418 Europe : — a popular Physical Sketch. 



The quantity of rain is less on the continent than in Great 

 Britain ; it may fairly be fixed for Holland at 25\ inches. 



North of France and Belgium, 22 „ 



Denmark, north of Germany, and Prussia, 20 „ 

 Westerly winds prevail all over the extensive plain, which 

 is also the case in Great Britain, but this preponderance 

 decreases towards the East, and the westerly winds are more 

 prevalent in England than in Denmark, more frequent there 

 than in Russia. This is particularly the case during sum- 

 mer, but during winter on the continent the easterly winds 

 are as frequent as the westerly, which is also to \ certain 

 degree the case in Great Britain. In most places the easterly 

 is the most common spring wind. 



The forests of the north of France and Belgium consist 

 chiefly of oak and beech, as also in Denmark, and on the coasts 

 of the Baltic. As for Denmark and the neighbouring parts 

 of Germany, beech decidedly predominates, and appears to 

 thrive better than in any other country. The sandy North 

 German plain produces fir and birch, many forests however 

 are plantations. In the eastern part of the plain (Poland) 

 pines as well as broad-leaved trees are found, as also some 

 remains of the huge aboriginal forests, particularly on the 

 frontier of the Russian plain (Lithauen). The beech there 

 does not quite reach the northern frontier of the plain, for 

 it ceases at 53°, whereas in Norway it still grows at 59°. 

 No less remarkable is the large tracts of the North European 

 plain covered with heather (Erica), the largest of which 

 is a zone extending through Hanover and the centre of the 

 Danish peninsula. 



An extensive plain like this, with a temperate climate, 

 must be well calculated for agriculture, for which reason 

 this, as well as the East European plain, may with pro- 

 priety be looked upon as the granary of Europe. The dif- 

 ferent sorts chiefly cultivated are wheat, rye, barley, and 

 oats. With the exception of France and Belgium, where 



