The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

THE BEITISH SEAS. S
of numerous species lias been prevented by the obstacles presented by the sea, and
in the same way many great events in the history of Europe affected England but
slightly, and were hardly felt at all in distant Erin.
The progressive development of England was thus marked by originality and
spontaneity. The country which gave birth to this national civilisation possesses,
moreover, very considerable physical advantages. Its hills and mountains are of
moderate height, and present no serious obstacles to free communications between
the inhabitants dwelling on. opposite slopes ; for the Grampians lie outside the
living portion of the country, in a region of sea-born winds and mists, and
are, besides, very thinly inhabited. The lowlands, privileged in every respect,
occupy the other extremity of the island, and face Continental Europe. "Washed
and defended by the sea on the east and the south, this portion of England
hospitably opened its ports to colonists and merchants. It was there, in the vicinity
of Erance and the Xetherlands, that civilisation made most rapid progi"ess, and
the capital of the entire country was established.
The British Skas.
To the seas which surround them the British Islands are indebted for the mild-
ness of their climate, their security from foreign invasion, their commerce, and
the wealth yielded by productive fisheries. These seas are shallow. If the
waters were to subside to the extent of 300 feet, the whole of the British Islands,
including Ireland, would once more be united to Continental Europe. A
subsidence of little more than 100 feet would result in the formation of an
isthmus connecting Lincolnshire with Holland. A line drawn on a map to mark
a depth of 600 feet passes about 50 miles to the west of Ireland, the Outer
Hebrides, and Shetland. All within that line is less considerable in depth,
excepting only a few " pits "—depressions in the bed of the sea—which lie off the
west coast of Scotland and in the Xorth Channel.
The North Sea, or German Ocean, to the south of the parallel of Aberdeen,
hardly anywhere exceeds a depth of 300 feet, and it grows shallower towards the
south. It is exceedingly rich in fish, and llobius* very justly remarks that its bed
is far more profitable to man than are the sterile heaths which border its shores.
Its fisheries give emplojTiient to about 900 fishing-smacks, of which 650 sail under
the English flag, and the harvest of fish annually drawn from its depths has been
estimated at 75,000 tons. One of its most productive fishing groimds is the
Dogger Bank, which occupies its centre, and supplies London and other large
towns with immense quantities of cod. The Xorth Sea is indebted for its wealth
in fish to its shallowness and freedom from rocks. Oyster beds are the only
obstacles which the dredge of the fisherman occasionally encounters. These
oysters of the high sea, however, are but little esteemed. The best oysters are
found in the shallow, brackish waters along the English coast, and it is these which
are deposited in the oyster parks of Ostend to be fattened.
* "Das TMerleben am Boden der Ost- imd Xordsee."
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