ed
for exportation. The Newfoundland fishery usually commences about the
middle of May, and continues till the end of September.

GREENLAND,

Is an extensive peninsula, or, as some geographers believe, an immense
island, lying north of the 60th degree of latitude, and between the 48th
and 70th degrees of west longitude. It is said to have been originally
discovered, as early as the tenth century, by a party of exiled
Icelanders, who gave to it the name of "Greenland," from its exhibiting
a much greater appearance of verdure than Iceland. _Cape Farewell_, its
southernmost point, is a small island divided from the shore by a narrow
inlet.

The interior of the country is dreary and mountainous; and some of the
mountains are so lofty, that they are visible to the distance of more
than forty leagues. They are covered with perpetual snow; and ice and
snow, like the glaciers of Switzerland, fill the elevated plains, and
even many of the valleys. The lowlands, adjacent to the sea-coast, are
clothed with verdure during the summer season. The coast is indented
with many bays and creeks, which extend far into the land; but many
parts of it are altogether inaccessible by shipping, on account of the
enormous masses of floating ice, which abound in the extreme northern
seas.

Christian Missionaries were settled in this country, by the Danes, many
centuries ago; and they formed churches and monasteries in different
parts, through an extent of country nearly two hundred miles in length.
From authentic records it appears that Greenland was anciently divided
into two districts, the westernmost of which contained four parishes and
one hundred villages; and the other, twelve parishes, one hundred and
twenty villages, the see of a bishop, and two monasteries. The present
inhabitants of the western districts are, however, separated from those
of the east by impassable deserts and mountains.

This country is subject to Denmark; and the parts of it that are chiefly
visited by Danes and Norwegians, lie between the 64th and 68th degrees
of north latitude; and, to this distance, the climate is said not to be
very severe. At one time there was a Danish factory as far north as the
73d degree; but, beyond the 68th degree of latitude, the cold in winter
is, in general, so intense, that even the rocks burst by the expansive
power of the frost. Thunder and lightning seldom occur in Greenland; but
the aurora borealis is frequently visible, parti