Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 5.djvu/682

 EUROPE

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EUROPE

into the following regions: thecountries lying on tiieAt- lantic. Great Britain, Brittany, the Channel, and north- western Spain; this section has moderate temperature and large rainfall; west and middle Europe, with an in- land climate, less heavy rainfall (aljout 197 inches), and moderate clianges of temperature (27°— 15° Fahr.); in this section the southern part of France forms an exception, as also the depression of the Upper Rhine, and the mountains. Beyond this is the section of Eastern Europe or Russia, with a completely inland climate, the variations of temperature amounting to 45° Fahr., and the rainfall to less tlian 23'6 inches. Finally comes the section of the Euxine comprising the great Hungarian plain, the plain of the Balkan prov- inces, and Southern Russia; in this division the spring is moist and warm and midsummer hot and dry. The depression of the Caspian belongs to the dry zone of Asia.

The forests of Europe flourish in the temperate zone. In Norway they are composetl chiefly of pine; the only deeiiluous tree found in the highest latitudes is the bircli ibetula odorata); the mixed forests of pines and deciduous trees are found south of 61° N. lat.; this region is further characterized by grass-lands, heaths, and moors. The cultivated land, which in Central and Western Europe is about sixty to seventj- per cent, is divided into farm land, cultivated forest land, grass and pasture land. From nortli to south the suc- cession of grains is as follows: barley, rye and oats, wheat, especially in France and Hungary, and maize. Potatoes are cultivated on less fruitful soil. In this region native fruits are the apple, pear, and cherry; finer kinds of fruit trees, as the peach, apricot, plum, and of nut trees, the walnut and almond, have been introduced from the south. In this region the grape is also cultivated; its northern limit, extending from the mouth of the Loire, passes to Paris and the Rhine near Bonn, then towards the Unstrut and Saale Rivers, and readies its most northerly point on the Oder below 52° N. lat.; the limit of its cultivation here turns to the south-east until it reaches the Sea of Azov. The region of the Jlcditerranean, that is the Iberian Peninsula, Provence, Italy to the foot of the Alps, and the Balkan Peninsula south of -12° N. lat., has a sub- tropical climate. Here flourish trees and bushes which are always green; among those that are culti- vated for their products are the citron, orange, fig, almond, mulberry, and pomegranate frees. The fauna of Europe is in acconl with the climate and vegetation. In Northern Europe are found the polar bear, polar fox, and reindeer; in the region of forests live the bear, wolf, and lynx, which have, however, almost disapi^earetl; the region of the Mediterranean contains numerous reptiles.

Population, Political Divisions, and Religions. — The greater part of the population of Europe be- longs to the European or MeiUterraneau race. The main race-groups are the Teutonic, Romanic, and Slavonic. To the Teutonic division belong: the Ger- mans, Dutch, Flcmisli, English, and Scandinavians; it contains in all 127,s(l,t)00 souls or 321 per cent of the whole population; inchideil in the Romanic group are: the French, Walloons, Italians, Friulians, natives of the Rh:ptian Alps, Maltese, Spaniards, Portuguese, and Rumanians, in all 108,100,000 or 271 per cent; included in the Slavonic are: the Russians, Ruthen- ians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Wends, Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Bulgarians, Letts, and Lithuanians, in all 124,- 600,000, or 31'3 per cent. A smaller numlier, al)out 9,500,000 souls or 24 per cent is composed of other Aryan races: Celts, Greeks, AUianians, Gypsies, .Ar- menians, etc. Tlicre are also about 27,900,000, or some 7 per cent, of non-.\ryan races: Bascules, Mag- yars, Finns, the tribes of the I'ral region, Turks, Kal- mucks, aiui Jews. The total population of Europe amounts to about 420,000,000.

Tlie organization of the present States of Europe

may be traced back to the Middle Ages. Most of the States are limited by natural boundaries within which each has developed its own individual character. The States vary greatly in size and population; most of them are constitutional monarchies, the only republics be- ing France and Switzerland. The Britisii Isles, united as Great Britain and Ireland, have a total area of 121,- 622 sq. miles and 43,722,000 inhabitants; as a natural consequence of the geographical position of the islands, the nation is largely interested in colonial enterprises. The Scandinavian Peninsula is halved by an uninhab- ited mountain range, thus permitting the existence of two countries, Norway and Sweden. Norway, lying on the Atlantic, has an area of 123,938 sq. miles and 2,300,000 inhabitants; Sweden, on the Baltic, has an area of 172,973 sq. miles and 5,261,000 inhabitants. The peninsula and islands lying south of Norway and Sweden form the thinl Scandinavian state, Denmark, that controls the entrance to the Baltic. Denmark has an area of 14,672 sq. miles and 2,450,000 inhabit- ants. France, the western part of the continental mass, has an area of 206,950 sq. miles and a popula- tion of 39,060,000; it has the advantage, excepting to- wards the north-east, of having for its boundaries either seas or mountain ranges. Between Western and Central Europe lie the so-called "buffer" States: Belgium with an area of 11,197 sq. miles and 7,075,000 inhabitants; the Netherlands, area 12,741 sq. miles, in- habitants 5,510, 000; Switzerland, area 15,8.30 sq. miles, inhabitants 3,425,000. The Ciernian Empire, area 208,880 sq. miles, inhabitants 60,605,000, covers the greater part of Central Europe. Germany borders upon nearly all the great powers of Europe and has, therefore, developed a large army. The State having the least organic union geographically and eth- nographically, and consequently in constant danger of internal disorganization, is the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Its area is 261,004 sq. miles, population 49,092,000 souls. Russia, area 2,081,079 sq. miles, inhabitants 119,115,000, occupies the lowland of Eu- rope and, in its largest extent, stretches beyond Europe into the Asiatic plain. Southern Europe em- braces numerous states with sharply defined bound- aries. The Ilierian Peninsula is divided between Por- tugal and Spain; Portugal, a country lying on the ocean and having a great maritime past, has an area of 43,363 sq. miles, inhabitants 5,016,000; Spain, area 191,892 sq. miles, inhabitants 18,249,000. Italy be- longs completely to the lands of the Metliterranean; its area is 110,811 sq. miles, population 33,604,000. The physical contour of the Balkan Peninsula is so broken up l>.y mountain ranges that it fails to show any one organically large State. Its divisions at the pres- ent time are: Bulgaria, 37,066 sq. miles, population 3,744,400; Montenegro, 3475 sq. miles, population 228,000; Rumania, 50,579 sq. miles, population 6,392,- 000; Servia, 18,533 sq. miles, population 2,677,000; European Turkey, 65,251 sq. miles, population 6,130,- 000; Greece, 25,000 sq. miles, population 2,440,000.

By far the greater proportion of the inhabitants of Europe belong to the Christian Faith. One-fourth of the population are Protestants, somewhat over one- fourth belong to the Oriental Christian Churches, nearly 45 per cent are Catholics, 4i per cent are non- Christian. In the Romanic States 99 per cent of the population are Catholic; in the Teutonic States 74 per cent are Protestant and less than one per cent non- Christian. In the States of Eastern Europe, Austria- Hungary, Russia, and the Balkan provinces, 57 per cent ix'long to the Oriental Churches, 9'2 per cent are non-Cliristian, 6 per cent are Protestant, and 27 per cent are Catholic. The only heathen are the Kal- mucks living between the Ural and Caucasus moun- tains, the Finns of the Volga, and the Samoyedes. About 8,250,000 persons or 21 per cent of the whole population of Europe are Mohammedans in belief; these are limited to several tribes of the Uralo-Altaic