The reader is referred for more copious geological details to the special descriptions of the several countries of Europe, The mineral products of Europe are a principal source of its pre-eminence and wealth. Mines of gold, silver, and the precious stones, except in Russia, are comparatively few in number; but, on the other hand, this portion of the globe is enriched by an almost inexhaustible supply of the more useful metals. Iron, copper, tin, coal and salt abound. To these we may add the products of the mines of quicksilver, without the aid of which the gold and silver mines of this and other countries could not have attained their present importance and value. In the following tabular view of the principal mineral productions of Europe, M. Balbi has endeavored, in reference to each article, to state the countries in which it is found in the order of the comparative extent of their mineral wealth :— DIAMONDS..... GOLD... SILVER... MINERALOGICAL TABLE OF EUROPE. .....Russia, (Gov. of Perm.) OTHER PRECIOUS STONES. Austria, (Bohemia, Hungary, and Transylvania,) and Saxony. ..Russia, (Perm and Orenburg;) Austria, (Transylvania, Hungary, Saltzburg, &c;) and Sardinia, (Piedmont, &c.) Austria, (ut supra ;) Saxony, (Erzgebirge;) Hanover, (Harz ;) Turkey. (Albania, Bosnia, &c. ;) Greece, (Macedonia;) Prussia, (Prov. of Saxony, Rhine, &c.;) England, (Cumberland, Derby shire, Flintshire, &c.;) France, (Finisterre, Lozère and Vosges;) Sweden and Norway, (Buskerud in Norway, and Westeras and Stora-Kopparberg in Sweden;) Nassau, and Sardinia, (Savoy, &c.) TIN.... QUICKSILVER. COPPER.... IRON.. ZINC..... SALT.. England; Saxony, and Bohemia. Spain, (Mancha) Austria, (Carniola, &c.,) and Bavaria, Rhine, . Great Britain and Ireland, (Cornwall, Anglesea, Devonshire, etc., Spain, (Granada, Andalusia, Catalonia, etc. ;) Great Britain and Great Britain and Ireland, (South Wales, Northumberland, Dur Russia; Austria; France: Spain; Great Britain and Ireland; Portugal; Prussia; Wallachia and Moldavia; Sardinia; the two Sicilies; Bavaria; the Papal States; Norway and Sweden; Ionian Isles; Greece, &c. At the commencement of the present century, America produced eleven times the quantity of silver at present derived from the mines of Europe; and the quantity of gold which it yielded was also much greater than that which Europe then produced. Since that period the produce of the American gold mines has somewhat diminished in quantity, and it is now less than that derived from the mines of Europe in their present extended state. Russia alone, since the recent discovery of gold and platina in the Ural, produces six-sevenths of the whole quantity of gold mined in Europe. Hungary and Transylvania yield almost the remaining seventh. England, which is so rich in the common metals, produces but an insignificant quantity of the precious descriptions. In the article of iron, England produces more than any single country in the world, and nearly a third of the whole iron made in Europe. Of the remainder, Russia produces a fourth part, France a fifth, and Sweden a tenth. The iron of Russia and Sweden is the best, and is well-adapted to the manufacture of steel. The iron, for ordinary purposes, made in England, has long been noted for its cheapness; but the best descriptions of English iron bring prices nearly as high as the finest descriptions of Sweden. Five-sixths of the total quantity of cast iron consumed in Europe, for the fabrication o machinery of all kinds, culinary utensils, &c., comes from the ron manufactories of Great Britain; about a tenth only from those of France, and a fortieth from the founderies of Prussia. It is remarkable that the produce of the iron mines, notwithstanding the slight intrinsic value of the metal, represents more than three-fourths of the value of the produce of the European mines of every description, and that the produce of the gold, silver, and platina mines, only a ninth part of that value. The lead mines of Spain have hitherto supplied one-half the total of that mineral consumed in Europe, and England three-sevenths. France, and even Germany, produce, in proportion to their extent, but little of this metal. The coal formations are extensive throughout Europe; but Great Britain is pre-eminently a coal country. England alone produces ten times as nuch coal as France, and about one-half more than is produced in the latter is yielded by the mines of Belgium and Prussia. This mineral is to the useful metals, what quicksilver is to gold and silver without it the vast mineral wealth of Europe would for ever lie dormant. It would be a theme worthy of genius to descant on the part coal has had in the development of civilization. The production of tin is almost peculiar to England, which produces twelve-thirteenths of the European total; Saxony and Bohemia supply the remaining thirteenth. England also furnishes nearly half the copper produced from the mines of Europe; about one-fifth of the remainder comes from Russia, and a tenth from Sweden. In France, copper is found only in trifling quantities. The distribution of vegetation in Europe, as elsewhere, is much influenced by the soil and climate of localities. In the southern portions the products are much similar to those of Northern Africa. In Sicily, the date, palm, sugar-cane, and cotton-plant, several euphorbias, rare on this continent; the prickly-pear, the American Aloe, and the Castor-oil plant, flourish luxuriantly. The same plants are met with in the southern parts of Spain and Portugal. In Greece, Turkey, and Southern Russia, a large intermixture of Asiatic plants is found. The orange and the lemon grow to perfection in the sheltered vallies of Western Europe. The olive and the vine flourish in France, and the latter comes to perfection in the southern parts of England. Where the vine begins to fail, the apple and pear begin to flourish, and cider, in those regions, becomes, instead of wine, the common beverage of the people. The mulberry, pistachio, pomegra nate, melon, &c., abound in the south; peaches preserve their full flavor in the open air as high as latitude 50°, and the fig grows a little further north. Rice is cultivated to about 47°, but it requires a peculiar soil and climate; maize has nearly the same range. The limits of the cultivation of the common cerealia or bread corns, are not well-defined, as the necessities of man often force him to raise corn under the most unfavorable circumstances. Generally, however, the parallel of 57 or 580 may be regarded as the northern limit of the cultivation of wheat in Europe; though in some favored spots in Finland it is raised as far north as 60° or 61°. The hardier grains, as rye, oats and barley, are cultivated in some sheltered situations on the coast of Norway, as high as 69° 30'; but further east, in Russia, their cultivation has not been found practicable beyond 67° or 68°. The introduction of potatoes from the New World, which are now widely-diffused over almost every part of Europe, promises to be of peculiar advantage to the northern regions, as they are said to be extremely prolific in parts where corn will hardly ripen. In ancient times nearly the whole surface of Europe was covered with dense forests. These, however, have in great measure disappeared in the better cultivated and more populous countries. Germany, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Norway, and some parts of the Austrian Empire, are at present almost the only parts of Europe which contain forests of any very great extent. The natural orders of Amentaceæ and Conifere comprise the greatest number of the noblest trees in the woods of Northern and Central Europe. In these regions the oak is the lord of the forest, and often attains to an enormous size. It disappears about latitude 60°; the ash fails at 62; the beech and lime are seldom found further north than 63°; or firs and pines beyond 700. The tree that grows in the highest latitude is the dwarf birch, and the last plant met with towards the pole, in Europe, is considered to be the "red snow," (Palmetta nivalis,) a cryptogamic species. It must not, however, be supposed that the vegetation of Northern Europe is confined to those regions. On the Alps, the Pyrennees, and other mountain ranges, similar products are met with at various elevations, the temperature of which corresponds to that required by the individual; and on the declivity of Etna, at different heights, the flora of the torrid zone, and that of the Arctic Circle, are both met with. But a marked difference from that of the rest of Europe takes place in the vegetation south of latitude 44°. The mountains there are covered with chesnut woods; evergreens take the place of oaks, and the maritime and stone pines of other coniferæ. The plane-tree, flowering-ash, carob, laurels, lentisks, oleanders, cistus, and a host of dyeing, medicinal, and aromatic plants abound, and the surface of the earth is almost continually covered with a carpet of brilliant and odorous flowers. The animal kingdom in Europe is less varied than the vegetable; but this inferiority is fully compensated by the usefulness and value of its chief specimens of zoology. Some of the animals known to have existed on this continent are now extinct, or nearly so; the urus, or bison, is, however, still found in Poland; and the clearing of forests, &c., has greatly checked the increase of those that still exist. According to Cuvier the total number of species of the mammalia inhabiting this portion of the earth, is only about 150, and of this number only 58 are peculiar to Europe. The most formidable animals are the white bear, confined to the polar regions; the brown bear, once common throughout the continent, which now inhabits the Alps, Pyrennees, and other remote mountainous and wooded countries; the wolf and the wild boar. The largest animals, (exclusive of the whale, walrus, &c., which inhabit the northern seas,) are the elk and reindeer, the latter of which is used as a beast of burden in the north. These kinds of deer give place in central Europe to the red deer and roebuck, and these again in the Alpine regions to the chamois and ibex. The other principal wild animals are the lynx, met with chiefly in the south; the wild-cat, fox, martin, otter, beaver, pole-cat, glutton, porcupine, hedge-hog, various kinds of weasels, squirrels, hares, rabbits, rats, mice, &c. The domestic animals deserve more notice. The black cattle of Europe have attained to the highest perfection. The sheep is universally diffused. The chief races at present existing, are the Spanish "merino," Cretan, Wallachian and English. The merinos are most celebrated for their wool, but taken altogether the English are the most valuable. Goats are also very numerous, and the domestic hog, evidently descended from the ancient European wild boar, is omnipresent. The horses of Europe are unrivalled in speed, strength and courage. Some naturalists suppose them to be of Tartar breed, but there is no proof of such origin. The English heavy horses are unequalled for draught, and the race-horses for speed and bottom. The latter, and the hunters, have been crossed with Arab horses, the first of which was imported so late as the reign of James I. The ass of southern Europe is a fine and noble animal, but degenerates sadly in more northern latitudes. It is much valued for the breeding of mules, the sure-footedness and hardiness of which render them highly useful. The domestic cat seems to be a lineal descendant of the wild species. The bird tribe is much more varied than that of quadrupeds. As many as 400 different species have been enumerated; but many of these are only birds of passage, and are indigenous to other lands. Four species of vulture inhabit the Alpine ranges, but are seldom seen in the higher latitudes. In the rocky and mountainous parts of the north their places are supplied by enormous eagles, falcons, large owls, and other birds of prey. Most of the birds of the Arctic region are aquatic. In the south there is a great intermixture of the birds of Africa and Asia, as the Balearic crane, pelican, flamingo, &c. The common sorts of game are generally diffused all over Europe; but the red-grouse is confined to Scotland, and is said to be the only species peculiar to Great Britain. Bustards abound in some parts of Turkey and Greece. In general, European birds cannot boast of very brilliant plumage, but they excel all others in melody. The family of reptiles is not very numerous, and few are either large or venomous. In the Mediterranean a very delicate species of turtle (testudo caretta) is found, and in some of the Austrian lakes, the proteus anguinus, a singular link between reptiles and fishes. Of the latter named class of animals, the principal are the herring, cod, whiting, mackerel, haddock, mullet, anchovy and tunny in the oceans aud seas; and the salmon, trout, carp, perch, &c., in fresh waters. The anchovy and tunny are almost confined to the Mediterranean, where their capture forms a valuable branch of industry. Crustacea are particularly numerous in the north, and the mollusca in the south; the latter are particularly abundant and various in the Gulf of Taranto, anciently so famed for the murex, affording the Tyrian dye. In some parts of Europe, scorpions and tarantulas are sometimes troublesome; mosquitoes infest the south, and the gnat and gadfly the middle regions Europe is generally, however, considered by naturalists as the grand region of butterflies. The European "annelides" include the medicinal leech, so plentiful in the pools of Germany, Sweden and Poland. Radiated animals, zoophytes, &c., are particularly abundant on the southern coasts, where some of them, as the "actinias," are used as food, and where the coral fisheries employ many hands. (Murray-Malte-Brun— Balbi, &c.) The population of Europe within the limits already described, is, according to the latest censuses and estimates, a fraction short of 253,000,000. Estimating the surface of Europe at 3,700,000 English square miles, this population is in a proportion of 70 inhabitants to each square mile. It has been remarked by Malte-Brun, that in the two great regions of Europe, viz. the western and eastern, each portion, taken as a whole, is more populous the further it lies to the south. Thus, in the first of these two great divisions, the population of the northern portion is less than that of the central, and the population of the central than that of the southern. In the second the same difference will be observed, if we divide Russia into two portions; and then, for the purpose of establishing similar comparisons, combine the northern and central portions of Western Europe. In regard to the latter, we will find the population of the united portions to be about 127 to the square mile, and that of the southern portion to be 248 to the same extent of surface. In Eastern Europe, the number of inhabitants to the square mile, will be found to be 28 in the northern portion, and 51 in the southern. Thus the proportions in the same regions may be considered nearly analogous. Another cause regulating density of population may be noticed. If we compare the different states with one another, we shall generally find that those which possess many islands, and widely-extended coasts, have a greater command of the means of subsistence, than others which lie in the bosom of the land. Thus it happens that Britain and Holland, both of which are divided by natural or artificial channels into numerous islands, are, in proportion to the extent of their territory, the most populous of the European states. From the same cause population is more dense in France than in Austria, in the kingdom of Naples than in that of Sardinia, and in the Ionian Isles than in Turkey. The present people inhabiting Europe, exclusive of those in the Caucasus, are said to be derived from ten distinct races or families. It is worthy of remark, that the more ancient the stock the less numerous are the people, which are either almost extinct, or have so amalgamated with other families as to have obliterated most traces of their original features. It is not, however, intended to inquire into the history of these races, but merely to mention their name and location, and other incidental circumstances in relation thereto. That department belongs rather to the ethnologist than the merely descriptive writer, and is altogether foreign to the purpose of this work. 1. The Spanish or Iberian family includes all the inhabitants of the Peninsula the Portuguese, Basques, as well as the true Spaniards. Notwithstanding the various admixtures it has undergone in the lapse of centuries, this family is sufficiently distinct, in color, features and intellectual characteristics, and constitutes essentially a different race from any inhabiting the ultra-Pyrenine countries. The Spaniards have displayed the European character in their resistance to and final conquest of the Arabs; in their conquest and settlement of South America; in their progress in the fine arts, and in the production of such a genius as Cervantes. |