Apennines, and from the last-mentioned place it continues to Sulmona and Chieti. The second road strikes off E. from Naples, and passes over the first range by the pass of Monte Virgine; it then descends into the valley of the river Calore, in which it traverses the towns of Avellino and Ariano. E. of the last-mentioned town is the principal range of the Apennines, over which the road passes to Ponte di Bovino, and then enters the great plain of Puglia (il Tavolieri della Puglia), and continues to Foggia, Bari, &c.

The Central Apennines may be divided into two parts. Between Monte Falterona (S. of 44°) and Monte Sibilla (S. of 43°) their general direction is S. E., and though their upper declivity is very steep, they do not seem to rise to a great elevation, one of the highest summits, Cima de Vernina, hardly exceeding 4,000 feet. Between Monte Sibilla and Monte Velino (N. of 40° lat.) the Apennines attain their greatest elevation. Monte Sibilla rises to 7,212 feet, and Monte Velino to 8,183 feet. Nearly at equal distance from either, and near the source of the Velino, two lateral ranges branch off, which are overtopped by high summits; on that which runs to the S. E., towards the Adriatic Sea, is the Gran Sasso d'Italia, whose summit, the Monte Corno, attains 9,521 feet above the sea, and is the highest in the range. On the W. lateral range is the Terminello Grande, 7,034 feet above the sea. Numerous are the lateral ridges which branch off from the Central Apennines. Those running towards the Adriatic Sea, form nearly right angles with the principal range, preserve for some distance a considerable elevation, and lower afterwards rapidly but gradually. They terminate with hills, at no great distance from the shore. The lateral ridges, which traverse the much more extensive country between the Apennines and the Mediterranean, run mostly parallel to the principal range, so that nearly all the rivers of this region run in valleys extending S. E. or N. W., and form as it were terraces of different elevation, by which the country gradually lowers towards the sea. In these lateral ridges some summits attain a considerable elevation, as Monte Amiata, W. of Radicofani (S. of 43° N. lat.) which rises to 5,794 feet.

Two roads traverse the N. portion of the Central Apennines. The northern begins on the side of the Adriatic at Fossombrone, on the Metauro; runs S. to Cagli, and passes over the range between this place and Sigillo, whence it continues to Nocera and Foligno, and hence by Spoleto, Terni, and Narni, to Rome. The S. road begins at Ancona, runs S. to Loreto, and hence W. to Tolentino and Belforte; between the last-mentioned place and Foligno, it passes the range at some distance N. of Monte Sibilla. Only one road traverses the southern higher part of the Central Apennines. It begins on the N. at Terni, on the Nera, a tributary of the Tiber, passes hence to Rieti and Civita Ducale, on the Velino, whence it traverses the range by a long mountain-pass, which terminates near Aquila, on the Aterno, and thence the road continues to Sulmona.

The undivided portion of the S. Apennines resembles, in part, the Central Apennines: its offsets, towards the Adriatic, run off at nearly right angles; but on the W. it has a lateral ridge, which runs parallel to it for a distance of more than 50 miles; and between it and the principal range extends a longitudinal valley, drained by the Volturno, and its tributary, the Calore: after these rivers have united, they break through the lateral range, and enter into the plain of Terra di Lavoro. The principal range contains some high summits, as Monte Meta 7,264 f., Monte Miletto 6,720 f. above the sea. The highest part, however, seems to be the Matere, an enormous mass of chalk rocks, 40 m. in circ., situated at the sources of the Biferno, nearly in 4110 N. lat. On some of its summits snow is stated to be found the whole year.

Near the sources of the river Calore a lateral branch runs off nearly due W., which terminates with a high ridge on the peninsula S. of the Gulph of Naples. It contains the Monte S. Angelo di Castelamare, which rises to the height of 4,688 feet. The W. extremity of this ridge is the Punta della Campanella, opposite the rocky island of Capri. Monte Gargano, a promontory projecting into the Adriatic, is commonly considered as the E. extremity of another lateral ridge of the Apennines, but it is quite unconnected with that range, being separated from its nearest offset by a low plain, many miles in breadth.

This range is traversed by two roads: one runs from the town of Naples to Capua and Presenzano, and passes over the lateral ridge enclosing the valley of the Volturno to Venafro and Isernia. Between Isernia and

The most easterly ridge, arising from the bifurcation of the Apeunines, preserves a considerable elevation as far as the town of Altamura; but E. of that it is continued only by a series of hills, called Le Murgie, which extend through the whole of the peninsula lying between the Adriatic and the Gulph of Taranto. They are interrupted in several places, and terminate at Capo di Leuca.

The other chain runs directly S., and approaches by degrees the shores of the Mediterranean Sea: on the E. side of the Gulph of Policastro it comes close to it, and continues to run along the sea as far as the Gulph of S. Eufemia, where it suddenly turns to the E., but soon again to the S., in which direction it skirts the eastern shores of Calabria, between the Gulph of Squillace and Capo Spartivento. In this chain are some elevated summits. Monte Pollino (near 400 N. lat.) rises to 7,067 feet above the sea, and Monte Alto, the highest summit of the great mountain mass, with which the Aponines terminate on the Straits of Messina, is 4,380 feet above the sea.

Geology. The N. parts of the Apennines are, in general, composed of sandstone and chalk. The former is known in Toscana by the name of macigno, or pietra serena, and several high mountains are composed of it: others consist of chalk, and others of macigno and chalk together. In the S. ranges the chalk formation predominates, especially on the W. side; on the E. declivity sandstone occurs in a few places. A great portion of the hilly districts, which extend to the W. of the range, and intersect the plains along the Mediterranean, is composed of lava and other volcanic productions. This region extends from Monte Vesuvius on the S., to the river Ombrone, in Tuscany, on the N. Near this river is Monte Amiata and Monte Radicofani (3,060 feet high), both volcanic mountains. A volcanic country encloses the lakes of Bolsena and Bracciano, and the rocky masses near Viterbo are also of volcanic origin. S. of the Tiber other volcanic rocks of considerable extent and elevation form the mountains near Albano: here Monte Cavo rises to 3,110 feet above the sea. The country round Rome is overspread with volcanic matter; and the Seven Hills themselves are partly composed of it. A third volcanic region occurs N. of Capua, near Teano, where several heights rise to a considerable elevation, especially Monte St. Croce. Mount Vesuvius and the volcanic country round the town of Naples, constitute the most southerly region of the volcanic tract which skirts the W. side of the Apennines. On the E. side of the Apennines, only a single extinct volcano has been found;-it is Monte Vulture, near Melti, not far from the place where the bifurcation of the range takes place.

The lower declivities of the principal range, and a great part of the lateral ranges, where they do not rise above an elevation of 3,000 feet, are commonly clothed with woods, especially evergreen oak and chesnut. The upper parts of the principal range have, in general, an arid soil, or are formed of bare rocks, of fantastic forms, and destitute of vegetation, except a few stunted bushes. The whole range is poor in metals, none of them occurring, except iron ore in a few places, and of bad quality. But in many places excellent marble is met with, and in a few it is worked.

The higher parts of the Apennines begin to be covered with snow in October, and they are not entirely free from it before June. It is deserving of remark, that the quantity of rain falling in the countries E. of the range is much less than that with which those on the W. are favoured. In the plain of Puglia the rain amounts only to about 19 inches annually, whilst in that of Terra di Lavoro it is 27 inches.

The countries lying W. of the range are subject to frequent earthquakes, and even some parts of the range itself are visited by them. An earthquake in the country lying about Mount Matese occurred in 1805, by which 3,274 persons lost their lives, and 1,513 were wounded.

APENRADE, a sea-port town of Denmark, at the bottom of a bay of the same name, on the E. coast of Sleswick, opposite to the N. end of the island of Alsen, lat. 55° 2′ 57 N., long. 9° 26′ 38′′ E. Pop. 3,800. It is the cap. of a bailiwick. Its port is shallow, and not very safe; but it has notwithstanding a considerable trade in the export of agricultural produce, with distilleries, breweries, tanneries, &c.

APOLDA, a town of Saxony, circle of Weimar-Jena,

9 m. N. E. Weimar. Pop. 3,300. It has a castle, a college, with a bell-foundry, fabrics of cloth and cassimere, and distilleries. Its fairs, 4 annually, are well attended.

APPELDOORN, a town of the Netherlands, prov. Guelderland, 17 m. N. Arnheim. Pop. 3,000.

APPENZELL (CANTON OF), a canton in the N. E. part of Switzerland, the 13th in the Confederation. It is completely inclosed within the territory of St. Gall, and is shaped somewhat like a ham, the knuckle end stretching N. E.-ward; area, 153 sq. m. (7.2 Germ.). Pop. 49,876; being next to that of Geneva the most thickly peopled of the cantons. Its surface consists chiefly of mountain ranges; those of the S. belonging to the higher Alps; the principal of which, the Hoch Sentis, is 8,109 ft. high, but having its summit covered with perpetual snow : most of the others belong to the Lower or Fore-Alps (see SWITZERLAND), which inclose numerous small valleys. It is watered by several rivulets, the chief of which is the Sitter, running through its centre; there are also several small mountain lakes. The prevailing geological formations are calcareous; but pudding-stone and sandy or clay soils are likewise found. Climate cold and variable, but not unhealthy. The mineral riches of the canton consist of peat and coal: salt, chalybeate, and sulphurous springs are met with, some of which, as those of Weissbad near Appenzell, and Waldstatt near Herisan, are used as baths. Its forests, mostly of pine and fir, originally extended over the whole surrounding country; but their extent has been greatly diminished with the increase of population and cultivation; and wild animals, game, fish, &c., have become proportionally rare. Before the Reformation, the whole canton was under one government; but at that epoch, part of the inhab. having embraced the Protestant faith, while the other part continued Catholies, violent disputes were kindled between them, which, after much contest, were at length settled by a singular compromise. By an agreement in 1597, the canton was divided into two portions-Rhodes Interior and Rhodes Exterior. It was stipulated that the former should be appropriated to the Catholics, and the latter to the Protestants. Accordingly, the two parties separated, and formed two independent democratical republics, having each a distinct system of government, police, and finance. Exterior or Outer Rhodes comprises about two-thirds of the whole canton (its N. and W. parts), and has 40,080 inhab., engaged chiefly in manufactures; Inner Rhodes has 9,796 inh., principally agriculturists. Both republics have but one vote in the Swiss diet, and send their deputy by turns. Except in a few districts at the N. E. extremity, Appenzell produces neither corn nor wine; but the mountains abound with rich pastures, and cattle-breeding forms the chief occupation of the Inner Rhodes. 15,000 cows and oxen, 600 sheep, and 2,000 goats are fed there annually, it being a practice to purchase them when lean, and sell them again when fattened: cheese, beer, and a liqueur made from a fine kind of black cherry, are the other products of the agricultural districts. The manufactures of the Outer Rhodes are cotton and linen goods, and embroidery: there are about 10,000 looms, by means of which are woven an average of the same number of pieces of cloth 16 Fr. ells in length. Machinery has not been introduced: weavers work from 13 to 14 hours a day. They are dispersed over the country, and combine with their business as manufacturers that of small farmers, being, in each case, assisted by their families.

The houses are distinguished by neatness, convenience, and cleanliness; and being surrounded with gardens and hedges, and thickly scattered over the country, give it somewhat of an English aspect. Weavers generally carn from 2 to 5 florins (3s. 8d. to 9s. 2d.) per week.

Outer Rhodes has communal and lesser councils, and a grand council, composed of the principal magistrates of each commune, which assembles twice a year, and exercises the executive power. The grand council proposes the laws, and submits them for approval to the landsgemeinde, or general assembly of all the males of the republic above 16 years of age, who meet armed on the last Sunday in April, in the open air, and either sanction, or put their veto on the laws proposed. Bankrupts, paupers, &c., are precluded from voting; and penalties are imposed on others who do not attend. The government of the Inner Rhodes is similar, except that the clergy take more part in it, and that none under 18 years of age have the right of voting in the general assembly. Public schools are universally established; in which, after the rudiments of education, arithmetic, drawing, and singing are taught. Music is very generally cultivated. Savings' banks and poor-houses are established in every parish, and there are numerous orphan asylums and other charitable institutions. Appenzell furnishes 972 men to the federal army, and contributes 9,220 Swiss francs a year to the funds of the union: the expenses of the canton are very trifling, as the services of the magistrates, &c., are gratuitous. The tax on salt is the only indirect one; the poor are not taxed at all. The Appenzellers of the

Outer Rhodes are of German, those of the Inner Rhodes chiefly of more southern lineage; all, however, are lively, intelligent, and exhibit much mechanical ingenuity, and, with few exceptions, are said to be moral, well-behaved, prudent, and simple in their mode of life.

In the 7th or 8th century, the Frankish kings bestowed this country on the abbots of St. Gall, and it remained subject to them until 1401, when the inhabitants revolted, and, with the assistance of their neighbours of Glarus and Schwytz, achieved their liberty, defeating the Austrians and the forces of the abbot in several engagements. In 1513 it was admitted into the confederation, with the history of which it is subsequently connected.-(Core's Switzerland, Letter 4.; Picot, Statistique de la Suisse, 1830; Helvetic Almanack; Bowring's Report, &c., pp. 21-27.)

APPENZELL, a town of Switzerland; cant. Appenzell, cap. Inner Rhodes, and seat of its executive council, in a pleasant valley on the left bank of the Sitter, 9 m. S. St. Gall. Pop. 1,400. It is dirty and ill-built; has a Gothic church, built in 1069, which contains various banners taken in former wars by the Appenzellers; two convents; a council house; and two bridges over the Sitter. The annual general assembly of the republic is held here. About 24 m. S. are the baths of Weissbad.

APPIN, an extensive district of Scotland, co. Argyle, which see.

APPLEBY, a borough, m. town, and par. of England, co. Westmoreland, of which it is the cap., 250m. N. N. W. London, 28 m. S. S. E. Carlisle. Pop. of town, 837, of par. 1459. It stands principally on the left bank of the river, on the slope of a hill, and consists chiefly of one broad street, having the castle at the upper end, and the parish church at the lower. The former, the property of the earls of Thanet, is very ancient, part being either of Saxon or early Norman architecture; but it was mostly rebuilt in 1686. The church was rebuilt in 1655, by Lady Pembroke, a great benefactress of the town, from whom the castle descended to the Thanet family, and has a fine monument to her ladyship. There is a good market-house erected in 1811; and a town-hall and gaol on the right bank of the river, which is here crossed by an old stone bridge. Appleby has a grammar school, founded in the reign of Elizabeth, open to all children belonging to the town on payment of a fee of 10s. a year, and having attached to it 5 scholarships at Queen's college Oxford, and a right to participate in as many exhibitions in the same college. It has also an almshouse, founded by Lady Pembroke, for 13 poor widows. Previously to the passing of the Reform Act, when it was disfranchised, Appleby returned 2m. to the H. of C.; but they were in reality the nominees of the Thanet and Lonsdale families. The town is without manufactures, but has a good market.

APRICENA, a town of Naples, prov. Capitanata, 7 m. N.N.E. St. Severo. Pop. 3,000.

APT (an. Apta Julia), a town of France, dep. Vaucluse, cap. arrond., on the Calavon, 29 m. E. S. E. Avignon, lat. 43° 2′ 29′′ N., long. 5° 23′ 52" E. Pop. 5.958. It is situated in a spacious valley, surrounded by hills, covered with vines and olives. The walls, originally constructed by the Romans, and repaired by the comtes de Provence, still partially exist. The older streets are narrow, crooked, and the houses mean; but the more modern streets are broad and straight, and the houses comparatively good. Principal public building, cathedral, of great antiquity, and remarkable for its subterranean chapels, &c. A bridge over the Cavalon, of a single arch, is said to be étonnante par sa hardiesse. There are establishments for the spinning of cotton and silk, with fabrics of cloth, hosiery, cotton-stuffs, hats, and earthenware; the latter, and the confitures made here, being highly esteemed. Several remains of Roman works are found in the town and its vicinity. (Hugo, art. Vaucluse, &c.)

APULÍA, PUGLIA, or APUGLIA, a portion of S. Italy, lying between 39° 45′ and 41° 46′ N. lat., and 14° 57′ and 180 34 E. long.. comprising the S. E. provinces of the k. of Naples; viz., Capitanata, Bari, and Otranto; having N. W. the prov. Sannio, N. E. the Adriatic, S. E. the Ionian Sea, S.W. and W. the Gulph of Taranto and the provs. of Basilicata and Principata Ultra. Area, 8,092 sq. m. Pop. (1833), 1,079,700. It has, at its S. extremity, the sub-peninsula of Otranto, which forms the heel of the fancied Italian boot; and on its N. E. shore the promontory of Gargano. Although it has 440 m. of coast, it is singularly deficient in bays and harbours, and the shores are low; forming in both respects a great contrast to the S. W. shores of Naples.

Puglia presents also a striking contrast to Calabria, and the S. W. prov. of Naples, in being almost wholly a plain country, and indeed containing by far the moɛt considerable extent of level lands of any tract of the same size S. of the Po. It is divided into Puglia piana, and Puglia montana; the latter is composed of the Apennine chain, 155 m. in length, which, emerging from

The dyeing of wool is an important branch of industry at Taranto; the internal commerce of Apuglia, of which Foggia is the head-quarter, consists chiefly in the sale of wool, cheese (from sheep's milk), and corn.

Apulia is divided into the following provinces: Capitanata. Area, 3,714 sq. m. Pop. 296,793. Ch. towns, Foggia 20,687 inh., Manfredonia, M. St. Angelo, Termoli, Viesti, Ascoli.

Terra di Bari. Area, 1,712 sq. m. Pop. 425.706. Ch. towns, Bari, 18,937 inh., Barletta, 17,695 inh., Monopoli, 15,535 inh., Trani, 13,787, Bitonto.

Terra d'Otranto. Area, 2,666 sq. m. Pop. 357,205. Ch. towns, Lecce, 14,081 inh., Taranto, 14,111 inh., Gallipoli, Brindisi, Otranto.

Aspect, and Agriculture. Much of the land is uncultivated and abandoned to wandering herds of oxen and buffaloes: in other parts, a good deal of corn of different kinds is grown; but maize does not generally flourish, owing to the dryness of the soil. Corn and wool are the chief products of Capitanata, which also produces plenty of wine and oil. In the neighbourhood of Lucera (says Craven, 1821), of 27,000 versaras of land (the versara = 3 acres), 1,800 were sown with corn; 3,000 with barley; 2,500 with oats; 800 with beans; 5,500 fallow; 700 covered with olives, vines, and fruit-gardens; the rest in pasture. In this prov. lands are let in large tracts, and a casale or large house established upon each farm, in which the agente and labourers reside. There are also extensive tavoliere or pasture lands belonging to the crown, capable of feeding as many as 1,200,000 sheep. The centre of Capitanata has a sandy soil, and consists chiefly of pasture. From Foggia to Manfredonia, this tract abounds with thistles, asphodels, wild artichokes, and giant-fennel, of the stalks of which latter, chair-bottoms and bee-hives are made. On the banks of the Cervaro, the mountains are clothed with fine woods, and thickets of flowering shrubs; near Bovino the plain is wooded with low stunted oaks; a forest of oak, manna and other ash, pitch-pine, chestnut, and evergreens (but none of them large), adorns M. Gargano; the country is well cultivated at its foot. Capitanata produces excellent vegetables, wine, and fruit of all sorts, liquorice and tobacco. A great deal of wine is produced in the Terra di Bari; the vines are cut low, but not staked as in France; it is fertile in corn, oil, saffron, almonds, tobacco, mulberry-trees, liquorice, and capers, generally without manure, though in some parts the soil is but indifferent. Its sheep (all of a dark colour) furnish the best wool in Apuglia; goats and swine are kept in large numbers. This prov. yields also, annually, 1,660,000 moggie of salt, and 12,000 cwts of nitre. The T. d'Otranto" would be one of the richest provinces in Italy, were it not for its wretched administration." (Rampoldi.) Its tobacco is as good as that of Seville, but only a given quantity is allowed to be cultivated. It yields wine, olives, cotton (good and abundant), wheat sufficient for the inhab.; the arable lands are well cultivated, but there are no artificial pastures, and much of the land lies waste. The chief natural disadvantage it labours under, is the want of water, and the rain that falls is therefore carefully preserved in subterraneous cisterns.

The hilly parts of Apuglia feed many flocks, and produce an abundance of corn, oil, cotton, and flax; which latter is exported to Venice, Germany, and Switzerland. The shore is generally sandy, uncultivated, and covered with bushes, wild prunes, myrtles, ericæ, &c., that serve as food for oxen and buffaloes. The whole country, in Bari and Otranto, abounds with aromatic plants; and both the wines, and flesh of some of the animals, as the buffaloes, have an aromatic flavour. Puglia is famous for its deer and other game; the sportsmen run down hares with greyhounds, and pursue the wild-boar with Jurchers and mastiffs, riding armed with a lance and brace of pistols. The shores about Taranto furnish large quantities of shell-fish. The viper, asp, a species of large black snake, the tarantula, &c., infest this part of Italy.

This territory was originally called Daunia, Iapygia, Peucetia, and Messapia, and formed part of Magna Græcia. Having fallen under the Roman dominion, Augustus made it the 3d prov. of Italy, under the name of Apulia. After the fall of the empire in the W., it was occupied successively by Odoacer, Theodoric, and the Greek emperors, till, in the 8th century, it was wrested from the latter by the Arabs; and from them in turn by the Normans, in the 11th century; Robert Guiscard styling himself first Count or Duke of Apuglia. It continued in the possession of his successors till the death of Manfred, at the battle of Benevento, in 1282, when it fell under the dominion of Charles of Anjou, as well as the rest of the Neapolitan territory. Its subsequent history belongs to that of Naples. (Rampoldi, Corografia dell' Italia; Swinburne's Travels in the Two Sicilies; Craven, Tour in the S. Prov. of Naples ; Weimar Almanack, 1838.)

APURE, a river of S. America, Colombia, one of the principal tributaries of the Orinoco, which see.

AQUAMABOE, a territory of W. Africa, part of the state of Dahomey, which see.

AQUAPIM, a territory of W. Africa, part of the empire of Ashantee, which see.

AQUILA, a city of the Neapolitan States, cap. prov. Abruzzo Ultra, on a hill at the foot of which flows the Alterno, lat. 42° 27′ N., long. 13° 28′ E. Pop. (1832), 9,194 viz. 4,511 males, 4,683 females. It is surrounded by walls, and ranks as a fortified place of the 4th class; is pretty well built; has a cathedral, and various churches, convents, and hospitals; is the seat of a bishopric, of a civil and criminal court, a chamber of finances, &c. A royal college, established at Sulmona in 1807, was transferred thither in 1816: it was soon after raised to the rank of a lyceum, differing little from a university, and is attended by about 400 pupils. There is also a secondary school, established in 1768, and various other seminaries. A handsome new theatre, built on the model of that of Vicenza, was opened in 1832. Excellent water, conveyed from the Monte San Giuliano, about 3 miles distant, by an aqueduct, constructed at a great expense, during the flourishing period of the city, is liberally distributed to some fine public fountains, as well as private houses. The town has manufactures of linen and wax; and a considerable trade in saffron raised in its neighbourhood. Aquila was founded in 1240; and rose in no long time to be one of the richest, most populous, and powerful cities in the kingdom. But the combined influence of misgovernment, pestilence, war, and earthquakes, from the latter of which it suffered severely in 1703 and 1706, have reduced it to its present state of decadence. Latterly, however, it has been improving. (Del Re Descrizione delle Due Sicilie, ii. pp. 115-300.) AQUILEIA, a small town of Austrian Italy, near the bottom of the Adriatic, 18 m. S. S. W. Gorizia, lat. 45° 45' 32′ N., long. 13° 23′ E. Pop. circa 1,500. It is surrounded by a wall and a fosse, and is connected by a canal with the port of Grado, the residence of a few fishermen. This is all that now remains of one of the principal cities of ancient Italy-its chief bulwark on its N. E. frontier, and the great emporium of its trade with the nations of Illyria and Pannonia! Ausonius assigned to it the ninth place among the great cities of the empire:

Nona inter claras, Aquileia cieberis, urbes,
Itala ad Illyricos objecta colonia montes,
Manibus et portu celeberrimna.

Clara Urbes, 7.

Aquileia withstood a siege by Maximinus; and in 452 it opposed a vigorous and gallant resistance to Attila ; but that ferocious barbarian having carried it by assault, razed it to the ground, the destruction being so complete, that the succeeding generation could scarcely discover its site! The unhealthiness of its situation has caused the miscarriage of the attempts that have been made for its restoration. In 1751, two archbishoprics were formed out of the patriarchate of Aquileia. (Cramer's Ancient Italy, i. p. 129.; Gibbon, cap. 35.)

ARABIA, an extensive peninsula, comprising the

The population is generally set down in late works at between 13,000 and 14,000. This, however, is an error, and no doubt refers not to the town but to the circondario (arrondissement), which contains a considerable extent of country, and some small towns. Its pulation in 1832 was 14,639.

expressly states (ii. p. 296.) that the portion of this plain, more particularly known by the name of Nedsjed, is mountainous; and Burckhardt, in describing Derayeh, the capital of Nedsjed-el-Ared, says, that it is situated in a valley, the outlets of which are so narrow that only one camel can pass at a time. (Travels, ii. p 399.) The main chain, supporting this table-land on the W., increases in elevation as it extends towards the S.; and, although it has not been explored in the S.E. part of the peninsula, there can be little doubt that the same chain, after following the direction of the Red Sea to Yemen and Hadramaut, is continued in a line, parallel to the Indian Ocean, as far as Oman. Lord Valentía describes that part of the E. coast of Arabia, which he saw in his voyage from India to the Red Sea, as a sandy beach with a chain of mountains in the distance (Voyages and Travels, ii. p. 12.); and Niebuhr has no doubt that the hills of Oman form the N. termination of this chain (par. ii. p. 255.). The elevations of the land are rather in masses than in peaks, and the few great eminences of the latter kind, noticed by travellers, are referred to in terms which seem to imply that they are regarded as singularities. Thus, we are told that Mount Shahak is seen at a distance of two days' journey, rising like a tower in the midst of the plain, and that it forms a land-mark for the pilgrims travelling from Damascus to Mecca; but the notice which this mountain has attracted from all travellers along the Hadj road, leads to the inference that such land-marks are rare. (Zach's Correspondence, No. 18. p. 389.) Mounts Horeb and Sinai are, out of all comparison, the most celebrated in the world: they are connected with some of the most important events in sacred history; and are regarded with feelings of religious awe by Mohammedans as well as by Jews and Christians. The Sinai group is the last considerable elevation towards the N.W. of the mountains which support the table-land of the interior. This group fills the peninsula between the Gulphs of Suez and Akabah. Mount Arafat, an eminence extremely sacred in Mohammedan estimation, at a short distance from Mecca, rises from the plain country of the table-land to an elevation of 150 or 200 feet. It forms the centre of a natural solitude, being situated in a plain about three quarters of a league in diameter, and surrounded by barren mountains. The composition of the Arabian mountains, towards the N. and W., is limestone rock, with granite towards the summits; but in the higher parts of the country the bare granite rises uncovered from its very base. (See Burckhardt, Ali Bey, and Niebuhr, passim.)

The Gaur or Tehama, from its regular inclination towards the sea, and the nature of its soil sand with saline incrustations (Niebuhr, par. ii. p. 161.; Lord Valentia, vol. ii. p. 359.)—seems to have been under water at a comparatively recent period. At Mocha the soil for 28 feet in depth is wholly composed of marine productions; and at Okelis, close to the Straits of Bab-elMandeb, where anciently there was a harbour, in which a fleet could lie, there is not, at present, much more than a foot of water. (Lord Valentia, vol. ii. p. 361.) The town of Musa, formerly on the coast, is now several miles inland. This fact was remarked even in Pliny's time. "Nowhere," says he, "has the earth gained more, nor in so short a time, from the water." (Nat. Hist., lib. vi. {_27.)

Rivers and Lakes. — There are no rivers, in the strict acceptation of the term, in Arabia. The most important streams noted on D'Anville's map are the Astan and the Falg, both falling into the Persian Gulph; the Massora and the Poim emptying themselves into the Indian Ocean; a nameless stream, falling into the same ocean on the confines of Yemen and Hadramaut; and the Meidam and Zebid in the S. part of Yemen. But these and every other stream of running water known to exist in this country, have more or less the character of occasional torrents. Niebuhr remarks it as a singularity, that the Massora and another small stream in Oman continued to run throughout the year; and he states, that in the Tehama of Yemen there are no rivers that retain their water during the entire summer. (Des. de l'Ar., par. ii. pp. 255. 161, &c.) The few perennial streams are all reduced to insignificance during the dry season; but, under the influence of the periodical rains, these and the others often swell to an immense size, and sometimes make new channels for themselves, changing, in this way, the appearance of the coast, and leading to contradictory statements as to the number and embouchures of the different streams. (Valentia, ii. p. 360.)

The arid sands of the Tehama, unfavourable to the formation of rivers, are, of course, equally hostile to the accumulation of water in lakes. In fact, the dryness of the Arabian soil is proverbial; but the interior is only very partially known; and in the table-land of Nedsjed lakes are supposed to exist, on the authority of Strabo, who affirms that he saw them (lib. xvi. p. 774.); and

also on that of eastern geographers, cited by MalteBrun (Géographie Universelle, viii. p. 246.). Climate. The Tropic of Cancer divides Arabia into two not very unequal parts. It lies, therefore, partly in the torrid, and partly in the S. part of the N. temperate zone; but so many modifying circumstances exert an influence over its climate, that the mere latitude of its several parts is, perhaps, the least important element in determining the temperature, humidity, and salubrity of its atmosphere. In general, the climate is very similar to that of N. Africa. Lying under the tropic, it has, of course, its succession of dry and rainy seasons; and on the mountains of Yemen the showers regularly fall from the middle of June till the end of September. During the early part of the season the rains are most abundant, and at this time the sky is sometimes, but very rarely, covered by clouds for 24 hours together. During the dry season a cloud is scarcely ever seen. In Oman the rainy season begins in November, and continues till the middle of February. In the plain country on the coast, and in the Tehama of Yemen (though so close to the mountainous regions of regular showers). a whole year frequently passes without a drop of rain. (Niebuhr, par. i. pp. 34, et seq.) In this respect is found striking physical resemblance between Africa and Arabia. In the latter, as in the former, the parched plains are denied the refreshment of falling showers, and owe what share of fertility they possess to the inundations consequent upon the saturation of the mountains. The temperature of Arabia, like that of other countries, differs widely, according to the elevation of the surface, the nature of the soil, and the neighbourhood of the ocean. In general, the mountains of the S. Yemen and Hadramaut are the most habitable, and even the coolest parts of the peninsula; but the heat of the Tehama is excessive; and great extremes of temperature are experienced within very short distances. At Mocha, on the Red Sea, the thermometer rises in summer to 98° Fahr.; while at Saana, in the mountains, it never exceeds 85°, and in this district, freezing winter nights are not unfrequent. The inhabitants of Yemen live, consequently, under several different climates, and very different species of auinals and vegetables flourish within its limits. (Niebuhr, par. i. p. 4.) From the borders of Hedjaz to the banks of the Euphrates the country is a vast plain, without the slightest elevation, and wholly destitute of rivers or permanent springs, The soil is one mass of moving sand, without the slightest trace of town or village; and the dreary monotony of the scene is broken only by the appearance of a few thorny shrubs, which, taking vigorous root in the sand, supply the patient camel with the only food which he can find in these deserts. (Yooseph-cl-Milky, in Zach's Correspondence, No. 18.) This country, with the Desert of Syria, seems to have formed the Arabia Deserta of Strabo and Ptolemy.

Another plain, of the same kind, and most probably even more extensive, called the Desert of Akhaf, lies between Yemen and Hadramaut, on the S. and W., and between Nedsjed and Oman, on the N. and E. (Niebuhr, par. ii. pp. 245-255.) These vast sandy deserts increase very greatly the heat of the atmosphere in their neighbourhood. The wind blowing over them, about the summer solstice, becomes so dry, that paper and parchment exposed to its influence scorch and crack, as though placed in the mouth of an oven; and life, both animal and vegetable, perishes in the noxious blast. (Ali Bey, vol. ii. p. 46.) This is the wind known, in different and often very distant countries, by the names of the Simoom, Samiel, Sirocco, and Sorana; and which is always generated in every tropical country having extensive sandy deserts. Its grand seat is the vast desert of Sahara, in Africa; and next to it, perhaps, the deserts now mentioned. It comes from a different quarter in different parts of the peninsula, according to their posision with respect to these deserts. Thus, at Mecca, the Simoom comes from the E.; in the neighbourhood of the Persian Gulph and the Euphrates, from the W., in Yemen and Hadramaut, from the N. and N.E. The chain of hills seenis to shelter the Tehama of the Hedjaz from the influence of the Simoom from the Arabian Desert, as the hottest wind known in this district comes from the African Deserts across the Red Sea, and is, consequently, very considerably cooled and mitigated in its violence,

It is only, however, during the intense summer heats that the Simoom is dreaded; and such is the general purity of the atmosphere, owing to the few exhalations from the dry soil, that both man and beast in Arabia are aware of the approach of the poisonous blast, from the sulphurous odour by which it is preceded. It is said, also, that the point of the heavens from which the Simoom is approaching is always marked by a peculiar colouring, easily distinguishable by an Arab eye. Thus forewarned, the Arab throws himself upon the ground, and the beasts hold down their heads; for it is found that this terrific blast has little or no power near the