Europe : — a popular Physical Sketch. 515 



chestnut. In the Carpathians, ' Krumholz' (a kind of low 

 fir) and another kind of pine, form the upper forests ; beech 

 the lower. 



The cultivated vegetation is in a great measure the same 

 as that of the North European plain ; yet some additional 

 plants appear in the valleys, on the plains, and on the sides 

 of the central European mountains. Thus the vine on the 

 west coast of France as far as the city of Nantes, in the 

 Rhone valley, in the Rhine valley and its lateral branches, 

 on the Austrian and Hungarian plain. The north frontier 

 of the vine is more dependent on the temperature of the 

 summer than of the mean temperature of the year round. 

 On the west coast of France the north frontier is 47°, in 

 Champagne 49° to 50°, where the Rhine and Moselle unite 50° 

 to 51°, at Dresden 51°, and in Hungary 48° to 49°. The 

 almond and fig thrive in the open air in the warmer parts of 

 the Rhine valley (Pfalz to 50°). In the lowest part of the 

 Rhone valley, and on the south side of the Cevennes moun- 

 tains, the olive is found, with other trees peculiar to the 

 vegetation of the countries bordering the Mediterranean. 

 The domesticated animals are the same as those of the 

 North European plain, with the addition of the ass. The 

 boundary of this animal, as domesticated, is 50° N- L. 

 In Hungary buffalos are found. East European plain. The 

 largest in Europe, is bounded on the E. by the Ural moun- 

 tains (running from S. to N.) and the Caspian sea ; but be- 

 tween these, the plain blends into the basin surrounding the 

 Caspian sea ; in the S. the Caucasus (the direction of which is 

 nearly E. to W.) the Black sea, and lastly the Balkan, form 

 the natural frontiers. In the W. the plain is bounded by the 

 Carpathians, to the northward of which it blends into the 

 North European plain, and the Baltic ; but towards Finland, 

 no well defined line of demarcation appears, whereas the Arc- 

 tic sea and its gulph, the White sea, form the northern frontier. 

 The situation is between the 4o° and 70° N. L. s thus occu- 



3 x 



