the counties of Salop, Worcester, and Gloucester; receives, among other affluents, the Avons of Warwickshire and Somersetshire; widens below Gloucester into the Bristol channel; and below Bristol falls into the Atlantic Ocean. The vale of Taunton is remarkably fertile, and the climate peculiarly mild. The basin of the Thames occupies an important portion of the central region of England, and is moderately fertile. The Thames is formed by the union of several small streams which rise in the Cotswold Hills in Gloucestershire. Until joined in Oxfordshire by the Thame, it is called the Isis; but then it becomes the Thame-isis, or Thames. Thence it flows eastward, acquiring vast importance by having London on its banks as it approaches the sea; near which it receives the Medway (from Kent, navigable by the largest ships of war up to Chatham); and falls into the German Ocean at the Nore, after a course of 210 miles. Its navigable tributaries are the Kennett, Wey, Lea, and Darent. The marshes of Kent and Sussex are uncommonly rich and productive. We must not omit to notice the fens of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.

148. Sailing along the English coast, we find, among many others, the following principal inlets of the sea and headlands. Solway Frith, between Dumfries and Cumberland, Morecambe Bay, Cardigan Bay, Milford Haven, and the Bristol Channel, on the western coast; Falmouth Harbour, Plymouth Sound, Torbay, and Portsmouth Harbour, on the southern coast; the Wash, Humber Mouth, and Bridlington Bay, on the eastern. The line of the eastern coast is very irregular, yet with but few in

lets of the sea convenient for harbours; the chief harbours being in the estuaries of rivers. But the west coast, especially towards the north, is everywhere deeply indented with bays, and in many places covered with islands. Among the chief headlands are Holyhead, in Anglesea; Land's End and Lizard Point, in Cornwall; Beachy Head, in Sussex; Dungeness, North Foreland, and South Foreland, in Kent; and Spurn Head and Flamborough Head, in Yorkshire.

149. General Description of the Country: Scotland. In comparison with England, Scotland is barren and mountainous. It is divided by the Frith of Clyde, Loch Lomond, and the Grampians, into the Highlands and the Lowlands. The Highlands again are divided into two unequal parts by the deep narrow valley, through which the Caledonian Canal has been constructed. The mountains of Scotland run, generally, in chains from S. W. to N. E. The most celebrated chain is that of the Grampians; its principal summits are Ben Macdhu, 4390 feet above the level of the sea, the highest of the British mountains; Cairntoul, Cairngorm, and Ben Lomond, ranging from about 3000 to 4000 feet high. Ben Nevis, in Inverness, (4370 feet) is separated from the Grampians by the Moor of Rannoch. The more elevated tracts in the Lowlands include the mountains of Roxburgh, Dumfries, Peebles, Selkirk, and Lanark shires; they afford good pasturage, and are not remarkable for height. Scotland has but few valleys and level tracts; but some of these are extremely fertile, and are well cultivated; as Teviotdale, Tyndale, the How of Fife, and Strathmore.

F

The rivers of Scotland are more rapid and precipitous than those of England. The Tay is the largest; it widens into the Frith of Tay, and disembogues on the east coast. The Spey is large and rapid; it falls into the Moray Frith. The Tweed falls into the North Sea at Berwick. The Forth also flows in an eastward direction, and widens into the Frith of Forth. The Clyde, though not the largest, is the most important commercial river of Scotland; Lanark, Hamilton, and Glasgow, are situated on its banks: it runs into the Frith of Clyde. The Southern Dee, Nith, and Annan flow into the Solway Frith. The principal lochs, or fresh-water lakes of Scotland, are Loch Lomond, between Stirling and Dumbarton; Loch Ness, in Inverness; Loch Tay, in Perth; and Loch Awe, in Argyle. The coast of Scotland is bold and rocky, and much indented on the west side by arms of the sea, termed friths: as Pentland Frith, between Caithness and the Orkneys; the Frith of Tay, between Fife and Forfar; Cromarty Frith, in Ross-shire; Loch Linnh, Loch Eil, and Loch Fine, in Argyleshire; Loch Ryan, in Wigtonshire. The principal headlands are Cape Wrath, in Sutherland; Mull of Cantire, in Argyle; Mull of Galloway, in Wigton; and Kinnaird's Head, in Aberdeen. The larger islands are the Orkney and Shetland Isles, and the Hebrides, off the north and west coasts.

150. General Description of the Country: Ireland. The surface of Ireland is generally speaking flat, yet it frequently rises into low hills. On the east coast, the Mountains of Mourne in Down, and

the Wicklow Mountains, attain considerable elevation; but the mountainous districts are chiefly found in the west, particularly in Kerry, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, and Donegal. The Macgillicuddy Reeks, in Kerry, are 3400 feet high. The central portion of Ireland is mostly level; consisting of rich cultivated lands and extensive bogs. Ireland is watered by an unusual number of rivers and lakes. The Shannon, flowing through the very centre of Ireland, is navigable throughout nearly its whole course of 220 miles; it falls into the Atlantic Ocean below Limerick. Its junction with the Grand and Royal Canals from Dublin has increased its commercial importance. The Barrow is the second river in Ireland; it falls, with its tributaries, the Suir and the Nore, into Waterford Harbour. Other rivers are the Blackwater, Lee, Bandon, Liffey, Boyne and Foyle. The principal loughs or lakes, are Lough Neagh, in Ulster; Lough Erne, in Fermanagh; Loughs Allen, Ree, and Derg, formed by the Shannon; and the picturesque Lakes of Killarney. The north, south, and west coasts of Ireland abound in fine harbours and roadsteads: the more important are the Estuary of the Shannon; Dingle Bay, on the coast of Kerry; Bantry Bay, south-west of Cork, a most capacious harbour; Cork Harbour, one of the finest in Europe; Waterford Harbour, Donegal Bay, Galway Bay, and many others. There is no good harbour on the east coast; yet we may name the Bay of Dublin. The chief headlands are Dunmore Head on the west, Cape Clear on the south, Loop Head in Clare, and Slyne Head in Galway. The islands, which are of little

importance, lie chiefly along the west coast; Achil, west of Mayo; North Isles of Arran, west of Donegal; South Isles of Arran, in Galway Bay.

151. Produce, Manufactures, and Commerce.-The coalfields of England are of vast extent, and of unspeakable commercial value. They lie in the north and west parts of the island; chiefly in the counties of Durham and Northumberland, in South Lancashire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, and South Wales. Iron, the most useful of all metals, is found in England and Wales, near coal-beds, in quantities almost inexhaustible; especially in South Wales, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Yorkshire, North Wales, and Derbyshire. Tin and copper are abundant in Cornwall. Out of numerous other mineral productions, we may mention rock-salt, limestone, pottery clays, and plumbago. Lead is one of the most valuable mineral products of Scotland. This country also abounds in building materials of the finest description, particularly sandstone. The mineral productions of Ireland are not remarkable.

152. The climate of England is humid; exempt from the extremes of heat and cold, but very variable. Its air is salubrious; bracing in the north, in the south more mild. Its verdure is most luxuriant; its pastures are exceedingly rich. The principal soils are clay, loam, sand, chalk, gravel, and peat. Wheat, oats, and barley, potatoes, and numerous fruittrees, are cultivated with great success; wheat in the southeast, barley in the midland and eastern counties, oats in the fenny districts of the north. Hops are principally cultivated in Kent and Surrey. The breeds of horses, cattle, sheep, and other useful animals, are equal, if not superior, to any in the world. The salmon, herring, mackerel, and pilchard fisheries are valuable, especially those of Scotland. The vegetable products of Scotland do not differ materially from those of England; the climate, in consequence of the high latitude, is cold, cloudy, wet, and very uncertain. The climate of Ireland is moist to excess, but confers upon it that perennial verdure which well entitles it to the name of the Emerald Isle. The soil of this country is chiefly a fertile loam, resting on a limestone-bed. Its vegetable productions and animals are nearly