let, and perhaps all the species inhabiting the Black Sea; and their shores abound in aquatic fowl, storks, herons, bitterns, spoonbills, red geese, red ducks, &c. The climate is exceedingly unhealthy, and in the summer season even the natives remove from the coasts. Further east there are many smaller lakes similar in character to the above, and which receive rivers, but have no outlets. The principal of these are the Balkashi-noor or Lake Tenghiz; the Alak-tou-gûl; the Khassel-bash; the Ubsa; the Aralnoor; the lakes Bosteng and Lob, the Tengri-noor and Bouki-noor, all in Central Asia; and the Pangkung, in Thibet. Towards the west also are several, as the lakes of Ooroomiah, and Van in Armenia; the great salt lake of Koch-Hissar, in Asia Minor; and the Dead Sea, in Palestine. All these lakes, or seas as they are sometimes called, are salt; the waters of some of them extremely so, and even bitter. The fresh water lakes of Asia are small in comparison to those even of Europe, but they all have outlets. The principal are:-the Baikal in Eastern Siberia; Zaisang, formed by the Irtish; the Lake of Erivan, in Armenia; the Lake of Tiberias, or Sea of Galilee, in Palestine; the Po-yang and Tong-ting, in China; and the Rhawanrhad, Manasarowara, and Paltee, in Thibet. The islands belonging to Asia are large and important, and have chiefly, especially those of the Indian Ocean, become very valuable to the com merce of the world. They are mostly of volcanic origin. The principal are:-Cyprus, in the Levant, and a number of small islands in the Archipelago; Ceylon, Andaman, and the Nicobar Islands, in the Bay of Bengal; Hainan and Formosa, in the Chinese Sea; the Majicosima, Loo-choo, Japan, and Kurile Islands, in the Pacific Ocean; and others of less note, as the Maldives and Lacadives, in the Arabian Gulf, and the New Siberian group in the Arctic Ocean, opposite the estuary of the Lena. These will be more fully described elsewhere. Nearly all the circumstances which unite in giving a mild climate to Europe, are reversed in the case of Asia. Its northern boundary extends beyond the parallel of 70°, and between the mouths of the Ienisei and the Lena, reaches even to 75°; it everywhere attains the winter limit of the polar ice, and during the short summer of these high latitudes, there is only a narrow belt of water between the ice and the land. The north winds, unobstructed by mountains, blow over a plain of ice, and their cooling influence is not counterbalanced by hot deserts of sand in the southern portion of the continent; there being no land under the equator, opposite the length of Asia, except the narrow strips of Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, and Gilolo. Consequently, the Asiatic countries situate in the temperate zone, are not warmed by ascending currents of heated air, similar to those which rise from the deserts of Africa, and exert so beneficial an influence on the climate of Europe. The position of the great mountain chains, and the general elevation of the country, likewise contribute to diminish the temperature; the Himalayas and Kwan-lun presenting an effectual barrier to the warm winds in their progress from the equator, while the high plains and groups of mountains, which occupy the centre of the continent, retain the snow till late in the summer, and produce descending currents of air which lower the temperature of the surrounding countries. There is, moreover, no sea of any considerable extent on the western side; and consequently the western, or predominating winds, are land winds, whose severity is increased by the great enlargement of the continent towards the north, The result of all these circumstances is, that the eastern part of Europe, and the whole of Asia to the north of the 35° N. lat. have what Humboldt calls an excessive climate, meaning by that term a climate in which the temperatures of summer and winter differ greatly from the mean temperature of the year, or, in plainer language, where the winter is excessively cold, and the summer excessively hot. In Europe, on the contrary, there is less difference between the temperatures of the summer and winter, and both approach nearer the mean temperature of the year. The height of the snow-line on the mountains of Asia has hitherto been very imperfectly determined; but in a general view, it may be regarded as much greater than in Europe, or even in America, under the same parallel. The limit of perpetual snow on Mount Elbûrz is 11,000 feet, while on the Pyrenees, under the same latitude, it is only 8,690 feet. The great influence of local circumstances on the position of the snow-line, is strikingly exemplified in the case of the Himalayas. On the south side of these mountains, under the parallel of 300 or 31°, the snow line is estimated at 12,400 feet; while on the north side, towards Thibet, snow disappears. in summer at the enormous height of more than 20,000 feet. This remarkable difference is ascribed by Humboldt to the powerful radiation which takes place in summer from the high plains of Thibet, to the small quantity of snow which falls in winter, when the temperature sinks below 10° of Fahrenheit, and to the serenity and clearness of the atmosphere on the northern side of the mountain chain; circumstances which, at the same time, increase the radiation from the plains, and facilitate the transmission of the heat to the higher regions. The effect of the very diversified local circumstances of the Asiatic continent, an example of which we have just now given, is such, that its physical climates, generally speaking, seldom correspond to the astronomical climates. There is no precious or useful mineral which is not found in this immense continent. The following table exhibits the countries which are most distinguished for their mineral wealth: DIAMONDS.. MINERALOGICAL TABLE OF ASIA. .India, (Nizam, Baladghaut region, Bundelcund, Sumbhulpour, OTHER PRECIOUS STONES.. Birmah; Siam; India; Asiatic Russia, (Perm, Orenberg, GOLD..... SILVER... TIN........ MERCURY..... Tomsk, Irkutsk, &c.;) Chinese Empire, (China, &c. ;) Per- .Japan, (Niphon, Sado, &c.;) Chinese Empire, (Thibet, Yun- Birmah; Siam; Malaya, (Ligor, Queda, Selenga, &c.;) ...China; Thibet; Japan; India; Ceylon. Japan, (Sourounga, Atsingo, Kuno-kuoni, &c. ;) Russia, (Perm, IRON.. LEAD.. COAL. SALT... Russia, (Perm, Orenburg, Tomsk, Irkutsk ;) India. (Cash mere, Nepaul, Bengal, Bahar, Oude, Agra, Berar, Nellore;) China, (Shensi, Thibet, Bootan;) Siam; Anam, (Tonkin &c.;) Ottoman Empire, (Diyarbekr;) Affghanistan; Seik Territory, (Peshawer;) Persia, (Fars;) Japan. China; Russia, (Irkutsk, Tomsk, Georgia;) Siam; Japan Chinese Empire, ( The Northern Provinces of China;) Ottoman Chinese Empire, (Pe-che-le, and other Provinces of China The vegetation is extremely rich and various. All the natural families of plants appear to have representatives in Asia, for the vast extent of the continent includes climates of the most opposite character. From the lowly vegetation which composes the Arctic flora, to the gigantic trees and generally luxuriant vegetation of the Indian regions, we find in Asia every intermediate kind. Sometimes the extremes appear to exist even in the same country; for example, where the Himalayas present an Arctic vege tation in the higher regions, while, not far below, the vegetation of warm climates is found in full luxuriance. But most of the countries of Asia have a homogeneous and characteristic vegetation of their own. To attempt, however, to particularise them, would be an idle work; the bare enumeration of them might fill our volume, but would contribute little to the edification of our readers. We shall, therefore, confine our notice here to a few plants of the highest value, not only in the countries which produce them, but in the most distant regions of the earth. Of all the productions of the vegetable kingdom, that which has been the greatest favorite with man in every age is the vine; the juice of which is sought after in every country which civilization has reached. It is not, however, a very general production of the earth; the cultivation of it is confined to narrow limits, for excess of heat seems as unfavorable to its growth as too much cold. Its southern limit is where the mean temperature of the climate is between 69° 8' and 71° 6' Fahrenheit; and its northern limit, 470 or 48°, where the temperature of the coldest month does not fall below 34°. It is only within the middle regions of the temperate zone that the vine comes to perfection, but within those limits it is found throughout western Asia. The finest grapes are produced in Asia Minor, Syria, and Palestine; but the vine is still found in its wild and native state in the forests of the ancient Colchis, (at the eastern end of the Black Sea,) climbing to the tops of the loftiest trees. Farther east, the grapes and the wines of Shiraz and Mazanderan enjoy the highest repute in Persia. Vines are also found native along the upper banks of the Oxus, in Kashgar to the east of the Bolor, in Kunawar, the British portion of Little Thibet, and also in Malwah or Central India. They are also cultivated in the gardens of H'lassa in Great Thibet; and in China, on the shores of the Eastern Ocean, the vine is as plentiful, and the luxury of wine-drinking is as highly appreci ated, as in Europe or America. In France, Germany, and Hungary, the vine is the produce of art; farther south, and in the regions emphatically called the East the vines are to be seen in their full and native luxuriance, as delightful to the eye as their produce is grateful to the palate. In all ages the vine has been a favorite theme with the poets of the East. The winebibbing Anacreon is notorious, and Hafiz, the national lyric poet of Persia, avows himself a most devout admirer of this glorious beverage; and, indeed, the wine of Shiraz, the place of his birth and of his burial, is so highly esteemed, that the Persians say that if Mohammed, (who forbade the use of wine to his disciples,) had tasted the pleasures of Shiraz, he would have prayed God to make him immortal there. Next in repute to the vine is the olive, which is likewise confined to temperate climates, and is indigenous to Syria, along the eastern shores of the Black Sea, and at Tukht-i-Suleiman, near the Indus. The cultivated olive is easily reared in all parts along the shores of the Levant, which are free from the visitation of frosty winds. It produces a very fine oil, which is in general use in all the countries where it is grown; and the history of the tree appears to be as old as the human race: for it was the leaf of an olive tree plucked off that Noah's dove brought to him in the ark. Tea, which affords a wholesome and exhilarating beverage to all the nations of the eastern, central, and northern regions of Asia, and has become a necessary of life in Britain and the United States, is produced abundantly in the southern provinces of China; the best is grown upon the hills of the province of Foki-en. It has also been lately discovered to be indigenous in Assam, within the limits of the British territories, and has been found to be perfectly adapted to the soil and climate of the Nilgherries in Southern India. Rice is a necessary, and indeed the very staff of life, to the Hindoos, Indo-Chinese, and Chinese, who value it so highly that they pity the Europeans for having no rice at home, and wonder how they can exist without it. It is produced abundantly in the well-watered plains of those countries, and requires great heat as well as abundant moisture to bring it to perfection. The same character is enjoyed by the date tree in Arabia, and the neighboring hot and sandy countries of the south-west. Its fruit there forms a principal article of food; and the simple people there wonder how other nations contrive to live without it. But for more detailed accounts of hese and of the other vegetable productions of Asia, we refer to our special descriptions of the countries into which the continent is divided. The zoology of Asia presents a prodigious catalogue; and in regard to animal life, the country may be divided into three great zones, co-terminate with the mountains, which form the barriers. In the northern zone, the river banks and the vast forests of Siberia harbor innumerable troops of rein-deer, elks, foxes, bears, gluttons, and several species of martens and squirrels. Along the shores of the Arctic sea, the great polar bear preys on every thing living, and in the waters of the ocean are found seals and various kinds of cetacea. In Central Asia, which is composed of high mountains and extensive sandy plains, we find the Bactrian or doublehumped camel, the wild horse, several kinds of horse-tailed beeves (whose flowing tails are the ensigns of military rank throughout the East), the antelope, and the yellow buck. Panthers are found in the western regions, and also a singular species of cat, the manul, the original of the Angora cats. The Indian tiger has been seen as far north as the head waters of the Obi, and the Altai mountains. Tigers also abound in Mongolia, where they are hunted every year by the Emperor of China. Troops of several species of dogs, jackals and wolves prey upon the antelopes, asses and horses. VOL. II. 28 All the mountains are inhabited by the musk animal: the Altai by the argali," or Siberian sheep; the southern mountains by the wild goat; and Caucasus by the egagre and the chamois. The western prolongation of this zone, which extends over Persia and Arabia, is overrun by antelopes and gazelles, lions, panthers, caracals and other sorts of cats, jackals and monkeys. The mountains and table lands produce also the " onager," or wild ass, the original of those beautiful and fleet asses so much esteemed in the East. In the southern zone, however, animal life is the most prolific. Here various species of the antelope and deer are found, and in Thibet the blue antelope, whose horns, which fall annually, have more than once reminded travellers of the fabulous unicorn. There is also the "chitkaru," with four horns. In Bengal, is the charming white-spotted axis, and in the forests is found the "jungle cow," the wild original of the domestic beeves of India. Fierce tigers ravage Hindostan, and the warm countries east and south. In the same region is found the black-skinned buffalo, with horns turned back, both wild and tame, delighting in the muddy banks of the rivers, lakes and seas. Between the Ganges and the Indus, the forests abound with squirrels, peacocks, pheasants and junglecocks. Several species of bears inhabit the forests among the Ghauts. The elephant and one-horned rhinoceros also inhabit the forests; but it is in the countries south-east of Hindostan that these animals attain their largest size. The tapir is found between Malacca and China; and ourangs, gibbins, and various other kinds of moneys. In the Ganges alone, 250 kinds of fish have been described by Buchanan, which furnish abundance of food for the alligators, with which its waters abound. The seas of India swarm with myriads of the finny tribes of every species, and the testacea contribute many luxuries to the inhabitants. The whole number of known species of birds is 937, of which 621 are peculiar to Asia. Every zone has its peculiar species, and many are of the most beautiful plumage. Gigantic vultures tyrannize over the banks of the Ganges, where are likewise found great numbers of eagles, falcons, buzzards and screech-owls. Swarms of paroquets, of every variety of color, inhabit the continent and neighboring islands. The southern countries of Asia produce reptiles, many of which are armed with the most fatal poisons; they are all hideous to the sight, and some are of prodigious size and muscular strength. Beyond the Altai chain, however, they are scarcely ever found. All sorts of insects, some very noxious and destructive, swarm in the southern regions; and even in Siberia, during its short summers, the mosquito and other troublesome species abound. But the most mischievous of all these winged creatures is the locust, which appears occasionally in the sandy regions of north-western India, and is found in countless swarms in Arabia and Syria, and often penetrates into south-eastern Europe, spreading destruction wherever it goes. The elephant is pre-eminent among the domestic animals, but it is rarely found in the mountain regions of the north. The camel is found over a far wider range of country. The Bactrian camel is comparatively rare, and seems to be confined to the great deserts of north-eastern Asia. The onehumped species, usually misnamed the dromedary, but in fact the real camel, is spread over Arabia, Persia, Western India and Northern Africa, where it is the common beast of burden. The dromedary, properly so called, or the racing camel, is only a variety of the latter species, of lighter form and better suited for rapid travelling. The other domestic animals of southern and western Asia are horses, asses, buffaloes, beeves, sheep and |