766 



HOLLAND. 



the southern, or Waal, joins the Meuse ; the 

 northern sends off a branch under the name of 

 the Fsse/, into the Zuyder Zee ; another, called 

 the Leek, to the Meuse ; a third, called the 

 Vecht, into the Zuyder Zee, and, after a course 

 of 850 miles, enters the North Sea, below Ley- 

 den, a feeble stream. The Meuse or Jllaese 

 rises In France, and, flowing through Belgium, 

 empties itself, by two ])rincipal branches, into 

 the North Sea. The SckehU enters the Neth- 

 erlands from Belgium, and divides into two prin- 

 cipal branches, which carry its waters into the 

 North Sea. 



4. <Seos and Lakes. Tlie Zuyder Zee is a 

 large inland bay, in the nonliern part, 60 miles 

 in extent. The Sea of Haarlem is a lake, 14 

 miles in length, to the west of tlie Zuyder Zee, 

 and communicating wiih it by the river Y, 

 which passes by Amsterdam. There are many 

 small lakes in the northern province of Fries- 

 land. 



5. Shores and Dikes. The shores are re- 

 markably flat and low, and a great part of the 

 country would be laid under water by the tides, 

 were it not for the enormous dikes erected 

 along the coast. These dikes employ annually 



Fisherman of Schokland mending his net. more men than all the corn of the province of 



Holland can maintain. They are mostly 30 

 feet in height, and 70 broad at the bottom. They are built of clay, faced on the land srde 

 with wood and stone, and toward the sea with mats of rushes and sea-weed. In North Hol- 

 land, during violent storms, they cover the outsides of the dikes with sail cloth. There is a 

 board of dike commissioners, whose duty it is to superintend all the embankments in the 

 country ; and there are many subordinate commissions all over the kingdom, Vv'ho are required 

 to report from time to time to the High Board the condition of the dikes in their district. 

 Notwithstanding all these efforts to preserve the country, the sea is still gaining on the coast. 



6. Climate. The number of lakes, rivers, and canals in Holland, generate a cold and 

 damp air. Cliilling, northeasterly winds prevail during winter ; the Zuyder Zee is frozen 

 for several months. The weather is subject to sudden changes, and the climate, on the 

 whole, is insalubrious. Few of the Dutch live to a great age. 



7. Soil. The soil is generally a sandy loam, sometimes interspersed with tracts of clay, 

 but more frequently with extensive districts of sand. Peat bogs are common. 



8. Face of the Country. The whole country is low and flat, and was compared by Sir 

 William Temple to the sea in a calm. A great part of the territory is below the level of the 

 sea. From the top of a steeple, the eye ranges over a boundless plain, intersected by canals 

 and dikes ; meadows of tlie freshest verdure, covered by numerous herds of cattle ; towns, vil- 

 lages, and detached houses, embosomed in trees ; numerous vessels continually gliding along 

 the canals, and by the animation which they give to the landscape, compensating in some de- 

 gree for its want of bold and picturesque beauty. In some places, low marshy tracts or shallow 

 lakes have been drained, and their former beds are fenced round with dikes ; these spots are 

 called by the inhabitants polders. As there is a constant filtration of water from the sea and 

 rivers through the dikes, and there is no natural outlet for that which falls in rain, it becomes 

 necessary to keep these low tracts clear b}'' artificial means. For this purpose pumps moved 

 by windmills are used in great numbers, and the water is pumped out, as from a leaky ship, into 

 the rivers and canals. Hence, Holland has been humorous!}' described as a country drawing 

 50 feet of uater, 



9. Divisions. This kingdom consists of 11 provinces : 



North Holland, Utrecht, Drenthe, North Brabant, 



South Holland, Guelderland, Groningen, Luxemburg. 



2^ealand, Overyssei, Friesland, 



