Retrospect of Domestic Literature—Natural History, Kc. 627 
their geographical position and the gene- 
ral economy of the globe. 
The print, by which the work is ac- 
companied; is the largest that has ever 
been engraved on one plate of copper, 
or printed on one sheet of paper, being 
four feet six Inches by three feet, exclu- 
sive of margins. In the composition, 
such an arrangement has been adopted 
as seemed most Iikely to produce an 
agreeable picture, the different moun- 
tains being for the most part represented 
in the-easy flow of an irregular or pyra- 
midal shape. ‘The obstacles to beauty of 
outline and general effect, with which 
Mr. Riddell must have had to combat, 
are more easily to be conceived than 
described. It was particularly requisite 
to avoid any indistinctness in the. remote 
objects, yet to give general effect and 
distance to the aérial perspective, which 
the natural oatline, representing all the 
mountains in certain proportions to each 
other from the foreground of the print, 
strictly denied. The boundary of per- 
petual congelation, varying according to 
its distance from the equator, was like- 
wise too important a feature to be omit- 
ted, though attended with the disadvan- 
tage, not only of rendering it impossible 
to display that varied tone of colouring 
which such scenery might seem to de- 
mand, but also with the difiiculty inci- 
dent upon every attempt to represent 
great masses of snow, and yet preserve 
a peneral harmony throughout. © 'The 
general similarity in their form, as well 
as the colouring appropriate to a scene 
of mountains, were additional difficulties. 
The base of the picture is supposed to 
be the level of the sea, from which the 
elevations of all the mountains are mea- 
sured. On the plain in the centre isa 
groupe of buildings, upon the same scale 
of proportion with the mountains, com- 
prising many of the greatest monuments 
of art. On the left are the principal 
mountains of Great-Britain and Ireland. 
On the same side are the mountains of 
America, terminating in the highest sum- 
mit of the Andes, Chimboraco. On the 
right are the mountains of Europe, be- 
hind which rise those of Asia and Africa. 
In different parts are placed, at their 
proper elevation the highest inhabited 
places, and the sources of some principal 
rivers: forming altogether, a magnificent 
groupe, and resembling what a valley in 
the alps may be supposed to exhibit. 
~ In the work itself, the established facts 
relating to the history of mountains, at 
present dispersed in a prodigious number 
_ Neptumian, 
of works, are concentrated in one con- 
nected detail; without the adoption of 
any favourite system of geology. In the 
print, the chief mountains represented 
are those, the heights of which have been 
as cerrectly asertained as circumstances 
have from time to time admitted. But 
as these form but a small proportion to 
the total number, it was necessary not 
only to say something on the general 
formation of mountains, but to describe 
with as much precision as possible the 
the direction and continuity of the chains, 
with the topographical situation of each 
individual part. In the preliminary ob- 
servations, the outlines of the science of 
Geology are briefly described under the 
following heads. Classification of moun- 
tains; general arrangements of chains of 
mountains; primary mountains; secon- 
dary mountains; mountains of transition ; 
or secondary mountains; 
mountains of alluvion; volcanic moun- 
tains; internal heat of volcanoes; pseu- 
do-volcanoes ; decomposition of the com- 
ponent materials of mountains; decome 
position and degradation of mountains; 
external characters of mountains ; differ- 
ence of climate produced by mountains; 
distinctions between the mountains of arid 
and rainy countries; vegetable physiology , 
declivities of mountains; and the lower 
term of perpetual congelation. Such are 
the heads of the tew general observations 
which it was thought necessary should pre- 
cede the details in the body of the work. 
These are followed by lists of the moun- 
tains of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Ame- 
rica; arranged alphabeticaily, with their 
topographical positions, and the heights 
of such as have been measured. We 
then come to the more important opening 
of the work on physical geography in ge- 
neral. ‘The description of the mountain- 
ous countries commencing on the shores 
of the Arctic Ocean, whence it proceeds 
with as much continuity as possible to- 
wards the south, preserving the divisions 
of kingdoms. The mountains of Norway, 
Sweden, Russia in Europe, Prussia, Bo- 
hemia, Gallitzia, Hungary, and Germany, 
are all that are comprized in the first vo- 
lume, The strata, beauties, directions, 
and peculiarites of each are treated not 
only with perspicuity, distinct arrange-~ 
ment and connection of facts, butin a 
neat and sometimes elegant style. Mr. 
Wilson appears to have been delighted 
with his subject, and is apparently as ac- 
curate in his details as he had been be- 
fore industrious in his enguiries. The se- 
cond and third volumes may shortly be 
expected, 
