10 THE TEMPERATE WORLD, 



Zone ; and art and science have here accomplished their 

 greatest triumphs. 



The breadth of each of the Temperate Zones is 645 

 miles ; or, altogether, the Temperate Regions of the earth 

 occupy a breadth of 1290 miles. 



They present, therefore, some startling contrasts. Be- 

 tween the richly-cultivated lands of Europe and those of 

 Asia lies a vast extent of dreary plain — the steppes of 

 Russia and Tartary. The forest-country of North America 

 opens out on the rolling prairies, which sweep westward 

 for leagues and leagues, unrelieved by a single tree ; the 

 great mountain-masses of South America slope downwards 

 into the grassy levels of the pampas and the llanos. It is 

 impossible to offer any concise description of the Tempe- 

 rate World, for its various sections differ so widely from 

 one another. We shall, therefore, proceed to consider 

 them in detail, commenting briefly on their scenery and 

 vegetation as introductory to our notices of their chief 

 forms of animal life. 



