Esthonia

Esthonia, a Russian maritime government having the Gulf of Finland on the N.. St. Petersburg on the E., Livonia on the S., and the Baltic on the W., and including Oesel, Dagoe, and some less important islands, the whole area being about 7,600 square miles. The country generally is flat or undulating, except in the north, where there are high cliffs. The climate is healthy though moist; but the soil is not very fertile, a good deal of" it being sandy, or covered with gravel and boulders. Some cereals are grown, together with flax, hops, and tobacco. The only river of any size is the Narva, but there are small streams and lakes, and there are pine, birch, and alder forests abounding in game. Fish is plentiful, and there is an export of hides and salt fish, and spirits are distilled and exported. The land is chiefly cultivated by Germans and Danes, but the peasants are Finnish in blood and language. The four districts of Esthonia are under the Governor-General of Riga, and are named Revel, Hapsal, Weissenstein, and Wesenberg.