rugged nature and generally elevated surface. Some of the mountain peaks of Greece rise to a great height; thus, Olympus is 9,700 English feet, and is covered with snow; Guiona, on the frontier, 8,240 ft.; Parnassus, 8,001; with many others of 7,000, 6,000, and 5,000. Helicon is 4,963; Citharon, 4,630; Cyllene, 7,745; while the Acrocorinthus, or citadel of Corinth, is 1869 above the level of the sea. The mountains of Greece are more remarkable for the suddenness of their rise than for their great elevation. So, too, there are many smaller peaks and cones notable for the abruptness with which they spring from the plain, such as the Acrocorinthus, the rock of Ithome, and the Meteora cliffs of Thessaly near the Peneus. These last are huge masses of rock standing out from the plain to heights varying from 100 to 300 or 400 ft., with sides perpendicular as a wall. They assume the shapes of pillars, cones, and other figures more or less regular; they cover a space of nearly two sq.m., the recesses between the pinnacles being filled with trees and dense brushwood. The summits are occupied by monasteries, the only access to which is by baskets, nets, or ladders swung in the air.

Minerals.-Greece is not rich in minerals; gold, silver, copper, lead, and iron are found, but the mines have not been fully developed. The most famous mines in ancient times were those of Laurium in Attica, where iron, zinc, lead, and galena are still mined. Iron is mined in the island of Seriphos, and argentiferous barytes in the island of Melos (Milo). Magnesite ore is obtained in Euboea. Marble of the purest kind, and of various colors, may be had in almost all parts of Greece. The most famed quarries were in Paros, Carystus (in Euboea), Pentelicus, and Hymettus. Marble and building-stone were quarried by the old Greeks to a very large extent. Ores and metals form a large percentage of the exports from Greece.

Plains and Valleys.-The valleys of Greece are very numerous, but owing to une great number and irregular courses of the mountain ranges, are very small. The two great plains are those of Thessaly and Boeotia, the former being the largest and the most fertile in all Greece: that of Messenia is both extensive and fertile.

Coast-line.-As Europe is pre-eminent among continents for the great extent of its sea-coast, so is Greece for a similar feature remarkable among the kingdoms of Europe. The bays are very numerous, and many of them run far up into the land, so that no part of the country is far from the sea-a eircumstance which gives the inhabitants great facilities for commerce, and which leads the modern Greeks, as it did the ancients, to occupy themselves in very large numbers with maritime affairs.

Water-system-(1) Rivers.-The rivers of Greece necessarily follow its valleys in character. None of them are navigable. The most important stream is the Achelous (Aspropotamo), which rises in Mt. Pindus, flows in a s. direction through Epirus, and empties itself into the Ionian sea, at the mouth of the gulf of Corinth, after a course of about 130 miles. The Spercheus rises in the Pindus range, and disembogues into the Malic gulf, after traversing for more than 60 m. the fertile vale which is bounded on the n. by Mt. Othrys, and on the s. by Mt. Eta. Besides these, there are in n. Greece the Cephissus, rising in Doris, near the base of Mt. Parnassus, and flowing through the fertile Baotian plain into lake Copais (Lago di Topoglia, or lake of Livadia); and in the s. part of Boeotia, the Asopus (Vuriemi). In Peloponnesus, the principal streams are the Eurotas (Vasilipotamo) and the Alpheus (Roufia). By the banks of this latter, the great Olympic games were celebrated. The rivers of Greece depend for their sup plies mainly on the atmosphere; hence in summer the larger streams are greatly reduced in size, and the majority of the smaller ones are either almost or altogether dry chan nels. Many of them are nothing more than mountain torrents, or gulleys, which the heavy rains of autumn and winter fill for a short season.

(2) Lakes.-The many hill-encircled valleys of Greece, from which there is no outlet, afford the most favorable opportunity for the formation of lakes; hence the rains of autumn and winter stagnate in many cases in the valleys of the mountains, and for at least a part of the year, form tiny lakes or tarns. Some of these are permanent, though with great difference in depth of water, according to the season of the year, while others degenerate in summer into reed-grown marshes and pestilential fens. See BOOTIA.

Climate. The climate of Greece varies very considerably in different parts of the country. In the highlands of the interior, the cold in winter is often very severe, snow lying for several months. On the plains, and in the lower districts near the coast, snow is seldom seen; but the n. and n. w. winds are frequently very trying, though there is no intense cold. The summer heat is often excessive; and the sirocco not unfrequently visits the s. and lower parts. In moisture, too, there is much difference; thus, while Attica is remarkable for its pure air and beautifully bright sky, Boeotia has been famed from ancient times for the moisture of its climate and the fogginess of its atmosphere. The swampy valleys of lake Copais and other marshy tracts, when acted on by the scorching heat of a summer's sun, produce those noxious vapors which are found in so many parts of Greece, breeding malaria and disease. This defect seems to have increased since classical times, either from the greater thinness of the population, and the consequent diminution of tillage, or other causes not easily reached. But drainage would be an easy matter in a country whose rock-formation is of so soft a character as

that of Greece. Were its natural advantages aided by drainage and irrigation, Greece might yet become one of the healthiest and one of the most fertile countries of Europe. Productions.-The more common products of Greek soil in ancient times were wheat, barley, and other cereals; flax, wine, and oil, with fruits of various kinds. The figs of Attica were and still are famed for the excellence of their flavor. Forests once covered many of the hills, and supplied timber for domestic purposes and for ship-building: they are still extensive in some parts. The most important productions of modern Greece are those mentioned above, with maize, rice, millet, currants, and silk. Honey is produced in great quantity on Hymettus and in some parts of the Peloponnesus. The mulberry-tree is largely grown for the silk worm; and on the n. and s. shores of the gulf of Corinth, as well as in Arcadia, and the w. coast of the Peloponnesus, the Corinthian grape or currant is most extensively cultivated. Vines flourish in almost all parts, but the island of Santorin possesses the most famous vineyards, with the greatest variety of grapes, and furnishes a wine highly prized by the Russians. The olive grows in a wild state over all parts of Greece; when ingrafted, it yields an excellent fruit, which the inhabitants pickle in very large quantity, as a staple article of food. The oil of the olive serves to supply light, and is used in cooking and for food, as we employ butter. Cotton, madder, tobacco, and leguminous plants grow in considerable quantity. Fruittrees are specially fertile; figs and apricots are plentiful and of excellent quality; oranges, citrons, lemons, pomegranates, almonds, water-melons, gourds, and others of less note are widely spread, largely produced, and of excellent quality.

Flora and Fauna.-The flora of Greece resembles that of other countries of s. Europe. Among the tame animals of ancient Greece were the horse, mule, ass, ox, sheep, goat, swine, dog. The swine supplied the favorite flesh meat. Of wild animals, we find the wolf, bear, boar, and even lions at an early period. Sheep and goats are still very plentiful, and in fact constitute one of the most important sources of wealth to the Greeks. Oxen are much used for plowing, but milch cows are little prized, and scarce. At the present day, the wolf, bear, lynx, wild-cat, boar, stag, roebuck, fox, jackal, badger, marten, and many other wild animals are found in the forests. Hares, snipes, wild-ducks, and other game are very abundant; while eagles, vultures, hawks, owls, etc., are found in considerable numbers. The tortoise is very common, but the inhabitants have a great aversion to it.

Agriculture.-Greece is an agricultural country, but the methods employed in tilling the soil are primitive; and this, added to the scarcity of plowing oxen, ruggedness of the country, general thinness of soil, and difficulty of tillage and irrigation, is enough to damp the ardor of even a more energetic population. The houses of the country-people are in most parts little better than mere hovels, and a large proportion of the arable land is untilled. The most important crop is that of currants, which are extensively exported. Much labor is bestowed on the cultivation of the olive, vine, mulberry, and fruit trees. The greater part of the land belongs to the state; rent is paid in kind, and in a certain proportion (one-third) to the net produce. The proprietor is in very many cases obliged to furnish the metayer, or tenant, with seed to sow the ground, and with oxen to plough and prepare it; and as the metayer has an interest in the farm for only one year, there is little encouragement for either landlord or tenant to expend largely in improvements-such as drainage, fences, clearing of the soil, and comfortable farmsteadings. The country, however, is better suited for a pastoral than an agricultural people. Arcadia is still the land of shepherds, as it was of old. The flocks are driven to the valleys near the coast in winter, and in April to the hills.

Manufactures.-The manufactures are few and unimportant. Cotton and woolen stuffs, and some minor articles are made by the peasantry for domestic use. There are also some cotton factories. Shipbuilding is carried on at most of the sea-ports; and silks, gauze-stuffs, cutlery, hardware, earthenware, leather, saddlery, and such articles are made in small quantities in some of the principal towns, and more especially on the islands. Engines, glass, thread and flour are manufactured. The Greeks have great skill in embroidering in silk, gold, and silver; also in sculpture, and in the cutting of marble. Carpets are made in the island of Andro, and straw-hats at Lifanto.

Commerce.-Every circumstance tends to make the Greek a man of commerce. He is of a quick, active, versatile, practical turn of mind, and possesses all those qualities which insure success in business. The bays and gulfs of the sea-indented shore allure him to the waters, while the strong currents and frequent squalls on his iron-bound coast soon render him an expert and fearless seaman. The islanders are thrown into a seafaring life even more than the people of the mainland. Greece occupies a position in the Mediterranean, which, for commercial advantages, cannot be surpassed. The exports of ancient times were of course mainly the products of the soil, the trees, and the mines; and they remain the same at the present day. Raw produce, as currants, figs, and other fruit, ores, tobacco, olive-oil, wine, silk, and sponge are the most common, currants and ores being by far the most important. From western Europe manufactured goods of all kinds are largely imported; while Turkey, from her provinces in Europe and in Asia, supplies coffee, rice, timber, drugs, and other articles of eastern growth. The Greek merchants speculate largely in the grain trade. The principal seaports are Syra, Piræus, Patras, and Nauplia, and the ports with which they trade most are Constantinople, Leghorn, Trieste, Palermo, and Smyrna. The mercantile navy of Greece is very large, amounting to upwards of 6,000 vessels, on January 1, 1895, but the majority are