The rivers which have their sources in other countries, but which water, in some part of their course, the king dom of Hungary, are the DANUBE, (of which a particular description will be found in vol. vii. p. 574.) ; the Drave, which rises in the Tyre], and flows with such rapidity that its banks are neither so high nor so solid as to retain its wa ters. It is navigable during the whole of its course through Hungary, and falls into the Danube above Essek ; the Samosch, the Marosch, and the Korosch, which take their rise in Transylvania, and fall into the Thiese ; the Mo rava, which gives its name to the province of Moravia, washes the western boundary of the kingdom ; the Raab, which rises in Stiria ; and the Leitha in Austria.
The lakes and marshes of Hungary are both numerous and extensive. In the Upper Plain the roost considerable arc, Lake Balaton. The Lake of Neusiedl, which the Hungarians call Tento, lies between the counties of Oeden bourg and Wieselbourg. Its western bank is formed by hills, which are covered with vineyards, woods, and culti vated fields, while the opposite shore is low and marshy, producing nothing but reeds. It is about thirteen miles (English) in length, by four in breadth, but so full of shal lows and sand banks, that its navigation is both difficult and dangerous. In the Lower Plain, the principal is the lake of Palitsch, in the county of Batsch. It is about eight miles (English) long, having a hard bottom covered with alka line salt. Its water is used in the neighbouring baths, and is considered very salubrious in nervous disorders. The most remarkable of the Carpathian lakes is the Grune-See, which is formed by an enclosure of rocks, and is about 300 paces in circumference. It takes its name from the green colour of its waters, which is produced by the reflection of the surrounding pines. Its banks are covered with gravel and blocks of granite, and its water is pure and transpa rent, and excellent for drinking.
Marshes of various extent pervade almost every quarter of the kingdom, and are in general formed by the inunda tions of the rivers. The most considerable are those of Saretje, Mohatsch, and Etsed. In the plain of Bannat, they cover more than a third of the county of Toronthal, almost the whole of Temeschwar, and the greatest part of the district of the frontier regiment of Bannat. The marsh of Hansag, which joins the lake of Neusiedl, is five miles long by three broad. The water appears only in the mid dle, the greatest part being covered with turf, and studded with trees. It produces plenty of hay; but it is dangerous to cross it, unless well acquainted with the particular direc tion of the paths.
It would be proper to notice also the sandy plains, which overspread many parts of this country, the most extensive of which arc,Kctschkcmcicn-Hcide, or the heath of Ketsch kemet, lying between the Danube and the left bank of the Thiesse ; Debreczin, in the county of Bihar ; and the ilger Romanorum, near Dclliblat. Besides these, there are
others in the counties of Tolna, Stuldweissenbourg, Ba ranje, and particularly in Schumegh, which is one conti nued ocean of sand moving with the wind.
The morasses and swampy plains which abound in this country arc supposed to render the air damp and unwholesome, the cold of the night rivalling the heat of the day ; but this evil is in some measure remedied by the wind from the Carpathian mountains ; and the inha bitants in general are rather remarkable for health and vigour. In some of the counties on the north-west, the atmosphere is particularly pure and bracing; but in the Bannat, on the north-east part of the kingdom, it is quite the contrary. The transitions of temperature are extreme ly sudden. Agues and inflammatory fevers are very pre valent ; and in Temeschwar, the capital, a healthy person is scarcely to be seen. Baron Born, when here, fancied himself in the realms of death, inhabited by carcases in fine tombs, instead of men ; and at a dinner, to which he was invited, all the guests had a fit of the fever,—some shivering, and others gnashing their teeth.
If we except the barren heaths and the mountainous dis tricts in the north, the soil of Hungary is equal to that of any other country in Europe. It contains 5,897,218 acres of arable land, and produces the finest grain, without ma nure, and almost without cultivation ; and were the exer tions of the husbandman to keep pace with the abundance of his crops, the produce of the kingdom would be doubled. After a very superficial ploughing, the seed is thrown into the ground ; a few branches of trees tied together serve the purpose of harrows; and without farther care the harvest is luxuriant. But much of the grain is lost, by the manner in which it is separated from the straw and stored. It is allowed to stand in the field after it is cut until the tithe is gathered, by which time it has begun to vegetate. They afterwards tread it out with horses and cattle in the open air, by which operation a third of it nearly is destroyed ; and then, instead of receiving it into granaries, of which they have none in Lower Hungary, it is put into pits dug for the purpose, and there kept for future use. These pits are lined in the bottom and sides with straw and reeds, and contain from 100 to 200 bushels each. They are then co vered in with straw and earth.