56 TURKEY rope ; Adramyti, Smyrna, Adalia, and Iskan- derun, in Asia. Large salt lakes abound, chiefly in Asiatic Turkey, the most remarkable being the Dead sea in Palestine and Lake Van in Ar- menia. The rivers of Turkey in Europe may be classed under three heads : those flowing respectively into the Adriatic and Ionian seas, into the Archipelago, and into the Black sea. The first class are usually small, rising near the coast range of mountains ; the Narenta, Drin, and Voyutza are the principal. To the second class belong the Salembria, Vardar, Struma, Kara-su, and Maritza ; to the third, the Danube with its tributaries and a few small rivers. The rivers of Asiatic Turkey include those flowing into the Black sea, the Archipelago, the Mediterranean, the Red sea, and the Persian gulf, and the Jordan, which empties into the Dead sea. The principal riv- ers flowing into the Black sea are the Tchoruk, Yeshil Irmak, Kizil Irmak, and Sakaria. Those discharging into the Archipelago or the Medi- terranean are small, but of historical interest, as the Menderes (Maaander), Tersus (Oydnus), Aasy (Orontes), and Litany (Leontes). The streams falling into the Red sea are insignifi- cant, but among those flowing into the Persian gulf are the Euphrates and Tigris with their numerous tributaries. Turkey proper includes Thasos, Scio (Chios), Samos, and other islands of the Archipelago and sea of Marmora, as well as Oandia, Rhodes, and Cyprus. The two principal mountain ranges in European Turkey proper, which form the great watersheds be- tween the different basins of the country, are : 1. The Illyrico-Hellenic or western range, com- prising the Dinaric Alps, a continuation of the Julian Alps, which separate the Adriatic coast from the basin of the Save, and the Pindic chain, connected on the north with the prece- ding, separating Albania from Macedonia and Thessaly, uniting with the Olympian chain on the south, and forming the watershed between the Ionian and JSgean seas ; Mt. Ida in Can- dia is considered an isolated branch of the southern continuation of this chain. 2. The Balkan or Htemus range, branching off from the preceding N. E. of Albania, dividing Ma- cedonia and Thrace from Bulgaria, and ter- minating in Cape Emineh on the Black sea. Its most important branch is the Despoto Dagh. (See BALKAN.) Others connect it with the S. E. Carpathians, which separate the trib- utary state of Roumania from the Austro-IIun- garian monarchy. The mountain system of Asiatic Turkey is composed of the Taurus and Anti-Taurus ranges and their Armenian con- tinuations, which form the connecting link be- tween the Balkan system and the mountain systems of Syria, Caucasia, and Persia; and the Syrian range, extending southward from the Taurus, culminating in the Lebanon moun- tains, and terminating in the Sinaitic peninsu- la, on the shore of the Red sea. The surface of European Turkey is undulating or moun- tainous, but with a large proportion of arable land of moderate elevation. Much of Asiatic Turkey consists of elevated plateaus, many of them scantily watered, while other regions once very fertile are now covered by the sands of the desert. The plains, which embrace the once wonderfully fertile tracts of Babylonia and almost all Mesopotamia, generally suffer from want of irrigation ; and though the slopes of the mountains afford good pasturage, the raids of Bedouins and Kurds diminish the production. In European Turkey about 40 per cent, of the area is arable and vine land, 6 per cent, mea- dows, 11 per cent, grass land, 14 per cent, for- ests, and 29 per cent, unproductive soil. Turkey in Europe is subject to -violent climatic changes. Owing to the elevation of considerable por- tions and to the cold N. E. winds from the interior of Russia, the winter is in many parts excessively cold. Albania, being sheltered from the N. E. winds by mountains, has a more uni- form climate, but is subject to scorching heats, protracted droughts, and earthquakes. In Asi- atic Turkey (outside the Arabian districts), the winter is cold and humid in the mountainous regions, but in the sheltered valleys and plains it is warm and delightful. The summer heats are excessive, especially in Asia Minor and Sy- ria. The valley of the Jordan and the regions of the Euphrates and Tigris are intolerably hot and dry in summer. Little or no rain falls from April to the middle of September, but the night dews are heavy. The peaks of Mt. Ara- rat and of the higher snmmits of the Lebanon and Taurus ranges are covered with perpetual snow. The principal mineral productions of European Turkey arc iron in great abundance, argentiferous galena, copper, sulphur, salt, and alum. In Asiatic Turkey, there are copper, lead, alum, silver, emery, and rock salt, in Ar- menia; in Asia Minor, all these and consider- able quantities of nitre ; in Syria, iron and coal, and west of the Jordan indurated chalk. Much emery is produced, and exported from Smyr- na, but the mineral resources of Asiatic Tur- key are in general undeveloped. The chief botanical characteristic of both European and Asiatic Turkey is the predominance of the labiata, caryophyllacece, and ericacece or heaths, of coniferous evergreens, and of the amenta- ceous trees common to the south of Europe. In the basin of the Danube the pine, beech, oak, lime, and ash are the principal forest trees, and the apple, pear, cherry, and apricot the most common fruit trees. In the provinces S. of the Balkan these trees are only found on the slopes of the mountains, while on the lower lands the palm, maple, almond, sycamore, walnut, chestnut, and carob trees, and the box, myrtle, laurel, and other evergreens, are found ; in Bosnia are large forests of fir and pine ; the maritime plains of Albania are favorable to the growth of the olive, orange, citron, vine, peach, plum, and other fruit trees; and the plain of Adrianople and most of the region S. of the Balkan abound in roses, from which the attar is largely distilled. Maize is cnltiva-
