last, the very dry climate, with
great extremes of heat and cold, of the Central Plateau.
(i) Galicia is the rainiest province ; Murci.i the driest. In some parts of Galicia,
about 150 inches of rain have been known to fall in a year.
(ii) The African climate — great heat and dryness — is found on the southern slope.
(iii) At Madrid, which is over 2400 ft. above the sea-level, there are only 9 inches of
rain a year. The sea-winds which might water the table-land, have parted with their
moisture on the edge of the plateau.
(iv) The climate is the driest in Europe. The importance of water on the table-land
is shown in the number of names of towns or villages which take their name from
water of some kind. Thus into the names of 238 the word Fuente (fountain) enters ;
of 144, Rio (river) ; of 600, Molino (water mill) ; and of 44, Pozo (well).
14. Vegetation. — The vegetation of course varies with the climate.
The north and north-west are the lands of pasture and forest. The
western slopes and terraces are rich in evergreens, vines, maize, and
fruit. The eastern slope grows sweet wines ; palms, oranges, and
other sub-tropical plants. The southern slope produces rice, sugar,
cotton, and mulberry-trees. The central table-land produces, in the
better parts, the usual grains. R

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(i) The chief evergreens are the olive and the cork-oak.
(ii) An acre of ground in Valencia covered with orange-trees will sometimes produce
£600 a year.
(iii) It was the Moors who introduced into Spain the cotton-plant, rice, and the
sugar-cane. " The province of Andalusia is distinguished by the abundance of plants
which have their true home in North Africa." The date-palm ripens here — but not
on the opposite coast of Algeria.
(iv) The two Castiles, on the ceivtral plateau, are ** the land of wheat and maize."
The wheat is the finest in Europe.
(v) Esparto grass grows largely on the sea-slopes. It is used in Spain for making
paper and ropes ; and in Great Britain along with rags for making paper.
15. Animals. — The chief beasts of prey are the bear, the wolf, the
lynx, and the wild cat. Among birds of prey are found vultures,
eagles, hawks, falcons, and kites. On the southern shores flamingoes,
pelicans, and other birds from Africa are seen. A kind of monkey
— the only one in Europe — is found on the Eock of Gibraltar.
(i) The bear and lynx are found only in the Pyrenees. The boar and the wolf
inhabit the forests and mountains ofthe north.
(ii) Wild bulls roam the forests of the Sierra Morena, and are also kept in the
pastures ofthe Guadalquivir till they are brought up for the bull-fight.
(iii) Birds of passage from tropical climes are often seen — such as orioles, bee-
eaters, hoopoes, etc. ; for tlie Peninsula lies in the route of those birds which
cross from Africa to Europe.
(iv) The gall-nut fly, used in making silk ; the Spanish beetle, for fly blistere, the
cochineal insect, etc., are all of commercial value.
16. Minerals. — The Peninsula is enormously rich in minerals. They
are most abundant on or near the north and south edges of the
table-land. Iron, coal, copper, lead, and quicksilver are the most
important ; but there is also a great deal of sulphur and salt.
(i) Coal exists in many parts: the largest coal-field— Oviedo, 230 square miles-
being in the Asturias.
(ii) Copper in immense quantities is found in the country at the back of
Hnelva— the port of shipment. Near Huelva is Falos, from which Columbus sailed
to discover the New World in 1492.
(iii) The richest mines of quicksilver in tho world— after those of California— are
at Almaden ( = The Mine) on the northern slope ofthe Sierra Morena.

SPAIN 207

SPAIN.

1. Introductory. — Spain is the land of contrasts. Once the most
powerful state in the world, it is now one of the weakest. A land
of heavy rainfalls, and of districts that are deserts from drought, of
great river- vaUeys and small rivers, of temperate and of tropical fruits,
a land which contains the hardest-working and also the laziest among
mankind, where the smuggler is an honester man than the official
who arrests him, where even the lowest classes are eloquent and noble-
mannered — such is and has long been the country we call Spain.
In the 16th century Spain was the strongest and richest power in the world ; it is
now only a fourth-rate power.
2. Extent. — Continental Spain contains an area of 191,000 square
miles. With the Balearic Islanda, the Canaries, and the strip of land
in North Africa, it rises to nearly 198,000.
(i) The longest line that can be drawn in Spain^from north-east to south-west —
is 420 miles long.
(ii) Spain has 1 mile of coast for everj- 72 square miles of area. This is about the
same proportion as in France.
3. Population and Populousness. — The population of Spain amounts
to nearly 17 millions. This gives an average density of about 85 per
square mile. In the coast-districts, and only there, it rises to 100.
(i) In England and Wales the average density is 460 per square mile.
(ii) The most densely peopled provinces of Spain are all maritime.
(iii) The average density of Spain is very little more than that of the most thinly
peopled part of England — Westmoreland, which has only 82 per square mile.
(iv) Spain may also be contrasted with Italy ; the former has a large country, tlie
latter a large town, population.
4. Industries. — By far the most important industry in Spain is
Agriculture. About 73 per cent, of the people are engaged in it,
and yet not half of the surface is under cultivation. Valencia
and Catalonia are the richest agricultural provinces ; because in
these the people have succeeded best in irrigation. Wheat and
other cereals are most cultivated ; then the olive ; and next, the
vine. The pasturage of the Merino sheep — of which there are

208 EUROPE
nearly six rgiillions — is also an important industry. The fisheries
are extensive. The catching of tunnies, anchovies, and sardines,
gives employment to many fishermen. — The chief manufactures are
cotton, silk, leather, paper, and hardware.
(i) The olive-trees cover 3 per cent, of the surface ; the vine 2-8 per cent. The
chief crops are thus : Wheat, oil, and wine.
(ii) The chief cotton factories are in Barcelona.
(iii) Eice is grown in the lower grounds on the Mediterranean.
5. Commerce. — The position of Spain between the two greatest
commercial seas in the world, and her numerous excellent harbours
ought to have made of her a great trading nation. But these
advantages have been greatly neutralised by her laziness. The
chief exports are wine, fruits, metals, and mineral ores, oU, and
cork. The chief imports are raw cotton, brandy, sugar, machinery,
and salt-fish. The chief customers of Spain are Great Britain,
France, Cuba, and the United States.
(i) Spain sends ns more than £5,000,000 wortli of wine a year.
(ii) A peculiar feature of the bare plains of the Castiles is their vast monotony.
The hillsides and mountains are given to pasture ; the plains to wheat and maize.
There are no changes of crops ; no fences ; and no farm-houses. The husbandmen live
in villages, ride out on donkeys to their work in the morning, and come back at night.
This custom arose when the Moor was in the land — and it was dangerous to live
alone ; but the Spaniard is too lazy to change it.
6. Tlie Largest Towns. — There are in Spain 14 towns with a popu
lation of more than 50,000 ; and of these five have over 100,000.
These five are Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Malaga.
(i) The Capital. — MADRID, the highest capital in Europe (2200 ft. above the sea-level)
stands in a dreary part of the dreary Spanish table-land, on the Manzanares, which
flows— when it flows at all— into the Tagus. It contains about 500,000 inhabitants,
and is therefore larger than Birmingham. It is a large square city, surrounded by walls
twelve miles in circuit. Gloomy streets, high buildings, splendid palaces, courtyards
with fountains and flowers within the wtiUs ; and outside no suburbs — but only the
boundless dreary table-land sweeping up to the horizon. The climate is one of
extremes : it has been described as "three montlis in an icehouse and nine in a
furnace." (ii) Barcelona (250) is the chief port of Spain, and the largest manufacturing town.
Cotton is its chief manufacture ; and it is the " Spanish Manchester."

SPAIN 209
(iii) Valencia (145) is the centre of the Spanish silk-trade. The city is famous for its
Imerta, which grows countless numbers of oranges, grapes (for raisins), almonds, etc.
The waters of the Guadalaviar are almost completely used up to irrigate this huerta.
" Stalks of maize 25 ft. high raay be seen in the gardens ; the mulberry -tree gives four
harvests a year ; the same field yields four or five crops ; aud the grass is mown
nine or ten times."
Huerta cornea from the Latin hortits, ft garden, — a word which we have iu our horticidtitre. etc.
(iv) Seville (140), on the Guadalquivir, is a half-Moorish city. The Spaniards call it
the " Queen of Andalusia," the " Enchantress," and " the Gay. " It is the centre ofthe
sport of bull-fighting. Its most beautiful buildings are Moorish. Many of the houses
also are Moorish, ¦with flat roofs, and courts filled with flowers, in the centre a
fountain of plashing water. It has the largest manufactory of tobacco in Europe.
(v) Malaga (120), on the coast, exports dried fruit and wine. The city has the finest
climate in Spain, and stands second in commerce only to Barcelona.
7. Other Large Towns. — The five next largest towns are Murcia,
Zaragoza, Granada, Carthagena, and Cadiz. The populations of these
range from 75,000 to 95,000.
(i) Murcia (95), on the Segura, is a seat of silk cultivation.
(ii) Zaragoza (85), on tlie Ebro, sustained a siege of seven months from the French
in 180S-9.
(iii) Granada (78), one of the loveliest cities in the world, stands in a high plain com
manded by the Sierra Nevada. It was the capital of the last kingdom of the Moors,
who remained there for two centuries after they had been driven out of the rest of
Spain. At the close of the 15th century, it contained 400,000 inhabitants, and was
surrounded by a wall fortified with 1030 towers. The Moors called it the "Queen of
Cities," the " Damascus of the "West." The Alhambra is " perhaps the fairest palace-
fortress ever inhabited by a Moslem monarch."
(iv) Caraiagena (76) is the most ancient town in Spain. It was founded by the
Carthaginians. It is now one of the three great naval ports of Spain.
(v) Cadiz (66, but with the towns that surround its bay, 200) competes with
Lisbon for the trade ofthe New World.
8. Chief Ports. — The chief commercial ports of Spaiit are Barcelona,
Malaga, Cadiz, and Valencia. The naval arsenals are Comnna,
Carthagena, Barcelona, and Ferrol.
(i) Barcelona is the largest port, and exports nuts.
(ii) Cadiz is the port for the shipment of sherry.
(iii) Cormma is known in England as the port to which Sir John Moore led his
troops in 1809. He fell there, and was buried " in his martial cloak."
(iv) The harbour of Ferrol is large enough to contain the united fleets of Europe,

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9. Railways, Telegraphs, and Letters. — Spain possesses about 6000
miles of railway, and will very soon have a thousand miles more.
She has also more than 12,000 miles of telegraph line.
There are now in Spain nearly 30,000 miles of carriage-road.
10. Canals. — Spain stands at the opposite pole to HoUand as
regards canals. The Imperial Canal on the Ebro is the only one of
importance for navigation — and even that is little used ; but th^
irrigation canals which capture the rivers of the east coast add
enormously to the national wealth. The chief are those of Valencia,
11. Political Divisions. — Spain was at one time divided into
13 provinces, many of which were kingdoms, and most of them
independent. People spoke of " All the Spains." It is now divided
into 49 provinces ; but it is not needful for us to know more than
the most important among the old and the new. These are Biscay,
Galicia, Andalusia, Murcia, Valencia, Navarre, and the two Castiles.
1. Biscay : Bilbao, Vittoria,
The home ofthe Basque race. The province has many iron mines
2. Galicia : Corunna, Ferrol, Vigo, Santiago.
An ancient kingdom with tbe finest harbours on the Sp-inish coast
3. Andalusia : Cadiz, Xeres (64), Seville, Malaga, Cordova, Granada.
This province is "one of the great granaries ofthe world," and possesses the richest mines, aa
well as the richest fruits and wines iu Spain. Huelva is the chief mining district.
4. Murcia : Murcia, Cartagena.
The driest province in Spain, Has the richest lead nnd silver mines.
5. Valencia : Valencia, Alicante.
The hill-sides me covered with esparto gi&as or with strong aromatic herbs.
6. Navarre : Pampeluna.
An ancient kingdom.
7. Old CastUe : Burgos, Valladolid (52).
An ancient kingdom, and tho one into which all the others merged.
S, New Castile : Madrid, Toledo, Talavera, Almaden.
Another ancient kingdom. The two Castiles were uoited by the marriage of F«rdinA]]d and
Isabella in 14G9. The Castiles received tlieir name from the uumeroiis castles erected
by the Cliristians as a defence against tho Moors.
9. Balearic Islands : Falma (5S), Port Mahon.
These are a continuation of the mountains of Valencia. They are tl\e " Fortunate Isles"
ofthe Ancients. Tho lurgest is Mallorca or M.yon-a ; then Minorca (=SmalleT Island) ;
then Iviza {>=Plne IshuiU).
10. The Canaries : Santa Cruz.
Tho chief Island is Tcnciitt'e (12,000 ft. high). It has flve distinct botauio regions.

SPAIN 211
12. Cliaraoter and Social Condition.— The peoples of Spain differ
from each other as much as the climates. The Catalan is hard
working, strong-willed, sober, and thrifty ; the Murcian is lazy, sleepy,
and given to reverie ; the Valencian is industrious, gay, and easily
induced to use his knife ; the Arragonese so stubborn that he " drives
in nails with his head " ; the Andalusian graceful, eloquent, charming
in manner, fond of song and dance and colour, lazy, poor — and content
to remain so. The Galicians and Asturians are the hewers of wood
and the drawers of water both for Spain and Portugal. — The "noble
science of bull-fighting" still, unhappily, continues to brutalise the
emotions of the otherwise noble Spaniard.
The siesta or afternoon sleep, is an institution in Spain. Tlien, every city is like
a city ofthe dead.
13. Government. — Spain is a constitutional monarchy — composed
of King and Cortes ( = Courts). The King is the Executive ; the
Cortes make the laws.
(i) The standing Array contains 180,000 men, of whom 23,000 are kept in Cuba.
(ii) The Navy consists of 6 iron-clads, and a large number of screw frigates and
screw gun-boats. A fleet of 35 gun-boats is kept constantly cruising about Cuba.
14. Religion and Education. — The National Church of Spain is the
Eoman Catholic ; and there are only 8000 Protestants in the whole
country. There is a system of Elementary Instruction — very im
perfect ; there are Secondary Schools — very inefficient ; there are ten
Universities — fallen far from their former high estate.
Only about 25 per cent, of the people can read and write.
15. Language. — The Spanish language is a child of Latin — not of
book-Latin, but of the spoken Latin of soldiers, ploughmen, and
country people. It is a rich, noble, and dignified language.
(i) The Latiu patrem becomes padre; salutem, salud; punctum, punto, etc. Six-
tenths of its words are Latin ; the rest Arabic, Teutonic, etc.
(ii) The Spanish language is at present spoken in a much larger part of the world
(especially in South America and Mexico) than any other language — except English.

212 EUROPE
16. Colonial Possessions. — Spain was at one time the greatest
colonial power on the globe ; but she has lost most of her colonies.
She still holds Cuba and Porto Eico ; the Plillippine, Sooloo, and other
islands in Asia ; and Fernando Po ou the west coast of Africa.
(i) Cuba contains IJ millions of people, with 1000 miles of railway. It is one of the
most fertile islands in the world. Slavery was abolished there only in 1886. Unre
fined sugar and tohacco are the chief exports. The capital is La Habana (Havanna=
the Haven).
(ii) The Philippine? produce sugar, hemp, and tohacco. The capital is Wftwiiij^
There are SOO miles of telegraph in the islands.
(iii) Fernando Po is a volcanic island in the Gulf of Guinea, It is used as a place of
exile for political offenders.

PORTUGAL.
1. Introductory.- — In the farthest south-west of Europe, on the
Atlantic Ocean, lies the little kingdom of Portugal, once one of the
great exploring powers of the world, now a thriving, comfortable, and
contented community. The country itself consists of the Atlantic
slopes of the great Peninsular table-land.
(i) Bartholomew Diaz, a Portuguese, discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 14S7 ;
Vasco da Gama, another Portuguese, doubled it in 1497. Diaz called it Cabo
Tormentoso (Cape of Storms) ; but the King of Portugal, who saw that by it lay the
road to China, rechristened it " of Good Hope."
(ii) It was a Portuguese, Magelhaens (we call bim Magellan), wbo first sailed round
the world, iu 1620-23, and gave his name to the Straits of Magellan.
2. Extent and Boundaries. — The area of Portugal amounts to 34,518
square miles ; but, with the islands of the Azores and Madeira, which
are regarded as part of the kingdom, it amounts to 36,028. It is
bounded on the north and east by Spain, on the south and west by
the Atlantic.
(i) It lies between 37° and 42" N. lat.
(ii) The land boundaries of Portugal aro often said to be artificial ; but tliis is not
the case, (a) The Minho, Douro, Tagus, and Guadiana form distinct boundaries in parts
of their courses. If we look carefully at the map, we shall see tliat the last three great
rivers bend either nortli or south, and thus separate Portugal from Spain. (6) Where
these rivers enter Portugal, tliey enter it through caiions, almost as long and deep as
those of North America, These caiions and the rapids forra a strong boundary.

PORTUGAL 213
(iii) Portugal may be said to be almost exactly identical with the zone of land which
receives from 20 to 190 inches of rain. *'The limit of the heavyrains brought by
westerly winds from'the Atlantic coincides very nearly with the political boundary of
tlie two countries." Thus the country has two boundaries — a visible and an invisible.
3. Elvers. — The only river entirely possessed by the Portuguese
is the Mondego. It waters a lovely green valley, full of cascades
which sparkle among the leafage ; but it is useless for commerce.
4. Islands. — Continental Portugal has no islands of any importance
off its coasts ; but the Azores and the Madeira Isles (though not
physically belonging to it) are politically reckoned as part of the
kingdom. The Azores have a population of over a quarter of a
million ; Madeira, about 130,000.
(i) The Azores are volcanic islands. Some bave risen out of the sea even since the
group was discovered in 1432. The last occurrence of this kind took place in 1811.
Angra, in Terceira, is the capital. St. Michael's is the largest island, and grows very
fme oranges. The exports are oranges and lemons ; wheat and maize ; wine and fruits.
(ii) Madeira (a word which means timber) itself is the largest island. It once grew a
very rich kind of mne ; but that has failed. The rose, the myrtle, and the laurel bloom
here along with the magnolia and the pomegranate. Cofi"ee, sugar, and the banana
are cultivated. The climate is soft, warra, and equable. The capital is Funchal,
5. Climate. — Humidity and equability are the marks of the
climate of Portugal. Stand on the edge of the Central Plateau ; and,
on the west, you have a moist warm atmosphere, heavy rains, frequent
fogs, rich green pastures, and luxuriant forests ; on the east, a dry
keen air, a brown parched soU, naked rocks, and treeless plains.
(i) The heavy rains make the Douro of Portugal a much larger and deeper stream
than the thin and feeble Duero of Spain.
(ii) The rainy winds that cross Portugal have almost all their moisture taken out of
thera, and are passed on to the Spanish table-lands as dry winds.
6. Vegetation. — The nature of the vegetation may be best seen
from the prevalent forest-trees. In the north we find oak ; in the
middle, chestnuts ; in the south, cork-trees. The date-palm is grown
in the farthest south.
7. Industries. — The chief industry of Portugal is agriculture.

214 EUROPE
Cereals are the largest product ; but wine is the most valuable.
Indian corn is the most important cereal ; and wheat comes second.
Eice is grown in the far south. There are a few cotton, linen, and
woollen manufactures.
(i) The roughest implements are used — no better than those of tbe Arabs. Their
plough is " a crooked branch with a tenpenny nail tied to the end of it."
(ii) The phylloxera (a small insect which attacks the vine-roots) has destroyed
thousands of vineyards in the north ; and tobacco is taking the place of the vine.
8. Commerce. — By far the largest export is wine. Other chief
exports are cork, copper ore, and onions. Portugal's best customers
are Great Britain, BrazU, and France. The chief imports are cotton
goods ; iron ; woollens ; and butter.
(i) We buy 1 million's worth of wine a year from Portugal.
(ii) We send them J a million's worth of cotton goods a year.
9. Population and Populousness. — The population of Portugal
amounts to nearly 5 millions. The most populous province is Minho.
Belgium is four times more densely peopled than Portugal.
10. Towns. — There are in Portugal only two towns with a popula
tion of more than 100,000. These are Lisbon and Oporto. There are
only six more towns which have a population above 10,000, two of
them near 20,000. These two are Braga and Funchal (in Madeira).
(i) The Capital. Lisljon or (Lisboa the Proud) is one of the most magnificent to^vns
in the world. For situation and also for splendour it vies with Constantinople,
Palermo, Naples, or Genoa. It extends four miles along the Tagus,— with its
suburbs — nine railes ; and inland, about three railes. Like Rome, it is built on seven
hills. Seen from the blue waters of the Tagus, the city presents to ns dazzling white
masses of houses, hills crowned by castle, palace, cloister, and cathedral. But,
while the exterior is a superb scene of splendour and grandeur, most of the interior
is full of mean, dirty, steep, narrow, and ill-paved streets. The earthquake of 1765
destroyed nearly 4000 houses and 60,000 people. The population is about 250,000,
(= that of Bristol). Near Lisbon is Clntra, a lovely summer retreat. Behind Cintra
is a hilly plateau, along which Wellington drew, in ISIO, the lines of Torres Vodrai,
and thus saved Lisbon from the French.
(ii) Oporto (=0 Porto, The Harbour), on the Douro, is the second city in Portugal
for commerce, the first in manufactures. The city rises fi-om the river like a double

PORTUGAL 215
amphitheatre ; and the upper parts are reached by stairs. It is the headquai-ters of
the trade in port. Its population is 106,000, and it is about the size of Preston.
(iii) Braga (19) was the former capital of Portugal.
(iv) Funchal (19), the capital of Madeira, was once mucb resorted to for its temperate
climate. There is a differeuce of only 10° between winter and summer.
(v) Ooimbra (14) is the most populous town between Oporto and Lisbon, and the
rainiest place iu Europe. As much as 192 inches fall in a year. The rain-charged
clouds come up from the Atlantic in battalions, are blown up the valley, massed
against the sides of the mountains, and driven into higher and colder regions of the
air, from whence the rain falls in buoketfuls on the lower grounds.
11. Railways, Telegraphs, and Letters. — Portugal possesses over
1000 miles of railway ; about 300 more are building. There are
more than 3000 miles of telegraph. — There are now good highroads
between the large towns.
12. Political Divisions. — Portugal is divided into eight provinces,
with which we need not make ourselves acquainted. Lisbon is in
Estremadura ; and Oporto is in Minlio.
13. Cliaracter and Social Condition. — The Portuguese are a mixture
of northern and southern races, with some trace of Arab, Berber,
and Negro blood in their veins. The country people are kind,
courteous, and gentle. They are fond of dance and song ; and they
hate Spaniards. The men are generally squat, short, and fat ; the
women have brilliant eyes, fine hair, lively features, and kindly ways.
All are good-tempered, obliging, and polished in their manner.
The peasants are hardworking and thrifty.
**The Portuguese is a gambler, but never quarrels; he is fond of bull-fights,
but takes care to wrap up the bulls' horns in cork ; and he is exceedingly kind to
domestic animals. " — Ri£clus.
14. Govermnent. — Portugal, like Spain, is a constitutional mon
archy. There are two Chambers — the House of Peers and the House
of Deputies. (i) The standing Army numbers only 18,000 men ; but it can be raised in time of
war to 120,000.
(ii) The Nai-y consists of 32 .steamers, ofwhich one is an iron-clad.

216 EUROPE
15. Religion and Education, — The Eoman CathoHc is the State
.religion ; but all other forms of worship are tolerated.
(i) 82 per cent, ofthe people can neither read nor write.
(ii) Over-against this must he set the facts that the Portuguese can discuss a
subject without quarrelling ; and that they can make verses and songs with ease, in
reply to each other, on the spot.
16. Language. — The Portuguese language is very like the Spanish :
the difference lies chiefly in the vowel sounds.
Portuguese Douro, Spanish Diiero ; P. Bom, Sp. Don ; P. bom, (good). Sp. bon.
17. Colonial Possessions. — Portugal has possessions in Africa and
Asia. The following are the chief : —
(i) Africa: Cape Verde Islands; Angola (with a population of two millions);
Mozambique ; and Congo Districts,
(ii) Asia : Goa (in India) ; Timor (in the Indian Archipelago) ; Macao (in China).
(a) The Cape Verde Islanda are the moat important, poUtiddly and commerclilly. They lie
ou the direct course of the steamers to Brazil.
(h) Slavery was abolished in the Foituguene Colonies only in 1878.
(c) The Empire of Brazil, once a part of Portugal, yins recognised as independent in 1@25.
It now surpasses the mother country in population and wealth.

18. Historical Remarks, — The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
were the period of Portugal's greatest maritime enterprise. Vasco da
Gama doubled the Cape of Good Hope in 1497 ; and Magellan
went through the Straits of Magellan in 1520.

ASIA

John-Dowav, So

ASIA.
1. Introductory. — Asia is the largest and also the most elevated
of all the continents on the globe. It is, moreover, that continent
which stands in nearest relation with all the others ; for Europe
and Africa are joined to it, while it approaches within a few miles of
North America. It contains within itself the highest heights and
the deepest depressions on our planet. It possesses the greatest
variety of climates and productions ; stretches beyond the Arctic
Circle, and nearly touches the Equator ; contains the pole of
maximum cold and the intensest heat ; contains the most densely
peopled countries ; the most various kinds of languages. The part
of Asia which belongs to us is by far the most populous part of the
British Empire ; our Queen is more of an Asiatic than a European
Power, and rules over more subjects in India than in all the other
parts of her Empire taken together.
2. Asia and Europe : A Comparison. — The eastern and the western
parts ofthe great continent of Eurasia (= Europe + Asia) are in many
important respects strikingly alike. These points of likeness are : —
EuROPP; Asia

1. Contains many and large peninsulas.
2. The most important peninsulas run
to the south.

1. Contains many very large peninsulas.
2. The largest peninsulas run to the
south.

(i) Spain coTrespondfl to Arabia. '
(11) Italy . . ,, HuidoBtan.
(iii) The Balitan Peninaula, „ Furtlier India.
(Iv) Scandinavia ,, Kamtcbatka,
3. Has a large archipelago to the south- | 3. Has a large archipelago to the
east. south-east.
(i) Sicily . . conesponda to Ceylon.
(li) The Egean I3le8 correBpond to The Sundas .-vnd PhilipplneB.

220

ASIA

Europe
4. Has her highlands and table-lands
in the south.
5. Her rivers flow to all points of the
compass.
(i) The Rhine, Rhone, and Danube rise near
each other.
(li) The Danube is the highway for Eaateni
Europe.

Asia
4. Has her highest table-lands in the
south.
5. Her rivers flow to all points of the
compass.
(1) The Indus, Ganges, and BrahmapootTa
rise near each otber.
(11) The Tang-tse-kiang ia the highway for
Eastern China.

3. Asia and Europe: A Contrast. — Tliere are also striking points
of unlikeness between Asia and Europe : —

Europe.
1. Europe is the smallest of the five
continents.
2. Europe is the continent of varied
features.
3. Europe has a small trunk. Its
peninsulas fill one-third of its area.
4. Europe has a very long coast-line.
It is three times as long as that of
Asia in proportion to its size.
5. The mountains of Europe belong to
the second class in height.
6. Europe has no twin-rivers.
7, Em'ope only shares with Asia a con
tinental basin.
S. Europe has, on the whole, a marine
climate.
9. Europe is easily accessible in all
its parts from north to south.

1. Asia is the largest. It Is five times
as large as Europe.
2. Asia is the continent of the vastest
and most monotonous plateaus.
3. Asia has a, very large trunk. Its
peninsulas fill only one-fifth of its
area.
4. Asia has, proportionately, a short
coast-line.
5. The mountains of Asia are the
highest in the world.
6. Asia has several pairs of twin-rivers.
7. Asia has the largest continental
basin on the earth's surface.
8. Asia has, almost everywhere, a
continental climate.
9. Asia is accessible only from east to
west. The table-lands bar com
munication between north and
south.

4. Boundaries. — Asia has tliree mighty oceans on three sides of it —
the Pacific, the Indian, and the Arctic Oceans. On the west, the
boundary runs in an irregular line from the Red Sea to the Kara Sea.
(i) The Suez Canal separates Asia from Africa.
(ii) The Black Sea, the Caucasus, aud the Ciispiau form the northern boundaries.

ASIA 221
(Ui) The Ural River is a. boundary on tbe west ; but tlie Ural Mountains are not
even "an administi-ative fi-ontier," for the Russian maps make Europe begin to the
east of these mountains.
5. Shape and Size. — Asia is a vast quadrangular mass, with its
four corners facing the four points of the compass. It is 5990 miles
long from west to east, and 5350 miles hroad, from north to south.
The total area amounts to 17,500,000 square miles, one-third of all the
land on the globe ; and more than the two Americas taken together.
(i) The length is measured from Cape Eaba, in Asia Minor, to East Capo, in Behring
Strait. (ii) The breadth is measured from Cape Chelyuskin in the Arctic Ocean, to Cape
Romania at the south end of Malacca.
(iii) The largest land-line that can be drawn in Asia is Cf 70 miles long, and runs
from the Isthmus of Suez to East Cape.
6. Coast Line. — While Africa is a huge trunk without limbs,
Asia throws out large offshoots on two of its sides. The gulfs, too,
which penetrate it have the greater value for commerce that great
rivers flow into them, and thus form a kind of continuation of
these gulfs into the heart of the land. The coast-line of Asia
measures 51,000 miles in length. This gives 1 mile of coast to
every 337 square miles of area. In spite of the magnitude of its
peninsulas, Asia has a shorter comparative coast-line than all the
other continents with the exception of Africa.
(i) Europe has 1 mile of coast to every 190 square miles of surface.
(ii) The peninsulas of Asia occupy 19 per cent, of its whole surface ; those of
Europe 28 per cent,
(iii) Nearly one-fifth of the coast-line of Asia is useless for commerce, that part,
namely, which lies on the Arctic Ocean.
7. The South Coast. — The peninsular character of Asia shows
itself strongest in the south. Three immense offsets carry the land of
Asia into tropical latitudes ; and three large sea-inlets from the
south break into her southern shores. The three great southern
peninsulas are Arabia, India, and Further India ; the three immense
gulfs are the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf.
(i) Arabia resembles Spain, not only in position, but in character. Both are
elevated plateaus, both rectangular in shape and monotonous iu outline. The most
easterly point of Arabia is Kas-el-Ead. S

222 ASIA
(ii) India is like Italy in position, and also as regards the fact that both have a
large island on the south. The most southerly point of India is Cape Comorin.
(iii) Fnrther India is like the Balkan Peninsula in position, in the facts that both
are peninsulas of peninsulas, and that both have large archipelagoes to east and
south-east of them. The most southerly point of the Malay Peninsula is Cape Bomanla,
only 1° from the Equator.
(iv) The two great peninsulas of India and Further India, with the neighbouring
archipelagoes, are " unequalled in the richness of their vegetation, the splendour of
flower and foliage, and the beauty of their animal species."
(v) The Eed Sea is an arm of the Indian Ocean. In the north it divides into the
Gulfs of Suez and Akaba, between which stands the Sinai Peninsula.
8. The East Coast. — On the east the peninsular character of Asia is
much weaker. But the Pacific Coast has three prominent peninsulas,
three immense convexities, and three festoons of islands enclosing
inland seas. The peninsulas are those of Tchuktchi, EamtchatKa,
and Corea. The convexities are those of Eastern Siberia, China,
and Cochin-China. The festoons of islands are the Kurile Isles — which
enclose the Sea of Okhotsk ; the Japan Islands — which enclose the Sea
of Japan and the YeUow Sea ; and the Philippines — which enclose
the China Sea. These island-festoons show a remarkable parallelism
with the neighbouring coasts.
(i) The Aleutian Isles also enclose the Eamtchatka or Behring Sea. These islands and
the peninsula of Kamtchatka are highly volcanic. The southern end is called Cape
Lopatka. (ii) The end of tbe Tchuktchi Peninsula is East Cape.
(iii) The Sea of Okhotsk is infested by fogs ; and the periods of freedom from them in
the year are counted only by weeks.
(iv) The Yellow Sea contains within itself the Gulf of Pe-chi-li.
(v) The China Sea contains the Gulfs of Tonquin and Siam.
9. The West Coast.— The western shores of Asia are washed by
the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Caspian. The great
peninsula here is Asia Minor, which occupies the same position rela
tively to Asia, that Brittany does to Europe. There are no great re
entrant gulfs ; and only one island — Cyprus — represents the insular
development of Asia in the west.
(i) The most westerly point is Cape Baba, near the island of Mytilene.
(ii) The numerous islands between Asia Minor and Greece — tlie Sporades and
Cyclades — may be regarded as bridges for coramerce and civilisation.

ASIA 223
10. The North Coast. — The Arctic Coast is the most monotonous
and the least developed of all. Sloping away from the sun, and
facing a frozen ocean, it has no commerce, and is hardly visited even
by travellers. The only peninsula is the Taimyr, and the only gulf of
importance the Gulf of Obi.
(i) The end of the Taimyr Peninsula is Cape Chelyuskin (North-Bast Cape).
(ii) The flord-like Gulf of Obi is nearly 600 miles long.
11. Straits and Isthmuses. — The Straits of Asia are all, with few
exceptions, important links in the great chain of water-highways of the
world. At Behring Strait, Asia draws close to North America ; at
Bab-el-Mandeb, to Africa ; at the Dardanelles and Bosphorus, to,
Europe. The Strait of Malacca forms one entrance to the China Sea ;
the Sunda Strait, another.
(i) The Strait of Ormnz forms the entrance to the Persian Gulf, after sailing through
the Gnlf of Oman.
(ii) We pass through the Gulf of Aden, before coming to the Straits of Bab-el-
Mandeb. Bab-el'Mandeb means " Qaie ot Tears." Bosphoma menna "Ox-ferry."
(iii) The isthmus which joins the Malay Peninsula to the mainland, is called the
Isthmus of Erah. It is about S3 miles wide.
12. The Islands of Asia. — The Islands of Asia are both large and
numerous, especially on the south-east. There we find the grandest
group of islands in the world. All the islands of Asia cover more
than a million square miles — that is, about 6 per cent, of the whole
surface of the continent. They belong to four distinct classes —
different in character as in position — (i) the Islands of the Arctic
Ocean ; (ii) those in the Pacific ; (iii) those in the Indian Ocean ; and
(iv) the Islands in the Mediterranean.
(i) The only islands in the Arctic Ocean are the uninhabited grosiips of New Siberia
(Liakhov) and Bear Islands — both ' ' lost amid ice-fields. " The former are noted for the
quantities of fossil ivory found in them. Indeed, the whole north of Siberia is remark
able for the remains of the extinct mammoth (a kind of elephant) and the rhinoceros.
(ii) The Pacific Islands are on the grandest scale and of the most varied character.
(a) The Eurile Archipelago— called by the Japanese, "The Thousand Islands,"— is a
chain of partially submerged mountains, all volcanic. There are more than fifty active
volcanoes in the group. (&) The Saghallen belongs to Russia, and is rich in coal, (c)
The Japanese Islands stand in the same relation to Asia, that GreatBritain and Ireland do

224 ASIA
toEurope. Niphonisthe "Great Britain ofthe Bast." (d) The Loo-choo (or Liu-kiu)
Islands, represent the remains of a highland region by which Japan was connected
with the mainland, (e) Formosa (= " The Beautiful "), an island belonging to China, is
noted for its high mountains and its rich flora. (/) Hainan, which protects the Gulf of
Tonquin, belongs to China, and is rich in minerals, (g) The Philippines and Sunda
Islands close in the China Sea ; and Borneo is the second largest island in the world.
(iii) The Islands in the Indian Ocean are ; (a) Ceylon, which stands in the same
relation to India, that Sicily does to Italy ; (b) the ATiria.TnftTiH and Nicobars, in the Bay
of Bengal. The Andamans are a volcanic group. They have been selected as a penal
settlement for Indian convicts, (c) The Laccadlves and Maldives are coral atolls.
(iv) The Mediterranean Islands comprise : (a) Cyprus, in the Levant, which belongs
to Turkey, but is *' protected" by Great Britain. It, like Ceylon, is one of theancient
centres of civilisation, (b) Rhodes, Eos, Samos, and Mytilene, are also said to belong to
Asia. They form part of the Sporades.
13. The Build of Asia. — The build of this continent presents us
with the most striking contrasts. We find here the greatest heights
and the most deep-sunk depressions in the world ; the most elevated
table-lands, and the lowest plains. All vertical forms are to be seen
here : Table-land, Steppe, Lowlands — even below the sea-level ;
isolated ranges, buttress-ranges, and plateau-ranges of mountains.
There are four slopes, to the north, the south, the east, and the west.
The " centre of gravity of the continent " is to be found in the
mountain-knot formed by the junction of the Himalaya and the Kara-
korum. Prom this central knot radiate, like the spokes of. a wheel,
three vast plains and three vast table-lands.
(i) The highest mountain in Asia, aud in the world, is Gaorisankar (="the Ra
diant "), or Mount Everest, 29,002 ft.
(ii) The deepest depression in the world is the valley of the Dead Sea, which is 1312
ft. below the level of the Mediterranean. The Eunn of Cutch (in the west of India) is
so low that the sea overflows it during the blowing of the south-west monsoon.
(iii) The three plains are the Lowland ot Turan ; the larlm Depression ; aud tlie great
Indo-Gangetlc Valley.
(iv) The three table-lands are the Highland of Pamir (" the Roof of the World "), tlie
Plateau of Thibet, and the Flateaa of Iran.
14. The Table-lands. — Asia is the Continent of Table-lands. It
contains the highest and the most extensive table-lands on the face
of the glohe. Two-fifths of its whole area is filled with plateaus.
They stretch across the continent in a mighty belt from Asia Minor

ASIA 225
and Arabia to the East Cape. They may be divided into two parts :
the Plateau of Eastern Asia ; and the Plateau of Western Asia.
(i) The immense height and size of its plateaus make Asia the highest continent in
the world. The average height above the sea-level is 2885 ft. ; that of Africa is 2165 ;
while North America is only 1950 ft.
(ii) Outside the chief plateaus are the isolated table-lands of Arabia and the Deccan.
15. The Eastern Table-land. — This high plateau stretches from the
Himalayas to the north-east, a distance of 4500 miles. Its highest part
is the Plateau of Thibet— the highest plateau in the world. Its surface
has an ayerage height of 18,000 ft., or more than three miles ; and
many parts of it are more than 4000 ft. above the summit of Mont
Blanc. The Plateau of Thibet lies between the Euen-Lun range on
the north, and the Himalayas, which are its buttress-ridge, on the
south. North-west of it rises the Plateau of Pamir, " the Eoof of the
World." North of it sinks down the Mongolian Plateau, which also
contains the Desert of (Jobi (or Shamo), itself a plateau, of the height
of 4000 ft., while its lowest part is only 2200 ft. above the sea-level.
(i) The great depression of the Desert of Gobi includes the basin of the Tarim,
called the Han-hai (= " Dried-up Sea "), and also the depression of Lake Lob-nor, into
which the Tarim flows. This basin belongs to the great continental basin, the waters
of which never reach the sea.
(ii) Lob-nor, which is four times as large as the Lake of Geneva, is drying up ; and,
even in theh-ainy season, is only a vast marsh, with its deepest part 15 ft.
16. The Western Table-land.— This plateau begins at the Hindoo
Koosh and Suliman Mountains, and goes west till it ends in the table
land of Asia Minor. Its chief parts are the Plateau of Iran (to
which Afghanistan and Persia belong) ; the Kurdistan Highlands ; the
Armenian Highlands ; and the Plateau of Asia IVIinor.
(i) The Iranian Plateau is more than twice the size of France. Its lowest parts
are 3500 ft. high. Towards the Caspian it becomes a wide salt-desert. Its northern
and southern sides are nearly parallel.
(ii) The Eurdistan Highlands lie between the Elburz Mountains (whioh is their border-
range towards the Caspian), and the Mesopotamian Plain.
(iii) The Armenian Table-land is a plateau nearly twice the height of the interior of
Spain ; and it culminates in Mount Ararat, which is about 17,000 ft. high. The great
salt-lakes Van and Urumiyah lie at altitudes of more than 5000 ft.
(iv) The Asia Minor Plateau is crossed by chains of lofty mountains (some of the
peaks reach 10,000 ft.) ; and it is edged hy the Pontic Mountains on the north, on the
Black Sea shore, and by the Taurus Eange on the south.

226

ASIA

17. The Core of Asia. — The great central table-land of Thibet, with
its bow-shaped buttress — the Himalayas, is the core of Asia. This,
the largest mass
of rock in the
world, "calls"
the rain-bearing
winds ; drives
them high up
into the colder
regions of the
sky and thus
condenses their
immense stores
of moisture ;
throws down
the great full-
flowing rivers into the plains ; and endows these plains with ever
new supplies of fertile soil. If we seize firmly on this central fact,
we shall quickly begin to understand the " economy " and the " life "
of the Continent of Asia.
(i) As soon as the sun crosses the Equator, the Table-land of Thibet begins to be
heated up ; the air over it becomes warmer and therefore lighter ; this dir rises ; air
from other quarters rushes in to supply its place ; and the indraught becomes so
powerful that the NE. Trades are turned completely round and converted into south
west winds, which are called Monsoons ( = " season winds"). The NE. Trades blowin
winter, from November to April ; the SW. Monsoons from April to October.
(ii) Not only the great rivers of India, but those of Further India take their rise in
this plateau and its continuations.
(iii) "The plateaus of Asia, with the regions enclosed by them, form a continent
within a continent, differing in its climate, its flora, fauna, and inhabitants from the
surrounding species." — RtcLus.
18. The Mountains of Asia. — The Mountains of Asia run, in general,
from south-west to north-east. They are remarkable for the number
of their parallel ranges. The key to their arrangement is to be found
in the central knot formed by the Himalayas and the Karakorum,
which is the centre of gravity of the whole continent. From that knot

ASIA

227

four ranges run to the east ; one to the west ; and one to the south.
The four ranges to the east are the Himalayas ; the Karakorum ; the

Euen-Lun ; and the Thian Shan. The one to the west is the Hindoo
Eoosh ; and the range to the south is the Suliman Mountains. Other
important ranges are the Altai Mountains ; the Khingans ; the Moun
tains of Armenia ; Mount Taurus ; the Mountains of Lebanon ; and the
Ghats of India. The last two ranges (with the Sulimans) are the
only ranges in Asia that run north and south.
(i) The Himalayas (= " Abode of Snow ") are the grandest range in the world. " Tho
highest plateau of the earth is girdled by the highest chain of mountains." Its shape
is that of an arc. It is about 1500 miles in length, as far as from London to Con
stantinople ; with a breadth in the west of 180 miles, which increases to 220. The
mean elevation is from 17,000 to 19,000 ft. above the line of perpetual snow ; and
there are forty peaks that rise more than 24,000 ft. above the sea-level. The highest
is Gaurisanfcar (or Mount Everest), which is 29,002 ft. high, nearly double the height of
Mont Blanc. Other high peaks are Dhawalagiri (26,826 ft.) ; and Kunchlnjinga (28,156
ft.). The Himalayas do not form a single chain, but a number of more or less parallel
ridges ; and the most southerly one is the scarp of the Thibetan Table-land. The
snow-line on the north side is at 18,000 ft. ; on the south side it is 3000 ft. lower.
This arises from the fact that the heat on the surface of the Plateau of Thibet drives
the snow-line up. The higher valleys are flUed with immense glaciers, to which those
of the Alps are but icicles.

228 ASIA
(ii) The Earakorum MoimtalnB form the northern boundary of the Indus Valley. The
highest peak is Dapaang (28,000 ft.); but there is a crest, called Oodwin-Ansten, and
marked K^, on the Indian Survey Map, which is 28,278 ft. high, and therefore the
second highest mountain on the face of the globe.
(iii) The Knen-LunB (in the Chinese Empire) rise north of the Karakorums, and
their parallel ranges separate Thibet from Chinese Turkestan. Though Its crests are
not so high as those of the Himalayas, tbis range surpasses them in mean altitude and
is, on the whole, the most elevated on the globe. It is about 2400 miles long.
(iv) The Thian-Bhan (="Sky Mountains") separate Turkestan from Eastern or
Chinese Turkestan. The highest summit is the " Kaufmann Peak " (22,500 ft).
(v) The Hindoo Kooah, in the north of Afghanistan, is highest at its eastern end ;
but most of the range is below the line of perpetual snow. It separates the Indus
Valley from tbat of the Amoo.
(vi) Tbe SullmanB form the western boundary of the Valley of the Indus.
(vii) The Altai Mountaina ( = "Gold Mountains") rise on the north-west ofthe
Desert of Gobi. The range culminates in the Bieliika(=" White Mountain ") whose
twin peaks rise to 11,100 ft., or nearly the height of Mount Maladetta in the Pyrenees.
The Yablonoi and Stanovoi Banges strike north-east from the Altai.
(viii) The Khingans are a volcanic range, on the eastern edge of the Desert of Gobi.
(ix) The Armenian Mountains culminate In Mount Ararat, nearly 17,000 ft. high, — on
which the Ark is said to have rested after the Deluge. It stands on Russian territory.
(x) Mount Tanrus forms the southern buttress of the table-land of Asia Minor. Near
the head- waters of the Euphrates, one of its peaks attains the height of 10,000 ft. — or
nearly the height of Mount Etna.
(xi) The Mountains of Lebanon (in Syria) consist of two parallel chains, the Lebanon
and the Anti-Lebanon — the Lebanon (=" White Mountain") being the west or coast
range. Two peaks in the Lebanon rise above the snow-line, and are over 10,000 ft.
high. Mount Hermon, in the Anti-Lebanon, is 11,000 ft. in height, and is the culminat
ing point of the Syrian Highlands. The valley between the two Lebanons is called
Coele-Syria ( = " Hollow Syria ").
(xii) The Western and Eastern Ohats are the buttresses ofthe Deccan Plateau.
19. The Himalayas and the Alps. — The two highest ranges in Asia
and Europe have some features in couimon ; and also several remark
able points of contrast. These are here set out in a tabular form :—
(i) Comparisons :
1. Both are highest in the middle.
2. Both have the form of a semicircle.
3. Both have their long slope to north ; their short and steep slope to the
warmer regions of the soutli.
4. Both have numerous Alpine lakes.

ASIA

229

(ii) Contrasts : Alps.
1. West group of Alps higher than east.
2. Points of semicircle to the south.
3. Southern slope goes down rapidly.
4. Passes numerous and easily crossed,
5. The Alps sends its waters both north
and south.

The Alps are everywhere open to
'Winds and sea influences.

Himalayas.
1. West of Himalayas, lower.
2. Points of semicircle to the north.
3. Descends by four terraces.
4. Few, very high, very diflficult and
dangerous.
5. The Himalayas only to the south.
Even those rivers which rise to the
north of Himalayas (Indus and
Brahmapootra) go south.
6. The Himalayas contain shut-in
vaUeys, great deserts, and vast
solitudes.

20. The Plains of Asia. — The Plains of Asia are all on the outer
borders of the continent, the interior being for the most part elevated.
The sum-total of all the Asiatic plains amounts to about one-third of
the whole continent. They consist almost entirely of the lower part
of the great river- valleys. The three in the east and south are very
fertUe ; the three in the west and north generally barren. The largest
plain is the Plain of Siheria, which fills about one-seventh of the
whole of Asia. The following is a list : —
(i) The Chinese Lowland, on the Pacific, copiously watered and most carefully and
skilfully cultivated, — the most populous and fertile region on the face of the globe.
(ii) The Lowland of Further India, a narrow but very fertile plain stretching fi'om the
Bay of Tonquin to the Bay of Siam, facing the great Island-world of the south. It is
well watered ; but in some parts marshy, and hence very unhealthy.
(iii) The Lowland of British India (or " Plain of Hindostan "), watered by three great
rivers, the Ganges, the Brahmapootra, and the Indus, and bounded by great plateaus.
It borders on the Tropical Zone, and possesses the advantages, without any of the
drawbacks, of such a situation. It is excellently well cultivated, and thickly peopled.
(iv) The Syro-Arabian Lowland, including the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, and
the country on the shores of the Persian Gulf. Much of it is sand/'desert.
(v) The Turanian Lowland (the " Plain of Turkestan "), the deep depression in which
the Caspian, the Sea of Aral, aud Lake Balkhash lie ; most of it naked desert.
(vi) The Siberian Plain— about one-half of Siberia— occupying the whole of the basius
of the Obi and the Irtish, and a large part of the basins of the Yenisei and Lena. The
northern part is occupied by the Tundras— a dismal frozen swamp, without towns or
villages, and inhabited only by fur-bearing animals and sea-birds.
(vii) The Plain of Pegu, on the Gulf of Martaban.

230

ASIA

21. The Deserts of Asia. — The continent of Asia is crossed by a
belt of deserts from the south-west to the north-east, much of which
is entirely rainless. This belt seems to be a continuation of the
Desert of Sahara. The following are the chief divisions of the belt : —
(i) The Syrian Desert, east of the valley of the Jordan. Its water-courses are mere
" wadies," its soil sandy, its climate parched.
(ii) The Desert of Mesopotamia, between the Euphrates and the Tigris.
(iii) The Great Arabian Desert, in the south of Arabia. The sand is in some places
600 ft. deep.
(iv) The Great Salt Steppe, in Persia. The shifting sands in the Persian deserts have
already absorbed several towns and villages. The desert of Kara Kum lies south, and
of Klzll Knm east, of the Sea of Aral.
(v) The Deserts of Makran and Selstan, in the south-west of Afghanistan.
(vi) The Thar — the great sandy desert of Northern India, east of the Indus Basin.
(vii) The Desert of Gobi — a sweep of sandy wastes which stretches continaously across
40° of longitude.
22. The Rivers of Asia. — (i) The Eivers of Asia are the largest in
the Old World. The longer streams take their rise in the great
central table-land, flow north, east, and south into the Oceans that
lave the lands ; while there is also a vast Continental Basin, no
water from which ever reaches the sea. There are two remarkable
features of the river-system of Asia. One is the fact that the rivers
flow in aU directions from the core of the continent ; the other is the
presence of pairs of twin-rivers. The first phenomenon is due to three
causes : (a) the central position of the Asiatic Table-lands ; (b) the
extraordinary height of the border-ranges, which even in the warmer
regions rise above the line of perpetual snow, and preserve in this way
inexhaustible stores of water ; and (c) the girdling of the central
table-lands with wide plains.
(i) The great rivers of America have larger basins tlian those of Asia ; but they
mostly flow in one direction.
(ii) The chief twin-streams are : the Tigris and Euphrates ; the Obi and Irtish ; the
Ganges and Brahmapootra ; the Sir and Amoo ; the Hoang-ho and Tang-tse-kiang.
" Asia is the Home of Twin-streams."
23. The Kivers of Asia.— (ii) Four great streams belong to the north of
Asia : the OW, the Yenisei, the Lena, and the Amoor. The first three
of these streams are ice-bound or ice-blocked for eight or nine months

ASIA 231
in the year. Two belong to the south-east : the Hoang-ho and the
Yang-tse-klang. Eight belong to the south, and flow into southern
seas : (a) the Mekong, Saluen, and Irrawaddy in Further India ; (b)
the Branmapootra, Ganges, and Indus in Hither India ; (c) the
Tigris and Euphrates in Asiatic Turkey.
(i) The Obi (2600 m.), and its chief tributary the Irtish, rise in the Altai Mountains.
The Yenisei (2900 m.) rises in the high mountainous regions which border the Plateau
of Gobi ; some of its water comes from Lake Baikal. The Leni (2500 m.) rises in the
Tablonoi Mountains. The Amoor (2300 m.) draws ita waters partly from the Tablonois
and partly from the Eastern slopes of the Khingan Eange. The first three of these
rivers are almost entirely useless for commerce, for several reasons : (a) they have
their heads turned the wrong way and flow into «- frozen ocean. All great com
mercial rivers either flow along a parallel of latitude, or, like the Mississippi, from
a cold into a warm climate. (&) Their upper course is rapid and rough ; their
middle course is through primeval forest ; their lower course is stopped by ice for
nine months in the year, and the water from the lower and warmer latitudes overflows
and forms marshes. But the tributaries of these great rivers — which flow east and
west — in Middle Siberia, give great facilities for local traffic.
(ii) The Hoang-ho (2600 m.) or "Tellow River," and the Tang-tse-kiang (3200 m.)
caUed by the Chinese " Blue Biver," rise not very far from each other in the eastern
part of the Plateau of Thibet, and fall into the Tellow Sea after draining and irrigating
almost the whole of China. Up to 1853, the Hoang-ho flowed into the Tellow Sea
south of the Peninsula of Shantung ; since then, it has emptied itself into the Gulf
of Pe-chi-li. (The Mekong also rises near the head-waters of both these rivers. )
(iii) The Mekong (1600 m.) said to have the largest volume of any river in Asia, rises
in the mountains of Tunnan, and drains the kingdoms of Siam and Cambodia ; and
Cochin-China. The Salnen(750m.)andlrrawaddy(1200m.)fall into the Gulf of Martaban,
and have between them the rich Plain of Pegu. All these three are parallel streams.
(iv) The Brahmapootra (1770 m.) — "Son of Brahma"— called in its upper course the
Sau-po (= " Holy Water ") rises on the north side of the Himalaya Range. The Ganges
(1500 m.) rises on the south side of the Himalayas, aud flows through the great Plain of
Hindostan. The united Ganges-Brahmapootra Delta is the largest in the world.
The Indus (1700 m.) rises in the Plateau of Thibet, flows westward between the
Karakorum and the Himalaya, and falls into the Arabian Sea. But most of its tributaries
rise in the southern slopes of the Himalayas. These three streams rise near each
other ; and in this respect they may be compared with the Danube, Rhine, and Rhone.
(v) The Tigris (1100 m.) and Enphrates (1700 m.) rise in the Highlands of Armenia,
enclose the vast region called Mesopotamia (= Mid-riverland), and join to form
one river, the Bhat-el-Arab (100 m.), which flows into the Persian Gulf.
(vi) Comparative Lengths of Eivers. — Let the Thames, which is 215 m. long, be= J in. ;
then we have— (a) Thames  ;
(b) Rhine  | in. ;
(c) Ganges  l^i^-

232 ASIA
24. The Continental Basin. — Every one of the six continents, with
the exception of Europe, possesses an inland basin, the waters of
which do not reach the ocean. But the Continental Basin of Asia
is by far the largest in the world. If we measure the Turkestan
Depression alone, which lies to the west of the Desert of Gobi, and
which is watered only by the Tarim, we shall find that it covers an
area as large as France, Spain, Germany, and England put together.
But, if we measure the whole Continental Basin of Eurasia, the
lowest part ofwhich is the Caspian Sea, we shall find it cover 4,000,000
square mUes — that is, 300,000 square miles larger than Europe.
(i) The Tarim (1700 m.) flows into Lob-nor (Lake Lob), wMeh is becoming more and
more of a marsh. In fact, the whole of this part of Asia is steadily drying up.
(ii) The CaBpian and Aral Seas are fragments of an immense Mediterranean which at
one time stretched from the Black Sea to the Arctic Ocean. Into the latter flow the
twin streams of Sir and Amoo, which, like the Hoang-ho, have changed their courses.
25. Tlie Lakes of Asia. — As regards lakes, Asia in its poverty
presents a striking contrast to the wealth of inland waters which we
find in North America and Africa. Most of the Asiatic Lakes are
found on the north of the central table-land ; and it is worthy of note
that, as we go east they rise in elevation, and seem each to stand on a
step of a mighty continental staircase. Thus : — Baikal, 1550 ft
Zaisan, 1200 ft |
Balkhash, 780 ft [
Aral, 157 ft. above. I

Caspian, 85 ft.
below sea-level.

It will be observed tliat Lake Aral is about twice the height above the sea-level that the Caspian
is below it, and that BailEal is at an elevation twice that of Bailfhash.
There are many large lakes on the Plateau of Thibet, the best
known being Tengri-nor. Smaller lakes are dotted over the surface
of the other plateaus — the Deccan, Armenia, and Asia Minor. The
largest lake in the Turkestan Depression is Lob-nor. On the great
eastern rivers are many lakes, which can only be regarded as expan
sions of parts of the rivers.
(i) The Dead Sea is lower stiU— its surface is 1266 ft. below tlie sea-level.
(ii) The two largest lakes iu Armenia are Urumiyah and Van, both ofwhich are salt

ASIA 233
(iii) The following is a tabular view of the chief Lakes ot Asia :—
1. Aral, in Turkestan. 7. Ttm-ting, on the Tang-tse-kiang.
2. Baikal, in Siberia. 8. Po-yang, „ ,,
3. Balkhash, ,, 9. TTnunlyah, in Persia.
4. Zaisan, in Mongolia. 10. Van, in Turkish Armenia.
5. Itoh-nor, „ 11. Dead Sea, in Syria.
6. lengil-nor, in Thibet. 12. Sea of Qalllee, in Syria.
(iv) Lake Baikal is the largest fresh-water lake in the Old World.
26. The Climate of Asia. — Asia has many climates ; for it not only
stretches from the Equator to within 12° of the North Pole, it rises
from 85 ft. below the level of the sea to 29,002 ft. above it. Hence it
possesses every variety of latitude and every variety of altitude. It
has climates which are very hot and very dry ; very hot and very
moist ; and it also has within it the pole of maximum cold, where the
winter temperature is 24° below zero. — The temperature of the whole
continent must be considered from three points of view : (a) going
from south to north, when we find it grow always colder ; (b) from
west to east, when we find it grow more extreme, — intensely hot in
summer, bitterly cold in winter; (c) from the lowest land to the
highest — from' tropical vegetation to the death and barrenness of the
snow-Une. From all these points of view we shall find that Asia is
the Continent of Climatic Contrasts — the Continent of Extremes.
(i) Cape Romania- is within 1° of the Equator.
(ii) Three-fourths of Asia lies in the Temperate Zone ; but the word temperate gains
a set of very remarkable meanings from the fact that much of the land within the
Temperate Zone is at heights of from 2000 ft. to 18,000 ft. above the sea-level.
(iii) The Pole of Cold is near Verkhoyansk, in 67i N. lat. The average temperature
for the whole year is 30° below freezing-point ; and every wind that blows to it brings
a warmer temperature than its own.
(iv) The contrasts are sharpest in the high table-lands. The summer suddenly
succeeds winter, without gradation.
(v) The increase in extreme cold and extreme heat as we go from west to east is due
chiefly to the fact, that we get further and further away from sea-influences. Hence
we find more and more of a continental climate. This is the case in Europe also.
Contrast the climate of Moscow with that of Edinburgh.
(vi) The contrasts of different altitudes is best seen in tlie difference between the
Lowlands of Northern India and the Table-lands of Thibet. In the one, tropical heats,
tropical moisture, tropical vegetation, teeming plains, densely peopled cities : in the
other, arctic winters, bleak steppes, stunted vegetable growths, and hardly a huraan
being. Such a contrast cannot be found elsewhere in all the world, except in regions
separated by 60° of latitude.

234 ASIA
27. The Rainfall of Asia. — The contrasts in the rainfall of Asia are
as great as in the temperature. The driest and the wettest regions on
the face of the globe are found here. In the Karakum Desert, north
of the Sea of Aral, whole years pass without rain ; in the Highlands
of Assam, 50 inches of raiu will fall in a month. The southern slopes
of India and Further India receive more than half the whole rainfall
of the continent.
(i) In the year 1858 it rained only four hours in the Karakum Desert.
(ii) Chlrrapoonje, in the Cossya Mountains, at the head of the Bay of Bengal, is the
rainiest spot in the world. The annual rainfall amounts to about 610 inches.
(iii) The South-West Monsoon brings most rain. The ocean is a "seething
caldron ; " the monsoons carry millions of tons of moisture ; they discharge them on
the Himalayas and the Western Ghats in deluges. Some Indian valleys receive in
one downpour more rain than falls in some parts of England in a whole year.
28. The Four Climatic Begions. — There are in Asia four clearly
marked climatic regions. (i) The Eastern Eegion of Higher
Asia, the characteristics of which are drought and cold. (Li) The
Southern and South-Eastem Region of Lower Asia, the characteristics
of which are great heat and much moisture, (iii) The Table-land
Eegion of Western Asia, which has a very dry and almost African
climate, (iv) The Northern Eegion (Siberia), the characteristics of
which are great cold and little rain.
(i) The High Eastern Region owes its severe climate to its enormous elevation, to the
fact that it is shut off from oceanic influences (rain-carrying winds) by high border-
ranges, and to the consequent dearth of rain, and lack of rivers and lakes.
Winter lasts half the year; and the hot summer "follows hard upon." Only the
watered valleys have any useful vegetation.
(ii) The South and East of Asia lie open on both sides to sea-influences, and have an
abundance of periodical rains. The South-West Monsoon period is the period of raiu
for most of India. Along with abundance of rain we have, in most paits, a vertical or
nearly vertical sun.
(iii) The dry African climate is found specially on the Plateaus of Iran and Arabia.
In fact, rauch of Arabia raay be looked upon as a continuation of the Sahara.
(iv) The Northern Begion slopes away frora the sun, lies open to tlie cold north winds
that come from a frozen ocean, and is shut off' from the south by high mountain walls.
A long winter is followed by a short, but very hot, summer, in which the crops ripen
with great rapidity— as, in the higher latitudes, the sun is above the horizon for twenty
or twonty-two hours out of the twenty-four.

ASIA 235
29. The Vegetation of Asia. — The flora of Asia is as various as its
climates, and the contrasts are nearly as great. From the dwarf-
willows, two or three inches high, of the Tundra region, to the
gigantic banyan, under whose branches thousands of people can
find shelter, all kinds and sizes of plants and trees are found
in Asia. As in the case of the climate, we may distinguish four
zones of Vegetation : (i) the High-Eastern ; (ii) that of the South
and South-East ; (iii) that of Western Asia ; and (iv) the Northern
Zone. (i) On the high plateaus and steppes, those bushes prosper whioh have hardly any
leaves— like the juniper. During the spring, even the dry deserts are covered with a
rich carpet of nutritious grass. If we cross the plateau, and descend on the Paciflc
slope, we find «. very rich flora — walnuts, lime-trees, maples ; and, in the virgin
prairies of the Amoor, man and horse are easily concealed in the gigantic grasses.
Further south, in the Chinese lowlands, rice and cotton are grown.
(ii) In the South and South-East, the richest flora is seen. This extends over India,
the peninsula of Further India, and the archipelagoes. The southern slopes of the
Himalayas, bathed in the drenching rains of the monsoons, are clothed with forests
up to the height of 13,000 feet — pine, Scotch fir, yew-trees, the deodar (or Indian
cedar), and an immense variety of rhododendrons, some of them 90 feet high. In
the lowlands, all kinds of tropical plants thrive — sugar-cane, cotton, opium. Indigo ;
and along the coast, the cocoa-nut palm and the banyan. Ferns reach the size of
large trees. In the forests, red-cotton trees, india-rubber, and bamboos grow with
immense luxuriance. Eice is the chief food-plant of Southern Asia ; and millions
upon millions in India and China eat nothing else. In Borneo and other i-slands
of the archipelago, the sago-palm, the bread-tree, and the tamarind grow largely
and bountifully. AU kinds of spices, too— nutmegs, cloves, ginger, cinnamon— grow
iu the hot and moist atmosphere of the islands. In fact, the archipelago is the
special region of spices, as it is also of vegetable poisons.
(iii) In Western Asia the fiora is like that of the south of Europe. The birch is
characteristic of the forests ; and the vine, plum, cherry, apricot, and pear, belong
originally to this region. Laurels, olive-trees, myrtles, are also found here.
(iv) The Tundra— a region of swamps— where the ground is frozen to a great depth,
produces dwarf willows, dwarf birches, lichens and mosses. Further south, however,
we find the larch, poplar, birch, pine, and other European trees. Com grows well in
most parts of Siberia ; and barley ripens even as far north as Yakutsk. In the spring
the meadows of Siberia are dazzlingly bright with peonies, gentians, asters, and other
strongly coloured flowers.
30. Asia the Home of Useful Plants. — It is to Asia that Europe is
indebted for most of her useful plants. To her we owe most of our

236 ASIA
grains ; most of our kitchen-vegetables ; and the best of our fruits.
Several of our most valuable forest-trees come from Asia.
(i) Wheat, barley, oats, and millet come from Western Asia.
(ii) Onions, peas, beans, spinach, radishes, etc. come from Western Asia.
(iii) The apple, pear, plum, cherry, almond, and mulberry were first cultivated in Asi^,
The raspberry, too, is an Asiatic fruit,
(iv) The pine, larch, birch, poplar, willow, and other trees, come to us from Asia.
31. The Animals of Asia. — Asia is rich in all kinds and varieties of
animals. It is richer in mammals than any other continent ; and it
is especially rich in carnivorous animals. The fur-bearing animals ;
the ox-tribe, which is very characteristic of Asia ; the most colossal,
powerful, and savage wild beasts ; birds of many kinds ; reptiles of
the most deadly character — all of these are found in different parts of
Asia. The tiger is the most dreaded of all the Asiatic beasts of prey.
(i) Asia possesses 600 species of mammals— that is, one-third of all the species
known in the world.
(ii) Siberia is the true habitat of fur-bearing animals ; such as the bear (black as
well as white), wolf, fox, sable, ermine, marten, otter, "beaver, etc. The hare, wild
boar, stag, reindeer, and elk, are also found in Siberia.
(iii) The Central Plateau has a fauna of its own. Among others are the wild
ancestors of our own domestic animals— the wild horse, wild donkey, and wild camel.
The yak, several kinds of antelope and the roebuck, are characteristic of the central
table-land. The tiger roams as far north as Lake Zaisan— and even as far as Baikal.
(iv) The tropical fauna of Asia is very rich — richer than that of Africa, It is
especially rich in carnivora, which find ready refuge in the thick jungles and the
dense forests — lions of the maneless order, tigers, hyenas, and jackals. Then we
have tlie Indian elephant, the Sumatran rhinoceros, and the buffalo ; many varieties
of deer, monkeys, and long-armed apes, among which is the orang-outang.
Still more rich is the fauna of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula. The reptiles include
the python (sometimes 30 feet long, whieh kills, not by poison, but by com
pression), and the deadly cobra, or hooded snake ; while in the south of the continent
the crocodile is universaUy distributed.
(v) Asia is very rich in song-birds ; and Eastern Asia in birds of brilliant and
varied plumage. The parrots of India are reraarkable for their beauty. The peacock
is a native of India ; the golden pheasant comes from China; the bird of paradise
from Malaya aud New Guinea. The birds of India are sui'passed in beauty and variety
only by those of tropical America.

ASIA 237
32. Asia the Home of Domestic Aulmals. — Europe is also indebted
to Asia for aU her domestic animals, and for aU her domestic poultry
except the turkey. Asia's own domestic animals — used as beasts of
burden — are the camel, elephant, zehu, horse, and reindeer.
(i) The ttirkey is a native of North America, and was introduced into Europe in
the 16th century.
(ii) The camel is the "ship of the desert" from the shores of the Ked Sea to the
furthest eastern edge of the Gobi.
(iii) The elephant is employed both to carry and to draw in all parts of India.
(iv) The zebu (one-humped ox) is used as a beast of burden, as well as for draught
in the plough or in wagons.
(v) The horae is found in the greatest perfection in Arabia, and in the hot and dry
coxmtries of Western Asia.
(vi) The reindeer is used for the saddle as well as for draught in Siberia.
33. Populatiou aud Populousness. — Asia gives birth to more than
one-half of the human race. Her population is estimated at 840
millions. The most densely peopled part of the continent is in the
east — in Japan and China ; the most thinly peopled iu the north.
In fact, a rain-map of Asia would serve also as a population-map ;
where the rainfall is greatest, the population is densest.
(i) The average population for the whole of Asia is 49 per square mile.
(ii) The densest parts of Japan and China reach 560 per square mile (Belgium
— on the opposite side of Eurasia — has 530).
(iii) One-tenth of the whole continent is totally uninhabited.
(iv) In Southern and Eastern Asia more than half of mankind are packed within a
space less than one-sixth of the dry land on the globe.
34. Peoples.— The inhabitants of Asia belong mostly to two great
races — the Caucasian (or Fair type) and the Mongolian (or Yellow
type). The latter are by far the most numerous ; for they embrace
about seven-tenths of the whole population. The Caucasians number
only one-tenth. In addition to these, there are minor races, the most
important of which is the Malay.
(i) The MongollanB have a yellow skin, broad flat face, high cheek-bones, black
eyes, long lanky black hair, flat noses, no beard, and oblique, deep-sunk eyes. The
best-looking specimens are found in Japan. This race speaks a monosyllabic

238 ASIA
(il) The OancaBians have a fair complexion, high forehead, aquiline nose, straight-
set eyes. The noblest-looking specimens are to be found in Georgia in the Caucasus
district. All the more civilised peoples of Europe belong to the Caucasian race.
(iii) The Malays have a black or brown skin, projecting forehead, thick flat nose,
large mouth, black eyes, soft black thick and curly hair.
35. Eeligions. — Asia is the cradle of the four chief religions of
the world — the Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, and Mahometan. About
560 millions — nearly one-third of mankind — are Buddhists ; nearly
190 millions profess Brahmanism ; the Mahometans number 90
millions ; and the Christians, 20 millions. The nomadic tribes of
Siberia and Central Asia are given to Shamanism.
(1) Buddhism was founded by an Indian Prince, called Sakya Monni, surnamed
Buddha (= " the Enlightened "), who lived about 500 e.g.
(ii) BrahmanlBm is the religion of Brahma, the creator.
(iii) Mahometaniflm was founded by Mahomet, an Arab, who lived 570-632. The
doctrines are found in the sacred books called Alkorin (=the Koran).
(iv) ShamaniBm is a form of idolatry which recognises the existence of good and evil
powers — deities, demons, etc., which must be sacrificed to and propitiated.
(v) There are some flre-worshippers, called Paxfiees, in India.
36. The Industries of Asia. — In the far North, we find hunters and
Jlshers. In the central part a nomadic pastoral life prevails. The
settled and sedentary occupations are found on the outside edge of
the plateaus in the East, South, and West. Taking Asia as a whole,
the chief industry in it, as in other parts of the world, is agriculture.
Grazing is the industry of the steppes and plateaus of the in
terior, which supplies European markets with hides, wool, and
tallow. Further north, hunting is the industry ; and the Siberian
peasants as well as the nomad hunters export every year large quan
tities of rich furs. The spinning and weaving of cotton in steam-
mills is now common in India. Decorative arts, such as carving,
inlaying, embroidering, etc., have come to the highest state of perfection
in India, China, Japan, Persia, and Asia ]\Iinor ; and these countries
send us silk, jewellery, carvings, carpets, silver and gold work,
specimens of cutlery, and articles of furniture, many of which far

ASIA 239
surpass in taste and beauty anything that can be produced in
Europe. (i) Eice, millet, wheat, and other grains are grown in the fields of China, Indo-
Chiua, and Japan; while in Southern and Western Siberia excellent crops of wheat,
barley, and rye are raised.
(ii) In India and Asia Minor rauch cotton is produced.
(iii) Tea-growing forms the chief industry of Southern China and Assam ; and it
is also grown in India and Ceylon.
(iv) Coffee is produced In Arabia, India, Ceylon, Java, and other parts of the south.
(v) The sugar-cane is cultivated largely in the south and south-east.
(vi) The silkworm culture is widely spread iu China, Japan, India, Turkestan,
Persia, and Asia Minor.
(vii) Spices are largely grown in the Great Archipelago.
(viii) Indigo, jute, dyes ; opium, quinine, are produced in many parts ofthe south
east and south.
37. The Commerce of Asia.— The trade between the different parts
of Asia is the oldest in the world, and dates back many thousands of
years. It has been carried on chiefly by camels and on horseback.
But, since the opening up of India, China, and Japan, and the intro
duction of steam navigation, an immense trade with Great Britain,
the west of Europe, and the United States, has come into existence.
There is also a very large overland trade with Russia. All the large
ports in the south and south-east of Asia are in steam communica
tion with Europe and the United States by means of the Suez Canal.
38. Land-ways and Water-ways. — The land- ways of Asia are chiefly
footpaths or tracks ; and only in India are there good macadamised
roads, made by British engineers. In Siberia there is a well-known
track — running east and west — from one end of the continent to the
other ; but the traveller who tries to go from north to south is stopped
or hindered by plateaus and mountains clothed with impenetrable
forests, cut into by deep gorges and gullies, and by pathless deserts.
In India there are now about 20,000 miles of railway ; in 1853 there
were only twenty. The Chinese have made up their minds to intro
duce railways ; and this will open up much of their densely peopled

240 ASIA
country. The Russians are busy laying down railways in Siberia
and also in the interior. The water-ways of China form the chief
arteries of communication ; and the deep and broad streams — con
nected by canals — give roads for traffic into the very heart of the
country. In the northern lowland, the flatness of the plain and the
bifurcations of tributaries supply a water-way east and west ; and
thus a great line of water communication crosses Siberia and joins
the Amoor, which is navigable for more than 2000 miles.
Telegraphs connect the east and the west, both in the northern
and the southern parts of the continent.
(i) In winter, the Siberian rivers are used as sledge-roads.
(ii) St. Petersburg can telegraph to Vladivostock, on the Sea of Japan. By the wire
which crosses Turkestan and Mongolia, it can also send messages to Pekin and
Shanghai. London is connected with the large towns of India, with Singapore, Hong-
Kong, and Nagasaki in Japan. Odessa can telegraph to Bombay, etc.

INDIA 241

INDIA.
1. Introductory. — India, or Hindustan, is one of the most remark
able countries in the world. It possesses one of the oldest civilisa
tions, and one of the oldest literatures ; social traditions of caste
and manners which have existed for many thousand years ; the
most beautiful architecture, the finest decorative work side by
side with inferior art in painting and music ; one of the most crowded
populations in its fertile plains, — with the most striking contrasts
between boundless wealth and poverty even to starvation. It has
been for ages the object of envy and the prey of difl'erent conquerors ;
until, at length, it reposes in peace and comparative prosperity under
the rule of Queen Victoria, Empress of India. The Empire of
India is composed of twelve provinces under direct British rule, and
about one hundred and fifty feudatory states, which acknowledge the
overlordship of the British crown. Considered from many points of
view, India is rather a continent than a country.
(i) The name Hindostan is properly limited to the valleys of the Jumna and the
Upper Ganges. India is properly the country of the Indus.
Hinduatau =5ian or country of the 'Hindus; as Afghanistan Ii9=Country of the Afghans, »nd
Beluchistan=Countr7 ofthe Beluchia.
(ii) The Indian title of the Queen is Eaiser-l-Elnd.
2. Boundaries. — India is bounded —
1. K. by the mighty buttress — "the double wall" — of |he Himalaya — the
grandest range in the world.
2. E. by Bormali and the Bay ot Bengal.
3. S. by the blue waters of the Indian Ocean., over which the bold headland of
Cape Comorin looks out.
i. W. by the mountainous lands of .Afghanistan and Eelnchlstan, with the
Arabian Sea.
(i) " The Himalayas nowhere yield a passage for a modern army."

242 ASIA
3. Extent. — British India fills the enormous area of 1,574,450 square
miles — or more than twenty-five times the extent of England and
Wales. Of this area more than
a million square miles is ruled
directly by Great Britain ; more
than half a miUion is under
native rulers — who pay tribute
to and are under the control of
the Empress of India. The shape
of India is that of a great triangle
— the Himalayan Range forming
the base, and Cape Comorin the
apex. (i) It extends from 8" to 35" N. lat. — from the hottest regions near the Equator to far
within the Temperate Zone. The Tropic of Cancer runs south of the Ganges Valley.
(ii) The greatest length and the greatest breadth are both about 1900 miles : and each
side of the triangle is also about 1900 miles.
4. Coast Line. — India has a comparatively short coast line of 3600
miles, which gives one mile of coast to each 416 square miles of area.
The coast line is, on the whole, regular and undeveloped ; has few
good harbours ; and, in many parts, the heavy and constant surf
makes it difficult of approach. The best-known parts are the Orissa,
the Golconda, the Coromandel, the Eonkan, and the Malabar Coasts.
(i) The coast of Great Britain gives 1 mile to about 35 square miles of area.
(ii) The Orissa Coast lies between the Hooghly and the Godavery. Tlie Golconda
Coast lies between the Godavery aud the Krishna. The Coromandel Coast lies between
the Krishna and Cape Comorin. The Eonkan and Malabar Coasts lie between Cape
Comorin and Bombay.
(iii) The Rnnn(=wilderne3s) of Catch, between Gujerat and Scinde, is avast saline
swampy desert, larger than all Wales. It becomes a salt lake during the south-west
monsoon ; but, in the dry season, a plain of sand, witli such a stench from the bodies
of stranded flsh that no horse will face it. East of the Runn is the Gnlf of Cambay ;
and these two are joined during the rainy season. The Gnlf of Manaar lies between
Ceylon and the mainland, and is separated ftom Palk's Strait by Adam's Bridge.
5. Islands, — The Islands belonging to India are : — Ceylon ; the

INDIA 243
Laccadlves, and the Maldives on the west coast of British India ; and
the Andamans and Nicoljars, on the west coast of Further India.
(i) Ceylon is described on p. 260.
(11) The Laccadlves are a group of islands of coral formation, among which are 20
atolls, and many islets aud reefs, mostly barren, or producing only cocoa-nuts. The
Maldives ot " Thousand Isles " form a chain of coral islets, with 17 atolls, each enclosing
a deep lagoon fringed with reefs richly clothed with the cocoa-nut palm. The group
is governed by a Sultan, who pays tribute to the Government of Ceylon.
(ill) The Andamans are a group of volcanic islands, surrounded by dangerous coral
reefs. The harbour of Port Blair, in South Andaman, is the chief penal settlement for
India. The Nicobars, to the south-east of the Andamans, are a group of lovely islands
with a very rich flora, but poor fauna.
6. Tlie Build of India. — Four highland systems, one vast plain, and
one vast plateau make up the relief of India. The highland systems
are those of the Himalayas, the Vindhyas, the West and East Ghats ;
the plain is the plain of the Indus and Ganges Valleys — called the
Indo-Gangetic Plain ¦ and the plateau is the Plateau of the Deccan.
(i) The Himalayas have been already described on page 9.
(ii) The Vindiya Kange forms the northern scarp of the table-land of the Deccan. Its
southern slope, which faces the valley of the Nerbudda, is very steep and looks like
the weather-beaten coast of an ancient sea. The Satpora Range, on the south of the
valley, runs parallel with it.
(iii) The Western Ghats run along the Malabar coast of India. The plain between
them and the sea is only about 30 to 40 miles wide. Frora this plain they rise like
an Immense wall facing the ocean ; but their eastern slope is very gradual towards the
central table-land. In many parts they rise in raagnificent precipices and headlands
out of the ocean, and look like colossal " landing stairs " frora the sea. The mean
height is about 3500 feet ; and the culminating point is Mahabaleshwar Peak (4800 ft,).
They end in the Kilgherries or "Blue Mountains," the highest peak in which is
Dodabetta (8700 ft.). Then comes a broad gap or depression called the Pal Ghat,
which seems to have been an old sea-channel ; and lastly comes another set of
mountains, Cardamum or the Anamalah Mountains, which are the culminating height of
India Proper. Anamudi (SSOO ft.) is the highest point.
(iv) The Eastern Ghata likewise run parallel with the coast. *But they have a much
lower mean elevation, are further from the coast, aud are broken into fragments by
broad valleys and river gorges. They form the eastern scarp of the Deccan. They
are highest in the north.
7. Plains. — The great Indo-Gangetic Plain or Plain of Northern
India, stretches from the Khasia Hills to the Suliman Mountains, and
lies hetween the Himalayas and the Deccan. It is triangular in

2U

ASIA

shape, and has a total length of 1500 miles — the distance from Paris to
Moscow. It is the most densely peopled part of the whole country.
Its eastern slope is drained by the Ganges ; its western by the Indus.
(i) The Plain of the Ganges is remarkably fertile and populous ; but in the north of it
there lies a deep depression, at the foot of the Himalayas, called the Teral, with rant
vegetation, fever-breeding air, and frequented by all kinds of wild beasts.
(ii) The Plain of the Indus contains the fertile Punjab (or " Five-River Land "), the
Great Indian Desert (or "Thar"), and the saline desert called the Eunn of Cutch.
(ill) About 150 millions of people are fed on these two plains. Two harvests, in some
provinces three, are reaped each year.
(iv) The East Coast Plain, at the foot of the Eastern Ghats, is much wider aud more
fertile than the West Coast Plain.
(v) If India were to subside about 600 feet, the Deccan would appear as a large
island ; and the Indo-Gangetlc Plain would be a broad channel connecting the Arabian
Sea with the Bay of Bengal, and washing the feet of the Himalayas.
8. Table-lands. — In addition to the great Deccan Plateau, India has
the Table-land of Malwa, which is supported between the Aravnili
Hills and the Yindhyas.
(1) The Deccan is a triangular plateau with an average elevation of firom 2000 to
3000 feet. It has a gentle slope towards
the east. It has the Vindhya Range on
the north, and the Western and Eastern
Ghats as its boundaries on the west and
east. It is an upland region of plateaus,
mountain ranges, and highlands ; and many
parts of it are extremely fertile. The
"black soil" of the Deccan, called also
"cotton soil," is proverbial for its enor
mous fertility.
(11) The Malwa Plateau, between the Ara-
vuUis and the Vindhj'as, is compara
tively small, but it is inhabited by *i.
people more vigorous than the ordinary „.The scale of this map will be understood from the
' ' mild Hindu." fact that Ceylon is nearly as large as Scotland.

9. Rivers. — India possesses, in proportion to its size, a greater
number of streams that flow into the sea, than any other country in
Asia. Its rivers fall easily into two systems, which require to be
separately studied. These are : — the river-system of the Great
Northern Plain ; and the river-systems of the Southern Plateau. To

INDIA 245
the former, belong the Indus, the Ganges, and the Brahmapootra, which
carry the rain-fall, not only of the southern, but also of the northern
slopes of the Himalaya to the sea. To the latter, the Nerbudda, the
Taptee on the western slope ; the Mahanuddy, Godavery, Krishna, and
Cauvery, on the eastern slope.
(1) The Indus (1800 miles) rises behind the Himalayan Ranges, on the table-land of
Thibet itself, and breaks its way through the whole Himalayan system. It receives
on its left bank, from the western Himalayas, the waters of the Jhelum, Chenah, Bavee,
and SutleJ ; and these four great rivers, with the Indus itself, make up the Punjab or
"Five Rivers." On its right bank It receives the southern drainage of the Hindoo-
Koosh by the river Cabnl, at Attock, which is 900 miles from the sea. In its lower
course, the Indus receives no affluents at all. Throughout its course, it flows by no
important towns ; all the large towns in its basin lie in or near the Chenab and its
other tributaries. This arises from the shifting character of its banks,
(11) The Ganges, or the "Holy Ganga" (1500 miles), is the great river of India.
Although shorter than the Indus, it has a larger area of drainage ; and its basin is
immensely more fertile. It flows out of a low arch in a glacier called the " Cow's
Mouth," on the southern face of the Himalayas, at the height of 13,000 feet above the
level ofthe sea. It enters the Great Plain at Hardwar ; and here it ic only 1000 feet
above the sea-level. Five-ninths of its water is drawn oflC to a canal of navigation and
irrigation — the largest of its kind in the world — which, after a course of 300 miles,
again joins the Ganges at Cawnpore. Its chief tributary, the Jumna, joins it at Allaha
bad (= " The Abode of AUah "). The Goomtee, with several other large affluents, falls into
it from the Himalayas. It joins, in its lower course, the Brahmapootra ; and the two
together form an immense delta, called the Sanderbandu, nearly as large as Ireland, on
the outer edge of which new land is constantly building itself out. The Ganges is
navigable for large vessels to Chandernagore. The branch on which Calcutta stands,
and which the Hindoos regard with even more reverence than the Holy Ganges itself,
is called the Hooghly, While the Indus, owing to the shifting of its course, has no
important town on its banks, the Ganges has a very large number of large towns, and
a countless number of villages on its tributaries large and small. The " Bore " is a
tidal wave five to ten feet high, which rushes up the Hooghly with a great roar at the
rate of eighteen miles an hour.
(o) " The navigation ofthe Lower Ganges and ita "branches is a wonderful spectacle. Every trader anti
landowner keeps many vesaels ; every peasnnt has his boat, aa an English farmer hia gig ; and
every labourer hia canoe. The river-craft aro to be counted by hmndreda ofthousanda. At
several poi nta the vessels anchor for months at a time and form floating cities and marts, where
a great deal of buainesB of all kinds ia done."
(6) " The work done by the Qangea, as the water-carrier and fertiliser of the densely peopled provinces
of Northern India from its source to ita mouth, entitles it to rank as the foremost river on the
surface of the globe. It has three distinct stages in its life. In its first stage it dashes down the
mountain-Bidea of the Himalaya, cuts out deep gulliea in the solid rook, and ploughs up glena
and ravines on its resistless way. In the second stage it makes ita way peaceably through the
plain, receives the mud and drainage of Northern India, and rolls on with an ever- increasing
volome of water and silt. Its bed is raised by ita own silt ; and in its third stage, it splits
out into channels like ajet of water suddenly obstructed by the finger. Eacb ofthe channels
thus formed throwa out in tum its own channela to right and left."

246 ASIA
(iii) The Brahmapootra (1800 miles), or " Son of Brahma," is a most mysterious river ;
and many parts of its course are still unknown. It is called the Banpo in Thibet,
the nihong in Assam, and the Brahmapootra in British India. The Sanpo plunges into a
ravine, and flows for about 100 miles through a still unexplored region of the Hima
layas. It brings down twice as much mud as the Ganges. In the rainy season its
lower course is converted into a mighty inland sea, which floods the whole of the
Assam lowlands. It has a very large number of tributaries.
(iv) The Nerbudda (200 miles) rises in the highlands of the Deccan, and flows between
the Vindhyas and the Satpuras, westward into the Arabian Sea. It is too rapid for
navigation. When it enters its middle course, it passes through the *' Gorge of the
Marble Rocks." The stream of clear green-blue waters winds between two glittering
walls of snow-white marble carved into pillars and fantastic shapes by the hand of
nature, here and there broken and contrasted by a mass of black volcanic rock, which
intensifies the dazzling whiteness of the marble walls. Blue sky, blue waters, black
basalt, white marble — ^together make up a most lovely and striking picture. On the
ledges of the bare rock countless swarms of bees have built their hives ; and here and
there the cliffs are crowned with temples wrought with the most delicate art. South of
the Satpura flows the Taptee parallel with the Nerbudda, but with only half its length.
(v) The Mahanuddy (520 miles) rises on the eastern slope of the Deccan, and though
famous for destructive floods (in 1866 the villages of li million of natives were com
pletely submerged). Is navigable by boats for about three-fourths of its course. It
enters the sea by a large delta which forms the province of Cuttack.
(vl) The Godavery (900 miles) is the largest river in the Deccan. It rises on the east
side of the Western Ghats, crosses the whole Deccan, and drains a basin as large as
the whole of Great Britain and Ireland. It enters the Bay of Bengal by a mighty
delta. In its basin a network of canals amounting to 500 miles has been constructed,
both for navigation and for irrigation, by British engineers. The Krishna (800 miles)
also rises in the Western Ghats, and crosses the whole peninsula. It falls into the
Bay of Bengal, by a delta, not far from the Godavery ; and the overflow of both
streams forms Lake Colalr — a lagoon — the largest In India, nearly 50 miles in length by
14 miles broad. The rapidity of the Krishna makes it useless for navigation.
(vii) The Cauvery also rises in the Western Ghats (in the Cooi^ Territoiy), crosses
the plateau of Mysore, and enters the Bay of Bengal by a large delta. It enters the
coast-plain by two magnificent falls, one of which is 460 feet high.
(vill) The deltas of these three rivers are "tracts of inexhaustible fertility," mostly
rice-bearing. They have also, within recent years, been traversed by a network of
canals ; and thus the populations in them are guarded against the risk of famine.
10. Lakes. — The Lakes of India are neither large nor important.
There are no great lakes or fresh- water seas such as are seen in Africa
or in North America. The largest lakes are either lagoons or expan
sions of a river-course. The chief lagoons on the east coast are those

INDIA 247
of CWlka and Falicut : Cochin is on the west coast. The lakes formed
by rivers are Colair, between the mouths of the Krishna and the
Godavery ; and Wular on the Jhelum, in the Vale of Cashmere.
(i) The Codiin Lagoon or " Back Waters " affords a long line of inland navigation ;
and most of the local trade between Cochin aud Travancore is carried on in this calm
natural canal.
(ii) The Colair is more a marsh than a lake ; but in the rainy season it becomes a
sheet of water about 100 square miles in extent.
(iii) The Deccan Plateau, thousands of years ago, seems to have consisted of a set
of lake-valleys or lacustrine basins. The peasants of the Deccan and the Coromandel
Coast have restored 35,000 of these lakes (so that some parts of India look like the
Finnish Table-land), and use them as reservoirs for irrigation purposes.
11. Climate. — Pour conditions must be carefully kept in view in
forming an estimate of the cKmate of any part of India : the latitude ;
the altitude (as in the case of the Deccan Plateau) ; the nearness to a
desert — the Desert of Thar in the west ; the nearness to the sea.
This last condition takes account of the direction of the prevailing
winds. In a region which stretches across nearly 30° of latitude —
from Ceylon to the high summits of the Himalayas — we should
expect to find all kinds of climate — from the air of a " furnace-blast "
to the intense cold of the high plateaus. And we do find them.
These climates may be considered going from north to south, from
east to west, and from the table-lands to the low country.
(i) The slopes of the Himalayas have a cool and refreshing air. At Agra, on the
Jumna, which receives hot winds from the Thar, the average summer temperature is
94° in the shade. At tJtaJumimd, in the Kilgherries, the height of the situation and
the sea-breezes keep the summer temperature down to 60°. The provinces south of the
Satpura range are generally cooler than the Indus and Ganges basins, because of their
greater elevation.
(ii) The east coast is hotter than the west.
(iii) The high interior of Ceylon possesses a cool and refreshing atmosphere. In the
hot season, especially from March to May, the heat on the Deccan is greater than on
the coast ; but, as it is much drier, it is much less oppressive.
(iv) The rainfall in parts of India is larger than on any other part of the earth's
surface. The rainfall which comes with the south-west monsoon is something
enormous. On the Malabar coast as much as 480 inches a year has been known ; in
the caldron-like valley of Assam more than 600 inches.
(v) Up and down the great Indo-Gangetic valley, at different seasons, sweep the
monsoons, at right angles to their usual course. Thus moisture brought from the
Bay of Bengal may fall as rain on the Western Himalayas.

248 ASIA
12. The Seasons of India. — There is no winter in India ; there are
three seasons ; and these are the seasons of heat, rain, and cold. The
hot season lasts from the time the sun crosses the Equator till the
period when he is vertical over the Tropic of Cancer — that is, from
March to June ; the wet season, from June to October ; and the cool
or " cold " season, from October to March.
The rainy season varies with tbe different parts of India, When the great heat
over the Plateau of Thibet has turned the north-east trades into south-west monsoons,
the Malabar coast has its rainy season — that is, from April to October. But, when
the ordinary north-east trades are blowing, — that is, in winter — they bring rain to the
Coromandel coast ; and the rainy season of this coast lasts from October to April.
As the north-east trades have very little sea to blow over, these winter rains on the
east coast are not so heavy.
13. Vegetation. — Most of India lies within the tropics ; but, with
many difl'erent climates, it has also many different floras. The drip
ping hills of Assam and the steaming swamps of the Terai give the
most luxuriant tropical vegetation ; the dry lands of the Scinde pro
duce a flora like that of Arabia ; the elevated lands grow the trees
and grains of the Temperate Zone. If we look at the Indian flora
from the point of view of altitude, we shall find — from the foot of the
Himalayas to the snow-line — the whole gamut of vegetable life, from
tropical, through sub-tropical plants, up to the lichens and mosses of
arctic climates. The forests on the mountain slopes yield teak and
sal — the most valuable of timbers. They were at one time recklessly
burned by wandering tribes ; but they are now increasing everywhere
under the care of the " Indian Forest Department." The various
paUns, which supply food, drink, clothing, furniture, and buOding
materials to the natives, grow mostly on the low lands of the coast.
The useful bamboo is found everywhere in the jungle.
The Terai is the malarious depression at the foot of the Himalayas.
(i) Some geographers give four divisions for the flora of India : (a) the Himalayan
Slopes ; (6) the almost rainless Basin of the Indus ; (c) the drenched Assam ; (d) the
Deccan Peninsula, which is the part of India with the smallest extremes.
(ii) The banyan or Indian fig grows to an enormous size. One of these trees is said
to cover four acres of ground, and to be able to give shelter to an army. The deodar
(the " Tree of the Gods "), an immense cedar, flourishes on the Himalayan slopes.

INDIA 249
(iii) In the hotter parts of India, pepper, cinnamon, gum-trees, cotton, indigo, sugar,
are largely grown.
(iv) The flora of the Khasia Hills, in Assam, is the richest in India— perhaps in the
whole of Asia ; and it includes no fewer than 250 species of orchids alone.
(v) Tlie cocoa-nut palm and the bamboo supply the natives with almost everything
they want— including food, oil, rope, and timber.
14. Animals. — The tiger and leopard ; the elephant and rhinoceros ;
the maneless lion ; the hyena, the jackal, and the wolf ; bears of
different colours ; deer of various kinds ; the buffalo and the wild
ass ; and many kinds of monkeys — are all encountered in different
parts of India. There are also many kinds of dangerous serpents.
Among the domestic animals, the most important are the camel, the
zebn or humped ox, the yak, and the goat of Cashmere.
(1) The "Royal Bengal Tiger"is the "king of beasts" in India. He has preserved
his empire in every part of India. He attacks chiefly gazelles, antelopes, wild
boMS, and often man himself. One "man-eater" is said to have devoured SO human
beings every year. One of these beasts stopped public roads, caused thirteen villages
to be deserted, and an area of about 260 square miles to be left untllled.
(11) The elephant holds his own in the swamps and jungles of Assam and the Terai.
The rhinoceros plunges about in the muddy regions of the Sunderbunds. The leopard
(commonly called "panther") is more daring even than the tiger, and also feeds on
human flesh. The Uoa, nearly extinct, is still found in Kathiawar, Guzerat.
(iii) The most widely spread serpent is the cobra dl capello ; and, in some districts,
there are abont 200 to the square mile. In 1S77, a total of 16,777 persons ai-e reported
to have been killed by snakes, against 819 by tigers.
(iv) The crocodile and the gavial are foiind in the Ganges.
(v) There are two kinds of vnltores, both "scavengers," keeping the streets clear of
oflal; and, from their grave manner, they are known as "philosophers" and "adju
tants." (The proper "adjutant bird " is a kind of crane.)
(vi) But the chief plague of India is found in the clouds of locusts, the legions of
rats, the hordes of ants, and the hosts of microscopic creatures which prey upon the
crops. " Clouds of locusts appear, and leave no traces of green behind them."
15. Minerals. — India is comparatively poor in minerals. It has a
good deal of coal, but the coal is poor in quality. It has also a little
Iron, copper, and tin. The most extensively worked mineral is salt,

250 ASIA
which the Government keeps in its own hands. Diamonds are found
in some districts ; and gold in the state of Mysore.
(i) " There are beds of iron-ore and limestone, which hold out the possibility of a
new era of enterprise to India in the future."— Temple.
(ii) The salt found in the Punjaub occurs in solid cliff's, of a wonderful purity. The
"Salt Range" runs through the district of Jhelum.
16. Industries. — The most important industry in India is agricul
ture. More than two-thirds of the adult males of India are engaged
in this pursuit. The Hindoos have always been skilful weavers ;
but this, with other native industries, is dying out. The chief grains
grown are millet, rice, and wheat ; the chief fibres cotton and jnte ;
while opium and indigo, tobacco, tea, coffee, and chinchona, sugar
cane, spices, and other plants, are largely grown.
(i) MiUet is the cheapest food ; rice is the food of the inhabitants of the Ganges
Basin, but most of it is grown for export. North of the line of lat. 25° North, millets
and wheat are grown, not rice. In the Delta, rice is the staple crop and the universal
diet. In a single district — Kangpur — 295 separate kinds of rice are known to the
peasant. But. " taking India as a whole, the staple food-grain is neither rice nor
wheat, bnt millet, which is probably the most proliflc grain in the world."
(11) Cotton is grown largely in the fertile " Black Lands " or " Cotton Lands " of the
Deccan ; in the Madras Presidency ; and in the North-'West Provinces (especially in
the Dooab between the Ganges and the Jumna). "Jute is essentially a crop of the
Delta, and would exhaust any soil not fertilised by river-floods."
(iii) The cultivation of the poppy for making opium is restricted by the Government
to certain parts ; and a duty of several millions is annually raised on it.
(iv) Indigo is grown throughout the valley of the Ganges from Dacca in Eastern
Bengal up to Delhi. "It is the foremost staple grown by European capital."
(v) Tea thrives in Assam, where it grows wild ; but the management of the planta
tions has been improving every year for the last twenty years, and Assam now sends
enormous quantities to England. Tea is also grown on the lull-ranges that skirt the
plains of the north-west. Coffee is cultivated iu the south of the Deccan and in
Ceylon. The Chinchona tree thrives on the sides of the Nilgherries.
(vi) The cotton, rice, sugar, and tobacco of India are rauch inferior to those of
North America. The maize, wheat, fruit, and vegetables are also inferior to similar
growths in Europe. But India surpasses all other countries in indigo, jute, opium,
tea, and coffee.
17. Manufactures. — Cotton-spinning and weaving are carried on in
the Bombay Presidency ; and there are jute factories in Bengal. But
the native manufactures of India are, in general, on a small scale ;

INDIA 25 1
and Indian artisans have always been celebrated for the delicacy and
Taeauty of their workmanship — especially in gold, steel, and iyory.
But whereas, in the last century, cotton goods were sent from India
to England, the process is now reversed.
"The organisation of Hindoo society demands that the necessary arts, such as
those of tho weaver, the potter, and the smith, should be practised in every village."
IS. Commerce. — The commerce of India is very large ; and it has
been steadily growing under British rule. The chief trade is done
with Great Britain, China, France, Italy, and the United States. The
yearly exports amount to nearly :£90,000,000 ; and the imports to
more than £65,000,000. The exports of the first class are grain, raw
cotton, opium, and seeds ; in the second class are bides. Jute, tea.
Indigo, and coffee. The imports of the first class are cotton manufac
tures (which amount every year to nearly .£30,000,000) ; after these,
but a long way after, come, in the second class, metals, hardware, silk,
sugar, liquors, machinery, and coals. More than 5000 vessels are
engaged in the trade of India.
(i) "Bombay and Calcutta may be called the two centres of collection and distribu
tion, to a degree without a parallel in other countries."
(ii) The two largest imports are cotton goods and treasure— silver and gold. The
silver is converted into ornaments ; and the gold is hoarded.
(iii) " The India of antiquity was a dealer in curiosities ; the India of the East India
Company was a retail dealer in luxuries ; the India of the Queen is a wholesale pro
ducer of staples with an enormous export business." — Hunter.
19. Cities. — India possesses sixty cities and towns with more than
50,000 inhabitants. Of these, twenty-three have more than 100,000.
The six largest cities are Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Hyderabad, Luck-
now, and Benares.
There are more tban a thousand towns which have a population of ahout 10,000.
(i) Calcutta (900), the capital of the Empire of India, the central seat of the British
Government, and the residence of the Governor-General, stands on the Hooghly,
which is the largest and most westerly branch of the Ganges Delta. Its splendid
buildings have given it the name of the " City ot Palaces. " The winding waters, the
varied foliage, the amphitheatre of magniflcent edifices, the forest of masts that look
in on the city, all make up a very imposing picture. Calcutta is one of the great
ports of Asia. It is also the second largest city in the British Empire.
The longitude of Calcutta is 88° East, When itis 6 F.M. at Calcutta it is noon in London, and
7 A.M, in New York.

252 ASIA
(ii) Bombay (800), the capital of the Presidency of Bombay, stands on a small island
which Is connected with the mainland by an artificial causeway. It is the largest and
safest harbour in India, and one of the great seaports of the world- It occupies the
best position for commerce in the whole of Asia ; and, since the opening of the Suez
Canal, it has been rapidly surpassing Calcutta in its trade. It has made some of the
noblest docks in the world. It was the American war of 1861-65 tbat made the
fortune of Bombay; for it then became the chief cotton mart of the globe. Its
streets are thronged with people of every race, tongue, and colour. Among the
chief merchants are the Parsees, who are fire-worshippers. (The name is <* con
traction of Bom Bahia, the Portuguese for "Good Bay." It came to England as
part of the dowry of' Catherine of Braganza, daughter of the King of Portugal, and
wife of Charles ii. The East India Company received it from Chaxles for a rent of
£10 a year.)— On the neighbouring islands of Salsette and. Elephanta are the remains
of wonderful temples hollowed out in the native rock. On the table-land east of
Bombay stands the city of Poonah, the chief station betypeen Bombay and Madras.
(iii) Madras (420), the capital of the Presidency of Madras, is the third largest
town in India, and the third seaport in rank. It stands on — ot rather stretches for
eight miles along— a surf-beaten shore, exposed for months together to the fiiU fnry
of the north-east monsoons. The houses are blindingly white. An artificial harbour
and piers have now been built, which enables vessels to come- up and discharge their--
cargoes. The summer capital of the Presidency is TTtakamtrnd (7000 ft. above the sea)
in the Nilgherries ; just as Simla is the summer capital of Bengal.
(iv) HyderaTiad (370) is the capital of the Nizam's Dominions, in the Deccan. It
is the largest city in the Deccan; and a great railway centre. It is. a Moslen>rather
than a Hindoo city ; and the streets are crowded with Arabs, Afghans, and Rohillas.
It is naturally and strongly fortified by a belt of desert borderland-^on which lies a
mighty chaos of granite rocks ; aud this belt is in some places 18 miles wide. The
Nizam has a body-guard of .Amazons. Not far from the city stands Golconda, tbe
former capital of the kingdom. Diamonds used to be polished in Golconda ; but the
diamond mines were at Karnul. J
(v) Lucknow (270) Is the capital of the former kingdom of Oude, now in the North-
West Provinces. It is a magnificent city, full of palatial structures ; but to English
men it is most memorable for the stubborn defence by Lawrence in the Mutiny of
1S57, and its gallant relief by Havelock. Cawnpore (160) was, in the same war, tho
scene of a terrible massacre of English women and children.
(vi) Benares (210), on the Ganges, is the " Holy City " of the Hindu Brahmans. It
is crowded with palaces and Hindoo temples ; and the countless palaces, temples,
towers, mosques, cones, spires, cupolas, minarets, porticoes, sanctuaries, flights of
steps to the river — with the altars, shrines, statues, and images set up at the corner
of every street — make up the most characteristic scenes iu the whole of India. It is
the centre of Hindu learning. The interior is a labyrinth of narrow winding streets,
where one is jostled and hustled by crowds of pack animals, camels, horses, asses,
and sacred bulls, while monkeys chatter from the balconies. The " ghats,'" or flights
of steps to the river, aro crowded with pilgrims and fakirs, many of them performing
their ablutions in tho sacred stream.

INDIA 253
20. Historlo Towns. — India has experienced so many vicissitudes,
been overrun by so many conquerors, has seen the rise and fall of so
many empires and kingdoms, that it is full of places which have left
their mark in history and whioh still retain the memories of past and
departed greatness. The most important of these towns are Delhi,
Patna, Agra, Amritsax, Lahore, AUahatad, Jeypore, Meenit, Nagpore,
Trichinopoly, Peshawur, Dacca, Jubhulpore, Indore, Umhalla, Calicut,
and Surat. Most of these cities stand in the Ganges- Jumna valley ;
and no region in the world presents such an array of splendid and
famous cities.
(i) Delhi (ISO), on the Jumna, was for centuries the proud capital of the great
Mogul, and the centre ofthe Moslem world in India. It once covered an area of 20
square miles, and the ruins of different cities all called Delhi cover 46 square
miles. Its finest building is the Jama-Masjid, the largest and finest mosque in India.
It stands in the true centre of India — that is, where the great historic roads from
the basin of the lower Ganges, from the Hindoo Koosh, from the Indus Valley and
the Gulf of Cambay, meet and cross. At present it is the chief centre of trade
within the triangle formed by Calcutta, Bombay, and Peshawur.
(ii) Patna (175), on the Ganges, is an old Moslem town. But at present it is one of
the chief trading centres of India ; malces up aud exports opium ; sells rice ; and its
warehouses stretch for 12 miles along the banks of the river. Near it is Gaya, the
birthplace of Sakya-Mouni (surnamed Buddha, or " the Enlightened "), the founder of
Buddhism. Here he sat for five years in the shade of a banyan, absorbed in contem
plation. Hence, for Buddhists, Gaya is the " Holy City."
(iii) Agra (165), on the Jumna, is celebrated for the exquisite and indeed perfect
beauty of the Taj-Mahal — an edifice erected to the memory of his wife by Shah Jehan
at a cost of three millions sterling. Built of pink sandstone and wliite marble,
standing amid the sombre green -of cypress-trees, seen in the liquid atmosphere of a
moonlight night, it presents a sight that can never be forgotten.
(iv) AmiltaaT (155), in the Punjab, is the sacred metropolis of the religious sect
caUed Sikhs. Here is the Lake of Immortality and its Golden Temple— one of the
most beautiful and elaborate buildings in the world. This city is the entrepot for
goods sent from Calcutta and Bombay to Cashmere and other ntorkets of Central
Asia. During the great feasts the city becomes a chromatic frenzy of colour ; the
streets being hung with shawls, carpets, curtains, and banners of every kind.
(v) Lahore (162), on the Eavee, in the richest of the dooabs, is the capital of the
Punjab, and the administrative and railway centre of the North- West Provinces.
(vi) Allahaliad (150), at the confluence of the Ganges and the Jumna, and midway
between Calcutta and Bombay on the Great Indian Peninsular Eailway, is now the
true commercial centre of the Indian Empire. (The name means " Abode of God.")
U

254 ASIA
(vii) Jeypore (145), the capital of Jeypore— one of the twenty Native States in
" Rajputana,"— on a plateau east of the Thar, calls itself the " Paris of India," and is
one ofthe finest towns between the Indus and the Ganges.
(viii) Meerut (100), in the dooab between the Ganges and the Jumna, is celebrated as
the town where the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 broke out.
(ix) Nagpore (100) is the most important town in the Central Provinces. It was
one of the chief towns of the old Mahratta Kingdom.
(x) Trichinopoly (85), the largest city south of Madras, stands at the head of the
Cauvery Delta, the garden of Southern India. It is commanded by a strong fort,
perched on a steep granite peak ; and bloody were the struggles between the English
and French in the last century to keep possession of it.
(xi) Peahawur (811), on the Cabul River, above where it joins the Indus, and opposite
the mouth of tbe Khyber Pass, is the bulwark of the Indian Empire a^inst Afghan
istan. " The shadow of Russia is projected towards this point."
(xii) Dacca (80), on a tributary of the Brahmapootra, was once the capital of Bengal,
and the centre of the Mahometan world in Eastern India, The ruins of its palaces
are scattered over the surrounding jungle.
(xiii) Jubbnlpore (76), in the Central Provinces, is the chief town in the valley ofthe
Upper Nerbudda. It stands on the main line of railway between Calcutta and Bom
bay. It stands near the ' ' marble gorge " of the Nerbudda, and in the middle of some
of the finest scenery in India.
(xiv) Indore (76) is the capital of one of the most powerful Native States on the
Malwa Plateau. It is the centre of the opium trade.
(xv) TTmballa is an important military station. It guards the road between Lahore
and Delhi, and is tlie bulwark of Simla, the summer capital of British India, high
among the hills of the Sub-Himalaya.
(xvi) Calicufis the largest city ou the Malabar coast It was the first Indian seaport
visited by Vasco da Gama iu 1498. It gives its name to calicoes, but no longer pro
duces them. It exports the gold ores of Wainad, the coffee of the Nilgherries, and
the teak of the "Western Ghats.
(xvii) Surat was in the early days of the East India Company the chief trading-place
ou tlie west coast. It gives its name to a coarse kind of cotton.
21. Communlcationa. — Up to the middle of the present century,
there were in India few roads, and not a single mile of railway. The
roads of the country were footpaths or tracks fit only for ox-
wagons ; and, except where there were navigable rivers, all burdens
had to be carried on the backs of men or of oxen. At the present
time, there are nearly 20,000 miles of rtulway ; 13,000 miles of
navigable canal, artificial and natural ; and 560,000 miles of postal

INDIA 255
route. There are over 30,000 miles of telegraph lines. Great trunk
lines of railway cross the Peninsula, from west to east, at four differ
ent parts ; and these are again connected by branch lines with all the
larger towns. Thus the three great capitals, Calcutta, Bombay, and
Madras, are all connected by railways. The highways are magnificently
engineered and solidly built, and are noble specimens of skill in their
gradients, cuttings, bridges, and embankments. The canals, both for
navigation and for irrigation, are splendidly constructed. If, then, we
take the water-ways, the railways, and the highroads together, we
shall find that the densely peopled parts of India are as well provided
with the means of communication as any country in Europe.
(i) The railways of British India give one mile of rail to every 75 square miles of
area. The longest railway is from Calcutta to Feshawnr, up the Ganges and Indus
valleys. The other railways are carried over the Ghats, over the Vindhyas and other
ranges, and through the highest passes.
(ii) Ofthe 660,000 miles of postal routes, only 20,000 are properly constracted high
roads. The longest of them runs from Calcutta to Peshawur ; and this sliilfuUy
engineered and well-kept road of 1500 miles is one of the wonders of the world, as
well as one of the triumphs of British military rule.
(iii) All the great deltas, not only of the Ganges-Brahmapootra and Indus, but of the
peninsular rivers, are intersected by numerous water-courses ; and the lagoons and
backwaters along the coast are of the greatest service to navigation. In addition to
the navigation canals, those for irrigation are often used by small craft for hundreds
of miles. " In the Gangetic Delta the population are half amphibious. Every village
can be reached by water in the rainy season, and every family keeps its boat."
22. Population and Populousness. — The population of India amounts
to about 260,000,000 souls. Of these, 200,000,000 are in British
India ; and the rest in Native States, whioh are, in different ways,
more or less under the control of the British Government. The
average density of the population is 184 to the square mile.
(i) Great Britain has 300 to the square mife ; France has 185, so that India aud
France have a nearly equal density'.
(ii) The liighest density is in the Ganges Valley, which has an average ot 600 to the
square mile. In some parts 934 to the square mile are found — and tbat, too, in districts
which are purely agricultural.
(iii) The highest density in the Deccan is found in Cochin, a native state in the
Presidency of Madras, which has 442 to the square mile.
(iv) The plains of tbe Ganges and Indus support 150 millions ; the remaining 110
millions live in the Deccan.

256 ASIA
23. Inhabitants.—" There is scarcely a country in the world which
contains a greater diversity of tribes and races in every stage of civil
isation, from the cultured European and philosophic Hindu down to
the most degraded savages." There are, speaking broadly, two dis
tinct stocks— the Hindu (in the Northern Plains), and the Dravidlan
(in the Deccan). The Hindus speak Hindustani, or Bengali ;
the Dravidians either Telugu or Tamil. But more than a hundred
different languages are spoken within the boundaries of India.
About 85 millions of people speak Hindustani ; about 40 millions, Bengali ; about
18 millions, Telugu ; and 13 millions, Tamil.
24. Political Divisions. — The Governor-General of India resides in
Calcutta, and is the immediate representative of the British Govern
ment, and the Viceroy for the Queen as Empress of India. He rules
over all India, and also, directly, over some small districts. Under
him are the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal ; the chief Commissioner
of Assam ; the Lieutenant-Governor of the Nortli-West Provinces and
Oude ; the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab ; the Chief Com
missioner of the Central Provinces (including Nagpore, Jubhulpore,
etc.) ; the Chief Commissioner of Burmah; the Governor ofthe Presi
dency of Bombay ; and the Governor of the Presidency of Madras.
Besides, there are a number of Native States, which are controlled by
the British Government ; and the most important of these are the
Rajputana Agency ; the Central Indian Agency ; Hyderabad, and
Mysore. In the Himalayas there are three states, Bhutan, Nepaul,
and Cashmere, which are independent, but pay a small tribute to the
British Government.
(i) The map of India is particularly puzzling. The best thing to do is to get hold
with the eye of the Native States of Mysore and Hyderabad in the Deccan ; and then of
the country called Bajputaoa, which lies to the east of the Thar ; aud refer all other
provinces to these.
(ii) The " Agencies " embrace a large number of small states — each with its own
native ruler. There aro about 300 Native States ; and in each capital resides a British
official who is called the " Resident."
(iii) It is the deep-sunlc swamp of the Terai — dangerous to cross even on horse
back, — that has preserved the independence of Nepaul and Bhutan.

INDIA

257

(iv) The Queen was solenmly proclaimed Empress of India (Kaiser-i-Hind) at Delhi
—the capital of the old Mogul Empire— on January 10, 1877. The affairs of the coun
try are really managed by a number of Englishmen, Scotchmen, and Irishmen,
who belong to the Civil Service of India ; and many of these young men have under
their rule districts containing hundreds of thousands of human beings, "without any
check but their own consciences iu administering laws of extreme severity."
25. Religions. — The chief religion of India is Bralimanism : it ia
the religion of three-fourths of the people. In the north, there are
large numbers of Mahometans — over 50 millions. BuddMsm has
almost completely disappeared from the Peninsula, but holds its
ground in the Himalayan Valleys and in the south of Ceylon. The
Clirlstians as yet number under two millions.
(i) Caste is the chief social feature of Brahmanism. There were originally four castes,
the chief being the Brahmans, who are sprung from the head of Brahma himself. But
there are now 2500 main divisions of caste ; and in Madras alone about 4000 minor
distinctions. The two extremes are the Brahmans and the Kanjars. The latter are
scavengers ; they feed on carrion, dwell in kennels, and may be struck or even killed
with Impunity. The former are the " heirs of all things." A "scale of distance " has
been drawn np ; and the Kanjar must keep 100 paces from the Brahman. Before the
British rule, death was the penalty for breaking these regulations ; for even the shadow
ofa low-caste man would " pollute " the personage of high-caste. So ingrained is this
spirit even now, that a Christian convert " will not eat with the priest by whom he has
been converted ; and the father closes his door to the son who has travelled abroad,
and thereby lost caste."
(ii) Mahometanism is also called Islamism. (Islam means " God's will be done ! ")
(iii) Nature-worship, such as the worship of serpents and "evil spirits," prevails
among many of the wild tribes in the hills. Trees, stones of fantastic shapes, useful
plants, noxious plants, wild beasts, tame animals, etc. etc., are all objects of worship.
26. British Provinces. — The following is a tabular view of the chief
territorial divisions in India under the direct rule of Great Britain : —

Provinces.
. Bengal .

North Weat Pro-
vlncea andOnde

3. Punjab

BRITISH PROVINCES.
POSITIOBT.
Tlie Basin of the Lower Ganges
with its delta.
North-west of Bengal, in the
Upper Ganges and Jumna Basin.
The Basin of the Five Tributaries
of the Indus ; and also Delhi.

Chief Towns.
Calcuttta, Patna,
Murshedabad, Dacca.
Allahabad, Benares,
Cawnpore, Agra,
Meerut, Oude.
Lahore, Delhi, Mooltan,
Peshawur, Simla.

258

ASIA

Provinces,
4. Central Provinces

5. ABSom .

6. Bombay

7. Madras

S. British Bnrmah

Position.
Northern part of Deccan, between
the Nerbudda and the Godavery.
East of Bengal, the Valley of the
Lower Brahmapootra.
¦Western District of India, from
Beloochistan to Mysore.
From Lake Chilka to Cape Comorin,
and partly bounded on the west
by Hyderabad and Slysore.
Strip on west coast of Further
India, to the Isthmus of Krah.

Chief Towns.
Nagpore, Jubhulpore.

Bombay, Surat, Poonah,
Kurrachee, Hyderabad.
Madras, Masulipatam,
Arcot.
Euigoon, Martaban,
Moulmein.

(i) Bengal or the Lower Provinces is part of the great alluvial plain of the Ganges. It
also includes the Delta of the Ganges-Brahmapootra " with its thousand mouths."
(ii) The North- Weat Provinces (with Cade) comprise the alluvial plains of the Upper
Ganges and the Jumna. Oude is one of the most 'populous parts of the globe.
The district between the Ganges and the Jumna is called the Dooab.
(iii) The Punjab consists mostly of the basins of the Upper Indus, but also embraces
a part of the Ganges Basin. The tracts along the rivers are fertile ; bnt the " dooabs "
are often mere wildernesses of scrub and jungle. Only about half the Punjab is
under direct British rule ; the rest is filled by 34 Native States.
Ab in. Punjab and Dooab is the same aa au in oar Avon, and me^is icater, Punj means five^
and 13 tbe same ^yoTd as oar punch— a- drink of five ingredients,— the Greek pente, the
English five. Doo is the same 'word as our two.
(iv) The Central Provinces form an irregular square which embraces the upper courses
ofthe Nerbudda and the Mahanuddy. The Satpura Range runs through them.
(v) Assam Proper is an extensive alluvial plain about 450 miles long and 50 broad,
along the Brahmapootra. It includes, also, ranges of hills, the chief of which is the
Khasia Range. The rainfall here, owing to the moisture-laden winds from the south
being heaped in a narrow valley, is the largest in the world. Chirapooujee has an
annual rainfall of 650 inches.
(vi) The Bombay Presidency stretches from tlie Punjab and Beloochistan soutliwards
to Mysore, for a distance of 1100 miles. It is nearly as lai^ as France, The largest
of the Native States in this province are Cutch and Baroda, in the country called
Gujerat. The country on tbe Lower Indus is called Scinde.
(vii) The Madras Presidency stretches from tho Chilka Lake to Cape Comorin,
includes the whole of the Eastern, and a large part of the Western Ghats. It includes
the old provinces of the Carnatic, Malabar, etc. It is 1000 miles long ; and its area is
larger than that of Prussia.

(viii) British Burmah is described ou p. 265.

INDIA

259

27. Katlve States. — The following is a tabular view of the chief
Native States which are more or less subject to the authority of
Great Britain : — NATIVE STATES.

States.

Position.

Chief Towns.

1. Cashmere ,

North of the Punjab. In a
Himalayan Valley.

Janunu, Srinagar.

2. Bi^pntana

The general name for 20

Jeypore, Jodpore (capi

States east of the Lower

tals of two).

Indus.

3. Central India or Indore

60 States between Rajputana

Gwalior, Indore.

Agency.

and the Central Provinces.
The largest are Scindia's
Dominions and Holkar's
Dominions.

4. Oojerat
Between the Gulfs of Cutch
and Cambay.
Baroda.
5, Hyderabad or the Ni
Between the Central Pro
Hyderabad, Aurungabad.
zam's DominlonB.
vinces and the Presidency
of Madras.
6. Mysore
South of the Krishna.
Bangalore, Mysore.
7. Travancore
South-west of Madras Pre
sidency.
Trlvandrum.
Nepaul and Bhutan are Independent States in the Himalayas ; but have treaties with
the British Government.
(i) Cashmere lies in the basin of the Upper Indus among the Himalayas — '*in the
grandest alpine region:" it is one of the loveliest spots in the whole world. The
Vale of Cashmere is hemmed in on all sides by snow-clad peaks, and is watered
by the Jhelum, which forms in its course Lake "Woolar aud other beautiful lakes.
The snowy peaks, the romantic gorges, the calm lakes— which reflect the trees,
mountains, and sky — the clear streams with their rapids and waterfalls, the magni
ficent woods, the meads thickly bespangled with flowers, the absence of wind, and
the perpetual spring, all go to make up the ideal of an earthly Eden. The capital is
Srinagar (150), an " Indian Venice," intersected by canals, which are enlivened by
boats gliding in all directions. The houses have gardens on the roof, which are always
bright with flowers. Jammu is the ofiicial capital.
(ii) Rajputana lies in the north-west of India, and is the name of a wide region, in
which lie 20 Native States, ruled by Rajahs. Although larger than the United King
dom, its population is little more than 10,000,000. The AravuUi Range runs through
the east of this region, and the Thar Desert lies in the west. The chief British
Agent, who regulates all these states, resides at Ajmere— a small territory under the
direct rule of the Viceroy. The three largest Rajput States are Jodpore, Oodeypore,
and Jeypore.
260 ASIA
(iii) The Central India or Indore Agency lies between Rajputana and the British
Central Provinces. It comprises 64 Feudatory States, The largest is Gwalior, which
is governed by the Maharajah (=" Great Rajah or Emperor") Scindia ; but the British
Agent resides at Indore, the capital of the dominions of the Maharajah Holkar.
Gwalior is a typical Indian fortress. A sandstone rock about a mile and a half long,
whose steep white cliffs rise boldly out of the verdure and the small mud dwellings
ofthe plain, commands the whole country for 60 miles in every direction. This strong
hold has been fought for, over and over again, by the different masters of India.
It was twice stormed by the British ; and it is now one of the strongest positions
in all India.
(iv) Gujerat is a rich alluvial country, which comprises the states of Kathiawar, Cutch
and Baroda. The sovereign of Baroda is called the Gnlcowar (or " Cowherd ").
(v) Hyderabad (or the Nizam's Dominions) is by far the largest and most important
Native State in all India. It lies in the heart of the Deccan and is extremely fertile.
From the diamond-fields of the Kistna VaUey have come many famous gems, such as
the "Kohinoor" (Mountain of Light). The capital is Hyderabad (there ia another
Hyderabad in Scinde, near the head of the Indus Delta). Not fkr from Aurungabad
stands the little town of Assaye, near which Sir Arthur Wellesley (afterwards the
Duke of "Wellington) gained a great victory over the Mahrattas in 1803.
(vi) Mysore consists of an extensive table-land a little more than half the size
of England. The surface is dotted over with remarkable rocks, called Droogs
(=" Inaccessible")— isolated bluffs, formerly marine islands, which look '*like hay
cocks scattered overthe surface of a meadow." Some of them rise to the height of
1600 feet, and can only be scaled by steps cut in the rock. Many have perennial
springs on the top ; and are thus impregnable strongholds, fiamed by Nature.
(vii) Travancore is a state on the south-western coast. Most of it is covered with
forest ; but the low lands on the coast are very fertile. Round Trivandrum is a vast
district which grows about 22,000,000 palm-trees — palmyra, cocoa-nut, and otiiers.
Beside Travancore is Cochin, another small Native State. The capital is Cochin
(=" Little Port"). "Here Vasco da Gama died in 1525 ; here was built the first
European church ; and here was printed the first book in India."
(viii) Nepaul, the native country of the warlike Glioorkas, is a narrow mountain-state
among the Himalayas. Ehatmandu is the capital, and the key to the chief passes
across the Himalayan range. Though independent, Nepaul has to receive a British
Resident. SiiJttm, a sraall Feudatory State, lies to the east. I)ai:jeeling is a health-
resort of the English, and is the centre of British rule in the Himalayas.
(ix) Bhutan is another state in the Himalayas, with some of the grandest scenery.
28. Ceylon. The "Pearl of the Eastern Seas"— Ceylon ( = "the
Resplendent") — is a pear-shaped island almost connected with the
mainland by Adam's Bridge, a chain of low coral reefs and sandbanks.
It is nearly as large as Scotland. The interior is filled with a lofty
table-land, from which rise many high peaks. The highest is Pedro

INDIA

261

Tallagalla (8260 ft.). The central highlands form a complete water-
parting, from which numerous rivers flow in every direction through
the broad belts of lowlands round the coast ; and thus Ceylon is one
of the best- watered countries in the world. The largest river is the
Mahavila Ganga. The soil is extremely fertile, even in the highland
regions ; and the climate is warm — but cooler than in the correspond
ing latitudes of India. The population is about half that of Scotland.
The chief products are coffee, cinnamon, tea, cocoa-nuts, and tobacco.
The immense forests yield satin-wood, ebony, etc. Colombo is the
capital ; Kandy (the old capital) high up among the hUls is the summer
retreat of the English residents ; and Point de Galle is the great port
of call for the lines of steamers which ply in the Eastern waters.
(0 Ceylon is not under Indian rule ; it is a Crown colony, managed ty tlie Colonial
Office In London.
(ii) The people are called Singhalese, and are Buddhists.
(iii) A railway connects Colombo and Kandy.
29. The few possessions in India held by Foreign Powers are :—
(a) By the French : 1. Pondicherry, a seaport town south of Madras.
2. Iilah6, a little port, north of Calicut, on the Malabar Coast. 3.
Chandernagore, a small town on the Hooghly, north of Calcutta.
(b) By the Portuguese : 1. Goa, a small well-watered and fertile
territory on the west or Malabar coast of India. 2. Danunan, a
small port, north of Bombay. 3. Diu, a port on a small island in
tbe Gulf of Cambay opposite Damman.
THE SPELLING OF INDIAN NAMES.
The spelling of Indian names has been greatly altered lately, and the old-fashioned
spelling is destined to die out. The spelling in the text is that which is most usual ;
but it is as well to make ourselves acquainted with both forms. In the new spelling,
a replaces n ; and u the old-fashioned o.

New Spelling.

Old SPELLisa.

New Spelling.

Old Spelling.

Panjab.

Punjaub.

Lakhnau.

Lucknow.

Atak.

Attock.

Jaipur.

Jeypore.

Jamna.

Jumna.

Jodhpur.

Jodpore.

Rann of Kachh.

Bunn of Cutch.

Maisur.

Meysorc.

Banaras.

Benares.

Arkat.

Arcot.

Kanhpur.

Cawnpore.

Karachi.

Kurachee.

Bangulur.

Bangalore.

Haidarabad.

Hyderabad.

262 ASIA

INDO-CHINA.
1. Introductory. — Indo-Chlna or Further India is the name given to
the mighty " Peninsula of Peninsulas," which lies between the Bay of
Bengal and the Chinese Sea — between the Brahmapootra and the Gulf
of Tonquin. It lies almost wholly within the Torrid Zone — the
Tropic of Cancer running through the north of Burmah. There are
four countries in this region — the Empires of Burmah and Annaiti,
the Kingdoms of Siam and Cambodia, in addition to territories which
are under the rule of Great Britain and of France.
2. Extent. — The area of this great region is about 873,000 square
miles — that is, more than four times the size of France. But the
population is estimated at only 36,000,000, which is less than the
present population of the French Republic. Of the three Great
Monsoon Countries, this has by far the smallest population — a popu
lation not to be compared for a moment with the teeming millions of
India and of China.
(i) The three Monsoon Countries are India, Indo-China, and China.
(ii) The population of Indo-China gives only 45 to the square mile.
(iii) The sparsity of population in Indo-China is due to three causes : (o) the great
number of mountains, (&) the density and extent of the forests, and (c) the insecurity
of human life.
3. Coast Line. — The sea-board of Indo-China is of a highly varied
character; it is diversified by bays, bights, gulfs, islands, and headlands.
There are plenty of opportunities for good and commodious harbours ;
and the length ofthe coast line is largely increased by the magnificent
deltas at the mouths of the great rivers.
(i) The chief openings are the Gulf of Martahan, the immense Gulf of Siam, aud the
Gulf of Tonquin.
(ii) The chief headlands are Cape Kegrais, west of the Irrawaddy Delta, and Capo
Romania, pointing " like a mighty finger " to the Equator, which it approaches within
about one degree. The latter cape is tho most soutlierly point of the whole
continent. (iii) The Straits of Malacca divide the Malay Peninsula fi-om the isl.ind of Sumatra.

INDO-CHINA 263
4. Build. — By far the largest part of this vast region consists of
long ranges of mountains which start from the Plateau of Thibet, run
from north to south (at right angles to the Himalayan Range), and
enclose long and very narrow parallel valleys, which open out here
and there into wide and fertile basins.
5. Mountains. — The mountain ranges of this immense country have
been little explored ; and, in many instances, not even their names
are known. Those best known up to the present time are : the Yoma
Mountains ; the Fatkoi Bange ; and the Mountains of Siam.
(i) The Toma Mountains separate Aracan from Burmah Proper. (Yoma is a Burmese
word meaning Highland.)
(ii) The Fatkoi Bange mns between Burmah and Assam.
(iii) The Monntalns of Siam run between Siam and the Province of Tenasserim.
6. Plains. — There are in this region three well-marked, great, and
very fertile plains : the Plain of Pegu, the Plain of Siam, and the
Plain of TonoLuin.
(i) The Plain of Pegu includes the vast and very fertile delta of the Irrawaddy.
(ii) The Plain of Siam is the wide lower valley of the Menam.
(iii) The Plain of Tonquin fills almost the whole of the country of Tonquin and
embraces the rich delta of the Song-Ka.
7. Rivers. — Five great rivers water this vast peninsula ; and three
of them take rank with the largest rivers of Asia. These three are :
the Irrawaddy ; the Saluen ; and the Mekong. The two shorter rivers
are the Menam and the Song-Ka.
(i) The Irrawaddy (= " Elephant River ") rises on the Chinese frontier, is 1000 miles
long, and is navigable — to Bhamo — for 900 miles. Its delta is one of the largest and
most intricate in the world, and indeed, its lower water-courses intermingle (all round
the Gulf of Martaban) with the deltas of the Sittang and the Saluen. Its discharge
in August, just after the rainy monsoon, is larger than that (*f the Congo ; and its
average yearly discharge is the same as that of the Ganges.
(ii) The Saluen, which rises in Yunnan, is nearly as long as the Irrawaddy, but is
much inferior to it in volume. Ifc is navigable for most of its course.
(iii) The Mekong ("the great artery of Further India"), rises in Thibet, flows
through Yunnan, Burmah, Siam, Cambodia, Cochin-China, and falls into the Chinese
Sea. It has the largest basin of all the rivers ot Further India ; but not ao large a
volume of water as the Irrawaddy.

264 ASIA
(iv) Tho Menam (=" Mother of Waters") rises in Lao, and flows into the Gnlf ot
Siam. "Its mouth forms the central part ot a vast circle, towards wliich converge
all the sea-routes on the one hand, and on the other all the highways of the river
valleys." (v) The Song-Ka =" Great Biver " (called the "Red Biver" by the French), rises in
Yunnan, and falls into the Gulf ot Tonquin. Its basin is one of the most fertile and
most densely peopled regions in the Peninsula. Though occupying scarcely one-
twentieth part of Indo-China, it contains about one-half the inhabitants. In the
large number of towns and villages on its cultivated plains, it resembles the more
crowded parts ot China.
(vi) Lakes. — There is, in all Indo-China, only one lake of any size or importance,
lake Tontfi-eap. It lies in the valley of the Mekong, and is connected with that river.
8. Climate. — Standing between two oceans, mostly within the
tropics, and in the monsoon region, Indo-China has a climate which
is both extremely hot and extremely moist, and which becomes
malarious, and even pestiferous, in the low rich lands of the deltas.
(i) The rainy season, which is brought by the South-west Monsoon, lasts from
April to October.
(ii) The climate of the long Malay Peninsula is tempered by the presence of the
ocean on both sides, and the temperature ot Singapore, at the end of the peninsula,
is, on this account, more bearable than that of Madras.
9. Vegetation. — A great part of the surface of the Peninsula is
covered with dense primeval forest, in which teak, gum-trees, the
gutta-percha plant, bamboo, and other tropical growths, are found in
great abundance. The staple of agriculture in the lower grounds,
and especially in the swampy deltas, is rice. But cotton, tobacco,
sugar, indigo, tea, coffee, and most spices, are also cultivated.
10. Animals. — The most common wild animals of Indo-China are
the tiger, elephant, leopard, rhinoceros, wild boar, and crocodile.
The gibbon and other large apes, and numerous serpents are found in
the forests.
In some parts, the tiger is looked on as a god ; his teeth are worn as amulets ; and
his praises are placarded on the houses in coloured paper to avert his ¦\vrath.
11. Minerals. — There is a great deal of mineral wealth in Indo-China ;
but it is insufficiently worked. There is a good deal of gold in Siam ;
there are ruby mines in Burmah ; and there are very valuable tin
mines in the Malay Peninsula.

INDO-CHINA

265

12. InliaTaitants. — The Indo-Chinese belong mostly to the Mongol
faniily. In Cambodia and Siam there are also peoples of the
Caucasian stock ; while the Malays and the Negritos of the Malay
Peninsula belong to a separate family. The Buddhist religion is
everywhere predominant.
13. Industries. — The most important and most general industry of
all the Indo-Chinese countries is agriculture. Rice is the grain most
grown, and the main article of export. Sugar is also grown j and the
mulberry is cultivated for the sake of the silkworm. Cotton, indigo,
and tobacco, are also grown for exportation. The Siamese and
Annamese are very skilful in gold and silver work, in fine carving,
and in inlaying. The commerce of these countries is mostly in the
hands of the Chinese, who are very clever traders.
14. Divisions. — The following are the political divisions of the
Indo-Chinese Peninsula : —

Divisions.
1. British Bnrmali
2. The Empire of Bnrmah
3. The Kingdom of Siam
4. Empire of Annam
5. Kingdom of Cambodia
6. Lower Cochin-China
7. Malay States
8. The straits Settlements

Condition.
Under the Government of
India.
Independent
A French Protectorate
French Protectorate
Under French rule
IndependentUnder British rule

Chief Towns.
Rangoon, Moulmein, Prome.
Mandalay, Ava, Bhamo.
Bangkok. Hu^, Hanoi.
tTdong.Saigon.Ferak, Johore.
Singapore, Malacca.

15. British Burmah. — The country still called British Burmah is a
long strip of coast-land, which is divided into three provinces :
Aracan, Pegu, and Tenasserim, The capital is Rangoon (140) on the
Irrawaddy. (i) Aracan is a strip of country on the east side of the Bay of Bengal. Its low,
marshy, steaming plains produce much rice, which is shipped at the capital Akyah.
(ii) Pegu is another rice-growing country. On the mountain-slopes there are vast
forests of teak and other valuable woods. Rangoon is the capital— the busiest sea
port, after Calcutta, on the Bay of Bengal. It exports teak, gums, spices, and rice.
It has an excellent position at the confluence of three rivers and several navigable
canals. Further up, also on the Irrawaddy, is Prome, the inland terminus of the
Rangoon railway. It was at one time a very large city, with a circuit of 36 miles.

266 ASIA
(iii) TenassBrim Ues east and south of the Gulf of Martaban. The productions are
rice, cotton, indigo, etc. The chief town is Moulmein, a port at the mouth of the
Saluen. Mergui is a small port which sends edible birds'-nests, found on the Mergui
Archipelago, to the Chinese marltets.
16. Burmah. — The Empire of Burmah is now part of the British
possessions (it was added in 1886), and has heen placed under the
rule of the Indian Government. It is a rich inland country, sadly in
want of development. It is nearly as large as Spain ; but its popula
tion is only ahout 3,000,000. The capital is Mandalay (80), on the
Irrawaddy. (i) The Irrawaddy valley is extremely fertile, and produces rice, cotton, indigo,
tobacco, maize, etc. •
(ii) The country is rich in minerals — in iron, lead, copper, coal, and gold.
(iii) The chief artery of traific is the Irrawaddy, which is navigable np to Bhamo —
the largest entrepot in the kingdom, and the chief military station towards China.
(iv) The '* white elephant " of Bui-raah ranks next to royalty itself. It 1ms estates,
a palace, a chamberlain, four gold umbrellas, and a suite of thirty courtiers. Bat it
ia often not white ; but has only a few white specks behind the ears.
1 7. Siam.— The Kingdom of Slam lies between Burmah and Annam,
and is somewhat larger than the Austrian Empire, with a population,
however, of only 6,000,000. The land is very rich ; but only one-
twentieth is under cultivation. It contains the whole basin of the
Menam and part of the vaUey of the Mekong. The capital is Bang
kok, on the Menam.
(i) The chief product and export is rice. The chief export to Great Britain is
teak ; and we send to Siam arms, machinery, and some cotton goods. Most of the
country, however, is dense unexplored forest.
(ii) Bangkok (500) on the Menam, is the largest city ou the Asiatic seaboard between
Calcutta and Canton. It is the "Venice of the East." Both sides of the river are
covered with floating houses and carved dwellings ; while above the houses rise the
dense foliage of the trees and the tall masts of the shipping, and, over all, the lolty
pyramidal tops of the pagodas, !' glittering like gold in the strong sunsliine." The
chief traders are the king, the royal princes, and tlie Chinese.
18. Annam. — The Empire of Annam lies along the east coast of
Indo-China, and is now a French Protectorate. It is nearly as large
as Sweden, and has the dense population of probably 15,000,000.

INDO-CHINA 267
The most fertile and wealthy parts are Tonquin and Coohln-China.
The capital is Hu6 (60), near the coast— a town strongly fortified by
the French.
(i) Tonqnin, the most fertile province, is now entirely iu the hands of tho French.
It contains the whole of the rich delta of the Song-Ka. It has seventeen iron, fourteen
gold mines, and other mineral wealth. Its capital is Hanoi (160), a very busy port,
about 100 miles from the sea. Its streets are paved with marble.
(ii) The only liighroad in the country runs from Hue to Hanoi.
19. Camhodia. — The Kingdom of Camhodia, once a large and power
ful kingdom, has been greatly reduced by the attacks of Annam,
Siam, and France, till it is now little more than the size of Scotland —
with a population of only a million. It lies on the lower course of
the Mekong, between Lake Tonte-sap and the Delta. Its capital is
Namvam, which stands at the confluence of four water highways.
(i) The little foreign trade done is done at tho port of Kampot.
(ii) In the north of the country are the ruins of Ankor-Wat, the most remarkable
monuments in Further India.
20. Lower Cochin-China.— This country is now completely the pro
perty of the French. It consists chiefly of the Mekong Delta. It
exports rice, teak, cotton, etc., from its capital of Saigon, on the
Saigon river. Its hot and moist climate makes it singularly unhealthy
for Europeans.
21. The Malay States. — These States are very small ; many are
under British protection ; and none are so strong as to dare to act in
defiance of Great Britain. The petty rulers call themselves Eajahs ;
and the two best-known states are Perak and Johore.
(i) The country is chiefly forest-covered mountain, inhabited by aboriginal tribes,
of the Negrito stock. But the inhabitants of the lowlands and the coast are Malays.
(ii) It is proposed to cut a canal through the Isthmus of Krah, which joins Burmah
to the Malay Peninsula. This would shorten the voyage between Mergui and Bang.
kok by 1300 miles, and greatly facilitate trade. The Isthmus of Krah would then take
its place with Panama and Suez.
22. The Straits Settlements. — The Settlements on the Straits of
Malacca consist of a number of small territories whicli we have seized.

268 ASIA
from the island of Pulo Penang down to Singapore. They are of
value chiefly as the keys to the highly important water-gate into the
China Sea and the waters of the mighty East Indian Archipelago.
There are four settlements : Penang^ Wellesley, Malacca, and Singa
pore. (i) Polo Penang, or Prince of "Wales Island, ia a small but fertile island oflf the west
coast ofthe Peninsula, at the mouth ofthe Straits.
(ii) Wellesley Province (which is part of the "Penang Territory") is a small but
immensely fertile country. It produces large quantities of rice, pepper, cloves, nut
megs, cotton, tobacco, tea, coffee, sugar, and cocoa-nuts.
(iii) Malacca is the oldest aud also the largest of the Straits Settlements. The trade
of the town of Malacca (the oldest city in the Peninsula) has declined lately, owing to
the superior position for trade of Singapore.
(iv) Singapore (="Lion City") is an island 27 miles long by 14 wide, standing in one
of the greatest commercial centres of the globe. All the great water highways of the
east and south converge on this point. Hence the port of Singapore (160) possesses the
monopoly ofthe trade between ludia and the Further East. Its docks and quays are
crowded with vessels from every part of the globe ; and they carry away tin, all kinds
of spices, cereals, tea and coffee, gums and oils, cutch and gambler, gutta-percha and
india-rubber, and other produce.
(v) Great Britain buys from the Straits Settlements to the extent of £4,000,000
a year (tin alone IJ millions) and sells to the amount of over £3,000,000.

THE CHINESE EMPIRE.
1. The Chinese Empire. — This vast empire fills more than one-
fourth of Asia, and is a good deal larger than the whole of Europe.
It comprises : CMna Proper ; Thibet ; Mongolia ; Corea ; and parts of
Mantchooria and Turkestan.
(i) The Chinese Empire runs with Asiatic Eussia along a frontier of 3000 miles.
I. China Proper.
2. China Proper. — China Proper is a vast, rich and densely peopled
country in the east of Asia, about half the size of the -whole Empire.
It is hounded on the
1. H. —By MongoUa.
2. S. —By the PacUc.
S. S. — By the CMna Sea, Annam, and Slam.
4. W.— By Bnrmah and Thibet,

TI-TE CHTNESK EMPIRE 269
ia) China U also caUed tho " Middle Kingdom " ; tho " Empire of the Piire"; the " Flowery Land,"
that la, the " Land of Culture and Conrtesy."
(b) China is divided from MongoUa by the " Crcat Wall of China." At certain points the wall ia double
aud even triple ; and the whole is said to be 2000 miles long. It has tmretB and strong forta at
certain intervals ; and, "like a huge snake turned to atone," it windi away over the crests of
craggy heights, down deep gorges, over lofty plateaux. The height varies from 20 to 30 ft. ; and
the breadth ofthe top is 25 ft.
2. Size. — The area of China amounts to nearly 1,300,000 square
railes, or more than six times the size of France.
(i) Itfi length from north to south is about 1750 miles. It lies between 20" and
-12° North lat. ; or in the space corresponding to that between Timbuctoo and Madrid.
(ii) Its breadth is 1350 mUes.
(iii) In shape it is an irregular circle, the landward and seaward semi-circles being
nearly eciiial.
3. Coast Line. — China has a very long coast line — of 5000 miles,
Avhich gives one mile of coast to every 260 square miles of surface.
(i) The chief inlets are the Gulfs of Pe-che-lee, Leao-tong, and the Bay of Corea— all in
the Yellow Sea ; the Bay of Hang-chow, and the Gulf of Tonqnln.
(ii) The chief straits are the Pe-che-lee, at the mouth of the Gulf ; Foo-Elen, between
the island of Formosa and the mainland ; and Hainan, between the island of Hainan
and the mainland.
(iii) The only peninsula of any size is Shantung (= " Bast of the Mountains").
4. Islands. — Among the numerous islands which girdle the coast
from the Yellow Sea to the Gulf of Tonquin, the most important are
Formosa, Hainan, and Hong-Kong.
(1) Formosa (=" the Beautiful ") received its name from the Portuguese, struck by
the charming aspects of its wooded heights. It is about 240 miles long, and has a
magnificent range of mountains running through it from north to south. It is famous
for its bamboos, which sometimes grow to the height of 100 ft.
(ii) Hainan is not quite so large as Formosa. It is also very mountainous ; and the
central mass is called ' ' Five-Finger Mountain. " Its mountains contain gold, silver,
copper and iron ; and the lowlands are extremely fertile.
(iii) Hong-kong is an islet at the eastern entrance of the Canton River. Macao (which
belongs to the Portuguese) lies at the western entrance ; and thej; wo islets "symbolise
the setting star of Portugal and the rising star of Britain in the seas of the East."
Hong-kong is a mass of granite and basalt, varied with hill and dale, woods, lakes, and
rivers, rocky creeks and sandy beaches. When it was occupied by the British in 1S41,
it had a population of 2000 souls ; now it has nearly 200,000. It does nearly half of
the import trade into China. It unhappily lies within the limits of cyclones ; and, in
1874, one of these overthrew 1000 houses, wrecked 33 large vessels and several hun
dred junks, and destroyed many thousand lives. The chief town is called Victoria,
Its harbour is one of the finest in the world, and is gay with the flags of all nations,
X

270 ASIA
5. BuUd. — China is for the most part mountainous, especially in the
west and south. In the west, very high ranges, which run from north
to south ; north of the Yang-tse-kiang, lower ranges and a vast and
fertile plain ; south of the Yang-tse-kiang, ranges of mountains
running from west to east— such is the build of China.
(i) The western mountain-range, which runs from north to south, &nd forms tbe
eastern buttress of the great table-land of Central Asia, is called Ynng-Ung.
(ii) The range between the basins of the Hoang-ho and the Yang-tse-kiang is called
Fu-nia-Bban, (iii) The range to the south of the Tang-tse-kiang basin is called Nan-shan.
(iv) The high water-partings to the north and south of this great artery of China are
also called by the generic names of Fe-ling and Nan-ling — or North and South Banges.
The intervening uplands between the two basins are easily crossed ; and hence the
national unity is preserved.
(v) "The Chinese Mesopotamia ( = ' the Country between Rivers') is the richest
granary in the world. "
6. Plains. — From the Gulf of Leao-tong to the valley of the Yang-
tse-kiang stretches the Great Plain of Cliina, one of the vastest and
richest lowland plains in the whole world. It is larger than the whole
of France. The richest parts lie along the lower courses of the YeUow
and the Blue Kivers. The chief wealth of this plain consists in the
immense quantities of rich yellow earth called loess.
(i) Loeaa is a solid but friable earth of a yellowish colour. This earth covers, at
various thicknesses, an area, in the north of China, of about 250,000 square miles— or
more than all Austria-Hungary. In some places it Is 2000 ft. deep. In its per
pendicular cliffs are dug out iimumerable caves, in which dwell the large majority of
the people who inhabit the loess region. Its surface yields the richest crops, without
manure and with the smallest labour. It enables the cultivation of wheat to go on at
the height of 8000 ft. It is called Eoang-too (or Tellow Earth) ; it gives its name to
the Hoang-ho (or Yellow Eiver) ; to the Hoong-hal (or Yellow Sea) ; to the Eoang-ti
(= Yellow Emperor) or " Lord of the Yellow." Koads are cut through it— about 8 or
10 ft. wide ; and the wheeled trafBc is conducted by the help of "shuntings."
(ii) ' ' In these regions everything is yellow— hills, fields, highways, houses, the very
torrents and streams. Even the vegetation is often covered with a yellow veil,
while every puff of wind raises clouds of flne dust. This yelliw earth is the richest
soil in China. It contains all the nutritive elements of plants, and serves as a manure
for other lands."— Eicr.us.
(iii) The loess cf China may be compared with the "Black Lands" of Russia
(p.297),and ofthe Deccan (p. 244').

THE CHINESE EMPIRE 271
7. Rivers. — China possesses four great rivers : the twin streams
Hoang-ho and Yang-tse-kiang (or Yellow and Blue Eivers) ; the
Si-Mang ; and the Pe-ho.
(i) The Hoang-ho (2600 miles), the "Ungovernable," the '* Sorrow of the Sons of
Han," rises in the " Starry Lakes" on the inland plateau of Thibet, drains a region
three times as large as France, and falls into the Gulf of Pe-che-lee. Up to 1853 it
flowed into the China Sea, south of Shantung, and joined the delta of the Tang-tse-
kiang. It has changed its course nine times in the course of the last 2500 years. The
immense deposits of yellow earth which it brings down are constantly raising its bed ;
and, as in the case of the Nile, the Mississippi, and the Po, it flows at a higher level
than that of the surrounding plain ; sometimes bursts through its embankments-
artificial as well as natural — sweeps away towns and villages, and ruins the crops
of immense agricultural regions. In consecjuence of its deposits, the land gains
on the sea at some points at the rate of 100 ft. a year. It carries down four times
as mueh sediment as the Ganges. It receives fewer large tributaries than any other
great river in the world.
(ii) The Tang-tae-klang (3000 miles), "Blue River," called also "Great River," is
the longest river in the eastern half of the globe. It rises far west in the table-land
of Thibet. It is navigable up to I-chang, 1000 railes from the sea. At Hankow, 700
miles inland, it is a mUe in breadth. It is fed by numerous tributaries, some of great
size ; and the navigable waters ofthe whole system amount to 12,000 miles— about
haKthe circumference of the globe. For thousands of years its waters have carried
more vessels laden with merchandise than all the seas and rivers of Christendom put
together. Along its course many large lakes are found — the greatest of which are
Fo-yaug and Tong-tlng.
(iii) The Sl-kiang(1100m.)or "West River"joins with the Pe-klang(= "North River")
to form the Canton or "Pearl River." It is the great water-highway ofthe south.
Thanks to the tides, the channels of the delta are all navigable ; and a district of over
3000 square miles requires no land-roads. The population is amphibious ; and is
almost always afloat.
(iv) The Pe-ho ( = " North River " ) is formed by the junction of a number of short
streams. Pe-kin (=" North Court"), the capital, stands on this river.
8. Climate. — As most of the mountain-ranges rufi east and "west,
the winds from the sea obtain easy access to the heart of the country ;
and thus the extremes of temperature are softened. Taken as a
whole, China is colder than the countries of Western Europe in the
same latitude ; and the extremes of temperature are always greater.
The North of China has a warm rainy summer ; and a clear cold
frosty winter. The South has, on the whole, a hot climate — more

272 ASIA
especially those parts which lie near and within the Tropic of
Cancer. (i) The average climate of Pekin, which is in lat. 40°, ia very lilie that of the South
of England, which is in lat. 60° ; only the extremes are greater in Pekin.
(ii) Wlien the monsoons blow, China receives an enormous quantity of rain, much
more than the corresponding latitudes in Western Europe.
9. Vegetation. — The Chinese flora is extremely rich. The character
istic plants are evergreens, flowering shrubs, and resinous trees.
From the " Flowery Land " come the camellia, the jasmine, and the
azalea. (i) The sarae lands, in the south, ^vill grow the sugar-cane and the potato ; the
bamboo and the oak ; wheat and cotton.
(ii) The laurel is a characteristic ofthe Chinese landscape.
10. Animals. — The tiger and panther infest the less populous
districts ; monkeys are found in the thickets near Pekin ; and
animals of the snake, salamander, and lizard orders are very numer
ous. There are also great numbers of birds.
(i) The tiger and the panther are disappearing.
(ii) Out of 764 species of Chinese birds, 146 belong also to Europe.
11. Minerals. — China abounds in metals, salt, and coaL Its iron
is good ; its copper the best in the world. Its coal-fields, — and there
is coal in every province, — are twenty times as large as aU the coal
fields of Britain and Europe taken together.
(i) The coal-fields in the province of Sechuen alone cover 100,000 square miles —
about half the area of France. But they are badly worked ; and, while Britain turns
out 150 million tons a year, China has an output of only 3 millions.
(ii) There are in China supplies of ores aud coal "sufficient to revolutionise the
trade of the world."
(iii) The quality and colour of Chinese bronzes are imrivaUed.
13. Industries. — The chief industry in China is agriculture ; and it
is everywhere held in the highest esteem. Of manufactures, those of
slllt, cotton, and earthenware (" China ") are most important.
(i) In the fertile plains, especially about Shanghai, one acre will support eight
persons. The fertile soil of China has been tilled for thousands of years without
."Showing any signs of exhaustion

THE CHINESE EMPIRE 273
(ii) "Apart altogether from the 'Yellow Lands,' the arable regions of China have
maintained their fruitfulness for over four thousand years, entirely through the
thoughtful care of tlie peasantry in restoring to tlie soil imder another form all that
the crops have taken from it. Nothing is wasted. "
(iii) Tlie North of China produces wheat, mlUet and cotton; the South, rice, tea and
sugar, silk and opiom. Rice is the staple food of the central and southern provinces.
The rice-growing tracts are the heart of the country, the seats of the densest population,
and the focuses of commercial life. The silk-worm is a native of China ; and mulberry
trees are grown in vast numbers. The poor eat locusts, silk-worms, and snakes ; the
rich, sharks' fins and swallows' nests.
(iv) The forest-s have been so completely sacrificed to tillage, that even wood for
coffins has to be imported from abroad.
(v) Not a weed is to be seen anywhere ; and " the ground is so thoroughly clean, and
so exquisitely pulverised that after a week's rain the traveller will sometimes look
about in vain for a clod to throw into a pond to startle the water-fowl."
(vi) In addition to the making of " China," the Chinese are celebrated for their skill
in ivory-carving, bronzes, lacquer-work, and printing. There is no " division of
, labour." *' Every artistic object is the work of one artist, who designs, models, and
paints it."
14. Conunerce. — The internal commerce of China — that is, the trade
between the different provinces, many of which are larger than
European countries — is the largest and oldest in the world. Its
foreign trade is not so large, but is growing. Tea and silfc are the
great staples of export. Cotton goods and opium are by far the largest
imports. Almost the whole of the foreign trade of China is done
with Great Britain and the British Colonies.
(i) Black and green tea are the leaves of the same shrub, prepared iu a different
way. The best t«a is sent overland — to Russia.
(ii) Two-thirds of all the exports from China to Great Britain consist of tea. This
export is diminishing, however, every year, owing to the increase in the growtli of
Assam tea. In 1875, we bought nearly £11,000,000 worth of tea from China; inl8S6,
we bought less than £6,000,000 worth.
(iii) Eice is the largest import ; it is brouglit from Siam, Annam, and Cochin-China,
(iv) " It is the Chinese who have created the prosperity of Singapore."
15. Ports. — China has a very extensive coasting-trade, which is
carried on by British, foreign, and Chinese vessels ; and excellent
harbours line the coasts as well as the banks of the great rivers.

274 ASIA
Great Britain has the right of access to 22 ports of the empire, which
are called "Treaty Ports." The most important of these are Tientsin ;
Ichang ; Hankow ; Nankin ; Shanghai ; Fooohow ; Amoy ; and Canton.
Of these ports, Shanghai and Canton are the largest.
(i) Tientsin (1000), on the Pe-ho, is the seaport of Fe-che-lee and of Mongolia. The
name means the '* Ford of Heaven." Here are the Government granaries, and the
calt depdt for North China.
(ii) I-chang (40), at the head of navigation on the Tang-tse-kiang, is the most inland
city open to foreigners. It is 1000 miles from Shanghai ; and it produces the hest
opium in China.
(iii) Hankow (SOO) stands on the Yang-tse-kiang. This city, with two others close
hesideit, had, before the Taiping rebellion, a joint population of 8,000,000. It is the
chief centre of the tea-trade in China.
(iv) Nankin (155), a name which means South Court, stands on the Tang-tse-kiang,
and was formerly the metropolis of the empire, and long the largest city in the world.
It is the metropolis of letters and learning ; and 12,000 students are examined in it
every year.
(v) Shanghai (400), near the mouth of the Yang-tse-kiang, is the first commercial
mart in the empire. It is the only Chinese city which possesses dockyards, where
vessels are built under the eye of European engineers.
(vi) Foochow (640) is the chief seaport between Shanghai and Canton. The name
means " Happy Land." It stands about 30 miles above the mouth of the yiia.
(vii) Amoy (100), on the Straits of Fokien, possesses one of the very finest harbours
in the world. It exports tea and sugar and emigrants ; and imports opium.
(viii) Caaiton (1700), on the delta of the Si-kiang and Pe-kiang, is the foremost among
Chinese cities for industries. Silk-spinning, porcelain, paper, and glass-making,
lacquer- work, ivory-carving, metal- work — all these are of the best kind; and
"Canton fancy goods" are more highly prized than those of Paris. The river is
covered with a crowded city of boats.
16. Highways of Communication. — " China Proper is intersected in
every direction by 2000 imperial highways, which, with the great
number of navigable streams, and the extensive system of canalisation,
render the country one of the richest in means of communication in
the whole world." There are as yet no railways.
(i) Many ofthe roads are at present in very bad condition. In the rice grounds,
they consist "merely of blocks two ft. broad, and raised about three ft. above the
\vater."

THE CHINESE EMPIRE 275
(ii) Many of tlie imperial higliways are magniflcent roads SO ft. broad, paved with
granite blocks, lined with trees, cut through the spurs of the mountains, and sometimes
even tunnelled.
(iii) The chief trade route between China aud Bussia runs from Pekin to Maimachiu,
which is separated ftom Kialdita in Siberia by a small stream.
(iv) A short railway, nine railes long, was opened by au Euglish company in 1876
from Shanghai to Wusung. The year after, it was purchased and broken up by the
Government. The city of Shanghai is traversed by tramways.
(v) There are 4000 miles of telegraph line.
17. Provinces. — China Proper is divided into provinces, most of
which are much larger than England. The most populous is Slian-
iuag, which has 560 persons to the square mile.
(i) Sechnen is one of the richest in agricultural produce.
(ii) Ynnnan (which is almost independent) is richest in mineral wealth.
18. Great Cities. — China is the land of great cities and of crowded
populations. Several towns have more than a million inhabitants ;
and there are at least a hundred towns with more than 100,000
inhabitants. In spite of this, however, the rural population is much
larger than the urban. The capital of the country is Pekin.
(i) Pekin (600) or " North Court " stands in a plain, about 12 miles from the Pe-ho.
It is inferior in population to its own port of Tientsin. It consists of two cities,
which are separated from each other by a high inner wall. The northern city is the
"Tartar"or "Mantchoo"; the southern, the Chinese town. "At one of the most
crowded cross-roads of the Chinese town, the headsman and his assistants are con
stantly occupied with their sanguinary office." In the Mantchoo city stands the
"Yellow quarter," in which is the Imperial Palace, the only building in China faced
with yellow porcelain. Here stand also the Temples of Heaven and Agriculture.
Close to the latter is the field where the Emperor and the Imperial Family meet every
spring "to guide the ivory and gold plough while invoking the blessings of Heaven
and Earth on the fruits of the land."
19. Govenunent. — The Emperor of China is the Head of the
Empire, the Head of the State Eeligion, the Head of every Chinese
Family. The State is a large Family ; the Emperor is its High Priest
and Head ; he is at once the "Father and Mother" of his chUdren.
The Emperor is also the " Vicegerent of Heaven." The eighteen pro
vinces are governed by Mandarins of the highest rank.
(i) If the Emperor asks for the life or for the property of a citizen, both must be
surrendered with humble gratitude.

276 ASIA
(ii) The Emperor is dressed more plainly than any of his Mandarins. Yet the
highest dignitaries fall prostrate before his empty throne or his yellow silk umbrella.
In the provinces, the Mandarins "bum incense when they receive an imperial
despatch, and turaing towards Pekin, strike the ground with their head." " Tremble,
and obey ! " is the invariable termination of all imperial proclamations.
(iii) The Emperor is the "Son of Heaven," the " Sovereign of the Four Seas," and
ofthe " Ten Thousand Peoples."
20. Keligion. — China Proper has three religions : Confacianism ;
Buddhism ; and Taoism. The mass of the people are Buddhists ; the
upper classes follow the doctrines of Confucius.
(i) "Large numbers of the Chinese in Middle and Southern China profess and
practise all three religions."
(ii) Confucianism is a code of moral doctrines and of conduct ; not a religion.
(iii) Tao means the "Way of Safety"; and it was originally a pure philosophy.
It is now only a mass of magical rites and superstitions.
21. Education. — In some respects, China is still the best educated
country in the world ; and it possesses the oldest literature. There
is a deep-rooted respect for learning amongst all classes. All offices
are gained solely by public examination, and a man may be examined
even at the age of eighty.
(i) "Education is tlie highroad to honour and emolument." But the ouly works
studied are those called the " Nine Classics ;" and these are practically learned by
heart. Thus memory is the chief faculty cultivated by the Chinese.
(ii) Modern Science and Modem Languages are now, however, taught in Pekin, iu
the " Tungwen " or Foreign College ; and the course in this College lasts eight years.
22. Manners and Customs. — The most distinguishing mark of the
Chinese is their courtesy and kindliness. "Even strangers have
travelled from one end of the land to another without even meeting
with a rudeness or incivility." Age is reverenced by all. A drunk
person is never seen in the streets. Industry is the chief passion ;
and peace the universally required condition. Most of their customs
are the exact opposite of ours. The place of honour is the left ; the
mourning colour is white ; the sign of being puzzled is to scratch the
knee. Physicians are paid when their patients are well ; their pay
stops when they fall ill.

THE CHINESE EMPIRE 277
(i) No other nation has so few warlike songs.
(ii) In China " roses have no fragrance ; roads no vehicles ; sliips no hulls ; work
raen no Sundays ; and magistrates no sense of honour."
(iii) Most of the women cramp their feet till they are only 3J inches long. An old
man is highly flattered by tlie inquiry after his "honourable teeth."
(iv) "All virtues have their source in etiquette," says Confucius.
23. People and Language. — The Chinese are in reality a very
mixed race ; though they are generally regarded as belonging to the
Mongol type. The language is monosyllabic.
(i) The ordinary Chinaman is short, round-faced with high cheek-bones, has
broad flat features and a small nose, oblique black eyes, black lanky hair, little or
no beard, yeUow or brown complexion.
(ii) There are practically as many symbols as there are words in the language —
43,496 altogether. II. Thibet.
24. The Country. — Thibet (or the " Snowy Kingdom") is the name
of the elevated country which lies between the Kuenlun and the
Himalayas. It is the loftiest table-land on the face of the globe ;
and the inhabitants breathe an air which has less than half the density
of ours. The Karakorum Mountains lie in the west. The Sanpo and
Upper Brahmapootra drain the southern valleys ; the Upper Yang-tse-
kiang the eastern districts. The lake called Tengri-nor, which stands
at the elevation of 15,000 ft., receives the drainage of the great Con
tinental Basin which lies in the interior.
"That awful plateau, three times the size of France, ahnost as cold as Siberia,
most of it higher than Mont Blanc, and all of it, except a few valleys, destitute of
population." 25. People.— The inhabitants form a branch of the Mongolian
Family. They are gentle, frank, dignified, courageous, fond of music
and song. They are Buddhists in religion.
(i) " When two persons meet, they salute each other several times by showing the
tongue and scratching the right ear."
(ii) Thibet is the centre of Buddhism. The High Priest is the Dalai-Lama ( =
" Ocean-Lama "), who lives at Lliassa, the capital.

278 ASIA
26. Industries and Towns. — The chief, almost the only, industry of
Thibet is pasturage. The staple product is wool, of which vast
quantities, of the finest texture, are produced on the boundless
grassy plains and mountain slopes in the more sheltered and lower
parts of the country. The only large town is Uiassa (50), the capital,
and the religious metropolis of the Buddhist world in the Chinese
Empire. (i) Milk, butter, and barley-meal form the chief diet of the people.
(ii) The priests in Lhassa number 20,000.
(iii) "The Thibetans are bom traders. Every house is a shop; every lamassary
(monastery for lamas) a warehouse. Caravans of yaks and sheep heavily laden cross
the country in all directions. Nearly all the profit of the foreign trade goes to the
raonasteries ; and thus, notwithstanding its natural poverty, Thibet supports in
wealth and luxury a whole nation of monks. "

III. Eastern Turkestan.
27. The Country. — Chinese (or Eastern) Turkestan is a part of the
vast Continental Basin of Central Asia. It may be briefly described
as the western half of the Han-hal or "Drled-up Sea," or as the Basin
of the Tarim. It is a country more than four times the size of
France ; but its population is little over half a million.
(i) The climate is continental in the severest sense : a cold winter follows a burn
ing summer. The summer and autumn are rainless. The air is constantly charged
with dust or sand.
(ii) "The sands, driven before the winds in ceaseless billows from the Easteru
Gobi, have gradually encroached on the cultivated lands, swallowing up populous and
flourishing cities, memorials ofwhich are still found in the gold aud silver ornaments,
and even in the bricks of tea constantly exhumed at certain spots. Extensive ruins
of cities are known to exist in the Lob district."
(iii) The Tarim is nearly as long as the Danube ; but it grows smaller aud smaller as
it approaches Lob-nor. The Lob-nor is the last remnant of an ancient sea.
28. People and Towns. — The inhabitants of the Tarim Basin are
a mixed race. In the lowlands agriculture is pursued ; in the
uplands, pasturage. The two largest towns are Eashgar, the capital ;
and Yarkand.
(i) Eashgar (100) is ft commercial cutrepit of great impoi-tance. It is celebrated as

THE CHINESE EMPIRE 279
the birthplace of the hero Bustnm, who is described in Matthew Arnold's poem
" Solu-ab and Eustum."
(ii) Yarkand (150) is the largest city in Chinese Turkestan. It lies in the centre nf
the most productive district.
(iii) The trade-caravans from Turkestan to India go by the Karakorum Pass ; to
Western Turkestan by the Terek Pass, which is the route of the (future) Eussian
railway to China via the Tarim Basin.

IV. Mongolia.
29. The Country. — Mongolia is a vast region of Central Asia, whioh
lies between Thibet and Siberia, and which includes the vast desert
of Gobi or Shamo.
(i) The Kuen-lun divide Mongolia from Thibet.
(ii) The Altai divide it from Siberia.
(iii) The whole belt of Central Asia, from the Amoor to the Volga, most of which is
directly or indirectly subject to China, is called by its wandering inhabitants the
"Land of Grass."
30. People and Industries. — The inhabitants are Mongols ; and
Mongolia is the true primeval home of this branch of tho human
family. They are nomads ; and their chief wealth consists in flocks
and herds. The chief towns are 0rga the capital, Malmachln, and
Eobdo. (i) Urga, or "Great Camp," has a large triennial fair, which is visited by about
200,000 persons from every part of Mongolia.
(ii) Ualmachin stands on the frontier. It is the last station on the great Chinese
route from Pekin to Siberia.
(iii) Eobdo is the entrepflt ofthe Eussian dealers from the Altai mines.

V. Mantchooria.
31. Tiie Country. — Mantchooria is a large country which lies between
the Amoor and the Corea Peninsula ; and between the Khingan Range
on the west and Russian Siberia on the east. There are two distinct
regions : the northern, which drains through the Suugari into the
Amoor ; the southern, through the Liao-ho, into the Yellow Sea.

280 ASIA
32. People and Towns. — The Mantchoo Tartars are the race who
conquered China ; and a Mantchoo family sits on the Chinese throne.
Agriculture is their chief industry. The two largest towns are, Eirin
the capital, and Moukden, the old capital.
(i) Eirin (120), on the Upper Snngari, has a large trade in timber.
(ii) Moukden is a large and flourishing city, cleaner than Pekin, better built, and
with brighter shops.
VI; Corea.
33. Corea. — The country called Corea is a peninsula which stands
between the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. It is nearly as large
as Great Britain ; but its population is less than 9,000,000. It is
practically independent of China. It is a very mountainous country,
rich in gold, silver, iron, coal, and other metals and minerals.
In form it resembles Italy. It has for backbone a range of mountains, the long
slope of which, as in Italy, is to the west. The island of Qnelpart occupies the posi
tion of Sicily.
34. People and Towns. — The people are a mixed race. They are
both industrious and ingenious. They have thrown open three of
their ports to foreigners ; import some cotton goods ; and export
cowhides and beans. The capital is Seoul (250).
(i) The written language of the Chinese, Japanese, and Coreans is one ; their spoken
languages are different.
(ii) The Coreans are the great paper-makers of the East.

THE JAPANESE EMPIEE.
1. Introductory. — The beautiful land of Japan, or " Country ofthe
Sun," has been often called, and with much justice, the " GreatBritain
of the Pacific." There are many points of analogy and resemblance
between the two countries ; and it may be useful to enumerate these
in their order. JAPAN AND GREAT BRITAIN.
1. Both are insular Empires, with countless islets round their sliores.
2. Both are extremely well situated for commerce, lying opposite counti'ies that are
highly industrious and commercial.

THE JAPANESE EMPIRE 281
3. The capitals of both lie at the head of great oceauic water-ways— the one of the
Paciflc, the other of the Atlantic,
4. Each has a very highly indented coast and long coast-line, with good harbours.
5. Both have a higher temperature and fewer extremes in climate than the countries
in the same latitude on the respective mainlands off which they lie.
6. Each is warmed by a warm ocean-current— Great Britain by the Gulf Stream,
Japan by the Kuro-Sivo, or " Black Stream."
7. Both peoples are industrious and fond of commerce.
8. Both peoples are very conservative ; and yet, when necessity has arisen, have
brought about thorough revolutions.
9. London and Tokio are both aggregates of towns and villages, slowly absorbed
into the great central city — the former " a wilderness of bricks and mortar," the latter
" a wilderness of bamboo and paper."
10. The climates of both are addicted to fogs.
2. Size. — Japan consists of four large islands, and about 3850 islets.
The large islands are Nlp-pon, Shikoku, KiusMu, and Yezo. Their
area amounts to 148,456 square miles, or If times the size of Great
Britain. (i) The three groups of islands of which the Empire consists are bent like a bow
outside three inland seas ; the Loo-Clioo Islands lying in a curve outside the Tellow
Sea ; the Japan Islands curved opposite the Japanese Sea ; and the Kurile Islands (which
are a continuation of the Peninsula of Kamtchatka) opposite the Sea of Okhotsk.
The Bonins, in lat. 28", also belong to Japan.
(ii) The four large islands lie between 31" and 45° N. lat. ; or in a space coiresjpond-
ing to that between the south of Morocco and the south of France.
(iii) Nip-pon (called by the natives Hondo or Honshiu) is just the size of Great
Britain ; and Dai Mip-pon, or " Great Japan," is the native name for the whole country.
3. Coast Line. — The coast line is very long, and is in many parts
magnificently indented with deeply re-entrant bays and gulfs. The
best known are the Bay of Tokio, and the Gulf of Osaka.
(i) The best-known strait is La Peronse, between Yezo and Saghalien.
(ii) The Straits between the three southern islands are narrow and "more easy to
cross than are many rivers,"
(iii) The coasts of the Inland Sea resemble those of Norway with an Italian sky
over them, and with the vegetation of the East. Its countless islets, bluffs, headlands,
creeks, and inlets, — its clear waters and sub-tropical vegetation, present it varied
panorama of unrivalled scenery.

282 ASIA
4. Build. — The whole series of islands seems to consist of the
summits of a submerged mountain-range, running from south-west to
north-east. All the islands are mountainous ; and the lowlands form
only one-eighth of the surface. The highest peak is Fusl-yama, which
is over 14,000 ft. in height, and not much lower than the Matterhorn
in Switzerland. (i) Fnsl-yama is an extinct volcano, " a huge, truncated cone of pure snow" near
Tokio, in the island of Nip-pon. The crater is 500 ft. deep. It is the first grand
objept seen hy the traveller ; and it forms the background of every Japanese land
scape painting. *' Like a vast and splendid temple, it stands high above the ocean-
plain, white with snow, and glittering in the sun." Its apex is shaped like an eight-
petalled lotus flower.
(ii) Most ofthe rivers are only mountain-torrents.
5. Climate. — The climate of Japan is not unlike that of the South
of England — except that the extremes of heat and cold are greater.
The Kuro-Sivo, or " Black Stream," is the most influential element in
the temperature. The Oya-Sivo, a cold current from the Sea of Okhotsk,
fringes in winter the coast of Yezo with drift ice, and supplies Nip-pon
with large quantities of excellent fish. On the whole, the climate of
Japan is 10° colder than that of the corresponding latitudes of Africa
and Europe. The summer monsoons bring heavy rains.
(i) "The traveller's opinion of the climate depends very mueh on whether he goes
to Japan from the east or from the west. If from Singapore or China, he pronounces
it bracing, healthful, dehcious ; if from California, damp, misty, and enervating. "
(ii) "The summer is hot, damp, and cloudy; the winter, cold, bright, and dry.
While Pekin has the winters of Upsala, and the summers of Cairo, Tokio suffers far
less from extremes of heat and cold,"
(iii) The west side ot Nip-pon is unaffected by the " Black Stream " ; and some
times the snow lies 4 ft. deep. This in a latitude three degrees south of Naples.
6. Vegetation, — The flora of Japan is one of extraordinary richness
and vigour. The mulberry, the tea-plant, the sugar-cane, the bamboo
are all cultivated ; while rice and cotton, and the fruit-trees of the
Temperate Zone, have been acclimatised. The forests present a greater
diversity of species of trees than in any other country in the world :
and there is four times more forest than tilled land.

THE JAPANESE EMPIRE 283
(i) " Nowhere else within an equal range can one meet so many different kinds of
conifers aud deciduous trees ; and the brilliant red and scarlet autumnal tints of the
Japanese woodlands are even more striking and beautiful than those of North America."
(ii) The bamboo is here also of the greatest use. The framework and furniture of
houses ; the sails of junks ; screens, mats, paper, walking-sticks are all made of it.
(iii) On the road from Tokio to the Nikko Temples is an avenue of cedars and pines
50 miles long, some of the trees 60 ft. in height.
7. Animals. — The general cultivation of the land has driven away
or destroyed many of the wild beasts. The small Japanese bear,
the fox, the wild boar, the badger, and the monkey, and a kind of
deer, are still found. There are many kinds of birds ; and in Yezo
especiaUy, there are crows by the million. Of domestic animals,
the horse and the ox are the chief.
(i) Most of the fanns are very small ; aud hence oxen are little used.
(ii) The fisheries are very productive ; and there are countless fishing villages
round the coast. Herrings, cod, sole, crab, lobster, salmon, and carp, are caught.
8. minerals. — The most important minerals are copper, silver, and
iron. Coal-beds extend from Nagasaki to Yezo. The supply of
sulphur is said to be inexhaustible.
The iron is so good that it makes the best steel; and the excellent temper of
Japanese sword-blades is well known.
9. Inhabitants. — The Empire of Japan is inhabited by a people of
mixed race. There are two distinct types — those of the peasants and
of the aristocracy. The former seem to be of Mongol extraction ; the
latter more mixed. The northern island of Yezo is inhabited by a
hairy race called Ainos.
(i) In character the Japanese exhibit striking contrasts to the Chinese. The
Chinese are dirty, the Japanese scrupulously clean ; the Chinese are conceited and
despise everything foreign, the Japanese keep an open and receptive mind for every
thing that is good, no matter from what quarter it comes,
(ii) The Alnos are a primitive people ; and the bodies of many are covered with short
bristly hair. Miss Bird says : " I have seen boys whose backs are covered with fur
as fine and soft as that of a cat."
10. Population and Populousness. — The population of Japan
amounts to nearly 40,000,000. In the three southern islands the
populousness rises to 300 per square mile— a density above that of
the United Kingdom, and nearly as great as that of Holland.

284 ASIA
(i) The rural and the urban population seem to be equally balanced.
(ii) "Although Japin is to a large extent covered with mountains, and in the north
too cold to be thickly peopled, the population of the archipelago is tar denser than
that of France,"
11. Industries.— The chief occupation is agriculture, which is
carried on with great diligence and skill. The Japanese are also
renowned potters ; and their most distinctive mark in this art is a
wonderful grace and skill in ornamentation. In lacquer-ware they
excel the Chinese in delicacy and finish. They are also makers of
excellent paper. In ivory carving, and especially in the Inlaying of
metals, they are by far the first artists in the world,
(i) Tlie Japanese are, in agriculture, rather market gardeners than farmers. No
where is there more neat and painstaking tillage. They employ the ' ' small" or spade
culture used in Belgium. Every kind of town refuse is used for manure ; and large
quantities of fish are imported from Yezo to enrich the land. Most of the cultivated
land consists of rice-fields, commonly termed " paddy-fields."
(ii) The Japanese porcelain is more graceful in form and finish than the Chinese.
(iii) " If the rank of nations in the scale of civilisation is to be determined by the
quantity of paper consumed by them, the Japanese might certainly claim the first
place. They use paper, not only for printing and painting, but also for a multitude
of other purposes. Quires of paper take the place of our handkerchiefs and table-
napkins ; the stools used as pillows are covered with paper ; the windows have panes
of paper instead of glass ; while panels of the same material form the movable par
titions of houses. Paper garments coated with wax are worn in rainy weather ;
and in machinery, paper bands are found more durable than those of leather."
(iv) In their ivory carvings the Japanese show striking originality, endless versati
lity, and quaintest humour ; while they lay all the sights of nature under contribution.
12. Commerce. — The foreign trade of Japan has enormously in
creased since the opening of the Treaty Ports. The chief exports are
raw slll£ ; then, at some distance, tea ; and next, rice and coal. The
chief imports are cotton yam and cotton goods ; sugar ; woollen goods ;
and metals. North America is the largest buyer ; Great Britain the
largest seller ; and next to these come China and France. The trade
done with the United Kingdom, in both imports and exports, amounts
to ahout J3,000,000.
(i) Compared with the internal trade, the foreign trade is still very small : it
amounts to only Ss. per head of the population. Great Britain does a trade of 140s.
per head per annum.

THK JAPANKSK EMPIRE 285
(ii) There are oi3 ports ; but only six of these are Treaty Ports : Nagasaki (on Kiusiu),
Eob4, Osaka, Yokohama, NUgata, and HakodattS. Hakodate is a northern port, with a
large and safe harbour, on the island of Yezo. Niigata is the only Treaty Port on the
west coast between Hakodate and Nagasaki — a distance of 1100 miles.
13. Towns. — There are many large towns in the Empire of Japan.
There are twelve which have more than 50,000 inhabitants ; and, of
these, five have more than 100,000. Of these five the three largest are
Tokio, the capital ; Osaka ; and Kioto.
(i) Tokio (1000), formerly called Yeddo, is not only the capital, but the largest city
in Jajian. The new name dates from 1S69, when it became the residence of the
Mikado. Most of the houses are of bamboo and cardboard — which is safer in the
frequent earthquakes, but dangerous in the event of fire. The city is an aggregate
of about one hundred small to\vns aud villages. The chief industries are in bronzes
and lacquer-ware. The streets are crowded by the jinriki-5ha or Japanese cab drawn
by one or two men. Tokio is the chief industrial centre of Japan. On the south side
of the Gulf of Tokio lies Yokohama (75) the chief centre of the trade with the West.
and the terminus of steam navigation with Europe.
(ii) Osaka (360) is the '* Venice of Japan," and the queen of Japanese cities. It is
the second largest city, and the first for trade with the interior. It is intersected iu
every direction by rivei*s and canals, crossed by more than 300 bridges. Facing Osaka,
on the coast ofthe Inland Sea, are the seaports of Hiogo and KoW, the latter of which
is a Treaty Port.
(iii) Kioto (260) or Kioto-Fu was the capital for about eleven hundred years, and is
still called Fu or "Imperial." It still remains "the city of beauty, elegance, and
refinement," Here, too, are found the most skilled Japanese artists in silks, brocades,
embroideries, enamels, porcelains, and metal wares.
14. Ways of Communication. — The inland seas, now lit up by
numerous lighthouses, are the oldest roads in Japan. There are now
nearly a thousand miles of railway in existence ; and more in con
templation. There are 7000 miles of telegraph.
(i) The merchant navy of Japan possesses over SOO vessels, and nearly 17,000
native craft. Admiral Hope, when sailing through the Injand Sea in 1870, met
upwards of 1500 junks, besides barges and boats.
(ii) The best-known highway is the Tokiado, 307 miles long, between Tokio and
Kioto. (iii) The railways are as much frequented as the busiest lines in Europe.
(iv) There are nearly 5000 post-ofSces. About 60 millions of letters ; 40 of post
cards; and 20 of newspapers are carried yearly^ There are about 3,000,000 telegrams
sent every year. Y

286 ASIA
15. Keligion. — As in China, three religions co-exist side by side.
The oldest is the national religion called Sintolsm(=the "Way ofthe
Gods ") or the " Worship of Spirits." The second is BuddMsm, which
was introduced about 550 a.d. The third is Slza, a kind of Confu
cianism. Complete liberty is extended to the preaching of Christianity.
(i) Blntolsm includes the worship of the heavenly bodies, of ancestors, and ot
spirits. There are " eight millions " of spirits ; and the Mikado, or reigning sovereign,
is said to be one.
(ii) Since the Revolution of 1S68, Buddhism has fallen into disiivour. The wealth
of the priests has heen confiscated ; the artistic treasures ot the temples taken away ;
the buildings converted to everyday uses, and the countless hells sold to America.
" Decaying shrines and broken gods are to be seen everywhere." There are still,
however, 73,000 Buddhist, and 190,000 Sintoist temples.
16. Education. — The Government is doing all it can for education
of every kind. There are nearly 4,000,000 children in the Elementary
Schools, and the High, Normal, and Technical Schools are well
attended. There is one University.
(i) The Japanese people are eager for instruction, and very willing to pay well for
it. By law. Elementary Schools must be founded in the proportion of one to every
600 soids.
(ii) About eighty books are published, on an average, eveiy week.
(iii) Many Professors and Teachers have been brought from England, Scotland, and
Germany, to instruct the people in the arts and sciences of the West. It was even
proposed to abolish the national speech, and to adopt the English tongue as the
language to be used in all Law Courts, newspapers, and schools.
17. Government. — The Government of Japan is an absolute
monarchy, the head of which is the Mikado. He has under bim a
Supreme Council, and a Legislative Council. Parliamentary Govern
ment is promised for 1890.
(i) Before the Eevolution of 1868, when '* New Japan " sprang into being, the
country was governed by the Shognn, or chief vassal of the Mikado. He took the
title of Tycoon and represented himself as the Temporal Sovereign. The Mikado was
regarded as a sacred personage — an " Emperor-god," whose foot must never touch
the ground, who must never be seen by his subjects— but only worshipped. In 1S6S
the Shogun resigned ; and the Mikado put down the power of the Feudal Lords or
"Daimios," and took all power into his own hands.
(ii) "The Revolution of 1S6S begius a now era ; Old Japan is dead."

ASIATIC RUSSIA 287
18. Army and Navy. — The best protection of Japan is her insular
position ; and she needs no standing army. But she has formed a
small army of 60,000 men, drilled and organised on the European
model. Her navy consists of 18 men-of-war, some of them armoured
" ram-cruisers," and some iron-clad frigates.
19. Social Character. — The Japanese are essentially kind-hearted,
gentle, courteous, amiable, temperate, orderly, and thrifty. The
labouring classes are hard-working, calm, patient, and submit without
complaint to the greatest hardships and privations.
(i) Men of the highest rank are singularly destitute of haughtiness.
(ii) **In all that regards frugality, self-respect, the sentiment of honour, mutual
kindness and consideration, the mass of the Japanese certainly stand on a higher level
than most Western peoples."
(iii) " Their industry is ceaseless ; they have no Sabbaths and only take a holiday
when they have nothing to do. Their spade-husbandry turns the country into one
beautifully kept garden, in which one might vainly look for a weed."

ASIATIC EUSSIA.
1. Introductory. — Eussia is a power that grows in territoiy and in
influence every year ; and it grows most in Asia, because it has most
room to grow in that continent. Year after year it subdues some
tribe or clan or kingdom to itself ; year after year it keeps pressing
to the south and east.
(i) Since the time of Peter the Great (1672-1725), the Russian Empire has increased
by 2,500,000 square miles.
(ii) The three great Powers that share almost the whole of Asia among them are
Britain, China, and Russia ; and in a very short time the territories of these Powers
will be conterminous with each other. *
2. Divisions. — Asiatic Russia comprises three great divisions :
Caucasia ; Central Asia ; and Siberia.
Caucasia.
3. Caucasia. — The province of Caucasia forms one "Governor-
Generalship " in the Eussian Empire. It is divided, however, not by

288 ASIA
the Eussians, but by geographers — into Cis-Caucasia and Trans-
Caucasia, the first on the European, the second on the Asiatic side,
of the great Caucasian Eange.
(i) Cis-Caucasia is properly in Europe.
(ii) The area of the whole region amounts to 184,000 square miles, or more than
three times the size of England and Wales.
4. Mountains. — The Caucasus is an immense mountain-isthmus
which stands between the Black Sea and the Caspian, and which is
separated from the Armenian Table-land by the valley of the Kur.
It forms the natural boundary between Europe and Asia. At the
meeting-point of three Empires — Eussia, Turkey, and Persia — rises
Mount Ararat, to the height of nearly 17,000 ft.
(i) The absence of transverse valleys has prevented the crossing of peoples ; and
this inaccessibility has made the range a fitting home for warlike tribes and races.
(ii) The range grows broader as it goes towards the east, where it splits into two.
The highest peak is the extinct volcano Mount Elturz (18,526 ft.) ; but there are five
other snow-clad peaks, all considerably higher than Mont Blanc. The mean
altitude is so great that, for 100 miles, there are no passes lower than 10,000 ft —
twice the height of Ben Nevis. In the middle of tlie range occurs the tremendous
fissure of the Daiiel Gorge, through which there is a pass at the height of 8000 ft.
Through this pass runs the military road from Vladikavkaz, the capital of Cis-Caucasiaj
to Tiflis, the capital of Trans-Caucasia.
(iii) Although higher than the Alps, the Caucasus is far less covered ^vith snow and
ice. The best-known glacier is the Deodoraki, which moves at the rate of four inches a
day ; while the average velocity of glaciers on Mont Blanc is about 12 inches.
(iv) The Persians call Mount Ararat " Noah's Mount."
5. Rivers. — Cis-Caucasia is watered by the Kuban and the Terek ;
Trans-Caucasia by the Kur, with its affluents, the Aras and the Rion.
(i) The Kuban flows into the Black Sea ; the Terek into the Caspian. The Terek
brings down such a quantity of mud from the mountains that its delta is advancing
into the Caspian at the rate of forty yards a year. Iu fact, it is doing more to fill up
the Caspian than the Volga itself.
(ii) The Ktir flo^vs into the Caspian ; the Rion into the Black ttea. The Kur is navi
gable for small vessels for more than 400 miles. Its lower curve is one of the best
fishing-grounds in the world, teeming as it does with sturgeon and white fish.
6. Climate. — The climate of course varies chiefly with the altitude ;
and there are enormous diversities. Cis-Caucasia is both drier and

ASIATIC RUSSIA 289
colder than the southern slope ; and, speaking broadly, there is, for
the whole region, a difference of 25° between winter and summer.
The snow-line is 2000 ft. higher than in the Pyrenees, though hotli ranges lie in
the same latitude. This is due to the greater heat of summer, as Russia has mucli
more of a continental climate than either France or Spain.
7. Flora and Fauna. — The vegetation of the Caucasus reaches a higher
line than that ofthe Alps. Barley is grown as high as 8200 ft. ; wheat
to 6700 ft. ; and the vine to 3630 ft. The lowland tracts on both
sides of the range grow heavy crops of rice, nmize, and wheat. Cau
casia is the fatherland of our apples and pears. The southern regions
of Trans-Caucasia are the native homes of the laurel, orange, citron,
¦sdne, and mulberry.
(i) The forest zone of each side is 500 miles long, and nearly 20 miles broad.
(ii) Wheat grows in the Caucasus at 3000 ft. higher than in the Alps.
(iii) In the mountain-gorges of the central range not a hlade of grass will grow.
8. Peoples. — Nowhere in the world have met together so many
different races and so many various languages. In the numerous
high mountain- valleys, there are said to be no fewer than 150 different
peoples — stems of different races, speaking 70 different languages.
Hence the Caucasus has been called by the Persians " the Mountain
of Tongues." The Georgians, Circassians, Mingrellans, and Imerlans,
are the best-known peoples.
(i) Ancient Latin writers say that at one part on the Blaclc Sea interpreters for
130 different languages were required.
(ii) The Bussians toolc nearly 100 years to suhdue this region ; and some tribes,
especially the Tcherliesses, rather than serve Russia, left their country en tnasse, and
emigrated into neighbouring lands.
(iii) The Georgians and Circassians have always been famous for their personal
beauty. *
9. Population. — The population is estimated at 6,500,000. It is
the southern slope that is most densely inhabited.
10. Industries. — Agriculture is the chief, and almost the only,
industry. 11. Higliways. — Vladikavkaz is the central point from which all
roads radiate — especially the great military and commercial highway

290 ASIA
through the Dariel Gorge on to Tiflis. There are only two railways :
one from the head of the Sea of Azov to Vladikavkaz ; the other, on
the southj from Poti on the Black Sea to Tiflis and thence to Baku,
on the Caspian.
It is proposed to make a railway through the Dariel Pass,
12. Divisions aud Towns. — Cis-Caucasia is divided by the Eussians
into three governments, the best known of which is Stavropol. Trans-
Caucasia is divided into eight governments, the best known of which
are Tiflis and Erivan. The largest towns are Tiflis, Stavropol, Poti,
Baku, Kars, and Erivan.
(i) TifllB(110)is the capital of the " government " of Caucasia. It stands on the river
Kur, at the southern end of the great military and post-road from Vladikavkaz. It is
connected by rail with Poti on the Black Sea, and with Baku on the Caspian. It is the
largest city in Asiatic Russia. (The name means " Hot Town," and has reference to
the sulphur springs near and round it.)
(ii) Stavropol (40) is the capital of the Sta^^:opol "government ; " and stands on the
verge of the steppe— on one of the advanced terraces which flank tlie north foot of
the Caucasus.
(iii) Baku (70) is the centre of a district rich in petroleum. Close to the town 700
oil-wells have been sunk. There is an old and famous shrine — " the fire-springs " — of
the Persian fire- worshippers, which is directly fed with gases from the subterraneah
fires. Baku is the Caspian port of Trans-Caucasia. Its petroleum is used as fuel
for working the engines on the great Central Asian Railway.
(iv) Ears is a formidable stronghold which held out against the Russians during the
Crimean War. The town is built of lava blocks.
(v) Erivan, at the foot of Mount Ararat, is the capital of Russian Armenia. It has
the worst climate in Caucasia— sudden changes of temperature, malaria, and dust-
storms. Alexandrapol is another stronghold in the Aras basin ; and these two places
give the Russians complete command of the head-waters of the Euphrates.
(vi) The Armenians are the chief people in this part of Russia. Tliey profess a very
ancient form of Christianity. "Deprived for centuries of all political unity and
national independence, the Armenians have been scattered for two iliousand years
over the Eastern world. When their country fell a prey to foreign conquerors, tliey
preferred to become * strangers among strangers, rather than be slaves in their native
laud.' They migrated in multitudes, and since the lltli century have been settled in
Russia, Poland, and Galicia, At present they are found in all the large emporiums
of trade from London to Singapore and Shanghai, everywhere distinguished by their
commercial enterprise."

asiatic russia 291
Eussian Central Asia.
13. Russian Central Asia. — ^This division of Asiatic Eussia lies
between Siberia on the north ; Persia and Afghanistan on the south ;
and the river Ural and the Caspian Sea on the west. It is a region
which the Eussians have been gradually subduing for more than
two hundred years ; and their latest triumph is the conclusion of the
Central Asian Railway to the ancient historic city of Samarkand.
The area of this vast region is about five or six times as large as
France ; but its population is little more than 5,000,000.

(i) The Central Asian Railway was opened on May 27th, 1888. It starts from i
Ada, on the Caspian ; goes to Merr, thence to Bokhara, and on to Samarkand. It crosses
the famous rivei-s Tejend, Murgh-ab, and Amu (Oxus). " It seems but the other day
that the tract of territory through which the railway passes was haunted by as fierce
and intractable a set of man-stealers and murderers as ever plagued the world. For
centuries the border-land between Persia and Turkestan had been the unhappy hunt
ing-ground of wild tribes, whose occupation was rapine, and who swept off the victims
of their forays to be sold like cattle in the great slave-mart of Merv. To-day the
trains come and go between Assoun Ada and Merv, and proceed from Merv to
Samarcand, with as much regularity as between Wimbledon and Waterloo ; and the
' through train for Bokhara starts from the Caspian with as little to-do as the Scotch
Express leaves Euston for Edinburgh. " It is now possible to travel from London, —
by St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vladikavkaz, Baku, and Assoun Ada, — to Samarkand in 12
days ; whereas it would require as many weeks to reach it by the Suez Canal and
British India.
14. Surface. — Eussian Central Asia is mostly desert and steppe ;
but it also embraces those picturesque and mountainous countries
which lean on both sides of the Thian-Shan, and on the western slopes
of the high Pamfr, Besides these mountain regions, there are : (i) the
Kirghiz Steppe ; (ii) the Plateau of Semireehinsk (or " Seven-Eiver-
Land ") ; (iii) the Kara-Kum and Kizil-Kum deserts ] and (iv) the
sterile plateau of Ust-Urt. — It may be described, in general terms, as
the Eastern Region of the Aralo-Caspian Basin.
(i) The Alai-Range, a branch of the Thian-Shan, throws down the Syr (or Jaxartes)—
the main stream of Western or Russjan Turkestan — into the Aral Sea.
(ii) The Kirghiz Steppe is a vast grassy region roamed over by the nomad Kirghiz
Tartars, with their flocks and herds. Their chief wealth consists in broad-tailed sheep
and camels. "Scarcely a tree or a shrub is visible on these steppes. The whole
region presents the aspect of a boundless sea, whose rolling billows have become
suddenly solidified,"

292 ASIA
(iii) The Kara Kum, or " Black Sands," lies .south of the Aral. The Klzil Knm, or
" Eed Sands," lies between the Syr and the Amu.
(iv) The irBt.Crt= " High Plain "—the Kirghiz Steppe being called Ast-nrt or " Low
Plain "—is a bare plateau, about 300 miles wide, to the west of the Aral. It rises to
the height of 600 feet above the sea-level of the Aral, and 830 above the Mediterranean,
and its edges are sharply marked by a steep descent like a wall, almost all round,
which is called the " Chink " ( = cliff). It is impossible to climb the Chink ; but the
ravines enable one to get into the interior, where there are numerous pastures. The
Ust-Urt is "the most plateau-like of all plateaus."
15. Rivers and Lakes. — Beginning from the west, the chief rivers are
the twin-stream.s Amu and Syr, which enter the Sea of Aral; the
Seven Kivers which flow into Lake Balkhash, the largest of which is
the 1111 ; and the Irtlsch, a great tributary of the Obi. The Sea ot
Aral and Lake Balkhash are the chief lakes.
(i) The Ama-Darla (= Amu Kiver) or Oxus, collects the drainage of the Great Pamir.
Half of its water is absorbed by the irrigation canals of the Khivan Oasis, by which
4000 square miles of marvellously fertile alluvial land are watered.
(ii) The Syr-Daiia or Jaxartes, rises in the Alai Range, '* in tbe very heart of the
Thian-Shan." It enters the Aral by a marshy delta, "haunted by an astonishing
number of wolves, wild boars, and deer."
(iii) The nil is partly a Eiissian and partly a Chinese river.
(iv) The IrtiBch rises in the Chinese Altai, and is a large river before entering
Russian territory.
(v) The Sea of Aral (=" Sea of Islands ") is somewhat larger than the Irish Sea.
But it is very shallow ; and is, indeed, drying up. Though it lies in the same latitude
as the south of Prance, it is frozen a foot thick in winter.
(vi) Lake Balkhaah is called by the Chinese the " Western Sea." Its water is so salt
that it proves fatal to animals driven by thirst to drink it. Soutli from it, and on
much higher ground, is Lake lEBik-Kul (="Hot Lake"), which also belongs to the
Aralo-Caspian Basin. Like all the other rivers and lakes in this basin, it is drying up.
16. Climate and Productions. — The climate is everywhere untem-
pered by sea-breezes — is thoroughly continental, intensely cold in
winter, soorchingly hot in summer. Where rivers flow, and irrigation
can be employed, the finest fruits, vegetables and cereals are pro
duced ; where the only reliance is on rain, only grass for pasturage
can be grown.
(i) In Khiva, where the water is drawn from the .Vmu, wheat yields sixty, and rice
seventy fold.
(li) Samarkand, owing to tho w.iters of the ZarafShan, though on very high ground,
is a "perfect garilon in the wildeniess."

ASIATIC RUSSIA 293
17. Divisions and Towns. — The Russians have divided this region
into nine "governments," which are called chiefly after the names of
the rivers. It is of more importance for us to know the names which
occur in history — such as Western (or Russian) Turkestan, the old
Khanates of Kokand, Khiva, and Bokhara, with their towns of the
same name. Tashkend is the capital of and the largest town in
Western Turkestan ; while Samarkand is the terminus of the great
Central Asian Railway.
(i) Eokond (35), surnamed "the Delightful." is very unhealthy ; but its bazaar is
still the best stocked in Russian Turicestan.
(ii) Khiva, on the Amu, is the capital of th3 Khanate of Khiva, now practically a
province of Russia. This oasis is one of the loveliest in Asia. " Everywhere water
flows in abundance, bowered by poplars, elms, and other trees ; the fields are encircled
by avenues of mulberries ; the white houses are like bowers buried in flowers and
foliage ; the nightingale, scarcely elsewhere known in Tartary, here warbles in every
rose-bush." The land, like.Egypt, is yearly renewed by the alluvium of the river, and
is inexhaustibly fertile. It was one of the chief slave-markets in Asia before Russia
put a stop to the traffic.
(iii) Bokhara (="the City of Temples") in the valley of the 2arafahan (which is
exhausted before reaching the Amu by countless irrigation canals), stands in a
splendid situation for international trade. It is the great central mart between
Nyni-Novgorod and Peshawur ; India, Afghanistan, and Persia send their wares to
its bazaars. But it is threatened with ruin by the gradual loss of water from the up
lands. " The shifting dunes are already partly encroaching; on the oasis, filling the
irrigation canals, and slowly changing the country to a desert." It is still a " City of
Schools," and has 100 coUeges. The Khanate is completely subject to Russia.
(iv) Tashkend (100) is the capital of Russian Turkestan, and one of the first cities
in the Empire. The town covers a space nearly as large as Paris. It occupies the
centre of the irrigated lands between Samarkand and the Seven Rivers. The roofs
are covered with a layer of earth laid out in flower-beds.
(v) Samarkand (36) is the capital of the valley of the Zarafshan, which has made it a
"garden in the wilderness." It is full of remains of beautiful architecture ; contains
the most magnificent mosque in all Central Asia, and the toinb of Tamerlane, the
Eastern conqueror of the 14th century.
18. A Retrospect and a Forecast. — Traces of former rivers and
channels, which were the main arteries of prosperous regions within
the period of written history, have now disappeared. Of the highly
developed civilisation which grew up and flourished in Bactriana,
Bokhara, and Samarkand, the last traces are now undergoing rapid

294 ASIA
obliteration through the drying up of the rivers and lakes. . . . The
whole country is dotted with lakes, which are rapidly disappearing
under the hot winds and shifting sands of the deserts.
Siberia.
19. Siberia. — The vast region called Siberia is the chief Asiatic
possession of the Bussian Empire. Much of it can hardly be called
civilised ; but the commercial future of the southern part of the
country is highly promising.
(i) The boundaries of Siberia are as follows :
1. N. — The Arctic Ocean.
2. E. —The Pacific.
3. S. — The Chinese Empire and Russian Central Asia.
4. W. — Russia in Europe.
(ii) It is generally divided into Western and Eastern Siberia. Western Siberia
comprises the basin of the Obi and Irtisch ; Eastern Siberia, the rest of the country,
to the Pacific.
(iii) We usually think of Siberia as a snow-clad desert, with a climate of an abomin
able monotony of cold. But we must remember (a) that it stretches through 25" of
latitude and 120° of longitude; (&) that it is larger than Europe and possesses all
kinds of soil, many kinds of climate, and the, most varied products ; (c) that it has
"black-earth prairie steppes or rather pampas" on the Tobol, as well as alpine scenery
and lakes in the Altai ; (d) that it has enormous pastures with food for milUons of
cattle as well as rich mines ; and (e) that it cannot be spoken of as one whole. In one
respect, however, the common idea is right : Siberia is colder than any other country
in the world — latitude for latitude.
20. Extent and Population. — The area of Siberia is estimated at
4,826,000 square miles — that is, larger than the whole of Europe by
more than 1,100,000 square miles. The population amounts to
only 5,000,000, or about one person for each square mile of land.
(i) The. greatest length of Siberia from Behring Strait to the Urals is 3600 railes
Its greatest breadth is 1800 miles.
(ii) It occupies more than one-fourth of the whole of Asia.
21. Build. — Most of Siberia is a vast plain which slopes uniformly
in a north-western direction. The whole country consists of two
well-marked divisions — Lowlands and Highlands. The lowlands form

ASIATIC RUSSIA 295
a great plain, which is broadest in the west and grows ever narrower
as it goes east ; the highlands consist of table-lands and mountain-
ranges, which form the edge or buttress of the central plateau of Asia.
The highlands become broader as they go east.
(i) The north coast is low and ice-bound for most of the year. The chief capes
are North-East Cape (or Chelyuskin), the most northei-ly point of the Old World ;
East Cape, the most easterly ; Cape Lopatka, at the south end of Kamtchatka.
(ii) The chief inlets are : the Gulf of Obi ; the Gulf of Yenisei ; Taimyr Bay ; Khatanga
Bay; Gulf of Anadyr ; Gulf of Tartary, between Saghalien and the mainland.
(iii) The chief islands are: the Liakhov Islands, famous for their fossil ivory; New
Siberia ; Bear Islands — all in the Arctic Ocean. In the Behring Sea are St. Lawrence ;
Behring Islands ; and the Aleutian Islei.
22. Mountains. — The southern edge of the table-land is bordered
by ranges of mountains, the best known of which are the Altai, the
Yablonovoi, and the Stanovoi.
(i) The Altai (=" Gold Mountains") Range has a mean altitude of about 5000 ft.,
¦\vith numerous crests from 6000 to 10,000 ft. The mining region of the Altai belongs
wholly to the Russian Imperial Crown, and is nearly as large as the whole of France.
The most abundant metals are silver and copper ; but gold, lead, zinc, iron are also
extracted. (ii) The Tablonovoi (or " Apple Range ') runs south of Lake Baikal, near the Chinese
frontier. (iii) The Stanovoi, with the Tablonovoi, forms part of the "Great Divide" which
separates the basin of the Amur from the basins of the Lena and other rivers which
flow into the Arctic Ocean.
(iv) The Peninsula of Kamtchatka is traversed in its entire length by a double chain
of lofty mountains, fourteen of which are active volcanoes. This igneous system
" forms merely a link in the endless chains of volcanoes which stretches from Alaska
to the Philippines and the Eastern Archipelago." The Kurile Islands contain ten
active volcanoes.
23. Rivers and Lakes. — The great rivers of Siberia are the Obi,
Yenisei, Lena, and the lower course of the Amur, The first three run
along meridians, and nearly parallel with one another to the Arctic
Ocean. But the large tributaries flow north-west and north-east, and
thus aflford an almost uninterrupted water highway from the Urals
to the Pacific Ocean. Indeed the whole country is interwoven
with a network of rivers, which contain altogether about 30,000

20 G ASIA
miles of navigable waters. The largest lake is Lafee Baikal, which is
also the largest body of fresh water in Asia,
(i) ' ' From the river Ural to Yakutsk— a distance of 6000 miles, this magnificent
water-way is broken only by two short portages between the Obi and the Yenisei, and
between the Yenisei and Lena respectively. Unfortunately all these rivers are ice
bound for the greater part of the year."
(ii) The Obi is 3400 miles long, and navigable for most of this length. With its
ti'ibutaries, it has a total navigable highway of over 9000 miles. It has the largest
basin of all the Siberian rivers, and is also the richest in fish. Its chief tributaries
are the Irtisch, the Tobol, and the Tom,
(iii) The Yenisei is a river second in length to the Mississippi alone. Its head
waters—the largest are the Angara and Selenga — collect in Lake Baikal. There is upon
it a large local trade. Its chief tributaries are the Upper and Lower Tunguaka.
Captain Wiggins has penetrated through the Kara Sea, to the mouth of the Yenisei,
and 2000 miles up that river, to Yeniseisk— a town not far from the Chinese frontier.
He has thus opened to commerce a new and vast region which is extremely rich in
minerals and also in vegetable products. This is the most noteworthy feat in the
development of commerce that has been performed this century. The Russian
Government have granted free passages and freedom from taxation for five years.
(iv) The Lena is the great artery of trade for Eastern Siberia. It is navigable
through most of its course ; but at Yakutsk it is frozen over for more than 200 days
in the year.
(v) The Amur ( - " Great River ") is partly a Chinese and partly a Siberian river.
It is navigable for 2500 miles of its course. Though it drains the smallest part of
Siberia, it is certainly destined to become much the most important water highway
for the Russian Empire. It is equal in volume to the three other great rivers of Siberia
taken together ; and it traverses countries which have a much richer soil and a more
temperate climate. " The lower course of the Amur completes the natural highway
by road and river, which begins some 6000 miles further west, at the mouth of the
Neva." (vi) The annual rainfall in Siberia scarcely exceeds eight inches, and yet there are
very large rivers. Why is this ? It is because the ground in the north is frozen, all
the year through, within a few inches of the surface, and so no drop is lost in the
ground, but goes into the tributaries, then into the rivers, and on to the ocean.
(vii) Late Baikal (or Dalai-Nor=the "Holy Sea") is about half the size of Scotland.
In some places it is 4500 ft. deep— that is, its bed is 3000 ft. below the sea-level. Its
waters are remarkable for their great transparency. They are frozen for six months
to the thickness of 5 ft. Sledges ply ou it in the winter ; and steamers iu
summer. 24. Climate. — Siberia has, on the whole, the most essentially con
tinental climate of any country on the globe. For this there are

ASIATIC RUSSIA 297
two reasons : (i) the Great Plain slopes away from the sun, and to-
wai'ds a Frozen Ocean from which the coldest winds blow ; (ii) the
vast plateau of Central Asia shuts out all influences from the warm
waters of the southern oceans. Siberia contains the " Pole of Maxi
mum Cold." It is at Verkhoyansk (north of Yakutsk, and within the
Arctic Circle). The thermometer there sinks to 117° below freezing
point ; while in summer it sometimes rises to 102°. On the other
hand, some ¦olaces in the far south have a genial Italian climate.
(i) " It would seem to be at once colder than the North Pole, and hotter than
many uplands under the Equator ; and thus we have the most typical continental
climate." (ii) The intense heat lasts only a few weeks ; the intense cold for many months.
Deep silence broods over the land ; the trees are frozen to the heart ; the axe, whicli
becomes as fragile as glass, makes no impression on them. Rivers are frozen to the
bottom ; the mercury freezes ; but, in summer, the baked surface of the Tundras
becomes so hot one cannot walk on it.
25. Vegetation. — There are three well-marked divisions in the flora
of Siberia : that of the grassy Steppes ; of the Forest Belt : and of the
Tundras. (i) The Steppes in tlie south, which consist mostly of "rolling country," contain
also a great breadth of fertile corn-land. " The belt of ricli black earth in the region
immediately north of the Altai lets for 3Jd. an acre ; and from it wheat may be pur
chased for about one-twentieth its cost in England."
(ii) The Forest Belt contains all the trees which are found in Europe. Conifers are
the prevailing trees. The northern limit of trees is marked by the larch.
(iii) In the Timdras the only vegetation is herbage, moBses, and lichens,
26. Industries. — Hunting, fisliing, and mining are the main in
dustries ; and, in the south, agriculture and pastoral pursuits. A
brisk commerce is carried on, through Siberia, betT^een Eussia and
China. (i) About fifty different kinds of animals are trapped for their furs ; and they die
by the million every year. About 16,000,000 ot squirrels have been killed in one
year. The sable and the fur of the black fox are most highly prized.
(ii) The rivers and laices are enormously rich in fish. In the Anadyr river, the
shoals of salmon ascending the stream drive the water before them like a moving
wall. " The rivers are so full of flsh that one ot the ordinary difficulties of the natives

298 ASIA
is to avoid breaking their nets with the weight of the draught." The fish are frozen
and sent more than 2000 miles to St. Petersburg- "In the tropics man gathers his
food frora the trees ; in the temperate zone from the soil ; in the polar regions from
the water."
(iii) Gold is the metal chiefly mined ; next silver and copper.
(iv) The chief highway of communication is called the Trakt. Itis the great trunk
highway from Perm, in the Urals, to Kiakhta, in Transbaikalia, on the borders of
China. The various halting-stations have grown into larger or smaller centres of
population.— Tinmen (the " Manchester of Siberia"), on a tributary of the Tobol, is
the chief depot of the steamers that ply upon the Obi, and the beginning of the great
water highway of Siberia.
27. Peoples. — Most of the inhabitants of Siberia are Eussians — to
the extent of at least four-fifths. As the " land of exile," much of it
has been peopled by Eussian political prisoners. The native peoples
belong to the Mongolian, Finnic, and Tartar races. The noblest and
most intelligent native race is the Tungnises.
Shaman^m (or "Nature-worship") — the worship of good and evil powers and
spirits— seems to be the religion of most of the native tribes. The Samoiedes, who
roam the Tundras, are idol-worshippers. "Their gods are carnivorous, and fond of
raw flesh, which is thrust between their teeth at stated times."
28. Divisions and Towns. — The Eussians have divided this vast
country into eight " Governments.'' These are, for the most part,
called after the chief town in each ; and the chief town is generally
named after the river on which it stands. There are only four towns
which have more than 20,000 inhabitants. These are : Tomsk ;
Irkutsk ; Omsk ; Tobolsk.
TomBk=to'\vu on tlie Tom ; Irkut8k=to'ivii ou the Irkut ; Omsk, on the Om ; Tobolsk, on the
Tobol.
(i) Tomsk (40) is the centre of trade in "Western Siberia. Here begin the extensive
gold-fields discovered in 1830. The city is the seat of a University.
(ii) Irkutsk (38), the capital of East Siberia, does TWt now stand on the Irkut,
though it takes its name from that river. It stands on the Angara, and on the great
trade and military route to China, not far from Lake Baikal, and is one of the chief
centres of the fur trade. Every week a post leaves for Pekin, via Kiachta.
(iii) Omsk (32) is the capital of West Siberia. It stands on the Om, a tributary of
the Irtish. It stands within the zone of Russian colonisation— between the Kirghiz
on the south, and the Tartars on the north.
(iv) TobolBk (21) was formerly the capital of all Asiatic Russia. It stands at tlie
confluence ofthe Irtish and the Tobol, in the very centre of tlie river-navigation of
Western Siberia, Its fish-market is one of the best in the world.

ASIATIC TURKEY 299
(v) Takntsk and Teniaeisk are the capitals of two governments of the same name.
With the exception of Verkhoyansk, Yakutsk is the coldest town in the world. Its
average temperature is lower than that of the top of Mont Blanc.
(vi) The strong naval station of Petropaulovski (=harbour of Peter and Paul) stands
on the east coast of Kamtchatka and commands the North Pacific.
(vii) Vladivostok (=" Ruler of the East"), on the south coast, is intended to be the
chief naval station on the Pacific.
(viii) " The Imperial Russian Post is now perhaps the most extensive and perfectly
organised horse-express service in the world. From the southern end of the peninsula
of Kamtchatka to the most remote village in Finland, from the frozen wind-swept
shores of the Arctic Ocean to the hot sandy deserts of Central Asia, the whole empire
is one vast net-work of post-routes. You may pack your portmanteau in Nizhni
Novgorod, get an ' order for horses ' from the postal department, and start for Petro-
paulovski in Kamtchatka, seven thousand miles away, with the full assurance that
throughout the whole of that enormous distance, there will be horses, reindeer, or
dogs, ready and waiting, to caiTy you on, night and day, to youx destination."

ASIATIC TURKEY.
1. Introductory. — The Sultan of Turkey, in addition to the terri
tory he holds in Europe and the coast-lands which he rules in Arabia,
possesses vast territories in Western Asia. These territories, though
forming a continuous region between the Persian Gulf and the Medi
terranean, divide easily into three parts : Asia Minor ; Syria ; and the
Euplirates-Tlgris Valley
(i) The boundaries of Asiatic Turkey are as follows :
1. N. —Tlie Black Sea.
2. E. — Persia and Trans-Caucasia.
3; s. — The Arabian Desert and the Mediterranean.
4. W. — The Archipelago. ,
(ii.) The area of these territories amounts to nearly 730,000 square miles,— or more
than three times the size of the Austrian Empire.
I. Asia Minor or Anadoli.
1. Position. — Asia Minor, the "Bridge of Civilisation between
Asia and Europe," lies between the Black Sea, the Archipelago, and

300 ASIA
the Levant. HencOj fur thousands of yearSj it has been the scene of
exchanges of ideas and products, — of culture and of commerce. It is a
large peninsula thrust out towards the west — thrust out almost into
the middle of Southern Europe. It is the western extension of the
Armenian and Kurdistan Highlands. The splendid harbours with
which its three coasts are so richly furnished, have fostered and
encouraged the exchange of wealth and learning.
The modem name is Anadolil{=Ann,toli3.), from the Greek AnatdU=ihe Son-rising or JEaat.
This land was in tbe East to the Oreeks. The word Levant bas the aame meaning. Hilton
has the phrase "Levant and Ponent winds " for East and West-
2. The Coasts. — The articulation (or development) of the coasts of
Asia Minor is the richest in the whole of Asia ; and this wealth of
articulation is shown not only in the numerous bays and harbours
round the coast, but in the numerous islands (especiaUy in the west)
which are again themselves rich in inlets and havens.
(i) The chief guWa on the wesit coast are those of Aiiramayti (sheltered by Mitylene),
Smsrma, Scala Nova (sheltered by Samos), and Koa ; on the south coast, at the eastern
angle of the Mediterranean, the Gnlf of Scanderoon, and the Gulf of Adalia, to the west.
(ii) The chief capes are Gape In<Ueh on the Black Sea ; Cape Anamonr, in the south,
on the Mediterranean ; and Cape Bal>a, in the west.
(iii) The largest of the ielands in the Archipelago which belong to Turkey are Mity
lene, Ohio, Samos, Eos, and lUiodes — mostly peopled by Greeks. Off the Levant is
Cyprus, which is now under British administration.
(a) Hitylone is a mountainous island, "bristling \^-ith peaks." It is shaped like a fan. Its lower
plnins are very fertile.
[h] Ohio (or Scio, one of the places mentioned as the birthplace of Homer. " the blind old man of Scio's
Tocky isle "} is a small island, " the Paradise of the Archipebigo," but much subject to earth
quakes. In 1881, the capital, Chio, was almost entirely destroyed, and nearly 6000 persons
perished. In the war of 1822, the Turks slaughtered 25,000 Chiota, and carried off 45,000
as slaves to Constantinople. — Millions of oranges and lemons are grown every year.
[c) Samos is a somi-iudependent principality, under the suzenunty of tho Sultan. It has an ancient
renown as the birthplace of Pythagoras, who, among much else, discovered 'the 47th proposi-
tion of the First Book of Euclid.
(d) Kos in a small island at thomoutli ofthe Gulf of Koa. It suppUes the markets of Alexandria
with fi-uits of all kinds. A little south of it is Nisyros, which contains the only still active
volcano in Asia Mmor.
le) Rhodes, the "Pearl of tho Levant," the " Land of Pomegranates," the " Bride of the Sun." is a
]jiud "free alike from sunless days and leafless trees." It stands at the converging point of all
tho water-waya in the Levant, at the entrance to the Archipelago, and was once one of the
greiit commercial centres of the world. Tho "Knights of St. John" held ita capital,
Rhodes, for more than 200 yeai-a (1308 to 1522) against the Turks.
(/) Cyprus is tho third largest island in tlio Mediterranoan (Sardinia and Sicily ranking before it).
It is about twice tho size of Inincashiro. It is a niountniuous islaud, witli a " Mount
Olympus "in tho centre. The capital isLovkosia (orKibosia) ; and the only harbour of value
is Laniaka. In 1878 tlio Sultan assigned Cyprus to Great Eritaiu ; but he still keeps the
" over-lordship " and receives an annual tribute.

ASIATIC TURKEY 301
3. BuUd.— Asia Minor is a plateau, between 2000 ft. and 3000 ft.
above the sea-level, edged by mountain-ranges and falling by succes
sive terraces to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. It has some
points of resemblance to " the Peninsula." The whole plateau slopes
towards the Black Sea. The border mountain-ranges are the Taurus,
the Anti-Taurus, and the Pontic Coast-Range. Much of the interior
is occupied by a salt desert. Towards the west, numerous valleys
open out upon the sea.
(i) The Taums lies ou the south of Asia Minor ; the Anti-Taurus runs north-east
from it. The most famous pass is the Cilician Gates, The highest point of the penin
sula, however, is au isolated volcanic raountain with two craters. Mount Axgaeus
(13,000 ft.). In the north-west, is the "Blthynian Olympus" (9000 ft.); and, further
west. Mount Ida, which rises above the ' * Plain of Troy " to the height of 5700 ft.
(ii) The Pontic Coast-Range runs along the coast of the Black Sea, and ends at the
Archipelago, aud is also continued in several islands.
(iii) The largest river in Asia Minor is the KizU-Irmak (="Red River.") It flows
into the Black Sea. — The most famous of the streams that flow west is the Maeander,
which "meanders" through the " Plain of Troy."
(iv) The largest lake is Eoj-hissar, on the interior plateau. Having no outlet to the
sea, it is very salt.
4. Climate. — The climate of Asia Minor is colder than that of the
peninsulas of Europe in the same latitude, and also more continental.
This is due chiefly to the fact that it is swept by cold winds from the
Russian Steppes and the Black Sea. — The climate is also very dry.
(i) Spain is protected by the Pyrenees ; Italy by the Alps ; aud Greece by the
Balkans ;— but Asia Minor is not protected against the north by any high mountain-
range. The south coast, protected by the Taurus, has mild winters and scorching
summers. The /Egean coast has a warm climate aud a magnificent vegetation.
(ii) Although Asia Minor is as large as France, the volume of all its rivers ia only
one-third of that of the French streams. *
(iii) The lowlands are infested by malaria ; the inland plateaus have but a scanty
vegetation. The southern face of the Taurus is covered by magniflcent cedar-groves.
5. InduBtries. — Where property and industry are safe, agriculture
is the most important industry. Cotton, opium, fine fruits, wine, and
silk are cultivated. Commerce is growing more and more active in
Z

302 ASIA
the cities of the sea-board. Trade will develop more rapidly as the
railways grow. At present there are only 400 miles of railway in
all Asiatic Turkey.
(i) Modern industries in Smyrna on the lowland coast ; the pui-suits of nomad
tribes on the highland just above— this is one of many contrasts in Asia Minor.
(ii) Three of the railways— about 300 miles in all— start from Smyrna.
(iii) The district of Angora is noted for its silky, long-haired animals — cats, dogs,
rabbits, and goats. The goats' hair forms the staple of the trade of the toivn of Angora,
which stands right in the middle of the peninsula.
6. Inhabitants. — The population of the peninsula amounts to nearly
7,000,000. The inhabitants consist of the most various races ; and
every town has four or five dififerent " nations.'' The Osmanli Turks
are the ruling race ; but the Greeks and Armenians carry on the com
merce and professional work of the country.
(i) Though the country is as large as France, it has less than one-hfth of its
population. (ii) Asia Minor is at present the true home of the Turks, It is one of the mainstays
of the Ottoman Empire.
(iii) " The doctor, la\vyer, teacher, banker, are everywhere of Greek descent."
7. Divisions aud Towns. — Asia Minor is divided into nine Turkish
vilayets or pashalics. The best known of these are Arcliipelago and
Trebizoud. — By far the largest town is Smjnma ; after it, but at a
great distance, come the towns of Trebizond and Adana.
(i) Rhodes is the capital of the vilayet Archipelago; and Trehizond ot Trebizond.
{ii) Smyrna (200) is by far the largest city in Asia Elinor ; and it is tlie commercial
centre ofthe Levant, " Here everytliing bears the stamp of western euteri^rise. The
quays paved with lava-blocks from Vesuvius, the English trams, Austrian carriages,
houses built in the French taste ; bricks, raarbles, tiles, timber, and other materials
have all been imported from beyond the seas." The Greeks and Armenians have most
of the trade in their hands.
(iii) Trebizond (45) is a famous city and port, "the outlet of Persia and Armenia ou
tho Black Sea," Slnope lies west of it, " Here the Greeks under Xenophon, on their
memorable retreat to the nortli from Cunaxaiirst struck the coast and hailed the
blue waters of the Euxine with shouts otThalatta! IVioInf.'n.'" ("TlieSealTheSe.i .'")

ASIATIC TITRKEY 303
(iv) Adana (45), iu the south-east corner of Asia Minor, It stands at the meeting-
point of several caravan-routes. Tarsus, not far from Adana, is famous as the birth
place of the Apostle Paul.
(v) Broussa, in the extreme north-west, was the capital of Turkey before the Otto
mans made their way into Europe, Scutaii, on the Bosphorus, is a suburb of Con.
stantinople, 8. Historic Remains. — The name of Asia Minor conjures up the
memory of a varied and glorious past. There is no region of the
globe in which so much history has been condensed within a narrower
area. Nearly every part of the country exhibits the most splendid
remains of ancient civilisations ; and its towns show numerous traces
of a vanished splendour. Ionia was the earliest seat of Greek civilisa
tion. Ionian and Dorian Greeks held the chief seaports and built the
most magnificent cities ; and the greatest Greek writers and thinkers
— such as Homer, Thales, Pythagoras, and Herodotus — were born in
Asia Minor. Near the western shores rose in unequalled grandeur
the ancient cities of Troy, Smyrna, Ephesus, and Miletus ; on the
plains and table-lands of the interior, stood Sardis (the capital of
Asia), Philadelphia, Laodicea, and many other famous places.

II. Syria.
9. Introductory. — Syria is a long strip of high mountain country
which stretches in an almost straight line from the Peninsula of Sinai
to the Gulf of Scanderoon. Its coast is called the Levant. A small
district in the south is called Palestine or the Holy Land — a district
about twice as large as Yorkshire.
(i) Tlie only inlet is the small Bay of Acre.
(ii) The chief cape is Cape Carmel, south of tlie Bay of Aci-e,
10. Extent and Population. — Syria is a little larger than Italy ;
and Palestine a little larger than Belgium. The population is small.
11. Build. — To understand the build of Syria, let us take our
stand at the ruins of Baalhek — a city which stood half way between
Antioch and the Dead Sea. Eound Baalbek rise the four main

304 ASIA
streams — Jordan, Orontes, Leontes, and Abana, which flow in four
opposite directions. North of Baalbek stretch the parallel chains
of the Lebanon and Anti-Lehanon, with the elevated valley of El-
Bekda (formerly called Coele-Syria or "HoUow Syria") between
them ; whUe south of it stretch the mountain-ranges of Judea and
Samaria, girding on both sides the deeply depressed valley of
the Jordan — which is called El Ghor. Two mountain-ranges in the
north, enclosing a high valley ; two in the south, enclosing a low
valley ; a short slope to the Mediterranean, a long slope to the
desert — such is the simple buUd of Syria.
(i) The Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon are limestone ranges. The valley of El-Bekaa
(=" Mulberry Valley ") ia 2000 ft. above the level of the sea ; and more than 4000 ft.
above the level of the Jordan Valley,
(ii) The valley of the Jordan, or £1 Ghor, is the deepest depression on the surface
of the earth. The surface of the Dead Sea, whioh occupies the lowest part of the
valley, is about 1300 ft. below the level of the Mediterranean.
(iii) The Mountains of Judea and Samaria are really the steep escarpment of a
high plateau, which fills the south of the country ; and the El Ghor is a deep cleft or
ravine intersecting this plateau.
(iv) The highest point in the country is Monnt Hermon (now called Jebel-el-Sheikh
or The Old Man's Mountain), which is 11,000 ft. high. It is the most densely wooded
raountain in the whole of Syria.
12. Eivers and Lakes. — ^The four chief rivers of Syria are the
Orontes and Jordan ; the Leontes and Ahana. The principal lakes
are Tiherlas and the Dead Sea.
(i) The Orontes rises on the western slopes of the Anti-Lebanon, and falls iuto the
Mediterranean, (ii) The Jordan { = "tlie River") rises between Baalbek and Mount Horinon, It
flows south, through Lakes Merom and Tiberias, aud falls into the Dead Sea.
Between Merom and Tiberias is a distance of only 10 railes ; and in this short
distance the Jordan falls 700 ft,
(iii) The Leontes flows to the west, into the Mediterranean ; wliile the Abana pierces
through the deep gorges of the Anti-Lebanon and finds its way down to " the smiling
plains of Damascus,"
(iv) Lake Tiberias (called also the "Sea of Galilee," "Sea of Chinnereth," and
" Sea of Gennesarcth ") is a sheet of clear water, nearly as lai'ge as Berlcshire. Now,
as ot old, it abounds in fish.; and it is encircled on all sides by lofty mountain-walls.

ASIATIC TURKEY 305
(v) Tlie Dead Sea(called also Bahr Liitor " Sea of Lot," "Sea of Salt," " Asphaltites
Lake ") probably received its name from the fact that cities lie engulfed in its depths.
It is a little larger than Huntingdonshire, It lies in a basin formed by naked lime
stone cliS^ ; and its water is as clear and blue as that of the Mediterranean, " but
salt, slimy, and fetid beyond description, tasting like a mixture of brine and rancid
oil." "The human body will not sink in it, strive as the bather may," The step
like terraces round it are old beaches, which contain the shells of species still living
in the Mediterranean, No fish live in the Dead Sea,
13. Divisions and Towns. — Modern Syria is divided by the Turks
into three governments : Aleppo, Lebanon, and Syria. The capitals
of these districts are Aleppo, Deir-el-Eamar, and Damascus. The
other important towns are Scanderoon, Beyrout, and Jerusalem.
(i) Aleppo (130), in Northern Syria, is the chief caravan station between the
Euphrates and the Gulf of Scanderoon or Alexandretta. It stands at the meeting-
point of several trade-routes. Before the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope and
the sea-route to India, it was one of the greatest trading cities in the world. The
opening of the Suez Canal also injured its commerce. (It was anciently called Beroea, )
(ii) Delr-el-Eamar lies iu the heart ofthe raountains on a lofty terrace,
(iii) Samascus (220) is the flrst and largest city in Syria, and a great centre of the
caravan trade. It was called " the Bye of the East," It commands the sea-board
and the Plains of Mesopotamia. Here Paul was converted to Christianity. Seen
from the neighbouring hills, the city looks a naass of white and rose-tinted buildings
among dense seas of verdure. (Damascus gives its name to a kind of cloth —
damask.) Its port is Beyrout, the largest and most comraercial city on the Syrian
coast. It exports the fruits, the wools, raw silks, etc, ofthe rural population of the
Lebanon, as well as the goods brought down to it by caravans,
(iv) Scanderoon (or Alexandretta=" Little Alexandria") is one of the safest ports
on the Syrian coast. It is the best point for the terminus of the projected railway
between the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf. Caravans of 10,000 camels are
constantly on the road between Aleppo and Scanderoon.
(v) Jerusalem (= the "Heir of Peace"), called also the "City of David," the "Holy
City," etc,, stands on a rocky plateau, which has three steep sides falling into deep
ravines. It commands the water-parting of the MediterraneaS and Dead Sea basins.
It has a 'more wonderful history than any other city on the face of the globe, —
Betblehem, where Christ was born, is a village a few miles south of Jerusalem. — Jaffa
(formerly Joppa) is the port of Jerusalem, Its gardens produce about 30,000,000
oranges a year, — Nazareth, at the foot of Mount Tabor, is the chief city of Galilee,—
Tiberias is a small place on the Lake of Tiberias or "Sea of Galilee."— Gaza is one ot
the oldest cities in the world : it is at least 4000 years old. It is still a place of some
importance, as it stands on the highroad between Egypt and Palestine— that is,
between Africa and Asia,

306 ASIA
IIL The Euphrates-Tigris Valley.
14. The Euphrates-Tigris Basin. — This great basin contains an
elevated highland— the Plateau of Armenia, and an immense lowland
plain. The northern and mountainous part comprises Turkish
Armenia and Kurdistan ; the southern region contains Mesopotamia
(called by the Arabs El Jezireh = "The Island")? a-iid Irak-Arabi,
— the region where the two rivers are one.
(i) The word MeBopotamia comes from two Greek words, mesos, middle ; and pota-.
mos, a river. The idea is the same as that in dooab, the country between two rivers.
Hence the Arabs call this country " the Island."
(ii) For an account of the Euphrates and Tigris, see p. 231. The two streams
unite at a point about 100 miles above the Persian Gulf; and the river is known as the
Shatt-6l-Arab or "River of the Arabs." The plain of Irak-Arabi is the Babylonia of
the ancients.
(iii) Lake Van stands on the Turkish part of the Armenian Plateau. This part of
the plateau has an elevation of more than a mile. The water is saline, and cannot be
drunk by either man or beast.
15. Divisions and Towns. — The Turks have divided this great basin
into five vilayets or governments: Erzeromn, Van, Diarbekir (these
three on the table-land), Bagdad, and BassoralL The capitals of
these governments have the same names.
(i) Erzeroum (65) stands near the source of one of the two anns of the Euphrates,
at the height of 6500 ft. above the sea-level. "It is the most advanced bulwark of
Turlcey towards Russia."
(ii) Van (35), the second largest town in the Kurdistan Highlands, is inhabited
mostly by Armenians. It is celebrated for its pure air ^nd beautiful gardens ; and
the local proverb is ; " Van in this. Paradise in the next world ! "
(iii) Dlarbeklr (42), the largest town in the Kurdistan Highlands, stands at the
northern extremity of Mesopotamia, at the meeting-point of the chief routes between
the basins of the Tigris and Euphrates, and the north. Tt has a large and busy
bazaar. (iv) Bagdad (1S5), the " Abode of Peace," once the most brilliant city in the Moslem
world, stands on the Tigris, at a point where the two rivers approach so near to each
other that they are connected by canals. It is one of the most prosperous cities in
Turkey, a great emporium and station for the transit trade ; and a small fleet of com
mercial steamers connect it with Bassorah.
(v) BasBorah is the principal port on the Shatt-el-Arab. " When Bagdad was one
of the great cities of the world, Bassorah was the busiest port in the East." "Hun
dreds of millions of date-palms, noted for their exquisite flavour, flourish in the moist
district of Bassorah,"

ARABIA 307

ARABIA.
1. Introductory. — Arabia is the largest peninsula in the world. It
is also the largest and most westerly of the three great peninsulas of
Asia. It is, moreover, the least articulated and most solid of them
all. Though most of it is desert, it has produced one of the greatest
and most vigorous races that ever appeared on the face of the globe —
a race that at one time spread its dominion from Spain and Morocco
on the Atlantic to the Eastern Archipelago in the Pacific. It has
always been an isolated region — a land apart. Its hot climate and
its barren soil have attracted no settlers, and its waterless deserts
have repelled invaders ; while it has poured out horde after horde of
warriors who carried the religion of Islam with fire and sword into
the richest countries of Asia, Africa, and Europe. The Arab Empire
was at one time larger than that of Eome at its greatest extent.
(i) In the Middle Ages, tlie Arabs Iiad empires in three quarters of the world :— in
Palestine, Mesopotamia, and Persia ; in Egypt and the north of Africa ; and iu Spain.
They were finally expelled from Spain in 1492 — the year of the discovery of America.
(ii) Even now, by their religion (the Mahometan) and their institutions, the Arabs
give law and custom to one-eighth of the human race.
% Position. — Arabia stands exactly in the centre of the Old World ;
and, before the way round the Cape of Good Hope was discovered, it
possessed a large and magnificent trade.
Its boundaries are as follows :
1. Jl. — Turkey in Asia (the Syrian Desert).
2. E. —The Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
3. S. — The Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.
4, W. — The Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
3. Shape and Size. — Arabia is an irregular parallelogram, with a
short coast-line and a simple form. The area of the Peninsula is
about 1,260,000 square miles, a little more than six times the size of
France or about one-third of the whole of Europe.
(i) The coast measures about 4000 miles in length, is uniform and monotonous in
aspect, and has very few islands. In the Eed Sea the coast is fringed hy extensive
coral reefs — groups of sunken rocks and islets, which make navigation very dangerous.
In the Persian Gulf there is the small Bahrein .\rchipelago, which is the centre of an
important pearl-fishery.

308 ASIA
4. Build. — The relief of Arabia is scarcely less regular than its
outline. A central plateau, a desert ring, coast-ranges on the west,
south, and south-east edges of the Peninsula — such is the build of
Arabia. Each feature occupies about one-third of the whole surface.
The central plateau rises from 2500 ft. in the north to 7000 ft, in the
south-west. Some ranges of mountains cross the plateau from west
to east.
(i) The central plateau is called Nejd. It has undulating slopes rich in pasturage
and valleys filled with gardens.
(ii) The desert ring is usually divided into three parts : The Nefud Desert in the
north ; the Sahna Besert in the middle ; and the Great Arabian Desert in the south. The
northern desert is partly stony and gravelly, partly an expanse of burning red sand —
crimson after heavy rain, with here and there oases with wells and grass, which serve
as halting-places for caravans. The southern deserts are sandy.
(iii) In the small peninsula of Sinai the highest peak reaches to 9300 ft. The moun
tains are generally barren on their sea side.
(iv) The low and narrow plain to the west of the mountain-range which looks over
the Red Sea is called the Tehama — a word which means "lowland."
(v) There is not a river nor a lake in all Arabia. There are many wadies, which are
foaming torrents in the rainy season, but are dry for nine or ten montiis in the year.
(The word wady appears as Guadi in Spain — as in G^iadiana, Guadalquivir, etc.)
5. Climate. — The climate of Arabia is very hot and very dry. In
fact, Arabia has an African climate. Much of the country lies in the
" Rainless Eegion.''
(i) " The zone of maximum heat oii the surface of the globe in July embraces the
whole of the Persian Gulf, the greater part of the Red Sea, and of tlie Arabian Penin
sula which lies between them."
(ii) In some parts of Arabia— especially in the Deserts— no rain may fall for tliree
or four years.
(iii) " It is the vicinity of the African Sahara that prevents Arabia from eiyoying,
as India does, the full benefit ofthe moist winds from the Indian Oceau." The only
part of Arabia that receives the tropical monsoon rains is Yemen in the south-west
comer. Both the North-East Trades and the South-West Monsoons blow— not into
tlie country— but parallel with the coast.
(iv) The Great Arabian Desert surpasses the Saliara itself in absolute barrenness.

ARABIA

309

6. Arabia and the Deccan : a Contrast. — There are certain features
ofthe two greatest Asiatic peninsulas which present a striking con
trast ; and it may be worth while to notice these.

Arabia.
1. Ai-abia has its greatest breadth in
the south.
2. One-third of Arabia is desert.

3. Arabia has narrow seas on both sides
of it.
4. Arabia is separated from the north
by the Syrian Desert.
5. The coast of Arabia has few har
bours.
6. The landscape, flora, and fauna of
Arabia are African in character.
7. Arabia has very few islands ; and
these are small.
S. Arabia is one of the most thinly
peopled lands in the world.

Thk Deccan.
1. The Deccan grows narrower as it goes
to the south, and ends in a point.
2. There is no desert in the Deccan ;
but a great deal ofthe richest land
(the * ' Black Lands ") in the world.
3. The Deccan has vast breadths of sea
on both sides.
4. The Deccan is separated from the
north by the rich Plain of the
Ganges.
5. The coast of the Deccan has raany
good harbours.
6. Tlie landscape, flora, and fauna of
the Deccan are Asiatic.
7. The Deccan has numerous islands
off the coast, and one very large —
Ceylon.
S. The Deccan has one of the densest
populations on the globe.

7. Vegetation. —The flora of Arabia resembles that of the Soudan.
The most valuable plants are the date-palm, coffee, and aromatic and
medical plants such as produce frankincense, myrrh, gum-arabic,
senna, etc. The terraces which slope down to the sea produce wheat,
barley, millet, and excellent fruits.
(i) There are 130 different kinds of date-palm in all the oases. The date is the
.staple article of food, ''Honour the date-tree," says Mahomet, "for it is your
mother." (ii) The best coffee is Mocha coffee, grown in Yemen. •
(iii) Arabia possesses no forests, but has— especially in the Nejd— vast stretches
of desert grass fragrant with aromatic herbs, and furnishing admirable pasturage for
the Nejd breed of Arab horses.
(iv) The date-palm belt — between Medinah and lat. 23°— stretches across the
Peninsula. "Nejd is the favoured land of date-palms ; every valley that intersects
its vast plateau waves ^vith them. Eaten fresh, or stewed with butter, they form the
staff of Arab food."

310 ASIA
8. Animals. — There is in Arabia no forest and little cover ; and
hence there are few wild animals. Panthers, lynxes, jackals,
and large hyaenas are found in the mountains ; while ostriches
and gazelles haunt the oases of the deserts. The domestic animals
are the horse and camel ; and sheep and goats form also an important
item of Arab wealth.
(i) "For proportion of forra, symmetry of limb, cleanness of muscle, beauty of
appearance— for endurance of fatigue, for docility, and for speed maintained to dis
tances so long as to appear incredible, the Nejdee horle acknowledges no equal."
(ii) The Arabian camel or dromedary has only one hump. It is rightly as well as
poetically called "the ship of the desert." The camel and the date, says the Arab
legend, were created by Allah out. of the same earth as man. No animal puts its
owner to less expense for its keep ; the thoms of the desert, dry grass — nothing
comes amiss.
(iii) The locust abounds in Arabia ; but it is devoured i-ather than devouring.
Locusts boiled, and slightly salted, are a staple article of food in every Arabian
market. 9. The People. — The Arabs form a branch of the Semitic family.
The Arab is a noble-looking man — tall, spare, muscular, and with
brown complexion, dark-eyed, dark-haired. "Independence looks
out of his glowing eyes ; '* he is quick, sharp-witted, imaginative, and
very fond of poetry. " Courage, temperance, hospitality, and good
faith, are his leading virtues."
(i) " The Arabs (essentially one in origin, physique, speech, and religion) have never
submitted to a foreign yoke, and for many thousand years their forefathers have
roamed freely over the boundless solitudes of the interior." — " The Arab is satisfied
with little ; but all that he owns must be of the choicest quality. His dates, his
perfumes, his coffee, are the best in the world."
(ii) Tlie dwellers in the towns are called "Alil Hadr" ; in the country, "Ahl
Bedoo" (=Dwellers in the Open); hence the name Bedouijis.
(iii) The Bedouin is accustomed from infancy to lie on the hard ground, to endure the
rays of an almost vertical sun, to go without sleep or food for days, to taste no strong
drinks ; and hence he enjoys uniform good health. He is tlie very soul of hospitality ;
" the guest is sacred in his camping-ground, and the foe himself is welcome once he
lias touched the tent-rope."
(iv) The population of Arabia is variously estimated at from 7,000,000 to 12,000,000.
Of these, at least one-fifth are nomad Bedouins.

AIIABIA 311
10. Industry. — Industry in Arabia reaches its minimum — its lowest
level ; and Arabia has been called " the anti-industrial centre of the
world." (i) In Yemen there is some weaving, some gold and silk thread embroidery, and a
little silver aud steel work.
(ii) "There is not a single building, public or private, built by the Arabs them
selves, of any merit, within the whole of Arabia."
(iii) There are no minerals^with the exception ofa little lead.
11. Commerce. — There is a good deal of internal trade, and the
Arab is a born trader ; but of foreign conunerce there is very little.
The small exports there are consist of camels and sheep, hair and
wool ; a little coffee ; dates ; and horses. A little cotton cloth, Indian
prints, sugar, hardware, arms, form the very slight imports.
"No Arab undertakes n journey, were it only from one village to another,
without taking with him some object for exchange or sale ; and he will sooner chaffer
away the handkerchief on his head or the camel on which he rides, than return with
out having effected something in the way of business."
12. Divisions. — Arabia is divided into eight territories, some
independent, and some under foreign powers, " The bulk of the
inhabitants are in a tribal state.''
(i) On the East coast we find El Hassa and Oman ; the former subject to Turkey,
the latter to the Sultan or Imaum of Muscat.
(ii) On the South coast is Hadramaut, held by independent Bedouin tribes, but
much under the influence and power of Britain — which is exerted from Aden.
(iii) On the West coast, are Yemen ("Arabia Fehx") and El Hejaz— subject to
Turkey. Yemen is so rich that one-fifth of the whole population of Arabia is concen
trated in this comer. El Hejaz is the Holy Land of the Mahometans, because it
contains the cities of Mecca and Medina. The possession of El Hejaz by the Turks
gives to the Sultan his best title to the Caliphate of Islam — to his name of "Com
mander of the Faithful."
(iv) In the interior are Nejd and the Sultanate of Jebel Shomer, both native states.
The Nejd is the stronghold of the vigorous Arab nationality.
(v) At the head of the Bed Sea is the Sinai Region, which is under the Egyptian
Government. This region is a rocky limestone plateau— a wilderness of rocks and
moimtains, arid plains and dry beds of torrents. It was the scene of the 40 years'
wanderings of the Israelites. The highest point is Jebel Katharnia (8650 ft).
Sheikh meana "Elder" ; Emir, "Ruler"; Imaum, " Freceder."

312 ASIA
13. Towns. — "In a land of which probably not more than one-tenth
is arable, towns cannot be numerous." There are not two towns in
the whole vast Peninsula which have a settled population of more
than 50,000, The two largest towns are Sana and Muscat ; the two
most famous are Mecca and Medina. Aden, Mocha, Biad, and Hail,
are also well-known cities.
(i) Sana (40), the capital of Yemen, " the finest and best-built city in the whole of
Arabia," lies in the heart of the coffee district. It has 50 large mosques.
(ii) Muscat (60), the capital of Oman, lies in a crescent of bare red igneous rocks.
It is one of the hottest places on the globe. It has a large trade. The Sultan is a
pensioner of the Anglo-Indian Government, which is the true ruler of Muscat.
(iii) Mecca is the birthplace of Mahomet, " the ' Holy City ' for perhaps two hun
dred millions of human beings, towards which Mahometans of all sects and nations
turn in the hour of prayer." It is the true capital of Arabia and the metropolis of
Islam, thanks to the " black stone " (a meteorite), supposed to have been given by
God to Abraham, which existed and was venerated long before the appearance of the
Prophet. This holy stone Is kept in the Kaaba, which is a square building about 40
ft. high in the Holy Mosque, and with a silver door. To touch it brings forgiveness
of sins and opens the gates of Paradise. During the season of pilgrimage, Mecca
becomes one vast bazaar. The pilgrimage is called the ''Haj"; and a pilgrim a
'* Hajee." Jeddah, on the Eed Sea, is the port of Mecca.
(iv) Medina ( = **The City") contains the tomb ofthe Prophet. His coflB.uis encased
in silver and covered with a heavy marble slab- The tomb is a shrine second only in
sanctity to the Kaaba itself; a "prayer made here is worth a thousand elsewhere."
But a pilgrim to Medina does not gain the title of " Hajee." — It was to Medina that
Mahomet fled from his fellow-citizens of Mecca on July 15, 622. This is called the
"Hegira" (Flight); and from this date the Mahometan era commences. Tambo, on
the Red Sea, is the port of Medina.
(v) Aden, a British coaling aud military station, is the most populous town in the
whole of Arabia. The island of Perim is an " advanced port " of this " Gibraltar of the
ludian Oceau." The old town of Aden lies in the very crater of a dormant volcano ;
and the sides of the crater bristle with cannon. Aden forms " a vital link in the ^Tist
chain of British strongholds which encircle the globe."
(vi) Mocha, on the Red Sea, gives its name to the finest coffee. But it-s coffee trade
has departed to Aden.
(vii) Rlad (30) is the capital of the state called Nejd,— a state which contains more
large towns than any other part of Arabia.
14. Highways of Communication. — Arabia has no roads, no railways,

PERSIA 313
no rivers, no canals, no lakes. The Peninsula is, however, crossed
everywhere by well-marked caravan routes, the direction of which is
determined by the number of wells and reservoirs along their course.
All trade-routes converge on Mecca and Medina.
(i) The Arab and other Mahometans combine commerce with religious pilgrimages.
(ii) Tlie pilgrims from Africa and other countries now go by sea as mucli as possible.

PERSIA.
1. The Country. — Persia is the western and larger half of the
great Plateau of Iran, which stretches from the Tigris to the Indus,
from the Mountains of Armenia to the Hindu-Koosh. The Persian
part of the plateau is in average height about 5000 ft. above the level
of the sea — that is, nearly a mile. It is of importance to Great
Britain as lying on the flank of Afghanistan — which has always been
a troublesome neighbour to India ; it is of importance to Eussia, as
lying on her southern borders. Hence the rule and the destinies of
Persia lie practicaUy in the hands of Eussia and Britain.
(i) The Plateau of Iran is the connecting link between the great Eastern and
Western Table-lands.
(ii) The native name of Persia is Farsistan, or Stan (country) of tlie Farsees, or
Parsees (= Persians).
So KuT(Ustaii=Country of the Kurds ; Turkestdu, Country of tlie Turks ; Afgbouist&D, of the
Afghans, etc, etc.
2. Boundaries. — Persia lies between the Caspian and the Persian
Gulf; between Armenia on the west and Afghanistan and Belu-
chistan on the east. Mount Ararat is the corner-stone at which the
Turkish, Eussian, and Persian dominions meet.
(i) The political boundaries are as follows —
1. N. — Trans-Caucasia, Caspian Sea, and Turlcestan.
2. E. — Afghanistan and Beluchistan.
3. S. —The Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman.
4. W. — Turkey-in-Asia.
(ii) If the Caspian is a Russian, the Persian Gulf has become an " English Lake."

314 ASIA
3. Size and Population. — The area of Persia is estimated at 628,000
square miles — or rather more than three times the size of France.
But the population is considerably under 8,000,000 — or about 12
persons to the square mile.
The population belongs chiefly to the Aryan race; but iu the north and east
there are many Mongol Tartars, who are nomads.
4. Build. — Persia is a table-land shaped like an inverted basin, the
edge of which drops on the north to the Caspian, and, on the south,
comes down by a series of terraces to the Persian Gulf. It is traversed
by lofty ranges of mountains running, generally, from north-west to
south-east. In the north-east is the Great Salt Desert of Ehorassan,
in the south-east the Desert of Lot. About two-thirds of the surface
has an inland drainage (where it has any water at all), and sends no
rivers to the ocean. The country is encircled on all sides by high
mountain-ranges. (i) Eleven of these mountain- ran ges are almost perfectly parallel ; and hence they
conti'ol the direction of the winds. The highest range in the south is Kah Dinar ; iu
the north, Elburz, the culminating point of which is Mount Demavend, a volcanic peak.
" whose fires are still slumbering," 18,600 ft. high.
(ii) "In the south-eastern deserts the prevailing element is sand, lifted by the winds
into ever-shifting dunes, by Avhich caravan routes are effaced, arable tracts covered,
the very villages and towns themselves tlireatened vnth destruction. "
(iii) There is only one navigable stream in all Persia — the Kanm. wliicli is united by
;i canal with the Shatt-el-Arab.
(iv) The largest lake is Urumiyah, wliich lies 4070 ft. above the sea-level. It is
rather larger than Somersetshire, is extremely salt and very shallo\\-. The -water is
Salter than that of the Dead Sea, and swimmers cannot dive in it The average depth
is about 0 ft. But " it lies in a district of almost unrivalled fertility, covered mth
vineyards, orchards, gardens, and thickly studded with towns and Ullages."
5. Climate and Vegetation.- — The cUniate of Persia is continental :
great dryness, excessive heat ; and intense cold in the upland country.
The annual rain-fall is less than 10 inches. As regards vegetation,
Persia is a land of contrasts — leafy forests on the outer slopes of the
coast-ranges and scanty brushwood on the dreary saline plateaus.
(i) On the northern slopes of the Elbur/, grow magnificent foi-ests of cedar, elm,
oak, walnut, beech, aud box. Wheat and barley are grown at a height of several
thousand feet ; and the lowlands yield cotton, sugar, grapes, aud European li-uits.
(li) Irrigation is managed by a system of wells connected by undergroiuid channels.

PERSIA 315
6. The People.— The Persian is the " Parisian of the East." He has
a ready wit and a persuasive style. Both the urban aud the rural
classes of Persia are polite, courteous, and refined in their manners.
In Ancient Persia, education was summed up in the power " to speak
the truth and to draw the bow," but this cannot be said of Modern
Persia at all. The prevalent religion is Mahometanism.
The Persian iiresents a striliiug contrast, iu character and manners, to the Tm-li.
The Turk (or Ottoman) is a stock-breeder, a Imsbandman, and a soldier ; the Persian
is a trader and, by temperament, an artist. The Turk is a man of few words and of
serious speech ; the Persian is a fluent talker and a brilliant logician.
7. Industries. — The chief industry is agriculture, and nearly two-
thirds of the population are tillers of the ground. But there are
valuable manufactures of porcelain, of carpets and shawls, and of
articles of luxury.
(i) Less than one-fifth of all the land iu Persia is under cultivation, and about
two-thirds is desert.
(ii) The chief cereals are wheat and rice. Cotton, tobacco, and opium, are also
gro^vn. Apples and pears, filberts and walnuts, grapes and peaches, plums and
nectarines are all so cheap as to be within reach of the poorest inhabitant.
(iii) The best carpets are made in Kurdistan. Many of the most beautiful carpets
are woven in the tents nf the Turkomans — a wild nomadic race.
8. Commerce.— The export trade of Persia is very small ; and the
total foreign commerce does not amount annually to much more than
£1 a head. The direct trade of Persia with the United Kingdom is
most insignificant — it amounts, including both imports and exports,
to little more than .£200,000 per annum.
(i) The imports are mostly of cotton and woollen goods, glass, sugar, tea, aud
coffee. t
(ii) The exports consist of opium, dried fruits, silk, carpets, pearls, turquoises, etc.
(iii) Since the opening of the Trans-Caucasian Railway, the Russians have com
manded most of the Persian markets.
(iv) There are only two carriage roads in the whole of this vast empire ; and the
whole trade ofthe country is carried on by caravans, which radiate from the cities of
the interior to Erzeroum, Bagdad, and other places. The so-called highroad from
the capital to Resoht on the Caspian, though only 180 miles long, takes seven days to
travel.

316 ASIA
(v) There are no railways. There are about 4000 miles of telegraph line,
(vi) The chief centres of commerce are Tabriz, Teheran, and lipahan,. The chief port
is Bushire on the Persian Gulf.
9. Towns. — There are in Persia thirteen towns with more than
25,000 inhabitants. Of these, five have more than 50,000 ; and of
these again, two have over 100,000. The five largest are Teheran, the
capital, Tabriz, Ispahan, Meshed, and B^TfurtLBh.
(i) Teheran (150) or " the Pure" is the capital, and stands at the southei-n foot of tbe
Elburz Range. Its only respectable building is the palace of the King, with a few
shops and houses of western fashion beside it. Elsewhere, most of the town is a
labyrinth of narrow and crooked streets, obstructed by heaps of rubbish, and full of
ruts and pitfalls. The only scavengers are dogs and jackals. In the fashionable
quarter there are streets lighted with gas.
(ii) Tabriz (165) is the raost populous city and the chief commercial emporium of
Persia. Standing near the Russian and the Turkish frontiers, it has become a great
international entrepot. "The city is surrounded by thousands of weU-watered
gardens." (iii) Ispahan (60) was the old capital. It was once called "Half of the World."
The old walls are 22 miles in circumference; but "the fox and jackal have their
dens amid the ruins of its finest palaces, mosques, and bazaars." Its greatest glory
now is a noble bridge (across the Zendeh-rud or "River of Life") of 34 arches
surmounted by an open gallery. Ispahan is the centre of Mahometan learning. It
stands in a fertUe plain, in the very heart of the kingdom.
(iv) Meshed (60), the capital of Khorassan, lies near the north-eastern frontier, not
far from the Afghan town of Herat. It is the religious and trading centre of Eastern
Persia. (v) BarfuruBh (60), near the southern shore of the Caspian, has the best stocked
bazaar in the East. Its port, Meahed-i-Ser, is the busiest port on the whole coast.
The passes across the Blburz from Ba,rfm-Cish to TeherSn are easy of travel.
(vi) Shiraz (30) is the capital of Farsistan (the province which gives its name to the
whole of Persia— as the province of Holland does to the Netherlands). Nestling
among rose gardens, vineyards, and cypress groves, it owes its tropical luxuriance to
an abundance of water, and its fame to its rose-water and attar of roses.
10. The Government.— The Government of Persia is a pure des
potism. The sovereign is called Shah-en-Shah or " King of Kings."
The basis of law is the precepts in the Kordn. The Shah is assisted
by a council and a prime-minister called the " Grand Vizir."
The word Shah is the briuq .is the word Sheikh, tmd as check in onr phrRse cherk-mate (wbich
iB=" Tbe Kliig is dead "). Mate ia found alao iu iiia(ador=the sliiyer.

AFGHANISTAN AND BELUCHISTAN 317
(i) There is a standing army of about 50,000 men.
(ii) The navy consists of two email vessels.
(iii) There is no national debt.
(iv) Tlie Shah has little or no power over the nomad tribes, who fonn one-third of
the whole people.

AFGHANISTAN AND BELUCHISTAN.
1. Introductory. — These two countries form the eastern section of
the great Plateau of Iran. Both are elevated table-lands ; but
Afghanistan is the more mountainous.
Afghtmistan means ihe atail or land ofthe Afghans; Beluchistan, the land ofthe Beluchia.
2. Afghanistan. — This country is a great quadrilateral plateau
and vast arid mountain' mass, which consists of high and almost
inaccessible vaUeys, rugged highlands, and immense mountain-ranges.
More than four-fifths of the surface is covered by rugged mountains.
(i) It has been briefly described as a '* country of moiintain-riinges, long narrow
passes, and elevated valleys."
(ii) Its boundaries are as follows
1. N. — Turkestan and the river Amu.
2. E. — The Chinese Empire and British India.
3. S. — Beluchistan.
4. W. — Persia.
(iii) Its size, if we include Afghan Turkestan, has been estimated at 278,000 square
railes, or raore than three times the size of Great Britain.
3. Build. — We shall grasp the relief of Afghanistan more readily if
we look at it as divided into four great river-basins : (i) the northern
belonging to the Amu (or Oxus) basin ; (ii) the etestem, or Valley of
the Kabul, belonging to the basin of the Indus ; (iii) the middle, con
sisting of the basin of the Heri-Eud (=" Eiver of Herat") ; and (iv)
the southern, consisting of most of the basin of the Helmund.
(i) The northern slopes of the Hindu-Eoosh drain into the Amu (or Oxus).
(ii) The southern slopes of the Hindu-Koosh drain into the river Kabul, whif.h ig
an afllnent of the Indus.
2a

318 ASIA
(iii) The Hcri-Rud, which drains Middle Afghanistan, is gradually lost in the sands
of the desert.
(iv) The Helmund drains South-western Afghanistan, and falls into the swamp called
Lake Seistan.
(v) The only lakes of any importance are Seirtan— a swamp partly in Persia and
partly in Afghanistan ; and Abiitada, a very salt lake, which drains into the Helmund.
4. Mountains. — The most important ranges are the Hindu-Koosh
(with its westerly continuations-— the Koh-i-Bata, Safed-Koh and
Siah-Eoh) ; and the SuUman Mountains, which form the eastern
edge of the Iranian Plateau, and divide Afghanistan from the low
plains in the valley of the Indus.
Koh iB = mountain. Thus " Kohluoor " (the famous diamond) means " Mountain of Light."
(i) The Hindti-Eoh (or "Mountains of the Hindus*') afterwards called Hbida-Eoodi
(or " Hindu-killer ") contains a number of peaks which rise to the height of 23,000 ft.
above the level of the .sea. Some of the passes are easy and might be crossed in a
wheeled wagon.
(ii) The highest point in the Sollmaiu is the Takht-i-Snllman (=Throiie of Solomon),
wliich is 11,29S ft., or 2i miles high.
(iii) The latest authorities give the Amiin Range as the "scientific frontier" of India
towards Afghanistan.
5. Passes. — The importance of Afghanistan to Great Britain lies in
the fact that it commands the plains of British India ; for the
passes between Central Asia and India lie in the Afghan Mountains.
There are at least a score of practicable routes from the Iranian Plateau
to the Plains of the Indus. The most famous are : the Khyber Pass ;
the Kurum Pass ; and the Bolan Pass.
(i) The Khyber Pass leads from Peshawur to Jellalabad ; and thence, by the Khnrd-
ZahtU PaaB, on to Kabul. The overhanging cliffs on either side are crowned with forts.
In the winter of 1841-42, the British army was cut to pieces in the Kabul Pass ; and
only three natives and one European — Dr. Brydone — reached Jellalabad.
(ii) The Eanun Pass goes up the valley of the river Kunun, and, by means of other
passes, connects Kabul with Ghuzni, the chief place on the military road between
Kabul and Kandahar.
(iii) The Bolan Pass lies between Quetta (in Beluchistan) and Kandahar.
6. CUmate. — The climate is a climate of extremes and contrasts ;
and it of course varies with the varying altitudes. An intensely hot

AFGHANISTAN AND BELUCHISTAN 319
summer, a winter of extreme rigour ; suffocating heat in the valleys,
bitter cold on the table-lands — such are some of the contrasts of
climate in Afghanistan.
(i) At Ghuzni (7800 ft.) "the mnter is so severe that the people are snowed up in
their houses for several months.
(ii) At Kabul (5600 ft.) the cold is severe for three months — the people seldom leave
their houses, and sleep close to the stoves ; the streams are frozen so hard that they
can bear loaded camels. The summers are temperate.
(iii) At Kandahar the winters are mild ; but the summer is extremely hot, — 110"
in the shade.
(iv) In the Herat district, 18,000 men of Ahmed Shah's army died of cold in a single
night. 7. Flora and Fauna. — " Bare, treeless mountains, sandy and barren
plains, fertile valleys and riverain tracts, producing enormous quan
tities of magnificent fruits and vegetables, besides cereals of various
kinds, are the prevailing features of Afghanistan." Assafcetida and
the castor-oil plant are everywhere common. Wheat, maize, and rice
are the food-staples ; while the apples, grapes, and pomegranates of
the country are celebrated throughout India.
(i) Contradictions : Rugged rocks, desolate plains, awful defiles, steep cliffs, bare
black crags; abounding orchards, green swards, charming dells, purling streams.
Both aspects are true ; both are also characteristic.
(ii) " At Herat are grown seventeen varieties of the vine, many species of melons,
apricots, and other fruits, all renowned throughout Irania for their exquisite flavour.
In the gardens of Herat the public help themselves, and pay the reckoning according
to the difference of their weight on entering and leaving."
(iii) " Lions and leopards of a small type haunt the upper valleys of the Hindu-
Kush, where also are met the wolf and two species of bear. The one-humped camel
is the chief beast of burden."
8. Tlio People. — The population is estimated at about 5,000,000.
The Afghans proper, or Pathans — as they are called in India —
number about 3,000,000. Most of the tribes belong to the Aryan
race ; some are mixed ; and some, Mongols. There are altogether
about 400 tribes or clans.
(i) The Afghans claim descent from King Saul, and call themselves Ben! Israel (or
' ' Sons of Israel "). They are Mahometans of the Sunnite sect.

320 ASIA
(ii) "Compared with the Persians, the Afghans are rude, almost coarse, and care
less of outward show. But they are skilful artisans, hospitable, generous, and even
truthful— at least in peace ; but, when their evil jassions are stirred up by war, they
are cruel, revengeful, treacherous, and greedy. ' God shield you from the vengeance of
the elephant, the cobra, and the Afghan,' is a saying current among the Mahometan
Hindus." When any specially atrocious act is done, the Afghans themselves speak of
it as " an Afghan job ! " " Nothing is finer than their physique, or worse than their
morale." They are extremely independent ; all are equal ; and no clan will obey any
one hut its chief.
9. Trade and Government. — The Afghans are mostly given to
pastoral occupations. Silk goods and carpets are the chief products
of industry. All goods are transported on camel or pony back.
Afghanistan stands between India and Persia and Turkestan, and
ought to have an exceUent transit trade ; but wars and bad govern
ment have injured commerce. The Ameer of Cabul is acknowledged
as ruler of Afghanistan by the British Government.
(i) There is one Afghan people — one in blood, speech, and religion ; but there is no
Afghan nation. The different tribes, septs, or clans, form so many states within the
State; and many of these tribes refuse to receive the Ameer's magistrates or tax-
gatherers, but send him a little tribute every year. " The Ameer is a dictator for life,
over a military aristocracy." The present Ameer was once a guest of the Russians,
is now a British pensioner ; and these two powers settle for him the boundaries of
what are called his dominions.
(ii) Since the year 1884, Bussian Turkestan and Afghanistan march together, the
Oxus being the boundary line between the two countries.
10. Towns. — The Afghans do not as a rule inhabit towns ; and
there are in the whole country only three towns of any importance :
Kdbul, Herdt, and Kandahir. They are the most important strategical
points in the country ; and hence they have grown to be the chief
centres of power and population.

Eandaliar
They stand at the three angles of a triangle, the base of which lies

AFGHANISTAN AND BELUCHISTAN 321
along the northern scarp of the plateau, and the apex nearly in the
centre of the country. The other best-known towns are Ghuzni
and Jellalabad.
(i) Kabul (50) is the present capital of the State. The Afghans say >t is " the oldest
of all cities," and point to the ** Tomb of Cain " to confirm their assertion. It stands
at tlie junction of routes from Central Asia to the Punjab, in the midst of plains,
fertile though high, and offering every resource to caravans after their cold and toilsome
journey across the snowy range of the Hindu-Koosh. Here, in 1842, the British
¦Ambassador was treacheroi^ly murdered ; and, in 1879, the British Resident along
mth his suite.
(ii) Herat (50) has, from its military position, been called the " Gate of India,*
from its vast agricultural resources, the "Pearl of Khorassan." It is the future
termimis ofthe Russian Trans-Caspian Railway, and of the English railway from the
Punjab, to connect with the railway through the Tigris valley. The waters of the
Heri-Rud are "clear as a pearl." Countless irrigation canals are drawn from the
stream ; an^ thus Herat has become the " City of a hundred thousand gardens."
(iii) Kandahar, the chief city of the South, is the "key of India," if Herat is the
"gate." For, standing at the apex of the triangle, it commands the military road
between Herat and Kabul.
(iv) Ghuzni is the chief point on the military route between Kandahar and Kabul.
In the 11th century it was capital of an empire which stretched from the plains of
Delhi to the shores of the Black Sea. It stands at the height of 7800 ft., and is very
hot in summer and extremely cold in winter.
(v) Jellalabad is the chief station between Kabul and Peshawur : it stands on the
edge ofthe Iranian Plateau.

11. Afghan Turkestan. — The country between the Hindu-Koosh
and the Amu-Daria (or Oxus) is called Afghan Turkestan. It was
not conquered by the Afghans, but was placed under the Ameer by
the joint will of Russia and England. This country is inhabited by
Turkomans (mostly Usbegs), and is divided intQ a number of small
states, the best known of which is Balkh, the ancient Bactria.
(i) In the Alpine territoiy of Wakhan, the most easterly of these little states, the
lowest hamlet is 8000 ft. above the sea, the highest is 11,000 ft.— a greater elevation
than that of the loftiest peaks of the Pyrenees.
(ii) Balkh, the capital of Balkh, is a mere village, though it was once called the
" Mother of Cities." It was the birthplace of Zoroaster, the founder of the Parsee
"religion of fire."

322 ASIA
12. Beluchistan. — The "Land of the Beluchis" is a thinly-peopled
desert plateau, occupying the south-eastern portion of the Iran
Table-land ; and the edge of the plateau runs along the low lands of
Scinde. It is practically a province of the Indian Empire ; and its
ruler, the Khan of Kelat, is a vassal of the Kaisar-i-Hind (or Empress
of India). It is a little more than half the size of France.
13. The People.— The population is estimated at 2,000,000. The
people belong to two races : the Beluchis, who are of Aryan origin,
and live in the west and east ; the Brahuis, of Mongolian descent, in
the middle.
(i) Tiie Brahuis are tlie more powerful race. Both peoples are Mi^hometaus in
religion. (ii) The Beluchis are robber nomads, who make raids upon caravans of camels.
14. Towns. — ^There are only two towns of any importance — Khelat,
the capital, and Quetta. The latter is the military key of the country,
commands both Khelat and Kandahar, and is held by a British
garrison. (i) Ehelat (="The Castle") stands on the centi-al watershed of the whole
country. Its position at the highest point of the plateau (S400 ft), gives it the
command of all the roads to India, Afghanistan, and Persia. The Khan or "Mir''
of Khelat is the ruler of the whole country.
(ii) Quetta Is in the north of the country. Besides being a British stronghold, it
has become a health-resort, owing to its temperate climate.

THE MALAY OR EAST INDIAN AECHIPELAGO.
1. Introductory. — The East Indian Archipelago lies to the south
east of Asia, on both sides of the Equator, and forms a kind of
insular isthmus between the two continents of Asia and Australia.

THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO

323

It is the greatest and richest island-world on the face of the globe.
It stretches over about
30° of latitude and of
longitude. It is tra
versed throughout its
whole extent by one of
the most extensive and
continuous belts of
volcanic action in the
world. (i) The western lialf of tluA
Archipelago was originally
a part of Asia ; the eastern half of Australia. The dividing line runs through the
Straits of Macassar and between the two small islands of Bali and Lombok, to the
east of Java. West of this line, the flora and fauna — even the birds, are Asiatic ;
east of it, Australian — even to the inclusion of marsupials.
(ii) Tbe Archipelago is not only the richest in volcanoes and volcanic activity, it is
also the most fertile region in the world.

Malay AncnipuLAOo,

2. Divisions. — This mighty archipelago consists of four distinct
regions : The Great Sunda Islands ; the Lesser Sundas ; the Moluccas ;
and the Philippines. It is the richest colonial empire in the world ;
and each group, and almost each island, has its own peculiar source
of wealth. (i) Sumatra is noted for its colossal animal forms — the elephant, the rhinoceros, the
tapir, the orang-outang. It is also famous for its pepper, and its possession of tlic
largest flower in the world — the Rafilesia.
(ii) Java produces tbe best indigo ; the bread-fruit tree ; and also immense quantities
of coffee, sugar, rice, and tea.
(iii) Borneo is distinguished for its gold, diamonds, and otiier precious stones.
(iv) Banca, east of Sumatra, is the richest tin-land in the world.
(v) Amboyna is the home of spices ; Ceram, of sago ; and the Fhllipplnea, of the best
tobacco. (vi) The Straits of Ualacca separate the Malay Peninsula from Sumatra ; the Sunda
Straits divide Sumatra and Java ; the Macassar Strait, the islands of Borneo and Celebes.
British ships generally use the Straits of Malacca ; Dutch vessels, the Sunda Straits.

324 ASIA
3. Climate and Vegetation. — The intense heat of the tropical region
is here mitigated by the ocean-winds ; and the climate is favourable
to health, except in the marshy districts. Almost every wind brings
rain ; and, as these islands lie within the region of the equatorial
down-pour, the vegetation is of the richest and most luxuriant kind.
The high lands are clothed with the densest forest ; the low plains
are enormously fertile. Cocoa-nuts, bananas, bamboos, and sago-
palms are the best-known trees ; spices, sugar, coffee, and rice are
the chief products of human cultivation.
(i) Aromatic plants and spices — especially the clove and nutmeg — are the special
products of the Moluccas or Spice Islands, as they were once called.
(ii) The gutta-percha tree grows largely in Borneo.
(iii) Ten days' labour at a sago-palm will produce food enough to last for a year ;
while the bamboo supplies all the material necessary for building cottages, for bridges,
boxes, baskets, mats, p^per, masts for boats, etc.
4. Inhabitants. — The most populous and important race in this
Archipelago are the Malays — a people with brown skin, smobth straight
hair, and very reserved manners. The population of all the islands
probably amounts to nearly 40,000,000.
(i) The Malays are clever sailors and active traders. At the same time, most of
the trade of the Archipelago is in the hands of the English, Dutch, Chinese, and
Americans. Piracy was at one time very prevalent among the islands.
(ii) Tlie language spoken is called the Low Malay — a soft, musical, and liquid
.speech, not unlike Italian in sound.
5. Commerce. — A commerce of the greatest briskness and activity
goes on all the year round between these islands and Asia, Europe,
and America. Among Europeans, the Dutch and English are the
chief traders ; Americans have also stations on many of the islands ;
while the trade with Asia is mostly in the hands of the Chinese.
(i) The chief exports to Europe and .\mcrica are spices, tob.acco, coffee, indigo,
rice, sugar, tortoise-shell, sago, and Manilla hemp.
(ii) The chief exports to China are edible birds' nests and trepang.
6. Political Divisions. — The Dutch and iipaniards are the widest

THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 325
rulers in the East Indian Archipelago ; while the British have a
footing chiefly in Borneo. A great deal of territory is also in the
hands of native states.
(i) The Dutch hold the whole of Java, Sumbawa, all of the Moluccas and Banca ; most
uf Borneo and Sumatra ; ahout half of Celebes and Timur.
(ii) Spain holds the whole of the PhlUpplnea— with the exception ofthe western half
of Mindanao, which is iu native hands.
(iii) Great Britain holds Singapore, Labuan ; aud two large parts of Borneo are under
its protection.
7. The Dutch Possessions. — The most important of the Dutch pos
sessions in the Malay Archipelago are Java, the Moluccas, Sumatra,
Borneo, and Celebes.
(i) Java is a long naiTOw islaud, with an area neai'ly as large as England (without
Wales), and a population of 25,000,000. One long range of mountains runs through
the middle. This range contains 46 lofty volcanic peaks, of which 20 are in a state of
greater or less activity. Of the 46 mountains, eight exceed 10,000 ft. in height.
The soil (which is almost wholly the property of the Dutch Government) is extremely
rich, and is most economically cultivated under the Dutch officials. The capital is
Batavia (250) ; but the largest town is Surabaya. The chief articles of export are sugar,
coffee, tea, rice, indigo, cinchona, tobacco, aud tin ; and four-fifths of these go to
Holland. The only export to Great Britain is unrefined sugai*; and we send
them cotton and machinery. Railways, tramways, and telegraphs, exist in the
island. (ii) The Moluccas are those islands which Ue between Celebes and New Guinea,
The largest island is Gilolo, which very oddly repeats the K shape of Celebes. Tlte
vegetation is extremely rich and varied ; and here is the native country of " the most
precious of spices, the clove." The most iraportant island is Amboyna, which
contains the city of Amboyna (20), the seat ofa very active commerce.
(iii) Sumatra is a long island nearly three times as large as England (without
Wales). In the mighty range which runs through the island, there are five active
and many dormant volcanoes, the highest being Talang (10,250 ft.). Sumatra is very
rich in minerals : coal, sulphur, fine iron, and gold have beeq^ discovered. More than
half the island is in the hands of the Dutch. It has a population of only 2,000,000.
The largest town, and the Dutch official capital, is Padang.
(iv) Borneo is the second largest island in the world. It is larger than the Austrian
Empire by 30,000 square miles. It is very mountainous and hilly; but it has wide
plains and low marshy shores. The highest point is Kinl-Balou (over 13,000 ft.). It
diff'ers from its neighbouring islands in not possessing a single volcano, either active
or extinct. It is rich in coal, antimony, mercury, gold, and diamonds. The Dutch
hold most of the island ; but SarawalL (an independent principality ruled by Rajah

326 ASIA
Brooke) and the territories of the North Borneo Company are under the protection
of Britain. The island of Laboan, which contains much excellent coal, is a British
possession. —The chief trade is in sago, beeswax, edible birds' nests, camphor,
trepang, and tortoise-shell. In exchange, Britain sends cotton goods, hardware, and
opium. The largest city is the native town of Bruni, a "Venice of hovels."
(v) Celebes is the most oddly shaped island in the world. A small central mass,
from which radiate four enormous arms, with three far-withdrawn gulfs, make the
island look like a huge grasshopper, or the letter K* It is a good deal larger than
England (without Wales). Each of its peninsulas is traversed bya mountain-chain ;
and there are many dormant, and several extinct volcanoes. There is much gold. The
northern half of the island is in the hands of the Dutch ; the southern part is divided
among nine native Mahometan States. The town]of Macassar forms the centre of trade,
8. The Spanish Possessions. —The Spanish possessions consist of a
group of islands called the Philippines. The largest of the group is
Luzon, which is about one-half larger than Ireland. Mindanao is the
next largest. The capital of Luzon is Manilla (180), a busy port,
which ships large quantities of sugar, rice, hemp, and tobacco.
(i) The Philippines are celebrated above all other Eastern coimtries for the beauty
and variety of their land-shells.
(ii) The inhabitants consist of two distinct races — the Malayan and the Negrito
(with woolly hair). The chief food is rice ; but maize, yams, and sweet potatoes are
also grown.
(iii) The Chinese arc the chief merchants and shopkeepers.
(iv) The northern part of the islands is much visited by stoims. A terrific tjiphoon
destroyed, in 1856, ten thousand houses in Manilla.

AFRICA

DIAGRAMMATIC MAP
OP
AFRICA.

Lon W, 0 Lon.E.of Gr<«r>.  20

AFRICA.
1. Introdnctory (i). — Afirlca has been called the "Dark Continent."
And this for two reasons : first, because it is the least known and
most inaccessible of all the continents ; and, secondly, because it is
inhabited by dark races. Mueh has been done to bring the geography
of this continent to the light of day ; but the inhospitable regions of
the Sahara and the dense forests on both sides of the Equator still
present to the explorer difficulties that are almost insurmountable —
that make these regions still Urrce incognitce to the civilised world.
" Cover the coast belt with rank yellow graag, dot here and there a palm ; scatter through it a few
demoralised Tillages ; and stock it with the leopard, the hyena, the crocodile, and the hippopotamus.
Clothe the mountainous plateaux next , . . with forests of low trees, whose half-giown trunks and
scanty leaves otfer no shade from the tropical sun, . . . Once in a week you will see a palm ; once in
three months a monkey will cross your path ; the flowers, on the whole, are few ; tbe trees are poor ;
and, to be honest, though the endless forest-clad mountains have a sublimity of their own, and though
there are tropical bits along some of the mountain-streams of exquisite beauty, nowhere is there any
thing in grace, and sweetness, and strength tu compare with a Highland glen. . . . Thousands and
thousands of miles then, of vast thin forest, shadeleas, trackless, voiceless— forest in mountain and
forest in plain— thia is East Central Africa,"— Deummond.
2. Introductory (ii). — Africa is distinguished in many ways from
other continents. It is the Tropical Continent. It is the Highest
Continent — that is, its average height is greater than that of any
other. It is the best defined division of the Old World. It is the
least known ; and yet it is the continent of which there is the earliest
mention in history. It is the most simply shaped externally. It
forms, in almost every respect— shape, build, climate and peoples
— a striking contrast to the other continents of the Old World.
(i) The oldest civilisation of whioli Europeans have any historical record existed in
the north-east of Africa— in the Valley of the Nile ; and the earliest history that Is
read in Europe is the history of Egypt.
3. The Northern and the Southern Continents : a Contrast — If we
divide the whole mass of land upon the globe into three Northern
and three Southern Continents, we shall find between the two sets
very broadly marked differences. The three in the north touch, or
almost touch each other ; the three in the south are separated by the
widest possible tracts of ocean. The three in the north have the
most highly developed coast-lines— are cut into by deep bays and

330

AFRICA

gulfs, and send out long land-arms into the ocean, while they are
rich in islands aud archipelagoes ; the three in the south have short
and monotonous lines of coast, are not penetrated by the ocean, and
are extremely poor in islands.
(i) In the Mediterranean, only Jerba and a few islets belong physically to the
mainland of Africa.
(ii) On the east coast, we have Socotra — "the spear-head " of the Somali Peninsula ;
Pemba ; Zan^bar ; and Mafia.
(iii) Ferlm and a few others in the Red Sea, are mere coral reefs, with volcanic crests
on the top of them.
(iv) Madagascar, St. Thomas, Prince, Famando Po (in the Gulf of Guinea) ; the Madeira,
Canary and Cape Verde Archipelagoes are all '* oceanic islands " of volcanic formation ;
and the last-named is separated &om the mainland by abysses 3000 ft. deep. St. Helena
and Ascension are mere rocks — the tops of mountain ridges in the bed ofthe Atlantic.
4. AfWca and Europe : a Contrast. — Between these two continents,
which stand opposite each other, there are many striking contrasts ;
and they are so easily observed, that they may conveniently be set
down in a tabular form.

Africa.
1. Africa lies mostly within
Torrid Zone.

the

2. The shape of Africa is compact,
simple and regular.
3. Africa is a trunk without limbs.

4. Africa has the shortest coast-line,
relatively, of all the continents.
5. Africa has very few islands.
6. Africa has many rivers ; but few
are navigable throughout.
7. Africa has two large deserts.
8. Africa has two continental basins.
9. The mountain-ranges of Africa run
round the coast. (Compare British
India and the Ghats.)
10. The climate of Africa is the hottest
in the world. It is continental.

Europe.
1. Europe lies mostly within the Tem
perate Zone.
2. The shape of Europe is very much
broken up, irregular and indented.
3. Europe — in its western or most truly
European half— is more limbs than
trunk. (The limbs form two-
thirds ofthe whole.)
4. Europe has, relatively, the longest
coast-line of all the continents.
5. Europe is rich in islands.
6. Europe has many rivers ; and almost
all are navigable throughout.
7. Europe has no deserts.
8. Europe has no continental basins.
9. The mountain-ranges of Europe run
through the heart of the continent
10. The climate of Europe is very mild.
It ia maritime or oceanic

AFRICA

331

5. Africa and South America : a Comparison. — Both these contin
ents lie along the Equator ; and they possess many points of contrast
and of comparison.

Africa.
1. Africa is little indented.

2. Where Africa tends inwards.
3. Africa is one large and in many
respects inaccessible mass of
land.

4, Africa has many lakes ; and they
are immensely lai^e.
5. Africa is the continent of unnavig-
able rivera, and of shut-in river-
basins.
6. The Congo flows on both sides of
and along the Ei^uator.
7. The Congo and Nile and Zambesi
do not together give to the ocean
8. Africa has land to windward of
its northern half.
9, Africa has a broad and impene
trable forest on both sides of the
Equator.
10. Africa produces the largest and
strongest forms of animal life.

10.

South America.
, South America is only a little more
indented than Africa.
South America bulges out.
In South America the land-masses
are everywhere permeated by rivers
which make up for the want of
gulfs, bays, and inland seas.
South America has very few lakes ;
and they are small.
South America is the continent of
navigable rivers, and of almost
continuous river-basins.
The Amazon flows along the
Equator.
so much water as the imazon
alone..
South America has a broad ocean to
windward of both its halves.
South America has the largest,
broadest, and most impenetrable
forest in the world on both sides
of its portion ofthe Equator.
In South America, vegetable life is
more vigorous than animal.

6. Size and Coast Line. — The total area of Africa is said to amount
to 12,000,000 square miles. From Cape Blanco on^the Mediterranean
to Cape Agulhas in the south, it measures 5600 miles ; and its breadth,
from Cape Verde to Cape Guardafui, is nearly the same. The coast
line is very short in comparison with the size ; it amounts to 16,000
miles. The chief indentation is the Gulf of Guinea, with its Bight of
Benin and Bight of Biafra. On the north coast we find the Gulfs of
Sidra and Kahes ; and in the east, the Gulf of Aden.

332 AFRICA
(i) Oape Blanco (=white) receives its name from the white rocks that compose its
headland. (ii) AgiilhaB is the Spanish word for " Needles."
(iii) Capo Verde (=green) is so called from the clumps of green palms that crown
the point.
7. Build, — The monotonous shape of the continent is paralleled by
the monotonous character of the interior. There is no backbone ; no
great central range ; no mighty water-sheds. But there are immense
table-lands ; and, indeed, Africa is the Continent of Plateaux. By far
the larger part of it consists of plateaux of from 2000 to 9000 ft. in
height, with a mighty frame of mountain-ranges round the edge and
parallel with the coast. The middle of the plateau is lower than the
edges. The low plain outside this edge and next the sea is very narrow.
The whole country may be fitly divided into Upper Africa and
Lower Africa — Upper Africa in the south, and Lower Africa in the
north. The division between the two may be said to exist at 5°
North lat. The average height of South Africa is nearly treble
that of North Africa.
(i) The southern table-land has a raean altitude of over 3500 ft
(ii) The northern elevated plain has a mean altitude of about 1300 ft.
(iii) Hence Southern Africa is, on an average, nearly three times higher than
Northern Africa.
(iv) The mean elevation of Africa is 2000 ft. ; of Eiirope, 1000 ft. ; of Asia,
1660 ft.
8. Sputh Africa.— South Africa consists of several plateaux, which
are separated from each other by ranges of mountains, and are but
tressed by lofty sierras running round the edges, not far from the
coast. (i) The largest and highest plateau is the East AWoan Table-land, which stretches
from the lower Zambesi to the northern boundary of Abyssinia. From this table-land
rise, in the neighbourhood of the Equator, the two highest mountain summits on the
whole continent— KUlma-HIaro, and Kenla, each of tliem about 18,000 ft. above the
level of the sea. The northern part of this plateau Is filled by tlie alpine heights of
Abyssinia, the highest point of which is Eas Dashan (15,160 ft.)
" The higher the table-land, the higher the mountains (hat rise IVom it."

AFRICA 333
(ii) The Central Plateau almost coincides with tlie enormous basin of the Congo,
which falls from terrace to terrace, and is obliged to rush through more than thirty
Rapids before it reaches the sea. To the north-western edge of this plateau the
Cameroon Monntalns join on.
(iii) The Sonthem Platean, which is as extensive as the Central, stretches from the
water-shed of the Congo Basin to the South Atlantic. It contains the basin of the
Zambesi, which breaks through its eastern, and of the Orange, which breaks through
its western mountain-edge. The southern part of this plateau descends to the sea by
three terraces : the highest containing the Kalahari Deaert ; the middle one, the Great
Karroo ; and the lowest, the coast-laud of the Cape of Good Hope.
9. Nortli Aflrica. — North or Lower Africa is also a plateau, though
not nearly so high as that in the southern half. It may be divided
into three parts : the Saliara ; the Soudan ; and the Berber Highlands,
which include the Atlas range.
(i) The Sahara ( = Sea of Sand) extends right across the continent, from the Atlantic
to the Red Sea. It is sometimes, however, said to cease at the Valley ofthe Nile.
(ii) On the southern rim ofthe Sahara, and along its whole extent, lies the Sondan.
The western part is mountainous, and is called Upper Sondan. The Middle Sondan is a
land of rich vegetation and tropical forest ; the Eastern or Egyptian Sondan descends to
the sea in a series of steppes.
(iii) On the northern rim of the Sahara rises the Berber Platean with the Atlas range
— a distinct and separate table-land. The Little Atlas runs along the coast ; the Great
Atlas inland and further south.
10. Mountain-Ranges. — The chief ranges are the Atlas on the north ;
the Eong Mountains on the west ; the Cameroons on the Bight of
Biafra ; the Ulegga Range, between the Congo and the Nile Basins ;
the LoMnga Mountains, between the basins of the Congo and
Zambesi ; the Drakenberg (or Kwathlamba Mountains) in the south
east ; and the Moimtains of Abyssinia. The culminating points of
the whole continent are Kilima-Njaro (18,881) and Kenia (18,000 ft.).
(i) The Great Atlas attains, in Monnt Mlltsin, the height dt ] 1,400 ft. Behind this
range are the Shotts, a series of brackish lakes, on the shores of which grow large
crops of esparto grass, which is now used in the making of paper. The whole Atlas
System stretches from Cape Nun to Cape Bon. This system belongs physically
rather to Europe than to Africa ; and it is here almost alone that earthquakes are
foimd in Africa.
(ii) The Kong Mountains run from the delta of the Niger to the neighbourhood of Cape
Verde. They are really the " outer scarps " of the inner table-land.
2b

334 AFRICA
(iii) The Cameroons, which face the head of the Bight of Biafra, are a volcanic range,
which rise to an elevation of 13,210 ft. They rise like a gigantic pyramid from a sea-
base of 30 miles ; and the solitary peak towers up from the land, and alters in aspect
and colour with each change of position of the sun.
(iv) The Drakenherg looks out like a mighty perpendicular wall on the Indian Ocean.
It separates Natal frora the Orange Republic. The range is about 6500 ft. high ; and
is, properly speaking, the high edge of the interior table-land. Natal goes down
from it to the sea by a series of terraces. The Nienweveld ( = New FeU) mns through
the south of Cape Colony ; and the land from it also goes down in a set of terraces
(called Karroos), which are baked clay in the dry season, but flowery and grassy meads
in the rainy season.
(v) The Mountains of Abyssinia rise from a plateau which has an average height of
7000 to 8000 ft.— a plateau which contains a number of alpine knote. The highest
alpine knot of all not only contains Eas Dashan, but Monnt Abba Jared (14,700 ft.).
Other knots contain mountains which rise to nearly the height of 14,000 ft.
(vi) The Killma-NJaro ( = " Mountain-greatness ") is double-peaked. But the whole
mass is really a gigantic alpine knot. It consists of " two peaks covered with eternal
ice,— on the west a sublime cupola clothed with a dazzling mantle of white, on the
east a mass of rugged and colossal pillars." It is probably an extinct volcano.
(vii) The East Coast Range is the border-chain of the great continental highland
system of Africa ; and it stretches up even to the Red Sea.
11. Plains and Deserts. — Between the Greater Syrtis (or Gulf of
Sidra) and Cairo lies the lowest plain in the whole of Africa — a plain
much of which is below the level of the Mediterranean. In one
place it is 167 ft. below the level of the sea. Inland from the Gulf
of Cabes, again, is found another depressed country which lies below
the water level of the Mediterranean. The chief plains, however, of
Africa, are elevated plains or plateaux ; and the two most striking
are the deserts of Saliara in North Africa, and of Kalahari in South
Africa. (1) The Sahara is the largest desert in tlie world. It has an area of 2J millions of
square miles — that is to say, it is three times the size of the Mediterranean. It
extends from the Atlas to 15° North lat.— about 1000 miles. Its lengtii is about
3000. It is a "waterless ocean" which was at one time covered with water. It is a
set of table-lands of sand-stone (liigher than the Soudan), with depressions which are
covered with a clay soil, and mountain-ranges, some of which reach the height of
7900 ft. There is not a complete absence of rain. Long temporary streams (or toadis)
are found ; and where these are, or where tliere is underground moisture, tlien there are
inhabited oases, some of them thousands of square miles in extent Hot suffocating
ivinds, called Simooms, blow over its surface. In Egypt, such a wind is called Khamsin ;

AFRICA 335
in Italy, Sirocco ; in Switzerland, whither it comes ftom Italy, the Fohn. In the day
time, tlie rocks become heated to 200° ; at night, the radiation is so rapid that the
thermometer falls to four degrees below freezing-point.
(ii) The Eolahorl Deurt is the dry region of Bushman Land, from the Orange River
to about 20° South lat. It is a dry and sandy tract without running water.
12. Continental Basins. — There are in Africa two large areas of
Continental Drainage, one in the north (covering upwards of four
miUions of square miles), the other in the south, from which no water
escapes directly to the ocean. These correspond almost exactly with
the deserts of Sahara and Kalahari. The Sahara has its Lake Cbad,
with numerous feeders, of which the Sharl is the best known ; near
the Kalahari is Lake Ngaml, with the Tloge to bring water to it.
(i) Lake Chad ( = " Great Body of'Water")is rather *'a permanent inundation than a
lake in the true sense ofthe term." In the deepest parts it is only 20 ft. deep. In
the dry season, it is not so large as Yorkshire ; in the rainy season, it is more than
three times as large. The Sharl — its chief tributary, is one of the great rivers of
Africa. (ii) Ngami ( = " Giraffe Lake ") is one of those large water- basins the margins of which
are always changing— like the Shotts of Algeria. Wo two traveUers trace its outlines
in the same way. After the rains, its waters are sweet and drinkable ; in the dry
season, they become saline. — The Tiog6 flows into it only "after the rains."
13. Elvers (i). — The rivers, as well as the lakes, of Africa are most
unequally distributed over the continent. Most of them have rapids
and cataracts in their middle course, a very short and ill-developed
lower course, and dangerous sand-banks at their mouths. All this
helps to make Africa the "Inaccessible Continent." The four
" great arteries " of Africa are the Congo, the Nile, the Niger, and the
Zambest The Congo has the largest volume and falls into the
Atlantic ; the Nile, which falls into the Mediterranean, is the longest ;
the Niger, which falls into the Gulf of Guinea, is "the third in volume
and size of basin ; while the Zambesi, which falls into the Indian
Ocean, comes fourth in point of size and area of drainage.
(i) The NUe (which is abont 4300 miles long) drains the largest area of all the rivers
of Africa ; it drains about a million and a half square miles. It is formed by two
streams, one — the White Nile — flowing out of the Alhert Nyanza, the other, the Victoria
Nile, flowing out of the Victoria Hyanza : but its highest head-stream is the Shimlyn,

336 AFRICA
which rises in 5' South lat. At Khartoum, the Bahr-el-Abiad (or White Nile) is joined
by the Bahr-el-Azrek (or Blue River) ; and, at lat. 18°, it is joined by the Afbajsi (or
Black River). Below this point, it does not receive a single affluent ; bnt, owing to
the great evaporation among the burning sand-wastes of Nubia, grows smaller and
smaller as it nears the sea. The Blue River and the Black River both come from the
highlands of Abyssinia— the former from Lake Tana (or Dembea) ; and it is they that
bring down the black mud to which Egypt owes its inexhaustible fertility. Between
the Blue and the Black Rivers occurs the Sixth Cataract ; between the junction of the
latter and the sea, there are five cataracts. From Assuan to the mouth the river is
navigable. The delta of the Nile occupies an area of about 9000 square miles. The
annual rise and overflow of the river takes place with the greatest regularity in time
and equality in amount. It begins at the end of June, subsides before the end of
November ; and leaves over the conntry a layer of rich fertilising slime, (See p. 353.)
Azrek means turbid ; and Abiad, white or dear.
(ii) The Congo (about 3000 miles long) is the second river of Africa in point of area of
drainage (over IJ million of square miles), but the first in point of volume. It dis
charges as much water as all the other African rivers put togetiier. It was first fully
discovered and surveyed by Stanley in 1877. It rises in the uplands, north of Lake
Nyassa, and is called the Chambeze, the Lnal3,l)a, etc., In the upper parts of its
course. Above the cataracts which it forms in breaking through the coast range, it
has a breadth of from 2 to 4 miles ; and its waters can be recognised 40 mUes out at
sea. It is the only large African river which has a true estuary, and this estuary is
6 miles wide. In volume of water it stands second only to the Amazon and the
Yang-tse-kiang. (Iii) The Niger (which is about 2500 miles long) rises in Mount Loma in the Kong
Mountains, strikes north-east to Timbuctoo, then flows south into the GulT of Guinea.
In its upper course, it is called the JoUba ; in its middle and lower, the Qnorra. It
forms a natural highway into the heart of the continent, and is regularly navigated.
Six or seven steamers of light draught trade from the Atlantic ports for nine months
in the year as far as its confluence with the Beuue (" which aS'ords a clear navigable
highway into the very heart of the Soudan"); and, when the river is flooded, even
higher. *' The flat, smiling, level country abounds in forests, bounded by far-away
hills ; quiet villages, consisting of round mud huts, cluster picturesquely over the
landscape." At 100 miles from the sea, its delta begins— a delta which encloses
14,000 sq. miles of low alluvial plain covered with forest and jungle. The mouths of
the outermost branches of the delta are 200 miles apart. The main channel through
the centre of the delta is called the Nun River.
(iv) The Zambeid is the great river of the pastoral belt of Sottth Africa, Its basin
contains more than 600,000 square miles— that is, it is three times larger tiian France.
Tliree head-streams form its upper waters— the Lnngebongo, the Leeba, and the Leeambye.
At the most southerly point in its course occur the famous Victoria Falls, which are
inferior in grandeur to those of Niagara alone. The falls occur at a rent in the
basaltic rock; and a river 1000 yards broad contracts to 60 or 80 ft., leaps down a

AFRICA 337
zigzag gorge more than 700 ft., and then becomes suddenly compressed into a space
of 15 yards. It forms a delta with many mouths, the outmost of which are 100 miles
apart. It falls into the Indian Oceau opposite the middle of Madagascar.
(v) The basins of the great A&ican rivers are :

Nile

1,500,000 square miles.

Congo .

1,350,000

Niger

1,160,000

Zambesi

850,000

The basin of the Nile is about half the size of Australia.
14. Kivers (ii). — The other important rivers of Africa are the Senegal,
Gambia, Ogowai, Coanza, and Orange, which flow into the Atlantic ;
the Limpopo and Juba, which flow into the Indian Ocean.
(i) The Senegal is navigable, during the rainy season, for 500 miles.
(ii) The Gambia, a parallel stream, which rises near the Senegal, is navigable for
400 miles.
(iii) The Coanza is the most important river of Angola, and the most southerly river
of the central fertile zone of Africa on its western side. It is navigated by the Coanza
Steamship Company.
(iv) The Onmge rises in the highlands of the east ; but, as its lower course is
through an arid belt, it is seldom navigable. Like the Congo, the Nile, and the Zam
besi, it is broken by falls— by "the Hundred Falls." It is formed by the union ofthe
Vaal and the Nn Gariep.
(v) The Limpopo (or Crocodile) River is the second largest of trhe East African
streams. Its chief tributary is the OHfant (—Elephant). It is very shallow, and has
a double bar at its mouth.
(vi) The Juba is the largest river on the eastern side of Africa north of the Equator.
It has been explored for 180 mUes from its mouth ; bnt there is no trafiic on its waters.
(vii) The basin of the Orange is 400,000 square miles in area ; of the Limpopo, half
that, or about the size of all France. »
15. Lakes. There is no continent in the world, except North
America, which has so many and so large lakes as Africa. These are
found chiefly in South Africa ; but the Equatorial Lake System is
one of the grandest in the world. Some of them are great seas of
fresh water, second only to Lake Superior. All are grouped on the
east side of the continent ; and all lie on the southern table-land.

338 AFRICA
The five largest lakes are : Victoria Nyaaza ; Albert Nyanza ;
Tanganyika; Nyassa; and Bangweolo (or Bemba). The two con
tinental lakes (those without an outlet) are Cliad and Ngami,
(i) The two Nyanzas belong to the basin of the Nile. The Victoria Nyanza lies at
an elevation of 3800 ft. above the level of the sea. It was discovered by Captain
Speke in 1858 ; and the long hidden secret of the sources of the Nile was revealed.
The lake is larger than Bavaria or Scotland, and was circumnavigated in 80 days by
Stanley in 1875. The Albert Nyanza was discovered by Sir Samuel Baker in 1864.
It lies at an elevation of 2500 ft. It is 150 miles long by 40 wide.— Lake Taana (or
Dembea), 60 miles in length, and at an elevation of 6000 ft., is the chief feeder of
the Nile on the Abyssinian plateau.
(ii) Lake Tanganyika was discovered in 1858 by Captain Burton. It lies — at an
elevation of 2700 ft,— in an enormous trough which stretches through seven degrees
of latitude — or about the distance from Dover to Aberdeen. Stanley went round the
whole lake in 1876, but could discover no outlet. Its waters are not perfectly fresh ;
and hence it is probable that it is a continental lake. Its area is 10,000 square miles.
(iii) Lake Nyassa, along with Lake Shirwa, is the greatest feeder ofthe Zambesi- It
lies at an elevation of 1500 ft. It was discovered by Livingstone in 1859. It is 350
miles long by 40 broad ; with an average depth of 600 ft. ; and it teems with fish. It
is walled in on the north-east by the Livingstone Mountains, which have an average
height of 10,000 ft.
(iv) Lake Bangweolo (or Bemba is the highest feeder of the Chambeze (and therefore
ofthe Congo). It is an oval-shaped sheet of water, 150 miles long and half of that
wide. It is a little larger than Wales. It lies at an elevation of 3690 ft Lake
Moero, a little to the north, is another feeder of the Congo. It is about half the
size of Lake Bemba ; and is extraordinarily full of fish— not fewer than thirty-nine
different sorts being known. Its banks are girt by a dense belt of tropical vegetation
—the haunt of buffaloes, zebras, and elephants.
(v) Lake Chad is a great fresh-water lake, 10,000 square miles iu extent in the dry
season (larger than Wales), and five times larger in the rainy season (expands to the
size of England). It is the haunt of hippopotamuses, — which go about in herds of
a hundred or more, — of crocodiles, rhinoceroses, and elephants. Waterfowl of all
sorts are more abundant here than in any part of tlie world ; and the lake swarms
with fish. It is only 1150 ft. above the level of the sea.
(vi) Lake Ngaml is a shaUow sheet of water, about 50 miles long ; but larger in the
rainy season. It is very rich in fish. The shores of the lake swarm with antelopes,
elephants, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, giraffes, buffiiloes ; and the waters teem
with enormous crocodiles. Its chief feeder is the Tonka.
(vii) " These lakes are the crowning glory of modern African research ; and all were
revealed to science by English-speaking explorers — Livingstone, Speke, Grant, Barton,
Baker, Stanley— since the middle of this century."

AFRICA 339
It). Climate. — Uniform and monotonous in its shape and build,
Africa is also very uniform and regular in the distribution of its
climates ; but, on the whole, it is the " Continent of Dry Heat."
It is the Tropical Continent ; for seven-tenths of it lie within the
Torrid Zone. It alone possesses nearly half of all the tropical lands in
the world. Hence it is a " Winterless Continent." There are three
chief factors in the production of this climate : (i) the North-East
Trade Winds come from the continent of Asia (not from an ocean)
and contain little or no moisture, (ii) There are no deep gulfs and
no long peninsulas, (iii) The mountain-ranges on the outer rim rob
the rain-bearing winds of their moisture and, in many cases, they
appear in the interior as dry winds. Hence a climate of a continental
character. This character is visible in sharp contrasts of burning
heat in the day and severe cold at night ; of periods of drought and
periods of flood ; of dead calms and furious storms of wind. — The
greatest heat is not found on the Equator, as the central belt of the
continent is protected by a dense covering of forest vegetation, but
in the dry, bare, and exposed desert belts which lie on the margins of
the tropics. Hence the hottest regions lie ntirth and south of the
Zone of Tropical Rains — which stretches from 18° North lat. to
20° South lat. The southern half of Africa, being more elevated
and therefore more subjected to sea-influences, has a cooler
climate. The rainy seasons follow the sun, and hence oocur twice
at every place that lies within the Torrid Zone. Winter exists only
on the highest table-lands and on the tops of the mountains. The
high table-lands in the interior have a healthy climate ; the narrow
sea-board is pestiferous, partly from the rank and rotting vegeta
tion, partly from the combination of heat and moisture — both in the
highest degree.
(i) Tlie highest temperature Is found in the Sahara, particularly in the East. The
heat is often 113° in the shade. In Upper Egypt and Nubia eggs may he baked in the
hot sands ; " in Nubia," say the Arabs, " the soil is flre, and the wind a flame."
(ii) The country to the west of Lake Nyassa consists of "dripping forests."
(iii) Perpetual snow is seen only on the Atlas, the highest peaks of Abyssinia, the
loftiest summits of Cape Colony, and on Kenia and Kilima-Njaro.

340

AFRICA

(iv) Tho northern half of Africa is very dry, because the heat is so great that
the air can contain enormous quantities of moisture uncondensed and invisible. In
Egypt rain hardly ever falls.
(v) Africa is the winter retreat of our birds of passage — the swallow, and cuckoo.

17. North Africa and Soutli Africa. — The climate alters in Africa
with a wonderful regularity and a steady graduation almost according
to latitude. This arises partly from the simplicity of shape and partly
from the uniformity of build. We have thus a set of striking corre
spondences of climate and of land-characteristics between

North Africa a
. Has a small sub-tropical area — north
of the Tropic of Cancer.
. Humid forests alternating with
sandy desert— green with grey
belts.
. Dense forest for 600-700 miles north
of the Equator.
. Nile and Niger correspond to the
Senegal and Draa correspond to the
. Pastoral region with park-like
scenery in the Soudan.
. Sahara on the Tropical Line. Dry
winds from the Sahara.
, A Continental Basin, with a depres
sion aud a lake (Chad) in the
north.
. Barren coast in north-east on the
Eed Sea.
, General high temperature with lower
land.
Second belt of pastoral land on
plateaus of Barbary, Morocco, etc.
Date-palms.

South Afbica
. Has a small sub-tropical area, south
of the Tropic of Capricorn.
. Humid forests alternating with
desert — intensely green with
brown belts.
. Dense forest for 600-700 miles south
of the Equator.
. Congo and Zambesi ;
Orange and Limpopo.
. Pastoral region — grass-lands from
the Zambesi to Southern Angola.
, Kalahari on the Tropical Line. Dry
electrical winds from the Kalahari.
. A Continental Basin, with a depres
sion and a lake (Ngami) in the
south.
, Barren coast in south-west on the
Atlantic.
Lower temperature with high land
and breezes from the sea.
Second belt of cultivated land on
sea- ward terraces of Cape Colony.
Large heaths.

18. Vegetation.— The vegetation of Northern Africa resembles that
of the opposite shores of the Mediterranean. In these sub-tropical
regions, groves of oranges and olives, and rows of date-palms, form

AFRICA 341
the characteristic features of the landscape. But the fruit of the
date-palm cannot ripen here. It is on the plains that skirt the
southern base of the Atlas, aud in the oases of the Sahara, that the
date- tree comes to perfection. — Leaving the southern edge of the Sahara,
we find the bao)}ab or monkey-bread tree to be characteristic of the
fertile regions of the Soudan. Instead of waving fields of corn, we
have the cassava, the yam, and the ground-nut. — In Southern Africa,
on the inland plains, we meet the fleshy leaves and contorted shapes
of prickly euphorbias, of aloes, and other curious plants. Towards
the Cape, endless species of tall heaths of great beauty — some 15 ft,
high — are to be seen.
(i) In the extreme north, wheat and barley, evergreen oaks and cork-trees, inter
mixed with cypresses, myrtles, and fragrant tree-heaths, are found.
(ii) The date-palm loves a dry sandy soil ; but, having long roots, it can suck up
moisture from a great depth.
(iii) Besides the gigantic baobab (the trunk of which is sometimes 30 ft. in
diameter), the Soudan grows huge cotton-trees, oil-palms, and sago-palms. The
tamarind and the Senegal custard-apple replace the vine and the fig. Some plants
(trumpet-flowers) have fruits 2 ft. long. The cotton-plant, the sugar-cane, and the
indigo-plant grow wild ; and so does the coS'ee-plant in the south of Abyssinia.
(iv) The date-palm furnishes " the bread of the desert ; " and it supplies food not
only to man, but to the camel and horse. The stones, which are said to be more
nourishing than the fruit itself, are eaten by horses.
(v) The forests of the centre are distinguished by giant lianas, ebony-trees, teak
and other hard woods. "Into these primeval forests," says Livingstone, "the sun,
though vertical, cannot penetrate, except by sending down at mid-day thin pencils
of rays into the gloom. The climbing plants, from the size of a whipcord to that ofa
man-of-war's hawser, are so numerous, that the ancient path is the only passage."
(vi) The Central Forest, which is about 1200 miles broad, and through which the
Congo flows, may be compared with the Selvas, through which the Amazon finds its
way. The two forests are the largest and densest in the world ; both are on the
Equator, and both in the region of perpetual rain-fall and a vertical sun.
19. Animals. — Africa is the home of the largest living quadrupeds ;
and it excels not only in the number of its species and the size of its
specimens, but also in the number of individuals. The most charac
teristic animals are the fleet-footed herbivora, and pachyderms. Among
the pachyderms the most important are the elephant, the hippo-

342 AFRICA
potamus, the rhinoceros, and the zettra. The hippopotamus is peculiar
to Africa. Antelopes are numerous in South Africa — of which they
are highly characteristic ; and troops of giraffes may be seen gallop
ing across the open country from clump to clump, while the swift
ostrich scours the plains. The one-humped camel is used in the
north. — The largest kinds of quadrumaiia are found in Tropical and
Western Africa, such as the gorilla and the chimpanzee. Baboons and
mandrils are peculiar to this continent. — Among the carnivora, the
jackal is characteristic, and roams the whole of Africa ; and both the
striped and the spotted hyena can be everywhere seen. Africa is the
true home of the lion ; while the leopard, caracal, and civet-cat are the
other chief representatives of the cat tribe. The tiger and the bear
are not found at all. — Besides the ostrich, Africa possesses the large
secretary-bird ; the ibis and flamingo haunt the fresh- water lakes, and
numerous species remarkable for the brilliance of their plumage are
seen everywhere, such as sun-birds, bee-eaters, parrots, and Idng-
flshers. In South and Central Africa, the tsetse, — a fly, whose bite
is fatal to horses, camels, oxen, and dogs, is one of the greatest
obstacles to the civilisation of Africa. — Among reptiles, the crocodile
is much larger and stronger than the American cayman ; but serpents
are less common in Africa than in America or Asia.
(i) The inland plains swarm with animal life. Livingstone mentions that he has
sometimes had to force his way through the countless herds and dense iroops of
antelopes. About 70 species belong to Africa ; and they vary in height from the size
ofa hare to that of the eland, which is larger than an os.
(ii) The zebra and the qnagga cannot be tamed. The hippopotamus is fouud from the
Upper Nile down to the Orange Eiver. The elephant and rhinoceros are native to the
plains of Central and Southern Africa.
(iii) The African elephant is smaller, weaker, and raore difficult to tame than his
Asiatic brother.
(iv) The gorlUa is the largest of the apes. His true home is in Lower Guinea.
(v) The ostrich— the most powerful of all running birds— which has heen called
"the feathered camel," or "the giraffe among birds," is seen in alraost every part
of Africa. The valuable white feathers are found in the tail of the male bird only.
20. Minerals. — Little is known about the minerals of Africa. Salt

AFRICA 343
is widely distributed. Metals are nowhere abundant ; but gold seems
to be the metal most widely spread over the continent. Iron and
copper are the most characteristic metals. Iron, copper, and lead are
obtained in the Atlas Mountains. Copper is found in Namaqualand
and the Congo Basin ; and it exists in large quantities in the central
mountains of South Africa, but it has not yet been mined. Diamonds
are found in Griqualand West, on the Vaal.
(i) Salt is used as money in Abyssinia ; everywhere in Africa it is regarded as a
"sweetmeat" ; and the salt districts in the native kingdoms of South Central Africa
are royal possessions which are jealously guarded.
(ii) Oold-dnst is still obtained in small quantities from the beds of rivers ; and the
' ' Gold Coast " got its name from the presence of gold, while Guinea gave its name to
our gold coin of the value of 21s. Gold is now mined iu the Transvaal and other
parts of South Africa.
(iii) The Diamond-fielils in Griqualand West, on the Vaal, near the Kalahari, were
discovered in 1867. Zimberley is the capital of this region of the "dry diggings." A
large diamond—" Star of South Africa"— was sold, before cutting, for £11,200.
21. Inhabitants. — The inhabitants of Africa may be divided into
original natives ; old immigrants ; and new immigrants. The
original natives aro : (1) the Hottentots and Bushmen, who live in
the south and south-west ; (2) the Bantus (Kaffirs and Bechuanas),
who live between the Hottentot country and the Equator ; (3) Negroes
proper, who inhabit the Soudan; and these three races are native
to the continent. — The old immigrants comprise two races : (1) the
Ancient Egyptians (of whom the Kopts are the modern representa
tives), and the races related to them, such as the Berbers in the
north, the Som4U and Nubians in the east ; (2) the Arabs (a family
of whom are Bedouins) and the Abysslnians, both of Semitic stock.
— The new immigrants are Dutch, English, French, etc.
(i) The Hottentots have a yellowish complexion, low stature, and weak muscles.
The Bnslunen belong to the pigmy peoples that are said to be descended from the old
aborigines who were deprived of their lands by more powerful races. "If Africa is
the continent of the great anthropoid apes (gorilla, etc.), it is also the home of the
most ape-like human beings."
(ii) The Bantns, though woolly-haired, are not Negroes. The Kaffirs are a pastoral
people, with large herds of cattle, living in well-built houses in large towns, aud
cultivating the ground carefully. (The word Kaffir is Arabic, and means infidel.)

344 AFRICA
(iii) " The principal Negro nations are the Mandingoes, who are numerous, powerful,
and not uncivilised, in Senegambia, and further inland, around the head-waters of the
Quorra, where they have established a great nnmher of kingdoms and smaller
sovereignties." The purest Negroes are found in Western Africa.
(iv) The Atlas Mountains are inhabited by more than twenty different tribes of
Berbers, who are perpetually warring on each other. The Somali were originally Arabs.
They live in the furthest east, on the lands next Cape Guardafui, and lead a wan
dering and pastoral life.
(v) The Arabs came originally from Arabia and conquered the north of Africa.
(vi) The Abysslnians are of Ethiopian stock mixed with Arab. They are a hand
some race, with straight noses, and strong bright eyes.
22. Population and Populousness. — Africa is said to possess a popu
lation of about 200,000,000. The Western Soudan, from the Senegal
to the Lower Niger, is the most densely peopled part of the con
tinent — with 50 persons to the square mile ; and Tunis comes next.
The most thinly peopled parts are the Sahara, the Transvaal Republic,
and the Portuguese Territories on the East coast.
(i) Tunis has 45 persons to the square mile.
(ii) The Sahara (of course this means the Oases) has 1'6 ; and the Transvaal only 1.
23. Religions. — The northern half of Africa, down to the south of
Lake Chad, and along the East Coast as far as the mouth of the Zam
besi, is Mahometan. The inhabitants of the Southern half and of
the south-west coast are Nature-worshippers, given up to " supersti
tions of infinite number and character." In Cape Colony and the
Dutch Settlements, the people are Protestants ; and, in Abyssinia, a
kind of Christianity is found.
(i) "In the Dark Continent the Mahometans occupy a compact domain as lai-ge
as all Europe, stretching uninterruptedly firom the Eed Sea to the Atlantic ; and their
common belief tends everywhere to diffuse the social ideas, the habits, usages, and
speech ofthe dominant Arab race." — Rjsclus.
(ii) When Islam (Mahometanism) is in danger, a Mahdl (" spiritual leader ") rises up
to lead his followers against the "infidels." Wlien the French invaded Egypt, a
Mabdi arose ; in the British war against Upper Egypt in 1SS6, a Mahdi led on his
followers to battle. The pilgrims fl'om Africa to Mecca have a most important
influence on comraerce and the intercourse that arises from commerce.

AFRICA 345
24. Languages. — Most of the languages spoken by the Negro
nations and tribes have never been committed to writing — much less to
type ; and many of them are born, live, and die out with each gener
ation. " Arabic is the language for the whole of the sea-coast from
the Delta of the Nile to the Straits of Gibraltar, and from the Straits
of Gibraltar to the mouth of the Senegal." In the Sahara, Berber
languages are spoken ; in most of the South, Bantu languages.
The language of the Hottentots is rich in " click " sounds, of the Bush
men, in " cluck " sounds ; but they are quite distinct from each other.
25. Discovery. — Though the Nile Valley was the earliest seat of
science and of human culture, and though there still exist there monu
ments of history which were built 4000 years before Christ, Africa is
stiU the least-known division of the globe on which we live. The
blank spaces on the map are very numerous ; and about one-quarter
of the whole continent is stiE. completely unknown. Africa has been
frequently crossed from east to west, or from west to east ; but never
along a meridian from north to south. The following are the chief
dates in the slow uncovering of the great mystery of this continent :
1. Mariners from Dieppe found " Little Dieppe " on the coast of Guinea in 1364.
2. Bartholomew Diaz discovers "the Cape" in 1487 : and calls it Cabo Tormen-
toso=Cape of Storms.
3. Vasco da Gama doubles the Cape and skirts the East Coast up to 2° North lat.
in 1497-98. King John of Portugal now rechristens the Cape the "Cape of Good
Hope," because he thought he saw in it the way to the Indies.
4. James Bruce discovers the source of the Blue Nile in 1770.
5. African Association founded in 1788. They send out Ledyard, Mungo Park, and
others to explore the basin of the Niger.
6. Moffat, the great missionary, begins to explore South Africa in 1840.
7. David Livingstone reaches Lake Ngami in 1849 ; crosses the continent from the
mouth of the Zambesi to Loanda in 18B3 ; frora 1869-63 explores Lake Nyassa and the
neighbouring regions ; in 1871, along with Stanley, reaches Lake Tanganyika ; dies at
llala, near Lake Bemba, in 1873.
8. Bnrton and Speke discover Lake Tanganyika in 1858.
9. Baker discovers the Albert Nyanza in 1864.
10. Cameron in 1874-75 walks across Tropical Africa from east to west.

346 AFRICA
11. Stanley reaches the mouth of the Congo from the interior in 1877 ; and proves
that the Lualaba and the Congo are one stream.
12. Joseph Thompson penetrates the Masai Land to the Victoria Nyanza in 1884.
26. ColoniBation. — Africa is at present in the peculiar position of
being ardently coveted by the most enterprising states of Europe.
Eight European Powers hold portions of this continent. Great Britain
holds Cape Colony in the south ; many settlements on the west ;
" protects " a long part of the coast in the east ; and holds Egypt in
her own hand. France holds Algeria ; the Senegal Basin ; " French
Congo ; " and some smaller settlements. Germany has lands both on
the west and the east coasts ; and is always eager for more. Portugal
has her old possessions of Angola and Benguela, and a good deal on the
east coast. Spain has a narrow foot-hold at Ceuta only. Italy holds
the Ked Sea coast from Massowah to Assab in Abyssinia ; and looks
with longing eyes towards Tripoli. Turkey is suzerain of Egypt ; and
also holds the Pashalik of Tripoli with Fezzan ; but her power is
dying. The little enterprising country of Belgium has also an eye
upon Africa ; and the King of the Belgians is the " Sovereign " of
the Free Congo State.
The parts of Africa held by European Powers are as follows :
(i) Great Britain ; (a) Settlements at Gambia and Sierra Leone ; and the Guinea
Coast from the Assinie Eiver to the Niger Delta and on to the Cameroons. (b) A
Protectorate over the Lower Niger and the Benue. (c) Cape Colony, Natal, Griqua
land West ; Protectorates over Basutoland, Kaffirland, Pondoland, Bechnanaland, and
part of Zululand. (d) A Protectorate over the Masai Land.
(ii) France : Algeria, Tunis, the Senegal Basin ; the Gaboon and Ogoway Basins ;
and Obok, on the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb.
(iii) Portngal : Angola and Benguela, on the west coast, with a small tract just north
of the Congo mouth ; Mozambique and Sofala on the east.
(iv) Spain : Ceuta, opposite Gibraltar.
(v) Germany : Coast-lands from Orange River to Cape Frio (excepting the British
settlement at Walvisch Bay) ; the Cameroons, at the head of the Gulf of Guinea, etc.
(vi) Italy : Coast of Red Sea frora Massowah to Assab.
(vii) Turkey : Suzerainty of Egypt ; Pashaliks of Tripolitaua and Fezzan.
(viii) Belgium : The " sovereignty" over the Congo Free Sbite (whioh is also " pro
tected " by the European Powers).

THE BAKBARY STATES 347

THE BARBARY STATES.
Introductory. — Barbary is the general name for four states which
lie, in the north of Africa, upon the Mediterranean. These are
Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and Tripoli. The chief physical feature of
j\rorocoo is the Greater Atlas ; while the Lesser Atlas runs not only
through Morocco, but also through Algeria and Tunis. The rivers
are short and of little importance. They sink down to a small
thread of water in summer ; and even the Draa, in Morocco, has
many of the characteristics of a mere Wady. The climate is temperate
and bracing on the uplands and the northern slopes ; but very hot
on the south, where the country looks out upon the desert.
A Wady is a desert streara which is a raging torrent in the rainy season, and
waterless, or nearly waterless, in the dry season. (The word, which is Moorish, appears
in Spain in the form of Qiiadi — as iu Guadiana, Guadalquivir, etc.)

Morocco.
1. The Country. — morocco is the most westerly of the Mediterranean
States. It is a "Sultanate" or Empire, ruled over by a despotic
sovereign who has the title of " Emir-al-Mumenim " or "Prince of
the Faithful." It has an area of 220,000 square miles — that is, nearly
four times that of England and Wales. The population is not known ;
but the most trustworthy estimate seems to be 5,000,000. There are
in the country three distinct regions : (i) The Tell, which is a breadth
of fertile land rising from the coast to the uplands ; (ii) The High
lands, embracing the mountain-country ; and (iii) the desert region of
the Sahara, where the lion and panther are found. The fertile coast-
region is inhabited chiefly by Moors ; the highland regions by Berbers,
many of whose tribes are practically independent.
2. Products and Trade. — The area of the Tell is nearly as large as
that of Great Britain ; and all kinds of crops grow in it. Maize,
dates, almonds, olives, boans, and peas are largely cultivated. The

348 AFRICA
three largest exports are oxen, maize, and beans ; and Great Britain
is the largest buyer of the two last.
3. Towns. — There are three large towns — all inland ; and two con
siderable ports. The large towns are Morocco ; Fez ; and Mequinez.
The two ports are Mogador and Tangier.
(i) Morocco (50) is the capital. Seen from without, it is a superb and imposing
city ; within, it is half ruins. When the Emperor goes through the city, his approach
is heralded by the despatch of a number of human heads, which are then fixed on the
front of the palace, as a warning to the unruly.
(ii) Fez (150) is the largest city in the Empire. It is a "Holy Citj'," almost as
much reverenced by the Faithful as Mecca and Medina. The Mussulman inhabitants
dress in yellow ; the Jews in black ; the women in red. It is a place of great trade.
It manufactures leather, earthenware, and the kind of cap called fez.
(iii) Meqninez (86) is the centre of the agricultural district. Its broad streets are
interspersed with gardens, which supply the people vrith fruits and vegetables.
(iv) Mogador is the chief port on the Atlantic.
(v) Tangier, on the Straits, has the largest foreign commerce, and also a large trade
with Gibraltar (Ceuta and Tetuan belong to Spain).

Algeria.
1. The Country. — ^Algeria is the largest and most important of the
colonies that belong to France. It is bounded on the west by
Morocco ; on the east, by Tunis and Tripoli ; on the south, its
boundaries have not been clearly defined. Like Morocco, it consists
of three parts : (i) the fertile Tell ; (ii) the Atlas Highlands ; and
(iii) the Sahara. In the last region the only habitable parts are in
the artificial oases whioh have grown round the artesian wells sunk
by the French. At the southern foot of the Atlas runs the " Plain
of the Shotts," or marshy lakes, on the banks of which alfa grows
in abundance. This plain lies beneath the level of the Mediter
ranean. The area of the country amounts to about 123,000 square
miles, or a little more than that of the United Kingdom. The
population is under 4,000,000 ; and there are only quarter of a
million of Frenchmen.

THE BARBARY STATES 349
2. Products, Trade, and Communications. — The soil of the Tell is
extremely fertile, is well-watered, and grows excellent crops of all
kinds of cereals — and chiefly wheat, olives, tobacco, cotton and rice.
More than 45 millions of acres are under cultivation ; and of these
about ^fths are held by Europeans. About two-thirds of the total
commerce of the country is carried on with France. Spain and Great
Britain come next as customers. The most important article of
export is alia (a kind of esparto grass used for making paper), which
grows in a broad belt running through the middle of the country.
There are nearly 1300 miles of railway in the country.
(i) Alfa is one of the chief sources of wealth in Algeria. There are 15,000,000
acres under it ; and, as it grows wild, its culture costs nothing.
3. Towns. — Algeria possesses four towns with a population of more
than 20,000. These are : Algiers ; Oran ; Constantine ; and BSne.
(i) Algiers (75) is the capital of "African France." Itis the foremost city in
Africa, as " a centre for the diflfusion of European civilisation throughout the Con
tinent." Seen frora the sea, it is one of the grandest, noblest, and most striking
cities in the world. It is called the " silver city " from the glistening white appear
ance of its buildings. It was once the capital of piracy ; but Lord Exmouth, iu
1816, bombarded the town, destroyed the fleet in the harbour, and forced the Dey to
set free his Christian captives.
(ii) Oran (60) is the busiest trading port in Algeria. It exports esparto grass.
(iii) Conitantine (40) is the most important inland city. It stands on a rocky plateau.
Its staple industry is in leather ; and whole streets are filled with the workshops of
tanners, saddlers, and shoemakers. It is the Northampton of Algeria.
(iv) Bdne (23) is a poit with an excellent roadstead.

Tunis.
4. The small state of Tunis is under the protection of France.
It is a little larger than Portugal, with a population a little over
2,000,000. The state receives its name from its capital, which is
one of the largest cities in Africa. It is a well-cultivated country ;
and its chief exports are ollve-oir, wheat, and esparto. Great Britain
buys esparto, and sends back cotton goods. There are nearly 300
miles of railway in the country.
2c

350 AFRICA
(i) Tunis (145) stands on the Lake of Tunis, ten miles south-east of the site of ancient
Carthage. It manufactures silks and woollen stufiS. The city walls measure flve
miles in circuraference. It was called by the Mussulmans "the white, the odorous,
the flowery, the bride of the west ; " and even now the North African Mahometans
regard it as the city of good taste, of literature, of fashion, — as a kind of "African
Paris." Its port is called Goletta.
(ii) Ealrwan, south of Tunis, is the religious capital of the country. It is a " Holy
City ; " Jews are forbidden to reside within its walls ; it is " one of the Four Gates of
Paradise ; " and " seven days' stay at Kairwan are equivalent to one day at Mecca."

Tripoll
TRIPOLI with FEZZAN. — This country is not an independent state,
but a mere province or vilayet "of Turkey. Though it is four times
larger than Great Britain, the amount of cultivated land is not larger
than an average English county. The population of TripoK and
Fezzan numbers about 1,000,000. Its chief exports are ostrich
feathers, esparto grass, and wheat. The greater portion of Fezzan is
a silent and barren desert, with oases here and there. The capital of
Tripoli is Tripoli ; of Fezzan, Mxurzuk.
(i) Tripoli (30) is the only seaport of consequence on the 800 miles of coast which
the country possesses. From this city are despatched every year about eight large
caravans, comprising from 1000 to 3000 camels, and escorted by hundreds of armed
Arabs. They go through Murznk on to Wadai, Bomn, Eoussa and Timbuctoo, where
they exchange cotton goods and other European manufactures for ostrich feathefs,
ivory, gold dust, and slaves.
(ii) Murznk is a centre of internal trade, and caravans connect it with Cairo, Bomu,
and even Ashanti. Man-hunting raids are made by the princes of the fertile lands in
the Soudan ; and the captives are sold to Arab merchants. They are marched over the
desert under a, burning sun for about 800 miles, to Murzuk. One great annual
caravan brings about 4000 slaves ; and " on both sides of the route are seen the blanched
bones of dead slaves, many of the skeletons still wrapped in the blue negro garment.
Any one who did not know the way would only have to follow the bones which lie
right and left of the track."

EGYPT.
1. Country. — Egypt is a country which lies in the delta and lower
vaUey of the NUe. "An arid desert and a verdant plain between
two high ramparts of rooks : that is Egypt." Its southern limit is

EGYPT

351

Wady Haifa, at the Second Cataract
INIediterranean ; while the desert lies
Desert on the west, and the Nubian
Desert on the east. It is gener
ally divided into two parts. Upper
Egypt and Lower Egypt — the former
a valley, the latter a low plain.
This low plain is the Delta of the
Nile. The area of the country
is officially estijnated at nearly
400,000 square miles ; but the real
Egypt — that partwhich supports in
habitants — amounts to only 11,000
square miles, an area less than twice
the size of Yorkshire. Its popula
tion, in spite of oppression, grows
rapidly and now amounts to more
than 7,000,000. The soil is of the

on the Nile ; its northern, the
on both sides of it, the Libyan

/<*

< i .ss

N u W7

jKhartum s

 ' ^ \

Kordo-\

Sua.i

m±

The Nile and Congo Basins.

richest kind. It is on an average about 32 ft. deep ; and is renewed
every year by the large contributions of fertilising mud brought down
by the river. " Egypt is the gift of the Nile." Should it rise too
high, it destroys much property ; should it fall short, it causes famine.

352 AFRICA
(i) Egypt iucludes, besides the Delta and the Nile Valley, the territory of El Ariib
(Sinai), in Asia ; and the Eed Sea coast from Suez to Kosseir.
(ii) Wady-Halfa is 800 miles from Cairo. Prior to 1884, the Khedive of Egypt
claimed rule over territory which extended almost to the Equator. But the people of
the Soudan rebelled ; and the valley above Wady-Halfa had to be given np.
(iii) The Delta (which begins 120 miles from the sea) is a level plain richly
cultivated, varied only by the lofty dark-brown mounds on which ancient cities
stood, and other mounds on which are perched villages among groves of palm-trees.
Otherwise, there are no trees anywhere to be seen. It is everywhere permeated by
irrigation canals and channels, both natural and artificial.— In Upper Egypt the valley
is very narrow— a green strip ten to fifteen miles In breadth — and bounded by
mountains of no great height. These hills are really the edges of the desert
table-land, through which the river has sawed its way. (The whole country has been
compared to "a triangular kite with a long sinuous tail")
(iv) "The bright green of the fields, the reddish-browu of the great river (dull-green
when in flood), the tender tints of the bare yellow rocks, the intense blue of the sky,
all go to make a series of beautiful views, which vary little in form, thongh to some
extent in colour." At the time of '* High Nile," Egypt presents the appearance of an
inland sea, with a number of villages rising above the flood, and rafts floating about,
on which many ofthe inliabitants live for a time.
(v) "West of the Nile Valley are several oases, which support some thousands of in
habitants. The most famous is the Siwah Oasis, in whicb stood the oracle of Jnpiter
Ammon, which Alexander the Great consulted. Date-groves, olive-trees, apricot,
pomegranate, and plum-trees make the spot look beautifuL It lies in a depression
95 ft. below the level of the itediterraneau. ** Siwah is a little paradise ; roond the
dark blue mirrors of its lakes stand clumps of palms, orange-trees, and olives. "
(vi) In the year 1800 the population numbered only 2,000,000; bnt in ancient
times it must have been the seat of one of the densest populations on the globe.
(vii) The present population gives an average of 540 persons to the square mile,
which is higher than that of Belgium, Saxony, or England. The people include Arab-
Egyptians (who are Mahometans), Copts (who are Christians), Turks, Greeks,
Armenians, etc. The Turks, who only number 30,000, are the masters, and fill all
the high of&ces of state. The people are ground down by taxation ; they are like
the grain of sesame, which is ground so long as it yields oil.
2. Its Commercial Position. — Egypt stands at the crossing of the
two great commercial diagonals of the -world — the overland route
between Asia and Africa, and the ocean-highway between the
Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean. And the open
ing of the Suez Canal in 1869 has placed Egypt midway between the
furthest western and the furthest eixstern continent — between America

EGYPT 353
and Australia. All the great international commercial routes of
the world now converge upon the Suez Canal.
3. The Flooding of the Nile. — The annual overflow of the Nile is
one of the greatest marvels in physical geography. For countless
ages, it has risen to within a few inches of the same height, and to
within a few hours of the same time, year after year. At Cairo, the
rise is from 25 to 27 ft. The alluvium spread over the adjacent
country is a contribution of new soil and creates a new Egypt,
though it amounts to only 6 inches in the course of each hundred
years. " The brown or blackish mud is the only manure required for
the crops.''
(i) In Lower Egypt, the inundation begins about the 10th of June, and attains its
greatest height in three months. During the three months of flood, the Nile con
tributes to the Mediterranean as much water as during the remaining nine months.
(ii) "Tlie day when the Nile reaches the proper level for cutting the dykes which
separate it from the irrigation canals is a day of rejoicing for all the riverside popula
tions. In former times, a young maiden was on this occasion bome with great pomp
and cast into the seething waters. Now her place is taken by a dressed-up doll,
which is StiU offered by the public executioner — a curious reminiscence of former
human sacrifice."
(iii) In 1874, all the summer crops were threatened with complete destruction ; but
the population rose and battled with the rising waters. For more than a month
700,000 men were engaged in repairing, strengthening, and raising the embankments.
4. Products, Trade, and Communication. — Though rain seldom falls
even in the Delta, and sometimes not for years in Upper Egypt, the
Nile, which gives the fertile soil, gives also plenty of water for
irrigation. Hence, from the very earliest times, the principal occupa
tion of the Egyptians has been agriculture. The chief products are
cotton, cereals, and sugar. The principal exports are cotton, cotton
seed, sugar, and beans. Great Britain takes about half of all the
exports, and sends back cotton goods, clothing, and coal. The
commerce of Egypt is always growing ; and, relatively to the popula
tion, it is half as large as that of France. There are about 1300 miles
of railway (single line) in the country ; but the Nile itself and about
600 mUes of canals furnish water-ways for the traffic and travel of the

354 AFRICA
people. The Suez Canal belongs to the commerce of the world ; and
its freedom is guaranteed by the Great Powers.
(i) Besides the products above mentioned, datei, flax, hemp, rice, tobacco, coflee,
Indigo, are grown ; and excellent flga, melonB, bananas, and other kinds of fruit, in
the gardens. The ordinary food of the people is durra, a kind of millet. There are
three harvests in the year, and there has always been a surplus of grain in Egypt.
(ii) The peasantry are called Fellahs (or Fellaheen = Ploughmen) ; and the nomad
tribes ofthe Desert are called Bedouins.
(iii) Besides the ordinary articles of trade, Egypt exports gum-arabic, ostiich feathers.
Ivory, senna, and gold.
(iv) The two main branches (there were once seven) of the Nile — the Kosetta and the
Damletta branches, form highways into the interior ; but these are supplemented by
numerous canals. The most important of these is the Mahmudleh Canal, joining
Alexandria and Rosetta.
(v) The Suez Canal was begun by the great French engineer M. De Lesseps, in
1859, and finished in 1869. It is one of the wonders of the world. It goes from Port
Said, throngh Lake Menzaleh, Lake Timseh and the Bitter Lakes, to the port of
Suez, and is 100 miles long. Ismallla, founded by the late ruler of Egypt, stands
on the north side of Lake Timseh, and has an exceUent position as an entarepot.
Very large steamers can pass through the canal. About 3000 British vessels pass
through every year (for this canal is now the highway to India); and that is three
times as many as aU the vessels of all the other countries of the world put together.
The tolls paid by the vessels using the canal amount to over £3,000,000 a year.
(vi) Telegraphs accompany the railways, and also tbe high roads. A few years ago
a telegraph line stretched from Alexandria almost to the Equator.
5. Towns. — There are only two large towns in Egypt — Cairo and
Alexandria. But there are also a few of which, it may be well to
know something, such as : Damietta, Zagazig, Rosetta, Fort Said, and
Suez. (i) CAIRO (375), the capital, stands on the right bank of the Nile, a little above the
branching, at the apex of the triangle of alluvial land. Itis tlie "diamond clasp"
which closes "the fan of the delta." It is the largest to\vn in Africa, It is sur
rounded by walls ; is commanded by a strong and noble-looking citadel ; and contains
400 mosques. People of all races and languages are seen in its streets ; and the
bazaars are splendid emporiums of all kinds of goods. It is also a. great seat of
Mahometan learning. On the opposite bank of the river is the town of Ghlzeh, near
which stand three of the largest pyramids. The largest of all is that of Cheops, whicli
covers an area of over 12 acres, and is 480 ft. high. (All up the Nile Valley are count
less ruins of former greatness— such as temples, pyramids, tombs, palaces, colossal
statues, sphinxes, obelisks, and other works of art.)

NUBIA AND THE EASTERN SOUDAN 355
(ii) Alexandria (230) is tbe chief port of Egypt. It is one of the great historic cities
of the world, and was founded by Alexander the Great (who had an eye for a situation
favourable to commerce) in 332 b.c. It was at one time the chief seat of Greek
learning; it had the finest libraries in the world ; it was " the brain of mankind ;"
and formed the intellectual Exchange between the Eastern and Western Worlds. Now
its glories are departed; though it is still a fine city. It was bombarded by the
British fleet in 1882 ; and many of its fine streets laid in ruins.
(iii) Damletta (36) stands on the eastern limb of the Nile ; and is the centre of a
large ti'ade iu rice, salt, and fish. It is the third largest city in Egypt.
(iv) Zagazig (22) is a great entrep6t for the cotton and cereals grown in this part of
the Delta. East of it stands Tel-el-Kebir(=" Great Mound"), where the Egyptians
were defeated by Lord Wolseley in the war of 1882.
v) Kosetta (18), near the mouth of the left branch of the Nile, exports rice.
(vi) Port Said (18) at the entrance of the Suez Canal, stands on the narrow strip of
land which separates Lake Menzaleh from the Mediterranean. Planted on a surf-
beaten strand, twenty-four miles from fresh water, from arable lands, and from trees,
the creation of this town is almost as great a marvel as the construction of the Suez
Canal. Its central position makes its commercial prospects very hopeful.
(vii) Suez (12) bids fair to rank with Alexandi-ia and Port Said as a commercial pon.
NUBIA AND THE EASTERN SOUDAN.
1. Nubia. — This is the name given to the country which lies south
of the Wady Haifa, up to 10° N. lat., and whioh contains the
valley of the Upper Nile and the country between the Libyan Desert
and the Eed Sea — with the exception of Abyssinia. The part
between 10° and the Albert Nyanza had the general name of the
Egyptian Soudan ; but Egypt, since the successful revolt of the Mahdi,
has given up the government of that part of the country. The native
states of Darfur, Wadai, and Kordofan all lie in the neighbourhood of
this region. The whole of this country, which has the character of a
vast steppe, crossed by mountain ranges, is thinly peopled by a mixed
race of Arab-Negroes. .
Prior to 1884, the dominions of the Khedive almost reached the Equator ; and
their area was estimated at a miUion square miles.
2. The Upper Nile. — The Blue Nile (from Abyssinia) and the White
Nile (from the Albert Nyanza) join in this region, nearly at the point
where Khartoum stands. The country between these two Niles is

356 AFRICA
called Senaar. Further down, the Athara or Black Eiver (alao from
Abyssinia), joins the Nile near Berber, but only in the rainy season.
In the dry season, its bed, a quarter of a mile broad, is completely dry ;
it is " a desert within a desert." Below this, the Nile receives not a
single tributary ; and, what with the demands for irrigation and the
rapid evaporation, becomes smaller and smaller as it nears the sea.
The lands watered by the Upper Nile and its tributaries are elevated
park-like plains — with forests and savannahs in different parts. In
the south-east are large forests in whioh ebony and other hard woods
grow. 3. Produce, Trade, and Communications. — Dhurra, the date-paJm,
cotton, indigo, tobaoCo, and many kinds of gums, are grown in Nubia
and the Eastern Soudan. But the most valuable export is ivory,
which is obtained from the vast herds of elephants that roam
over the immense "parks" of this wonderful country. Caravans
carry ivory and other goods to Cairo and to Suakim on the Eed Sea.
4. Towns. — The towns are in many cases merely collections of
villages. The most important are Khartoum, Senaar, Suakim,
Massowah, Berber, and El Obeid.
(i) Ehartoom (40) is the largest town and centre of traffic in the country, and the con
verging point of all the caravan routes. Ivory, ebony, and ostrich feathers axe sent
on frora here across the desert to Korosko and thence down the Nile to Cairo. Here
the great General Gordon, with his Egyptian garrison, was murdered hy the Slahdi on
Jan. 26, 1S85.
(ii) Senaar, on the Blue Nile, which gives its name to the whole region, was once
a large and prosperous town. It is a meeting-place for caravans.
(iii) Suakim is the only port on tho Eed Sea coast between Kosseir and Massowah,
and the starting-point of the caravan route to Berber and Khartoum. It T\'as the
chief port for landing troops and stores during the Egyptian war. It is the port from
which African pilgrims embark for Mecca.
(iv) Maaaowah (5), further south, stands on a coral island. It is an important har
bour for the Abysslnians ; but Italy holds it at present.
(v) Berber is the starting-point of the most frequented caravan route from the
Middle Nile to the Red Sea. In 1885 a railway from Su.ikim to Berber was begun ;
a few miles were constructed ; it has for the present been given up ; but, when It is
completed, Berber will become the chief port of Upper Soudan.

ABYSSINIA 357
(vi) EX Obeid (30) is the capital of Kordofan, and the point from which the Mahdi
led his troops against Khartoum. It is a great central emporium of the slave-trade.

ABYSSINIA.
1. The Country. — Abyssinia is a mountainous country — a land of
lakes, mountains, and mountain-torrents — which lies to the south-east
of Nubia. It is an immense pear-shaped mountain-clump ; and is
often called the " African Switzerland." It is an enormous table-land
with an average elevation of 7000 ft. The main mass has been
cut into island-like sections, which are separated by gorges and
ravines, some of which are 4000 ft. deep. From the table-land rise
various mountain-chains, and also isolated mountains, with naked
perpendicular sides, which look like domes, or pyramids, or pillars, or
obelisks. The long slope of the country is to the west ; the short
slope, to the east, falls very abruptly into the low plain whioh
fringes the Eed Sea. The whole country rises out of the Torrid Zone
into the region of perpetual snow. It is said to be nearly as large as
France ; though its population is not more than 3,000,000. The
people are of South- Arabian blood ; but the chief race at present is
that of the Gallas, a people who came from a land south of Abyssinia.
(i) Three regions or zones are distinguished in the Plateau of Abyssinia. These
are : (a) the Kollas( = " Hot Lands") from 3000 to 4800 ft. above the sea-level, whioh
produce cotton, indigo, sugar-cane, coffee, bananas, and dates, and where black lions,
elephants, panthers, and huge snakes exist. (6) The second zone, up to 9000 ft.,
with a climate like that of Italy, where the vine, peach, and apricot flourish. It is in
this zone tbat the largest population is found, (c) The third or highest belt, up to
12,000 ft., where oats and barley grow, and large herds of cattle and sheep are
pastured. (ii) The wbole country looks somewhat like the "chess-board" formed in a stiff
clay soil when it is cracked by tbe heat.
(iii) The largest lake is Lake Dembea.
(iv) The chief rivers are the Blue Nile, which flows through Lake Dembea, and
the Atbara. But the rivers, in general, are useless for trafiic ; they divide provinces
instead of uniting them.
(v) The highest mountain in Abyssinia is Bas Dashan (15,160 ft.) — or a little lower
than Mont Blanc. The snow-line is at 13,000 ft.

358 AFRICA
2. Produce and Trade. — Abyssinia is a fruitful land ; and in some
parts three crops can be raised in a year. Cotton, sugar, and coffee,
are produced ; but there is no foreign trade.
(i) The people are coarse and barbarous. They eat raw flesh at their banquets,
and cut beefsteaks out ofthe loins of living oxen.
(ii) The Abysslnians profess a kind of Coptic Christianity. The Gallas are Pagans.
3. Towns. — There are few towns ; and the largest are very small.
The best known are Gondar, Samara, and Magdala.
(i) Gondar (6) was once the "capital of Ethiopia," and is still the ecclesiastical
capital of Abyssinia.
(ii) Samara is now the military capital. It is here that the present Emperor,
called the Negus, or *' King of Kings," resides.
(iii) Magdala is the strong fortress taken by Lord Napier of Magdala in the war of 186S.
This "little war," against a blood-thirsty petty tyrant called King Theodore, cost ns
£9,000,000. A soldier in that campaign climbing, with his company, a very steep and
almost perpendicular rock, said, "If this country is a table-land, I suppose this
is one of the legs ofthe table."
(iv) East of Abyssinia Tajorah aud Obok have been occupied by France ; Assab by
Italy ; and Berber by England. These ports will, in time, become useful to commerce.
THE SOUDAK
1. Soudan. — The part of North Africa which lies to the south of the
Sahara, and which stretches across the continent from the Atlantic to
Abyssinia is called Soudan or " The Land of the Blacks." The popu
lation is composed partly of Negroes, and partly of a mixed race called
Foulahs, or Fellatahs, who are the most energetic of all tropical races,
are Moorish by descent, and Mahometans by religion. The Negroes
are Pagans, and worship different kinds of fetiches. The chief
obstacle in the way of peace and civilisation is the slave-trade, and
the man-hunting expeditions into quiet agricultural districts. The
states in this vast region are governed by despots ; and the people
devote themselves to agriculture and the raising of cattle. The Soudan
is divided into two parts. Upper Soudan and Lower Soudan.
(i) Upper Soudan is a country ot table-lands and wide terraces. On its western slope
lies BenegamMa.the country whieh occupies the basins of the Senegal and the Gambia,
where dwell tho Mandlngoos, a Negro race given to exchange and barter, and some

THK SOUDAN 359
Fellatahs, all under the suzerainty of France. St. Louis is the French capital.
TTpper Guinea Ues on the southern slope of Upper Soudan. The coast is low ; the climate
is very hot and very moist ; and the swamps and luxuriant vegetation make fevers
common. Most ofthe coast is in the hands ofthe English. SierraLeone is an Euglish
settlement ; next comes the Grain or Pepper Coast, where the Americans have founded
a state for freed slaves, called Liberia (capital Monrovia — after President Monro) ; then
Ivory Coast ; Gold Coast ; Slave Coast. The trade in slaves in the last division has been
driven out by that in palm-oil, the centre of which is Lagos (60)— a large and thriving,
but unhealthy, commercial town. The Negro kingdoms in the interior are Ashanti,
with its capital Coomassle, once a large city of 100,000 inhabitants, but burnt down
by British troops in the year 1874 ; and Dahomey, with its capital Abomey (30) ;— both
kingdoms given up to the most sanguinary rites and the sacrifice of men and woraen.
East of these kingdoms is the country of Tomba, with the large town of Abbeokuta (80),
well known in the records of British missions.
(ii) Lower Soudan is a country with the richest soil, a tropical climate, magnificent
forests, and rich plains carefully cultivated. The Negroes are here in large degree
subject to the Foulahs ; and the chief Foulah States are : Masslna; Gando; Sokoto ; and
Adamawa. (a) The capital of Massina is Timbuctoo (20), which occupies an excellent
position for commerce — as it stands at the centre of flve caravan -routes which lead to
all parts of Northern Africa. (&) Gando is the capital of the Empire of Gando. It
stands on the Sokoto, a tributary of the Niger, and is a place of some trade, (c)
Sokoto — also an Empire — is tbe most powerful of the Soudanese States. The capital
is Sokoto, on the river Sokoto ; but the largest town is Tokuba (150), with a splendid
trade in cotton, tobacco, and indigo, (d) Adamawa is one of the finest and liealthiest
regions in Africa — with lofty highlands, fertile valleys, and grassy plains covered here
and there with forests of bananas, baobabs and plantains, and in other places yielding
abundant harvests of cereals, cotton, and indigo. The capital is Tola, a place of great
trade. The chief Negro kingdoms are Bomou and Wadai.
(iii) The Egyptian Sondan has been already described (p. 355).

WESTEEN AFEICA.
1. Western Africa. — This is the name given to the region which
lies between the southern edge of the Sahara and Cape Frio, in
18° South lat. It includes Senegambia, Upper Guinea, and Lower
Guinea. It consists of a succession of low plains, with high grounds
some distance inland, through which the rivers force their way. The
English, French, Portuguese, Germans, and Belgians, have estab
lished all along this coast trading stations ; and, as they hold the
coast, the tendency is to extend their influence and their suzerainty as

360 AFRICA
far inland as they can. The trade of the coast consists in ivory, gold-
dust, ostrich feathers, palm-oU, and gums. The following are the
chief trading-stations :
(i) French : St. Louis, near the mouth of the Senegal ; and Goree, near Cape Verde.
(ii) British Gambia: Bathurst, the capital, at the mouth of the Gambia; and
George Town, well inland.
(iii) British : Sierra Leone— capital, Freetown,
(iv) American : Liberia (before described, p. 359).
(v) British : The Gold Coast, with Cape Coast Castle, a very unhealthy place, as its
chief town. Elmina, once the capital of the Dutch possessions, now belongs to ns.
Accra, the chief port, is also the capital. Lagos, the most populous town on the
west coast (see p. 139). From Lagos to the Cameroons, the coast — now formally
under British protection— is the chief seat of the trade in palm-oil and kernels ; and
the British African Company has nearly 100 factories up the Niger and Benue, as far
as Tola, the capital of Adamawa.
(vi) German : The Cameroon Coast. — The low-lying delta branches of the Niger, the
estuaries of the Old Calabar River and the Cameroons Eiver, separated from each other
by mangrove-covered swamps, have been termed the "Oil Rivers" of West Africa.
The European traders dare not reside in the towns on the beach— on account of the
malaria ; they livfe in hulks "like large Noah's arks," which are moored in the cnr-
rents of the rivers, and here they exchange goods of every kind for palm-oil.
(vii) Spanish : the island of Fernando Po. It i s used by "the Spaniards as a place of
exile for political offenders. It has a peak 10,190 ft. high, a perfect cone, and wooded
to the top.
(viii) French : The Gaboon and the Ogowal Protectorate, which extends to Brasavllle
on the Congo. The Gaboon is properly only a great estuary for a number of small
rivers. The territory here which France protects is not much smaller than Spain.
(ix) International : The Congo Free State, under the International African Associ
ation, the head of which is the King of the Belgians, who is also ' ' Suzerain " of the new
state. This territory is nine times the size of Great Britain, and it includes the whole
course, and almost the whole basin of the " mighty Congo." Between Stanley Falls —
almost on the Equator, and Stanley Pool— about three hundred miles from the river's
mouth, there is 1000 miles of river navigation, uninterrupted by cataracts or by
rapids. The International Association has five stations on the Lower Congo, the
chief of which at present is Boma— once a great slave-mart. There are 27 stations in
all. The whole basin is said to be very fertile, to be thickly peopled (the population
is estimated at 27,000,000), and to offer large opportunities for new markets. A road
has been made to evade the rapids ; and railways will soon penetrate into the interior.
The roads to aud from the Congo Basin and all navigable water in it are to be and to
remain for ever free to the commerce of all nations. The exports at present are palm-
oil, rubber, ivory, gum, ground-nuts ; and the imports, cotton clotli, guns, gunpowder,

WESTERN AFRICA 361
spirits, and tobacco. The present Governor-General (the first) is the great African
explorer, Mr. H. M. Stanley.
(x) PoRTUQDESE : Congo, Angola, Loanla, Benguela, etc., between Ambriz and Cape
Frio. The Portuguese territory called Congo is south of the river-mouth.
(xi) Gekjian : The coast from Cape Frio to the mouth of the Orange,— with the
exception of Wamsli( = Whale) Bay, which is British.

EASTERN AFEICA.
1. The East Coast.— The Eastern Coast of Africa, like the Western,
consists of a succession of low plains, backed by high table-lands,
through which the rivers cut their way. The broadest part of these
low plains is the north, which is called Somali Land. Numerous rivers
tind their way to the sea ; but they are much shorter than those on
the west. The climate of the plains is hot and unhealthy ; that of
the uplands is better fitted for Europeans. From west of Cape
Guardafui to Cape Delgado German influence prevails ; from Cape
Delgado to Delagoa Bay, the influence of the Portuguese. The trade
is the usual African trade in gold-dust, ivory, gums, and ostricli
feathers. The following are the chief divisions :
(i) German Protectorate : (a) The AJan Coast, from Cape Guardafui to the mouth
of the Juba Biver and Usagara.
(ii) Zanzibar, an Arab Sultanate, consisting of a long strip of coast which extends '
only ten mUes inland, and is much under the influence of the Germans. The capital
is Zanzibar (60), ou the island of the same name, with a rising trade. The chief
exports are ivory and India-mbber. (The trade of the East African coast is almost
entirely in the hands of East Indian merchants ; the Arabs take to agriculture.)
(iii) PoRTroTJEsE : More than 1000 miles of coast, with an average of 80 miles in
land, from Gape Delgado to Dehigoa Bay. There are nine districts, the best known of
which are Sofala and Mozambique. Sofala is a small port at the mouth of the Great
Sofala River. From its ancient wealth in gold and ivory, the country of Sofala is
supposed to be tbe Ophir to which King Solomon sent a fleet of ships every three
years. Mozambique stands on a low coral islet, in front of a fine bay. The Portuguese
in the town are chiefiy convicts. The trade is in ivory, gum, and skins. The influ
ence of the Portuguese is a blighting and paralysing influence. Nothing has been
done by them to open up the country ; and they have long encouraged the curse of
the country — the trade in slaves. The chief efforts at civilisation have been made by
Scotch and English missionaries. They have launched steamers on Laltes Nyassa and
Tanganyika ; connected the two lakes by a road ; and introduced steam communica-

362 AFRICA
tion between Nyassa, the Zambesi, and the sea, by means of the BhlrS (the Murehison
Falls being the only interruption). The African Lakes Company of Glasgow are busy
opening up this fertile region to commerce and European civilisation.

SOUTHEEN AFEICA.
1. Southern Africa. — This part of Africa, which lies between 22°
and 35° South lat., is in the hands of the British and the native Dutch.
There are two important British colonies — Cape Colony and Natdl;
and three independent Dutch Eepublics— the South African Republic
(formerly called the Transvaal), the Orange Free State, and the New
Republic (which was formerly known as Western Zululand).
Transvaal means "the country beyond the Vaal"— which is one of the two
large rivers that make up the Orange.
Cape Colony.
2. The Country. — This colony is bounded on the north by the
Orange Eiver ; on the north-east by the colony of Natal ; and
on its other sides by the Atlantic, the Southern and the Indian
Oceans. Its area amoimts to nearly 232,000 square mUes — that is,
a little less than the area of the Austrian Empire. The population
is only about 1 J millions.
(i) Austria has a population of nearly 40 millions.
(ii) Cape Colony now includes Griqua Land West, which lies north ofthe Orange.
3. Physical Features. — The country consists of the southern half of
the basin of the Orange Kiver ; and of the whole of the basins of a
large number of rivers which fall into the Atlantic, the Southern, and
the Indian Oceans, — the largest of which is the Olifant ( = Elephant).
It has therefore two slopes — a long slope to the north, and a some
what shorter slope to the south. The highest points are found in the
culminating range of the Nieuweveld Berge (=New FeU Mountains),
which rise in the Snee Berg ( = Snow Mountain) to the height of 8500
ft. From this range the land descends to the Southern Ocean in tliree
terraces — one between the Nieuweveld and the Zwarte Berge ( = Black
Mountains) ; another between the Zwarte Berge and the Lange Berge

SOUTHEEN AFRICA

363

(=Loiig Mountains) ; and the third between the Lange Berge and
the coast. The farthest back of these three terraces contains the
desert of the Great Karroo. The air is clear and buoyant ; the climate
very dry, hot in summer, but always healthy.

Cape Coloht.
(i) Th.0 mountains are in many cases simply the sea-ward, edges or supporting
walls of th,e table-lands. The general direction of the mountain -ranges is always that
of the coast ; and they are cut across at intervals ty deep ravines or gorges (called
" Kloofs ") through which the rivers find their way to the sea.
(ii) A Karroo is a large harren tract of clayey table-land. It is not really a desert ;
aSj when rain does fall, it quickly clothes itself with grass and all kinds of flowers.
(iii) The Great Karroo is about two-thirds the size of Scoiiand — is covered with an
oehre-coloured soil, which consists of clay and sand tinged with iron, and in summer
is as hard as a brick. But the soil is full of the roots of bulbous plants ; and, a few
days after a rainfall, is like a smiling flower-garden.
(iv) Nearly two-thirds of Gape Colony consists of vast arid plains, covered, however,
with shaUow beds of very rich soil. They only require water; and hence the first
thing for the settler to do is to make a " dam " to save up a supply of water.
(v) The characteristic vegetation consists of bulbous plants and heaths ; of the

364 AFRICA
latter there are several hundred varieties. Hooks, thorns, and prickles also abound ;
and these are the natural provisions for dispersing the seeds. One plant is called
by the Dntch " Wait a bit 1 "
4. The Coast. — The coast is of the regular character peculiar
to Africa ; it is upwards of 1300 miles in length. The west coast
is low and sandy ; the southern coast generally bold and rocky.
The chief capes are the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Agulhas
( = Needles), which is the most southerly point in Africa. The chief
inlets are St. Helena, Saldanha, and Table Bays on the west ; False
Bay and Algoa Bay on the south.
(i) Saldanlia Bay is one of the finest natural harbours in the world.
(ii) TaWo Bay lies at the foot of Table Mountain, and is the port of Cape Town.
(iii) FalBe Bay has, in its interior part, St. Simon's Bay, which is the principal South
African station of the British fleet.
5. The Inhabitants. — Most of the inhabitants are of African race —
KafBrs and Hottentots ; and only about thirty per cent, are whites, of
Dutch, English, French, or German origin. The Kaffirs are increas
ing rapidly under British rule ; but there are now few Hottentots
within the colony.
(i) The Eafflrs are a dark-brown, powerful, handsome race, given mostly to a
pastoral life. Many of them have adopted European clothes and customs. (The
word Kaffir means unbeliever, and is an Arabic name given to all non-Mahomefans.)
(ii) The Hottentota are a small, yellow-bro^vn people, indolent, light-hearted, and
incapable of civilisation.
6. Produce, Trade, and Communications. — The wide open plains of
the interior are admirably fitted for pastoral life ; and sheep-rearing
is the most important industry of the colony. With the exception ot
diamonds, wool is by far the most valuable article of trade ; and its
value is as great as that of all the other exports put together. Next
to wool, the chief exports are ostrich feathers, hides, copper ore, and
goat's hair. The roads are good in the settled districts ; up the
country they are only tracks. There are about 1800 miles of railway ;
and 6000 miles of telegraph line.
(i) In 20 years, diamonds to the value of £36,000,000 have been found ; and about
8i millions worth are now exported every year.

SOUTHERN AFRICA 365
(ii) There are in the colony about 12 millions of sheep and 4 millions of goals.
(iii) Ostrich feathers are not now gou from wild ostriches, which have to be hunted.
Ostriches are now bred and reared like domestic fowls. "Cape farmers buy and sell
ostriches as they do sheep; fence their fiocks in, stable them, grow crops for them,
study their habits, and cut their feathers, as matters of business."
(iv) Copper ore is found in Little Namaqua Land and shipped at Fort NoUoth.
(v) There are three systems of railway : — the Western Syatem, which starts from
Cape Town ; the Midland, from Port Elizabeth ; and the EaBtem, froip. East London.
7. The Towns. — There are no very large towns in the Colony ; but
there are a good many small towns. There are only three with a
population of more than 20,000. These are : Cape Town ; Kimherley ;
and Port Elizabeth. The only others of any importance are Graham's
Town ; East London ; and King William's Town. The chief ports
are Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and East London.
(i) Cape Town (62) is the capital of Cape Colony. It is very much like a
thriving English provincial town. It stands at the foot of a remarkable hill with a flat
top — as if half the summit had been cut off— called Table Mountain (3500 ft. high).
When a south-east wind blows, it rises against the sides of the mountain into colder
regions ; the moisture it bears is condensed into mist ; and the flat top of the moun
tain is covered with its "tablecloth." Sometimes this mist is driven down the slopes
in a perfect "Niagara of vapour."
(ii) Kimberley (30— but, indeed, with a varying population), in Griqua Land West, is
the capital ofthe Diamond Diggings. The best diamonds now come from here. They
are found in an igneous black clay ; and the ' ' mines " are simply large hollows dug in
the earth.
(iii) Port Elizabeth (20) on Algoa Bay, is the busiest trading-place in the colony. The
chief exports are wool, skins, and ivory.
(iv) Gr^iam'B Town (12) lies north-east of Port Elizabeth, and is the official capital of
the Eastern Provinces.
(v) King William's Town (8) stands in the heart of the rich territory once called
British Kafl'raria — a rolling pastoral country of great beauty. Its seaport is East
London, 28 miles away, which is the outlet for much of the produce of the Orange
Free State, Griqua Land West, etc.
8. Protected States. — There are several enormous territories under
British protection, and no doubt destined soon to come completely
under British control. These are — Bechuana Land, nearly as large as
Spain ; Fondo Land ; Basuto Land ; and part of ZtQu Land.
(i) The Bechuanas are an African race of cattle-rearers and maize-growers. The
Kalahari Desert is in thewest of their country.
2d

'366 AFRICA
(il) Fondo Land is the eastern part of the Transkel.
(iii) Basuto Land is a country nearly as large as Belgium, on a fertile and healthy
plateau. It is the best grain-growing country in South Africa. It grows a great deal
of maize (commonly called *' mealies ").
9. Natal. — Natal is a colony bounded on the south by the river
Umtamfima, on the north by the Tugela, which separates it from Zulu-
land, on the west by the Drakenberg MountalnB, and on the east by
the Indian Ocean. It is a little larger than Denmark ; but has a
population of only 450,000, of whom about 40,000 are whites. The
land rises by terraces to an elevation of 4000 ft. above the sea-leveL
The soil is very fertile ; and even in the kloofs there are dense
clumps of forest. The chief crop is " mealies ; " and its grain forms
the principal food of seven-eighths of the population. The chief
industry is sheep-rearing; and the chief export wool. But the
climate being hotter than that of the Cape, sugar is also largely
grown and exported. Natal, however, not only sends away its
own produce ; but is the carrier of the wool, hides, feathers, and
ivory sent down from the inland provinces of the South African
Kepublic and the Orange Free State. The capital is Pietermaritzbnrg
(16) ; and the port, Durban (18).
(i) Katal received its name from Vasco da Gama, who sighted the headland at the
entrance to the port of Durban on Christmas Day 1497. From the Dies Nataiis he
named it the Terra Nataiis, now Natal.
(li) Ostrich feathers fetch from £30 to £60 per lb.
10. The Orange Free State.— The Orange State is a small country
— a little larger than Portugal — which lies between the Vaal, the
Orange, and the Caledon. There are only about 150,000 people in
the whole state, of whom some 60,000 are Dutch Boers ( = Farmers).
Their ancestors left Natal when it was declared a British colony,
and set up a government for themselves in 1854. The chief in
dustry is sheep-farming; and the principal export, wool. Ostrich-
farming is also a lucrative pursuit. The exports are wool, hides,
diamonds, and ostrich feathers ; and most of them are sent down to
Port Elizabeth to be shipped. There are rich coal-beds in the
country ; and gold has also been found. The capital is Bloemfontein

SOUTHERN AFRICA 367
( = Flowery Fountain), u small place with a population of aoout 3000.
It is connected — by telegraph — with Cape Colony and Natal.
(i) The Vaal separates the Orange State from the Transvaal (or South African
Republic) ; the Orange from Cape Colony ; the Caledon from Basuto Land ; and the
Drakenberg Mountains from Natal.
(ii) Goods are brought down from the interior in large ox-wagons ; and provisions
and textile imports taken up in them.
(iii) Diamonds, garnets, aud other precious stones are found in this state.
11. The South Aflrioan Republic. — This is the name of a large state
between the Limpopo and the Vaal. It is a little larger than Italy.
Though it is an independent state. Queen Victoria has been acknow
ledged as suzerain. The population numbers 360,000, of whom 60,000
are whites, and 45,000 of these Dutch. The soil and climate are
favourable for agriculture as well as for stock-rearing ; but wool-
growing is still the most important industry. There is a good deal of
gold in the country (especially at Lydenberg) ; excellent coal, and
plenty of iron. The eastern boundary of the state is only 40 miles
from Delagoa Bay ; and there is now a short railway open from a port
on that great opening — the natural outlet for the resources of the
mighty Transvaal Region. The largest town is Barberton (7), the
centre of the new goldfields ; the seat of government is Praetoria (5) ;
the third largest town is Potchefstrom (2). There is a telegraph line
to Natal 500 mUes long.
12. The New Republic. — In the year 1884, a number of dissatisfied
Boers established a Free State in the " Zulu Keserve." This small
state is not so large as the county of Northumberland ; and it gave
up its claim to any part of the sea-coast. The capital is Vryheid
(= Freedom). It will probably incorporate itself with the South
African Republic.
13. Zululand. — The Land of the Zulus lies between the Tugela
River, which separates it from Natal, and St. Lucia Bay. It is only
as large as Denmark. The Zulus are a brave military people ; and,
under Cetywayo, they made war on Natal in 1879. A large Zulu

368 AFRICA
force surrounded and cut to pieces a British regiment at Isandula ;
a brave and determined stand was made at Rorke's Drift by another
British regiment ; and at length the Zulu army was completely
routed at Uluudl. The country was parcelled out among Zulu chiefs,
and the Zulus have returned to agriculture and stock-rearing.
ISLANDS CONNECTED WITH AFEICA.
1. Introductory. — The islands which lie round the coast of Africa
have little or no physical connection with the continent ; and they
have nearly as little commercial intercourse. Except in the Medi
terranean, they are not parts of the mainland : and the largest
island, Madagascar, is cut oflf from communication with the con
tinent by the violent currents which sweep through the Mozambique
Channel. Most of them now belong to European Powers ; and all in
the Atlantic are of volcanic origin.
(i) To Spain : The Canaries ; Fernando Po and Annabon in the Gnlf of Guinea.
(ii) To PoKTUGAL : The Azores ; Madeira ; and the Cape Verdes ; Prince's Isle and St
Thomas, in the Gulf of Guinea.
(iii)'To Britain : Ascension: St. Helena; Tristan d'Aconha ; Uanritias; Bodiifuez;
the Seychelles ; the Amirante Islands ; and Socotra.
(iv) To France : Isle de Bonrhon (or Reunion) ; and some stations on tbe coast of
Madagascar.
(v) Independent : Madagascar ; the Comoros.
2. The Canary Islands lie in 15° North lat., not far from Africa,
but separated from it by an abyss 3000 ft. deep. They were the
" Fortunate Isles " of the ancients. The largest is Teneriffe ; the
second largest, the Grand Canary. The most westerly is Ferro.
(i) All of these islands are mountainous, volcanic, and feitile.
(11) The Peak of Teneriffe rises (above the clouds) to tlie height of 12,1S0 ft. Tlie
chief town is Santa Cruz.
(iii) The chief town of the Grand Canary is Las Palmas (=The Talms), whic*i is tlie
seat of the Spanish Government. It is also a health-resort.
(iv) The Moridlan of Ferro is used by the Germans and other nations as the initial
meridian from which to measure longitude ; because tliis island was regarded as the
most westerly land in the Old World.

ISLANDS CONNECTED WITH AFRICA 369
3. The Azores. — The volcanic group of the Azores is regarded as
the extreme westerly advanced post of Africa ; though they lie in
the same latitude as Lisbon. Of the nine islands in the group, the
best known are St. Michael's and Fayal.
All the islands are covered with orange groves ; and the best oranges grown any
where are those of St. Michael.
4. Madeira. — This lovely and fertile island is about twice the size
of the Isle of Wight. It has long been a winter-refuge for those who
have weak chests ; as the air is always warm, and the temperature
varies very little throughout the year. The whole island is a mass of
mountains, of volcanic formation throughout. In the lower grounds,
the palm and banana grow ; higher up, the fruits and evergreens of
Southern Europe. Since the destruction of the vines by disease, the
sugar-cane has been largely grown. Cochineal is also an export.
The chief town is Funchal, a port where Atlantic steamers call.
5. The Cape Verde Islands. — These islands lie to the west of Cape
I
Verde. The largest and most fertile is Santiago. St. Vincent, which
has an excellent harbour, is the most frequented of all the islands
in the group.
These islands, and the neighbouring cape, obtained their name from the vast
quantities of green sea-weed found floating in the sea, which gives it the appearance
of a green meadow.
6. Ascension ; St. Helena, etc. — Ascension is a mass of volcanic
rock, which rises right out of the sea to the height of nearly 3000 ft.
Georgetown is the only town ; and it holds a British garrison. St.
Helena lies 800 miles south-east of Ascension, and is, like it, a huge
dark mass of volcanic rock rising abruptly out of the sea. The
capital is Jamestown.
(i) Wlien Napoleon Buonaparte was banished to St. Helena, Ascension was made
a British port for men-of-war. Sliips still call there for provisions.
(ii) Napoleon was banished to St. Helena iu 1815, and died there, of vexation and
cancer in the stomach, iu 1821. His body was brought to Paria in 1840, and obtained
from the French nation a reception of the most magnificent kind.
(ill) Tristan d'Aconha is the largest of a group of three islands, which lies 2000 miles
to the west of the Cape. It is a barren volcanic rock, utterly uninhabited.

370 AFRICA
7. Mauritius.— The Mauritius or "He de France," is a tropical
island which is famous for the wondrous beauty of its landscape. It
is about 2j times the size of Middlesex. The population consists of
Negroes, Half-bloods, Chinese, and Indian Coolies ; and the whites
are chiefly of French origin, as the French held the island tiU 1810.
Sugar is the staple product. The capital is Port Louis ; and the only
other large town is Mah^bourg (or Grand Port).
(i) The EeycheUes are granite islands which rest on a coral bank. Mah^, which is
overgrown with date and palm trees, is the largest. The others are famous for the
double or sea cocoa-nuts — the largest fruit in the world.
(ii) The Amirantes are all small coral islands, only a few feet above the sea-level.
(iii) Socotra is an island off Cape Guardafui, about as large as the county of
Cornwall. Like the mainland, it rises by a series of terraces to its greatest elevation
in the interior, which is a pastoral table-land. It produces aloes, and the dragon's
blood-tree (the gum of which is used for varnishes). It commands the Gulf of Aden ;
and, as Great Bcitain has to guard all the water-waya of the world, she has bought it.
8. Bourbon. — Reunion or the He de Bourbon, contains two lofty
volcanic mountains, one of them often active. The capital is St. Denis.
The chief exports are coflFee, sugar, and spices.
9. Madagascar. — This, the largest of all the African islands, is a
long island (about 1000 miles in length) nearly as large as the whole
Austrian Empire. It is almost entirely filled by an enormous
mountain-mass, which rises from the sea in tliree broad terraces.
Most of the island is of volcanic origin. Five great ranges (some
of the peaks being 9000 ft. in height) run through the island in the
direction of its length. Round the coast runs a narrow belt of low
land, extremely fertile, but very unhealthy. The eastern side is the
rainiest side — for it faces the Indian Ocean and stands in the path of
the South-East Trades ; and hence it is also the most fertile. The
inhabitants are called Malagasys ; and they do not belong to any
African race, but to the Malay Family of human beings. The least
numerous, but the most intelligent of the three tribes which inhabi-
the island, are the Hovas, who rule the others. The population is
said to number 3,500,000. The government is a despotic monarchy.
The chief industries are cattle-rearing and agriculture. The chief

ISLANDS CONNECTED WITH AFRICA 371
food of the people is rice and manioc. The forests abound -with
valuable woods. The chief exports are cattle, india-rubl)erj hides,
coffee, sugar, vanilla, etc. The capital is Antananarivo (100), in the
heart of the island. The principal port on the east coast is Tama-
tav6 (10), now in the possession of the French.
(i) Within a radius of 90 miles in the heart of the island, 100 extinct craters have
been coimted.
(ii) One of the most remarkable plants in the island is the "Traveller's Tree."
It is of the family of the plantains ; it sends leaves out only on two opposite sides,
like a lai^e open fan ; the stalks of each leaf are 6 ft. to 8 ft. long, and always con
tain pure water. Even in the driest weather the traveller can get a quart of water
by piercing their base. Hence the name.
(iii) The fauna of Madagascar is peculiar ; it consists chiefly of lemurs, insectivora,
etc. ; but there are none of the larger animals-^antelopes, giraffes, elephants — such as
we find on the African continent.

THE TWO AMEKICAS

THE NEW WORLD.

1. America, or the New World, lies between the two largest
oceans on the globe— the Pacific and the Atlantic, and stretches
from north to south a distance of more than 9000 miles. Compared
with its length, it is extremely narrow. There are certain distinctly-
marked contrasts between the New World and the Old ; and it may
be well to take notice of these first of all. Let us compare them.
America and Em-asla

1. Has its greatest length from north to
south.
2. Itsgreatestmountain-chainsrunfrom north to south.
3. Is a continent of great plains.

4. The American Plains are open to the
sea aud the sea-winds.
5. America has no vast deserts.

6. America decreases i-n breadth as it
goes south.
7. America lies in both hemispheres —
northern and southern.
S. America runs through four zones.

9. The heart; of each of the two Americas
is connected with the sea by rivers.
10. America is the "land of promise"
and of the future.

1. Has its greatest length from west to
east.
2. Its chief mountain-ranges run from
west to east.
3. Is a continent of immense and
elevated plateaus.
4. The Eurasian Plateaus are shut off
from sea influences.
5. Eurasia has the largest deserts on the
globe (with the exception of Africa).
6, Eurasia remains nearly of the same
breadth in all longitudes.
7. Eurasia is confined to the northern
hemisphere,
8. Eurasia lies mostly in the North
Temperate Zone.
9. The middle of Asia is a closed baain,
which sends no rivers to the sea.
10. Eurasia is the land of accomplished
fact and of the past.

2. Size. — America has an area of 164 millions of square miles, and
is larger than Europe and Africa taken together. The northern
continent contains about 9 millions ; and the southern about 7.

376 THE NEW WORLD
(i) The four extreme points of the American continent are :—
(a) Mnrcliison Penlnsnla, in the north ;
(6) Cape Froward, in the south ;
(c) Cape Branco, on the east ;
(d) Cape Prince of Waletf, on the west.
(ii) The most remarkable breadths are :—
(a) In 45° North lat., 3100 miles across ;
(6) In 5° South lat., 3200 miles across ;
(c) At Panama, 28 railes across,
(iii) America is 4 times as large as Europe ; 5 times Australia ; and 1-^ times Africa.
But it is a good deal smaller than Asia.

NORTH AMERICA.
1. Introductory. — North America is the northern division of the
New World. It is connected with South America by the Isthmus
of Panamd. In shape and character it is not unlike South America ;
and the following points of resemblance between the two ought to be
noted : — North America and Sontli AmeilcA.
1. North America is an irregular triangle. 1. South America is a regular triangle.
2. On its west coast, there is a high
range of volcanic mountains.
3. Parallel with the east coast, runs a
lower range.
4. The middle of the continent is occu.
pied hy a vast plain from the Arctic
Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.
5. The St. Lawrence flows from west to
east ; the Mississippi from north to
south.
2. Shape and Size. — North America has a roughly triangular shape,
with its base near its northern line, and its acutest angle stretching
to the south. It contains about 8,600,000 square miles — less than
half the extent of Asia.
(1) Its greatest length is 4500 miles.
(ii) Its greatest breadth on 46° North lat., ia 8100 miles.

2. On its west coast, there is a high range
which contains many volcanoes.
3. Parallel mth the east coast, runs a
secondary range.
4. The middle of the continent is occu
pied by a vast plain fh)m the Carib
bean Sea to the La Plata.
5. The Amazon flows from west to east :
the La PlatA from north to south.

NORTH AMERICA 377
3. BuUd. — The build of North America is extremely simple. On
the west, there is a lofty table-land with high ranges of mountains ;
on the east, a lower range parallel vifith the coast ; and between the
two, an immense plain which stretches from the Arctic Ocean to the
Gulf of Mexico.
4. Coast line. — The length of the coast line of North America is
estimated at 24,500 miles. The eastern coast is much and deeply
indented ; the west coast is comparatively regular.
(i) This gives 1 mile of coast line to each 350 square miles of surface.
(ii) Europe has a coast line twice as riclily developed ; Africa has, comparatively,
less than half the coast line of North America.
5. Bays and Inlets. — The East Coast contains the mighty re-
entrances of Baffin Bay ; Hudson Bay ; Gulf of St. Lawrence ; Bay of
Fundy ; the Gulf of Mexico ; and the Caribbean Sea. — The chief open
ing in the west coast is the Gulf of California ; in the north, the Gulf
of BootMa.
(i) Baffin Bay was first explored in 1615 by William Baffin, a pilot on board the ship
" Discovery " in search of the North- West Passage. There is a great deal of whale-
and seal-fishing in this immense bay, wliich is open only four months iu summer.
(ii) Hudson Bay was discovered in 1610 by Henry Hudson, a famous sailor. His men
mutinied ; put him and his son in an open boat ; sent them adrift on this great
inland sea ; and they were never heard of more.
(iii) The Gnlf of St. Lawrence is the estuary of the mighty river St. Lawrence, which
carries off the surplus water of the Five Great Lakes. It is much infested by fogs
in summer, and by ice in winter.
(iv) The Bay of Foudy is a narrow arm of the Atlantic, between Nova Scotia aud
New Brunswick. It is famous for its strong and rapid tides, which sometimes rise
and fell fully 70 ft.
(v) The Gulf of Mexico is the true "Mediterranean of America." It is a vust
caldron, in which the waters from the Caribbean Sea are fteated to over 90° and
then discharged through the Florida Pass, to spread themselves as the ' ' Gulf Stream "
over the North Atlantic, and give to the western shores of Europe their warm climate,
(vi) The Carilibean Sea is the great inland sea which lies between the Great Antilles
and the continent of South America. It is entered either by the " Windward Passage "
to the west of Hayti, or by tho " Mona Passage " to the east.
(vii) The Gulf of CaUfomia is a long and very narrow gulf on the west coast. It
is 700 miles long and in some parts only 40 miles broad.

378 THE NEW WORLD
(viii) The Golf of Boothia is an immense opening between the Boothia Peninsula and
Cockbnm Island. It was discovered by the femous navigator Sir John Eoss, and
named by him after his friend Sir Felix Booth.
6. Straits.— The chief Straits in North America are : Hudson
Strait ; Davis Strait ; Barrow Strait ; and Behring Strait.
(i) Hudson Strait connects Hudson Bay with the Atlantic.
(ii) Davis Strait connects Baffin Bay with the Atlantic. It is thickly beset with
icebergs, which come down from the west coast of Greenland.
(iii) Barrow Strait connects Baffin Bay with the Arctic Ocean.
(iv) Behring Strait connects the Arctic Ocean with the Pacific, and divides the
continents of North America and Asia. It is about 50 miles wide,
7. Peninsiilas and Capes. — There are, on the east coast, four great
peninsulas : — Labrador; Nova Scotia 5 Florida ; and Yucatan ; on the
west coast, two : — ^Alaska, and Lower California. The most important
Capes are on the east coast : — Cape Race (in Newfoundland) ; Cape
Sable (in Nova Scotia) ; Cape Cod (in Massachusetts) ; Cape Hatteras
(in North Carolina) ; and Cape Sable (in Florida).
(i) Labrador is a triangular peninsula which lies in the same latitude as the British
Isles — ^between 50° and 60° ; aud yet it has a nine months' winter. This is due, on the
one hand, to the absence of the Gulf Stream, and, on the other, to the presence of a
cold current, crowded with icebergs, from Davis Strait.
(ii) Yucatan is one of the few peninsulas in the world which run to the north. The
others are Jutland in Europe and Cape York Peninsula in Australia.
(iii) Othci- capes of secondary importance are : — (a) On the East : FareweU ; Charles ;
Breton ; Catoche ; Graci^-i-Dios. (b) In the North : Bairow and Bathurst. (c) On the
"West : Prince of Wales (in Alaska) ; and St. Lucas (in California).
(iv) Cape Race is the land first sighted in sailing from Britain to America.
(v) Cape Sable is so called from its saiidy beach (Fr. sable, saud).
8 . Isthmus. — The only Isthmus of first importance in North America
is the Isthmus of Panamd, which joins South and Central America.
(i) Its narrowest breadth is about 30 miles. Tlie great French engineer, M. de
Lesseps, is now engaged in cutting a canal through it, and thus saving the ^'oyage
round the -whole of South America. This will revolutionise the commerce of the
Western World. Lesseps has already cut through the Isthmus of Suez and shortened
the voyage to India by saving the circuitous com-sc round the African continent.
(ii) Another isthmus of some importance is the Isthmni of Tehuantepec between the
Gulf of the same name and the Bay of Campeachy. It is 140 miles across.

•Jffhn. Dow&r, So.

380 THE NEW WORLD
9. Islands. — The islands on the east coast of North America are
much the most important. They are : Anticosti ; Prince Edward
Island ; Newfoundland ; the Bermudas ; and the West Indies. — On the
north, lies a vast archipelago, the largest island of which is Green
land. — On the west, the most important island is Vancouver.
(0 The largest islaud in the West Indies is Cnta ; the second, Hayti ; and the
third, Jamaica.
(ii) Besides Vancouver, there are, on the west coast, the Qaeea Charlotte lalandB, the
SltUa Arcblpelago, and Prince of Wales Island.
10. Table-lands. — The western part of the North American con
tinent is one vast plateau. The weU-marked mountain-range which
runs through Central America branches into two ranges at the Isth
mus of Tehuantepec ; and these two ranges, under different names,
run up almost to the Arctic Ocean, supporting between them a long
and immense table-land. The highest table-land in the whole system
is the Plateau of Mexico, which is about 9000 ft. above the level of
the sea. The best-known is the continental basin which is called
the Plateau of Utah.
11. Mountains.— -North America has two great systems of uplift :
the Appalacliian System and the Western or Cordilleia. System. In
the Appalachian System, the most important range is that of the
Alleghanies ; in the Western System, the chief range is the Eocky
Mountains. (i) The Appaladuan Uonntains begin in the table-lands of Alabama, stretch north
east to the St. Lawrence, and reappear in the Plateau of Labrador. Their best-known
ranges are the AUeghanies and the Blue Moimtains. They are also connected with tlie
Catskillsof New York, and the Green Moimtains of Vermont.
(ii) The Western or CoriUUera System consists of two plateaus and a number of
mountain-ranges. Tlie two plateaus are the Mexican Flateaa ; and the Western Plateau.
The Mexican Plateau has the sierra Madre as its western buttress. The Western
Plateau has the Eocky Mountains, which are the backbone of North America, as its
eastern buttress ; wliile, on its western edges, it has the Sierra Hevada and the Cascade
Mountains. West of the Sierra Nevada range and parallel to it mns the Coast Bange ;
and the two support between them a river-valley. The most famous part of the
Western Plateau is the Great Basin— an elevated plateau whioh lies between the Wall-
satoh Mountains ou the east, and the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Kange on the west.
This Great Basin is a continental basin and contains rivers and lakes whose waters
never reach the sea. The largest lake is the Great Salt lake.— Tlie vast table-land
whioh is called the Western System covers one-third of the area of the United States.

NORTH AMERICA 381
(iii) The highest mountain in North America is Mount St. Ellas (19,600 ft.)inAlaska.
It stands in a continuation of the Cascade Eange.— The highest summits in the
"Rockies" are Mount Brown (16,000 ft.) and Mount Hooker (15,700 ft,).— The highest
peak in the AUeghanies is Mount Mitchell, whioh is only 6088 ft high.— In Mexico, at
the south end of the Mexican Plateau, Popocatepetl (the highest mountain in Central
America) rises to the height of 17,884 ft. ; and Orizalia is only a little lower.
(iv) The volcanoes of North America are found at the two extremities of the system
—in Central America and Alaska.

12. Plains. — The most remarkable feature in the build of North
America is the Great Central Plain, which stretches from the Arctic
Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, and lies between the Eocky Mountains
and the Appalachian System. One half of this plain slopes to Hudson
Bay and the Arctic Ocean ; the other half to the Gulf of Mexico ;
and the watershed between them is called the Height of Land.
(i) The Great Central Plain merges gradually into the sloping table-land which
lies to the east of the Rocky Mountains.
(ii) The general name for the vast grassy plains of North America, is prairie. Most
prairies are treeless ; but there are timbered as well as " bald " prairies. The surface
is not perfectly level, but in general consists of a succession of low wave-like swells.
These are called "rolling country." The terraces which rise gradually from the banks
of rivers are called "benches." In the south, grassy plains are called *' Savannahs " ;
and along the lower Mississippi are fouud "prairies tremblantes" or quaking plains.
The prairies are covered with high waving grasses, interspersed with scattered belts
of timber. These prairies fill the larger part of the Mississippi Valley.

13. Eivers.— As North America possesses immense plains, it is
also provided with a magnificent system of rivers. The main axis of
the continent, being nearest the Pacific, sends the longest streams
into the Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans. The portion of the two
great systems of uplift' — the Cordillera and the Appalachian, with the
Great Plain between them, throws much the larger part of the flowing
waters into this plain ; and the Height of Land sends them down
the north slope and the south slope respectively. — The four largest
rivers of North America are the Mississippi, the Mackenzie, the
St. Lawrence, and the Saskatchewan ; and all four belong to the
Great Central Plain. The Mississippi flows south, the Mackenzie,
2e

382 THE NEW WORLD
north, and the St. Lawrence, east. The two largest rivers into the
Pacific are the Yukon and the ColumWa.
(a) In a4dition to the MisaisBlppi, the Eio Grande del Norte (=Great Eiver of the North) flows
into the Gulf. (6) The largest rivers felling into the Hudson Bay are the Saskatchewan or
Nelson, and the Churchill, (c) A large numberofBtreama flow down tbe short Atlantic slope.
The best known are tbe Connecticut, Hudson, Susquehanna, Potomac, and James, (d) Tbe
Fraser, Sacramento, and Colorado, also flow into the Paciflc. (e) In addition to the
Mackenzie, the Coppermine and the Back or Great Fish Eiver, flow into the Arctic Ocean,
(i) The Miasisslppi or " Father of Waters," has a basin which consists mainly of
three long slopes : one from the Rockies eastward ; one from the. Appalachians west
ward ; and one from the Height of Land southward. Down these three slopes roll
its three largest tributaries :— the MlBBouri, the longest ; the Ohio, the largest ; and
the Upper Mlflsisaippl. The Missouri -Mississippi is, measuring from the source of the
Missouri, the longest river in the world. It is 4200 miles long; and, with its
tributaries, provides 35,000 miles of navigable water-ways. The Mississippi itself
rises in the small lake of Itasca, in the State of Minnesota. Its upper course ends at
the Falls of St. Anthony. In its middle course, it receives, from the west, the
Missouri, Arkansas, and Red Rivers ; from the east, the Ohio. The Missouri is itself
2900 miles long ; and the others are nearly as large as the Danube. The ilissouri
brings down a vast quantity of yellow mud ; and, after it joins the Mississippi, the
river becomes a dense yellow torrent. The Missouri itself receives mighty tributaries,
the largest of which are the Yellowstone and the Platte.
" This great river-system penetrates to the very heart of the continent ; and, with its numerous
tributaries, affords an inland navigation of unsurpassed inagnificence." — Fqstkk-
(ii) The St. Lawrence is the overflow of the Five Great Lakes. It is 2000 miles long ;
and the area of its catchment-basin is 480,000 square miles — or twice the size of that of
the Rio Grande. Though the third in length, it is the largest in volume. In the first
part of its course it is called the St. Louis, and flows iuto Lake Superior. It receives
all the rivers which flow from the long ranges of mountains and highlands, which
separate the slopes to Hudson Bay from those to the south. Its largest tributary is
the Ottawa ; its grandest, the Sagnenay. It receives also a large number of affluents
from the south. It has a large number of different names ; (a) above Lake Superior,
it is called St. Louis ; (h) between Superior and Lake Huron, the Narrows, or " Sault Ste.
Marie " ; (c) between Huron and Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair ; (d) between St. Clair
and Lake Erie, the Detroit ; (e) between Erie and Ontario, the Niagara ; and (f)
between Ontario and the Ocean, the St. Lawrence.
On the river Niagara are the " Falls of Niagara," the largest in the world. The Horae-Shoe, or
Canadian FaU, ia 1900 ft. wide and 160 ft, high. The American FaU is only one-thitd of the
Canadian Fall in width, but is a little higher,
(iii) The Mackenzie is 2500 miles in length. It is fed by mighty streams, both
from the east and from the west. The largest is the Athabasca.
(iv) The Saskatchewan or Nelson is 190O miles long, and has a catchment-basin nearly
as large as that of the St. Lawrence. It rises near Mount Hooker, and flows through
a country called the "Fertile Belt."

NORTH AMERICA

383

14. Lakes. — If North America is remarkable for its splendid and
highly-developed river-systems, it is still more remarkable for its
lakes. It has the largest number of the largest lakes of any continent
on the face of the globe. It may be called the Lake Continent.
These lakes lie in the form of an immense semicircle, parallel and
almost concentric with Hudson Bay. They lie in three great
depressed basins, and belong to three river-systems — the Mackenzie,
the Saskatchewan, and the St. Lawrence. They may be counted by
hundreds ; but the most important are : the Great Bear Lake ; Great
Slave Lake ; Athabasca ; Winnipeg ; Superior ; Michigan ; Huron ; Erie ;
and Ontario. The five last are called the Five Great Lakes, and form
part of the St. Lawrence Basin. The Great Salt Lake belongs to
the Continental Basin.
(i) The St. Lawrence, with its lakes and rivers, contains more than one-half of all
the fresh water on the globe.
(ii) Lake Superior has an area of nearly 32,000 square miles, and is therefore about
the size of Ireland. It is the largest
body of fresh water in the world ;
and, in some parts, it is about
600 ft. deep. Its greatest length,
measured on its own curve, is 420
miles, or longer than the journey
from London to Edinburgh. Its
water is remarkably transparent,
and comes from more than 200
rivers. Its shores abound in silver, copper, and iron.
(iii) The Kve Great Lakes have together an area of over
more than the area of Great Britain.
(iv) Of the Five Great Lakes, the only one which lies wholly within the United
States is Michigan ; the others lie between the United States and Canada.

10,000 square miles — or

15. Climate. —North America stretches from 80° to ^bout 10° North
lat. ; and hence it possesses every gradation of climate from arctic,
— through sub-arctic, temperate, sub-tropical, — to tropical. There
are certain established facts relating to the North American climate :
(i) Latitude for latitude, it is colder than the climate of Europe.
ia) t.abrador ia in the latitude of Great Britain. But Labrador is colder than Siberia.
(b) Quebec ia in the latitude of Palis ; hut it has a very much colder and longer winter.
(c) Washington is in the latitude of Sicily ; but at Washington the Potomac is iirozen over,
and sleighs glide about the streets in winter.

384 THE NEW WORLD
(ii) In most parts ot North America, the climate is more continental than in the
corresponding latitudes of Europe.
This ia mainly due to the abaence of inland seas ; and also to the fact that tho south.west winds
from the Paciflc are kept off by the mountain ranges from the eastern plains, which are
extremely cold in winter and Intensely hot in summer.
(iii) The changes of temperature are very abrupt.
This ia due to the fact tbat there is no range of mountains between the northern and the southern
slope ; and the Great Central Plain extends without a break from the Arctic Ocean to the
Gulf of Mexico. The " Height of Land " is very low ; and hence an icy wind from the north
may suddenly spring up ; and the thermometer has been known to fail 40° in leas than
an hour. Under such a wind, ice has been known !to form at the month of the Missis
sippi ; and 9° of frost haye been found in the south of Texas.
(iv) In the Temperate Zone, the west coast is warmer and moister than the east.
This is due to the fact that the warm rain-laden sonth-west winds from the Paci£c blow on the west
coast. But, in the east, a west wind is a dry wind ; and the east wind is cold as well as moist.
" In California, it is never too hot, nor too cold, to work."
(v) The rain-fall is greatest in the south, decreases as we go north ; and also
decreases from west to east.
The driest parts are the Western Plateau, especially the Utah Basin, which is drying up. The
elevated plains east of the Rockies are always dry.
16. Vegetation. — The flora of North America is very rich and
enormously varied. In the Arctic Regions we find, as usual, mosses,
lichens, and stunted trees ; in the tropical districts of Central America,
palms and bamboos ; and in the Temperate regions between them a
greater variety of forest-trees than is to be found in the forest-regions
of Europe or Asia. — Of cultivated plants, the North grows barley, oats,
and excellent spring- wheat; maize grows in the warmer parts of Canada
and in nearly all the southern parts of the continent ; the sugar-cane,
tobacco, and cotton, are cultivated in the southern districts of the
United States. Rice is grown very far south ; and sub-tropical fruits
(the orange, fig, and lemon) flourish in the warm southern regions.
(i) The forests of the northern part ot the United States are "uuxed forests."
The forest regions occur chiefly on the western and the eastern coasts. On the east
it extends from west of the mouth of the Mississippi to Massachusetts, and is of
various breadths. Most of the trees are deciduous.
(ii) In Canada, pines, oaks, maples, and poplars, are the commonest trees.
(iii) In Mexico the most striking plants are the cactuses, some ot which are nearly
60 ft. high, and with their stiff forms and odd arms, look like gigantic candelabra
scattered over what looks like a barren country. Azaleas and Magnolias come to us
from tropical America.
(iv) Maize i3 the only cultivated cereal that is indigenous to North America ; and it
is to the presence of this plant that the colonisation of tho continent is chiefly due.

NORTH AMERICA 385
(v) The manioc (from whidi cassava and tapioca are made) and arrow-root are among
the native food-plants of North America. Both are tubers.
17. Animals. — The fauna of North America is rich and varied.
But, while North America is as rich as the Old World in birds, in
sects, and plants, it is much poorer in mammals. In the North
we find the bison (which is rapidly becoming extinct), the cariboo
(corresponding to the reindeer of Europe), the moose-deer ( = elk),
five kinds of bear, seala, beavers, racoons, and many other fur-
clothed animals. There is only one marsupial — the opossum.
Monkeys are found only within the tropics. The continent is rich
in birds. The humming-bird is peculiar to America ; and there
are also many species noted either for their song or for their plumage.
The rattlesnake is the most dangerous reptile.
(i) (a) Among cetacea, we find the Greenland whale. (6) Among ruminants, there
are four large deer ; the Rocky Mountain sheep called the " big-horn"; the musk-ox ;
and two antelopes, (c) Among rodentia, there are beavers, hares, squirrels, and the
praii-ie-dog (which is allied to the marmot and squirrel. Prairie-dogs live in villages).
(d) Of Carnivora, there are foxes, wolves, jaguars, pumas, sables and skunks (of the
weasel kind), otters and gluttons, bears (the grisly bear of the Rockies), and racoons.
(ii) Of the cat tribe, the puma and lynx are the most widely diff'used.
(iii) The common turkey is native to America.
18. Minerals. — North America is unequalled by any continent in
the richness and variety of its mineral products. The largest stock
of coal known in the world is in the United States ; iron is enor
mously abundant ; while the so-caUed precious metals — gold, and
silver, are mined in very large quantities. The purest copper is
found in great abundance on the north and east shores of Lake
Superior. Lead and quicksilver are found in many parts of the
continent ; both Canada and Mexico produce tin.
(i) The area of all the coal-flelds of the United States is estimated at 190,000 square
miles — or twenty times as large as all the coal-fields of Europe. The Appalachian
coal-field, on the west side of the Alleghanies, has an area of 70,000 square miles— or
more than twice the size of Ireland. The Missouri Basin or "Great Western coal
field," the largest in the United States, covers nearly 85,000 square miles. — There is
also a great deal of coal in the Dominion of Canada.
(ii) " The iron and copper, raore especially of the Canadian Dominion, will employ
and enrich, in all probability, at some future period, a nation that may become greater
in material resources than the most powerful kingdom of Europe."

386 THE NEW WORLD
(iii) The mountain-region west of the Rookies is one of the chief gold-producing
districts in the world. California, Nevada, and Montana produce most gold.
(iv) More silver is obtained in Mexico than in any other country in the world.
19. Peoples.— There are at present in North America probably
about 80,000,000 inhabitants. Of these about 60 miUions are whites
— and of British descent ; the rest are Negroes, American-Indians,
and half-castes.
(i) The white population speak English ; though German is spoken in some laigc
cities by the German immigrants.
(ii) The Negroes are said to number over 8,000,000, and are rapidly increasing.
(iii) The Eed Indians (or Americans) are rapidly decreasing, and are said not to
number half-a-million. Within'the vast territory of the United States there are some
what less than a quarter of a million. (When America was flrst discovered, Columbus
believed that he had reached the eastern shores of India ; and hence these copper-
coloured races were called Indians. Their proper name Is Americans.
(iv) The Mixed Races, or Metis or Mestizos (from Lat. mixtus), are found in the
remoter parts of Canada ; and in Mexico and Central America. In the latter parts
they speak Spanish.
(v) The Eskimoes in Greenland and the north are akin to the Lapps of Europe.
20. History. — North America was discovered by Christopher Colon
(" Columbus ") in the year 1492 ; but the mainland he saw only in
1498. — The Spaniards were the first people to think of conquering
the country ; and they seized Mexico and some of the West India
Islands. — The French appeared in 1534 ; and began to build forts
and plant colonies. — Next came the EngUsh, who graduaUy expeUed
the French, and who declared themselves independent of the British
Crown in 1776. The original colonies numbered thirteen ; and they
formed a federation which they called the United States. — Mexiqo
threw off the Spanish yoke in 1830. — The whole continent is now
divided chiefly between English- and Spanish- speaking peoples.
(i) Cortez conquered the Mexican Empire in 1521 with 950 Spaniards.
(ii) The first permanent settlement of the English was made in 1607 in Virginia.
(iii) The English drove out the French in the war of 1756-60 ; and Wolfe took
Quebec — which was the strongest fortress of the French — in 1759. "With the fall of
Quebec, all Canada fell into the hands of the English.
(iv) The Negro slaves in the United Stitos were set ftee in 1S68, during the great
American Civil War, by a proclamation of President Lincoln.

BRITISH AMERICA 387
(v) Tliere are many French-speaking people in Canada; and Quebec is the centre
ofthe French Canadians, who are increasing in numbers and in wealth.
21. Divisions. — The political divisions of North America are :
Danish America ; British North America ; the United States ; Mexico ;
the Central American Republics ; British Honduras ; the West Indian
Eepuhlics ; the Spanish West Indies ; the British West Indies ; the
Dutch West Indies ; and the French West Indies.
(i) Danish America includes 'Greenland and three small islands in the "West Indies.
(ii) The United States include the detached territory of Alaska.
(iii) The West Indian Republics consist of one island, the western part of which is
Hayti ; the eastern Sau Doiaineo.

GREENLAND.

1. The Country. — Greenland is probably an archipelago of elevated
islands which are almost completely buried under ice, and are joined
together by ice. Immense glaciers creep slowly to the fiords and
push into the sea ; then their ends break off and float slowly away
as icebergs. There are only a few settlements on the west coast.
On the south coast, the summer heat thaws the snow for a short time ; and a
little green appears for a few months. Hence the name.
2. The People. — The inhabitants are chiefly Eskimoes, who live
under Danish rule. They live by seal- and whale- fishing, and also
grow a little barley and potatoes.
West of Greenland lies Nares Sea. Captain Nares reached, in 1876, the latitude
of 83° 20'. Lieutenant Greeley, of the United States Navy, reached 83° 24', in 1883
and this is the point nearest the North Pole that man has been able to attain.

BEITISH AMEEICA.

1. IntroductoiT. — The popular idea about British North America
is that it is a wilderness of ice and snow, with a few wheat-bearing
tracts of land here and there, and immense dreary forests on its
northern boundaries. But this is a most imperfect and erroneous
conception. The Dominion of Canada is a world, which contains all

388 THE NEW WORLD
kinds of climates, all sorts of productions, every variety of mineral
wealth, and almost limitless means of communication between its
parts. It is a great social community that is advancing in wealth and
in civilisation by leaps and bounds, and which has before it a future
that even the strongest imagination can only very feebly picture.
" Picture to yourselves a domain nearly as large as Europe, stretching from the
Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, with its southern extremity in the same latitude as
the south of Prance, and its northern boundary along the shores of the Arctic Ocean.
Possessing the finest forests in the world, widely-spread coal-fields, most extensive
and productive fisheries, watered by the most remarkable natural distribution of
lakes and rivers, enriched with all varieties of minerals, and now known to possess an
enormous area of fertile prairie-lands destined to become the future granary of Eng
land, — this vast country reaches, as the crow flies, from ocean to ocean, 4000 miles,
with an area south of the latitude of St. Petersburg of at least 2,000,000 of square
miles capable of cultivation, and of which fully one-half produces every crop that is
grown in Great Britain." — Lord Dufferin.
2. Countries. — British North America contains more than one-
third of the whole continent, and comprises within itself the whole
of the Dominion of Canada; and Newfoundland. The Dominion of
Canada, again, consists of the foUowing provinces : — Ontario, Quebec,
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manltoha, British Columbia, Prince
Edward Island, and the North-West Territories.
Newfoundland is the only part of British North America that has refused to join
the Dominion.
3. Boundaries.— British North America is bounded —
1. N. — By the Arctic Ocean.
2. E. —By the Atlantic.
3. S. —By the United states.
4. W. — By the Factac and Alaska.
(i) The line of latitude whicli forms the boundary between Canada and tlie States
is 49° North lat. This line strikes the Lake of the Woods ; there the boundary is
formed by a chain of lakes and rivers to Lake Superior. The line then goes right
through the middle of four of the Five Great Lakes, passing north of Lake Michigan,
which is entirely within the United States.
(ii) The Dominion lies between 42° and 70° North lat.
(iii) The boundary line is 3000 miles from ocean to ocean ; 1400 miles being a water-
line, by river, lake, and sea ; 1600 miles a land-line.

BRITISH AMERICA 389
4. Size. — The Dominion of Canada occupies an area of more than
3^ mUUons of square miles. It is therefore nearly as large as Europe.
Europe contains 3,700,000 square miles ; Canada 3,510,000.
5. Build.— The high table-land between the CordUleras and the
Rooky Mountains ; a lower table-land on the eastern slope of the
Rockies ; the long and lake-fiUed valley of the Mackenzie ; a vast
breadth of low-land round Hudson Bay ; the Laurentist Highlands,
which form the watershed between the Hudson Bay streams and those
which flow into the St. Lawrence ; most of the vaUey of the St.
Lawrence — these are the chief component parts which go to make up
the vast Dominion of Canada.
The old Canada, which was divided into Upper and Lower (now Ontario and
Quebec) consisted simply ot part of the valley of the St. Lawrence. The St. Lawrence
is indeed to Canada what the Nile is to Egypt. But the towns have now crept west
of the river, and along the lakes, and the vast breadths of land west of Lake Superior
ai"e now filling rapidly up.
6. Mountains, Rivers, and Lakes. — The chief mountain-range is the
Eocky Mountains, which are very high in British Columbia. — The
chief rivers are the St. Lawrence ; the Mackenzie ; the Fraser ; the
Eed Eiver and the Saskatchewan. The great lakes are : Superior,
Huron, Erie, Ontario ; Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Winnipegosis.
(i) The average height of the Rocky Mountains in British America is about 10,000
ft.; but there are several low passes or "saddles" in the range — not above 4000 ft.
above the sea-level, over one of which the Canadian Pacific Railway goes. Mount
Brown (16,000 ft.)and Mount Hooker (15,700 ft.) are the highest summits.
(ii) The Fraser (650 m.) is the chief river of British Columbia, and is noted for its
enormous wealth in salmon. It drains a district nearly as large as Italy.
(iii) Tlie Red River is 600 miles long, and flows into the south end of Lake Winnipeg.
*' Red River Settlement" was the former name of Manitoba. It rises in the United
States, and flows through a nearly level prairie of the richest aUuvial soil.
(iv) The Saskatchewan is said to be 1900 miles long, and to drain a country more
than twice as large as the Austrian Empire. Part of its course flows through a
district which possesses a soil of black mould, deep and uniformly rich— with
almost inexhaustible powers of growing wheat. The Saskatchewan falls into Lake
Winnipeg ; and the Nelson flows out of that lake ; and sometimes both rivers are
called by the same name.
(v) LaJie Winnipeg has an area of 8900 square miles — that is, not so large as Erie
(which has 10,000). Its drainage area is twice as large as France.

390 THE NEW WORLD
(vi) Lake Manitoba is less than half the size of Winnipeg. For a circuit of 50 miles
round the south end of the lake, the soil is of the richest description of prairie land.
(vii) Lake Winnipegosis is a little larger than Lake Manitoba.

7. The Climate. — The Dominion of Canada contains all the
climates of Europe, from that of Archangel to that of the south of
France — with this difference, that the summers are hotter, the winters
much colder, and all seasons drier than in the European continent.
It is easiest to form a practical and applicable idea of the different
climates from observing the different kinds of vegetation ; and, from
this point of Yiew, it may be said that Canada possesses nine well-
marked varieties of climate.
(i) The North Shore of the St. Lawrence produces barley and oats, strawberries
and currants ; but no wheat.
(ii) The South Shore grows wheat
(iii) The Ottawa Baain and the Upper St. Lawrence Vsdley grow Indian com or maize.
This cereal requires a mean temperature of 67°, for July, which is reached thi-oughout
this district. Here<, too, we flnd the grape-vine, the melon, the tomato, and the
apple. This is the most populous and most wealthy part ofthe whole Dominion.
(iv) Sottth-West Ontario has the best climate in Canada. Peaches and grapes ripen
as standards ; and the finest kinds of pears and apples are grown.
(v) The North Shore of Lake Superior is cold and grows only barley and oats.
(vi) The Western Prairie produces excellent whtat.
(vii) Nova Scotia has a damp and insular climate, cannot grow wheat or oats ; and
all bread-stuffs have to be imported. But, round the Bay of Fundy, into which, as
into a funnel, the warm winds from the mild waters of the Gulf Stream blow, the
best plums, pears, and apples come to perfection.
(viii) The Peace River district (in Athabasca) and the country stretching to the
Saskatchewan (in Alberta) is the hottest in Canada. The heaviest and hardest wheat
is grown here.
(ix) British Columbia has an excessively moist climate. Tlie moisture-bearing
south-west winds from the Pacific are driven high into the colder air by the lofty
raountains ; and rain comes down in immense quantities. Hence the climate is not
good for cereals.
The severity of tho Cantidian frosts kills off tlio orange, the oliye, and the fig,— We must also
reraember that, even in tho best parts of Canada, tlio winter Lists at least four months. All
nffricultural labour Is at a standstill; and skating, sloighing, dancing, and amusements
take its place. The ice on the St. Lawrence doea not disappear before the middle of May.
But the Tivlntera are glorious : the air is dry, tlie sky n clear blue, the cold bracing and
strengthening ; and everybody is lu high spirits.

BRITISH AMERICA 391
8. Productions. — Timber and Cereals are the chief products of
Canada. — The mineral wealth of Canada is enormous ; but it has
been as yet very little worked. On the coasts, the fisheries of cod
and salmon are of very great value. — In the North-West Territory,
large quantities of ftirs are secured and shipped to Great Britain.
(i) The forests of the Dominion form one of the chief resources of the country.
The sugar maple, white and red oaks, grey elm, white pine and red pine, black ash,
white cedar, white birch, poplar, white spruce and black spruce are a few among the
sixty different kinds of trees that make up Canadian forests. Gigantic oaks and elms
grow to a thickness of 22 ft. round. In spite of the perpetual cutting down, the supply
of timber can never give out ; as on Arbor Day, every schoolboy and schoolgirl plants
a tree in some selected spot in the Dominion.
(ii) The amount of corn-growing land is practically inexhaustible. It is calculated
by Professor Hind that, in the region drained by Lake Winnipeg, there are about
55,000,000 acres fit for cereals.
(iii) Gold, coal, iron, lead, copper and other metals and minerals are largely distri
buted all over the country. The provinces of British Columbia and Nova Scotia are
the richest in minerals.
(iv) "Canada," says Professor Blwyn, "possesses thousands of miles of sea-coast
swarming with fishes. Cod, mackerel, lobsters, and herrings are the most valuable
fish. The prolific fishing-grounds of Hudson Bay and of the Arctic and Pacific coasts
have hardly as yet been tested. The inland fisheries are also of very great value.
All the lakes in Canadian territory — large and small— as well as innumerable rivers,
abound in salmon. Canada is indeed the paradise of the angler. "
(v) The bear, the beaver, the fox, the sable, the seal, and the ermine are the chief
animals that are hunted for their furs.
9. Industries. — Agriculture and forestry are by far the most im
portant of Canadian industries. But manufactures are still in their
infancy. All the manufactures of older countries are at work ; and
they will no doubt grow and develop with the growing population
and wealth of the country.
10. Commerce. — The commerce of the Dominion is a quantity that
is steadily growing. The countries with which she deals most largely
are Great Britain and the United States. The United States sends
her most imports ; Great Britain takes" from her the largest quantity of
exports. The chief imports are wool ; manufactured iron and steel ;
coal and coke, bread-stuffs ; cotton and cotton clotli ; tea and coffee

392 THE NEW WORLD
and other colonial wares. By far the most important export is
timber. After it come cheese, wheat, cattle, and fish.
(i) Great Britain buys timber to the annual value of over £3,000,000 ; and grain
to something less than that amount.
(ii) The United States sell goods to Canada to the annual amount of over
£10,000,000. 11. Population and Populousness. — The population of the Dominion
amounts at present to 5,000,000 souls. This is only about 1 J persons
to the square mile. The most densely peopled part of the country is
the small water-edged triangular peninsula between Lake Huron and
Georgia Bay on the west, and Lakes Erie and Ontario on the east.
This small peninsula contains about two-sevenths of the whole
population of Canada ; and yet it is less densely peopled than the
agricultural county of Lincolnshire.
(i) About four-fifths of the inhabitants live in the valley of the St. Lawrence.
(ii) Most of the inhabitants are English-speaking descendants of Englishmen and
Scotchmen. But, in the Province of Quebec, there are many people of French
descent — all of whom speak French. They are descended from the French who
settled in Canada before it was seized by the English in 1763. Nearly 1,300,000
persons are of French origin ; and they are increasing rapidly.
12. Communications. — In no country or continent on the face of
the globe has Nature provided so vast a network of water-com
munication. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that, by means of
its deep rivers and vast lakes, it is possible to go almost entirely
by water from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the mouth of the
Mackenzie, right through the heart of the continent. — Canada has
also more than 12,000 miles of railway. The longest is the Canadian
Pacific, which unites the two oceans, and has shortened the distance
from London to Japan and the East by 925 miles.
(i) On all the larger lakes there are lines of steamers. On most of them it is quite
easy to get out of sight of land, and to be as sick as on the billows of the Atlantic.
Steamers of 4500 tons burden can enter the harbour of Montreal by one of the
grandest canals in the world. A canal with locks has been built to avoid the Falls of
Niagara ; and one can travel by steamer from the Strait of Belle Isle, at the mouth
of the St. Lawrence, through Lakes Ontario, Erie, St. Clair, and Huron to Duluth at
the head of Lake Superior— a distance of 23S4 miles.

BRITISH AMERICA 393
(ii) The Canadian Pacific Railway was opened for general traffic in 1886. The
length of the main line from Montreal to Vancouver, is 2893; and 1908 railes of
this were constructed in less than five years.
(iii) There are more than 25,000 miles of telegraph line in the Dominion. The numher
of letters and post-cards carried every year is about 100 millions.
13. Government. — The Dominion Parliament meets at Ottawa, the
federal capital of the country. Each province has a local parliament
of its own. Tho Governor-General of the Dominion is the viceroy
or representative of the Queen. — The education of the country is
specially cared for, and notably in the Province of Ontario. Each
Province has a Minister of Education.
All the provinces of the Dominion, with the exception of British Columbia,
have one or more Universities. The University of Toronto is the most famous. More
than £2,000,000 a year is spent on education ; and, when it is considered that the
whole population is less than that of Scotland, this is an enormous sum. (Scotland
does not spend half a million on her schools, colleges, and universities.)
14. Divisions. — The following is a list of the Canadian provinces,
with their chief towns :

1. Qnebec — Quebec, Montreal.
2. Ontario — Ottawa, Toronto, Kingston.
3. New BmiLSwlck — Fredericton, St.
John.
4. Nova Scotia — Halifax, Sydney.
5. Prince Edward Island — Oharlottetown.
6. British Colombia — ^Victoria.

7. Manitoba — Winnipeg.
8. Keewatln— ChurchlU, Fort York.
9. AsBinlbola — Beglna, Fort Felly.
10. Saskatchewan — Carlton.
11. Alberta— Calgarry.
12. Athabasca — Donvegan.

(i) Quebec (formerly called Lower Canada) consists of that part of the St. Lawrence
Valley which lies east ofthe Ottawa, and a slip of land on the south side of the river
which is bounded by the States of New York and Maine and by New Brunswick. This
southern strip is level, fertile, and well cultivated. The province is twice as large
as Great Britain. More than half the inhabitants are of French origin.
(ii) Ontario (formerly called Upper Canada) lies between ^ebec and Manitoba, and
has four of the Five Great Lakes on its southern border. It is considerably larger
than Great Britain. It is by far the most important province— the richest in popula
tion, in intelligence, in manufactures, and in mineral wealth. Its capital Ottawa
is also the capital of the Dominion. It stands on the river Ottawa about 90 miles
above its junction with the St. Lawrence. The river Ottawa is connected with
Lake Ontario by the Rideau Canal and river. Kingston stands at the outlet of the
St. Lawrence from Lake Ontario. Below Kingston the river is studded with about
2000 islands, which, however, are generally called "The Thousand Islands."

394 THE NEW WORLD
(iii) New Brunswick (which is nearly as large as Scotland) lies between the Gulf of
St. Lawrence and the State of Maine ; while it has Quebec on the north, and Nova
Scotia on the south. Much of the wealth of the province consists in timber
and minerals ; and fishing and shipbuilding are important industries. The people
are chiefly of British descent; but there are many persons of French origin, for New
Brunswick formed part of the French colony of Acadia, which has been so beautifully
described by Longfellow in his Evangeline. Fredericton is the political, St. John the
commercial capital. St. John rivals Halifax in its fisheries and in its West India
trade. (iv) Nova Scotia is a province which consists of a peninsula and an island — the
latter being called Cape Breton. The two (which together=|ds of Scotland) are
separated by the Gut of Canso. The province is rich in timber, and also in coal, iron,
and gold. The chief industries are lumbering, mining, and fishing. Halifax is the
capital. Sydney in Cape Breton has some trade in coal.
(v) Prince Edward Island (which is a little larger than Northumberland) lies within
the great bay formed by the shores of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, aud Cape Breton.
The industries are agriculture, lumbering, and fishing. The climate is too cold and
moist for wheat. The capital and sea-port is Oharlottetown.
(vi) British Columbia lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, and
runs north of the United States to the parallel of 60° N. lat. — which is only two degrees
north of the line of wheat. It is about 800 miles long, and has an area more than four
times as large as Great Britain. Only part of the river Columbia flows through this
province ; and its most important river is the Fraser, which drains a district nearly as
large as the whole of Italy. Salmon, sturgeon of fabulous size, trout, and other fish,
exist in immense numbers in this river. The province is rich in timber and in minerals.
The forests ou the Coast Eange are among the finest in the world. The capital is
Victoria, at the south-east end of Vancouver Island— an island which is larger than
Holland. Vancouver has a great deal of good coal. The climate is like that of thu
North of England. New Westminster, on the Fraser, is the terminus of the Canadian
Paciflc Railway. — At one time Nova Scotia was said to be " east of sunrise," British
Columbia "west of sunset," and each to lie in a different world ; but they are now
joined together by the great continental railway called the Canadian Pacific
(vii) Manitoba (formerly called the " Red River Settlement") is a province which is
larger by 2000 square miles than the whole of Great Britain and Ireland. From its
geographical position, and also from its intrinsic wealth and splendid possibilities, it
may be regarded as "the keystone of that mighty arch of sister proWnces which
spans the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific." Manitoba is perhaps the
colony of the world that has made the most rapid progress— a progress of marvellous
apeed— in agricultural wealth. The basin of Lake Winnipeg consists of alluvial plains
of the richest description ; these plains grow crop after crop of wheat without manure ;
• and this wheat is of the heaviest and hardest kind. The capital and seat of •Govern
ment is Winnipeg (formerly Fort Garry), on the left bank of the Red River, where it
is joined by the Assiniboine. Winnipeg (30) is, in the words of Lord Dufferin, "the
half-way house of the continent, the capital of Uie Praii'ie Province, and I trust the

BRITISH AMERICA 395
future commercial centre of the whole Dominion." Ita population is increasing
rapidly every month. " What gold was to California and Australia, wheat is to Mani
toba; only the harvests of wheat yield more certain and satisfactory returns." It
stands on the Pacific Railway ; and new lines also radiate fi-om it in every direction.
(viii) Keewatln is a new province which has been cut out of the North-West Terri
tory. It lies between Manitoba and Hudson Bay. It is very fertile.
(ix) Assinibola is a new province, also cut out of the North- West Territory, which
lies between the province of Saskatchewan and the United States. The capital is
Re£^a, on the Pacific Railway.
(x) Saskatchewan, a province also cut out of the North- West Territory, lies north
of Assiniboia, and is nearly as large as Manitoba.
(xi) .Alberta lies on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. Much of the soil
is very fertQe ; and there are many large forests. It is nearly as large as Italy.
(xii) Athabasca, yet another province cut out of the North-West Territory, lies nortli
of Alberta. It is watered by the Peace and Athabasca rivel-s.

15. Large Towns. — The cities of the Dominion are not, in general,
very large ; because the chief industry as yet is agriculture, and this
requires the population to be spread over the whole country. There
are only five towns with a population of over 50,000 ; and, of these,
only two have more than 100,000 inhabitants. These are Montreal
and Toronto. Next come Quebec, Hamilton, and Halifax. In the
third rank stand Ottawa, St. John, London, and Winnipeg.
(i) Montreal (200) is much the largest city in Canada. It stands on an island at
the head of the ocean navigation of the St. Lawrence, and is the commercial and
financial centre of the Dominion. It stands at the east end of the canal, which avoids
the Eapids ot the St. Lawrence. It is a well-built city, with several very noble edifices
— cathedrals, churches, and public buildings.
It is aometimea said tbat the name ia a corruption ofthe words Mount Royal. Thia ia a mistake.
Real is the Norman-French form ofthe word royal; and ia found in Engliah in the word
real-m. It received its name in 1535 from Jacques Caitier, the diacoverer of Canada, who
was a Frenchman of Normandy.
(ii) Toronto (130), on Lake Ontario, is the capital of the Province of Ontario, and
the leading commercial city of " Upper Canada." It is the most intelligent and best
educated city in the Dominion. The University of Toronto is one of the finest
buildings on the continent of America.
(iii) Quebec (65) is the most historic city in Canada. Its citadel, on the head of
Cape Diamond— a precipitous cliff 338 ft. in height>-guards the entrance to the St.
Lawrence. The aspect of the city is Norman-French :— its architecture, scenery,
fortifications, the look of the people, the language, all remind one of Normandy.

396 THE NEW WORLD
It is not the seaport of the St. Lawrence ; and hence makes little progress in com
merce and wealth. But it is the capital of " French Canada."
It ia aaid to have received Its name from the French Bailors, who exclaimed when they first saw
the face of Cape Diamond, Quel Bee .' (" What a Cape ! ")
(iv) Hamilton (46), at the south end of Lake Ontario, is a flourishing town in
a fertile district. Between it and Clifton lies a very rich fruit-growing district.
(v) EaUfaz (44) is the capital of Nova Scotia, and the Atlantic seaport of the
Dominion. It is also the great North American naval station of Great Britain ; and,
most important of all, the Atlantic terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
(vi) Ottawa (40), on the right bank of the Ottawa, is the federal capital of the
whole Dominion, and the seat of the Dominion Parliament. The Houses of Parlia
ment are the most magnificent buildings in the place. Fifty years ago Ottawa was a
lumberman's shanty ; it is now a beautiful city. — Kingston, on the N.E. shore of Lake
Ontario, is a thriving town, which is connected with Ottawa by the Rideau CanaL
(vii) St. John (30) is the largest city and seaport in New Brunswick. It is the
chief ship-building and ship-owning city of the province.
(viii) London (30) is a prosperous town, in tbe middle of a fertile and smiling
country, near the southern end of the peninsula of Ontario.

Newfoundland. — This "outpost of the continent of North
America" is an island about one-third larger than Ireland. The
coast line is very deeply indented ; and the south-east part of the
island is almost cut off from the main body. It is the nearest
American land to Europe, Cape Eace being only 1650 miles from Cape
Clear in Ireland. There is much good land in the island ; some very
fine timber ; and a good deal of coal, copper, and other minerals.
Pishing is, however, the chief occupation of the people. The chief
town is St. John's (35), on the east coast. Newfoundland is a
separate colony, and does not form part of the Dominion of Canada^
(i) The Icelanders landed on the shores of Newfoundland iu the year 1000.
(ii) The rivers abound with excellent salmon. The largest river in the island is
only 150 miles long— the "River of Exploits." The lakes are almost innumerable. The
surface covered with fresh water forms one-third of the whole island.
(iii) The climate is good, the heat of summer being never very great, nor the cold of
winter unbearable. The fogs on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland do uot approach
the island, unless a south-east wind blows. Barley and oats grow everywhere— but
not wheat; the even and moist temperature encourages the regular growth of grasses.
(iv) The harbour of St. John'a is one of the very best on the Atlantic coast. In
foggy weather a 32-pounder is fired every half-hour ; and a compressed .lir-trumpet
blows for 7 seconds in every minute.

THE UNITED STATES 397
(v) The Ctrand Banks of Newfoondland are one of the wonders of the world. They
form the largest submarine plateau on the face of the glohe. The sea over them is
richer in fish — especially cod — than any other part of the ocean. The cod and seal
fisheries are the largest in the world. The Banks are 600 miles long, 200 hroad, and
larger than the whole of Italy. These "preserves" have heen left to fishermen
from other countries ; and it is the shore-fishery that the Newfoundlanders cultivate
most. The cod-fishing opens in June, and lasts till the middle of November. — The
fogs are caused by the condensation of the warm moist air over the Gulf Stream
where it meets the cold icy air over the currents from Baffin's Bay.
(vi) All the Atlantic Telegraph Cables from Europe terminate in Trinity Bay.
(vii) The Labrador Coast and the island of Anticosti, at the mouth of the St.
Lawrence, form part of the government of Newfoundland. Labrador is inhabited —
if it can be said to be inhabited at all— by a few Eskimoes.

THE UNITED STATES.
1. Introductory. — The United States of America are the most remark
able instance of commercial and scientific development and progress
on the face of the globe. The development of wealth — agricultural,
mineral, and manufacturing — since the year of Independence 1776,
has been unequalled. The development of population has been no
less remarkable. A hundred years ago, the United States had a
population of about 3,000,000 ; to-day the population is 70,000,000 ;
at the end of the present century it will number 100,000,000.
2. Boundaries. — The United States lie between the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans, and between the Dominion of Canada and Mexico.
They are bounded :
1. N. — By the Dominion of Canada, the Great Lakes, part of the St. Lawrence,
and the Dominion again.
2. E. —By the Atlantic.
3. E. —By the Mexican GnU and Mexico.
4. W.— By the Paciflc.
3. Size. — The total area ofthe United States amounts to 3,557,000
square miles — an area nearly as large as that of Europe.
(i) The area of Europe is 3,700,000 square miles.
(ii) The length of the country from east to west is 2800 miles ; and the gi'eatest
breadth, from north to south, ia 1700 miles.
2r

398 THE NEW WORLD
4. Coast Line.— The coast line of the United States is, on the whole,
regular ; and neither coast possesses deep indentations.
(i) The Atlantic Coast is the moat deeply indented ; and the State of Maine pos
sesses a " fiord coast."
(ii) The Pacific Coast has only one important bay— the Bay of San Francisco.
(iii) The chief Capes on the east coast are Cod, Hatteras, and Sable ; on the west,
Frlnce ot Wales (in Alaska), Flattery, and Concepcion.
(iv) The chief Inlets are : Delaware and Chesapeal^e Bays on the east ; Gnlf of Mexico,
on the south ; Bay of San Francisco and Gulf of California on the west.
(v) The chief straits are : Long Island Sound (between Long Island and New York
State), Juan de Fuca Strait (between Vancouver Island and the mainland).
(vi) The chief Islands are : Rhode and Long Islands on the east ; San Jnan on the west.
5. Build. — The United States consist of four great regions : — the
Atlantic Highland and Slope in the east ; the Central VaUey ; the
Western Plateau ; and the Pacific Slope.
(i) The Atlantic Section includes the ridges and highlands of the Appalachian system,
and the slopes and plains along the Atlantic, "which are the oldest settled portions of
the United States. The most prominent ranges are the Wbite Mountains, the Green
Mountains, the Blue Mountains, and the Alleghanies. The Atlantic section is the
great manufacturing region of the country.
(ii) The Central Valley is the immense valley. of the Mississippi, a lowland plain of
great fertility, which slopes very gently towards tbe Gnlf of Mexico. It is the great
agricultural region of the country. This plain is so level that at Cairo, where the Ohio
joins the Mississippi — a distance of 1100 miles from the Gulf — the elevation is only
300 ft. above the sea-level. This gives an average ascent and descent of only 4 inches
to the mile. This valley includes the immense region of the Praiiies, which form the
great grazing region of the country.
(iii) The Western Plateau (with an average elevation of 5000 ft.) lies between the
Kooky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada and Caacade chains. This platean contains
three basins : the basin of the Columbia on the north ; the basin of the Colorado on the
south; and the " Great Basin of Utah," which has the Great Salt Lake for its centre.
This basin has no outlet to the ocean. All this highland plateau suffers from drought,
and ia hence not fertile ; but it is rich in mines of gold and silver. The Rocky Moun
tains, which form its eastern buttress, have an average elevation of about 7500 ft.
In the State of Colorado alone there are 25 peaks over 14,000 ft. high. Long's Peak
and Pike's Peak are the best known.— This is the metalliferous region of tlie country.
(iv) The Paciflc Slope goes down to the ocean from the crests of the Sierra Nevada
and Cascade ranges. But further west rises the Coast Range ; and between this range
and the Sierra Nevada lies the rich Sacramento Valley.
6. Rivers. — The great artery of the United States is the Missis-

THE UNITED STATES 399
sippi, with its very numerous and very large tributaries. The
Mississippi is navigable nearly to its source ; and the Missouri,
which is longer than the central stream, is navigable to the point
where it leaves the Eocky Mountains. The rivers of the Atlantic
Slope are useful both for navigation and for water-power. The great
rivers of the western slope are the Columbia and Colorado.
The chief Atlantic rivers are ; the Hudson, Delaware, Susquehanna, Potomac, James,
and Savannah.
7. Lakes. — The two largest lakes in the United States are Michigan
and the Great Salt Lalie.
The Great Salt Lake is the centre of the Continental Basin of North America.
As this lake has no outlet except through evaporation, it is extremely salt. Wliile
the ocean-water contains only 3 per cent, of salt, the water of the Great Salt Lake
contains 32 per cent. The human body cannot sink in it. The plateau in which it lies
is 4200 ft. above the sea ; and the lake itself is about half the size of Yorkshire.
8. Climate. — The United States lie wholly within the Temperate
Zone ; and yet they may be said to contain all kinds of climate,
from sub-arctic to sub-tropical, and from very cold and wet to
extremely hot and dry. On the whole, the climate is much more
continental than that of Europe.-»-Each of the great natural divisions
of the country has its own special climate, (i) The Eastern Slope has
a climate which is modified by its nearness to the Atlantic, but which
is marked by hot summers and cold winters, (ii) The climate of the
Mississippi Valley varies with considerable regularity according to
the latitude, (iii) The climate of the Western Plateau is hot and dry.
(iv) The Pacific Slope has a warm climate which is tempered by breezes
and showers from the Ocean. The rainiest parts of the States are
those which border on the Mexican Gulf and the Pacific Ocean. —
The Pacific Coast is, on the whole, both warmer and moister than the
Atlantic Coast. — The most remarkable characteristic of the climate
is its liability to sudden changes from great heat to intense cold.
(i) Nain (in Labrador) and Aberdeen (in Scotland) are both in the same latitude ;
but tbe coldest month in Nain has a temperature of SJ", while, at Aberdeen, the
temperatxure is 37°.
(ii) At Denver, in the State of Colorado, the thermometer fell, on the 15th of
January 1875, 48° in one hour ; and a trustworthy observer at the same place reported

400 THE NEW WORLD
a fall of 36° in flve minutes. — The present writer has aeen the thermometer at Washing
ton fall 30° in one hour. It was hot summer when he left the houae ; it waa near
freezing-point when he returned within the hour. This is due to the fact that there ia
no transverse range of mountains between the Mississippi Valley and the long slope to
the Arctic Ocean. When, therefore, the wind changes from south or east to north,
a cold current of air sweeps down from the arctic regions on the warm plains of the
south, and chills man, beast, and plant.
9. Vegetation. — The vegetation of the States ranges from the sub
arctic to the sub-tropical species of plants. In the North, the white
pine, birch, ash, oak, elm, walnut, and maple ; in the South, the
acacia, palmetto, and magnolia grow in luxuriance. In the North,
oats, rye, and barley ; in the Middle, maize, tobacco, and hard wheat ;
in the South, cotton, sugar, and rice are cultivated, while the orange,
pomegranate, and fig flourish in the low coast-lands.
10. Minerals. — The mineral wealth of the United States is almost
incalculable. There are in the Atlantic and Central States coal-fields
as large as the whole of England ; there are high mountains which
are almost one mass of iron ore. In the Rocky Mountain States and
the Pacific States, enormous quantities of gold and silver are
mined every year.
(i) The Appalachian coal-field covers 69,000 square miles— which is larger than
England and Wales ; the Western Coalfield, 78,000.
(ii) Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob, in the State of Missouri, are mountain-
masses composed almost entirely of iron ore.
(iii) California is the chief gold-producing State, though Colorado, Montana, and
Nevada contribute large quantities. Colorado and Montana (a territory) are the chief
silver-producing regions.
11. Industries. — Agriculture is much the most important occupa
tion in the country. Grazing is also an important industry. Mining
is an industry which is growing and developing more and more every
year. Manufacturing on a very large scale engages the attention of
the States which lie north of the Ohio and the Potomac. Fishing is
also a growing industry, and is destined to be a source of great wealth
to the sea-board States.
(i) North of the parallel of 86° the most common crops are wheat, onls, in.iizi>,
flax, and tobacco. South of this line, cotton, sugar, and rice.

THE UNITED STATES 401
(ii) Grazing is the chief industry in Texas and the States of the Great Plains.
(iii) The chief manufactures are of cotton and woollen goods, machinery, wood
work, etc. The cotton-growing States are also becoming cotton-manufacturers.
12. Conunerce. — (i) The Domestic Commerce of the United States
with each other is enormous and is rapidly growing. It consists in
the interchange of the products of the diB'erent States ; and as these
vary greatly in climate, in vegetation, and in industries, the oppor
tunities for interchange are very great, (ii) The Foreign Commerce
of the United States is very large ; and the exports and imports go
on increasing rapidly from year to year. Their largest customer is
Great Britain ; and next to her come Germany and France.
(i) The leading Exports are cotton, grain (with breadstuffs), petroleum, gold, silver,
and tobacco. Great Britain takes most of the cotton and grain. Germany buys most
of the petroleum. The West Indies and South America are great purchasers of fiour,
timber, and manufactured goods.
(ii) The leading Imports are iron wrought and unwrouglit, "dry goods" ; wines,
silks, and " colonial wares." Great Britain sends the first two imports ; France
sends wines and silks ; China, teas, raw silk, and porcelain ; Java and Brazil, coffee ;
and the West Indies, cane-sugar and fruits.
(iii) Great Britain buys from the United States to the annual amount of about
£72,000,000 ; but sells to them only about £35,000,000.
13. Highways. — The United States is distinguished for its wealth
of railways and waterways ; but it is singularly deficient in good
high-roads. There are now about 180,000 miles of railway open for
traffic ; and new railways are building every year. — There are three
great water-ways in the country — the most splendid system of internal
water-communication in the world. — The high-roads in the West,
and even in some parts of the East, are sometimes " corduroy " roads
or plank-roads, but oftenest mere tracks made by the wheels of carts
through the fields.
(i) Nearly 10,000 miles of new railway are now constructed every year.
(ii) The three great water-ways are : the Mississippi ; the Erie Canal ; and t'he Great
LalLo Route, (a) The Mississippi has 33 navigable tributaries ; and these connect the
States in the Mississippi VaUey with the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans, (fi) The Brie
Canal crossea the State of New York, and connects the Great Lakes with the Hudson
Biver. (c) The Great Lakes, vrith the WeUand and other canals, and the St. Lawrence
form the water highway of the north and east.

402 THE NEW WORLD
(iii) The value of the Mississippi as a commercial river lies in the fact that it flows
from north to south, exchanges the products of cold climates for those of warm
regions. 14. Telegraphs and Letters. — There are in the United States more
than 180,000 miles of telegraph line, with about 550,000 miles of wire.
—The 350,000 telephones which are at work in the country require
about 150,000 miles of wire for their own use. — About 6000 millions
of letters and packages go yearly through the post.
15. Inhabitants. — The population of the United States in the year
1889 has been estimated at about 70,000,000. The average density
is 25 persons per square mile. Most of the people are of British
and German descent ; and are an English-speaking people. About
7,000,000 belong to the Negro race, which is increasing ; and
only about 300,000 to the native American-Indian race, which is
decreasing. (i) In the year 1789 there were only about 3,000,000 of whites.
(ii) Germany sends the largest number of immigrants ; Ireland comes next.
16. Government. — The United States form a Federal Kepublic of
38 States. The Legislature is called Congress, and consists of two
Houses : — the Upper, which is called the Senate, and the Lower,
which is called the House of Representatives. The Head of the
Government is called the President, who is also Commander-in-Chief
of the Army and Navy.
(i) The Senate is made up by each State parliament sending two men to represent
it. Thus the present Senate contains 76 membei-s.
(ii) The Members of the House of Bepresentatives are elected by aU citizens above
the age of twenty-one. The number depends on the density of the population. Thus
New York sends up 34 members ; Colorado, thongh more than twice as large, only
one. There is one Representative to every 154,000 inhabitants.
(iii) The Army is small — only 25,000 men, of whom abont 2400 are oificers. But, if
the country were in danger, millions of young men would take the field.
(iv) The Navy consists of 66 vessels, many of which are built of steel. One of these
has a steel-belt 17 inches thick. There are 10 navy-yards, the largest of which are
Brooklyn, Charlestown (near Boston), aud Portsmouth in New Hampshire.
17. Religion and Education. — The United States grant perfect
equality to all religious bodies. There are about 30,000,000 of

THE UNITED STATES 403
Protestants ; and about 10,000,000 Roman Catholics.— Education,
especially in the Northern and New England States, is fostered by
the people by every means in their power. Much of the best land in
the country is set apart for Universities, Technical Colleges, Women's
Colleges, High Schools, and Elementary Schools.
In the Northern States, there ai-e very few illiterates ; in the Southern States
these range from 15 to 50 per cent.— and the more the farther south you go.— Among
the Negroes, 70 per cent, cannot write.
18. Large Towns.— Although four-fifths of the inhabitants of the
United States live in the country, there are very many large towns,
especiaUy in those districts which combine manufactures with com
merce. There are 22 towns which have a population of over 100,000.
Of these, ten have more than 200,000. Of these, again, four have
over 500,000 ; and two have over a million inhabitants. The ten
largest towns are New York, PhiladelpMa, Brooklyn, Chicago, Boston,
St. Louis, Baltimore, Cincinnati, San Francisco, and New Orleans.
(i) Hew York (1500, or, with Brooklyn and Jersey City, which may be regarded as
suburbs, over 2^ millions) is the commercial capital of the United States, the greatest
manufacturing centre, and the largest and richest city in the New World. It stands
at the mouth of the Hudson Biver, on the long island of Manhattan. It is now larger
than Paris ; and of all the cities on the globe, second only to London in population.
(ii) PhiladelpUa (1000) is the second city in the Union in population and manu
factures, and the third in commerce. It is also the largest coal-depot in the States.
It stands at the confluence of tbe Delaware and Schuylkill. It is a well-built city—
the streets are lined with trees, the houses of briclc faced with marble, with a certain
quaker trimness and primness. It has been called the " City of Homes."
(iii) Brooklyn (750), on Long Island, is the third city in the Union. But, as it owes
Its large population to its proximity to New York, with whicb it is joined by the largest
suspension bridge in the world, it is really a suburb of that great metropolis.
(iv) ctiicago (700) is the most marvellous instance of rapid growth on record. In
1832 it was a frontier log fort. It stands on the south-western shore of Lake Michigan,
in the State of lUinois. After London, it is the greatest gram-market in the world,
because it has at the back of it the great wheat-growing prairies of the West It is the
commercial metropolis of the St. Lawrence Basin. Railways and waterways connect
it with every part of the country ; and vessels now sail direct from Chicago to
Liverpool. Over 1000 trains enter and leave it every day.
(v) Boston (600) is the capital of Massachusetts, and the commercial emporium of
New England. Its people are highly educated and very thoughtful ; and the city is
sometimes called the " Athens of America." It stands on Massachusetts Bay.

404 THE NEW WORLD
(vi) St. Louis (400), on the Mississippi— where the Missouri joins it, and in the State
of Missouri, is one of the great giant-cities of the West. It is the commercial centre
of the Mississippi Valley, and lies midway between the Atlantic and the Paciflc. The
Mississippi is here crossed by the highest bridge in the world. Flour, iron, and
machinery are the staples of its trade.
(vii) Baltimore (380), on Chesapeake Bay, is a flourishing commercial city and a
great manufacturing centre. Its chief exports are grain, fiour, and tobacco.
(viii) Cincinnati (800), on the Ohio, is the largest city and the chief commercial and
manufacturing centre of the Ohio VaUey. It is the greatest pork-market in the world.
(ix) San Francisco (300), the largest city on the Pacific Coast, stands on San
Francisco Bay,— one of the loveliest bays in all the world. Lines of steamers connect
it with China, Japan, Australia, and the Sandwich Islands ; and, when the Panama
Canal has been finished, it wiU be connected with New York and Europe. Two Paciflc
Railroads start from it to cross the continent to the Atlantic.
(x) New Orleans (250) is the centre of trade for all those States that lie on or near
the Gulf of Mexico. It stands on the Mississippi, about 100 mUes from its month. It is
the greatest cotton port in the world, and the greatest sugar-market in the Union. It
is connected by the Mississippi with aU the great cities of the Central VaUey, and by
railways with aU parts of the States — both east and west, and also with Mexico.
19. Divisions. — There are in the Union thirty-eight States and ten
Territories. They are generally divided into five groups : the New
England States ; the Middle Atlantic States ; the Southern States ;
the Central States ; and the Rocky Mountain and Pacific States.
20. The New Euglaud States. — These are six : Maine ; New Hamp
shire ; Vermont ; Massachusetts ; Rhode Islaud ; and Connecticnt.
The six taken together are a little larger than England and Wales.
(i) Maine, a little larger than Ireland, ia the most easterly state iu the Union. It
excels in shipbuilding, fishing, "harvesting," and exporting ice. Its chief port
is Portland. (ii) New EampsMre, the "Granite State," is the "Switzerland of America," — so
lovely and picturesque is its lake and mountain scenery. Its largest city is Man
chester. (iii) Vermont ( = " Green Mountain") is a Uttle larger than New Hampshire. It
grows wool, raises stock, and produces the best maple sugar in the States.
(iv) Massachusetts (an Indian name), caUed the "Bay State" from its numerous
inlets, is the wealthiest and most populous of the New England States. It is the
greatest fishing State in the Union. Boston is its largest city.
(v) Rhode Island, which is a little larger than Cheshire, is the smallest bnt most
densely peopled State in America. Its largest town is Providence, whidi is the
second city in New England, and a great centre of manufaotm-es and commerce.

THE UNITED STATES 405
(vi) Connecticnt, which is nearly twice as large as Devonshire, is a State which
makes hardware, clocks, and "Yankee notions." The largest town is Hartford.
21. The Middle Atlantic States. — These are seven in number : New
YorlE ; New Jersey ; Pennsylvania ; Delaware ; Maryland ; Virginia ;
and West Virginia. With them is usually associated the District of
Columbia, in which Washington, the capital, stands. All of these
States are on the Atlantic Slope, with the exception of Western
Virginia ; and all have an Atlantic sea-board except West Virginia
and Pennsylvania. They have a milder climate and a much greater
variety of vegetation than the States of New England.
(i) New York is a fertile and picturesque State, nearly as large as England (without
Wales). It is often called the ** Empire State," because it holds the first place in
population, wealth, manufactures, and commerce. It produces more butter and hay
than any other State. It has a great number of towns. The largest are New York,
Brooklyn, and Buffalo (a great grain centre, on Lake Erie).
(ii) New Jersey (a little larger than Yorkshire) is a fertile State in the "alluvial
countiy " of the Atlantic sea-board. It is famous for all kinds of fruit.
(iii) Pennsylvania (=the * ' Wooded State of William Penn "), the ' ' Keystone State, "
is the greatest mining State in the Union. It supplies half the iron, more than half the
coal, and nearly all the petroleum produced in the country. In manufactures, it is
the second State in the Union. The largest city is Philadelphia; the second largest,
Pittsburg, the greatest petroleum and coal market iu the Union.
(iv) Delaware, a small State not so large as Devonshire, lies in the alluvial country,
and is noted for its peaches.
(v) Maryland, a State one-half larger than Yorkshire, is famous for its tobacco and
grain ; and also for its coal and iron. Baltimore is the largest town.
(vi) Virginia is a State larger than Scotland by 10,000 square miles. It is the
oldest ofthe "Original Thirteen," and is sometimes called the "Old Dominion." Itis
rich in coal and iron ; and its soil is fertile. It is famous also for its excellent oysters.
The largest city is Richmond, which has large flour-mills. Its chief seaport is Norfolk.
(vii) West Virginia is nearly as large as Scotland, and is a. great mining region on
the western slopes of the Appalachian system. It is very rich fti iron and coal. The
largest city is Wheeling, on the Ohio.
(viii) Columbia (called after Columbus) is a " District " of about 70 square miles. It
is governed by Congress itself. Its only city is Washingtok, the capital of the
Union, with large and noble buildings— many of them in marble.
22. The Soutliem States. — These are ten in number : Nortli Caro
lina ; South Carolina ; Georgia ; Florida ; Alabama ; Mississippi ;

406 THE NEW WORLD
Louisiana j Texas ; Arkansas ; and Tennessee. West of Arkansas
lies the " Indian Territory." These States, especially those in the
farthest south, have a very warm and almost sub-tropical climate,
and, in general, a very fertile soil.
(i) North Carolina is a. State larger than England (without Wales), and it grows
much grain, tobacco, cotton, flax, and hemp. It is also rich in gold, iron, tin, and
coal ; and in forests of pitch-pine. Wilmington is the largest town.
(ii) South Carolina is a State a little larger than Scotland. It is called the " Pal
metto State." It grows more rice than any other State in the Union. It is also
famous for " Sea Island Cotton"— the best in the world, with a long silky fibre, which
makes it useful for laces and fine fabrics. This cotton is grown on islands along the
coast. Charleston, an important cotton port, is the largest city.
(iii) Georgia, a State a little larger than England and Wales, is the leading Southern
State in manufactures. Excellent hard wheat in the hills, rice in the irrigated low
lands, cotton in the land between, form the staple products. Atlanta, a great manu
facturing and railway centre, is the largest city. Savannah is the chief seaport.
(iv) Florida, a State as large as England and Wales, has, owing to its two sea-fronts,
a warm climate tempered by sea-breezes. It is noted for its orange-groves.
(v) Alabama, a State a little larger than England, is a great cotton-growing
country. It is rich in coal, iron, and marble. The largest city is the port C'f Mobile.
(vi) Mississippi, a State more than one-half larger than Scotland, is rich in cotton
and timber. In cotton it is the richest in the Union. For 350 miles in this State, the
river is kept in by high embankments called levees. Before these were constructed,
about 34,000,000 acres— an area larger than the whole State of New York — were subject
to devastation. The largest city is Vlcksburg— a town on a Mississippi "bluffl"
(vii) Louisiana (called after Louis xiv. of France) is a State nearly as large as
England. It occupies the lowest part of the Great Plain. From the mouth of the
Eed River to the Gulf of Mexico, the level of the Mississippi is higher than that of the
adjacent country; and people talk of going "up to the river," not "down" to it.
Louisiana produces almost all the cane-sugar grown in North America. New Orleans,
the greatest cotton-port iu the world, is the largest city.
(viii) Texas, the largest State in the Union, is three times as lai^e as Great Britain.
It is famous for its beautiful prairies, and its vast area of fertile lands. It produces
much cotton and more cattle than any other State. The cotton lands alone are as
large as the whole of Scotland. The wheat region is 10,000 square miles larger. The
State is also rich in coal, iron,. lead, and copper. Galveston is the chief port.
(ix) Arkansaa is a State rather larger than England. Its chief products are cotton
.and corn. It is also rich in metals. The capital and the largest city is Little Root.
(x) Tennessee (an Indian word whicb means " River of the Great Bend,") is a State
one-third larger than Ireland. East Tennessee is mountainous, aud rich in coal, iron,
and copper. Middle Tennessee is a rolling country whioh grows wheat, corn, and

THE UNITED STATES 407
tobacco. West Tennessee is a low-level region which grows cotton. Nashville, the
capital, is the largest city. Memphis, on the Mississippi, is the chief cotton port.
(xi) The Indian Territory is a country twice as large as Ireland, set apart by Congress
for the " Red Men," to be by them occupied and governed for ever. The Cherokee,
Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek Indians are the most noted of the tribes in this
country. They till the soil ; have a government, newspapers, schools, and churches.
23. The Central States. — These are eleven in number : Kentucky ;
OMo ; Indiana ; Illinois ; MicMgan ; Wisconsin ; Missouri ; Iowa ;
Minnesota ; Kansas ; Nebraslsa. North of Nebraska lies the Dakota
Territory. These States are all inland, and occupy nearly the whole
of the Upper Mississippi Yalley. Their most striking feature is the
vast treeless prairigs. In the northern section, the winters are long
and severe, the summers short and hot ; in the southern section, the
winters are milder, the summers longer. They form, taken all
together, the " Granary of the United States."
(a) So vast is the area of these States, and so fertile the soil, that there is room in them for a
population of 300 millions. At present, there are about 30 millions. (6) The Prairiea are
covered with gi-ass, gay with flowers, aud olive with herds of cattle. Not a stone ia to be
found in the soil.
(i) Kentucky is a State one-third larger than Scotland. It surpasses all the other
States in tobacco and hemp. Its "blue-grass region" is one of the finest grazing
districts in the Union. It is also very rich in coal and iron. It is famous for the
Mammoth Cave. This cavern extends underground for miles, and has never been fully
explored. It contains a navigable lake of fresh water. The largest town is Louisville
(150) ; the largest city south of the Ohio.
(ii) Ohio is a little larger than Kentucky. It is the third State in the Union in
point of population ; the third in coal ; and the first in wool. Its " wool-clip " is the
largest in America ; but mining and manufacturing are the chief industries. The
largest city is Cincinnati. " Pork -packing " is its most noted industry.
(iii) Indiana — a State larger than Ireland — lies entirely in the Prairie Region, and
has no hills or mountains. With Illinois, it is the greatest wheat-growing State in
the Union, Indianapolifl is the largest town.
(iv) Illinois — a State nearly as large as England and Wales— ranks as the first State
in the Union for wheat and oats ; the second for coal ; and thp fourth for population.
It possesses one of the largest coal-fields in the world : it is nearly as large as the
whole of England. The largest town is Chicago.
(v) Michigan — a State which consists of two vast peninsulas — is larger than
Illinois, It is nearly surrounded by three of the Great Lakes. The northern penin
sula abounds in iron ; the southern has, on the shores of Lake Superior, the richest
copper-mines in the world. Michigan has also a rich soil and immense forests. The
lake shore-line is over 1000 miles in length ; and 'h^nce its commerce is very large.
The largest city is Detroit (150), a great manufacturing, as well as commercial centre.

408 THE NEW WORLD
(vi) Wljcoiisin lies between Lakes Superior and Michigan, and is nearly as large as
England and Wales. The land consists chiefly ot rolling prairies ; and grain and
timber are the leading products. MUwaakee (160) ia the largest town ; and it is the
second largest grain-market in the States. It is also one ot the flve great lake-ports.
The commerce on the Great Lakes is enormous ; 5000 vessels are engaged in it ; and
its value is greater than that ot the whole foreign commerce ofthe United States.
(vii) Missouri, whioh lies west of Illinois, is a State more than twice the size ot
Ireland. It is the most populous State west of the Mississippi It has enormous
mineral resources ; and its coal-flelds are among the richest in the world. The coal
field in thia and neighbouring States is nearly as large as Great Britain. It is also
rich in grain, hemp, and tobacco. The largest town is St. Louis— the commercial
centre of the Missouri Valley.
(viii) Iowa, north ot Missouri, consists chiefly of rolling prairies. It has large coal-
beds and rich veins of lead. Grazing is its chief industry. The largest city is Des
Moines. (ix) Minnesota, which lies north of Iowa, is a State nearly as large as Great Britain.
It is crossed by the " Height ot Land " which separates the waters flowing into
the Gult trom those which ran into the Arctic Ocean. Both the Mississippi and the
Bed Eiver take their rise on this elevation. The Falls of St. Anthony and of Minne
haha, on the Upper Mississippi, are noted for their beautiful scenery and immense
water-power. Minnesota is a great wheat and timber State. Minneapolis, with a
trade in "lumber" and floiu', on the St. Anthony Falls, is the largest city.
(x) Eans&s, the " Central State," which lies west of Missouri, is nearly as large as
Minnesota. Rolling prairies and grassy plains make up the country. The soil is
extremely fertile. No other State has a smaller proportion of useless land. The
climate is so dry that the grass dries into hay without being cut, and feeds vast
hordes of cattle and flocks of sheep without winter housing. Coal abounds. The
largest city is Leavenworth, on a tributary of the Kansas river.
(xi) Nebraska, north of Kansas, is a State about one-half larger than England.
The eastern part of the State is a rich agricultural region, and grows much grain,
hemp, flax, and tobacco. The largest to^m is Omaha, which stands on the Union
Pacific Railway, about midway between the two oceans.
(xii) Dakota, a Territory nearly three times as large as England, is a vast prairie
—a fine wheat country, which is in course of being rapidly "settled," and whieh will,
therefore, soon be a State. It lies on two watersheds — ^that of the Upper Missouri
and that ot the Red River of the North. Bismarck is the capital.

24. Eoclsy Mountain States. — These are two in number : Colorado
and Nevada. The latter stands on the high plateau called the "Great
Basin." With them go six territories : New Mexico ; Wyoming ;
Montana ; Arizona ; Utah ; and Idaho. The three latter are in the
Plateau Eegion. These states and territories lie ou both sides of the

THE UNITED STATES 409
Rocky Mountains ; and their general elevation is about 6500 ft.
The watershed which separates the Atlantic and the Pacific Basin
runs through them. The climate is remarkably dry and bracing.
The "Great Plains" stretch along the eastern base of the Rocky
Mountains ; and, in winter, are covered with " self-made hay." The
mineral wealth of this vast highland region is beyond calculation.
(i) Colorado — a State twice as large as England, on both slopes of the Eocky
Mountains— contains their highest peaks. It is rich in gold, silver, lead, coal, and
iron. It is the second State in the Union for the production of silver, and also one
of the finest grazing regions in the country. Denver (50), a mining place, is the
capital and the largest city.
(ii) Nevada, a State nearly twice as large as England and Wales, in the western
part of the Great Basin, is extremely rich in silver. It possesses also an enormous
mine of rock-salt, two square miles in area. Virginia City is the largest town.
(iii) New Mesdco, south of Colorado, is a Territory about four times the size of
Ireland. It was once a part of Mexico ; and Spanish is still the usual language.
Wherever there is water, the soil is exceedingly fertile. Santa F^, the capital, is the
oldest city in the United States.
(iv) Wyoming is an elevated region more than three times the size of Ireland. The
population is settled along the line of the Union Paciflc Hallway. This Territory con
tains the " Yellowstone National Park," a park more than twice the size of Kent, set
apart hy Congress as a national pleasure-ground for ever. Its deep caiions, lofty falls,
immense geysers, deep lakes, and picturesque rocks, make it the greatest natural
wonder in the world. The Great Geyser throws up a column of water 300 ft. high.
(v) Montana, a Territory north of Wyoming, is nearly five times as large as Scot
land. It abounds in gold and silver mines of surpassing wealth.
(vi) Arizona, west of New Mexico, is «¦ Territory nearly four times as large as
Scotland. It is rich in mines of gold, silver, and copper. Mining and wool-growing
are the chief industries. Two trans- continental railways cross the territory. Here is
the driest climate on the continent ; the annual rainfall is only 3 inches. The Cafion
of the Colorado is the longest and deepest gorge in the world. For 300 miles the
river has sawed its way through rock ; and the nearly perpendicular walls are from
3000 to 6000 ft. high, from the bed of the river to the level of the plateau.
(vii) Utah, west of Colorado, is traversed by the Wahsatch "Bange, at the foot of
which lies the Great Salt Lake. It is nearly three times as large as Scotland. There
are numerous mines of silver, copper, and coal. The Mormons constitute four-fifths
of the population ; and, by their excellent system of irrigation, they have turned a
dry plateau into one vast smiling garden. The capital is Salt Lake City (30).
(viii) Idaho has very productive mines of gold and silver.
25. Pacific States. — Of these there are two : California and Oregon.
There are also two Territories : Washington and Alaska. The climate

410 THE NEW WORLD
of the Pacific States, which are played on by westerly winds from the
ocean, is very warm and moist. The climate of Alaska is cold.
(i) California is a State nearly three times as large as England and Wales. It is the
flrst State in the Union for the production of gold and quicksilver ; but agriculture is
by far the greatest industry, and the wheat crop is twice as valuable as the yield of
gold. It is the second State for wool-growing, Ohio being the first. The orange,
lemon, olive, and grape flourish in the splendid soil and perfect climate. — The
Yosemite Valley is the most wonderful gorge in the world. Its rocky walls are
several thousand feet in height. The Merced Eiver flows through the gorge, and takes
a series of leaps, the total height of which is half a mile. The highest trees in the
world are fouud on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Some of them are 40 ft. in
diameter, and 300 ft. high. The largest town is San Francisco. Lines of steamers
connect it with China, Japan, and Australia ; lines of railways — the Central, Union,
and Southern Pacific — with the Atlantic States. The capital is Sacramento.
(ii) Oregon, north of California, is a State exactly three times the size of Ireland.
Though in the latitude of New England, its climate is very much warmer ; and the
cattle spend the winter in the open fields. It is a fine grain and fruit country. There
is also a great deal of gold and silver, and of coal and iron. The rivers swarm with
salmon. The largest city is Portland.
(iii) Waahlngton, north of Oregon, is a Territory twice the size of Ireland. It is
a, fine wheat and grazing country. There are large forests of pines and cedars in
the west.
(iv) Alaska, which lies between British North America and Behring Strait, occupy
ing the north-western angle of the continent, is a mountainous Territory more than six
times the size of Great Britain. The warm Japan current tempers the rigours of its
northern climate, as the Gulf Stream tempers that of Norway, The rainfall at Sitka
amounts to 90 inches. Large quantities of timber, ice, cranberries, canned salmon,
are exported to San Francisco. The seal-fishery is the most valuable in the world.
The inhabitants are chiefly Indians and Eskunos, who live by hunting and fishing.

MEXICO.

1. Introductory. — Mexico is the northern and larger portion of the
vast isthmus whioh connects the two continents of North and South
America. It was once a great empire — the Empire of the Aztecs ;
after it was seized by the Spaniards, it received the name of " New
Spain'' ; the rule of the Spaniards was overthrown, aud the country
became a republic. It was once more an empire under Maximilian

MEXICO 411
of Austria ; he was defeated and put to death ; and Mexico at the
present time is a Federal Republic, like the United States.
2. Boundaries. — Mexico (which is three times as large as Austria)
lies between the two great oceans of the world, and is bounded
1. N. —By the United states.
2. E. —By the Gulf of Mexico.
3. S. — By Central America.
4. W. — By the Pacific Ocean.
3. Build of the Coimtry. — The build of Mexico is extremely simple.
The country is an immense and very high table-land, buttressed on
both sides by lofty ranges of mountains, and edged by low plaios on
both seas. The table-land goes down to the low coast-plains by a
series of terraces. The south end of it is crossed by a zigzag line
of thirteen volcanoes, which are among the loftiest in the world.
(i) The chief plateau is the Platean of Anahnac, with a mean elevation of 7500 ft.
(ii) The most important range is the Sierra Madre (=:Mother Range) ; and the chief
cross ridge is the Cordillera de Anahnac, which culminates in the volcano of Popocate
petl (17,863 ft.). The most stately of the volcanoes is the Peak of Orizaba, which can
be seen 200 miles away in clear weather.
(iii) The low land varies in breadth : the broadest is that on the Gulf of Mexico.
(iv) There are no navigable rivers in Mexico.
4. CHmate. — There are three well-marked climates in Mexico, just
as there are three weU-marked regions : — the climate of the hot and
moist lowlands ; the mild and dry climate of the temperate table
lands ; and the cold climate of the lofty mountain-lands. There are
two seasons — the dry and the rainy. The latter begins in June, and
lasts till November.
(i) The Low Plains are called Tlerras Calientes (the Cal is ^e same syllable as in
caloric); the Table-lands, TierraH Templada3(=remperatos) ; and the mountain lands
Tlerraa Frlas (a short form of the Lat. frigidas). Tellow fever rages in the low plains ;
in the table-land, the houses are built without chimneys— as fires are not needed,
violets bloom, strawberries are ripe, and green peas in season all the year round.
(ii) The Tropic of Cancer runs through the middle of the country ; but there are
no tropical heats in the elevated lands.
(iii) The Mexican oak begins to grow at the height of 2760 ft. ; and at this point
yellow fever ceases.

412 THE NEW WORLD
5. Vegetation. — The lowland forests abound in mahogany and other
woods employed in cabinet work. Sugar, bananas, vanilla, cocoa, etc.,
are grown in large quantities. A highly characteristic plant is the
cactus, the most valuable kind of which is the cochineal-cactus, on
which the cochineal insect (it furnishes a red dye) lives and thrives.
The table-land produces cotton, coffee, tobacco, and grain. — Wheat
and barley grow in the Tierra Fria, though at the height of 8000 ft.
above the level of the sea.
(i) The chief food plant is maize ; and in some districts three or even four crops of
maize are produced in the year.
(ii) The people ofthe lowland plain live chiefly on the banana and the plantain.
6. Minerals. — Mexico contains the richest known argentiferous
region in the whole world. Besides silver, there is a good deal of
gold, and a little copper.
(i) More than half the silver-yield ot the world is produced in Mexico. In 1882
nearly £6,000,000 worth was obtained.
(ii) Of the 569 mines in the country, 641 are silver mines.
7. Industries and Trade. — -The chief industries are mining and
agriculture. There are no manufactures worth mentioning. The
chief exports are silver, hemp, coffee, hides, mahogany, and cochineal.
The chief buyers are the United States and England. The largest
seller is France. England sells to Mexico cotton goods and machinery.
8. Railways. — There are now more than 4000 miles of railway in
Mexico — a very small proportion for so large a country. The capital
is connected with Vera Cruz, New Orleans, and San Francisco.
9. Inhabitants. — The population of Mexico amounts to nearly
12,000,000. Most of the people are of Spanish descent or of mixed
race ; and Spanish is the language of the country. The Mexican
Indians are diminishing in number.
(i) Of the total population, 20 per cent, are whites ; 43 per cent, ot mixed race;
and the rest are Indians.
(ii) The prevalent religion is Eoman Catholicism.— Education is in a backward state.
(iii) The Constitution is that ot a Federal Republic, which consists of twenty-eight
States and one Territory — that of Lower California.

CENTRAL AMERICA 413
10. Cities. — There are in Mexico six towns with more than 50,000
inhabitants. Of these, two have more than 100,000. The two largest
cities are Mexico and Leon.
(i) Mexico (320)— nearly as large as Leeds— is the most brilliant city in Spanish
America. It stands at the height of about 7500 ft. above the sea-level, in the centre
of the Plateau of Anahuac, and in a zone of perennial spring. Into the broad streets,
flanked by noble buildings, look down two lofty snow-capped volcanoes ; and round
the city stand broad shining lakes, dark cypress and pine groves, and waving fields of
golden corn. From the middle of the central Plaza (or square) rises the Cathedral—
"overladen with gold, silver, and precious stones, the most sumptuous house of
worship in the New World."
(ii) Leon (130) is a little larger than Brighton.
(iii) The chief manufacturing town is Puebla (70) ; the largest mining town is Guana
juato (60). — The chief ports on the Atlantic are Vera Cruz, a nest of yellow fever ;
Tampico, which exports silver ; and Matamoros, at the mouth of the border-river Rio
Grande del Norte. On the Pacific, the chief ports are Acapulco and Mazathin.
11. Yucatan. — Yucatan is one of the States in the Eepublic of
Mexico ; but it now and then asserts its independence. It has a good
climate ; and a soil which, when watered, is fertile. The capital is
Merida (38) — a well-built Spanish city. The chief port is Campeachy,
on the Gulf of the same name.
The south of Mexico is full of the ruins of ancient cities — the remains of decayed
civilisations. Temples, palaces, pyramids, and monuments are found, overgrown with
the rankest vegetation.

CENTEAL AMEEICA.
1. Position, etc. — The little Republics of Central America lie be
tween Mexico on the north, and the South American State of Panama
on the south. They form a kind of land-bridge between the two
isthmuses of Tehuantepec and Panama. The whole country is a
fertile plateau, which descends to the oceans on either side by a series
of terraces. All kinds oftropical plants flourish in this region. — Part
of the belt of volcanoes which encircles the Pacific Ocean lies in this
country ; and the most devastating earthquakes are very frequent.
(1) The area of the whole of Central America is about 186,000 square miles, or nearly
six times the size of Ireland.
(ii) The population is estimated at 3,000,000 — 16 persons to the square mile.
2g

414 THE NEW WORLD
2. Climate, etc. — The climate is like that of Mexico ; the soil is
fertile ; and harvests of one kind or another go on through the live
long year. The chief productions are coffee, cocoa, sugar, indigo,
tobacco, and vanilla.
The forests abound in mahogany, rosewood, and dye-woods.
3. Trade. — The chief exports are indigo, cochineal, coffee, and
mahogany ; but the trade of the whole region is very small.
4. Divisions. — There are in Central America five Republics, one
British Colony, and one small monarchy. Their names are Guatemala ;
San Salvador ; .British Honduras ; Honduras ; Nicaragua ; mosquitia ;
and Costa Eica. British Honduras is the British Colony ; and Mos-
quitia the monarchy. Nicaragua is the largest state.
(i) Onatemala. is about four- fifths the size of England without Wales. It is the most
populous of the five republics. The Pacific coast is its cofi'ee region. New Guatemala
is the capital. The old capital became intolerable from the frequency of earthquakes.
(ii) San Salvador is a small republic not much larger thaji Yorkshire. Seen fi-om the
Pacific, the plateau looks like a mighty wall rising from the sea. The capital is San
Salvador. The old capital was entirely destroyed by an earthquake in lSo4 ; and the
present capital partiaUy destroyed in 1873. It exports the finest indigo.
(iii) British Honduras or Baliza is a country very little larger than San Salvador. The
chief export is mahogany. The mahogany-tree grows best between 10° North lat. and
the Tropic of Cancer. The inhabitants are mostly Negroes. The capital is Belize (65).
(iv) Honduras is a little smaller than Guatemala, the capital is Tegucigalpa ; and its
chief port TmziUD, on the Gulf of Honduras.
(v) Nicaragua is not only the largest, it is also the richest State. The high table
lands produce india-rubber and mahogany ; the middle table-lands are excellent for
grazing ; the lowlands grow coffee, sugar, cocoa, etc. , in profusion. There is a good deal
of gold in the country. The present capital is Managua. Lake Nicaragua is a noble
lake on the top of the low table-land, with volcanic islands in the middle. In one
part of the country six volcanoes may be seen in a line of 60 miles.
(vi) Mosaultla, or the " Mosquito Reserve," is a narrow strip of level country governed
by the King of the Mosquito Tribe. A white line of surf, a low level coast, an impene
trable forest in the background— this is Mosquitia. The seaport is Oreytown, at the
mouth of the San Juan.
(vii) OoBta Rica (="Rioh Coast": there are no beggars in the country) is a little
smaUer than Scotland, but has not one-twentieth of tlie population. It is a narrow
table-land, crowded with volcanoes. It exports a good deal of coffee. The capital is
San Jmi ; the chief port Punta Arenas (Sandy Point) on the Paciflc.

THE WEST INDIES 415
5. Inbatiitants, etc. — The dominant race is of Spanish descent ;
and the prevalent language is Spanish. But the large majority are
either settled Indians or Mestizoes (Half-breeds). The religion pro
fessed is the Roman Catholic.

THE WEST INDIES.
1. Introductory. — The large and beautiful archipelago of islands
which lies between the' two Americas, is called the West Indies.
The islands extend in a vast curve between Cape Sable (in Florida)
and the delta of the Orinoco. They occupy the same position with
regard to the New World that the Eastern Archipelago occupies to

the Old World. Both archipelagoes lie' in warm and sunlit seas ;
each has a large number of splendid harbours ; each has many
deep and navigable passages between the islands ; and both are rich
and fertOe in the extreme. *
(i) The West India Islands have been compared to "stepping-stones from Florida
to the Orinoco." They are in sight from each other almost aU the way.— They have
also been compared to the pUlars of a fallen bridge, standing alone in the middle
of the ocean.— -They are really the summits of mighty mountain-ranges which are
partly under the sea, and which run paraUel to the great ranges of North America.
(ii) The West India Islands keep out the tidal wave of the Atlantic, and thus make
the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico nearly tideless.

416 THE NEW WOELD
2. Area aud Divisions. — The total area of the West Indies has been
estimated at 95,000 square miles— or a little larger than the whole of
Great Britain. They are usually divided into the Greater Antilles ;
the Lesser Antilles ; and the Baliamas.
(i) The Greater AntUles are Cuba, Hayti, Jamaica, and Porto Eico.
(ii) The Lesser AntUles are again divided into
(a) The Leeward Isles— from the Virgin Islands down to Dominica ;
(6) The Windward Isles— from Martinique to Trinidad ;
(c) The Venezuelan Islands- along the coast of South America. These islands
are also sometimes spoken of as the Leeward Islands, because they are
" to the lee " of the prevaUing North-East Trade Winds.
(iii) The Bahama* are a group of low flat coral islands, surrounded by dangerous
coral reefs and banks.
3. Cliaracter. — All are mountainous, with the exception of the
eastern chain of the Lesser Antilles and the Bahamas. The mountain-
ranges and peaks are in general forest-clad ; and there are several
volcanoes in the Lesser Antilles.
4. Climate. — All the West India Islands, with the exception of the
Bahamas, lie in the Torrid Zone. But the intense heat is modified
by the sea-breezes and the Trade Winds. There are, speaking
broadly, only two seasons — the dry and the rainy. The latter lasts
from May to November.
(i) The West Indies (including the Bahamas) lie between 10° and 2S° North lat.
(ii) Hurricanes, called (from the circular form in which they blow) Cyclones, are
the chief drawbacks to an otherwise very flne climate. Houses have been Ufted up
bodily ; 24-pound guns flung headlong into the sea ; and even strong forts demolished.
5. Vegetation. — All the vegetable productions of the Tropics flourish
here. In most of the West India Islands grow sugar and coffee of
excellent quality ; and also the cotton-tree, the cacao plant (from
which cocoa and chocolate are made), and tobacco. The islands are
also rich in fruits — such as the guava, pine-apple, pomegranate,
orange, lemon, and bread-fruit. The chief wealth of the Bahamas
consists in timber — especially mahogany.
(i) Spices are also largely grown, such as pimento (or all-spice), ginger, pepper, etc.
(ii) The plantain, banana, yam, and bread-fl'uit tree furnish the inhabitants with a
large part of their food.

THE WEST INDIES 417
6. Animals. — There are very few wUd animals in the West Indies.
The agouti is the largest native mammal. There are also bats, and a
few rodents. Among birds, there are humming-birds, parrots, gor
geously coloured trogons, and chatterers.
(i) The animals found in South and Central America are almost entirely absent.
There are no monkeys, no jaguars, pumas, tiger-oats, foxes, or edentata (such a.s
sloths, ant-eaters, etc.).
(ii) There are large numbers and many varieties of lizards.- The vampire-bat is
dangerous to animals and even to man : it sucks their blood when they are asleep.
7. Trade. — The chief exports are the products of the sugar-cane,
tobacco, coffee, cocoa, cotton, and spices.
(i) The sugar-cane produces sugar, rum, and molasses.
(ii) Cuba imports large quantities of fruit ; and is also the chief sugar-producing
coimtry in the world.
8. People. — The population is very small, compared with the extent
of the land and the richness of the soil. There are only about
3,000,000 inhabitants in aU the islands. They are mostly Negroes or
the descendants of Spanish settlers. The language most generally
spoken is Spanish.
(i) About 56 per cent, of the people are negroes ; 27 per cent, half-castes, mulattoes,
etc. ; and 17 p. c. whites. The whites (or "Creoles ") are most numerous in Cuba.
(ii) Most of the people are Roman Catholics — except in the British West Indies ;
but many of the negroes still practise heathen rites.
9. Political Divisions. — Most of the West India Islands belong to
the Powers of Europe. Spain, Great Britain, France, Holland, and
Denmark possess all the islands, with the exception of Hayti, which
is divided between two independent Republics.
(i) Spain holds Cuba and Porto Rico.
(ii) Great Britain possesses, in the Greater Antilles, Jamaica ; in the Lesser, Trinidad ,
Tobago, Barbadoes, St. Vincent, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis, etc. ; and the whole of
the Bahamas. — The Bermudas are also sometimes classed with the West Indies.
(iii) France possesses Martinique, Guadaloupe, and a few others.
(iv) The most important possession of Holland is Curacao, with a few others. It also
shares St. Martin with France.
(v) Denmark possesses Santa Cruz— the largest bf the Virgin Islands ; and also
St. Thomas and St. John.

418 THE NEW WORLD
10. The Spanish West Indies. — Two islands in the Greater Antilles
— Cuba and Porto Rico — make up the Spanish possessions in the
West Indies.
(i) Cuba, the " Queen of the Antilles," the " Pearl of the AntUles," is an island
about one-third larger than Iteland. A range of mountains runs through the length
of it ; and the Turquino Peak— visible far out at sea, reaches the height of 8400 ft.
Some of the hilly districts are marvellously beantiful. There are splendid forests of
mahogany and ebony. There are no roads — except bad ones, and these only in the
large towns ; but there are 1200 miles of railway. The population of the island is
under a miUion ; and there are only 10,000 whites. The export of sugar varies from
the value of £12,000,000 to £16,000,000, of which 76 per cent, goes to the United
States. The capital is Hai?anna (250), a flne city on the Strait of Florida. Its gaUy
furnished houses and oddly-shaped church-towers give it a very foreign aspect to an
English eye. In its Cathedral lie the remains of Columbus. — The second city in the
island is Matanzas.— The export of sugar to Great Britain feU from £2,250,000 in
1879, to £15,000 in 1886. The amount of tobacco sent to us has also faUen off
(ii) Porto Eico is the healthiest of the AntiUes, and almost the only island which
produces food suflicient for its inhabitants. The free negroes do as Uttle as they
can. The loveliest flowers everywhere abound.
11. The British West Indies. — The possessions of Great Britain in
the West Indies consist of Jamaica ; the Bahamas ; and most of the
Lesser Antilles.
(i) Jamaica is an island about three-fourths the size of Yorkshire. It is next in
size to Cuba and Hayti. (The word means the ".Island of Springs.") The north coast
is very beautiful: "bold bluffs, charming Inlets, rushing and roaring rivers of
clearest water, green lawns as soft as velvet, dark groves, songsters and butterflies,
aU come together to make this coast a veritable Garden of Eden." There is scenery
in Jamaica which almost equals that of Switzerland and the Tyrol — the Blue Mountains
are especially fine. Among the mountains there is a healthy climate. There are about
200 rivers, all teeming with fish and alligators. But Black River is the only one navi
gable. — Sugar, coffee, and spices, are the chief exports. The population is only half
a miUion. — The commercial capital is Kingston (36) ; the official capital, Spanish Town.
(ii) The Bahamas consist of about 20 inhabited islands, and several thousand rocks.
They are of coral formation. The trade in sponges is large ; coral, green turtles, and
salt are also exported. — Nassau, the capital, is a great resort for invalids.— Watling
Island was the flrst land discovered in the New World by Columbus in 1492.
(in) Trinidad, the largest of the Windward Islands, very close to South America, is
famous for a Lake of Pitch or Asphalt, from which immense quantities ai'e annuaUy
taken. There is, however, no perceptible diminution ; as new supplies contanuaUy

THE WEST INDIES 419
rise from below. '* The very ship anchors in pitch ; the passengers disembark on a
pitch wharf ; pitch lies heaped up everywhere ; in whatever direction the eyes are
turned they light on nothing but pitch ; pitch, and the current market price of pitch,
are the one burden of conversation." The lake is so solid that people can walk on it ; and
yet it is in a state of perpetual " boil." Barbadoes Is the most densely peopled of the
Windward Islands. Of the Leeward Islands, Antigua is the most productive : it
exports sugar, rum, etc. St. Kitts (or St. Christopher) contains an extinct volcano
called "Mount Misery."
(iv) The Bermudas ("theremote Bermudas" as MarveU calls them) lie in lat. 32%
and consist of nearly 400 coral islands, of which flve are inhabited. The chief town
is Hamilton. They grow a very fine arrow-root. The houses are built of coral blocks,
which are quite soft when cut, but harden when exposed to the air. A single frost
would crumble them all up.
12. Hayti. — This island is second in size to Cuba, from which it is
separated by the "Windward Passage." It is a little larger than
the mainland of Scotland ; but the population is under a million —
mostly negroes and mulattoes. It is divided into two States— the
negro Repul)lic of Hayti and the mulatto Dominican Republic.
(i) The name Hayti means " Land of High Hills."
(ii) The BepubUc of Hayti is about one-third the size of Scotland. The capital is
Port-au-Prince (45), with an excellent harbour. The people speak a debased French.
The trade done is chiefly with the United States and Great Britain. The chief
exports are coflFee and cacao.
(iii) The Dominican Republic, or Republic of San Domingo, is more than one-third the
size of England. The capital is San Domingo (15) ; and the chief exports are logwood,
mahogany, etc.
(iv) " Both states are sunk in the deepest barbarism. The fertile plains lie un-
tilled ; the rich mines are unworked. There is not a plough in the whole island." —
In Hayti, no whites can own land, hold an official post, or vote at elections.

420

THE NEW WORLD

SOUTH AMERICA.

1. Introductory, (i) South America is the model continent. There
is no other continent so simple in its shape and construction, no
continent where the operations of nature are on a scale so grand and
so intelligible, no continent where the interplay of the forces of land
and sea is so direct and so colossal. It lies almost wholly within
the Tropics — and there is even more of it within the region of the
trade- winds ; and its shape enables it to benefit by the trade-winds
more than any other land. Its shape is very simple ; it is that
of a right-angled triangle. To windward of the continent is a very
large evaporating surface : and no other land has so large an
evaporating sea-surface lying to windward of it. This surface is the
North Atlantic and the South Atlantic within the limits of 30° of
North and South lat. But 30° is almost exactly the outside Hmit
of the two systems of trade-winds — the north-east and the south
east. Now these two systems of trades
blow day and night all the year round into
the very heart of South America, carrying
with them millions on miUions of tons of
moisture. At what angle do they impinge
upon the coast ? At the very largest angle
at which a wind can strike a coast : that is,
a right angle. These winds, crossing seas
on some parts of which there is always a
vertical sun, carry on their wings more
moisture than any other winds that blow
on any continent in the world.

2. Introductory, (ii) — As these warm rain-laden winds cross the
continent of South America, there rise in their path ranges of moun
tains, which drive them high up into the air, and thus act as con-

SOUTH AMERICA 421
densers which force from the winds a certain quantity of their
moisture. At the foot of each range they drop moisture enough to
make a great river. — But these two mighty systems of winds meet
and must meet in the very heart of the continent. They meet, as
indeed the trade-winds do in aU parts of the world, at or about the
Equator. When they do meet, they drive each other high into the
colder regions of the air, where the moisture they contain is condensed,
and comes down in deluges of rain of which we can form no conception
in this latitude. Hence it happens that here, where there is the largest
downfall of rain, there is and must be the largest river in the world.
— But, as these two mighty systems of rain-carrying winds are about
to leave the continent of South America and to blow on the Pacific,
there rises in their path the highest condenser they have yet met
with. This condenser is placed as far back as it can possibly be. This
high and powerful condenser is the Andes. In crossing the lofty
chain of the Andes, the two sets of winds are driven higher into the
air — into higher and colder air — than before, and are compelled to
part with every drop of moisture that they bear upon their wings.
Hence they appear on the western side of the Andes as perfectly dry
winds ; there is no rain on the Pacific coast of South America ; and
a very large part of it is a barren desert.
3. Introductory. — (ui) Here, then, where the two systems of trade-
winds meet, we have the largest downfall, and hence the largest river,
in the world — the Amazon. — Now, the two chief conditions of veget
able life are heat and moisture. In this valley of the Amazon
there is the maximum of moisture. Is there also the maximum
of heat ? There is ; for always, over one part or another of this
enormous valley, the sun is pouring down vertical rays. Now,
where there is the maximum of heat and the maximum of mois
ture, we expect to find the maximum of vegetation. And we do find
it ; for there is here the largest and densest forest in the world.
This forest is called the Selvas. Not only are there more trees than
anywhere else ; there are also more kinds — more numerous varieties
— of trees and plants. — Again, insect life is always most prolific where
vegetation is strongest ; and hence we find here too, in the Amazon

422 THE NEW WORLD
Valley, the largest number and the greatest varieties of insects. The
hum of them is heard on board vessels lying several miles off the coast.
(i) The following are the steps : (i) South America lies almost entirely within the
Tropics, (ii) It has to windward of it the largest and most strongly evaporating sea-
surfaces in the world— the North and South Atlantic, (iii) These surfaces are crossed
by the steadiest winds, (iv) These winds strike on the coast at the largest angle — a
right angle, (v) They meet, as they crosa the continent, with ever higher and higher
condensers, (vi) They drop showers, that is, rivers — as they go. (vii) They meet in the
very heart of the continent, near the Equator, and drop the largest river in the world.
(ii) The steps for vegetation are as follows : (i) Maximum of moisture — brought by
Trade Winds, (ii) Maximum of heat — given by vertical snn. (iii) These two together
give maximum of vegetation, (iv) Luxuriant vegetation gives abundant insect life.
4. The Build of South America. — The build of the continent is very
simple, and consists of a great mountain-chain in the west, one long
plain (from the mouth of the Orinoco to the mouth of the Plate), and
minor ranges in the east. A short, steep, sudden slope on the "west
to the Pacific ; a very long and gradual slope on the east towards the
Atlantic, — these are the two main slopes. The minor slopes consist
of a short slope to the north (the basin of the Orinoco), and a very
long slope to the south (the valleys of the Paraguay and Paran4).
(i) There are certain features which South America possesses in common with
North America : (a) Both continents taper to the south. (&) Both continents have
their greatest length from north to south, (c) The west coasts of both continents are
very regular, and almost straight, (d) The highest ranges of mountains in both lie
in the west — and very far to the west, (e) The subordinate ranges in both lie in
the east. (/) Each has its short slope to tbe west, and its long slope to the east.
(g) The largest river in each flows to the east — the Amazon and the St. Lawrence.
(h) Both have vast plains and enormous river-basins.
(ii) There are several striking points of contrast between
South America and Africa.
1. Where South America bulges out

2. Hoat of South America is open to the ocean-
winds, up to the very foot ofthe Andes.

3. There ore veiy few luid small deserts in South
America.
4. South America hna to windward of it hroad
oceans,
5. South America is tho continent of plains.
6, South America ia the continent of moist heat
and the most luxuriant vegetation.

1. Africa hends in.
2. Aiyica has ranges of mountains round most of
the coast. VThcre it has not, the rainy wintls
blow away from or along the coast — and not
into the continent.
3, AMca has the largest desert in the world, and
also one (the Kalahari] in the soutli-west.
4. Africa has to windward of most of it hot lands.
C. Africa is tho continent of plateaus.
6. Africa is the continent of dry he.it and the most
powei-fiil animal life.

J^o'hxDower Sa

424 THE NEW WORLD
5. Size and Coast Line. — The coast line of South America is ex
tremely short in comparison with the size of the continent. Its
greatest length is 4550 miles ; its greatest breadth, 3200 miles ; and
its surface amounts to 6,500,000 square miles. The coast line is
only 15,000 miles in length; and this gives us only 1 mile to
every 435 square miles of surface. But this very short coast line
is, as we shall see, more than compensated by the enormous extent
of its river-navigation.
(i) Three-fourths of the surface of South America lies within the Tropics, and hence
has, at least twice in the year, a vertical sun.
(ii) Europe has 1 mile of coast line to evei-y 190 square miles of area. — Africa has
1 mile of coast to 750 square miles of area. Hence South America has relatively a
much longer coast line than Africa.
6. Bays and Straits. — There are few indentations — ^few gulfe or bays.
It is the sea-openings of the rivers that are the most important ; and
the mighty mouths of the Amazon and the Plate are the greatest and
most frequented gulfs in the continent. The other indentations are
neither many in number nor great in size. — The only strait is the
Strait of Magellan.
(i) The most noteworthy gulfs on the north coast are : the GuU of Darien ; the Gulf
of Venezaela, which communicates with tlie Lake of Maracaybo ; the Gnlf of Paria,
between Trinidad and the mainland.
(ii) On the east coast, the Bay of Bahia affords a good harbour. TheBayof Bio Janeiro
is celebrated for its loveliness. It is said to be the most beautiful, secure, and
spacious anchorage in the world.
(iii) On the west coast, the chief openings are the Gulfs of Panama aud Goayaqnil.
(iv) The estuary of the Amazon is about 200 miles wide.
(v) The estuary of the Plate (La Plata) is ISO miles wide.
(vi) The Strait of Magellan is a ivinding channel, with high clifft and mountains on
either side— like a Norwegian fiord— 400 miles long, between the mainland and the
Archipelago of Tierra del Fuego.
7. Capes and Islands. — South America is as poor in juttings out as
she is in re-entrant bays. The four most prominent capes are : Cape
GaUlnas in the north ; Cape St. Koque in the east ; Cape Hom in the
south ; and Point Farina on the west coast. — The continent is also

SOUTH AMERICA 425
poor in islands. The chief group is that of Tierra del Fuego ; but
they are of no value for commerce. There are also numerous islands
off the south-west coast. On the east coast, at the mouth of the
Amazon, is Marajo, the largest island in South America.
(i) The Galapagos Islands ( = " Turtle Islands"), on the Equator, and west of
Ecuador (to which they belong), are a volcanic group of thirteen islands, with many
species of birds and reptiles entirely unkno^vn in other parts of the world. They
are visited cliiefly for their tortoises, which are of great size.
(ii) The CMncha Islands, south of Lima, are noted for their rich deposits of guano.
(iii) The Palkland Islands, 240 miles east of Tierra del Fuego, belong to Great Britain.
The population is under 1000.
(iv) Juan Fernandez is the island on which Alexander Selkirk (the original of Eobin-
sou Crusoe) lived alone for four years.
8. Mountains and Table-lands. — The most important range of
mountains in South America is the Andes. This range stretches in
one uninterrupted line frora Cape Horn to the Isthmus of Panama —
a distance of 4500 miles. It is the longest, most regular, and
most clearly marked range of mountains in the world. Lying far
back in the continent, it leaves no room for the development of rivers
in the west, but abundance of room in the long eastern slope towards
the Atlantic. The Andes are remarkable for (a) their continuity ;
(5) their great height — an average of about 12,000 ft. ; (c) the
parallelism of their chains, when they are double or triple ; {d) their
transverse ranges ; (e) their mountain-knots ; and (/) the enormous
number of volcanoes in them. — The minor ranges in the east are the
Farime Mountains ; the Guiana Mountains ; and the Mountains of
Brazil. The table-lands are not extensive, when compared with the
height and length of the mountain-ranges. The broadest table-land is
that of Bolivia, which requires several days' journey to cross ; the
highest, that of Titicaca, which is 12,760 ft. above the sea-level.
(i) The proper name of the Andes is Les CordUleras de los Andes. (Cordillera comes
from the Latin word chorda, a string.)
(ii) There are said to be 130 active craters, and a large number dormant. — The Andes
range is also the seat of frequent and terrible earthquakes. (The name Andes is said
to come from an Indian word amia, wbich means ilver.)

426 THE NEW WORLD
9. Tne Andes. — This mountain-range is generaUy divided into three
main sections ; the Southern Andes ; the Central Andes ; and the
Northern Andes.
(i) The Southern Andes consist of a single chain, which mns np to the Tropic of
Capricorn. The highest peak— and it is the highest in all South America — is the
volcano of Aconcagua (22,415 ft.). This range may also be called the Chilian Bange.
Many of the mountAin-slopes are destitute of vegetation ; and the varied colours of the soils —
blue, red, yellow, and white — stand out in strong contrast.
(ii) The Central Andes consist of two parallel chains, which run up to about lat. 10°
South, where the Knot of Pasco is found. These two chains enclose high table-lands,
which are again separated from each other by transverse ranges. The highest peaks
are Tiuma.tii and Sorata. Another famous knot is the Knot of Cnzco, the most exten
sive in the whole Andean chain.
(iii) The Northern Andes begin at the Knot of Pasco, and form a triple range. In the
CordiUera of Quito (or Andes of Ecuador), there are crowded together a large number of
the loftiest peaks in America, most of them volcanoes. In this range, almost on the
Equator, are assembled the three mighty volcanoes of Antisana, Cotopaxi, and the
"silver bell" of Chimborazo (20,Y00 ft.), which was long supposed to be the highest
summit iu the world.
(a) " South of Quito is the city of Riohamha, the road leading to it forming an avenue flanked by
flfty volcanoes on an average as high as Mount Etna, three of them emitting volumes of
smoke, and all of them crowded into a space not much greater than the distance between
London and iJover,"— Hkllwald.
[b] " Cotopaxi is the most symmetrical in shape ; it looks as if it had been turned out with the
lathe."

10. Flains and Deserts. — South America is pre-eminently the Con
tinent of Plains ; and, indeed, the whole continent from the mouth
of the Orinoco to the mouth of the La Plata may be regarded as one
great plain — with only one low and narrow watershed. But this
single and almost unbroken plain may fairly be divided into three
parts : the Orinoco Flaiu — the most level parts of whioh are called
the Llanos ; the Plain of the Amazon (or the Selvas) ; and the La Plata
Flaia — the most level parts of which are called Pampas. — There is
only one desert of any size in South America — the desert of Atacamfi,,
on the Pacific coast.
(i) There is no watershed between the basin of the Orinoco and that of the
Amazon; for the Oassiqulare — a stream as large as the Rliine— connects the Orinoco
with the Rio Negro, which flows into the Amazon.

SOUTH AMERICA 427
(ii) The waterslied between the basin of the Amazon and that of the Paraguay
(which flows into the La Plata) is only a low narrow rising-ground about 4 miles in
breadth. A boat could be carried from the head-waters of the Madeira (the chief
southern tributary of the Amazon) to the head-waters of the Paraguay.
(iii) The Llanos of the Orinoco are a region of vast plains twice as large as the
British Isles. They are almost perfectly level. In the dry season, they are a
desert ; in the rainy season, they form a grassy meadow, on which troops of horses
and countless herds of cattle feed. "The dull tawny surface of the parched
savannah changes as if by magic into a carpet of the loveliest green, enamelled
with thousands of flowers."
(iv) The Selvas (=Silvae, or Woods) is the name given by the Spaniards to the vast
impenetrable forest of the Amazon Valley-=rthe largest forest in the world. It is said
to stretch 1200 miles from west to east, and 800 from north to south. It fills nearly
the whole basin of the Amazon, from 7° North lat. to IS** South lat. All kinds of
trees are found here ; and especially palms in vast numbers. The chief peculiarity
ofthe forest is the number of climbers, creepers, and binders ("lianas"), which
interlace with their woody ropes, their twisted cables and their fantastic ladders,
the branches of the larger trees. This forest is impenetrable, as it can be explored
only along the waterways afibrded by the creeks, branches, sraall lakes, and tribu
taries of the Amazon. Millions of birds, monkeys, and other animals are born and
live and die within this mighty world of trees, without ever having the experience of
touching the ground.
(v) The Pampas are the wide grassy treeless plains which stretch from the lower
Parana to the south of Buenos Ayres. In some directions they are nearly 1000 miles
long. They are nearly level, and look like a boundless ocean of grass and flowers.
Near Buenos Ayres, they are covered, in the summer, by a dense forest of tall
thistles, about 10 ft. high ; then, when they are ripe, comes the strong pampero
(the wind of the Pampas) and mows them down. These plains support enormous
numbers of horses and wild cattle.
(vi) The Desert of Atacama, on the coast of Northern Chili and Peru, has no rain
whatever, owing to the fact that the winds which have crossed the Andes have lost
all their moisture.
II. Rivers. — The river-system of South America is more simple
and more magnificent than that of any other contiAent on the face of
the globe. The Amazon, with its tributaries, affords at least 50,000
miles of river navigation in South America — navigation for even
large vessels ; and, in Brazil alone, there are 25,000 miles of navi
gable water. With the exception of the waterfalls on the Orinoco,
and the short portage over the watershed between the Upper Madeira
and a tributary of the Paraguay, one might go in a boat from the

428 THE NEW WORLD
Delta of the Orinoco to Buenos Ayres on the Plate, right through
the heart of the continent. The three chief rivers of South America
are the Orinoco ; the Amazon ; and the La Plata (or Plate) ; and these
three rivers are almost one. The drainage of nearly 33° of latitude,
from 8° North lat. to 25° South lat., finds its way into these three
enormous arteries. There are also numerous large streams of a
secondary character. — Thus the enormous wealth of internal river-
navigation more than makes up to South America for the poverty
and shortness of its coast line.
(i) The Orinoco rises somewhere in the Parime Mountains ; but its source has never
yet been seen by human eye. It describes a semicircle ; and its mouth is in the
same longitude as its source. The North-East Trades blow right up the stream, and
help boats to make way against the current for hundreds of miles ; but, further up,
cascades and cataracts inten-upt navigation. It falls into the sea by a mighty delta,
which has 50 channels, and the apex of which is 130 miles from the coast. It is abont
1400 miles long ; and its basin contains nearly 300,000 square miles. — Lying to the
north of the Equator, its rainy season is our summer ; and it is then in flood. — It is
connected with the Rio Negro, the chief northern tributary of the Amazon, by the
large natural canal called the Caseifimare. This phenomenon is called "bifurcation,"
and occurs, of course, only where there is no real watershed.
(ii) The Amazon is the largest river in the world. It rises in the small lake of
Lauricocha, in the western chain of the Andes, and falls, after a course of more than
4000 miles, into the Atlantic Ocean. It breaks through the eastern chain, and
traverses almost the entire breadth of the continent ; as its source is only about 50
miles from the Pacific Ocean. It is the largest river ; and it has the largest basin in
the world. Its basin is nearly as large as the whole of Europe. It is always in flood;
for, when the sun is north of the Equator, its northern tributaries are flooded, — when
the sun is south of the Equator, its southern tributaries, swollen by the summer
rains of their own latitude, bring down their contributions of water in millions of
tons. It falls into the sea by a delta— each side of whieh measures 150 miles. The
trade-winds blow up its broad surface ; the tide ascends about 500 miles ; and these
two forces carry sailing vessels up against the current. The main stream is navigable
for over SOOO miles, up to its junction with the UcayalS ; aud steamers go up to the foot
of the Andes. The Upper Amazon is called by the natives the Sollmoens ; and the ptirt
between Lauricocha and the Ucayale is also called the Maranon. It has an immense
number of tributaries, more than 20 of which are above a thousand miles in length.
The longest and largest tributary from the south is the Madeira (=River of Woods),
2000 miles long ; from the north, the Bio Negro (=Black River), 1400 miles long.—
The mouth of the Amazon is 180 miles mde ; and its current is felt 160 miles out at
sea— where fresh water can be procured trom its mighty volume. It may witli
accuracy be said that the whole labyrinth of waters which we call tlie Amazon
(containing numerous side-branches, and lakes scores of miles in circumference) is not

SOUTH AMERICl.V 429
so mucb a vast uet-work of rivers as an inland fresh-water sea tilled with islands —
the "Mediterranean of South America." The Brazilian Go\triiinent has made its
navigation free to all nations, and so there lies before it a future such as no other
river-basin in the world has or can have, for the soil of its basin, with such suns
and such supplies of rain, could feed all the populations on the face of the globe. Its
waters contain 2000 diflerent kinds of lish, — more than the Atlantic Ocean.
(iii) The La Plata (or " River Plate ") is in fact only the mighty gulf-like estnary of
the three great rivers Paraguay, Parana, and Uruguay. Large deep-sea vessels can
ascend the Parana a distance of 1200 miles. The Plate is the widest river in the
world ; and it gives more water to the ocean than any other, with the exception
of the Amazon. It is 62 miles broad at Moute Video. The watershed between the
Paraguay and tlie Madeira is said to be only C^ miles across ; and, in times of flood
there is communication between the two great river-basins. A short canal would
therefore connect the two ; and the Orinoco, the Amazon, and the Plate would afford
the most magnificent system of river-navigation on the globe.
(iv) The San Francisco is the most iinportant among the minor streams of South
America. Unhappily, its navigation is interrupted by the Paulo-Affonso Falls,
wbich have been not unjustly called the "Niagara of South America." On the banks
of the Sau Francisco dwells one-sixth of the population of Brazil.
12. Lakes. — There is in South America a striking dearth of fresh
water lakes. The Lake of Maracaybo, in Venezuela, is in reality only
a lagoon. Lake Titicaca, on the lofty table-land of the same naine, is
a lake nearly as large as Ontario, at a height of more than 12,000 ft.
(or 2j mUes) above the level of the sea, studded with numerous rocky
islands, whence first sprang the germs of the civilisation of Peru.
13. Climate. — (i) To understand, in a broad fashion, the climate of
South America, we must remember two things : (i) that two-thirds
of South America lie within the Tropics ; and (ii) that three-fourths
of it lie within the region of the Trade-winds, which begin to blow at
30° of latitude. Its greatest breadth lies almost along the Equator —
the region where there is the maximum of heat and the maximum of
rainfall. The tropical rainfalls on the Equator go on all the year
through ; in other words, it is always the rainy season there. — Africa
lies almost in the same latitude ; but its greatest breadth is not on
the Equator. Africa lies within the region of the Trade-winds ; but
part of these winds do not cross any ocean. Hence Africa is the
Continent of Dry Heat ; South America the Continent of Moist
2h

430, THE NEW WORLD
Heat. But the climate of South America is a good deal cooler than
that of South Africa. This is due to four reasons : —
(i) The two systems of Trade-winds bring coolness into it from the North and the
South Atlantic.
(ii) The densest forests in the world shade a very large part of its soil from the
direct action of the sun's rays.
(iii) There is a great deal of mountain-land. At 10,000 ft above the sea-level
the cUmate is said to be " perfect," and " better suited to the European constitution
than that of any other tropical region in the world."
(iv) The west coast is watered by the icy Antarctic Drift Current, whicb— even off
Lima, has a temperature 20° lower than that of the surrounding waters.
14. Climate. — (ii) The cooler parts of South America are to be found
in the high lands and in the narrow triangular part which lies south
of 30°. In the one case, differences of climate go on with differences
of elevation. In the other, the land is so narrow, that it has practically
an oceanic climate ; whUe the prevalent winds are from the north
west. Hence arises a striking difi'erence in the climate and vegeta
tion of the west coast south of 30° and north of it. North of 30° is a
desert land ; south of it, the coast is watered by plenteous rains
brought from tropical seas, and the western mountain slopes are clothed
with forest. The eastern slopes are, on the contrary, bare of wood.
15. Vegetation. — South America is the " Continent of Luxuriant
Vegetation." The Amazon Valley is a " great natural forcing-house.''
There is no region in the world that comes near it in variety of
species, and in wealth and brilliance of colour. The most character
istic plants are palms, flowering trees, and lianas. The most valuable
forest-trees are the green-beart and the mora — both exceUent for ship
building. The cinchona-tree, the bark of which yields quinine, is
found on the Andean slopes ; and the largest lily in the world — the
Victoria Eegia, floats on the quiet lakes of the Amazonian labyrinth
of waters. The sugar-cane, the coffee plant, the cacao-tree, the coca,
the manioc, tobacco, bananas, and other tropical and sub-tropical fruits
are produced in great abundance. The vegetable w^ealth of South
America infinitely surpasses that of any other continent in the world.

SOUTH AMERICA 431
16. Animals. — Large reptiles, brilliantly coloured birds, and myriad-
shaped insects form the chief characteristics of animal life in South
America. On the other hand, most of the larger mammalia are
absent ; and the thick-skinned animals — the rhinoceros and elephant
of Africa and Asia — almost completely so. The large elephant is
represented by the small pig-like tapir ; the camel and dromedary by
the llama and alpaca ; the lion by the weak and cowardly puma ;
and the tiger, by the jaguar. The impenetrable forests abound with
monkeys, many of which are tree-climbers, and never come to the
ground in the whole course of their Kves. Some of these have a
prehensile tail, which serves the purposes of a fifth hand. It has
feeling, and is as mobile and flexible, and in its way as useful, as is
its trunk to the elephant. But it is the insect- world that surpasses
in numbers and in splendour all the other species of animal life.
The toothless animals (edentata), such as the sloth, the ant-eater, the
armadillo, are characteristic of this continent. Among birds. South
America counts the largest and ugliest as well as the smallest and
most graceful — the condor and the emu ; the brilliantly coloured
toucan and the miniature humming-bird.
(i) Dry air is required to produce powerful animal life ; and hence the animals of
Africa stand out in striking contrast with those of this continent.
(ii) In the rainy season the rivers and swamps swarm with caymans, large lizards,
and a countless number of snakes of every kind and size.
17. Minerals. — South America is very rich in minerals. All along
the line of the Andes different kinds of metals are found — silver,
gold, copper, tin, and others. Out of the silver mountains of Potosi,
in Bolivia, silver has been extracted to the value of .£600,000,000
since their discovery in 1545. — The continent is al^o rich in precious
stones ; diamonds are found in Brazil, emeralds in New Granada.
18. Peoples. — The natives of South America are commonly called
Indians ; and they number a little less than five millions. The
Indians of the Amazon Valley occupy the lowest possible intellectual
position ; for " few of them can count beyond three or five." The
aborigines of Peru, on the other hand, long ago rose to a high con-

432 THE NEW WORLD
dition of civilisation. — The present population consists chiefly of
Europeans, Indians, Negroes, and Mixed Whites ; but the white
population does not amount to more than one-third of the total
number of inhabitants. The whites are generally Spaniards or of
Spanish descent ; in Brazil, the Portuguese element predominates.
19. Populousness and Civilisation. — The population of the whole
of South America is hardly larger than that of Italy. Yet South
America is nearly seventy times as large as that country. In fact,
there is only a mere fringe of population round the coasts ; aud the
interior is little known. Brazil is an Empire, governed by a monarch
of Portuguese extraction ; aU the Spanish states are republics.
Colombia.
1. Tbe Country. — This, the most northerly State in South America,
and once called " The United States of Colombia," is a country with
an area of more than half a million square miles, — that is, more than 2j
times the size of France. It is a Federal Eepublic, made up of nine
smaller States. The population numbers about 4,000,000, — or only
^th that of France. The most populous parts of the country are to be
found in the upper valleys of the Cauca and the Magdalena, where
the high elevation enables the people to grow the grains of temperate
climates. The western part of the State is covered by the Western,
Central, and Eastern Cordilleras of the Andes, and the plateaus
between them ; but the eastern embraces lowlands and llanos which
are watered by tributaries of the Orinoco.
2. Products, Trade, and Commimioations. — The country contains all
altitudes, and therefore all climates — from tropical to arctic ; and so
we find all kinds of products. The forests are rich in mabogany, cedar,
cincbona, and dye-woods. The chief exports are Peruvian bark (the
bark of the cinchona, out of which quinine is made), coffee, cacao
(from which chocolate and " cocoa " are made), raw cotton, and dye-
stuffs. SUver-ore is also exported. The foreign trade is chiefly with
Great Britain and the United States. — The Republic has only 140
miles ot railway ; but one of its lines is amongst the most important

SOUTH AMERICA -133
in the world. This is the Panama Line, 47 miles long, whioh runs
from Colon (or Aspinwall) on the Atlantic, to Panama, on the Pacific.
At this point of junction between the two Americas, there is a slight
depression in the plateau formation ; and the great canal-maker of the
world, M. de Lesseps, is now engaged in constructing a canal between
the two oceans. When the canal is open, the route round Cape Horn
and South America will be abandoned ; China, Japan, Australia, and
the Isles of the Pacific, will have been brought much nearer to us ;
and the commerce of the world wUl be revolutionised. The canal
wOl be on neutral ground, and open to aU nations.
3. Towns. — There are only two towns of any size in Colombia :—
Bogoti and Fanamd.
(i) Bogota or Santa Fe de Bogotd (IDO) is the capital of the Confederation. It
stands on the Bogotd, a tributary of the Magdalena, on a site whicb is 8600 ft. above
tbe sea-level. Owing to this, tbough it is only 5° north of the Equator, it has a tem
perate and spring-like climate.
(ii) Panama (35) is a good port, and stands at the western end of the railway. The
transit trade ofthe Isthmus is estimated at £15,000,000 a year.
Venezuela.
1. Tbe Country. — The United States of Venezuela is a Federal
Eepublic which consists of eight states and several territories. The
country stretches from the Caribbean Sea to south of the Parim^
Mountains, and contains within itself the remarkable natural canal
called the Cassiquiare. The greater part of the country consists of
llanos, within the Orinoco basin. Its area amounts to over 439,000
square miles, — that is, it is nearly 2J times as large as Spain. The
population is only a little over 2,000,000 — one-eighth that of Spain.
The people are of Indian, Spanish, and Negro desopnt.
When the Spanish sailors, sailing into the vast Lake of Maracaybo, saw the huts of
the Indians built on platforms supported on pillars of iron-wood driven into the bed
ofthe lake, they shouted "Little Venice ! Little Venice !" (Venezuela.')
¦2. Products, Trade, and Communications. — The staple products are
coffee and sugar. Cotton, tobacco, and cacao are also grown. Gold
and copper are the chief articles of export, the latter mostly to Great

434 THE NEW WORLD
Britain. The forests produce mahogany, iron-wood, ebony and many
kinds of dye-woods. In the Uanos large numbers of borses and cattle
are reared. The country possesses about 400 mUes of railway ; and,
in 1880, it joined the General Postal Union.
" The Venezuelan gold-fields are the richest, though not as yet the most productive
in the world." — Martin.
3. Towns. — There are only four towns with a population of over
20,000 ; and the three largest are : Cardcas, Valencia, and Maracaybo.
(i) Caracas (60) is the capital. It stands at the height of 3000 ft. above the level of
the sea. In 1812 the town was destroyed by an earthquake.
(ii) Valencia (40), on the lake of the same name, is the largest town in the interior.
(iii) Maracaybo (35), on the lake, is a thriving town, with a growing trade.

Guiana.
1. Tbe Country. — Guiana is a splendid country of forest and moun
tain, which belongs to Britain, France, and Holland. The forests
abound with valuable woods ; the rivers teem with fish ; the birds
have the most brilliant plumage. The wild animals are numerous,
and include the puma and jaguar, the tapir and peccary ; and the
alligator, which devours the manati or sea-cow.
2. Britisb Guiana. — This division includes three settlements :
Demerara, Easequibo, and Berbice, which are so named after the
principal rivers. The area of the whole country amounts to 109,000
square mUes, — as large as the whole of Italy, without Sicily ; but
the population is only about a quarter of a million. The chief exports
are sugar and rum. The labourers are negroes, mulattoes, and
Chinese coolies. The capital is Georgetown, on the Demerara.
(i) Dutch Guiana is about two-thirds of the size of British Guiana. Sugar is the
staple product. The capital is Paramaribo, near the mouth of the Surinam.
(ii) Fronoh Guiana is little more than one-third the size of Dutch 6uian.n, and has a
population under 80,000, most of whom are negroes. The chief products are sugar and
spices. Cayenne, the capital— a very unhealthy spot among swamps and luxuriant
tropical vegetation— has been long used as a place nf penal settlement by the French.

SOUTH AMERICA 435

Brazil.

1. The Country. — The Empire of Brazil— the only monarchy on the
South American Continent, is an immense country with an area of
3,220,000 square miles. It is larger than the LTnited States
(without Alaska), and nearly as large as the whole of the
Canadian Dominion. The greater part of it is a triangular plateau ;
but it contains within itself lands of all kinds — grassy plains, elevated
table-lands, lofty mountain-ranges ; and also all diversities of climate.
The population numbers a little over 12,000,000, or 4 inhabitants to
the square mUe. But the United States have 18 to the square mile.
The country embraces almost the whole of the basin of the Amazon,
the whole of the basin of the San Francisco, and other large rivers
that flow to the east, part of the basin of the Paraguay, and a large
part of the basins of the Parana and Uruguay. — The majority of the
population live on the coast or on the banks of the great rivers ; and
most of them are of negro descent, though there are also many of
Indian and of Portuguese blood. There are more than 1^ millions
of slaves, who are gradually emancipating themselves.
(i) There are said to be 2 millions of negroes ; 4 millions of mulattoes ; 4 millions
of whites : and the rest Indians.
(ii) At the seaports the chief part of the population is of European descent.
2. Products. — The vegetable products of Brazil are perhaps the
richest and most varied in the world. A country nearly as large as
Europe, with every kind of soU and climate within itself, most of it
lying under a vertical sun and watered by innumerable streams,
cannot but be rich in vegetation of all kinds. The Selvas give many
kinds of wood useful for dyeing, for the finest cabinet-work, and for
shipbuilding — growths useful either as timber, resin, fibre, oil, or
fruit. Coffee, cotton, india-rubber, gums, and tobacco are the chief
agricultural products ; and about half of all the coffee produced in
the world is grown in Brazil. — The country is exceedingly rich in
minerals — chiefly in diamonds and other precious stones, and gold.
Quicksilver and copper are also found in large quantities.

436 THE NEW WORLD
(i) The forests are frequented by birds of the most brilliant plumage— the macaw,
with its blue and scarlet feathers ; countless parrots, green, red, blue, yellow, and
orange ; innumerable liummlng-blrds, toucans, cliatterers, and others.
(ii) Besides coffee, Brazil also sends us cacao, Barsaparilla, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon,
tamarinds, etc. — The chief fruits are pine-apples, bananas, oranges, guavas, melons, etc.
(iii) The camauba palm is the most useful tree in Brazil. It gives food ; wine ;
vinegar ; gum ; wood for building ; a substitute for cork ; nuts which, when roasted
and ground, make a kind of coffee ; fibre for matting ; straw for making hats,
baskets, and brooms ; and wax for making candles.
(iv) In abont 150 years, Brazil has extracted £30,000,000 worth of diamonds.
3. Trade and Communications. — The trade of Brazil with foreign
countries is steadily growing. Coffee is the chief export, and forms
68 per cent, of all the exports sent abroad. The United States and
Great Britain are her two best customers ; but Britain is the largest
seller, as she sends about £5,500,000 worth of goods to Brazil every
year. — There are nearly 6000 miles of railway.
4. Towns. — There are in Brazil 12 towns with more than 20,000
inhabitants ; and, of these, three have more than 100,000. The
three largest towns are Kio de Janeiro, Babia, and Femambuco. Most
of the large towns stand on the coast.
(i) Rio do Janeiro (360)— often called simply Kio— is the capital of Brazil. It stands
on the Bay of Bio, a little land-locked sea, guarded by granite cliffs at its entrance
which look like fortresses, studded with numerous islands and rocky crags, girt by
magnificent ranges of mountains, and backed by well-wooded and picturesque hill.';.
(ii) Babia (150), the old capital of Brazil, is still one of the chief seaports.
(iii) Femambuco (140)— or Becife (=Reef), from the coral reef which forms a natural
breakwater in front of the port, is the third city and third seaport in Brazil.

Paraguay.
1. Tbe Country.— Paraguay, the second smallest state in South
America, is a country which lies wholly in the interior, between the
rivers Pilcomayo and Parana. It is the only South American state
without a coast. Its area amounts to about 92,000 square miles, or
somewhat less than half the size of Spain. The population is under
400,000 ; and of this more than two-thirds are women.

SOUTH AMERICA 437
(i) This little state, mostly of half-breeds, carried on nii obstinate war for live years
(1865-70) with Brazil and the Argentine Republic ; and the population was reduced
from 1 J milUons to 294,000, of whom only 28,000 were men.
(ii) The Government now offer all kinds of inducements to immigrants.
2. Products, Trade, and Communications. — The chief product of the
country is the " yerba mat^," or Paraguay Tea, which is used in most
parts of South America. The chief exports are matd and tobacco. —
Rice, wheat, cotton, and sugar, are grown for home consumption.
The river navigation is of the highest importance ; but there are not
50 mUes of railway in the country.
Mat6 is made of the leaves of the Paraguayan holly, which are dried and ground
to powder. 3. Its Towns. — All the towns are small, not one rising to a popula
tion of 20,000. Asuncion (18), at the junction of the Pilcomayo and
the Paraguay, is the capital.
Uruguay.
1. The Country. — Uruguay is the smallest state in South America.
It lies between the Atlantic and the river Uruguay ; and its southern
coast is on the estuary of the Plate. It covers an area of 74,000
square miles, and is therefore a little more than one-third the size of
France. The population, however, is little over half-a-million. The
people are mostly natives of mixed race ; but about 30 per cent.
are Europeans.
2. Products, Trade, and Communications. — The country is mainly
pastoral ; though agriculture is growing since the introduction of
wire fences. With such vast breadths of grazing land, it is natural
to expect that the rearing of cattle and sheep should be the chief
industry, and that the chief products and exports should be bides,
wool, preserved meat, extract of beef, tallow, and similar articles of
commerce. Nearly a million head of cattle are slaughtered every
year. Wbeat and maize are the only cereals. There are nearly 300
mUes of railway in this state, while there is also water-communication
on three sides of the country.

438 THE NEW WORLD
3. Towns. — All the towns are small, except the capital, Monte Video,
which has 110,000 inhabitants, and is also the chief seaport. The
little town of Paysandu exports preserved meat.
Argentina.
1. Tbe Country. — Argentina or the Argentine Eepublic is a con
federation of republican states which lie on the eastern slopes of the
Andes and in the vast plain which stretches from them to the
Atlantic Ocean. Five-sixths of the country consist of plains which are
almost level. Excluding the " territories," the country has an area of
over half-a-million square miles, — that is, more than 2^ times the size
of France. The population rises above 3,000,000, of whom about half
a million are foreigners, the largest proportion of these being Italians.
— Most of Patagonia also belongs to this state.
(i) The old name of Argentina was " The United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata. "
(ii) The Pampas extend from 33° to the river Colorado. "Sublime appears, to the
wanderer, the vast expanse of this seemingly interminable ocean of grass and flowers,
the solemn stillness of which is broken only by the occasional cry of a bird or the
roar of the jaguar." " Many men have been known, who, after realising a fortune,
returned to Europe to settle, but who, after a few years, are taken with an
irresistible yearning for these dreary wastes, and give up everything in the old land
to begin life afresh in the Pampas."
2. Products, Trade, and Communications. — In these boundless grassy
plains almost the only industry is the rearing of sheep and cattle.
The mounted shepherds are a half-breed of Indians called Gauchos,
who are extremely skilful in the use of the lasso. In the production
of wool, Argentina is second only to Australia. The Confederation
is said to possess 20,000,000 horned cattle, 90,000,000 sheep, and
6,000,000 horses. The chief exports are wool, skins, bides, salt
beef, frozen mutton, and tallow. In three of the provinces, colonists
from Europe have taken up the production of wheat. The largest
customer is France ; then Belgium ; aud next Great Britain. But
Great Britain sells twice as much to the Argentine Republic as France
does. — In addition to river communication, there are nearly 6000
miles of railway in the Confeder.ation, and about 14,000 miles of
telegraph wire.

SOUTH AMERICA 439
3. Towns. — The whole Republic is growing in wealth and in popu
lation ; and the increase is visible chiefly in the towns. There are
five towns with more than 20,000 inhabitants, of which three have
more than 50,000. The three largest towns are Buenos Ayres ; Cor
dova ; and Rosario.
(i) Bnenos Ayres (420), on the Plate, is the capital. It has more than doubled its
population within the last twenty years ; and this is chiefly due to the immigration
of Italians. The port bas silted up ; and vessels are obliged to anchor 12 miles ofT.
Hence a new port, Bnsenada, has been founded nearer the mouth of the estuary.
(ii) Cordova (52), on a tributary of the Parana, is the second city in the country.
(iii) Bosario (45), on the Parana, abont 210 miles above Buenos Ayres, is a rising
port, which has several lines of steamers to Europe.
4. Patagonia. — This immense region is mostly a desert, bleak,
barren — ^hundreds of miles mere beds of shingle, with tufts of coarse
grass, and shaUow lakes of brine. The Patagonian Indians, who are
very tall, hunt the guanaco, the rhea (a three-toed ostrich), and the
Patagonian hare. Chili.
1. The Country. — Chili is a long narrow strip of land (2200 miles
long and only 100 broad), which stretches over 28° of latitude, from
the Desert of Atacama to the Straits of Magellan. The cultivated
portion consists of a long upland valley between two snow- clad crests
of the CordUleras of the Andes. Owing to the presence of the cold
Humboldt Current from the Atlantic Ocean, the country enjoys a
cooler climate than other South American states. Hence the people
are more industrious ; and hence also they have been more free from
those revolutions which have so often disturbed the progress of
industry and commerce in the other republics. — The country has
an area of about 197,000 square miles, and is therefore a little larger
than Spain. The population numbers about 2,500,000.
2. Products, Trade, aud Communications. — Agriculture and mining
are the chief industries. Wheat, barley, sugar, and cotton are grown.
The staple article of export is nitre ; next to it is copper, most of
which is bought by Great Britain, and smelted at Swansea. Wheat is
also largely exported. Chili is the most enterprising and prosperous

440 THE new WORLD
of the South American Republics ; and it was one of the flrst states
to construct railways. It has now about 1500 miles of railway line.
There are about 8000 mUes of telegraph.
(i) " The whole province of Atacama is one vast mine."
(ii) Great Britain carries in |^ths of the imports and takes out ^ths of the exports.
3. Towns. — The towns of ChUi are busy, prosperous, and thriving.
There are ten towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants ; of these,
four have over 20,000 ; and, of these, two over 100,000. The two
largest towns are Santiago and Valparaiso.
(i) Santiago (220) is the capital. It stands on a fertile table-land. It is a handsome
well-built town. Most of the houses are of one storey, " as a precaution against the
frequent and at times terrific earthquakes by which the country is visited."
(ii) Valparaiso (100), the cbief port of the country, ships wheat, copper, hides, etc.
Bolivia.
1. The Country. — Bolivia is an immense country which occupies the
table-lands between the Cordilleras, and the eastern slopes of the
Andes. The mountain-slopes (or Montana) are diained by the
Madeira — the largest tributary of the Amazon. The area of the
country amounts to nearly 843,000 square miles — ^four times the size
of France ; but the population is only 2,500,000. The Indians form
half of this population ; the mestizoes or mixed races, a quarter ; and
the whites the remaining quarter. The Eastern Cordillera, which
is in Bolivia (the Western being in Peru), is one of the grandest
ranges in the world, with a series of snowy peaks, some of which
tower to the height of 20,000 ft. Bolivia also contains the table
land of Titicaca.
Bolivia received ite name from General Boliy.^, "the Liberator." It was formerly called Upper
Peru.
The highest peaks in the Eastern Cordillera are lUimani (21,000 ft.) and Sorata
(21,200 ft.).
2. Products, Trade, and Communications.— The two chief industries
are mining and agriculture. AU kinds of grain are grown — rice,
barley, maize ; and cotton, Peruvian bark, coca, coffee, and indigo are

south AMERICA 441
also raised. The chief metal that is mined is silver ; and two-thirds
of all the exports consist of this metal. Great Britain receives mostly
nitre and copper. As Bolivia has now no access to the Pacific, the
port for the country is Buenos Ayres. — There are no railways.
(i) Coca is one of the most important products of Bolivia. It is the dried leaf of
the coca plant, and is chewed along with powdered chalk. It is a " stimulating
narcotic," enables one to perform long journeys without food , aud to be free from
breathlessness iu climbing high mountains.
(ii) There is a line of telegraph on the Titicaca Plateau — probably the highest line
in the world.
3. Towns. — All the towns of BoUvia are small. There are only
four with a population of over 10,000 ; and only one with more than
20,000. The largest town is La Paz ; the capital is Sucr6 ; the most
famous town, Potosi.
(i) La Paz (27), an old Indian city in " a green depression " on the elevated plateau
of Titicaca, is the largest town. " The place is glorified by the sight of the mighty
lUimani, on whose eastern slopes all the noble plants of the Tropics, sugar-cane, coffee,
oranges, pine-apples, are cultivated."
(ii) Sucr6 (13), the capital, stands on the water-parting between the basins of the
Madeira and the Paraguay.
(iii) Potosi (12) is now less productive of silver than it used to be ; and the population
has in consequence greatly dwindled. " The air here (13,200 ft.)is so rarefied that the
European cannot walk twenty steps without stopping to take breath."
Peru.
1. The Country. — Peru is a country occupying the whole breadth of
the Andes, with their eastern slope and a large part of the upper
basin of the Amazon. Its area extends over 480,000 square miles ;
and is therefore about twice that of the whole Austrian Empire. The
population is somewhat below 3,000,000, one half -of whom are pure
Indians.— The country possesses aU elevations and therefore all
climates — from tropical heat up to polar cold. But there are three
regions plainly marked out : (i) the rainless and barren strip of Pacific
Coast ; (ii) the Sierra or Table-land of the Andes ; and (iu) the Mon
tana, the elevated region which embraces the upper basin of the
Amazon and the whole of the basin of the Ucayale.

442 , THE NEW WORLD
(i) " In no part of the world does Nature assume grander, more imposing, or more
varied forms than here. Deserts as bare aud repulsive as those of the Sahara
alternate with valleys as luxuriant as those of Italy. "
(ii) " In the coast-plains and valleys there is a strong nightly dew, just enough
to call forth a light bright vegetation, only too soon again burnt up by the sun."
2. Products, Trade, and Communications. — In the dense forests on
the Andean slopes the cinchona is cultivated for its bark ; on the fertUe
lands the sugar-cane is grown ; but the most valuable products of
Peru are silver, nitre, and guano. From the sheep and the alpaca, a
large crop of wool is annually obtained. — The chief articles of export
to Great Britain, which is the largest buyer, are guano, nitre, sugar,
and wool. — There are more than 2000 mUes of raUway line in the
State ; and one of the lines runs to near the summit of the Andes.
(i) The most important silver-mines are at Cerro de Pasco — the highest town in
the world (14,000 ft. above the sea-level). The produce is about li million oz.
(ii) Guano is the droppings of birds, found in deposits sometinies 60 ft. thick, and
used in Peru as a manure since the time of the Incas. The chief deposits were on
the Chincha Islands ; about 8,000,000 tons bave been taken from them ; and tbey are
now exhausted. There are said to be about 2,000,000 tons in Tarapaea.
3. Towns. — There are four towns with a population of more than
20,000. These are Lima, Callao, Arequipa, and Cuzco.
(i) Lima (110), on the Paciflc coast-strip, about eight mUes from the sea, is tlie
capital. It is one of the greatest seats of trade in South America ; and the largest
merchants are Germans. It was founded by Pizarro, the Spanish conqueror of the
Incas, in 1636 ; and his bones lie in the Cathedral. The houses are of one storey, as
a precaution against earthquakes. The port of Lima is Callao.
(ii) Callao (35) is considered the safest harbom- on the west coast of South America.
(iii) Arcquipa (30) stands high up among the Andes, at the height of nearly 8000 ft.
It was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake in 1868.
(iv) Cuzco (20) is the ancient capital of the Empire of the Incas, which once extended
over a large part of Soutli America. The Incas buUt spleudid roads and noble aqueducts,
and some of their extensive irrigation works are in use at this day. Near- Cuzco exist
the ruins of a large fortress, some of the stones of wliich e-xeeed 160 tons in weight.
" The world has nothing to show, in the way of stone-cutting and fitting, to equal tlie
skill and accuracy displayed in the Inca structures of Cuzco. As workei-s in metals
and as potters they displayed infinite variety of design ; while, as culti\ators and
enginoer.s, they in all respects excelled their European conqiierore."

SOUTH AMERICA 443

Ecuador.
1. The Country.— Ecuador is a State on the Pacific, and lying
under the Equator, with an area of nearly 250,000 square miles —
that is, a little larger than the Austrian Empire. The population is
little over a million, the greater part pure Indians. Most of the
people live on the table-land whioh lies between the chains of the
Andes. Ecuador also possesses eastern slopes which throw down
streams into the Amazon. It contains the lofty peaks of Chimborazo
(" the sUver beU "), Cotopaxi, Antisana, etc.
Tlie name is Spimisb for Equator.
(i) ' ' Within a narrow space in the CordiUera of Quito (or the ' Andes of Ecuador ')
are crowded together a number of the loftiest peaks in America, most of which arc
burning mountains."
(ii) "Around the valley of Quito there are twenty noble volcanic summits, present
ing a beautiful variety of form ; here a perfect and there a truncated cone, there a
jagged and blasted crest, and there again a sraooth and snow-covered dome."
(iii) Sangai is perhaps the most restless volcano in the world. Since the Spanish
conquest 300 years ago, it has been in uninterrupted activity. There are small out
bursts every fifteen minutes, but "from time to time, especially during the rainy
season, the symptoms become more violent, the gigantic jet of molten rock leaps up
2000 ft., the explosions are louder and more terrible than the cannonading of armies,
and the noise of the thunders amidst the clouds is answered by still more awful
explosions from the inferno below."
(iv) The crater of Pichincha ( = Boiling Mountain), "the four-crested and glacier-
bearing," is believed to be the deepest in the world, 2500 ft. deep, 1600 ft. ¦wide at
bottom, and upwards of a mile wide at the mouth.
2. Products, Trade, and Communications. — The chief industry is
agriculture ; and cacao, india-rubber, coffee, and cinchona bark are
produced. By far the largest export is cacao. The chief exports
to Great Britaia, which is the largest customer of the State, are
Peruvian bark and cacao. There are about 100 mUes of railway in
the country.
3. Towns. — The only two towns of any importance are Quito and
Guayaquil.

444 THE NEW WOULD
(i) Quito (80?), the capital, stands at a height of 9500 ft. above the level of the sea.
The houses, of sun-dried brick, are low and squat ; and there is not a chimney to be
seen. In 1797, 40,000 of its inhabitants perished in an earthquake. Here perpetual
spring reigns; and "Evergreen Quito" is its usual name. Eight snow-clad peaks
of the Andes look in upon the city ; and, in the intensely clear air, and under a sky
of a dark deep blue, they seem quite close at hand. "South of Quito is the city of
Eiotamba, the road leading to it forming an avenue flanked by fifty volcanoes on an
average as high as Mount Etna, three of them emitting volumes of smoke, and all
of them crowded into a space not much greater than the distance from London to
Dover." (ii) Guayaquil (45) is tbe chief port of the country. Its chief export is cacao.
(iii) Ecuador also possesses the volcanic group of the Galapagos Islands, which are
so famous for turtle.

^^(^^)^

OCEANIA
OCEANIA is the name usually given to the countless groups of
islands in the Pacific Ocean — including Australia. It is generally
divided into three sections : Australasia, in the southern hemisphere ;
Malaysia, or the East Indian Archipelago, in the west ; and Polynesia,
in the north and east of the Pacific.
(i) The name Anstralada is now generally restricted to AustraUa, New Zealand,
and the neighbouring islands.
(ii) The islands of Malaysia are really continental islands— parts of Asia and of
Australia. (iii) Folynesia includes Uelanesia, Mlcroneila, etc.— all of whioh consist of true oceanic
islands. But the term Polynesia is often restricted to those islands which lie in the
east of the Pacific.

AUSTRALIA.

1. Introductory. — ^Australia — a continent which lies entirely within
the Southern Hemisphere — is in some respects the most remarkable
continent in the world. It is the antipodes of Europe ; and it is
antipodean in character as well as in position. It is the smallest
continent on the edge of the largest ocean. Though nearly as large
as Europe, it has only one river of any size or importance ; and that
river does not reach the sea, and sometimes does not flow at all. It
is full of other oddities : mammals lay eggs ; cherries have their stones
outside ; trees shed their bark, not their leaves ; quadrupeds run on
two feet ; flowers have no scent ; and many birds no song. When
the first European settlers visited the country, they found no grain to
eat, no domestic animal to give milk or to draw burdens, and not
the smallest trace in the continent of what is called civilisation.
The name Australia means " Land of the South," from the Latin Auster, the
South wind.
¦3. Australia and Africa . a Comparison. — These two continents
possess several striking features in common : —
2l

446

OCEANIA

(i) Both are compact in shape, simple in outline, and without limbs or peninsulas.
(ii) Both have their highest ranges ot mountains on the eastern edge ; and the
highest peaks in the south-east.
(iii) Both have extensive deserts in the interior ; with oases in these deserts.
(iv) In both, the volume of water in their longest rivers— the NUe and the Murray
— diminishes as they approach the sea.
(v) The east coasts of both are protected— the one by the Great Barrier Reef, the
other by the Island of Madagascar.
(vi) Both have a strong current setting south on their east coasts.
4. Position and Boundaries. — Australia lies to the south-east of
Asia, and between 10° and 39° South lat. It is bounded—
1. N. —By Torres Strait and the Arafnra Sea. 3. S. —By the Southern Ocean.
2. E. — By the Pacific Ocean. 4. W. — By the Indian Ocean.
(i) The shortest line from Australia to England is 11,000 miles long.
(ii) Ships go out by the Suez Canal, and return by Cape Hom.

no Long E. of Green 120

AUSTRALIA 447
5. Size and Shape. — Australia contains an area of nearly 3,000,000
square mUes (with Tasmania) ; and it is thus about one-fourth
smaUer than Europe. Its shape is very simple : it is that of an
irregular paraUelogram.
6. Coast Line. — The coast line of Australia is, like that of Africa,
very simple and regular — with a contour wonderfully devoid of inlets.
One long peninsula and one broad and deeply-entering gulf are the
soUtary features that strike us when we look at the map. Oppo.site
the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north stands the fiord-like Spencer Gulf
in the south ; while York Peninsula is balanced by the island of
Tasmania, which was once a part of the mainland. The rest of the
coast consists of long stretches of an uniform character unbroken by
bays or inlets of any kind. The Great Australian Bight, in the
south, is only a shallow curve in the land, and is of no value for
shipping. (i) Capes. — Tbe chief capes are ; Cape York, the most northerly point of York Pen
insula and of the whole continent ; Cape Byron, the most easterly point ; Cape Howe,
in the south-east ; Wilson Promontory, the point farthest south ; Cape Leeuwiu
( = " Lioness "), in the south-west: Steep Point, the most westerly cape; and Cape
North-West. (ii) Bays. — The chief openings are : The Gulf of Carpentaria, on the north ; Van
niemen Gnlf and Caml)ridge Gulf, on the north-west ; Shark Bay, and Geographe Bay, on
the west ; the Great Australian Bight, Spencer Gulf, St. Vincent Gulf, and Encounter
Bay, on the south ; Halifax, Hervey, and Moreton Bays, on the east.
(iii) Straits. — The principal straits are : Torres strait, between Australia and New
Guinea ; Bass Strait, between Australia and Tasmania.
(iv) Islands. — The largest islands are: Groote Eylandt ( = " Great Island") and Wel
lesley Island, in the Gulf of Carpentaria ; MelviUe Islaud, which closes in Van Diemen
Gulf ; Dampier Arcliipelago and Dirk Hartog Island, in the west ^ Kangaroo Island, King
Island, and Tasmania, on the south : and Great Sandy'Island, on the east.
(v) The Great Barrier Eeef, which lies off the coast of Queensland, is one of the most
remarkable phenomena In the world. It is composed of a series of coral reefs which
stretch for a distance of 1200 miles, from near Hervey Bay to Torres Strait, which it
nearly closes. The reef is about 100 miles wide in the south, and grows narrower as
it goes north. The channel between it and the shore is from 20 to 70 miles wide ;
and, being defended from the swell of the Pacific, is always calm. The Barrier is not
continuous, but is broken by several deep channels— the largest opposite the mouth

448

OCEANIA

of the Burdekin river. Fresh water is hostile to the formation of coral ; and hence
these openings occur opposite the mouths of rivers.
" The longocean-flwell, suddenly impeded by tlilB barrier, lifffl itself in one great continuous ridge
of deep blue water, whicli, curling over, falls on the edge of the reef in an unbroken cataract
of dazzling white foam. Each line of breakers rune often one or two miles in length with
not a perceptible gap in ita continuity. The unbroken roar of the surf, with its regular
pulsation of thunder, aa each succeeding swell falls first on the outer edge of the reef, is
almost deafening, yet so deep-toned as not to interfere with the slightest nearer and
sharper sound." — Jukes.

7. Build. — About three-fourths of the interior of Australia is filled
by a low plateau, which rises graduaUy from south to north, and from
west to east. This interior low plateau or plain is a " vast concave
table of sandstone," with an area of about 1^ miUion square mUes —
or more than half that of the
continent. The central depres
sion is fiUed by Lake Amadeus.
The edges of the plateau are in
many parts bordered by ter
raced ramparts of mountains.
Between these mountain-ranges
and the sea runs a low plain
which varies very much in
breadth. About one-quarter of
the continent is fiUed by the
AusTEALiA fertile basin of the Murray and
its tributaries — a basin which has the highest mountains in Australia
on its eastern and south-eastern borders. A narrow continuous
plain round the whole coast of the continent, one great interior
river-basin, and one vast low plateau — mostly desert, — these are the
chief component parts of Australia.

8. Mountains. — The most important mountain-range in AustraUa
runs, with few breaks, between Wilson's Promontory on tlie south and
Cape York on the north. It begins a little to the west of Melbourne,
runs east, and then due north, until it ends in the York Peninsula.
It goes under the generic name of The Dividing Bange, because it
divides the exterior plain on the coast from the immensely broad
basin of the Murray. In the south-east, this range forms an almost

AUSTRALIA 449
continuous cordillera ; in the north it is often rather the steep
outer edge of the table-land. The whole range becomes lower as
it goes north. The highest part is the Warragong Mountains or
Australian Alps ; and the continent reaches its highest elevation in
the Kosciusko Group, the loftiest peak in which is Mount Townsend,
7350 ft. high, — or almost e.xactly half the height of Mont Blanc.
(i) Although the name Dividing Range is frequently used of the whole cordillera in
the south-east and east, the different ranges, some of which are separated from each
other by deep depressions, are known by various names. These are, in their order :
The Grampians ; the Great Dividing Bange (north of Melbourne) ; the Australian Alps ;
the Blue Mountains ; the Liverpool Range ; the New England Range ; Darling Downs ; etc.
etc. Of these, the Austi-alian Alps is the most distinctly marked range, and con
tains the highest summits.
(ii) The Australian Mountains are much older than most of the mountain-ranges in
Europe. Hence they have been much more worn down by weathering, and do not
present those sharp shapes and peaks which are called horns, needles, and teeth, in the
Alps of Europe. These forms have, in Australia, been worn away to blunted shapes,
table-lands, etc. ; and, in tbis respect, they are like the Scandinavian Mountains.
(iii) There are no active volcanoes in Australia ; but there are many craters only
recently extinct ; and much of the fertile soil is of volcanic origin.
9. Plains. — The Lowland Plains consist chiefly of the fertile basin of
the Murray, which fills an area of about half a miUion square miles —
or more than twice that of the Austrian Empire — and much of which
consists of a deep black soU of the richest description. The Upland
Flains, which have an average elevation of about 500 ft., are mostly
desert, and the arable land in them is found in isolated oases.
(i) In the west, between 20° South lat. and the Tropic of Capricorn, lies the Great
Bandy Desert ; and, a little north of 30° South lat. , the Great Victoria Desert.
(ii) The larger part of the interior of Australia consists of "the most forbidding
and desolate regions on the face of the globe." Plat plains, with a sandy or clayey
soil of a red colour, more or less charged with salt, and covered with ' ' salt-bush " or
with "scrub" with hard or prickly leaves, form the main fe&ture of the interior.
The scrub consists of a bushy eucalyptus which grows to the height of eight or ten
feet; and whicb is often so dense as to be quite impenetrable. "Australia, in this
respect more African than Africa itself, is essentiaUy tbe land of wastes and. steppes. "
10. Rivers. — The rivers of Australia are few and small compared
with the size of the continent ; and they are subject to two serious
and opposite disadvantages — they are swollen to overflowing, or dried

450 OCEANIA
up so as to be unnavigable ; they are in a state either of drought or
of flood. The only river in the continent that can be compared for
size with those of the Old and New Worlds is the Murray ; and even
this belongs to a basin of inland drainage. It is 2345 mUes long,
from its mouth to the source of the Darling, its longest tributary ;
and much of it is a highway of trade for the colony.
(i) The Murray, like the Amazon, draws its waters from the most opposite quarters
— from the neighbourhood of the Tropic of Capricom, and from abont 38° South lat.
Its chief tributaries are the Murrumbidgee, the I.achlan, and tbe Darling. Sometimes tbe
Murray is only a series of water-holes ; at other times it is a raging torrent. Like the
Amazon, again, it has numerous side-channels, lakes, and lagoons along its course. —
The Darling sometimes entirely ceases to flow, and becomes a mere chain of pools.
The rainfall soaks through the porous soil and goes into underground reser\'otre.
(ii) Of the rivers which flow to the east, the two most important are the Pitzroy
and Burdekin in Queensland. The others to the east of the Eastern Highlands are
short, rapid, and unfit for navigation. The best known of them is the Brisbane.
(iii) On the north coast, the largest rivers are the Flinders, which falls into the Gulf
of Carpentaria, and the Victoria, wbich falls into the Queen's Channel.
(iv) On the west coast, the best-known rivers are the Ashburton and the Swan.
11. Lakes. — To the north of Spencer Gulf lies the "Lake District"
of Australia. This region, which has an area of about 10,000 square
miles, is " set with lakes," the largest being Lake Eyre. Lake Torrens
lies to the south of it, and Lake Galrdner (an immense salt lake) to
the west. Far to the north-west lies Lake Amadeus, which often dries
up into a plain of saline mud. Lake Alexandrina is a large fresh
water lake into which the Murray flows. The depth of the lakes varies
very greatly with the dryness or the rainy character of the season.
(i) These "dead masses of saltwater" are hardly what are called lakes in other
parts of the world. Sometimes they are sheets of shallow water ; sometimes saline
marshes ; sometimes grassy plains or plains of saline mud.
(ii) The remarkable changes and caprices of Australian drought and flood are well
illustrated by the alteration that takes place in Lake George (the largest fresh-water
lake in Australia), a lake south of Goulburn, in New South Wales. In 1S24, it was
20 miles long and 8 miles wide. In 1837, it was a grassy plain. In 1865, its bed was
again filled with water, 17 ft. deep.
12. CUmate. — Dry heat is the characteristic of the cUmate of
Australia ; and this is found aU over the continent. Within the tropics.

AIISTK.4LIA 4,51
summer (November to April) is the rainy season ; outside the tropics,
the rainy season is in winter (May to October). Sudden variations in
temperature are another characteristic of the Australian climate, the
thermometer sometimes faUing 60° or 70° in a few hours. Hot winds
from the interior, like the blast from a furnace, generally laden with
fine dust, and called " bursters " or " brick-dusters," sometimes raise
the temperature to 115°.
(i) The misfortune of Australia, as regards the supply of rain, is that the moun
tain-ranges which act as condensers, lie so near the coast. In South America, they
are placed as far back as they can be, and the continent benefits by all the rain that
can be squeezed out of the North-East and the South-East Trades ; in Australia, the
mountain-ranges are quite near the east coast. The result is that the narrow plain
on the coast gets more rain than it needs ; and when the rain-bearing winds have
crossed the mountains and table-lands into the interior, the great heat there dissipates
the clouds, and does nut permit them to condense into rain.
(ii) Captain Sturt, in the desert interior, found the thermometer rise to 127° ; and
the mercury then burst the tube. For three months it was 101° in the shade. ' ' Every
screw came out of the boxes ; the horn bandies of instruments and the combs split
up into fine laminEe ; the lead dropped out of the pencils ; the hair stopped growing ;
and the finger-nails became brittle as glass."
(iii) Rain sometimes falls in terrible floods ; and this heavy rain is alternated with
long periods of complete drought. The Hawkesbury river once rose 93 ft. above its
ordinary level : and liundreds of persons only escaped by climbing high trees. In
1884 there was no rain ; and 10,000,000 of sheep died of thirst. From time to time,
there is no rain for periods of two or three years ; every blade of grass dies : and the
rivers shrink into straggling water-holes.
13. Vegetation. — The flora of Australia is quite unique — altogether
different from that of other parts of the globe. It is very rich in
species, which number about 10,000— much more than are to be found
in aU Europe. The most characteristic trees are the eucalypti and
acacias ; and the vegetable feature peculiar to Australia is " scrub."
No grains, fruits, or edible roots are native to Ailstralia ; but those
imported by the colonists — the vine, fig, orange, peacli, etc., and
grains such as wheat and maize — flourish and produce in a manner
that far surpasses European fruits and grains.
(i) The eucalyptus or gum-tree is a prominent feature in the Australian landscape.
It often attains a height of more than 250 ft., with a girth of about 20 ft One fallen
tree was discovered of the length of 480 ft. (much higher than St. Paul's) ; and this

452 OCEANIA
was probably the grandest tree in the world. The different species— red gum, blue
gum, stringy bark, iron bark, etc.— are greatly valued for their timber. Their leaves
are thick and leatheiy ; and, by a twist in the stalk, the edge ot the leaf is vertical
instead of being parallel to the ground. They shed— not their leaves— bnt their bark.
There are also large-leaved fig-trees tbat rival the gum-trees in height.
(ii) The grass-trees form another peculiar feature in the landscape. From then-
rugged stems springs a tuft of drooping wiry foliage, from the centre of whioh rises a
spike. When it flowers in winter, this spike becomes covered with white stars ; and
a heath covered with grass-trees has the most singular and beautiful appearance.
(iii) The acacias, or ' wattles," abound everywhere in the country, and are covered
with yellow blossoms wbich are generally fragrant.
(iv) The Australian bush is fragrant all the year. The "MaUee scrub" is a low
eucalyptus, which grows so close that it is often quite impenetrable. " The surface
of the country seems like a heaving ocean of dark waves, out of which, here and there,
a tree starts up above the brushwood, making a mournful and lonely landmark."
(v) One of the most striking plants of Australia is the "flame-tree." When it is
covered with its large bunches of red flowers, "it renders the Illawarra mountains
conspicuous for miles out at sea."
(vi) The imported "Scotch thistle" has multiplied so rapidly as to become a
serious nuisance ; and the different governments have to spend large sums in the
endeavour to exterminate it. — Nettles often grow to the height of 50 ft.

14. Animals. — The fauna of Australia is even odder and more
peculiar than its flora. The mammalia of other continents are com
pletely absent ; and the tiger, elephant, and rhinoceros of Java
and Sumatra, are wholly wanting. The characteristic animals are
marsupials or pouch-bearing mammaUa. The largest marsupial is
the kangaroo. Among the carnivora, the most formidable is the
native dog or dingo. The oddest animal is the platypus or duck-bUl.
Like the plants of Australia, the native animals are of no service to
man ; but the imported animals, — horses, sheep, and oxen, — grow,
increase, and exist in almost countless numbers. — The birds excel
those of other temperate lands in beauty of plumage and elegance of
form ; and there are more species than in Europe ; but they are song-
less. Birds that feed on flowers are very numerous. Large birds of
the ostrich type, such as the emu and cassowary, are very charac
teristic of Australia. ^ — The continent is also rich in insects, which are
both beautiful and peculiar. — Most of the snakes are poisonous.

AUSTRALIA 453
(i) Tlie smaller species of marsupials are the wallaby, tlie oat-kangaroo, aud tlie
hare-kangaroo. The flying-mouse, a kind of small flying opossum, is " able to sleep in a
good ^zed pill-box." The koala creeps slowly about at night on trees in search of
fruit and seeds.
(ii) The platypus (or ornithorhynchus), duck-bill or duck-mole, is a mammal
about 20 inches long, witli broad webbed feet, flat horny bill (not fastened to the
skeleton) like the bill of a duck ; is amphibious, and lays eggs. — The echidna or
"porcupine ant-eater," is also a mammal which lays eggs.
(iii) Of the imported animals, the rabbit and the sparrow have proved the most
terrible and expensive nuisances. In New South Wales alone, 2000 men are
permanently employed in trying to exterminate the rabbit, which desolates wide tracts
of country by eating up tbe herbage. In Victoria, the damage done by the rabbit in
ten yeai-s is estimated at £3,000,000. — The sparrow is also a great pest; and large
sums have to be paid for the destruction of these birds and their eggs.
(iv) The regent-bird, the rifle-bird, the fly-catcher, and the lyre-bird are remarkable for
beauty. — Tlie brush-birds do not sit on their eggs, but bury them under heaps of
earth and vegetable matter, to be hatched by the heat of the sun. The bower-bird
builds a bower-like structure of twigs and branches, and decorates it with feathers,
bones, and shells.

15. Minerals. — Australia is very rich in minerals. Gold, copper,
tin, iron, and coal are found in large quantities in all the colonies ;
and some silver is also produced in New South Wales.
(i) Gk)ld is the most important metal found in Australia ; and Victoria is the colony
that has produced most. In the last forty years, about £200,000,000 worth has been
rained. The total yield of Australia is nearly £300,000,000 ; but the supply has been
rapidly decreasing for some time. Gold iy also found in Queensland, where the chief
miners are Chinese.
(ii) South Australia is the chief producer of copper.
(iii) Tin-mines of great value have been opened up iu Queensland.
(iv) Iron is plentiful in most of the colonies.
(v) There are extensive coal-fields In New South Wales and in Queensland.
(vi) Precious stones, such as the garnet, ruby, and sapphire, a.m found.
16. Inhabitants. — Like its flora and its fauna, the human natives
of Australia are isolated, peculiar and unique. The Australian
aborigines are said to belong to the Austral-Negro family. They are
fast disappearing, and now number little over 30,000— which is only
about one for every ten square miles. — Of settlers, there are now on

454 OCEANIA
the continent about 3,000,000 — all speaking the English language,
and almost aU of British descent.
The native Australian is of the average European height, has a very lean body —
no calves (as is general with the dark races), nose broad and fleshy, complexion
coflfee-brown, much hair — curly but not woolly, and a long narrow head with low
brow. He is one of the most degraded of savages — without house or domestic animals,
with no weaving, no pottery, and no religion. His language can count up toj!i)c— and
no further. He lives on shell-fish, lizards, snakes, frogs, worm.?, insects, grubs, etc.
He sometimes eats his own children. The chief occupation of the men is hunting
and war; of the women, getting food and cooking it.
17. Koads and Railways. — Like all " new " countries, Australia is
better supplied with railways than with roads. All the large cities
and towns have railways connecting them ; and it is thus easier to
go long distances than short ones. The cheap labour — easily found
in old countries — necessary to construct roads, is almost totally
wanting in Australia.
(i) " Railways may be said to have superseded roads, before the latter were made."
(ii) " Most of the communication, even by mail-coaches, is carried on by mere tracks
through the bush, without the vestige of anything that can be called a road."
18. Divisions. — Australia contains several divisions called colonies,
whioh were "settled" at different periods, and all of which have
separate governments and parliaments, with governors appointed by
the Queen at home. They are : Victoria, New South Wales, Queens
land, Soutli Australia, and West Australia (wliich, however, has no
parliament of its own). The smallest of these is Victoria, but it
contains the largest population ; while West Australia is by far the
largest, and yet has the smallest population.
(i) WeBt Australia is governed by the Colonial Oflice.
(ii) Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, West Australia, and the Fiji Islands have
formed a Federation.
19. VICTORIA. — This, the smallest but most wealthy, most manufac
turing, and most populous of all the Australian Colonies, was once
called Australia Felix from the beauty and fertility of the whole
country. It is a little larger than Great Britain. It is bounded on
the north by the Murray ; on the west by New South Wales ; on its
other sides by the sea. Through the south of Victoria run the

AUSTRALIA 455
Pyrenees, the Grampians, the Great Dividing Kange ; and, in the
east, the Australian Alps. It has a population of more than a million
inhabitants. It has few navigable rivers.
(i) Victoria was cut out of New South Wales in 1850 and named after our Queen.
The capital Melbourne was named after the then Prime Minister.
(ii) The boundary line on the west is the 141st meridian.
(iii) The density of population is about 13 per square mile. Much of the surface
is mountainous or hiUy ; and there is a great sandy desert in the north-west. But
west of Melbourne there are enormous numbers ot extinct volcanoes ; and, where
these occur, the soil is extremely rich.
20. Industries and Commerce.— The chief industries are sheep-
farming, agriculture, and mining:. By far the largest export is wool ;
next, though at a distance, come gold, and tireadstuffs. The largest
imports are cotton, timber, iron, and coal. There are about 2000
mUes of railway in the colony, with over 4000 miles of telegraph line.
(i) Wool is exported to the value of about £5,000,000.
(ii) The export of gold has fallen to less than £2,000,000 ; but, twenty years ago, it
amounted to nearly £10,000,000.
(iii) The exports to the United Kingdom amount yearly to about £7,000,000 ; the
imports from this country to nearly £9,000,000.
21. Towns. — There are in Victoria four towns with a population
of more than 20,000 persons. These are Melbourne, Ballarat, Sand
hurst, and Geelong. Melbourne is the capital, and also the largest
commercial and manufacturing town.
(i) MELBOURNE (400), on the Yarra, has grown in the last forty years into a town
nearly as large as Liverpool. It stands on seven hills which rise gradually from the
Yarra, and is one of the best built and noblest cities in the world. Wide streets with
high and beautiful buildings on each side, large public parks and luxuriant gardens,
magnificent public edifices built of an almost imperishable stone distinguish Mel
bourne among otber cities. It has also a noble University an^ a fine Free Library.
Its two suburbs, St. Ellda and Brighton, stand on the lovely shores of Port Phillip.
(ii) Ballarat (40) is one of the most famous gold-mining towns in the Avorld. The
gold was at first found in great quantities in the alluvial soil ; but this has been
worked out, and gold is now got by crushing the quartz " reefs."
(iii) Sandhurst (37), another gold-mining town, about 100 miles from Melbourne.
(iv) Geelong (25) is a town on a. branch of Port Phillip Bay which manufactui'es
" tweeds." — Ecjrnca is the rising inland-port of Victoria.

456 OCEANIA
22. NEW SOUTH WALES.— This colony, the oldest in Australia, s
about 900 miles long by 600 broad. It is about ten times the size of
Ireland. It consists of mountain, table-land, and plain. The chief
ranges running through it are the Blue Mountains, the Liverpool
Range, and the New England Range. Its population is smaller
than that of Victoria, though its area is four times as large.
(i) It is bounded on the north by Queensland ; on the east by the Pacific ; on the
south by Victoria ; and on the west by South Australia.
(ii) The population of the colony gives only about 3J persons to the square mile.
This is due to three causes : (a) its mineral treasures are more thinly distributed ;
(6) the arable lands occur as oases dotted at mde intervals over the country ; (c) the
rainfall, at a distance of 150 miles inland, ceases to be suflicient for crops.
23. Industries and Commerce. — The chief industries are sheep-
farming and agriculture ; and there is also some mining. The chief
exports are wool ; com, — at a great distance ; coal, and tin. The largest
imports are those of drapery and clothing. The largest trade is done
with Great Britain, which takes about half the exports, and sends
half the imports — each amounting to about .£7,000,000. — There are
about 2000 miles of railway in the colony, with 22,000 miles of
telegraph wire.
(i) There are more than 40 million sheep in the colony : and the annual export of
wool amounts to over £7,000,000, of which Great Britain takes more tliat 4ths.
(ii) New South Wales is richer iu coal than any other Australian colony ; about
3,000,000 tons aa-e raised annually.
(iii) Since gold-mining began, the product of gold down to 1S8S is about £40,000,000;
of coal, about £20,000,000.
24. Towns. — There is only one large town in New South Wales —
Sydney, the capital. There are only four other towns with a popula
tion of over 10,000 — Maitland, Newcastle, Paramatta, and Bathurst.
(i) SYDNEY (350), the oldest city in Australia, is the capital of New South Wales.
Its commanding situation on a splendid harbom', and its broad sti-eets, with noble
pnblic buildings, have earned for it the title of *' Queen of the South." Its natural
situation makes it one of the finest cities in tlie world ; the sea, witli its coves,
bays, and inlets, looks in upon it everywhere ; its rugged promontories, beautifnl
gardens, its mingling of sea and land, hill and valley, rock and wood and grassy
slopes, its combination of the most luxni-iant vegetation both of tropical and temperate

AUSTRALIA 457
zones, startle and delight the visitor at every turn. Port Jackson may be compared
with the harbour of Eio Janeiro.
" So me-tpressibly lovely is Port Jackson that it makes a man ask himself whether it would
not be worth his while to move his goods to the eastern coast of Australia, in order that
he might look on it na long aa he can look at anything."— Tito llope.
(ii) Maitland, on the Hunter, owes its wealth to the floods of that river, whicb
annually bring dOAvn new soil to the surrounding country.
(iii) Newcastle is the principal shipping port on the east coast ; it is second only to
Sydney. It ships chiefly coal.
(iv) Faramatta, a little to the north of Sydney, is famous for its luscious fruits— its
orchards and orangeries.
(v) Bathurst is the principal town in the colony on the western slopes. It stands
in the middle of the chief wheat-growing district of the colony, and also in the
neighbourhood of gold mines.
25. QUEENSLAND. — This is the most northerly colony in Australia,
the one whioh has most land within the tropics, and which has there
fore the hottest climate. It is 1300 miles long, 800 broad ; and its
area is more than three times the size of France. Ranges of moun
tains run along the coast ; and it has more table-land than any other
colony. Half of its whole area is covered with forest. It has four
slopes ; and its rivers flow in four directions — north, south, east, and
west. The Fitzroy and the Burdekin are the most important, as they
bring down large quantities of fertilising sediment. The population
is half a million ; the land could support hundreds of millions.
(i) There are about 10,000 Chinese, at work chiefly in the gold mines ; and about
10,000 "Kanakas" (=men) — Polynesians imported from the neighbouring islands —
chiefly engaged in growing sugar.
(ii) There are perhaps 12,000 aborigines— mostly in York Peninsula.
26. Industries and Commerce. — The chief industries are sheep-
rearing, mining, and agriculture. The leading gralin-crop is maize ;
and the cultivation of sugar is a growing industry. The chief articles
of export are wool, gold, and sugar. The principal imports are iron,
clothes, and cottons. — There are about 2000 miles of railway in the
colony, and 9000 miles of telegraph line.
There is in Queensland a coal-fleld as large as the whole of Scotland ; but the
coal is not yet worked, for want of easy access to the sea.

458 OCEANIA
27. Towns. — The only town of any importance is Brishane, the
capital. The only other towns with a population of over 10,000 are
Rockhampton and Maryborough.
(i) BBISBAHE (40) stands on the river Brisbane, about 600 miles north of Sydney.
The botanical gardens are full of interesting tropical plants.
(ii) Bockhampton is a growing port for metallic ores on the Fitzroy.
(iii) Maryborough, on the Mary, is a rising centre of the sugar industry.
28. SOUTH AUSTRALIA. — This is the second largest colony on the
continent ; but only a very small portion of it is settled. It is about
2000 miles long by 800 wide ; and its area contains nearly a million
square miles. But it is only the southern part that is inhabited,
and that by only about 350,000 persons. The chief mountain-range
is Flinders Range ; and the chief river in the interior is Finke C!reek,
whioh sometimes dries up before it can reach Lake Eyre. The lower
part of the Murray flows through South Australia.
(i) South Australia proper begins at 26" South lat. ; the northern part is called
the Northern Territory, which is mostly desert, with a few fertile spots.
(ii) The settled part of South Australia is not mueh larger than Scotland.
(iii) The Murray falls into Lake Alexandrina, a wide shallow sheet of fresh water ;
so that the wbole of its basin may be regarded as a continental basin.
(iv) The Northern Territory is mostly desert ; but, in the hotter and more fertile
parts, Chinese are engaged in growing tropical products. There are also rich gold-
flelds. The chief town is Falmerston, on the magnificent harbour of Port Darwin.
29. Industries and Commerce. — South Australia is the chief wheat-
growing colony on the continent ; and the wheat area is about half
the size of Scotland. In addition to agriculture, the chief industries
are mining, sheep-rearing, and wine-making. The chief exports are
wool, wheat, and copper. The principal imports are iron, clothing,
cottons, wooUens, machinery, etc. Great Britain takes most of the
exports, and sends most of the imports. There are about 1600 mUes
of railway ; and 6000 miles of telegraph line.
(i) The most important agricultural products are wheat, wine, and ollve-oU.
(ii) We buy from South Australia about £2,000,000 worth of wool a year.
(iii) Copper constitutes the chief mineral wealth of the colony. Burra Bnrra was
once the great copper-mine ; bnt it has been eclipsed hy WaUaroo, on Spencer Gulf.

AUSTRALIA 459
(iv) The Overland Telegraph Line of South Australia is one of the greatest wonders of
the world. A line, 1073 miles long, stretching across a whole continent, from Adelaide
to Port Darwin, and crossing a series of deserts, most of them entirely waterless, with
tracks to be cleared through almost impenetrable scrub, with drought to be fought
by the engineers in one place and floods in another, with food and all materials lo
be carted hundreds of mUes, and all this done by one of the poorest Australian
colonies, must command onr admiration and respect.

30. Towns. — There is only one town of any importance in South
Australia ; and that is Adelaide, the capital. The other towns are
very small ; for most of the inhabitants are engaged in agriculture.
(i) ADELAmE (70 ; but, within a radius of ten miles, 150) stands on the little river
Torrens. The city is backed by the Mount Lofty Range, in which reservoirs have
been constructed capable of holding 1,000,000,000 gallons of water. The botanic
gardens rank next to those of Sydney.
(ii) Port Adelaide stands about 7 miles from the city of Adelaide.

31. WEST AUSTRALIA. — This Colony occupies nearly one-third of the
whole continent ; but most of it is desert, only three small portions
on the coast are settled, and the total inhabitants amount to only
50,000— the number of a small English town. This is only one
person to about 27 square miles. The colony has never thriven. Its
chief exports are wool and lead-ore. The capital is Perth, on the
Swan river. There are about 500 miles of railway and 3000 mUes
of telegraph Une.
(i) The three things that have retarded the growth of Western Australia are :
(a) the absence of mineral wealth ; (b) the fact that the patches of fertile land are
separated from eacb other by wide stretches of deaert ; and (c) the long distance from
the only good harbour — Albany, on King George's Sound.
(ii) The Kimberley Dletrict, in the north, seems now to be the rising portion of the
colony. And this also for three reasons : (a) the discovery of a gold-fleld ; (b) the
discovery of rich grassy plains ; and (c) the growth of the pearl-flsheries.
(iii) The two best things in West Australia are its timber and its flne climate. The
gigantic Karri— one of the tallest trees in the world, and the Jarrah, which grows a
wood that resists the white ant on land and the ship-worm at sea, are two eucalypti
which yield large quantities of excellent tiraber. — The climate is one of the finest
known — hot, dry, and also bracing. "It is a climate snch as no other in the world
can excel, and few equal, for health-giving attributes."

460 OCEANIA
32. TASMANIA. — The colony of Tasmania is an island which is as
large as Scotland without its attendant islands. It has a long
and irregular coast line, with many good harbours. It is perhaps
the most thoroughly mountainous island on the globe, and has been
called " the Switzerland of the South." A high table-land fills the
middle of the island ; and on and round this rise mountain-ranges
and peaks, and from it run down four slopes. Mountain, table-land,
valley, ravine, and glen are mingled in the most picturesque con
fusion. The two largest valleys — those of the Derwent and the Tamar
— run south and north. There are many other smaller rivers, which
never fail for want of water, which flow through picturesque scenery
and magnificent forests, and are adorned with splendid waterfalls.
There are numerous alpine lakes on the central table-land — the
highest being Great Lake and Lake St. Clair. The climate is cooler
and the air more refreshing than that of Australia ; and hence the
island has become a health-resort. The capital is Hobart ; and the
chief port, Launceston. The chief exports are wool, tin, fruit, timber,
and gold. — The population of the whole island is only about 140,000
— half the population of Bristol.
(i)The highest mountains, which just exceed 5000 ft., are Cradle Mountain in tlie
west, and Ben Lomond in the east. They are snow-capped for most of the year.
(ii) The most remarkable mammals are the "Tiger-wolf" — the largest of all
carnivorous marsupials, and the " Tasmanian Devil."
(iii) The aborigines are completely extinct.
(iv) There are about 400 miles of railway — the chief line being between Hobart and
Launceston. There are about 2000 miles of telegraph line.
(v) HOBAKT (30), on the Derwent, at the end of the island furthest from Australia,
stands at the foot ofthe noble Mount Wellington. It has a very good harbour. " It
is surrounded by hills and mountains," says Mr. Trollope, "from' whicb \iews can be
had which would make the fortune of any district in Europe. And the air of Holvirt
is perfect air." It is famous for its excellent fruits. Launceston, on the Tamar, has
a fair amount of trade and shipping, which its situation near Australia brings to it.
Beaconsfleld is the capital of the gold-mining district.
(vi) Tasmania receives most of its imports (clothing, iron, cottons, etc.) from
Victoria ; and the next largest (luantity from Great Brit.iin.
33. NEW ZEALAND.— The group of islands which lie between 37°
iind 47" 8. lat. — entirely in the Temperate Zone, about 1200 miles

NKW ZEALAND

461

from Australia, is called New Zealand. This group consists of two large
islands — North Island and South Island, and one very small one —

hCHTH fiiPE

Stewart Island. The two larger islands are together a little more than
twice the size of England without Wales. Their surface is highly
mountainous ; and one long cordillera runs through both islands from
south to north. The islands are well watered ; and there are numerous
lakes and rivers. The coast line is long ; and there are many
good harbours. The South Island is remarkable for long narrow
fiords called " Sounds," with high steep cliffs hemming them in.
(i) The North and South Islands are separated by Cook Strait ; South Island is
separated from Stewart Island by Foveaux (Fovb) Strait.
(ii) North Island has an area of 45,000 square miles ; South Island about 55,000.
(iii) Many parts of New Zealand remind one of the romantic scenery of Scotland.
A New Zealander, after seeing Scotland, will say: "There is no place iu the world
Uke Scotland, except New Zealand." And a Scotchman says : " There is no pl4oe in
the world like New Zealand, except Scotland."

34. Build. — Both islands are mountainous and even rugged, with
narrow plains on the west, and broader plains on the east side. The
South Island is the more mountainous of the two ; and the lofty
range runs very near to the western coast. The mountain-range in
this island is called the Southern Alps ; and the highest point in it is
2K

462 OCEANIA
Mount Cook, which attains the height of 12,350 ft. — a little less than
that of Mont Blanc. — The highest mountains in the North Island lie
nearer to the eastern coast, and are all volcanic. The loftiest peak
in that island is Mount Egmont (8270 ft.). — The largest lake in New
Zealand is Lake Taupo (in North Island) ; and the largest river is
Waikato, which is the outlet of Lake Taupo. The widest plain is
that on the eastern side of the South Island, — and is called Canter
bury Plains. — Evidences of volcanic action — past or present — abound
almost everywhere in New Zealand, more especially in the centre of
the North Island.
(i) The Southern Alps rise above the line of perpetual snow ; and their higher
valleys are filled with large glaciers, the lower with beautiful lakes.
(ii) Mount Egmont is a regularly shaped, snow-topped, volcanic cone which stands by
itself in the south-west corner of the North Island, and rises "in solitary grandeur."
(iii) Lake Taupo is a "veritable inland sea," about six times the size of hoch
Lomond ; and of an unknown depth. It is said to be the old crater of an extinct
volcano. It is surrounded by volcanic deposits which form a table-land rising 1000 ft.
above its surface.
(iv) The Walkato, about 25 miles from its outlet, passes througli a most striking
group of hot springs. "Along its banks white clouds of steam ascend from hot
cascades falling into the river, and from basins of boiling water shut in by white
masses of stone. Steaming fountains rise at short intervals, sometimes two or
more playing simultaneously."— The active volcano of Tongariro rises a few miles off.
— Farther north is a zone of hot springs, solfataras, fumaroles, and mud volcanoes,
more than a thousand in. number. There is nothing like it anywhere else in the
world. — The Molyneux or Clntha is the largest river in the South Island.
(v) The Lake District, which lies north-east of Lake Taupo, is, in its own fashion,
the most remarkable region in the world. It is famous for its wonderful collection of
geysers, sulphurous springs, palatial terraces, lovely natural baths, edged with flinty
deposits which look like tinted marble— pink or white, and filled with hot trans
parent water of the clearest and strongest blue. The pure white of the flinty deposits,
the intense blue of the waters, the vivid green of the surrounding vegetation, the
bright red of the bai-e earth, the whirling clouds of steam— all go to form a scene
which is unequalled on the face of the globe. (The pink and white terraces were
lately destroyed by the eruption of a neighbouring volcano.)

35. Climate, Vegetation, etc, — The climate of New Zealand is like
that of England— only wn.rmer and more equable. The sea-breezes
temper the summer heat, and add warmth to the air iu winter. The

NEW ZEALAND 463
prevalent winds are north-west, cross a great breadth of ocean, and
are laden with moisture ; hence the west coasts are much more rainy
than the east. — The timber belongs chiefly to the tribe of pines ; and
the Kauri pine is the most valuable tree in the islands. There are no
native grains or fruits ; and those now cultivated were introduced by
the settlers. — The fauna of New Zealand is very peculiar : there are
no marsupials at all ; and the only native bird is a wingless running
bird called the apteryx.
(i) Forests covering about 12,000,000 acres are a characteristic feature in New
Zealand. Kauri gum, a product of the Kauri pine, used for flne varnishes, is found
in the soil on the sites of old Kauri forests, and at the foot of growing trees. The
Kauri pine itself supplies exceUent timber.
(ii) The only native mammals are two small kinds of bat.— There are no snakes.—
There are four kinds of apteryx — without wings or tail-feathers, and a little larger than
a hen. They have short legs, bills like a snipe's, and long brown hair-like feathers.
36. Industries and Commerce. — The chief industries are sbeep-
farming, agriculture, and mining. By far the largest export is wool ;
and after it, though at a great distance, come gold, grain, frozen meat,
and Kauri g^um. Much the largest trade is done with Great Britain
(the exports and imports to and from England amount to about
£5,000,000) ; and the Australian Colonies have also considerable
commercial dealings with New Zealand.
(i) The colony owns about 20,000,000 sheep.
(ii) The total value of the gold raised in New Zealand since 1857 amounts to
.-645,000,000.— There are also numerous coal-mines in tho colony.
(iii) The chief ports are : (a) In the North Island ; Anckland, Napier, and WelUngton ;
(6) in the South Island : Nelson and Dimedlii.
(iv) There are nearly 2000 miles of railway in both islands ; and nearly 6000 miles
of telegraph. 37. Towns. — There are only four towns in New Zealand with a
population of over 20,000 inhabitants. These are Auckland, the
largest, and Wellington in North Island ; Dunedin and Christchurch
in the South Island.
(i) Anckland (60) stands on an excellent harbour in the beautiful Gulf of Hauraki.
It is the largest city in New Zealand, and was at one tirae the seat of government.

464 OCEANIA
(ii) Wellington (30) is the capital of New Zealand. It stands on Cook Strait,
about 1200 miles from Sydney.
(iii) Dnnedln) (60), the capital of the old province of Otago, is the largest commercial
city in the colony. It is inhabited chiefly by Scotchmen.
(iv) OhrlBtehnrcli (46), the "City of the Plains," is the capital of the province of
Canterbury. It has a beautiful situation on the river Avon. Its port is Lyttelton.
(v) The population of the whole of New Zealand is about 600,000 (less than the
population of Glasgow), of whom about 40,000 are Maories. The Maories are not a
native race ; but came originally from some island in Polynesia.

POLYNESIA.
1. Introductory. — Polynesia is the name generally given to aU the
islands in the Pacific Ocean. But the Paciflc Islands are more
correctly divided into three groups : Melanesia, Micronesia, and
Polynesia. Polynesia means the " Eegion of Many Islanda," from the Greek polya, muny, .ind ncaoa, an
island. Melaneaia meana the " Elafik-Island Region " {melas, black) ; and Micronesia, the
" Kegion of Small Lslands " {mikroa, small).
(i) The countless islands of Polynesia are partly of volcanic, partly of coral
formation ; and sometimes a combination of both. The coral islands are by far the
more numerous. These consist of atolls or low reefs, only a few feet above the sea-
level, and enclosing a central lagoon. The volcanic islands, again, are often surrounded
by reefs of coral, which the coral polype has built on the submarine slopes of the
mountains whose roots go deep down into the sea.
(ii) The Sandwich, Society, and Friendly (or Tonga) Islands are all volcanic ; the
Carolines, Marshall Islands, and Low Archipelago are the work of the coral polype.
2. The Two Chief Groups. — The two most important island-groups
in the Pacific Ocean are the Sandwich Islands in the north (lat. 20°
N.), and the Fiji Islands in the south (lat. 20° S.) They are about
4000 mUes from each other. Both are places of call for British and
American steamers running between the three continents of Asia,
America, and Australia ; and both are destined to become great
centres of oceanic trade.
(i) The Sandwich Islands lie a little south of the Tropic of Cancer. The group
consists of seven inhabited volcanic islands— the largest of which is Hawaii, and the
second largest Oahu. The total area of all is a little larger than Yorkshire. The
group is "an earthly Paradise, washed by tlie soft blue and sunny waters of tlie
Paciflc, and breathed on by mild and balmy zephyrs. " The people are gay and light-

POLYNESIA 465
hearted idlers. They gallop on tlieir ponies over the white sands, and disport them
selves on the white crests of the surging billows.— Hawaii is a naked and waterless
iron-bound islaud— a mass of lava, full of volcanoes. There are four active volcanoes
—three of them the highest mountains in Polynesia; and the two highest are
Manna. Kea (13,840 ft.), and Mauna Loa (13,650 ft.). Near Mauna Loa is EUauea, the
most remai'kable volcano in the world. Its crater is a fathomless oval abyss, flUed
with a glowing lake of boiling lava, which rises and falls at regular intervals. — The
soil of the islands is extremely fertile ; and the chief crops are sugar and rice. The
capital is Honolulu (on Oahu), a splendid land-locked harbour, with water deep enough
for the largest steamers. American influence is strongest in the islands.
(ii) The ryi Islands (which belong to Great Britain) lie a little north of the Tropic of
Capricorn. There are more than 200 islands ; about 80 are inhabited. The largest is
Viti Leva, a little more than ^ds the size of Yorkshire ; the second largest is Vanua
Levu. Both are mountainous (the highest peaks about 5000 ft.), of volcanic origin,
well wooded, and extremely fertile. The eastern or "weather-side " of the islands is
one dense mass of tropical vegetation, one unbroken green mantle of huge trees,
countless creepers, and other plants. The lee side is a grassy country dotted with
screw-pines. — The Fijians are a dark-coloured, frizzly-haired, bearded race, tall,
muscular, and well-formed. They were once cannibals. The principal products of the
islands are sugar, copra, and bananas. — The capital is Suva (on Viti Levu); the only
other town of any size is Levuka. — There is regular steam-communication to New
Zealand, Australia, and Great Britain.

3. MELANESIA. — The groups of islands which go by the name of
Melanesia lie between the Moluccas and the Fiji Islands. The in
habitants belong to the Papuan Eace. By far the largest island is
Papua or New Guinea. The important groups are the Bismarck
Archipelago, the Salomon Islands, the New Hehrides, New Caledonia,
and the Fiji Islands.
(i) New Guinea is the largest island in the world. It has an area of 300,000 square miles
—ten times the size of Scotland, or one-fourth larger than the whole Austrian Empire.
It lies between the Equator and Torres Strait, and has the Moluccas on the west of
it. The island is very mountainous ; and the height of some of the mountains in the
interior has been estimated at 18,000 ft.— by far the loftiest summits whioh rise within
the space between the Himalayas and the Andes. The lofty weU-marked range in the east
ofthe island is called Owen Stanley. The soil is exceedingly fertile ; and the country is
overgrown with dense virgin forests. Gigantic trees, matted together with lianas,
shut out the rays ofthe sun. Tree-ferns, palms, orchids, cinnamon-trees, and flgs are
very common. Animals are scarce ; and the largest mammal is the wild pig. But the
island is rich in birds-of-paradise, king-flshers, parrots, and pigeons. The Papuan race
is of a deep sooty-brown or black complexion, wilh dry and woolly hair, which grows
in one large flrm mass of dense curls. (The word papiia means "woolly-haired.")

466 OCEANIA
The island is held by three European powers : the Dutch iu the western half; the
Germans in the north-east ; and the English in the south-east.
(ii) BiBmarck Archipelago is the new name for the group formerly called New Britain,
which was seized by the Germans. The separate islands have been rechristened New
Mecklenburg (formerly New Ireland), New Pomerania (New Britain before), etc.
There is an active volcano on New Pomerania, The people are cannibals.
(iii) The Salomon IslandB are a volcanic gronp (now also in German hands); and there
is at least one active volcano. The forest trees are magnificent ; and tree-ferns grow
to the height of 40 ft. Sandal- wood, ebony, and lignum-vitae grow in these islands.
(iv) The Kew Hebrides, to the south-east, are also a volcanic group, with some small
outlying coral-reef islands. Some of the volcanoes are in constant activity.
(v) New Caledonia is the most southerly of the Melanesian Islands. The country is
very mountainous. Some gold and much nickel are found in the rocks. The island
belongs to France and is used as a penal settlement.
(vi) The Fiji Islanda, which belong to Britain, are the last group in Melanesia.
4. MICRONESIA. — The groups of islands in the region known as
Micronesia rise from three submarine plateaus, and are mostly of
coral formation. From the most easterly plateau rise the Gilbert and
Marshall Islands ; from the middle plateau, the Carolines ; and, from
the north-westerly, the Marianne or Thieves Islands.
(i) The Gilbert Archipelago consists of 16 islands, all coral reefs or atolls. Their
greatest height above the sea-level is 20 ft. The soil is only a few inches in depth ;
and the chief crop is cocoa-nuts. In spite of this apparent poverty, these islands are
the most densely peopled in the Pacific. Some of the islands form one great village ;
and the average for the whole is 330 persons to the square mile. Great numbers of
hsh are caught in the lagoons.
(ii) The Marshall Archipelago is also entirely of coral growth. Most of the group
are lagoon-islands. There are 30 distinct atolls. The population is only 10,000.
(iii) Tlie Carolines are a series of islands which stretch across 2000 miles of sea.
With one exception, they are all lagoon formations. On the low islands, the bread
fruit ; on the others, the taro, is the principal food.
(iv) The Marlannea belong to Spain. They contain many extinct volcanoes.
5. POLYNESIA.— Polynesia Proper lies between 20° S. and 20° N.
lat. The most important groups are the Tonga or Friendly Islands ; the
Samoa Group ; the Society Islands ; the Faumotu or Low Archipelago ;
the Marquesas and the Sandwich Islands. The inhabitants belong
mostly to the one race of Brown Polynesians.

I'OI.YNESIA 467
(i) The Friendly Islands consist entirely of coral or of volcanic deposits, aud are
all low. The largest island is Tongatabn ; and steamers both from Australia and New
Zealand call there on their way to the Sandwich Islands. There are several active
volcanoes. The natives, who are " Fair Polynesians," are the cleverest ot all the
South Sea Islanders in niaking tools, weapons, dresses, etc.
(ii) The Samoa Group ai-e also volcanic, and are said to be among the loveliest
islands in the Paciiic. Cocoa-nuls arc largely grown for exportation.
(iii) The Society Islands are in the hands of the French, who also hold the Low and
Marquesas Archipelagoes. The chief member of the group is Tahiti, one of the
grandest, strangest, and most picturesque countries in the world. It is entirely com
posed of lava, and the mountains — which are everywhere— take the most extraor
dinary shapes. The island "rises like an amphitheatre in a succession of bold circular
terraces towards the central peaks ; " and the roads into the interior are through the
most romantic vaUeys and deep gorges. The highest point is nearly 8000 ft. high.
" The wayfarer is soothed by the fragrance of sweet-smelling flowers, while his ears
are ravished by the music of various songsters arrayed in the brilliant plumage
of the tropics." This terrestrial Eden is peopled by one of the finest races in the
world ; but the natives are dying out. Oranges and cocoa-nuts arc the chief pro-
duct.-5. The capital is Papeete. The chief exports are cocoa-nuts, mother-of-pearl, and
cotton to England ; oranges and trepang to China.
(iv) The Low Archipelago consists of about 80 islets encircled by coral atolls — very
thinly peopled, very flat, and without rivers. They possess rich pearl-flsheries.
(v) The Marquesas are all of volcanic origin without coral reefs. The natives surpass
even the Tahitians in physical beauty. They too are dying out.
(vi) The Sandwich Islands, which have been described on p. 466, are the most
northerly group in Polynesia.

TABLES
THE BRITISH EMPIKE.— The British Empire is the largest
Empire on the face of the globe. The sun never rises upon it, and
never sets. It is spread over all latitudes and longitudes, over all
climates, over all the seas and oceans of the world ; and between
all parts of it there is more or less easy connection by means of
the sea. And yet the island which rules this vast Empire is one
hundred times smaller than the Empire itself. The area of the
British Empire is over 9,000,000 square miles ; and its population is
about 310,000,000. The following is a list of the different parts of
our Empire, with their sizes and populations, and the dates of their
acquisition. (i) The British Empire is larger by half a million of square miles than the
Bussian Empire; and its population is more than three times as large.
(ii) Its area is about one-sixth of all the land on the globe ; and its population
abont one-flfth of the total inhabitants ot the world.

THE COLONIES AND DEPENDENCIES OF
THE BBITISH EMPIRE.

EUROPE

Name or Colony.

Date of
Acquisition.

Area in
Square Miles.

Population in
Thousands.

1. Gibraltar, ....

1704

H

24

2. Heligoland, ....

1807

Of

2

3. Malta and Gozo, .

1800

117

159

4 70

COLONIES AND JJEI'EN]JKNCIE.S OF

ASIA

Name of Colony.

Date of
Acquisition.

Area in
Square Miles.

Population in
Thousands.

1. Aden 

1838

66

35

2. Ceylon 

1796

26,364

2| millions.

3. Cyprus, ....

1878

3,584

186

4. Hong-Kong, .

1843
30
201
5. India, British,
1625—1885
1,064,720 ' 202 millions.]
6. „ Feudatory States,
714,758 , 55 millions.
7. Labuan,
1846
30J 1 6
8. North Borneo,
1840
27,600 175
9. Perim 
18S5
4i
10. Straits Settlements,
1785—1819 : 1,472
506
11. ,, Feudatory States,

7,809
294
12. Keeling Islands,
1857
8 !
13. Kuria Muria Islands,
21
(i) Ceylon is a little smaller than Scotland.
(ii) The whole of India is nearly halfthe size of Europe.
(iii) North Borneo is nearly as large as Scotland.
AFRICA
Name of Colony.
Date of 1 Area in
Acquisition. , Square Miles.
Population in
Thousands.
1. Ascension Island, .
1815
35
2. Basutoland, .
1868
10,290
128
3. Bechnanaland,
1885
162,000
44
i. Berbera,
1884

5. Cape Colony,
1806—1877
219,700
1\ million .
6. Gambia,
1831
69
14 ,
7. Gold Coast, .
1861
16,000
400 ,
8. Lagos 
1861 1,071
87
9. Mauritius.
1810 708
361
10. Natal, .
1838
18,760
443
11. Niger Districts,
1886
12. St. Helena, .
1661
47
5
13. St. Paul and Amsterdam,
1787
...
14. Sierra Leone,
468
61
15. Socotra,
1876 ! 1,000
4
16. Tristan d'Aounha, .
1818 46
(i) Bechuanaland is nearly as large as Sweden.
(ii) Cape Colony is larger than the whole Anstrian Empire.
(iiii Natal is more than half the size of Ireland.
THE BUITISII EMPIRE

471

AMERICA

Name of Colony.

Date ot
Acquisition.

Area in
Square Miles.

Population in
Thousands.

1. Bahamas 

1670

5,450

44

2. Barbadoes, ....

1606

166

174

3. Bermudas 

1609
1623—1760

20

15

i. Canada, 

3,470,392

i\millions.

5. Falkland Islands, .

1833

6,500

2

6. Guiana, 

1803

109,000

270

7. Honduras, ....

1783—1786

7,562

27

8. Jamaica and Turk's Island,

1629—1666

4,424

686

9. Leeward Islands, .

1626—1763

479

123

10. Newfoundland,

1583

40,200

197

11. South Georgia,

1,570

12. Trinidad 

1797

1,754

178

13. Windward Islands,

1605—1803

623

160

(i) Canada is nearly as large'as the whole of Europe.
(ii) Guiana is nearly as large aa Italy.
(iii) Newfoundland is one-third larger than Ireland.

AUSTRALASIA

Name of Colony.

Date of
Acquisition.

Ai-ea in
Square Miles.

Population in
Thousands.

1. Fiji and Rotumah Islands,

1874^1881

7,764

126

2. Kennadeo Islands,

1886

21

3. New South Wales and Norfolk
Island, ....
1787
325,000
1 miUion.
4. New Guinea, ....
1884
86,457
135
5. New Zealand,
1841
104,458
589
6. Queensland 
1869
668,497
323
7. South Australia, .
1836
903,690
313
8. Tasmania, ....
1803
26,215
137
9. Victoria 
1787
87,884
1 million.
10. Western Australia,
1829
1,060,000
40
11. Auckland, Lord Howe, etc..
Islands 
256
(i) New South Wales is nearly three times as large as Italy.
(ii) The part of New Guinea held by us is nearly as large as Great Britain. The
colony of Victoria is about the same size.
(iii) New Zealand is a little larger than Italy.
(iv) Queensland is more than three times as large as Austria.
(v) South Australia is ten times as large as Great Britain.
(vi) Tasmania is a little smaller than Scotland.
(vii) Western Australia is about flve times as large as France. The whole of the
British Empire contains 9,303,000 square miles ; and is 100 times as large as Great
Britain.
472 BRITISH COLONIES ANI> DEPENDENClEvS
(i) The Imports and Exports of the British Empire amount, annuaUy, tu the enor
mous sum of nearly £1,050,000,000.
(ii) The Population of the Empire amounts to 327,000,000.
(iii) The Anny of the Empire numbers over 650,000 men.
(iv) The Navy has more than 62,000 men ; 260 men-of-war, of which nearly 200 are
steamships, and 29 are armour-plated.
(v) *' Thus a small European people, numbering hardly 5,000,000 souls at the time
it entered on its career of conquest in the 17th century, has gradually extended its
dominions, until they embrace the sixth part of the habitable globe and close upon
300,000,000 of human beings. In addition to this, there are wide territories in India,
in Arabia, in Africa, and elsewhere, which do not officially form part of the British
Empire, but where British influence is nevertheless paramount, and the request of an
English consul is tantamount to a command." — Kecltjs.
(vi) ' ' There is hardly a country in the world which is not indebted to British
enterprise and British capital for railways, telegraphs, and water- works, or for some
development of its internal resources. Nearly all the submarine telegraph cables
belong to England ; the mines of Brazil, the railways of the Argentine Republic, and
many of the sugar-mills of Egypt are the property of English capitalists. Tlie
material labour of half tlie world is carried on through the banks of Lombard Street."
(vii) "Taking British India— itself as large as France, Spain, Portugal, Switzer
land, Italy, Germany, Austria, Greece,
Turkey, Bulgaria, Servia and Scan
dinavia all put together — as a unit
of measurement, we shall find that
British India is somewhat smaller
than Western Australia, which is only
one of the five huge colonies thai
make up Uie vast island-continent of
Australia. Again, Australia, if set
down upon Her Majesty's dominions
in North America, would stand iu
them as a cup does iu its saucer ; and,
when you have put on one side Aus
tralia and the Dominion of Canada,
we have still some forty colonies,
ranging from mere specks to vast countries like New Zealand, or still ¦\'aster ones
like South Africa, on which we could strew New Zealands about and still have room
to spare." — Grant-Duff.
(viii) The figure a represents the size of the island of Great Britain. The figure h
represents the size of the British Empire. The latter is more than 100 times as large
as the former.

TABLES

473

LETTERS AND POST-CARDS.

Name op Country.

Letters and
Post-cards in
Millions.

Population in
Millions.

Letters
per head
per annum.

1.

United States, .

5,834

60

97

2.

England and Wales, .

1,391

28

49

3.

Scotland,

149

4

37

4.

Switzerland,

96

3

32

5.

Germany, .

1,119

47

24

Netherlands, . "j

88

4

22 ^

6.

Belgium, . .J

131

6

22 j

7.

Ireland,

99

4!

21

8.

Canada,

86

4i

20

9.

Sweden,

90

ii

19

10.

France,

679

38

18

11.

Austria-Hungary,

526

39i

13

12.

Norway,

20

2

10

13.

Italy, . . . .^

203

30

'1

Spain, .

118

17

7j

14.

Portugal,

22

4

5

Greece, . ~|
Denmark, . )

6

2

'I

15.

6

2

3|

16.

Russia in Europe, .

150

88

2
1 letter

17.

Turkey in Europe, .

1

9

per annum
for every
15 inhahi-
tants.

474

TABLES

TELEGRAPHS IN MILES.

Name of Codntky.

Length of
Telegraph Lines.

Population in
MiUions.

Miles per
Million
Persons.

Miles.

1.
Canada,
25,3.50
4i
5,850
2.
Norway,
5,640
2
2,820
3.
United States,
151,832
60
2,530
4.
Greece,
4,130
2
2,065
5.
Turkey in Europe,
14,620
9
1,624
6.
Switzerland,
4,450
3
1,483
7.
France,
54,294
38
1,429
8.
Denmark,
2,440
2
1,220
9.
Germany, .
53,880
47
1,146
10.
Sweden,
5,286
4|
1,113
11.
Austria-Hungary,
35,670
39i
908
12.
Portugal,
3,230
4
807
13.
United Kingdom,
29,900
37
808
14.
Russia in Europe,
68,250
88
775
15.
Spain, ....
11,520
17
678
16.
Belgium,
3,850
6
640 I
17.
Italy, . .
19,120
30
637
TABLES

475

RAI LWAYS.

N.\me of Country.

Miles of
Railway.

Population in
Millions.

Miles per
Million.

1.

Canada,

12,000

*i

2,770

2.

United States, .

150,800

60

2,513

3.

Sweden,

4,524

4|

952

4.

Scotland, .

3,050

4

762

5.

Switzerland,

1,926

3

642

6.

Denmark, .

1,250

2

625

Ireland, |

2,650

5

530 1

/ •

France, . )

20,160

38

530 i

8.

Germany, .

24,200

47

515

9.

England and Wales, .

13,700

28

490

10.

Norway,

972

2

486

11.

Belgium,

2,800

6

466

12.

Netherlands,

1,590

4

400

13.

Spain, ....

6,410

17

380

14.

Austria-Hungary,

14,355

39i

365

15.

Portugal,

1,280

4

320

16.

Italy, .

7,270

30

242

17.

Greece,

430

2

215

18.

Russia in Europe,

16,340

88

185

19.

Turkey in Europe, .

1,000

9

110

476

TABLES

VALUE OF
NET IMPORTS. NET EXPORTS.

Name of Countby.

Millions £

ShillingB per In
habitant

Name of Country.

Millions £

ShiUinga per In
habitant

Australia, .

63

420

Australia, .

50

350

Holland,

76

375

Holland, .

59

295

Belgium,

67

246

Belgium, .

52

190

United Kingdom,

348

196

United Kingdom,

241

137

Canada,

25

110

Canada,

21

96

France,

199

104

France,

144

76

United States, .

151

55

United States, .

153

59

Russia,

62

14

Russia,

48

11

India, .

38

4

India, .

75

7 '

Conclusions :—(i) Australia buys and sells more goods, per inhabitant, than any
other country in the world.
(ii) India sells nearly twice as much as she buys.
(iii) Holland is the most commercial country in Europe.
(iv) The United States have the most evenly balanced system ot
imports and exports.— And so on.

TABLES
MANUFACTURES.

477

Name of Cocntry.

Value, Millions £.

Eaw Material, Lbs.
per Inhabitant.

Value of
Manufac ture per
Inhabi tant.

"Textiles.

Hardware.

Total.

t Fibre.

Iz'on.

United Kingdom,

195

127

322

71

420

£91

France,

111

42

153

28

122

4-0

Russia,

54

13

67

7

18

0-8

Italy, .

20

3

23

6

8

0-8

Belgium,

21

15

.36

54

303

7-

Holland, .

5

3

8

19

92

2-

United States, .

122

83

205

24

241

4-

Cottons, woollens, linens, etc., silks, sundries. t Cotton, wool, flax, hemp, jute.
Conclusions : — (i) France has twice the manufactures of Holland.
(ii) France has tive times the manufactures of Russia or Italy.
And so ou.
AGRICULTURE.

Name of Country.

Value in Millions £.

Capital per
Inhabitant.

Product
Workman.

Land.

Timber,
Cattle, etc.

Total.

United Kingdom,
France,Russia,
Italy, .
¦ Denmark, .
* United States,"

1,737
2,624 1,386 810 210
1,923

523618
1,239 233 63
1,025

2,2603,2422,625 1,043 273
2,948

£65 8833 36
137 58

£ s.
22 10
25 2
9 2
10 2
24 5
24 8

* Does not include public lands.
Conclusions :— France is, agriculturally, the most productive state in Europe. Etc.
2 L

478

TABLES

IRON, PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION,

Name of Country.

Iron pro
duced in
Thousands of Tons.

Pounds of
Pig Iron
per
Inhabitant.

Consumption of Pig Iron in
Thousands of Tons.

Consumption of Pig Iron,
Lbs. per
Inliabitant.

United Kingdom, .

8,488

555

6,415

420

United States,

4,023

196

5,372

240 '

Germany,

3,17]

140

2,520

126

France, .

2,033

117

2,110

122

Belgium,

640

250

720

303

Austria, .

550

30

520

30

Russia, .

505

12

630

18

Sweden, .

410

190

180

90

INCOME OF NATIONS.

Name or Country.

Annual Earnings
in
MiUions £.

Average per
Inhabitant,
£ per annum.

United States,

1,420

27

United Kingdom,

1,247

35

France,

965

26

Russia,

848

10

Italy, .

345

12

Belgium,

120

22

Canada, ...

118

27

Holland,

104

26

Conclusions :— (i) The average income of a Briton is^ times that of a Russian.
(ii) HoUand and Prance stand ou the same economic platform.
(iii) Belgium is a much more manufaoturiug country than Italy. Etc.

TABLES

479

DISTANCES

OF GREAT CITIES FROM
[As the Grow Jiic-i).

LONDON

Algiers, .

. 1,050

Madrid, .

780

Amsterdam,

210

Melbourne,

9,990

Astrakhan,

. 2,180

Mexico, .

. 5,800

Berlin,

580

Montreal,

. 3,340

Boston, .

3,190

Moscow, .

. 1,580

Brussels,

190

Naples, .

. 1,000

Buenos Ayres,

. 7,260

New York,

. 3,620

Cairo,

. 2,260

Paris,

200

Calcutta, .

4,870

Pekin,

. 5,400

Canton, .

. 5,960

Pesth,

900

Cape Town, .

5,950

Quebec,

. 3,200

Constantinople,

. 1,540

Quito,

. 6,500

Copenhagen, .

600

Rio, .

. 6,000

Dublin, .

280

Rome,

900

Edinburgh,

300

San Francisco,

. 6,000

Geneva, .

460

St. Petersburg,

. 1,380

Gibraltar,

. 1,100

Singapore,

. 7,050

Havanna,

. 4,700

Stockholm,

910

Hong-Kong,

6,040

Sydney, .

10,120

Jerusalem,

. 2,100

Tokio,

. 6,600

Lima,

. 6,900

Vienna, .

760

Lisbon,

980

Washington, .

. 3,800

Madras,

. 5,170

MAP-DRAWING
GENEEAL INSTKUCTIONS.
1. The problem in map-drawing is to reduce the shape of the
country to as simple a geometrical figure as possible ; and then to
superimpose upon the straight lines the varying bends — the inlets
and outgoes — of the coast. Thus, in the case of South America, it is
easy to reduce its form to two triangles — a large one with its apex
pointing to the east, and a small one with its apex pointing to the
west. 2. Take the four extreme points of the continent or country ; and
fix in your memory the latitude and longitude of each of these points.
3. Through the most southerly or most northerly point of the
continent, draw a straight line at right angles to any meridian.
4. From the most northerly point of the continent, let faU a
straight line at right angles to the line previously made.
5. Measure the length in inches of each of these lines ; and fix
these two measurements in the memory.
6. From the most westerly point of the continent draw a straight
line at right angles to the line first drawn. Then, at the distance of
one inch, draw as many straight lines parallel with the lines running
east and west as you consider necessary.
7. Connect the extreme points of the continent by straight lines.
8. Practise ftom memory the construction of this resultant geo
metrical figure till you can produce it rapidly and without a
single mistake.
9. Then practise the adding of the varied coast line witliin and
without this geometrical figure until you can dr.aw the map accurately
from memory. (Rub out the geometrical outline, which of course
will be in pencil.)
480

MAP-DRAWING, ETC.

481

1. Draw straight line D through Cape Froward at right angles to a meridian.
a. From Cape Gallinas let fall straight line A at right angles to D.
3. From Point Parina draw straight Une B at right angles to A.
4. Join A and the extremities of B.
5. From the point where the west coast trends farthest eastward draw straight line
C parallel to B.
6. Draw straight line between Point Parina and the Gulf of Arica.
7 Draw straight line between Cape S. Koque and Cape Frio. Draw straight line
between Cape Froward and line 0 : and a second straight line between this
point and Cape Frio.

482

MAP-DRAWING, ETC.

i

/>,.s=0 . • • -•-"•••••-¦

AUSTRALIA

South C

1. Through Cape Wilson draw sfcraigh.t line AA at right angles to any meridian.
2, From Cape York let fall C perpendicular to AA.
3. Draw straight line from Cape Wilson to Point Danger.
4. Draw straight line from Point Danger to Cape York.
5. Draw straight line from Cape York to North-West Cape.
6. Draw straight line from North-West Cape to Cape Leeuwin,
7. Draw straight line between North- West Cape and Cape Wilson.
S. Draw straight lino between Capo Leeuwin and Point Danger.
9. The intersection of these two last Unes gives the position of the Great Aiisiralian
Bight.

MAP-Dlt.VWING, ETC.

483

C . SparuJ*^;^^^:^

\

'-==^

^Suez p^

1 / '^v
C.Verd*' / K

c. ^ "^- -i
j J

//Guardaftj

of fl/ajWr
C.Lope^

— — "l.-.-J VictoriaSK
V L \
W /

Mt^S&'Kiiima Njaro
/rZanribar

AFRICA

Vi/_,..,.'-^rt Natal

C.Agulhas
 1
1. From Cape Spartel run straight line D at right angles to a meridian.
2. From Cape Agulhas run line AA at right angles to D.
3. From Cape Guardafui draw straight line CC at right angles to AA.
4. Run straight line from Cape Spartel to the head of the Gi^f of Suez.
5. Join Gulf of Suez and the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb by straight line.
6. Draw straight line between Cape Guardafui and Cape Agulhas.
7. Draw straight line from Cape Agulhas to Cape Lopez.
8, Draw straight line from Cape Lopez to Cape Verd.
9. Draw straight line from Cape Verd to Cape Spartel.
484

MAP -DRAWING, ETC.

1. From point A (a little west of Cape Severo) draw straight line AA at right angles
to any parallel of latitude.
•2. From East Cape draw BA at right angles to AA.
3. From Strait of Bab-el-Maudeb draw line EE at right angles to Ai.
4. From Gulf of Akabah draw straight line DD paraUel to EE. (The distance
between these two lines is exactly three quarters of an incli.)
5. At the same distance draw CC paraUel to DD.
6. Run straight line between East Cape and the extremity of D.
T. Run straiglit line from Gulf of Akabi-ih to Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb.
8. Run straight line from Strait ot Bab-el-Mandeb to Cape Bomania.
Draw straight line between Cape Romania and East Cape.

MAP-DRAWING, ETC.

485

C.Mendocinoi D,

C.S.Luca^

NORTH
AM ER I CA

1. The chief dUaculties in this map are the construction of the outline of Hudson
Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Each requires a special apparatus of lines.
2. Hudson Bay is an irregular four-sided figure, and the direction ot each of the
lines composing this figure is given by the perpendicular dropped from Cape
Wolstenholme. 3. The Gulf of Mexico is also constructed by an incomplete figure of four Unes ;
and the directions of these are given by the short perpendiculars EE.

486

MAP-DRAWING, ETC.

/i R C T

1. Draw a straight line AA fron^ North Cape to Cape Matapan.
2. From North Cape draw the straight line E at right angles to AA.
3. From Cape Stadtland draw the line D paraUel to E.
4. From the mouth of the Weser draw CC parallel to D.
5. Prom Cape Apsheron draw the line B parallel to CC.
6. Draw a straight line from North Cape to Cape Stadtland.
7. Draw a straight line from Cape Stadtland to the mouth of the Weser.
S. Draw a straight line from the mouth of the Weser to Cape Finisterre.
9. Another straight line from Cape Finisterre to Gibr.iltai'.
10. A straight line trom Gibraltar to Genoa.
11. A straight line fi'om Genoa to Cape Matapan.
12. A straight line from Cape Matapan to the Crimea.
18. A straight line trom the Cape Apsheron to Kara Bay.
14. A straight line from Kara Bay to the moutli of the Mezeue.
15. A straight line from the mouth of the Mezeno to tlie Nortli Cape.

VOCABULAEY

Alt, an island in. a i-iver or lake.
Alfa, a North African variety of esparto-

Asphalte, a mineral pitch found in a
liquid state on the surface of the Dead
Sea (Lake Asphaltites). It is obtained
also from the earth in different countries,
as in the Val de Travers in Smtzerland.
(ii) An artificial compound used for pav
ing, etc.
Amber, the fossilised gum of extinct
trees. It is found on the shores of the
Baltic, and is made into mouthpieces for
tobacco-pipes. Atolls, coral islands in the Pacific, con
sisting of a circular reef which encloses a
lagoon. Avalanche, a mass of snow or ice
loosened from a mountain and sliding or
falling suddenly into the valley below.
(French avaler, to descend ; Latin ad, to,
and valliSj a valley.)
Bamboo, a kind of tree-grass growing in
tropical countries. There are seventy
different species : and almost as many
different purposes to which they can be
applied ; such as building, basket-making,
paper-making, etc.
Banana, a tropical and sub-tropical fruit,
much grown for food. It is the most pro
lific of all the fruits of the earth. It is
131 times more prolific than wheat.
Banyan, a species of fig. Its branches
send down shoots into the ground, which
take root and go on increasing in the same
way. One banyan "has been known to
shelter 7000 men."
Baobab, one of the largest trees in the
world. Its stem is often 30 feet in
diameter. It produces an acid pulpy fruit.

Basalt, an igneous rock, found often in
the form of regularly-shaped columns.
Tlie pillars of Fingal'a Cave (in Staffa),
and of the Giant's Causeway (in Ireland),
are composed of basalt.
Bird's nesta, Edible. These are made by
ii kind of swallow, and found in caves
along the shores ofthe Malay Archipelago.
They are sent in great numbers to China,
where soups are made from them.
Bore, a high wave formed in the estuary
of a river by the violent rushing up of a
tidal wave. Bores take place on the
Ganges and other Asiatic rivers, on
Brazilian estuaries, and at the mouth ol'
the Severn.
Brazil nuts, the seeds of a fruit which
grows in Brazil and the northern countries
of South America. Each fruit contains
about twenty "seeds" or nuts.
Brazil wood, a heavy red dye-wood of
Brazil. Bread-frnit, a large fleshy fruit growing
in the Pacific islands, where it forms the
staple article of food. Itis usually eaten
roasted. Cacao, the chocolate-tree. It produces
pods containing a great number of seeds ;
and the seeds, being ground, yield the
powder known as Gicoa. This again is
used in the making of Chocolate.
Camel, a ruminant (cud-chewing) quad
ruped. There are two species : the
dromedary, which has one hump ; and
the common camel, which has two. The
camel's power of enduring thirst and
hunger makes it invaluable as a beast of
burden in the deserts of Arabia and
Africa. 487

488

VOCABULARY

Canon, a deep narrow gorge or ravine
cut out, in the course of ages, by a river.
The most famous is that of the Colorado ;
where the river flows along at the bottom
of a gorge whose perpendicular sides are
in some places 6000 feet in height.
Caontchonc, an elastic gum, made from
the juice of several varieties of tropical
plants. It is employed in the manu
facture of India-rubber, waterproof gar
ments, tubes, etc.
Capers, the buds of a shrub growing in
Mediterranean countries. They are pre
served in vinegar and used as a condi
ment. Carob, a plant growing in Mediterranean
countries and producing pods known as
"locust-beans." Some say that these
were the "locusts" eaten by John the
Baptist, Cassava, a preparation of manioc.
Catchment-basin, the whole area of
country which "catches" the rain and
contributes water to a river or lake.
Caviare, the roe of the sturgeon dried
and salted ; considered a great delicacy.
Cinnamon, the inner bark of a tree
grown in Ceylon, on the Malabar coast,
etc. It is an aromatic and somewhat
pungent spice.
Cinque Ports. These were five naval ports
established on the south coast of England,
for defence against France. They were
bound to provide ships at their own ex
pense, and in return enjoyed special
privileges. The ofiicial who controlled
them was called " Warden of the Cinque
Ports." The original five were Dover,
Hastings, Hytlie, Romney, Sandwich.
To these were afterwards added Winchel
sea and Rye. (French cinq, five.)
Cloves, the buds of an evergreen shrub,
native to the Moluccas. They are dried,
and used as a strongly aromatic spice.
(Latin clavus, a nail.)
Cochineal, a curious insect which feeds
on the cactus. It is found chiefly in
Mexico. The bodies of the female insects
aro dried and used for niaking red dyes.
Cocoa-nut, the large nut of the cocoa-
palm. The kernel of the nut is eaten, the

"milk" which it contains is drunk ; the
outer husk is made into cocoas-nut mat
ting ; every part of the tree is used. An
oil is obtained by squeezing the kernel.
Copra, the dried kernel of the cocoa-
nut, after the oU has been squeezed out.
It is used in making curry-powder.
Coprolites, the fossilised dung of extinct
lizards, etc. Coprolites are found in coal
and lias. (Gr. kopros, dung; lithos, a
stone.) Coral, a substance consisting chiefly of
carbonate of lime, secreted by small
marine animals ; and by them built np
into barrier reefs, atolls, etc. Coral is
found in greatest abundance in the Pacific
and Indian Oceans.
Cork, the outer bark of the cork-tree, a
kind of oak grown largely in the Penin
sula. It is the material of which "corks"
are made.
Cotton, the fibre wMch adheres to the
seeds of the cotton-plant. This plant is
cultivated in the southern United States,
in South America, in India, and on the
shores of the Mediterranean. The fibre
is woven into cotton cloth.
Dates, the &uit of a kind of palm which
flourishes in Persia, Arabia, Mid the North
of Africa. They grow in large bunches,
each bunch weighing over twenty lbs.
They are eaten &esh, or preserved by
drying. Diamond, the most precious of gems.
Diamonds are mined chiefiy in Brazil,
South Africa, aud India. They are very
hard, transparent, and brilliant.
Dodo, a large and clumsy bird, whose
wings were useless for flying. It was
formerly found iu the island of Mauritius,
but is now extinct.
Dolomite, a building-stone composed of
carbonate of magnesia and carbonate of
lime. The Houses of Parliament at West
minster are built of dolomite.
Dooab, in India, a tract of country be
tween two rivers. Cp. punj-ab = " coun
try of five rivers," Doo is the same word
fimdamentally as tlio Lat. dico and the
Eng. two ; while ab is the same as Av, iu
Avon, aud means "water."

VOCABULARY

489

Dugong, a marine mammal of the ludinu
ocean and more especially of the East
Indian Archipelago. Its fiesli is good to
eat. Tlie dugong comes to the surface at
intervals to breathe, and shows a good
deal of its body. This is supposed to be
the origin of the stories of mermaids.
Durra, Indian millet. It is largely grown
in Arabia and in Asia generally, and also
iu the south of Europe, where it is one of
the chief food-grains.
Ebony, a very valuable hard black wood
obtained from Ceylon and the East Indies.
It takes a fine polish and is used for dainty
work, such as inlaying.
Esparto, a grass much used in the manu
facture of paper. It grows chiefly in the
south of Spain and the north of Africa.
Eucalyptus, the Australian "gum-tree,"
of wliich there are many different species.
They grow to a great size and yield fine
timber. Their leaves, instead of lying
parallel to the ground, hang at right
angles to it.
Facial angle, the angle made by a straight
line from the nostril to the ear, and
another straight line to the forehead.
The nearer this angle approaches to a
right angle, the greater the amount of
intelligence is believed to be.
Fetich, any object or animal regarded as
the abode of a deity, and worshipped as
such. Fetichism is the religion of much
of the West African coast.
Fomarole, a smoke-hole in a volcano or
a sulphur-mine. Gambler, a substance obtained from an
East Indian plant and employed as a
light-brown dye.
Gavial, the "Gangetic" crocodile. It
is web-footed and has a very long mouth.
Geyser, a jet of hot water and steam
rising periodically from a crack or fissure
in the earth and shooting to an immense
height in the air. Geysers are probably
connected with volcanic activity. The
most famous are those of the Yellowstone
Begion (in the Rocky Mountains), and
those of Iceland.
Glacier, a river of ice, finding its way by
slow degrees down a moun tain- valley,
till it reaches wann regions, and, melting.

gives birth to rivers ; oc, arriving at the
sea, pushes its extremity out beyond tlie
land. These ends of glaciers, being broken
off by the action of tho waves, and float
ing away, are known as icebergs ( = ice-
mountains). Gneiss, a, rock composed of the same
elements as granite, viz., quartz, felspar,
and mica. The difference is that in
gneiss the component minerals are in
separate layers, while in granite they are
jumbled together. «
Guano, the excrement of sea-birds,
found in immense deposits on the shores,
rocks, and islands of South America.
Guano is very valuable as a manure.
Hansa, a league formed by a number of
German cities, in the 12th century, for
the purpose of defending commerce.
Other cities, of different nations, joined
the league. Hamburg was a Hanse Town.
Ibex, a tribe of animals with hollow
horns, and not unlike goats. Differeut
varieties are found in the Alps, the
Pyrenees, aud the Caucasus. The stein
bock is a kind of ibex.
Iceberg. See Glacier.
Indigo, a dark-blue dye, obtained from
an Indian plant. (Span, indigo; Lat.
Indieas, Indian.)
Isinglass, pure gelatine. Isinglass is
made from the air-bladder of the sturgeon
and other fresh-water fishes. It is much
used in confectionery.
Iaotherm,a line on a map.passing through
all places that have the same average
temperature. (Gr. isos, equal ; therme,
heat.) Jute, a fibre obtained from the inner
bark of certain Indian plants. It is used
chiefly in carpet-making and for bags and

Kangaroo, an Australian marsupial (or
pouch-bearing animal). It carries its
young in a kind of pouch or sack. The
kangaroo is a large marsupial, with short
fore-legs, long hind-legs, and a strong
tail. The hind-legs and the tail are used
in leaping along the ground.
Karroo, a South African desert. Karroos
are usually table-lands with a clay soil.
In the rainy season they cease to be

490

VOCABULARY

deserts, and are covered with flowers and
grass. Landes, plains along the French coast of
the Bay of Biscay, sandy, and covered
with heath and broom.
Llama, an animal related to the camel,
but with no hump. It is found in South
America, where its wool is an article of
export, and where the animal itself is
used as a beast of burden. Almost the
same animal as the alpaca.
Llanos, wide grassy plains in the basin of
the Orinoco.
Locust, an insect related to the grass
hopper. In Asia and Africa they fly in
countless armies, and when they have
settled down upon a district, do not leave
it till every green blade and leaf has been
devoured. Their bodies are eaten in some
countries ; and it may have been these
insects that formed the food of John the
Baptist (but see Carob).
Logwood, a Central American and West
Indian tree. Its timber is very compact
and heavy, and of a red colour. It is
used as a dye.
Macaroni, a paste of wheaten fiour made
into hollow pipes or tubes, and dried.
It is an article of food, chiefly in Italy,
from whence it is exported to other
countries. Mahogany, a fine West Indian and Central
American tree. Its wood is very hard
and durable, takes a fine polish, and is
much used in making furniture.
Maize, or Indian com. A grain very
largely grown in America, and also in
many countries of Asia, in Africa, and in
the south of Europe. The grains grow in
parallel rows (hke strings of beads) on
" cobs " a foot long.
Mangrove, a tree found in the East and
the West Indies. Its bark is used for
tanning and dyeing, and its fruit is eaten
or made into wine.
Manioc, an American plant, with fleshy
tuberous roots, from which cassava and
tapioca are made.
Millet, a food-grain of China, the East
Indies, Arabia, Syria, etc. It is also
grown in the south of Europe.

Nutmeg, the kernel or nut of a fruit
which grows in the East Indies. It is one
ofthe best-known spices.
Oasis, a fertile spot in the midst of a
desert ; caused by the presence of a spring
or well.
Opium, the thickened juice of a kind of
poppy which is grown in Asiatic Turkey
and India, It is a powerful narcotic, and
is of great use as a medicine. LaudamAimi
is a liquid preparation of opium.
Pachyderms, or thick-skinned animals
(Gr. pachys, thick ; derma, skin). The ele
phant, rhinoceros, tapir, etc., are pachy
derms. Palm, a tree of which there are about
600 different species ; almost every one of
which is useful, in one way or another, to
man. The date-palm, the cocoa-nut-palm,
the sago-palm, and the cabbage-palm are
the best-known and most valuable
species. Palmetto, a kind of palm that grows
largely in the West Indies and in the
southern parts of North America.
Pampas, the rolling, grassy, treeless,
plains of the La Plata Basin.
Pearl, a valuable jewel, which is really
an excrescence growing in the shell of a
species of oyster. The best pearl-fisheries
are those of Ceylon and the Bay of Ben
gal. Pepper, a pungent spice made from the
berry of a slinib which gro^vs largely in
the East Indies and in the tropical parts
of America.
Petroleum, mineral or rock oil. A kind
of naphtha obtained from the earth by
boring wells. Pennsylvania and other
carboniferous regions ofthe United States,
and also the shores of the Caspian,
yield mueh petroleum, (Lat. petra, a
rock ; oleum, oil,)
Plumbago, another name for graphite or
black lead. A soft mineral from which
pencils are made, and which is also used
for polishing ii'on grates, etc. The best
plumbago comes from Cumberland.
Folder, a tract of land in Holland,
originally under water, which has been
reclaimed aud tilled. The largest polder

VOCABULAKV

491

in HuUand will be tlic southern half of
the Zuyder Zee, which is now draining.
Pomegranate, the fruit of a tree which is
probably native to Persia. The pome-
Ljranate is a pulpy, slightly acid fruit,
containing many seeds.
Prairies, the boundless natural meadows
of the Mississippi Valley and the western
United States.
Prairie-dog, a kind of rodent (or gnawing
animal) living in "villages," or common
burrows, on tlie prairies. These animals
are related to the squirrel, and are only
caUed "dogs" because they make a kind
of barking sound.
Baisin, a dried grape obtained from the
south of Europe. The smaller varieties
of grapes when dried are known as cntr-
rants (a corruption of the word Corinth).
Reindeer, a kind of deer found in the
north of Europe and Asia. In Lapland
it is used to draw sledges.
Kice, the chief food-grain and the chief
food of milUons of people in India and
China. It is also grown in the Southern
States of America.
Eolling-stock, that part of the property
of a railway which is not stationary or
fixed ; such as the engines, carriages, etc.
Runn, a desert. (The name is only found
in the "Runn of Cutch," in the north
west of India.)
Sago, the pith of the sago-palm, an
article of food.
Sardine, a small Mediterranean fish,
preserved in oil.
Sargasso Sea, the name of a part of the
Atlantic, within the greater currents,
which is covered with floating gulf-weed.
Savannah, the name for a prairie in the
tropical regions of North America.
Screw-pines, a curious tree which flour
ishes in the East Indies, New Guinea, and
parts of Australia. It has roots coming
out from the trunk above the ground.
Several parts of the tree are of use.
Seal, an amphibious mammal, most
abundant on the coasts of Greenland, but
sometimes visiting the coasts of Great
Britain ; valuable for its fur and its
blubber.

Selvas, the fo re i^i-uo vered plains of tlie
Amazon. (Latin silva, n wood.)
Sericulture, the rearing of silk-worms.
Shale, slate clay. Shale is generally
found in the neighbourhood of coal. It
yields paraffin-oil.
Simoom, a scorcliing wind, laden with
sand, ^vhich blows in Africa and Arabia,
It is generated in the deserts.
Sirocco, the name under which the
simoom is known in Italy, where its
effects are felt.
Solfatara, a kind of volcano ; generally
a mere hole in the earth, which sends out
sulphurous smoke.
Springs are supplies of water which
have accumulated underground ; and
which, when the natural basins that they
occupy are filled to overflowing, force
their way upwards and gush out from the
surface of the earth. Springs are either
constant or intermittent, either hot or
cold ; and they are sometimes impreg
nated with minerals which make them
medicinally valuable. A spring is fre
quently the source of a river.
Stalactite, a natural pendant, composed
of carbonate of lime, hanging from the
roof of a cave or the arch of a bridge.
Steppes, wide treeless plains (barren
except in spring) of south-eastern Russia
and of Siberia.
Tapioca, an article of food. See Manioc.
Taro, a plant of the Pacific islands,
whose roots are made into a kind of flour,
and whose leaves are eaten as a vegetable.
Tea, the dried leaves of a shrub grown
in India and China.
Trepang, the sea-slug. It is found on
coral reefs in the East Indian Archipelago,
dried and sent to China, where soup is
made from it.
Trogons, a tropical race of birds, with
the richest plumage, and tails often 3
feet in length, found both in the Old and
the New World. Central America and
the Amazon Valley yield many brilliant
species. Truffles, an underground fungus, con
sidered a great delicacy, and found iu
the south of England, in Italy and France.

492

VOCABULARY

Dogs are trained to discover them by the
scent, as there is no part of them visible
above the soil.
Tundras, flat and marshy plains in North
ern Siberia, frozen hard nearly all the
year round.
Turpentine, a kind of resin or gum
obtained from the stems of different
¦\^rieties of pine. It is useful for making
varnishes, and is also employed in
medicine. Typhoon, the hurricane of China, Japan,
etc. Tsetse, a South African insect, whose
bite, though not injurious to man or to
wild beasts, is fatal to domestic animals.

Vanilla, an aromatic plant of tropical
America ; whose fruit yields a, fragrant
oil, used in confectionery for flavour
ing. Volcano, a mountain which sends forth
smoke, flames, showers of ashes, and
streams of molten minerals (lava),
Wady, in Arabia, etc. , a creek or water
course, which in the rainy season is a
river, but for the rest of the year a dry
channel. WaJrus, a northern marine animal, whose
tusks yield a kind of ivory, whose skin
is made into leather, and whose blubber
famishes oil.

Printed by T. and A. Constable, Printers tn Her Jiajesty,
at the Eduiburgh Universitii i'rt.v-..

A List of
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By Professor J. M. D. MEIKLEJOHN
Dr. MORELL: JOHN MARKWELL
ETC. ETC. ETC.

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Third Edition. Crown Zvo. Price is.
A Short History of the English Language.
Contents : — The English Language, and the Family to wliich it belongs. — The
Periods of English. — History of the Vocabulary. — History of the Grammar.
— Specimens of English of different Periods. — Modem English. — Land
marks in the History of the English Language.
This Book is the Third Part of 'The English Language.'

Third Edition. Crown Svo. Price is. 6d.
An Outline of the History of English Literature.
Contents : — Our oldest English Literature. — The Fourteenth Century. — The
Fifteenth Century. — The Sixteenth Century. — The Seventeenth Century. —
First Half of the Eighteenth Century.— Second Half of the Eighteenth
Century. — First Half of the Nineteenth Century. — Second Half of the
Nineteenth Century. — Tables of English Literature.
This Book contains the Fourth Part of 'The English Language.'
In preparation.
A New History of the British Empire for Pupil
Teachers,
By Professor J. M. D. Meiklejohn, M.A.
This book will contain a full account of the greatest events and characters in
our history ; will be provided with every kind of apparatus for assisting the
memory ; and will be complete in every sense. It is designed specially for the
use of pupil-teachers.

GEOGRAPHY— SPELLING— EXAMINATION CARDS. 3
Now Ready.
A New Geography
ON THE COMPARATIVE METHOD,
With Maps and Diagrams,
By J. M. D. Meiklejohn, M.A.,
Professor of Educatioji in ihe XJniversiiy of Si. Andrews, Fellow of ihe Royal
Geographical Societies of London and Ediniiurgh.
Crown %vo, pp. 500. Price i,s. 6d.
"T^HIS book is an attempt to make Geography interesting, and also easily
¦'¦ learned. Connection is aimed at throughout — every fact given is con
nected vrith some other fact ; and, as association is the permanent condition
of a good memory, the facts given in this book will be very easily remembered,
and easily reproduced. The best books of travel have been laid under
contribution ; the best English, French, and German Manuals and Encyclo
paedias have been consulted ; and no pains have been spared to make every page
bright, interesting, and attractive.
The type has been so arranged as to throw the matter into the proper
perspective, and the pupil can at once see what it is necessary to get up, and
what merely to read. The needs of examinees and the requirements of examina
tions have been kept steadily in view.
Numerous diagram-maps, diagrams, etc., have been let into the text to
illustrate the matter.

A New Spelling-Book
WITH SIDE LIGHTS FROM HISTORY.
Crown Svo. Price One Shilling.
Nearly Ready.
MOST COMPLETE. GUARANTEED CORRECT.
The ' Typical ' Examination Cards in Arithmetic.
CAREFULLY GRADUATED AND ARRANGED.
By an Assistant Inspector of Schools.
Standards II., III., IV., V., VI., and VII.
One Shilling ecuh.
There are 120 complete Examinations, or 480 Sums in each Standard,
including questions of almost every possible type. Printed on good strong cards,
and in neat wrappers.

4 SPELLING LIST— JOHN MARK WELLS BOOKS.
Nearly Ready.
The Spelling List
(10,000 words)
FOR CIVIL SERVICE AND OTHER EXAMINATIONS,
WITH
A KEY TO CORRECT SPELLING.
Crown Svo. Price One Shilling.
T^HIS is a complete list of all the errors that have been made in Examination
Papers of all kinds for the last five-and-twenty years.
Works by John Markwell, M.A.
First step in Geography, 159 pp., neatly bound in limp cloth, . . 9d.
This little book gives the main facts of Geography in the simplest
language. It gives only those facts that can be easily learned by
young learners. In addition to the usual geography, it contains
the ' First Step in Physical Geography,' the ' Railways of the
World,' the ' Telegraphs of the World,' and ' A Voyage round the
World.'
Junior Geography, on the Principles of Comparison and Contrast, with
numerous Exercises, by John Markwell, M.A.; Cr. Svo, 206 pp.,
strongly bound in stiff cloth cover, . . . . Is. 6d.
This Geography gives the facts to be learned by the method of
comparison and contrast ; and it is known by experience that they
are thus most easily learned, and longest remembered. The matter
is set out in short sections, written in the clearest style ; and Sum
maries are given of all the most striking facts. Map Practice is
also attached to each chapter. A few simple diagrams are also
given.
Senior Geography, on the Principles of Comparison and Contrast, with
400 Exercises, by John Markwell, M.A. ; Cr. Svo, 320 pp., strongly
bound in stiff cloth cover,  2s. 6d.
In this Senior Geography the chief objects kept in view are : —
(i) The unknown is always compared with the known.
(ii) The Memory is helped by Contrasts.
(iii) What is required for drill is kept separate.
(iv) No name is given alone ; some picturesque fact is always
attached to it.
(v) The page is not overcrowded with names ; and the outlines of
countries are always vivid.
(vi) There is connection throughout.
The book also contains a sketch of Physical Geography ; First Lines in
Mathematical Geography ; Exercises ; Useful 'Tables, etc. etc.

DR. MORELLS BOOKS.

Dr. Morell's English Series.
First Step in Composition, with 108 Fahles, Stories, Letters, etc. ;
96 pp. , neatly bound in limp cloth, . . . . . . . 8d.
This little book consists chiefly of stories, which are told in the
plainest and neatest language. An abridgment or skeleton of each
story is given, so that the learner may dress it up in his own way
and style ; while a number of phrases are placed at the end of each,
so that he may have a selection to choose from. The First Part
consists of stories in short, simple sentences ; the Second Part
introduces the learner to easy complex sentences, which gradually
increase in length.
Second Step in Composition, with 200 Exercises ; Cr. Svo, 144 pp., strong
cloth cover, ........... Is. 6d.
This book introduces the learner to Sentence Building ; gives Exer
cises in the choice of Words ; Exercises in the employment of
Synonymous Phrases ; and the right prepositions after certain verbs.
These occupy the First and Second Courses. The Third Course
gives remarks and Exercises on Prevalent Errors in style, with
reasons and cautions ; exercises in simplifying ; and in turning
Latinised English into plain but forcible Saxon English ; and also
84 subjects for short essays.
Practical Introduction to English Composition, with 300 Exercises ; Cr.
Svo, 312 pp., strong cloth cover,  3s.
The introduction in this book contains clear explanations, with
numerous examples, of the Law of Fulness, the Law of Clearness,
the Law of Plainness, etc. It also gives twenty-four rules or
deductions for the formation of a good style. The Exercises consist
of Narratives, each of which is accompanied by an Outline and a
Phraseology (or stock of phrases to select from) ; Skeletons of
III Themes, — narrative, biographical, etc. ; Critical Lessons for
guidance in the use of words and phrases; Extracts from Old
Writers to turn into Modem English ; a set of Ideas for Essays,
etc. etc.
There is also a chapter on the Art of Verse, with numerous exercises
and examples, and lessons on the structure of English Poetry.
The 'Educational Times' says; — 'One of the best manuals on the subject with which we are
acquainted. The plan on which it is constructed seems to be ^cellent.'

English Literature.
Blographicaa History of English Literature, with 300 Exercises ; New
££//f/o«, Cr. Svo, 520 pp., strong cloth cover, . . . 3b. 6d.
This book contains a brief history of English Literature from the
Anglo-Saxon Period down to the present time. The Lives of all
the great Authors are written in full ; and an account of their chief

DR. MORELLS BOOKS.— NE W BOOKS.

works is given. The best and most interesting extracts from their
works are also presented. Chapters on the minor writers come
between the more important chapters as connecting-links.
Numerous, but easy. Exercises have also been given ; and there are
copious illustrative and explanatory notes.
A number of Courses of Reading are also given, with notes on the
best editions of books.
Also in two parts : —
Part I. — From Beowulf to Milton, Cr. Svo, 236 pp., strong cloth
cover, 

Part II. — From the 'Hudibras' to 'Aurora Leigh,' Cr. Svo,
270 pp. , strong cloth cover, . . . .2s.
The 'Nonconformist' says: — 'We can confidently recommend this manual as the best we
have seen of its kind. It seems to us precisely the text-book for Schools. . . The novel
feature oi Exercises will be found to be not the least valuable part ofthe work.'
Tho ' Glasgow Herald ' says : — ' Certainly the best book of the kind we have seen. '
The ' Civil Service Review ' says : — ' Candidates for appointments in the Civil Service will
find a study of this book ofthe greatest service to them.'

WORKS IN PREPARATION
for
PROFESSOR MEIKLEJOHN'S JUNIOR SERIES.

A Short Geography.
Crown Svo, i^zpp. Price One Shilling.
This little book will give the main features of the globe, and the most impor
tant facts regarding each country, in a clear and vivid style ; and with so
much connection between each statement as to make them easily remembered.
It will be illustrated by maps, diagrams, and pictures.
A Short Grammar.
Cro!on Svo, 192 pp. Price One Shilling.
This will be an easy Grammar, avoiding minute details, but giving the most
important features of the English language in plain and clear outlines. A set of
Exercises accompanies each section.

WORKS IN PREP ARA TION.

A Short History of the British Empire.
Crown Svo, 192 pp. Price One Shilling.
This little book will give the most important and most striking events of our
history in a clear and vivid narrative style. There will also be short biographies
of the greatest Englishmen, with every kind of appliance to aid the memory.
Fables and Anecdotes for Teaching Composition.
Fcap. Svo. Price One Shilling.
This little book gives 200 fables and anecdotes, written in a very simple style.
It begins with very short stories in short simple sentences. It goes on to stories
a little longer, and to the use of complex sentences. There are also letters and
forms for business notes, etc. etc.
Hints on Teaching Geography for Pupil-Teachers
and others.
Fcap. Svo. Price One Shilling.
The purpose of these Hints is to show young Teachers how to introduce the
maximum of connection into all their teaching; how to reduce to order and
simplicity the enormous congeries of facts and figures that Geography presents to
us ; how to address the eye by diagrams ; and how to make the subject interest
ing even to the very young.

NOTICES OF PROFESSOR MEIKLEJOHN'S < THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.'
WHAT TEACHERS SAY:—
The Eev, T. GRAHAM, D.D., St. Mary's Training College, Hammersmith, writes: — *You have
conferred a great favour on ordinary students of English by giving them the English Language.
It is the work of a master hand, and covers all the ground whkh has hitherto necessitated the
use of several text-books. For several years I have wished forsuch a book. '
C. J. SMITH, Esq., B.A., Vice-Principal of Bt. Mark's College, Chelsea: — 'I have read your
book on the English Language carefully through, and am sure it admirably meets a want.
' Its language is lucid, its definitions simple and yet accurate, and its matter admirably
selected and arranged and free from mistakes (where I have tested it). The most valuable
feature, in my opinion, is the copious use of etymology throughout the work. This so brightens
up the subject that there is not a dull page in the book.'
JOSEPH LAHDON, Esq., Saltley College, Birmingham; — 'I am much pleased with your bookV
and wish it every success. Many teachers will doubtless find it a great gain to have so much
valuable information in so convenient and compact a shape.
' It should be especially useful to pupil-teachers, for whom, it seems to me, well suited.'

NOTICES.

W. Qt. BAEER, Esq., B.A., Lecturer on English Literature, Training College, Cheltenham : — ' I have
carefully looked into your manual of English Language, and am struck with the methodical
arrangement, and the simple manner in which the subject-matter is laid out.'
The Rev, HECTOR NELSON, M.A., Principal of ttie Training College, Lincoln: — ' I have spent
some time over it — especially the latter parts. They seem to have a special value.'
DATID FRYBE, Esq., M.A., LL.D., PrincipEil of Edinhnrgh Ladies' College: — 'I have gone
through the book carefully, and most heartily approve of it. It contains all that young people
ought to know on the subject, and it is not overlaid with unnecessary details. The arrange
ment is natural ; everything touched upon is made interesting, and the style is singularly clear
and terse.'
E. BROWN, Esq., Head-master, Higher Grade Board School, Halifax : — 'The work seems to me
to be admirably adapted to the purpose for which you intend it. It comprises in one volume all
the matter which a pupil-teacher or any of the upper boys in our middle-class schools can be
expected to know of the different branches which are included under the term * English' ; while,
at the same time, others than these may read the work with profit.'
ALFRED BARRIBALL, Esq., B.A., Westminster Training College: — ' I know of no book treating
ofthe subject of EngUsh Grammar generally so suitable for an ordinary student.'
A. GARLICK, Esq., B.A., Head-master, P. T. School, New Road, Woolwich: — 'I think it is the
best thing of its kind in the market.'
H. MAJOR, Esq,, B.A., B.Sc, School Board Inspector, Leicester: — 'It is an admirable book,
and not only adapted for pupil-teachers and training-college students, but especially so to the
London University matriculation students.'
W. ARMITAGE, Esq., Park Wesleyan Schools, Sheffield : — ' The most interesting and logical
treatise on the subject I have ever seen.'
JAMES SCOTSON, Esq., Head-master of the Central School, Manchester : — ' I never saw a better
book on the English Language ofthe same size. The matter and arrangement are excellent.'
The Rev. F. MARSHALL, M,A., Almondhnry Grammar School :—' For the first-class College of
Preceptors your work is most excellent and valuable. I cannot call to mind any book covering
the same ground that is at once so full, so lucid, and yet so void of unnecessary matter.'
A. J. WATSON, Esq., M.A., Rector, the Academy, Dnmharton :—' It is as stimulating in matter
as it is attractive in form. I am quite charmed with it ; and the secret of the chann seems to
me to lie in the happy manner in which it puts life into the dry bones of fact, and combines the
influence of an interesting teacher with the convenience ofa serviceable manual.'
TEACHER of English, Liverpool Training College :— ' The book is as deeply interesting as it is
clear in arrangement and scholarly in treatment. It must prove invaluable to those for whom
you specially design it, while the chapters on English Literature at the end will prove very
useful to students in their second year of training. The chapters on word-building and derivation
particularly struck me.'
Miss M. GODDARD, Training OoUege, Warrington:— 'You have succeeded in making the subject
remarkably clear, and at the same time interesting. It seems to me to be exactly suited to the
wants of pupil-teachers, and of candidates for the Government Certificates.'
The Rev. H. C. BARNES-LAWRENCE, M.A., Perse Grammar School, Cambridge :—' If I may
express an opinion after a brief perusal, I am both surprised and pleased at the remarkable
amount of information you have managed to compress into some 250 pages."
The Rev. OLIVER D. INSKIP, M.A., Albert Memorial College, Framlingham:— ' I think for class-
teaching in schools your book contains all that is required. The twelve pages on "Hints on
Composition should be learnt by all boys before leaving school.'
W. JOHNSON Esq B.A., Elmfleld College, York;-' I think it particularly suitable for
becondary bchools. I may say I gave it (as a loan) to a girl candidate for an English Scholar
ship ; she got first place— and valued the help she got from the book.'

THE FOLLOWING BOOKS FOR
ELEAIENT.A.RY SCHOOLS
.ARE EDITED BY
PROFESSOR J. M. D. MEIKLEJOHN
And Published by Wm. BLACKWOOD & SONS, Edinburgh.

STANDARD READERS.
The First Picture Primer. Pp. 32. Sewed, 2d. ; cloth, 3d.
The Second Picture Primer. Pp, 32. Sewed, 2d. ; cloth, 3d.
Picture Reading-Sheets. First and Second Series. 16 Sheets each, unmounted, price 3s. 6d.
The Sheets of each Series may also be had mounted on 8 boards with cloth border, plain,
14s. ; varnished, 3s. 6d. per set extra ; or the 16 Sheets laid on cloth, varnished, and
mounted on a roller, 17s. 6d.
The Infant Picture Reader. Pp. 64. Cloth, limp, 6d.

Book I.

40 Lessons.

With Illustrations.

Cloth.

8d.

Book n.

40 Lessons.

Witli Illustrations.

Cloth.

gd.

Book in.

60 Lessons.

With Illustrations.

Cloth.

IS.

Book IV.

60 Lessons.

With Illustrations.

Cloth.

IS.

3d.

Book V.

60 Lessons.

With Illustrations.

Cloth.

IS.

4d.

Book VI.

60 Lessons.

With Illustrations.

Cloth.

IS.

6d.

HISTORICAL READERS.
Short Stories from the History of England. For Standard III. Numerous Illustrations. Pp.
160. IS.
First Historical Reader. For Standard IV. Britain and England. With numerous Illus
trations. Pp. 160. IS.
Second Historical Reader. For Standard V. With numerous Illustrations. Pp. 224. is. 4d.
Third Historical Reader, For Standards VI. and VII. With numerous Illustrations. Pp. 256.
IS. 6d.
A Complete History of England. For Junior Classes. Britain and England. From before
Christ to 1884 a.d. With Notes and numerous Illu.strations. Also Maps and Genealo
gical Tables. Pp. 206. is. 4d.

GEOGRAPHICAL READERS.
The Geographical Primer. For Standard I. With numerous Illustrations. Pp. g6. gd.
First Geographical Reader. For Standard II. With numerous Maps and Illustrations. Pp. 96.
gd.
Second Geographical Reader. For Standard III. England and Wales. With Maps and
Illustrations. Pp. 156. is.
Third Geographical Header. For Standard IV. Being a View of Scotland, Ireland, British North
America, and Australasia. With Maps and Illustrations. Pp. iga. is. 3d.
Fourth Geographical Header. For Standard V. Being a View of the Continent of Europe.
With Maps and Illustrations. Pp. 256. is. 6d.
Fifth Geographical Reader. For Standard VI. Being a View of Asia, Africa, America, and
Oceania. With Maps and Illustrations. Pp. 256. is. 6d.
Sixth Geographical Reader. For Standard VII. Being a Description of the Oceans, Seas, Tides,
Winds, and Currents ofthe World, with Lessons on the Heavenly Bodies. With Maps and
Illustrations. Pp. 256- i^- 9^-

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY