178. General Description of the Country.-The southern borders are somewhat rugged; but to the north the country sinks into a flat plain, but little raised above the level of the sea, from whose incursions on the north it is protected by dykes and sandhills. It is traversed in every direction by nume rous rivers, and diversified by woods, arable fields, and meadows in the highest state of cultivation. All its rivers flow to the North Sea: the principal is the Scheldt, which flows from France through Belgium into Holland; the Meuse and the Lys flow into the Scheldt, and the Sambre into the Meuse.

179. Produce, Manufactures, and Commerce.-The climate is moist, and generally temperate. The rich pastures render the horses and cattle large and well-conditioned. The agricultural products are excellent; but fruit-trees are rare, and wheat succeeds with difficulty. The commerce and manufactures were once the greatest in the west of Europe: they have greatly fallen off, but are beginning to revive. They consist chiefly of fine linen, laces, carpets, and iron. Belgium exports its agricultural produce and manufactures. The principal commercial towns are Brussels, Ghent, Liege, Namur, Tournay, Ypres, Mons, Louvain, Verviers, and Malines (Mechlin). The principal seaport towns are Antwerp, Ostend, Bruges, and Nieuport. The roads, canals, and railways of Belgium are numerous and excellent.

180. Constitution and Government.-The kingdom of Belgium was established in 1831. It is a limited hereditary monarchy. The legislature is composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Representatives: the executive government is vested in the King, assisted by six responsible ministers: the judicial system is modelled upon that of France. There are three principal universities in Belgium; established at Louvain, Ghent, and Liege.

181. Provinces and Chief Towns.-Brussels, the capital, is situated in 50° 50' N. lat., and 4° 22′ E. long., about 50 miles E. by S. from the sea. Population, 103,200.

182. Situation and Boundaries.· -Holland is situated between 51° 12′ and 53° 31′ N. lat., and between 3° 20′ and 7° 12′ E. long., along the southeastern coast of the North Sea. Its greatest length is about 190 English miles; its greatest breadth about 123 English miles; its area 11,897 square miles. Population, 2,460,924. It is bounded on the north and west by the German Ocean, south by Belgium, east by Germany.

183. General Description of the Country.-The general aspect of Holland is that of a reclaimed swamp. A great part of it is considerably below the level of the sea, from which it is protected by natural sand-hills and artificial dykes. The surface is of course extremely flat; but the verdant meadows, cultivated by an industrious people, impart a degree of beauty to the summer landscape. Its chief rivers are the Yssel, which flows into the Zuyder-Zee; and the Rhine, Waal, and Meuse, which flow into the German Ocean. It has numerous small lakes. The

chief gulphs are the Zuyder-Zee and the Dollart. There are several small islands, as Texel, at the entrance of the Zuyder-Zee; and the province of Zealand chiefly consists of islands, as Schowen, Tholen, Walcheren, and others.

184. Produce, Manufactures, and Commerce.-The climate of Holland is cold, moist, and foggy; but the frosts and east winds of winter are salubrious. The chief agricultural products are oats, rye, and provisions. The horned cattle and horses are excellent; the sheep inferior. The manufactures of Holland are upon a narrow scale: the principal are those of snuff, gin, and beer. Ship-building is also making progress. Numerous vessels are employed in the herring fishery. During the sixteenth century, Holland was the most commercial country in the world, and it still possesses considerable trade. Its commission trade is valuable; and its bankers conduct important exchanges. The principal trading towns are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Middelburg, Flushing, Briel, Dort, Enkhuizen, Zieriksee, Gröningen, and Utrecht. The canals of Holland are innumerable and unrivalled.

185. Constitution and Government.-The King, a constitutional monarch, shares the legislative power with the StatesGeneral. The government of the colonies is vested exclusively in him. There are state universities at Leyden, Utrecht, and Gröningen; and elementary secular instruction is very generally diffused.

186. Provinces and Chief Towns.—The kingdom of Holland is divided into ten provinces, which are subdivided into districts, and these into cantons. By a treaty in 1839, the provinces of Limbourg and Luxembourg have been divided between Holland and Belgium. The Hague, the capital, is situated in 52° 4′ N. lat., and 4° 46′ E. long. Population, 58,000.

NORTH HOLLAND.-Amsterdam, Haarlem, and the island of Texel.

SOUTH HOLLAND.-The Hague, Leyden, Rotterdam, Dort, and Helvoetsluis.

ZEALAND.-Middleburg, Vlissingen (Flushing), Sluys, and

Axel.

NORTH BRABANT.-Hertogensbosch (Bois-le-Duc), Breda,
Bergen-op-Zoom.
UTRECHT.-Utrecht.

GUELDERLAND.-Arnheim, Nimeguen, Amersfort.
OVERYSSEL.-Zwoll, Deventer.

DREUTHE.-Assen.

GRÖNINGEN.-Gröningen.

FRIESLAND.-Liewerden.

LIMBOURG.-Maestricht.

LUXEMBOURG.-Luxembourg.

187. Colonies and Foreign Possessions.-In Asia-Java, part of Sumatra, Amboyna, Banda, Ternate, Macassar, and Timor. In Africa-forts on the coast of Guinea. In America— Surinam, island of Curaçoa, St. Eustatia, Saba, and part of St. Martins; the three last in the West Indies.

SECTION VII.

GERMANY.

188. Situation and Boundaries.-Germany extends from sea to sea, between 45° and 55° N. lat., and between 6° and 19° E. long. Its greatest length is 678 English miles; its greatest breadth 600. Superficial area 246,795 square miles. Population, 38,665,000. It comprises all the countries of central Europe, and is bounded on the north by the German Ocean, Denmark, and the Baltic; west, by France, Belgium, and Holland; south, by Switzerland and the Tyrol; east, by Hungary, Galicia, and Prussian Poland.

189. General Description of the Country.-The

surface of Germany is much diversified. The mountain tracts lie chiefly in the south and south-east. The mountains are a northern branch of the Alps, of comparatively moderate elevation, but of considerable extent, ramifying in four principal directions from the Fichtel-gebirge, in the north of Bavaria, and forming the watershed that divides the rivers of the Black Sea from those of the Baltic and German Ocean. The Erz-gebirge forms the boundary between Saxony and Bohemia. A second range separates Bohemia from Bavaria. The Suabian Alps form the watershed between the affluents of the Rhine and those of the Danube. The Thuringian range divides into two chains: one running north into Hanover, and forming the Hartz chain, which divides the waters of the Weser from those of the Elbe; the other running west, and dividing the waters of the Rhine from those of the Weser and its affluents. Germany contains 60 navigable rivers: the chief of which are the Danube, with the Lech, Isar, Inn, and other affluents; the Rhine, with the Neckar, Meyn, Nahe, Lahn, and other affluents; the Ems, Weser and Aller, Elbe, Trave, Warnow, Rechnitz, and Oder. The Ems, Weser, Elbe, and Warnow fall into the North Sea; the Trave, Rechnitz, and Oder, into the Baltic. Central Germany is chiefly composed of high valleys and table-lands. Northern Germany sinks into a wide sandy plain, very little raised above the level of the ocean. Germany may be divided, generally, into three zones, as regards climate. The northern is humid and variable: the central is somewhat cold, but regular and salubrious: the Alpine is very various, according to elevation and other local peculiarities.