Not fewer than forty streams flow into the Baltic, on this side of the Frozen Ocean, of which the prin cipal are the Diina, the Oder, the Vistula, the Rega, the Persante, and the Niemen. The principal islands in this sea are, Zealand, Rugen, Bornholm, Oland, Gothland, Dago, CEsd, Cronstadt, Hochland, Ty tersaari, Savansaari, Penisaari, Seitsaari, Mohn, Fal ster, and Aland. Heavy gales of wind are frequent in the Baltic, particularly in the gulf of Finland, and it abounds likewise with rocks and shelves, which ren der its navigation extremely hazardous. ' The Baltic washes the coasts of Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Courland, Prussia, and Germany ; and the productions of these countries form one of the most important branches of British commerce. The Rus sian ports in this sea, or more properly in the gulf of Finland, are Fredericksham and Wyburg, in the go vernment of Wyburg ; Petersburg, (or Cronstadt,) the imperial residence, and capital of the government of Petersburg ; Narva, Revel, and Hapsal, in the go vernment of Revel, to which Atcnsberg, in the island of CEsel, likewise belongs ; Pernau, and Riga, in the government of Riga, and in the bay of the same name. During winter, the navigation to these ports is clo sed, and, as that season approaches, the weather be comes very tempestuous. Revel, Pernau, Arensburg, Hapsal, and Baltic Port, are shut up by the ice in November or December, and are generally open again in February or March. Riga is blocked up in Octo er or November, and opens either in March or April.
Narva, Cronstadt, Wyburg, and Fredericksham, shut in October or November, and open in April, though at Petersburgli the ice sometimes continues till May. The safest anchoring places arc Ro gervick Bay, or Baltic Port, Revel Bay, Kasperwich under Hogland island, Aspo, and Sceskar. The coast is rocky and dangerous. All the ports, ex cept Revel, are inconvenient and unsafe for loading and landing goods. By the annexation of Courland to the Imperial dominions, Russia gained the ports of Windau and Liehau. Some idea of the Russian trade in the Baltic may be acquired from the follow ing statements of the number of vessels which came to or left its ports, and of the amount of exports and imports in the years 1797 and 1302. In 1797, the number of ships arrived was 2511, of those that sail ed 2172,—the amount of imports was —of exports, X16,94.0,443. In 1802, there arrived 2768 vessels, and sailed 2632,—the imports amounted to X32,983,418, and the exports to X16,917,131. The customs of the year 1797 amounted to £4,790,307 ; —of those in 1602 we have seen no statement. The proportion of British vessels which arrived in these ports in the last mentioned year was 308 laden, and 515 unladen,—.there sailed 753 laden, and 39 with out cargoes.
Prussia possesses a territory of nearly-fotir hundred miles on the shore of the Baltic, which, in that ex tent, receives some of the finest navigable rivers Europe. There are likewise some branches of the Baltic Sea which indent the Prussian coasts, and are called lakes, or haffs. Of these the largest is the Courish Haff, which runs directly south-west from Memel, spreading to a considerable breadth, and penetrating within sixty miles of Konigsburg. The Frische Haff forms a long lake between Konigsburg and Elbeng, and communicates with the sea at Pil lau. It is also connected with Dantzic by the branches of the Vistula. There is also another hall in Pomerania, formed by the islands of Usedom and Wollin, and communicating with the Baltic, by three channels, the principal of which is Swinemunde.
The principal Prussian ports on the Baltic are Me. mei, Pillau, and Dantzic. With these ports Britain carries on a considerable trade. Timber is the chief article of exportation from Memel ; corn and timber are the staple articles of the Dantzic trade.
Mecklenburgli, a duchy in the circle of Lower Saxony, lying betwixt the Baltic and the Elbe, has. only two ports on the Baltic, Rostoc and 'Wismar.
Sweden extends along the whole western coast of the Baltic, on both sides of the gulf of Bothnia, and along part of the northern coast of the Gulf of Fin land. It commands, of course, a considerable pro portion of the Baltic trade. Its principal ports ou that sea, are Stockholm, Gottenburg, and Stralsund.
Though but a small part of the Danish dominions lies upnn the Baltic, yet that part is by far the most interesting ; and has acquired an importance from the present state of commerce, which it never en joyed at any former period. The duchies of Hol stein and Sleswick, with Zealand, and some smaller islands, nearly shut up the communication between the Baltic Sea and the ocean ; and all the trade of Europe passes through that small country.
Copenhagen, the capital of Zealand, and of the.
Danish dominions, is by far the most considerable port in this interesting territory ; and next to it, in importance, is Elsineur, on the Sound. It may be gratifying to our readers, to present them with a Ta ble of the ships of various nations, which have passed the Sound, from the year 1792 till 1805 ; to which we shall subjoin an averag.e of the principal articles annually exported from all the ports of the Baltic.
The following is a pretty correct estimate of the quantity of the principal articles exported from all the ports of the Baltic, to all places; reckoning upon the average betwixt the years 1801 and 1803.
Iron . , 66,800 tons Hemp 62,500 Flax 18,700 Tallow 34,800 Grain exported in 1801 and 1802.
Wheat 991,609 . . . 1,032,911 quarters Rye 639,133 . . . 1,166,537 Barley 193,016 . . . 194,683 Oats 97,337 . . . 168,201 Pease 32,129 . .• 32,470 Total '2,012,251. '2,591,832 Besides timber in masts, yards, spars, balks, deals, battens, staves, oak plank, and wood of all descrip tions; and many other articles of inferior importance. The number of trading vessels belonging to the states on the Baltic, including those of Norway and Holstein, in 1804, was 4134, carrying about 4.93,117 British tons. The aggregate value of the exports shipped at all the Baltic ports betwixt the years 1801 and 1803, may be reckoned according to the prime cost price as follows :— Hence it appears, that in years when there is a great exportation of grain, the aggregate of the Bal tic trade may be reckoned to amount to twenty mil, lions sterling. The share which Great Britain has in this trade, leaving the grain out of the calculation, amounts to at least two thirds of the whole ; and consists of iron, hemp, flax, and tallow, in a still larger proportion ; of wood and timber nearly the whole. Independent of grain, the aggregate trade of this country with the Baltic is twelve millions sterling. Sec Tooke's View of the Russian Empire, vol. i. p. 212. Pinkerton's Geography, vol. i. p. 12. Crutwell's Gazetteer. Oddy's European Commerce. Physical Observations on the East or Baltic Sea, by F. 'W. Otto. Voyage de deux I'rancais dans le Nord de l'Europe, fait en 1790-1792, tom. i. p. 351 ; and Peuchet's DO. de la Geography. Commerg. torn. ii. p.685. (f.c) •