Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/760

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

740 KAMIENIEC KAMTCIIATKA but which gave offence to the Scottish church from the supposed irreligious tendency of some of the author's views. The work upon which his reputation chiefly rests is his " Elements of Criticism" (3 vols. 8vo, 1762), which was great- ly admired at the time of its appearance, pos- sessing, in the opinion of Dugald Stewart, " in- finite merits," but of which Goldsmith once said, " It is easier to write that book than to read it." He also published " Sketches of the History of Man" (2 vols. 4to, 1774); "The Gentleman Farmer, being an Attempt to im- prove Agriculture by submitting it to the Test of Rational Principles " (1776) ; and " Loose Hints on Education" (8vo, 1781), written the year before his death. As a member of the board of trustees for the encouragement of manufactures, fisheries, and arts, and a com- missioner for the management of forfeited es- tates, he labored earnestly to promote the material prosperity of Scotland. In 1807 ap- peared an account of his life, by Lord Wood- houselee (2 vols. 4to). KAMIENIEC. See KAMENETZ. KAMMIS. See CAMMIN. KAMOURASKA, an E. county of Quebec, Can- ada, bounded S. E. by the state of Maine and N. W. by the river St. Lawrence; area, 1,017 sq. in. ; pop. in 1871, 21,254, of whom 21,038 were of French descent. It is drained by Du Loup, Kamouraska, and Ouele rivers, and other small tributaries of the St. Lawrence, and by some affluents of the St. John. The surface is diversified, and in the south mountainous. Wheat, rye, barley, oats, and potatoes are the principal productions. It is traversed by the Riviere du Loup division of the Grand Trunk railway. Capital, Kamarouska. KAMPE.V, a town of the Netherlands, in the province of Overyssel, on the Yssel, 8 m. W. N. W. of Zwolle; pop. in 1869, 15,653. It has a gymnasium and an industrial school, machine shops, iron founderies, and manufactories of stockings and cigars. It is traversed by a ca- nal, and its river trade is rapidly increasing. There is regular connection by steamship with Amsterdam, Zntphen, Nimeguen, Arnhcm, Emmerich, and Cologne. KAMPEN, Mknlaas Codfried van, a Dutch his- torian, born in Haarlem, May 15, 1776, died March 14, 1839. As a youth he acquired in a book store, where he was employed, a knowl- edge of literature, and mastered several lan- guages. He then became teacher of German, editor of the "Leyden Gazette," and finally professor of the Dutch language, literature, and history, first at the university, and then at the athenaeum in Leyden. He was the author of numerous works, many of which, translated into.German, have a European reputation. KAMPFER, or Kaempfer, Engelbrecht, a Ger- man traveller, born in Lemgo, Lippe-Detmold, in 1651, died in Detmold, Nov. 2, 1716. He studied at Konigsberg, and accompanied as secretary a Swedish ambassador to Persia. In 1685 he entered as surgeon the naval service of the Dutch East India company, and sailed for Batavia, whence in 1690 he was despatched to Japan as physician to the embassy. Ho remained in Japan two years, and gathered materials for his great work on the history, resources, &c., of that empire. In 1693 he returned to Europe. He was the author of various valuable works, but published nothing himself, save his Amcenitates Exotica (1712), which contains much curious matter touching the natural history, antiquities, &c., of Persia and other countries of western Asia. His ac- count of the Japanese empire has never been published in the original, but an English trans- lation of it, under the title of " History of Japan and Description of Siam," appeared in London in 1727, and from this the French and German versions have been taken. KA8IPTZ, Karl Albert (bristoph Heinrieh TOD, a Prussian jurist, born in Schwerin, Sept. 16, 1769, died in Berlin, Nov. 3, 1849. He ac- quired renown as minister of justice and as one of the most voluminous and best writers on law. His works include Die Prminzial- und statuarisehen Rechte in der premsischen Monarchie (3 vols., Berlin, 1826-'8), and Zu- aammewtellung der drei Entwurfe des preus- sischen Strafgesetzlmclis (in 3 parts, 1844-'5). KAMTCHATKA, a large peninsula of the Rus- sian empire, in the N. E. of Asia, about 800 m. long from N. to S., and of irregular breadth, the maximum, along the 56th parallel of latitude, being about 250 m. ; area, about 100,000 sq. m. ; pop. about 20,000. It is bounded N. by the country of the Tchuktchis, E. by the sea o"f Kamtchatka, S. by a strait separating it from the Kurile islands, and W. by the sea of Okhotsk. Since 1856 it has been united with the Trans-Yablonic district and the recently acquired Amoor territory to form the maritime province of Eastern Siberia. The coasts are dangerous of approach on account of outlying reefs. A lofty range of volcanic mountains traverses the country in a S. W. direction, with many peaks between 7,000 and 16,000 ft. high. The snow line, in lat. 56 40', is at an elevation of 5,260 ft. This range is a portion of the great volcanic chain extending from the Ya- blonnoi mountain range to the Knrile islands. Dittmar, a Russian traveller (1851-'3), traced five successive formations and found 17 volca- noes still in active operation. Numerous rivers rise in the heights. The Kamtchatka, with its affluent the Yelovka, is navigable for 150 m. The most fertile portion of the peninsula for agricultural purposes lies along the valley of this river. The Russian settlers here raise oats, barley, rye, potatoes, and garden vege- tables, but the rest of the country is little adapted for culture. The climate is very se- vere ; the winter lasts nine months, and frost is common at all seasons. The mean annual temperature at Petropavlovsk on the E. coast is 28-5, while at Tigil on the W. it is 43. The average temperature of summer at the former place is 55-5, and that of winter 19,