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ARBUCKLES' ILLUSTRATED ATLAS
of Fifty Principal Nations of the World
(Actual Size: 6-7/8" x 11-1/8" - shown approx. 1/2 scale)
CLICK on any map to see the
corresponding card as it was originally issued. |
Russia, Siberia, Uruguay, Australia
(facing page)
RUSSIA.
RUSSIA, the largest empire in the world,
and, after China and the British Empire,
the most populous, comprises one-seventh
of the land surface of the globe.
The
government is an absolute hereditary
monarchy. The whole legislative,
executive and judicial power is united in
the Emperor whose will alone is law.
European
Russia is represented on accompanying
map.
Area,
2,165,900 square miles, one-third of
which is under forest. Population,
85,508,000.
The
northern half of E. R. is a land of
forest and morass, with rivers and lakes;
the southern half, an immense expanse of
rich, arable land. An area of 230,000
square miles, has a deep loamy soil of
inexhaustible fertility, producing,
without manure, the richest crops.
The
climate is singluarly healthy, though the
extremes of temperature are greater than
in any other country of Europe or Asia.
In the N. the White sea is ice-bound from
July till winter.
The cereal
crops are wheat, rye, barley, oats,
potatoes. Immense quantities of hemp and
flax are grown all over the country. Of
the wild animals a large proportion are
fur-bearing, and the export of furs is
large. The soil is rich in ores of all
kinds and mining industry is steadily
increasing. Coal, anthracite, raw
naphtha, benzine, and heavy oils, are
increasingly important products. One of
the specialties of Russia is its
unrivalled leater (Russia and Morocco)
for book-binding. The fisheries are a
very considerable source of revenue. St.
Petersburg, the capital, contains a
larger number of palaces than any other
city in the world, the most magnificent
being the Winter Palace, the lavishingly
adorned residence of the Emperor.
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SIBERIA.
SIBERIA,
the chief part of Asiatic Russia,
occupies the whole of North Asia from the
Ural Mountains to the Sea of Okhotsk, and
from the Arctic Ocean on the north to
Corea, China, Russian-Central Asia, and
European Russia.
It is
divided into eight governments, and has
an area of 6,288,000 square miles, and a
population of 4,697,000, three-fifths of
whom are Russian colonists, miners,
soldiers, officials and exiles. According
to the last report of the chief
administration of prisons the actual
population of the hard-labor convicts in
Siberia at the end of 1889 was 10,667.
The
climate of the north and east is
intensely cold during the nine months of
winter, and very warm during the brief
summer, this summer heat having a
striking effect where a luxuriant
vegetation bursts forth on land submerged
by the spring thaw. The lower basin of
the Lena is the coldest known region of
the globe, and Yakutsk probably the
coldest town on its surface. There
mercury remains frozen for two, sometimes
three, months in the year, and the earth
is frozen for a depth of 382 feet.
Mosquitoes are the great pest of Siberia;
in spring they literally swarm.
In
the south vast forests extend from the
Altai mountains to the Arctic circle,
where vegetation dies down to dwarfed
willows, hardy bushes and saline plants.
Wheat is cultivated chiefly in the basin
of the Obi, and other crops are flax,
hemp, tobacco, etc. The minerals found in
Siberia are gold, silver, iron, copper,
graphite, coal and salt.
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URUGUAY.
URUGUAY, a Republic of South America,
bounded north by Brazil, east by Brazil
and the Atlantic, south by the Rio de la
Plata, and west by the Argentine
Republic.
The area
is estimated at 72,000 square miles, with
a population of 438,000, seventy per
cent. of which is native born. There is a
considerable flow of immigration.
The
country is divided into 19 provinces, and
the capital is Montevideo, which lies on
the north shore of the mouth of the Rio
de la Plata (here 65 miles wide.)
By the
Constitution of July 18, 1830, the
legislative power is in a Parliament,
composed of two Houses, the Senate and
the Chamber of Representatives; and the
executive in a President, elected for the
term of four years, and who is assisted
by a council of Ministers, divided into
five departments.
The
southern half of the country is rolling
and open, with few trees, and traversed
by a low range of hills. North of the Rio
Negro the country is more hilly and
wooded.
The
rearing of cattle and sheep is the chief
industry of Uruguay. The pastoral
establishments in 1887 were officially
estimated to contain 6,119,482 head of
cattle, 408,452 horses and 15,905,441
sheep. In 1888, 773,449 head of cattle
were slaughtered for their hides, tallow,
&c., and for manufacturing extract of
meat and beef preserved in tins. Wheat
and maize are the chief agricultural
products. Tobacco, olives and the vine
are also cultivated to a small extent.
There are several agricultural colonies
in the country, composed mainly of Swiss
and Spaniards.
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AUSTRALIA.
AUSTRALIA,
an island, or, as it is now considered by
many, a continent; bounded on the N. by
the Arafura Sea and Torres Strait, on the
E. by the Pacific Ocean, on the S. by
Bass Strait and the Indian Ocean, and on
the W. by the Indian Ocean. Its area is
equal to about three-fourths that of
Europe.
The
Australian colonies comprise New South
Wales, Queensland, South Australia,
Victoria, Western Australia, (all on the
main continent), New Zealand, situated
1,200 miles to the E. of the continent,
and Tasmania, formerly called Van
Diemen's Land, an island lying to the S.
of Australia, and having fifty-five
smaller islands adjoining it included in
its area.
Total
area of these Colonies, 3,084,568 square
miles. Population, 3,471,102.
The
executive is in the hands of Governors
appointed by the Imperial Government, the
legislative in local Parliaments
consisting of two Houses.
The
climate of such a territory as Australia,
stretching over 29 degrees of latitude,
is necessarily very diversified.
One-third of its climate is tropical. Of
the remaining two-thirds the climate
varies, and in the most southerly portion
is very similar to that of the S. of
France.
Gold
is found in several of the colonies and
everywhere in N. S. Wales. Immense
numbers of sheep are reared, and wool is
the staple export. Other exports are
gold, copper, tin, wheat, flour, hides
and skins, live animals, frozen and
preserved meats, fruit and jams. The
Kangaroo is found only in Australia, and
first-rate leather is made from the hides
of the larger species. The black swan
(Cygnus Atratus) is also peculiar to Australia.
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