Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1854-06-22
VO OUMF XI. NO. &c.
THE BALTIC.

refer nee to the locality towards which all ewes
are just now directed, will be interesting to most
of our readere,
The Baltic Sea, including the Gulf of Both.
MIA, is upwards of 700 miles in length, with a
general depth of 60 fathoms. 1t is entered
from the German Ocean by the Skager Rock,
ie narrowest part of which is about 80 miles
Cattegat-tho Sound, of which the
part is between Elsinore and Helsing.
bord, where, measured across the ice, it is 2840
yards-the Great Belt and the Little Belt
There are scarcely any perceptible tides in the
Baltic, land its waters are not nearly SO salt 40
those of the ocean; when the wind blows strongly
from the north, the water become fit for drink.
ing or cooking meat.
Tho Skager Rock, and Gulf Of Norway ara
open to navigation all the winter, nut sosoral
portions of the Baltic become covered with
lce In the southern parts of the sea the ice
begins to break up in April-but the Cuffs Of
Bothnia and Finland, often continue closed till
May Perhaps in no inhabited country on the
globe does such quantity ofsnow fall as in the
Countries around the Baltic; and in summer
there IL u very frequent alienation of rainy and
lr weather. 1t is to this that those countries
owe their wealth, abounding in timber Of the
'est quality, supporting in their pastures innu.
nerable herds of cattle and producing abundant
crops eff grain. Some centuries ago the herring
used to visit the Baltic in shoals, but now only
IA very few are caught. There is another fish,
lowayer, found on the eastern coast of Swedea
i'll graat numbers, which is called stromlng, and
Is only distinguished from the herring by being
smaller.
Scarcely any portion of the ocean is go mucl.
trcqoented by ships as the Baltic In 1S49 the
total number Of vessels which passed inwards
and odtwads through the Sound was Is $50.
and between 5000 and 4000more passed through
the canal of kiel and the Great Belt and this
Notwithstanding the disadvantages to which the
navigation Of this sea is subject, on account Of
b.ing closed by the ice for nearly one-third Of
the year Another disadvantage is the shallow
ness of harbors on the southern coa"t, and the
want of tides. No vessel drawing 20 feet of
water can enter any harbor as far as the Gulf
Of Finland and most of them admit only such
as draw Is or 10 feet. 1t sometimes happens,
though rarely, that extensive portions Of the
Baltic are frozen over. According to tradition,
u communication over the ice was established in
1888 between the towns of Lubbock and the
Danisa Islands and the coast of Prussia, and
public houses were erected along the road. In
lj5S, Charles X. Of Sweden marched an army
over both Belts to the conquest of Zealand, and
III 1915 ID I.ussan corps passed from FINLAND 10
Sweden over the Ice. and the narrowest part Of
the Gulf of Bothnia, called the Quarken. At
the entrance Of the Gulf Of Bothnia, the north
ern portion of the Baltic, stands Stockholm, the
capital Of Sweden; and opposite Stockholm,
at rlgnt angles with the Baltic and the Gull Of
B)tnnia, the Gllf Of Finland runs directly east,
forming an arm Of the sea 260 miles long and
from y to 80 miles wide At the extremity Of
the Gulf is st. Petersburgh, on the river Neya,
protected by the fortress of Cronstadt, 20 miles
from the capital. The channel is too shallow
to allow large vessels to reach st. Petersburgh.
and at Cronstadt it lies directly under the guns
of the fort If the taking of st. Petersburgh
forms part of Sir Charles Napier's instructions,
the difficulties he will have to encounter will be
immense What plan he may fall upon to sur
mount them, events will show. Cronstadt has
u population Of about 10000. 1t forms the
chief station of the Russian feet, and its harbor
for vessels of war will contain about 80 ships.
Its merchants harbor is capable of containing
1000 vessels. The fortifcations of Cronstadt
are very extensive, and no vessel can enter the
bay without passing under the cannon of pow
: erful batteries. The bay of Cronstadt is shah
low, its average depth scarcely reaching II feet.
The Neva is still more shallow in many parts oil
3 its course, and at the bar the average depth i,
not more than nine feet There is severe pen.
r atty against any one attempting to take sound
| ings in the Neya, the channel being carefully
: marked out by poles projecting above the water,
Reyel, at the entrance of the Gulf, is another
' fortified town, with population Of $4,000. 1t
\ is surrounded by bastion walls, and defended by
a strong castle. Several ships of war arc at
v present lying in its harbor.
S st. Petersburgh was built in 1853, by Peter
S the Great, in a swamp 1t has now popula'
ton Of 500, 600. Although most Of the houses
are built Of wood, there are several public build
ngs of great splendor. The city is intersscted
, by several branches of the river Neva, crossed
! by l4O bridges and the principal branch i
bordered by granite quays. One Quay is called
the British Quay and the principal merchants
, aro nearly all English.