importance in consequence of a recently executed canal, by which it communicates with the vast manufactories of Merthyr Tydvil, and Aberdare. The sewen, a species of salmon commonly supposed to be almost peculiar to South Wales, is caught here in considerable abundance; a circumstance that afforded Mr. Donovan an opportunity of minutely examining, and of ascertaining it to be no other than the grey of Ray and Willughby, the salmo eriox of Linnæus. Though most abundant in the Severn and British channel, it is by no means unfrequent in the bay of Beaumaris, and occurs, though rarely, in the rivers of the southern counties of England. The following clear description of this hitherto obscure fish will, we doubt not, be gratifying to our readers. From the common salmon (salmo salar) the sewen differs in various particulars that will not fail to strike the eye of the judicious naturalist. The general contour of the whole fish is slightly dissimilar: the head is shorter and more sloping; while the lower jaw extends rather beyond the upper one, the precise contrary of which is observable in the common salmon. The back is of a pale greyish colour, glossed with blue, and by no means so dark as in the cominon salmon; this greyish colour prevails under the scales from the back to the lateral line, beneath which the whole fish is of the brightest silver. Both on the back and sides, above and be low the lateral line, the body is marked with dusky purple spots of a roundish shape, which on close inspection appear to be somewhat cruciform: the lateral line is straight, and placed rather lower than in the generality of fishes. The tail is slightly forked, but not semi-lunated as in the common salmon : when the flesh is cut, it is of a pale red, and in point of size the sewen rarely exceeds twelve or fifteen inches, weighing from one to two pounds each. The three next chapters describe Llandaff, Cowbridge, Penline castle, Llantwit Major, the village of Newtown, and various other objects which our limits will not allow us to particularize. In the account of Newtown is some valuable matter for the naturalist respecting the vegetable and animal marine productions of the vicinity. Mr. Donovan employed the fishermen of the village to cast their nets in the bay; and, among other interesting specimens procured by this means, the sepia media, a small species of cuttle-fish, whose exquisitely beautiful and evanescent colours acquired for it, among the ancient naturalists, the appellation of the sea chamæleon, and which is described by Mr. Donovan with the eloquence of Buffon, and the accuracy of Linnæus. "When first caught, the eyes, which are large and prominent, glistened with the lustre luminous transparency they seem to emulate. of the pearl, or rather of the emerald, whose The pupil is a fine black, and above each eye is a semilunar mark of the richest garnet. The body nearly transparent, or of a pellucid green, is glossed with all the variety of prismatic tints, and thickly dotted with brown. At almost every effort of respiration, the little creature tossed its arms in apparent agony, and clung more firmly to the inger, while the dark-brown spots upon the body, alternately faded and revived, diminishing in size till they were scarcely perceptible, and then again appearing as large as peas, crowding, and becoming confluent nearly all over the body. At length the animal, being detained too long from its native element, bedecreased in size, and all its pristine beauty came enfeebled, the colours faded, the spots vanished with the last gasp of life." In the tenth chapter is a very pleasing description of the village of Margam, the ruins of its fine abbey, and the park and gardens, which, till lately, inclosed au antique mansion-house belonging to the Mansel family: an excellent rhyming Latin epitaph on a huntsman in the same family, is also introduced in a note. Swansea and its neighbourhood furnish from which, however, we shall cnly quote a very entertaining miscellaneous chapter: a humane and judicious regulation respecting the debtors confined in the castle, as we are persuaded that it might be adopted with the happiest effects in many other places. "An indulgence extends to every debtor confined in the prison of Swansea castle, by virtue of which they have an opportunity, if their debts be small, with a little exertion, prudence, and economy, to liberate themtained this indulgence, which on proper reselves from the horrors of a jail. Having obpresentation it is in the power of the high bailiff to grant, they are allowed to expose whatever articles their slender funds may enable them to muster, for sale in the ope street, on that side of the market-place next to the castle. The limits of this bailiwick is distinctly pointed out by a range of small boundary the debtors are as secure from the stones down the high-way, and within this molestation of their creditors, as though they were confined to their dismal cells within the walls of the castle." The peninsula of Gower is next noticed, and the peculiarities that yet characterize its inhabitants, said to be descended from a colony of Flemings, settled here by Henry the first in the twelfth century. At the conclusion of the chapter the author returns to Swansea, and describes, at some length, the large and flourishing pottery established there. Kidwelly, Caermarthen, and that galJant warrior sir Rhys ap Thomas, must not be allowed to detain us; neither can we do more than barely notice a remarkably good account of a tin-plate manufactory in the same chapter. The ancient and modern state of Pembroke furnishes materials for a distinct chapter; and the two concluding ones of the work are devoted to Tenby. Of these, if we were to quote the whole of what is particularly interesting, we might save ourselves the trouble of selecting, and transcribe them entire; but this is inconsistent with our plan, and would be at the sime time unjust towards the author. We trust, however, that he will take in good part our concluding this article with the following extract "In the sea round Caldy island, we captured many of the Medusa in the trawl net that had been previously fastened to the end of the boat by the fishermen. One of these, a remarkable, though not uncommon species, is Medusa purpurea; a sort distinguished by having a light purple cross in the center of the body, with a horse-shoe mark of the same colour, only darker, between each of the bars. Another kind, captured in the same manner, has a milk-white cross upon the body, a characteristic mark, by means of which the species cruciata is discriminated. As the creatures of this tribe rove about in search of food along the surface of the sea, they shine with uncommon splendour, especially when the sun strikes directly on them, or in the night time when it is very lark, appearing in the latter instance highly luminous and phosphoric. These, with a variety of other marine vermes, and fish of a small size, are the principal food of the corvorants, gulls, and a host of other sea-fowl that haunt the rocks upon this coast. Shaping our course to the south-west of Caldy island, we soon arrived upon the oysterbed described on a former occasion. The dredging tackle being incomplete, we were content to take a few only of the oysters from the bed. These are of a larger size than any I ever saw before on other parts of the Br tish coasts by nearly one half. Some of the largest I had the curiosity to measure, one of inches in the exterior circumference of the which proved to be no less than nineteen shell. The fish we tasted; it has a strong flavour, and is by no means to my mind so pleasant, or so palatable, as that of the smaller kinds of oyster when eaten raw, although for culinary purposes they may be equally good, or, as many esteem them, very far superior. 66 "I was astonished at the number of asterias, echini, and other offensive creatures that infest the oyster-beds. These prowl about to the great annoyance of the oysters; the highly injurious to them. asterias, or star-fish in particular, which are When these crea tures find an oyster open, or gaping to take its food, they instantly seize upon it by thre-ting one of their long straggling arms into them, and killing the animat before it is able to close the shell, in which case one of the fect security to devour the contents. Or star-fish enters the oyster, and remains in per should the oyster be apprised in time of the imminent danger to which it is exposed, the moment the arm of the star-fish is inserted, it snaps the shell close, and the asterias, un less very dexterous, is compelled to retreat with the loss of the arm, or ray so offending; a mutilation of the less importance to this animal, since time will repair the mischance by producing another arm, though somewhat of a smaller size, in lieu of that which the oyster has deprived it of. The echini are more destructive to the young spat of the oyster, whose tender shells they bruise with those formidable spines with which their bo dies are completely covered, or macerate them with their teeth; the firm grasp of which their tender shells are unable to resist. The species most injurious is the edible one, esculentus, which grows here to a large size. The latter is known upon most of our sea coasts by the name of sea-eggs, sea hedgehogs, and various other local epithets. In former times they were esteemed dainties for the tables of the great, and even now when boiled are eaten by some people." As the high and various merit of this work cannot but be apparent from the specimens that we have cited, we may safely commit it without further remark to the public patronage. ART. XXL-Select Views of London and its Environs; containing a Collection of highly finished Engravings from original Paintings and Drawings; accompanied by copious Ixtier-press Descriptions of such Subjects in the Metropolis and the surrounding Country, as are most remarkable for Antiquity, architectural Grandeur, or picturesque Beany. Vol. II. 4to. AT the conclusion of the fifth chapter of our last volume, we gave some account of the first part of this work; and inti mated that the engravers proposed to makɛ some alterations in their second and last part. This is now completed; and, upon comparing it with the former, we are glad to acknowledge that it bears some marks of improvement. It still, however, falls far short of the title, and is therefore a work likely to disappoint the expectations of those who order it from that circumstance. Some of the plates in this second volume, from drawings by Powel, are executed with much taste; but if we consider them as historical or antiquarian subjects, they are trifling indeed. Several of the etchings of fragments, tombs, &c. are the most useful plates in the work: because they afford that kind of information which the man of science and taste can dwell upon with gratification and advantage. The accompanying descriptions are evidently written with careless haste; and are replete with vulgarisms and false syntax. On the whole, these "select" views may serve to gratify those indiscriminate collectors, who think it necessary to have every print that is published, to illustrate other books; but it can never be ranked as a useful or complete work in itself. CHAPTER VIIS GEOGRAPHY. ART. I.-Geographical Delineations; or a compendious View of the natural and political State of all parts of the Globe. By J. AIKIN, M. D. 2 vols. 8vo. THE happy application of clear and precise description, judicious selection, and graceful plainness of style to the illustration of geography, has already been felt and approved by the public in Dr. Aikin's "England delineated." Nor will these geographical delineations, which at present demand our attention, be found in any respect unworthy of their author. Differing materially as to its object, both from the elementary treatises, and the more complete systems of this important and interesting branch of general science, this work may be considered as occupying a newly discovered station, whence young persons of both sexes may review with pleasure and advantage the real extent and bearings of their former studies. They may also hence probably acquire a clearer idea of the characteristic features and relative importance of the various countries of the globe, with their inhabitants, than they are likely to gain while their undivided attention is required to those minuter, and, in some degree, topographical branches of enquiry, which, however, are essential to solid and really useful geographical knowledge. In arranging and proportioning the various information concerning each country, Dr. Aikin has adopted for his two leading considerations, the characters that are impressed upon it by nature, and those which it derives from its human inhabitants. Hence his primary divisions are not always coincident with the present political distribution. Thus the extinct kingdom of Poland, and Hungary with Transylvania, have been each considered as entitled to a separate description, while Prussia and Austria, from their connections with the other states of the empire by similarity of language, form only subdivisions under the general title of Germany. In like manner Switzerland, Hol land, and the Catholic Netherlands, are detached from France and described apart. A somewhat minute attention has been very properly paid to the boundaries of the countries, the course of the rivers, and the direction of the principal moun tainous chains, so as to render frequent reference to a good map, both interesting and indispensable. The principal materials of this work, Dr. Aikin observes, are " necessarily compiled from other books;" but a very pleasing part of it, the delineation of national characters, is original; and the strong tincture of liberal moderation diffused through the whole, together with the uniform good taste and simplicity of the style, give to it a certain charm that is easier felt than described. For the gratification of our readers, and as a fair specimen of the work, we shall select part of the chapter descriptive of Holland. "Under the name of Holland is compre hended the state of the Seven united Provinces of the Netherlands, of which that province is the principal. Situated on the northwestern angle of Germany, it is separated from it, not so much by a precise natural boundary, as by a general diversity of asp ec and local circumstances. It constitutes the Low-country of the German continent, a region in which land and water hold divided dominion; broken into peninsulas and islands, intersected with rivers and canals, and rescued, as it were, from the grasp of the ocean by the unremitting efforts of human industry. "Methinks her patient sons before me stand, "The Seven Provinces are bounded to the north and the west by the German sea; to the east by Germany; to the south by those provinces which have usually borne the name of the Catholic Netherlands. That part of it which fronts the sea exhibits strong marks of those encroachments made upon it by the destructive element, which history records. A sweep of low islands to the north gives admission through narrow channels to an expanse of salt water called the Zuyder-Zee, which occupies the place of a large tract of End, the Batavian isle of the Romans. The waters of this gulf have a communication with those of the Haarlem Meer, which last is separated only by a narrow slip of land from the German sea. The southern part of the coast is torn into a number of islands, which constitute the province of Zeeland. The whole range of coast presents only land almost level with the surface of the water, or, indeed, beneath it, and defended by artificial banks, or by a line of low sand-hills, from the incur sion of the tides. "The Dutch Provinces (for that is one of their appellations) lie between the latitudes 51.30. and 53. 30. From east to west their extent is less; and in the whole they are estimated to contain only about 10,000 square miles. The face of the country is, for the most part, an unvaried level; but it gradually swells into gentle risings on approaching the German border. Its compass is too narrow, and its surface too flat, to give birth to any considerable river, but it is the drain and outlet of several from other countries. "The Rhine, on arriving at its south-eastern boundary in the province of Gelderland, divides into two main branches, of which the more southern, under the name of the Wahal, goes to join the Maes; the more northern soon forms two more branches: one, the Leck, flows due west to join the Maes, not far from its entrance into the German sea; the other, under the name of the Issel, runs northwards to the Zuyder-Zee. A diminutive stream detached from the first of these branches, and passing by Utrecht and Leyden, alone bears the name of Rhine to the sea. "The Maes, or Meuse, coming out of the Catholic Netherlands, reaches the Dutch border a little southward of the entrance of the Rhine, and, turning westward, forms the limit between Dutch Brabant and the United Provinces. After the junction of the Wahal, it divides into several channels, forming islands belonging to South Holland. One of s channels, joined by the Leck, passes Rotterdam, to which it gives a fine harbour, and at length discharges itself into the German sea below the town of Briel. The Scheld, which 1 likewise a river of the Catholic Netherlands, passes near the termination of its course, between Dutch Flanders and Zeeland, thus giving to the United Provinces the possession of the keys of its navigation to the sea. "That part of Holland which is the bed of the Rhine and Maes, and their branches, is a naturally a fen or morass, rendered habitable only by numerous drains and canals, protected by embankments, which yet scarcely secure it from inundations. A large lake-like expanse of water near Dordrecht indicates the site of numerous villages, which, near four centuries ago, were suddenly overwhelmed by a seabreach, with a prodigious loss of lives and property. The lake or meer of Haarlem has already been mentioned, which, with its communicating branch, the Ye, and other meers in North Holland, prove the low and watery surface of that district. The province of Friseland, on the eastern side of the Zuyder-Zee, is almost crossed by a line of meers; and several of the like kind are met with in the adjoining province of Groningen. "From this sketch of the country it will not be expected to afford much scenery attractive to the lover of the picturesque, nor even to abound in the common charms of rural landscape. The provinces of Utrecht and Overyssel alone present some of the agreeable interchange of hill and dale; the latter, however, near the German border, is deformed by wide naked heaths, which are continuous with those of Westphalia. The same features mark the eastern parts of Friseland and Groningen. sea. "The climate is not more inviting than the face of the country. Its characteristic is moisture, with its concomitants of fog and mist, frequently enveloping both land and The winters are often attended with severe cold, so as to freeze not only the rivers and lakes, but even the shallow Zuyder-Zee. The summers, however, are sufficiently warm and constant to bring to perfection the ordi nary products of the latitude. The marshy exhalations and chill damps are prejudicial to health, and few European countries are less favourable to longevity. "The soil is chiefly sand, or the muddy deposition from rivers, with frequent intermixture of turf or peats the fuel of the country. When properly drained and manured it affords excellent pasturage, on which domestic animals arrive at a great size. The cows of Holland are remarkable for their produce of milk, whence butter and cheese are the principal objects of rural economy. On the light sandy soils, duly cultivated, abundant crops of green vegetables are grown. Some articles are brought to greater perfection in Holland than in most other countries, of which are madder and other dying drugs. Tobacco is successfully planted on the richer soils. For horticulture the Dutch have long been famous, and their florists supply the curious in that branch throughout Europe with the choicest flower-roots. "Nature affords so little in this country to engage the attention, that a survey of it must almost solely be occupied with the works of art. Man, and the operations of his industry, can no where be contemplated with more advantage and interest than in Holland. The people of these provinces, anciently celebrat |