THE ARCTIC LANDS. 



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tiniious belt, stretching through three parts of the world, in a breadth of from 

 15° to 20°, even the woods of the Amazon, wliich cover a snrface fifteen times 

 greater than that of the United Kingdom, shrink into comparative insignifi- 

 cance. Unlike the tropical forests, which are characterized by an immense 

 variety of trees, these northern woods are almost entii'ely composed of conif- 

 eraa, and one single kind of fir or pine often covers an immense extent of 



