NATURAL HISTORY. 3$ 



continents, beautifully diversified with mountains and 

 rallies, and in every respect like those which we now 

 inhabit. 



The surface of this globe is divided, from one pole 

 to the other, into two immense bands of earth, and two 

 of water. The principal of these bands is that which 

 is called the ancient continent, and which includes Eu- 

 rope, Asia, and Africa. This continent, if measured 

 from the two extreme points, that is, from the eastern 

 point of Tartary to the Cape of Good Hope, will pro- 

 duce a line of 3600 leagues ; and if measured direct- 

 ly from north to south, we shall find that there are only 

 2500 leagues from the northern Cape of Lapland to 

 the southernmost point of the Cape of Good Hope. 

 The utmost breadth of this continent, that is from the 

 western coast of Africa to Trefana, as far as Nisingpo, 

 on the east coast of China, is about 2800 leagues. 



Another line may be drawn also from Brest in Brit- 

 tany, as far as the coast of Chinese Tartary, will be 

 about 2300 leagues. The old continent, on the best 

 calculations, may be said to contain 4 94-0,780 square 

 leagues, which is about a fifth part of the surface of 

 the globe, and may he considered as a large belt of 

 earth, with an inclination to the equator of about 30 

 degrees. 



The new continent is called America, and is divided 

 into north and south. Its greatest length may be es- 

 timated from the mouth of the river Piata in Paraguay 

 to the lake of the AssiniboHs which amounts to about 

 2500 leagues. It is supposed to contain 2.140,212 

 square leagues. The whole superficial contents there- 

 fore, of both the old and new continents, are about 

 7,080.093 square leagues, rot near a third of the sur- 



Vol I. D 



