Aurora Borealis. In summer, the sun being so many hours above the horizon, the heat is intense, and vegetation proceeds with remarkable rapidity.

Productions.] In the low country, near the gulf of Bothnia there are large forests of spruce, Scots fir and other resinous trees. As you advance into the interior these trees gradually disappear, and long before you reach the tops of the mountains all vegetation entirely vanishes. Barley, rye, and occasionally oats are raised in favorable situations, and grain has been cultivated with success by the Finnish colonists under the parallel of 70° N. which may safely be pronounced the must northern limit of husbandry.

Animals.] Among the domestic animals are oxen, sheep and goats, all of a small size; but the reindeer is the most valuable gift that nature has bestowed on the poor Laplanders. It serves as the principal beast of burden, its milk is highly valued; its flesh supplies the chief nourishment of the inhabitants during part of the year; its sinews are made into thread, and its skin furnishes a great part of their dress. In summer it feeds on grass; but in winter it refuses bay, and obtains its whole nourishment from moss, which grows here in great profusion. A remarkable instinct is displayed by the animal in discovering this plant under the snow, and in digging it out. The foot of the reindeer seems shaped exactly to enable it to walk on snow, spreading out when set down. so as to cover a large surface, but contracting when lifted up, so as to be easily withdrawn if it happen to plunge too deep. This animal forms the chief wealth of the natives. The poorer classes have from 50 to 200; the middle classes from 300 to 700, and the affluent often above 1,000.

Manners and Customs] The mountain Laplanders have no fixed habitation but wander about in quest of food for their flocks of reindeer, and lodge in tents or huts, which are usually about 9 feet high and 12 long. These rude erections are generally composed of six poles which meet at the top and support each other the fire place consists of a few stones, and is always in the middle of the hut; the smoke issues by a hole at the top. The diet of the Laplanders is chiefly of animal food, those on the coast living on fish, those among the mountains on reindeer, and the fruits of the chace.

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Character and Religion.] The Laplanders are generally about four feet high, with short black hair, narrow dark eyes, large heads, high cheek bones, wide mouth, thick lips and a swarthy complexion. It is but little more than a century since they were converted to Christianity, and notwithstanding the efforts of the missionaries they are still very ignorant of its doctrines and retain many of their heathen superstitions.

Trade. During winter they carry on some traffic with the Swedes. This takes place at Tornea, and other towns on the gulf of Bothnia, and consists in exchanging skins, furs, dried fish, venison, and gloves, for flannel cloth, hemp, copper, iron and various utensils; but particularly for spiritous liquors, meal, salt and tobacco.

DENMARK.

Situation and Extent.] Denmark consists of several large isl ands lying between the Cattegat and the Baitic, and of a peninsula which is bounded W. by the North sea or German ocean; N. by the Skager Rack; E. by the Cattegat and the Baltic; S. E. by the dutchy of Mecklenburg in Germany; and S. by the Elbe, which separates it from the kingdom of Hanover. It extends from 53° 34' to 57° 45' N. lat. and contains 21,615 square miles. Divisions.] The following table presents the divisions of Denmark, together with their population and extent.

Straits.] There are three straits connecting the Baltic with the Cattegat, viz. The Sound, between the island of Zealand and Sweden; the Great Belt, between the islands of Zealand and Funen; and the Little Belt, between the island of Funen and the peninsula of Jutland.

Bays and Rivers.] The Lymfiord is a long, narrow and navigable bay, in the northern part of Jutland, setting up westward from the Cattegat, and extending nearly across the peninsula, being separated from the German Ocean by a sand bank only two or three miles in width. The bay of Ringkiobing, on the western coast of Jutland, puts up northward from the German ocean, from which it is separated by a long narrow sand bank. It is 35 miles long and no where more than eight broad.

The river Eyder, which forms the boundary between the dutchies of Sleswick and Holstein, rises near the eastern coast, and falls into the German ocean in lat. 54° 17′ after a westerly course of more than 100 miles. The tide ascends 60 miles, and it is navigable thus far for vessels of 120 tons. The Elbe is the southern

boundary of the country, dividing the dutchies of Holstein and Lauenburg from the kingdom of Hanover.

Canal.] The canal of Kiel connects the Baltic with the river Eyder, and thus opens a communication between that -ea and the German ocean. It is 22 miles long. 100 feet wide at the surface, 54 at the bottom, and at least 10 feet deep, and admits the passage of vessels of 120 tons This canal was begun in 1777 and finished in 1784. The number of vessels that passed through it during the war of 1803, when the navigation by the Sound was interrupted, was from 3,000 to 4,000, and the tolls collected upon it afforded a considerable revenue.

Face of the Country, Soil and Productions.] The face of the country is a low plain interrupted by very few hills and no mountains. The principal ridge of hills runs through the peninsula of Jutland from north to south. It consists partly of gravel and partly of red sand, and produces only heath plants and low bushes. On the east side of this ridge the soil is fertile and productive; at the northern extremity it is sandy and dry; on the western coast, it is fertile but marshy, and protected against the inroads of the sea partly by natural sand-heaps and partly by artificial dykes. The soil of Sleswick and Holstein is very fertile, particularly in the marshy districts along the coast. The principal productions are grain, large quantities of which are exported, potatoes, tobacco, madder, flax, hemp, &c. In Funen, Holstein and the south of Jutland the agriculture may be compared with that of England.

Animals. The Danish horses, particularly those of Holstein, are admired for their beauty, strength, and speed, and are exported in considerable numbers to Germany, France, Russia, and Sweden. The breed of horned cattle is also in general very good, and that of sheep has been of late years improved by intermixture with Merinos. Swine are raised in large numbers and furnish a large quantity of bacon for exportation to Norway, Holland and Lubec. Even the abundance of poultry is worthy of notice, as their feathers form an important branch of trade.

Climate. The climate is temperate, and though the atmosphere during the greater part of the year is thick and cloudy as in England. the country is with few exceptions perfectly healthy. The winter is occasionally of extreme severity, and the sea is impeded with ice. The Sound has at times been crossed by heavy loaded carriages.

Chief Towns.] Copenhagen, the metropolis of Denmark, and the best built city in the north of Europe, is on the east coast of the island of Zealand about 20 miles from the narrowes' part of the Sound. The harbor, which is formed by an arm of the sea running between the city and the opposite island of Amack, is deep enough for vessels of the largest size, and sufficiently capacions to admit 500 merchantmen, while the entrance is so narrow that only one ship can enter at a time. The city is made up of aree distinct parts, viz. The Old Town in the S. W. which is the largest and most populous part; the New Town or Freder

ickstown, in the N. W. some parts of which are extremely beautiful; and Christianshaven, in the south, on the island of Amack, separated from the rest of the town by the inlet that forms the harbor, over the narrowest part of which there are two bridges. The island of Amack is several leagues in circuit, and forms a succession of kitchen gardens and meadows, which furnish the city with vegetables, milk, butter, and cheese. Copenhagen is not only the residence of the court, but the seat of all the great public establishments of the kingdom. Among the public buildings and institutions are 20 churches, and several Jewish syna→ gogues, 22 hospitals, a university, and a royal library of more than 250,000 volumes. The trade of the city is very extensive, and the shipping belonging to the port may be computed, on an average, at 400 vessels, manned by nearly 6,000 sailors. The population is computed at 105,000. Copenhagen was attacked by the British in 1807, and above 300 houses, including the cathedral and part of the university, were destroyed.

Altona, the second city in Denmark in size and importance, is on the Elbe two miles west of Hamburgh. It is well built and has 7 churches, an academy with seven teachers, and several manufactories. It carries on considerable inland and foreign commerce, and is extensively engaged in the fisheries. The number of vessels belonging to the port is 70, of which 30 are employed in the herring fishery. The population, according to Hassel, is 23,083, of whom 2,400 are Jews.

Kiel, the capital of Holstein, stands 51 miles N. of Hamburgh, at the bottom of a bay or gulf of the Baltic forming a convenient harbor, which is connected with the river Eyder by the canal of Kiel. A great annual fair takes place in January, but at other times there is little commercial activity. It has a university and 7,000 inhabitants. Sleswick, the capital of the dutchy of the same name, is 26 miles N.W. of Kiel, at the bottom of a long narrow bay of the Baltic, and contains 7,000 inhabitants. Flensborg, 16 miles north of Sleswick, has a fine harbor and a flourishing commerce. The population is 15,000, and the number of ships 250. Odensee, the capital of the island of Funen, is 86 miles W.S.W. of Copenhagen, on a river which runs into a large bay on the N. E. side of the island about a mile from the town. The population is 6,500. Aalborg, the capital of a bishopric of the same name in Jutland, stands on the south bank of the bay of Lymfiord, about 10 miles from its mouth. It has considerable commerce in corn and excellent herrings. The population is 6,000. Aarhuus, on a bay of the Cattegat, 48 miles S. of Aalborg, is the chief point of communication between Jutland and the island of Zealand. It has 6,000 inhabitants, and carries on a considerable commerce, no less than 100,000 tons of corn being annually exported. Gluckstadt, on the Elbe, 20 miles from its mouth, and 28 N. W. of Hamburgh, has a considerable number of vessels engaged in the whale fisheries. The population is 5,000.

Elsinore is a well known seaport in Zealand, 20 miles north of Copenhagen, on the west side of the Sound, nearly opposite to

Helsingborg in Sweden, at the point where the Sound is narrowest, being here less than 4 miles across. It has no harbor, but an excellent roadstead, generally crowded with vessels on their way to or from the Baltic, and anchoring here to pay toll or take in stores, the supply of which forms the business of the place. The aggregate number of vessels of all nations passing the Sound is nearly 10,000, of which by far the greatest proportion is British; and the toll paid by them is about one per cent. on the value of the cargoes, and varies in amount from £120,000 to £150,000 sterling. Consuls reside here from all the maritime nations in Europe The population of the town is nearly 7,000. The fortress of Cronberg, situated on a point of land a little to the north of Elsinore, is accounted one of the keys of the kingdom, being specially intended to guard the passage of the Sound, though its inadequacy to this object was fully demonstrated by the passage of the British fleet in 1801.

Population and Religion.] The population according to Hassel is 1,565,000. The established religion is the Lutheran under 7 bishops and 2 general superintendants, but all other religions are tolerated. The whole number of the clergy is 1580.

Education.] The university of Copenhagen has 36 professors and 500 students, a library of 40,000 volumes, a botanical garden, and observatory. The university of Kiel has 28 professors and 107 students. In every parish there are two or three schools' where children are taught reading, writing and arithmetic. There are besides many Latin schools maintained at the public expense.

Government.] Denmark was formerly a limited monarchy, but in 1660, by one of the most singular revolutions recorded in history, the nobility, clergy and peasantry joined in surrendering their rights to the sovereign, so that Denmark is now, in law, an absolute monarchy of the most unqualified kind; but the exercise of this power has been modified by the spirit of the age, the effect of the Protestant religion and the progress of improvement. The crown is hereditary in the male and female line, and the title of the sovereign is King of Denmark, grand duke of Holstein, duke of Sleswick, Lauenburg, &c. The dutchies of Holstein and Lauenburg, which are within the limits of Germany, make the king of Denmark a member of the Germanic confederation, and entitle him to a voice in the diet of Frankfort. In regard to the administration of justice, Sleswick and Holstein preserve their ancient institutions, while Jutland and the islands are governed by the Danish code.

Revenue.] The revenue of Denmark is about $7,000,000. The national debt is nominally between 60 and 70 million dollars, but in reality less on account of its depreciation.

Army and Navy.] The army on the present peace establishment consists of 26,000 men. The navy contains 3 ships of the line, 4 frigates and 3 brigs, with only 4,000 seamen in actual service, but the number is capable of being easily increased as there are several thousand registered seamen at the disposal of the

crown.