ACCOUNT OF BOOKS. 



Sf47 



known in the manuscripts of en- 

 lightened persons, who, without 

 communicating with one another, 

 or witli the learned of other nations, 

 have given themselves up to re- 

 searches of this kind. When we do 

 not possess exact observations, we 

 must content ourselves with the 

 analogy seen in neighbouring coun- 

 tries. It is easier to trace the natural 

 aspect of New Spain than that of 

 Old ; and in this respect we are 

 better acquainted with the colonies 

 than with the mother country. 



" The interior of Spain is an ele- 

 vated plain, and is the highest of 

 any of the same kind in Europe 

 which occupies a large extent of 

 country. Switzerland, the Tyrol, 

 and Scotland, contain ranges of 

 mountains close to one another. 

 These are masses furrowed with 

 deep valleys, and surrounded with 

 low plains. Switzerland is not 

 really a raised plain. The cantons 

 of Berne, Fribourg, Zuric, and all 

 those countries covered with a new 

 formation of freestone, are plains, 

 the height of which is only from 

 two hundred and forty to two 

 hundred and eighty fathoms above 

 the level of the ocean. They form 



fiart of the grand longitudinal val- 

 ey which extends from the south- 

 west to the north-east, between 

 the chain of the upper Alps and 

 Mount Jura, as appears by the 

 beautiful geological maps just pub- 

 lished by M. Ebel. In France, 

 and particularly in Germany, there 

 are raised plains, not of very great 

 extent certainly, but well worth 

 being mentioned. In France, the 

 highest plain is that of Auvergne, 

 in which Mont-d'Or, Cantal, and 

 the Puy de Dome stand. It is three 

 hundred and seventy fathoms above 

 the sea, according to the barome- 



trical calculation of a celebrated 

 mineralogist, M. de Buch. Lor- 

 raine forms a raised plain that ex- 

 tends between the Vosges and the 

 chain of mountains which pass- 

 ing by Epinal and Saint-Mihel, 

 joins the Ardennes. This elevated 

 plain, however, is only from a 

 hundred and thirty to a hundred 

 and forty fathoms high. The 

 centre of the plains of France, 

 the department of Loir and Cher, 

 is from eighty to ninety fathoms 

 high. 



" Bavaria is the most extensive 

 and the highest level land of Ger- 

 man)'. A vast plain, the bed of an 

 ancient lake, extends from the gra- 

 nite mountains of the upper Pala- 

 tinate (Fichtel GeburgeJ to the 

 foot of the Alps in the Tyrol. 

 These plains (and this fact is very 

 curious and hitherto little known), 

 like the small plain of Auvergne, 

 are from two hundred and fifty to 

 two hundred and sixty fathoms 

 above the level of the ocean. 



*' The interior of the two Cas- 

 tiles presents a raised plain, which 

 exceeds in height and extent all 

 those that we have just mentioned. 

 Its mean elevation appears to be 

 three hundred fathoms. The height 

 of the barometer at Madrid is 

 twenty-six inches two lines and 

 two-filths, according to a note 

 communicated by M. Bauza, a dis- 

 tinguished astronomer, employed 

 in the dep6t of charts for the navy 

 at Madrid. It is therefore two 

 inches, or one-fourteenth lower 

 than the mean height of the mer- 

 cury at the level of the ocean. 

 This is the difference of the pres- 

 sure of the atmosphere which is 

 experienced by all bodies exposed 

 to the open air at Madrid, Cadiz, 

 or Bourdeaux. At Madrid the ba- 



3 P 2 rometer 



