820 



BALTIC. 



BJtlc. for its apparent decrease. He supposes, that instead 

 of really subsiding, it may only be slightly shifting its 

 position, and gaining in one quarter as much as it loses 

 in another. This effect he ascribes to the large 

 rivers, which flowing into this sea with great rapidity, 

 carry along with them vast quantities of earth and 

 sand, by which the beds at their mouths are raised, and 

 their banks extended towards the sea. The waves of 

 the Baltic do not swell so high as in the ocean, but 

 they are more dangerous and harassing to the ship- 

 ping, as they succeed each other with greater rapidity 

 and impetuosity. Amber is deposited in its agita- 

 tions on the shores of Courland and Prussia; and it 

 appears, that all the knowledge which the Romans 

 possessed of the maritime powers of the Baltic, was 

 obtained by their merchants, who journeyed by land 

 in search of amber. Its water does not contain above 

 one-thirtieth part of salt, whereas the water of other 

 seas often holds one-tenth. This freshness may pro- 

 ceed in part from the number of large rivers whiclv 

 discharge themselves into this sea ; but it seems to be 

 chiefly owing to the large quantities of ice formed in 

 its northern gulfs. It has a very perceptible current ; 

 and when the wind blows strong from the north, the 

 water becomes so fresh as to be even fit for drinking 

 or preparing meat. Even in the hottest summers the 

 Baltic is cooler than any other sea. Though it 

 has no regular tides, being almost entirely surround- 

 ed by land, yet when a strong west wind prevails 

 for any considerable time, its natural outlet is pre- 

 vented, and a large accession of water is forced into 

 it from the North Sea ; on such occasions, it rises on 

 its coasts a little above its ordinary level. The eb- 

 bing and flowing of the German Ocean, though very 

 weak, is said to co-operate with the Baltic, so that 

 traces of their effects may be perceived. 



Not fewer than forty streams flow into the Baltic, 

 on this side of the Frozen Ocean, of which the prin- 

 cipal are the Diina, the Oder, the Vistula, the Rcga, 

 the Pcrsante, and the Niemen. The principal islands 

 in this sea are, Zealand, Rugen, Bornholm, Oland, 

 Gothland, Dago, CEsel, Cronstadt, Hoch'.and, Ty- 

 tersaari, Savansaari, Penisaari, Seitsaari, Mohn, Fal- 

 ster, and Aland. Heavy gales of wind are frequent in 

 the Baltic, particularly in the gulf of Finland, and it 

 abounds likewise with rocks and shelves, which ren- 

 der its navigation extremely hazardous. 



The Baltic washes the coasts of Sweden, Russia, 

 Denmark, Courland, Prussia, and Germany ; and the 

 productions of these countries form one of the most 

 important brandies of British commerce. The Rus- 

 sian ports in this sea, or more properly in the gulf of 

 Finland, are Fredericksham and W'yburg, in the go- 

 vernment of Wyburg ; Petersburg, (or Cronstadt,) 

 the imperial residence, and capital of the government 

 of Petersburg ; Narva, Revel, and HapsaT, in the go- 

 vernment of Revel, to which Afensberg, in the island 

 of CEsel, likewise belongs ; Pernau, and Riga, in the 

 government of Riga, and in the bay of the same name. 

 During winter, the navigation to these ports is clo- 

 sed, and, as that season approaches, the weather be- 

 comes very tempestuous. Revel, Pernau, Arensburg, 

 Hapsal, and Baltic Port, are shut up by the ice in 

 November or December, and are generally open again 

 in February or March. Riga is blocked up in Octo- 

 ber 01 November, and o^ens either in March or April, 



Narva, Cronstadt, Wyburg, and Fredericksham, 

 shut in October or November, and open in April, 

 though at Petcrsburgh the ice sometimes continues 

 film till May. The safest anchoring places are Ro- 

 gervick Bay, or Baltic Port, Revel Bay, Kasperwich 

 under Hoglaud island, Aspo, and Sceskar. The 

 coast is rocky and dangerous. All the ports, ex- 

 cept Revel, are inconvenient and unsafe for loading 

 and landing goods. By the annexation of Courland 

 to the Imperial dominions, Russia gained the ports 

 of Windau and Liebau. Some idea of the Russian 

 trade in the Baltic may be acquired from the follow- 

 ing statements of the number of vessels which camp 

 to or left its ports, and of the amount of exports and 

 imports in the years 1797 and 1802. In 1797, the 

 number of ships arrived was '2541, of those that sail- 

 ed 2472, the amount of imports was 25,592^'2\<, 

 of exports, 46,940, 443. In 1802, there arrived 

 2768 vessels, and sailed 2632, the imports amounted 

 to 32,983,41 8, and the exports to .46,917,134. The 

 customs of the year 1797 amounted to 4,790,807 ; 

 of those in 1802 we have seen no statement. The 

 proportion of British vessels which arrived in thes.* 

 ports in the last mentioned year was 308 laden, and 

 515 unladen, there sailed 758 laden, and 39 with- 

 out cargoes. 



Prussia possesses a territory of nearly.four hundred 

 miles on the shore of the Baltic, which, in that ex- 

 tent, receives some of the finest navigable rivers in 

 Europe. There are likewise some branches of the 

 Baltic Sea which indent the Prussian coasts, and are 

 called lakes, or haifs. Of these the largest is the 

 Courish Haff, which runs directly south-west from 

 Memel, spreading to a considerable breadth, and 

 penetrating within sixty miles of Konigsburg. The 

 Frische Haff forms a long lake between Konigsburg 

 and Elbeng, and communicates with the sea at Pil- 

 lau. It is also connected with Dantzic by the 

 branches of the Vistula. There is also another haff in 

 Pomerania, formed by the islands of Usedom and 

 Wollin, and communicating with the Baltic, by three 

 channels, the principal of which is Swinemunde. 

 The principal Prussian ports on the Baltic are Me- 

 mel, Pillau, and Dantzic. With these ports Britain 

 carries on a considerable trade. Timber is the chief 

 article of exportation from Memel ; corn and timber 

 are the staple articles of the Dantzic trade. 



Mecklenburgh, a duchy in the circle of Lowe; 

 Saxony, lying betwixt the Baltic and tiie Elbe, has. 

 only two ports on the Baltic, Rostoc and Wismar. 



Sweden extends along the whole western coast of 

 the Baltic, on both sides of the gulf of Bothnia, and 

 along part of the northern coast of the Gulf of Fin- 

 land. It commands, of course, a considerable pro- 

 portion of the Baltic trade. Its principal ports ou 

 that sea, arc Stockholm, Gottenburg, and Stralsund. 



Though but a small part of the Danish dominions 

 lies upon the Baltic, yet that part is by far the most 

 interesting ; and has acquired an importance from 

 the present ttate of commerce, which it never en- 

 ioyed at any former period. The duchies of Hol- 

 stein and Sleswick, with Zealand, and some smaller 

 islands, nearly shut up the communication between 

 the Baltic Sea and the ocean ; and all the trade ol 

 Europe passes through that small country. 



Copenhagen, the capital of Zealand, and of the 



Baltic 



