IB 



BALTIC SEA. 



BALTIC 8EA. 



countries situated beyond the limits of the basin. But this is not the 

 case with the Baltic. Only a comparatively small part, not one-fourth 

 of the boundary of ite basin, is formed by high mountains ; the 

 remainder rises to no great elevation above the level of the sea, and 

 inks with a very gradual and often imperceptible descent towards 

 the sea, By this singular position some of the most distinguishing 

 peculiarities of the sea, as well as of the country about it, may be 

 explained. 



Perhaps in no inhabited country on the globe does such a quantity 

 of snow fall as in the countries round the Baltic. This phenomenon 

 may be accounted for by the atmosphere of the Baltic being alter- 

 nately filled with warm moisture, and subjected to a dry piercing 

 cold ; and by the frequent and rapid transition from one to the other. 

 The warm moisture is brought by the south-western and western 

 winds from the Atlantic Ocean, over the low peninsula of Jutland, 

 and the equally low plains of northern Germany, as far as Petersburg!! 

 and the forest of Wolkhonsk, where the Volga rises. Upon a sudden 

 change of the wind to the north-east, east, or south-east, the cold dry 

 air from the frozen shores of the Icy Sea, the elevated countries along 

 the Ural Mountains, or the cold steppes extending to the north of the 

 Caspian Sea, is brought into contact with the moisture, which being 

 suddenly condensed, covers in the form of snow the countries round 

 the Baltic. In summer the same causes produce an alternation of 

 rainy and fair weather. To this peculiar character of their climate 

 these countries owe their wealth. Though not endowed with great 

 fertility, the soil being with very few exceptions sandy and light, they 

 abound in timber of the best quality support in their green pastures 

 innumerable herds of cattle, and produce abundant crops of grain, 

 which have made these districts the richest granary of the globe. No 

 other portion of the earth approaching so near the Polar Circle can be 

 compared with them in natural wealth. 



Some of the peculiar qualities by which the Baltic is distinguished 

 are intimately connected with the climate of its basin. By experi- 

 ment* it has been found that 3 Ibe. of water taken from the North 

 Sea contain 747 grains of salt, but the same quantity from the Baltic 

 does not yield more than 389 grains. In general it is calculated that 

 salt constitutes only from one-thirtieth to one-fortieth part of the 

 waters of the Baltic; but here also some variations exist. The 

 northern parts, especially the Gulf of Bothnia, contain less salt than the 

 others, and the amount varies greatly according to the seasons. At 

 Midsummer only a ton of salt can be obtained from about 300 tons 

 of sea-water taken from the Gulf of Bothnia, while at Christmas 

 50 tons give the some quantity. The weight of the water taken from 

 the centre of the Baltic is to that of fresh water as 1-038 or 1-041 to 

 1-000 ; that of the Atlantic is 1-288. This small degree of witness is 

 doubtless to be attributed to the immense quantity of fresh water 

 which in spring-time and the early part of the summer, when the 

 snow is melting, is brought down by the numerous swollen and rapid 

 riven. The streams which fall into the Gulf of Bothnia are more 

 numerous and rapid than the rest, accordingly this portion of the 

 Baltic contains less salt than other parts. 



The comparatively small depth of the Baltic may perhaps in some 

 degree be attributed to the numerous rivers which now into it In 

 this respect the Baltic may be considered as the vast [estuary of a 

 great number of streams, and the greatest part of its surface is filled 

 up by the bars formed by rivers, which in spring-time are exceedingly 

 turbid and carry down vast quantities of earthy matter. This sup- 

 position is confirmed by its depth being greatest where no great 

 riven enter, as near the Island of Bornholm, and between it and the 

 coast of Sweden, where it is 110 and even 115 fathoms deep, while in 

 general it only attains from 40 to 60 fathoms. The common depth of 

 the North Sea is from 120 to 160 fathoms. 



To these two circumstances the small degree of saltness and the 

 little depth of it* waters it is to bo attributed that the shores of the 

 Baltic nearly every year are covered with ice, which in general from 

 the end of December to the beginning of April nimt* u|> the harbours, 

 straits, and bays, and interrupts navigation. In the gulfs of Finland 

 and of Bothnia the freezing begins sooner and ends later. In the first 

 months of the year great pieces of ice are sometimes met with 

 between Stockholm and the islands of Dagoe and OeeL It even 

 happens, though rarely, that extensive portions of the Baltic arc 

 frown over. According to tradition a communication over the ice 

 was established in 1333 between the town of Lubeck and the Danish 

 islands and the coast of Prussia, and public-house* were erected along 

 the road. In 1658 Charles X. of Sweden marched an army over both 

 Belts to the conquest of Zealand, and in 1 809 a Russian corps passed 

 from Finland to Sweden over the ice, at the narrowest part of the 

 Gulf of Bothnia, called the Quarken. 



The waves of the Baltic do not rise to such a height as in the North 

 Sea, or in any other part of the Atlantic, but they break much more 

 abruptly. The first circumstance is probably caused by the narrowness 

 of the sea, and the second by iU inconsiderable depth. 



The current of the Baltic may be compared to th.it of n wide river 

 or a large actuary. It commences at the remotest extremities, and 

 iU course is towards the outlets of the sea. The greatest volume of 

 fresh water is discharged by numerous riven into the northern part of 

 the Gulf of Bothnia, whose united waten form a current win. h i- 

 Try rapid in the strait of the Quarken. It becomes less rapid where 



the gulf enlarges, and divides afterwards at the Aland Islands into 

 different branches, which however again unite, and the stream is felt 

 over the whole surface in the central parts of the sea, until it makes 

 iU exit through the three straits, being most sensible in the Little 

 Belt What is commonly observed in wide actuaries happens hero 

 also. When a strong wind has blown directly into the entran 

 some time, it changes the current, and causes an influx of water from 

 the open sea. Such a temporary current is said to exist sometimes 

 even at the entrance of the Gulf of Finland, after a long prevalence 

 of north-west winds. 



The tides, which rise to a greater height in the North Sea than in 

 most other parts of the ocean, especially along the shores ( < lermany 

 and Jutland, decrease rapidly in the Kattegat, so that in some places 

 they produce only weak and irregular oscillations of the water. 

 Their feeble efforts may still be traced in the three straits, but farther 

 southward they disappear entirely. At Copenhagen the average tide 

 is about one foot 



The Swedish naturalists have observed a rise of the waters in the 

 Baltic which seems to proceed from another cause. The surface some- 

 times rises to three feet and upwards above the ordinary level, ami 

 maintains itself at that height sometimes only for a few days, but 

 occasionally for several weeks altogether. This change occurs in all 

 seasons, but is most frequent in autumn. This phenomenon has not 

 yet been explained in a satisfactory manner. 



The Baltic does not abound in fish either as to species or numbers. 

 The herring once visited it in shoals, and this fishery was e 

 in the 14th and 15th centuries along the coasts of Scania, or southern 

 Sw.-den; but since that time only individuals have been caught It 

 would even seem that it has abandoned the Kattegat But on the 

 eastern .coast of Sweden, especially on the Gulf of Bothnia, a 

 caught in great numbers, which is only distinguished from the herring 

 by its being smaller. It is called stromling, and is the only fish 

 Baltic which is not consumed in its fresh state, but dried, salted, oud 

 otherwise prepared for a distant market The greatest qunnt 

 taken between the Quarken and the Aland Islands, and many families on 

 this coast gain their subsistence by this fishery. The next most 

 important fishery is that in the straits between the Danish islands. 

 Many species, which ore not found farther to the east, especially those of 

 the cod kind, enter these straits from the Kattegat, and afford an 

 abundant supply of food to the inhabitants of some of the .-mall* i- 

 islands. On the east coast of the Baltic only a few families sub- 

 fishing alone, if we except the Island of Gottland and the Aland 

 Islands, on which a considerable number of seals are killed 

 breaking up of the ice which in winter attaches itself to these islands. 

 The most abundant species of fish next to those already named arc 

 salmon, sturgeon, turbot, flounder, and the sword-fish. Whales are 

 sometimes, but rarely, cast upon the shore in a dead state. The 

 li'li'liinut J'huctrna in frequently caught along the shores of Scania. 



Among the productions of the Baltic we must notice amber. Though 

 met with sometimes in a few other countries, as in Sicily, it is . 

 on the southern coast of this sea that it is produced in considerable 

 quantities. Part is dug in a few places at a distance of 200 fc< < 

 the beach ; and part is thrown upon it by the waves after a prevalence 

 of north-westerly and westerly winds. Large quantities have been 

 lately dug up on the shores of the lake Angersk, or Anserche, in the 

 Russian government of Kurlaud. 



The countries surrounding the Baltic supply timber, grain of 

 different kinds, hides, tallow, *<x, in the greatest abundon< 

 first quality. If we except the seas contiguous to the I'.riti-h Inlands, 

 and that which incloses the maritime tracts of the Chinese empire, no 

 portion of the ocean is so much frequented by ships as the lioltic. In 

 1849, the total number of vessels which passed inwards and outwards 

 through the Sound was 18,969, and between 3000 and 4000 more pawed 

 through the Canal of Kiel and the Great Belt ; and all HUH in spite. <>f the 

 difficulties and disadvantages to which the navigation i 

 subject These difficulties arise partly from the narrowness of tl 

 and partly from its numerous sand-banks along the southern and 

 eastern shores, where shipwrecks ore more frequent than in any other 

 part. Besides this, the harbours of the Baltic arc shut up for three or 

 four months by the ice, and thus the navigation is interrupted for 

 nearly one-third of the year. Another disadvantage is the shallowness 

 of the harbours on the southern coast and the complete wont of tides. 

 No vessel drawing 20 feet of water can enter any harbour as far as 

 the Gulf of Finland, and most of them admit only such as draw 15 

 or 16 feet Consequently the vessels which visit these ports average 

 only between 200 and 300 tons. This circumstance place* 

 < ..nut He* under great disadvantages in carrying on a commerce with 

 remote parts, as in long voyages the profits arising from large vessels 

 ore much greater than when small ships are used. The harbours to 

 the north of the Gulf of Finland are much deeper, and admit vessels 

 of 600 tons and upwards; but as these countries are lens productive 

 their trade i* in consequence comparatively inconsiderable. 



The Swede* long since observed that some places formerly covered 

 by the sea had become dry laud in the course of time. Tlii 

 some Swedish naturalist* to suppose that the surface of 1 1, 

 lowering. But a* this opinion eould not lie adopted without sup! 

 that the surface of the whole ocean underwent a similar change, others 

 thought that tbe whole of the Scandinavian peninsula was slowly 



