pACBOPTHÏ
C o u n t r y .
Soil and
Agriculture..
Rivers..
Danube..
Màritz».
Dlker.
Morava.
Dakes.
provinces^ and tlie numerous gnjphs'jbf the Archipelago and Mediterranean
diverfify a n d en rich the country.'
T h e foil' is. generally fertile, th e northe rn parts producing wheat a n d
rich pafture, the middle and .fo u th em abundance o f ric e .’ But agriculture,
like every other art and fcience, is negleifted b y thé Tu rk s | and
th a t foil" muft h e truly- fertile which unde r their fway ean.fugport. its
inhabitants.
Among th e rivers o f European Turkey, muff firft be named the
Danube, which from Belgrade fó Orfova divides Servia from : th e ^Band
â t, a fpace o f near T ö'o.miles;.; and afterward becomes, à Türkifti ftream
fo f more th an 4 0 0 , being in fome places a mile-in breadftp'and p¥e'fe'ht-
m g , if poffeffed by an iriduftrious people,^all the. advantages o f a Medl-
terranean fea.;, . -
- N e x t perhaps in importance, though very inferior, is the Maritz, &r,
ancient Hebrus, which riling in a chain o f mountains anciently' called,
îïa é n iu s, and ru n n in g towards the E. and S-., falls into th e Ægean, jfea,
after 'a' courfe o f about 250 miles. T h e farnïe fêa^at the gulph o f Sa-,
tonica receives th e Varriari, the ancient A x iu s ,‘ which rifing in m o u n t
Scardus, a weftem branch o f the famé chain, p u rfu e# a S.‘ É . cpurfe of-
about 2 op miles. * „ _
T w o Other rivers o f ffmilar confoquence-flow in to th é Danube. .T h e
Eiker,^the ancient. Oelkus, rifes near, th e fourbe' ô f th e Maritz, blit its
eourfe little exceeds 120 miles; while the Morava, the ancient Margus,..,
-runs about 200. T h e D rih , another confiderable r iv e r ,. rifés* to th e
n o rth o f A lbania,'and falls in to th e Sa^e.
M an y other dreams o f claffical name pervade’ thefe regions ; b u t th ey
often dérive th e it foie importance from th e ir, hiftorical and poetical
reputation. -
Budzac and Walachia contain fome Jakes ó f cönfide rabié éktent, as;
thofe around Ifmail, and th a t to th é E. o f Surza, which communicates
w ith th e Danube, or forms a part o f th a t river. N o r are Albania,, and;
th e fouthern provinces, wholly deftitute o f lakes, but ra th e r o f claifficat
fame than, o f geographical importance.
T h e chains o f mountains are numerous and éxtenfive. T o the W..
o f M oldavia an d th e Bukovine ru n s N. and N. W.-for ab o u t 2.00 miles.
part
Mountains.
C H A P . IV. N A T U R A L ' G E O G R A P H T .
p a rt o f t i e g-fand Carpathian chain, anciently 'called the Baftarnic Alps, Mountains.
from the :Ba-ftarnS|, ;ainextenfive nation, p a rtly ,o f Gothic and pa rtly o f
Sarmatie origin. T h e molt fouthern branch o f this gland chain, tend-
frlig ov \V .-fo r vmbi-e than ader .mile^ Forms the N. and W..1Soundar y o f
W a la c h ia ? P to lem y here;!?d^!iBeates . morint Peuee, which feetns> the-
fame with,.the Baftarnic- _A|p0||iw h ile th e -fo u th ern branch may be his
Sarmatie m o u n ta in ; nor do the iVoilat'ams? between WalaCniaand the
B ap n a t’ diftinguiihed by any mpdern- appellation, except o f p a r ticular
fumrmtsrpsthe Gray fo r, the P ic tin t^ d fh p Semenek.
. On the S. o f the Danube .,d|p^|'b.;,th,erg rp ^ /r a n g e '" 1 o f Wm Hsemus, H«mus.
w h ic h P to lem y repr-efents ^as?r un ning fr pm the; S. W v jo ^ b c N. while
tftod£i*hd^|£EVajtipns indicate?'the. opp(di|l^klT^tcliipsr ‘^odh^ffi^dreCjent
maps]qf4thefe jeg io n s ajfe- ftill v e ry im p e tr e ^ ^ .D ^A n ^ f e , in his A n /
c-iept„ G eography, .eopfideis the Rhodope, asV'ai.ch&m o f mountains on ■
th e weftern fide o f ancient Thrace $, an d the. Hsemus, as its .northern
f ro n tie r : but this .diftindtion.. is' u n k n ow n to . J ^ l e n iy , who on th e / ,
contrary places th e R h o d o p e-tow ard s the N. of-Thrace/representing;
„It as, a branch o f the'.Hse'mps. , -Koweyer this (.be, th e e lja in . o f th e .,
.Has'mps is-defosve'dly celebrated, by- the ancients, beini^;|)f^E|at.'el%%f
tio n and extent^ as. appears-, from humerbus and large yiyeJSsf'whichj
devolve from its frde's.* . T h e middle parts o f thfe- .chain Were b y th e
anlientS1 ealldcl Seomius'and Otbelusi; while."th’A Scardusniriy fcS$pa,~
fidered as its furtheft branch o n th e w eft. I f w ith D ’Anville we place"
th e H tzm i extrem a, th e fdrtheft eaftern p oint o f -the HaemUS'<lt - -
and thence extend it above ,Fil-ipopoli a n d , Spffy ,tt?-the S. of. Se.ryia',
-we lhall find an extent o f more th a n -400 iniles, now known u n d e r v a - - -
rious names, a sEm in e h ; or" Heminehr D a g ,, p e rh a p s ^ remnant b f'th ^ r
ancient appellation,'pn-the eaft ; B u lk in and'.SamPco in thetmiddle,; Iv a n '
W ,; -while the DefpSto Dag branches off to the S. K .a n d may perhaps b e ;
the Rhodope o f the ancients. But while the proper delineation apd d e - '
feription o f mountain^, though fqnre o f th e . moft fixed arid important' .
features o f nature, an d ' di-ftindl: and.appropriated appellations .for,their
chains and branches',1 remain - grofsly defe^fiyb ip* other’ provinces oF
European geography, it is n o t,a fubje£t o f furprize that great,obfeurity
- ftiould;