The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

THE BALTIC. 19to the remote Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland.The North Sea is scarcely less saltthan the ocean, notwithstanding the quantity of fresh water discharged by theHaas, Rhine, "Weser, and Elbe. But in the Kattegat, Great Belt, and Soundthe proportion is reduced by one-half, at least on the surface ; towards the centreof the basin on the south-east shores of Sweden it falls to one-seventh ;while inthe farthest gulf, near St. Petersburg, TJmea, and Tornea, the surface waters arealmost sweet.* Even in the neighbourhood of Stockholm the water of the outerbays may be drunk without inconvenience. But after the east winds have longprevailed, causing an inflow of water intoLake Malar itself becomes somewhat brackish.the network of canals about Stockholm,Thus, according to the prevalenceof the winds and the greater or less abundance of the rivers falling into the Baltic,its saline properties change constantly even on the same coasts, though nowheresufficiently to allow the inhabitants to extract salt from the sea-water.During theCrimean war, cutting off the usual supply from the south of Europe, the Finlandersand Esthonians boarded the English and French vessels in quest of thisarticle,even at the risk of being made prisoners, tThe Baltic differs from the North Sea and Atlantic in the great variations ofits temperature from season to season, in this respect rather resembling thefresh-water lakes of North Europe. "While the shores of Norway and Laplandbeyond Cape North are absolutely free from ice even in the depth of winter,the whole surface of the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland is usually ice-bound fromNovember to April. This is due to their less saline character, to their greatershallowness, and to the action of the cold north-east and east winds unchecked bythe low hills of Finland and Russia. The Baltic shores of Germany are alsofrozen for a certain distance seawards, and the open waters in the centre of thebasin are filled with floating masses, which, drifting with the current, block theoutlets of navigation during the cold season.In exceptionally cold years the whole of the Baltic itself has been frozenover, and crossed by temporary high-roads of commerce. This occurred at leastten times during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, when tradingcaravans often proceeded from Sweden and Denmark to Liibeck, Rostock, Stralsund,and Danzig. "Wayside inns were built on these routes, fairs were heldon the ice, and packs of wolves passed over from the Norwegian forests to theJutland plains beyond the Baltic. In 1658 armies engaged in deadly combaton the ice. Frederick III. of Denmark, having rashly declared war againstSweden, Charles Gustavus, then warring in Poland, hastened to the Little Belt,where he encamped with 20,000 men. Here he caused the ice to be tested,ventured across with horse, cannon, and transports, and defeated the enemyopposing his landing on the island of Fiinen. Then venturing on the frozen* Mean salineness of the ocean 34-404 in 1,000.„ „ „ North Sea 32-823 „„ „ „ Kattegat and Sound 16-230 „„ „ „ Baltic 4-331 „,, ,, „ Kronstadt Roads 0-610 „Forchharamer, Philosophical Transactions, 1865.t Ant. von Etzel, '-Die Ostsee und ihre Eustenlander."