GEOLOGY AND MINERALS.-The rock most largely developed in the mountains of Greece is limestone, which often assumes the form of the finest marble. Tertiary formations prevail in the north-east of the Peloponnesus; and in the north-west, along the shores of Elis, are considerable tracts of alluvium. Volcanic rocks are not seen on the mainland, but form considerable masses in some of the islands. From the most ancient period a fine kind of statuary marble has been worked on the island of Paros. The working of the argentiferous lead-mines of Laurion in Attica, an important source of wealth to the ancient Athenians, was resumed in 1871.

CLIMATE. The climate is generally mild, in the parts exposed to the sea equable and genial, but in the mountainous regions of the interior sometimes very cold. During the summer rain scarcely ever falls, and the channels of almost all the minor streams become dry. The air is then remarkably clear, and a month will sometimes pass away without a cloud being seen. A sudden change, however, takes place towards the end of harvest. Rain becomes frequent and copious, and the streams which had been dried up not only fill their channels, but frequently overflow them and lay considerable tracts under water. In this way stagnant pools and marshes are occasionally formed; and as the heat increases, the vapours arising from them become almost pestilential, and intermittent fevers prevail. By ancient Greek writers, as by Herodotus, Hippocrates, and Aristotle, the climate of Greece is highly commended, and on this account it seems fair to infer that the malaria which now infests the air in summer did not then prevail to the same extent, a circumstance that is easily explained by the fact that in those times the country was more thickly populated and better cultivated.

VEGETATION, AGRICULTURE, &c.-The cultivated land in Greece is estimated at only one-fourth of the cultivable area, and of the land under cultivation nearly a half, according to the backward system of agriculture still pursued in Greece, where the plough in use differs in no respect from that which Hesiod described 3000 years ago, is always fallow. The improvement that has taken place of late years is nevertheless stated to be considerable. The produce of the arable land is said to have increased 50 per cent since 1863, and 500,000 acres are said to have been brought under cultivation within the same period. The principal crops are wheat, barley, and maize. The cultivated land produces all the fruits of the latitude-figs, almonds, dates, oranges, citrons, melons, &c.-in abundance and of excellent quality, without receiving any great share of attention. The vine also grows vigorously, yielding annually more than 15,000,000 gallons of wine. But a much more important product of Greece, especially on the coasts of the Peloponnesus, and in the islands of Cephalonia, Zante, Ithaca, and Santa Maura, is the Corinthian grape or currant, the export of which is rapidly increasing in value. Another important object of cultivation is the olive, for which both the soil and the climate are alike favourable. The culture of the mulberry, for the rearing of silkworms, has recently been greatly extended, and already promises important results. The forests of Greece are extensive, and contain among other trees a peculiar kind of oak (Quercus Ægilops), which yields the

valonia of commerce. In spite of this, owing to defective management, the forests do not add much to the wealth of the country. The domestic animals are neither numerous nor of good breeds. The only exceptions are in some parts of northern Greece and in Arcadia, where a kind of Barbary sheep, and also merinoes, are frequently kept, and yield a wool which is much admired both for its length and its fineness. In the same districts goats of a superior description are kept, and having long fine hair, are regularly shorn.

MANUFACTURES, &c.-The manufactures are extremely limited, but with all other branches of industry in Greece are increasing. While in 1868 there was not a single steam manufactory in the Piræus, there were ten years later more than thirty, and in the whole kingdom there were at the latter date upwards of a hundred. Since 1870 the introduction of cotton-spinning mills has greatly reduced the import of cotton-yarn. Leather manufactures form an important branch of industry on the island of Syra and in some other parts. But unquestionably the most important branch of manufacturing industry is ship-building, which is carried on to a considerable extent on various points of the coast on the mainland (especially at the Piræus) and on several of the islands.

COMMERCE AND COMMUNICATIONS.-Much of the trade carried on by the Greeks, who are still, as they were in ancient times, essentially a maritime and commercial people, is merely coasting; but the foreign trade also is of considerable extent, having advanced with wonderful rapidity since the independence of the country was established. A large part of the foreign shipping of Greece is that which deals with the import of the cotton and woollen manufactures of Great Britain and Germany into Greece, Turkey, and Persia. In regard to this branch the peculiar advantages which the Greeks possess in their knowledge of the language and acquaintance with the habits and wants of the people of these countries have given them almost a complete monopoly. Even the British, who have long tried to compete with them, have begun to find it hopeless. The total tonnage of Greek vessels above 60 tons burden is equal to nearly a third of that of the same size of vessels belonging to France. The chief ports of Greece arc Corfu, New Syra, Piræus (the port of Athens), and Patras. The principal exports of Greece are currants and olive oil; but valonia, emerystone, silk, dried figs, raisins, honey, wax, madder, and other articles are also exported; the principal imports are cereals, and cotton, woollen, and silk goods. The greatest hindrance to the development of Greece at the present time is the want of good roads, which are peculiarly necessary in so mountainous a country. Attention has now begun to be directed to the supplying of this want, but hitherto the public works which have mainly engaged the energies of the Greeks are the construction and restoration of harbours, the erection of lighthouses, the execution of drainage works, and the rebuilding of towns and villages. The only railway as yet opened in Greece is that between Athens and the Piræus, about 7 miles in length. The number of private letters annually carried by the Greek post-office is equal to less than two per head of the population, the number of telegrams equal to about one for every five persons.

MONEY, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES.-In 1876 Greece entered the mone

tary league of which the other members are France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, and Servia, and all the members of which have a monetary unit equal to the franc in value. The name of the Greek unit is the drachme, divided into 100 lepta. The French metric system of weights and measures had been introduced (under native Greek names) forty years previously, but the people still adhere to the old system. In the latter the standard lineal measure was the pike, equal to 27 inches; the standard square measure was the stremma, nearly equal to of an English acre; the standard weight was the oke = 2.8 lbs. avoirdupois: 44 okes were equal to 1 cantar, or about 124 lbs. avoirdupois.

RELIGION AND EDUCATION.-The Greek Church alone is established, but all other forms of religion enjoy toleration. The highest ecclesiastical authority, subject to the king, is vested in a permanent synod, which sits at Athens, and consists of five members appointed by the king from the highest dignitaries of the church. There is one metropolitan, who has his seat at Athens, fifteen archbishops, and sixteen bishops, who are presented and ordained by the synod, and confirmed and invested by the king.

The educational system of Greece, organized in 1834 by George Gennadios, one of the leaders of the war of independence, is among the best in the world. There are three grades of schools, the demotic or primary national schools; the Hellenic or secondary grammar schools; and the gymnasia, in which, it is asserted, the range and the level of the teaching are much the same as in a German gymnasium or in the upper classes of our public schools. In all three grades of schools. education is gratuitous, and in the primary schools it is compulsory on all children between five and twelve. There are in addition two universities, at Athens (founded in 1834, opened in 1836) and Corfu (founded by Lord Gifford in 1819, opened in 1824), the former attended by between 1200 and 1300 students, rather more than half of whom are said to come from districts under the rule of the sultan. Thus far education seems to be actually diffused among the people only to a limited extent, but all observers seem to be agreed as to the eagerness with which the opportunities afforded for education are taken advantage of for the young. Indeed, one of the most embarrassing circumstances in the social condition of Greece at the present time is the large number of young men of good education, who, having passed through the university course at Athens, find themselves without any proper sphere of employment, and are obliged to adopt the career of journalist, politician, and place-hunter. Many of these are now, however, said to be finding better ways of turning their education to account through the rapid development of trade and industry.

PEOPLE, &c.—The population contains a considerable intermixture of foreign stocks, among which the Albanese, or Arnauts, are the most numerous; but the great majority, though not without some taint in their blood, are of genuine Greek extraction, and both in physical and mental features bear a marked resemblance to their celebrated forefathers. It is true that the degrading bondage to which they were subjected for centuries has sunk them far below their natural level, and too often substituted sycophancy and low cunning for the intellectual superiority which, in earlier and better times, displayed itself in

immortal productions of the chisel and the pen; but that the original elements of greatness still exist has been proved by the noble struggles which they have made for independence. The density of the population at the census of 1879 was equal to about 86 to the square mile, which shows a rapid increase of population since 1870, when the average density was about 75 to the square mile. This increase is not confined to any part of the kingdom, but is found to have taken place to a greater or less extent in every province except the island of Zante. The most densely populated of the nomarchies of Greece is Cephalonia, which has a population of 266 to the square mile; and those of Corfu, Zante, and the Cyclades have also a denser population than any nomarchy on the mainland, where the densest population is found in Messenia (127 to the square mile).

The language of modern Greece, as spoken by the uneducated classes, is called Romaic, from the fact that those who speak it considered themselves before the descent of the Turks upon Europe as belonging to the Roman Empire, and hence called themselves Romaioi, or Romans. The Greek of the educated classes, that used in the newspapers and other literature of the present day, is distinguished from it by a greater resemblance to the Greek of antiquity, which renders it easy for any one who has a satisfactory acquaintance with ancient Greek to read the literary Greek of the present day. The domain of the Romaic comprises not only the whole of the present Kingdom of Greece, but also Thessaly and a part of Rumili, Albania, and Anatolia, and the islands of Crete and Cyprus, as well as the islands of the Archipelago not belonging to Greece. The purest Romaic is spoken in the less frequented isles of the Archipelago, and in some of the mountainous districts of the interior. In the northern provinces it is mixed chiefly with Albanian. Besides the foreign words which have been introduced into northern Greek, a pretty large number of words are found which have changed their original signification although they have retained their original form. Ancient words are most commonly found in significations the most remote from the original or derivative sense. The grammar has also undergone considerable modifications. The ancient orthography of the language is still preserved, but considerable changes appear to have taken place in the pronunciation. The vowels n,, and v, and the diphthongs ε, o, and v, are all pronounced like ea in the English word mean. B is now pronounced as v, and the sound of b is expressed by μμñ. A is pronounced like th in thus, and 0 like th in think.

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GOVERNMENT AND DEFENCE, &c.—As first drawn up by the allied powers in 1830 the Greek monarchy was nearly absolute; but in 1844, and again in 1864, important modifications were made. According to the present constitution the throne is hereditary according to the law of primogeniture. The king must be a member of the Greek Church. He attains his majority at the age of eighteen. The legislative authority is vested in a single chamber, called the Boule, the members of which (proportioned in number to the amount of the population) are elected for four years by ballot by manhood suffrage. It meets every year on the 1st of November, unless called at an earlier date for special

business. The executive power is exercised by the king through a responsible ministry. Justice is administered on the basis of the French civil code. The supreme court (Areios Pagos) has its seat at Athens. The finances of Greece are unfortunately in an unsatisfactory condition. The public revenue, derived chiefly from the rent of national property, the produce of forests, indirect and direct taxation, has seldom, since the establishment of the kingdom, been sufficient to meet the expenditure. The chief cause of this state of matters is said

to be the excessive number of government officials, who form one-twelfth of the whole population.

According to a law passed in 1879 all able-bodied males in Greece above twenty-one are liable for military service, and substitution is not allowed. The term of active service in the regular army is fixed at three years, in the reserves at six, and in the militia ten. The navy is manned by conscription from the inhabitants of the sea-coast, but voluntary enlistment is greatly encouraged by the government.

CHIEF TOWNS.-Greece does not possess a single town with more than 50,000 inhabitants. The capital of the kingdom and the largest town in it is Athens (in modern Greek, Athinai; in ancient Greek, Athenai), with a population of about 48,000. It is situated on the central plain of Attica, about four miles