ÏÓ
Climate.
Inland feas.
' ' J Ï Ï E Ö F E
'ancient Greece; and it is t o be hoped that R u flk will n o t p ro v e anr-
other Macedoii.
This fair portion o f 'fhè globe is chiefly fiïuated in- the temjsefalézone^
iffucliL diftin<ftiofiS‘havó n è t' vaniffied ftbtri geography; fmfce modern
difcovenes have evinced th a tth e elknatte'oft éb’depends cln| localWifes p
that the Alps in aToqthernlatitude'Trefent moüótaifls g ï g M g Ë m
in L ap h fiÉ ^ that th e to rrid zone abounds with water ai^^ab'ltatfbtis^,
a h d # a y perhaps contain mountains'covnicd with fnow; *SleC frëèdbm,
from the excéffive he&tsof Afia and Africa hds coritribffléiP io the vigour
o f th e frame, an d the energy o f torn mind.
' lü a general flew' of Europe,' one o f t h e 'r ^ f t l r i l i e g and j K S
ing features is th e number arid ex te n fo f ;thê inland feas, jp f f ly |e |a r d |d
as chief caufes of the extenfive induftry~ and civilization, and c om lg
queht filperiority to the othér grand daviflohs of th é ^ ^ ^ g H a d 'A è i c a *
been ïriterfeaéd by a large inland ^
the bleÖjngs of induftry would have been widely
land feas theMeditërranean is > f tly pre-eminent, haVroglbeen tim c e n te |
o f civilization to ancient and modern Europe. 'I he ƒ wjbn ins ómercmlea--
marked its wefterti boundary; bpiag th e miMn&in or roefc* oP A bfla ,.
how Called Ceuta,'and Kalpe imSpam,'the-Gibraltar b f modern fatflg
’i l t ë lêngthibf the. Mediterranean is about ïdAó'.miies ft> its- fethesft e x tremity
in Syria; but in ancient maps the length has been e x te n d ^ 't» -
about ajfeo miles.' Ón its northern fide dpéft- tw o - ïmmeHft Ó&’f f f iS
that ó f Venfcei; and. the Archipelago f. th e former 'bêth^’The A tóM c ,,
the latter th e Egeanfea, o f the ancients: From this laft a% ê¥ ^ t^ c alled .
the Hellefpont,. conducts to the fea.of Marmora the claffical Propontis:
and another now ftyled the ftreight of Gonftantinople, th é ' ancient
Thracian Bofphpr-us, leads to the Euxine, or Black S e a ; which, to-r
ttie north,'prefents the fhallow Palus Masotis, or fea of Azof, the utmoft
maritime limit of Europe in that quarter. This wide expanfe. óf the-
Mediterranean is beautifully fprfnkled with iflands, and environed w ith
opulent,coafts, abounding ‘with the moft fublimë and pi&urefque fea-
• tu res 'óf - n a tu re : tide's are not perceivable,- except in the narroweft
ftreights; b.ut according ' to phyfiologifts there is a-current along th e
Italian fliore, fröm the weft to. the eaft,. and. towards the African,, coaft
I i f # 1 m W lg Ê Ê B Ê Ë S B È m
in an oppofite direction. In the'Adriatic the ctuient runs north-weft
along Dalniatia,, and returns by the oppofite ffiore -of Italy. The Mediterranean
abounds with lifli, many: of which are little, known in more
northern latitudes. T h e chief fifheries are; thófe of the tunny,- of the
fword fifli, a n d o f the fea clog, a fpecies of /hark, and of .the diminutive
-’anchovy. It is alfo the chief feminary o f coral, now known to be
the-work o f marine infodis. This fuppofed plant is of three colours,
th e -red , the' vermilion, and the whireS and its 'greafeft'height is about
eleven inches, It is equally hard in the Tea, and in the air ; and is
generally brought up b y ' a kind of net from the depth o f 60 to 125
feet *. To enumerate and afeertain fhoals and rocks is the office *öf
the hydr'ogf^pher ; bót fiihing. banks arh ©f -gfeueraMr&p'ortancep' and
Tome are found near Sicily. The-Black fea is faid to derive itsmköie
from its ïbjtack rocks, or d an g ero u s navigation; but 'it ijs -difficult to-
atebunt fo r fuch terms, often derived from the fertile'and -fuperftitious
fancy o-f mariners. .Thejeffia o f A zof is polluted .with mudj whence it
was'ftyled Palus, or ^ marffi, by the an events :f it is united to th e Euxine
•by !thu ftreight b f Gaffa, the aSiCieftt -Cimmerian Bofjffi-arnsyo'n
The fecónd grand inland fea of Europe is the Baltic, by the Géfmans
Called the Eaftern Sea; whence tife-Eafterlingsbf Engliffi-hiftóry, peöplè
from the fhbr-es -of-tfie Baltié.'ï' This Ckterlfive^i-rilèt-’ëpêiis1 from th e
'German fea, by a gulph pointing N. Excelled thè èk ag c r Rack ; to d
afterwards paflgs fouth, in w h a t’is called -the -Cattegat,- 4o 'thè 8. E. of
whiehiis the aouh'd o f EMinofe,'1 a ftreight" where- VCffife pay a ttiflute
b f courtefy to Denmark. The Baltic aftèrWardC widely t o the
N: E. '.and is divided into two ëxtehfive' bran ch es,natlCa th d ^ u l^ h s ó f
■Ilódinia and ffin lan d ;'both'covered or impeded .with * ioi for--fout or
five months o f the northern winter. Ancient hiftorians even report
that wolves have paffed on the ice from Norway to Jutland ; and, if
veracious, the rigour o f the feafons. muft have greatly abated. The
greateft depth of this fea is faid not to exceed fifty fathoms.. ’ Swedifh
phyfiologifts. pronounce that it loijes ,abdnt fdur feet in --extent in tlce
courfe of a century-; and that the water does not-contain above one.
thirtieth part o f fait, whereas' other fea water, often holds a tenth : this
4 Spallanzani’s T r a v . in ih é -T ^ o ^SlciKes, i v* 3 *7-.
g z freffiaefs