15 EUROPE. 30. Or the four great quarters of the world, Europe is the smallest; but it is inhabited by an improved and intelligent race of men, who possess extensive dominions, and have a preponderating influence, in the other continents. 31. Europe comprehends the following grand divisions: : Belgium, Spain, Of these, Germany and Italy are subdivided into several kingdoms and states, mostly independent of each other, as will be particularised under their respective heads. 32. It has four inland seas, called the Mediterranean, the Baltic, the Black Sea, and the White Sea. 33. The principal European islands_are, Great Britain and Ireland, Iceland, Zealand, Funen, Candia, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Majorca, Minorca, the Ionian Islands, and the numerous small Greek islands in the Archipelago. 34. The principal rivers in Europe are the Volga, the Danube, the Vistula, the Don, the Dnieper, the Rhine, the Elbe, the Po, the Tagus, and the Thames. Obs. If the length of the Thames is taken at 1, then the length of the Rhine, of the Danube, and the Volga, will be as 5, 7, and 94. 35. The most elevated mountains in Europe are, the Alps, which cover Switzerland, and divide Italy from Germany and France; the Pyrenees, which lie between France and Spain; Hæmus, or the Balkan, in European Turkey; the Dofrefeld, between Nor way and Sweden; and the Carpathians, between Hungary and Poland. Obs. The most mountainous countries in Europe are Switzerland, Norway, Wales, and Scotland. The country from France to Russia is almost a plain. 36. The principal capes and promontories of Europe are, the North Cape, the Naze of Norway, the Land's End of England, Cape Clear in Ireland, and the capes La Hogue, Finisterre, St. Vincent, and Trafalgar. SWEDEN 37. The kingdom of Sweden now includes the extensive, but cold and thinly inhabited countries, bounded by the Baltic, the Gulf of Bothnia, and the Northern Ocean. Obs. For nearly a thousand years Norway was subject to Denmark, but by late treaties among the European sovereigns it was given to Sweden in lieu of Finland, which had previously been united to Russia. It is, however, not incorporated with Sweden, though governed by the same king, but has its own laws, and its own storthing or diet. The two kingdoms, therefore, with Lapland, include the whole peninsula anciently called Scandinavia, and, though neither fertile nor populous, possess great advantages of geographical position, and abound in mineral productions. 38. Lapland, the most northern part of Europe, and of the kingdom of Sweden, contains immense forests, chiefly of fir trees, and scanty pastures, which nourish only the rein-deer. 39. The Laplanders are of diminutive size, but peaceable and industrious. The milk of the reindeer supplies them with food; and in sledges drawn by those animals they pass with the utmost rapidity over ice and snow. 40. In the northern parts of Lapland, as in countries under the same latitude, the sun is absent in winter about seven weeks, while in summer it never sets for the same period. Obs. These phenomena are explained and illustrated in the Problems on the Globes and Maps. See a subsequent page of this work. 41. NORWAY, formerly subject to Denmark, was united to Sweden by the treaty of 1815. Its chief towns are Christiania, Bergen, and Drontheim. 42. It is composed of a continuous range of mountains, whose sides slope down to the sea; and the streams and cataracts which roll down their steeps render travelling very unsafe. 43. The inhabitants raise scarcely any grain or vegetables, but subsist chiefly on their woods and fisheries. In the inland and remote parts the people live on coarse fare, and in seasons of scarcity are sometimes obliged mix bark of trees with their bread. 44. On the coast of Norway are innumerable small islands, occupied by birds and some few fishermen; and on the north is a dangerous vortex of the sea, called the Maelström. 45. Norway contains valuable forests of fir, which forms its chief export. It has also extensive fisheries, with valuable quarries, and mines of silver and other metals; these it exchanges for corn and other necessaries. 46. Exclusive of Norway and Lapland, Sweden is divided into Sweden Proper, Gothland, and West Bothnia. These are subdivided into numerous provinces, which include the islands of Gottland and Eland. 47. The chief towns are, Stockholm, the capital, in 59° 20′ of north latitude; Upsal, famous for its university; Gothenburg, a celebrated trading port; and Carlscrona, the naval port and arsenal. Obs. Stockholm occupies seven small rocky islands, and the Most of the scenery around is truly singular and romantic. houses are of stone, or brick, covered with white stucco; except in the suburbs, where several are of wood painted red. |