Arbuckle - World Atlas

ENGLAND.

      ENGLAND & WALES, the southern and larger portion of the island of Great Britain, is bounded N. by Scotland, E. by the North Sea, S. by the English Channel, and W. by the Atlantic and Irish Sea, and comprises a number of islands.
      It has a mild, moist climate and an unusually equable temperature.
      Area, 58,186 square miles. Population in 1881, 25,974,439.
      England holds the first place among the countries of the world in regard to the productiveness and development of her agriculture, and is unrivaled in the extent of her commerce and the variety and importance of her manufactures. Her minerals constitute a main element in her industrial prosperity. She has vast supplies of coal and iron-ore. Tin, copper, plumbago, solid salt, zinc, nickel, arsenic, manganese, potter's clay, granite and freestone are other natural products. The cereal crops are wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, turnips--other cultivated plants are hops, flax, beans, peas, beet, hemp, etc. The rearing of live stock is an important branch of industry. English horses are noted both for draught and pace. The greatest industry is cotton spinning and weaving. She has woolen and silk manufactories, potteries, sugar refineries, distilleries, breweries, tanneries, paper mills and engineering works. She supplies a great part of the world with metal goods and cutlery. Shipbuilding is a great national industry.
      London, the capital, and the metropolis of the British Empire, and the most populous and wealthy city in the world, lies on both banks of the Thames, and is full of superb public buildings, conspicuous among which are Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the Houses of Parliament at Westminster.

THE UNITED STATES.

      THE UNITED STATES, the "Great Republic," occupies the central portion of the continent of N. America, and extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. It consists of 44 sovereign and independent States, one federal district and five territories, not including the Indian Territory.
      Area, 3,510,404 square miles; estimated population 1890, 64,500,000. In its own affairs each State has paramount authority, and is governed according to a constitution of its own. These constitutions are all constructed upon one model, but differ in details, such as the method of electing the Governor, who is sometimes chosen by the people, sometimes by the legislature. By the Constitution of 1787 the powers of the State federal are vested in three institutions, distinct and independent of each other, namely: (1) The Presidency representing the executive; (2) Congress entrusted with the legislative power; and (3) the Supreme Court, head of the judicature.
      It is impossible in such a limited space to give details regarding the fertility of the soil of the U. S., producing the cereals, cotton, tobacco and fruit in such overflowing abundance, or of her coal beds twenty times richer than all the coal fields of Europe put together, her inexhaustible beds of iron ores, her vast stores of the precious metals and other minerals, her oil wells, her forests, so especially rich in valuable timber trees, the productiveness of her river and coast fisheries, and to the number and extent of her manufacturing industries.
      The total number of immigrants from the leading countries of Europe who arrived in the U. S. during the decade ending June 30th, 1890, was 5,247,333.

BOLIVIA.

      THE Republic of Bolivia declared its independence of Spain, 6th August, 1825, and was named after its liberator, Simon Bolivar. By its Constitution the executive power is vested in a President, elected for a term of four years, by universal suffrage; and the legislative in a Congress of two Chambers, called the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
      The seat of the government, formerly at La Paz, capital of the Republic, is now at the City of Sucre or Chuquisaca. Nearly the whole country lies within the tropics, but not more than the half has a tropical climate on account of its great elevation. The mountains belong to the range of the Andes. The river system is unique. On the W. of the Andes there is scarcely a river, while on the eastern side are found the sources of the Plata and the Amazon. As a result of the war with Chili, 1879-80, Bolivia has ceded to that country all her coast territory.
      The area by an estimate, possibly too low by one-third, is 500,000 square miles. Population, 2,325,000, of whom about one-seventh are Indians.
      The mineral wealth is great. Gold, copper, lead and tin abound; and the silver mines of Potosi were once the most productive in the world, and are estimated te have produced 3,000 millions of dollars from their discovery in 1545 down to 1864. The India rubber supply is of the finest quality and almost inexhaustible. The principal exports are Peruvian bark, India rubber, gum, cocoa, coffee and copper, tin and other ores.

EGYPT.

      EGYPT is a tributary State of Turkey. The total area is 400,000 square miles, but the cultivated and settled area, that is the Nile Valley and Delta, covers only about 11,000 square miles. Egypt proper is one of the most interesting countries in the world on account of its early civilization, its intimate connection with sacred history, its imperishable monuments of art, and the magnificence of its ruined cities and temples. The capital is Cairo.
      The Sovereign has the Persian-Arabic title of Khedive, and the succession to the throne is hereditary. The administration is carried on by six native ministers, subject to the ruling of the Khedive. On May 1, 1883, an organic law was promulgated, creating a number of representative institutions, based on universal suffrage.
      Population at census May, 1882, 6,806,381.
      The greatest natural feature of Egypt is the river Nile, which flows through its entire length, 3,300 miles, and is the means of its internal commerce, and the main support and regulator of its whole system of agriculture. The Suez Canal, 87 miles long, connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea. The climate is remarkably dry. The modern Egyptians are in great part an agricultural people, but various manufacturing industries have been considerably developed of late years. There is an extensive cultivation of sugar-cane, cotton, indigo, opium, hemp, tobacco and fruits. The chief cereals are wheat, barley, rice, millet, maize and durra. There are large cotton factories, dyeing and cotton-printing establishments, iron foundries, and some ship building. The principal exports are cotton, sugar, gum, ivory, hides, ostrich feathers, senna, wax, tamarinds, shells, drugs, etc.