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562 WESTCOTT WESTERN AUSTRALIA the finest agricultural regions in the Union, has a handsome granite court house, 110 ft. long by 60 ft. wide, and is noted for its elegant public and private buildings. The bank of Chester county is of white marble, a copy of the Doric portico in the market place at Athens. The Episcopal church is in the English Gothic style, built of green serpentine. The houses are built principally of brick, and as well as the streets are lighted with gas. Two rail- roads connect the place with Philadelphia. It contains two manufactories of agricultural implements, extensive spoke and wheel works with a European reputation, a state normal school, 11 other schools, a cabinet of natural sciences founded in 1826, two public libraries, the agricultural grounds and buildings of Ches- ter co., three newspaper offices publishing a daily, a semi-weekly, and two weekly news- papers, and 10 churches, viz. : 3 Baptist, 1 Episcopal, 2 Friends', 2 Methodist, 1 Presby- terian, and 1 Roman Catholic. It was estab- lished as the county seat in 1786. WESTCOTT, Brooke Foss, an English clergy- man, born near Birmingham in January, 1825. He graduated at Cambridge in 1848, took or- ders in 1851, and became assistant master in Harrow school in 1852, examining chaplain to the bishop of Peterborough in 1868, a canon of the cathedral in 1869, and regius professor of divinity at Cambridge in 1870. His publi- cations include " Elements of the Gospel Har- mony " (1851) ; " History of the Canon of the New Testament during the first four Centuries " (1855; 4th ed., 1875); " Characteristics of the Gospel Miracles," sermons before the univer- sity of Cambridge (1859) ; " Introduction to the Study of the Gospels" (1860; 4th ed., 1872); "The Bible in the Church, a Popular Account of the Collection and Reception of the Holy Scriptures in the Christian Churches " (1864; 8d ed., 1872); "The Gospel of the Resurrection, Thoughts on its relation to Rea- son and History" (1866; 3d ed., 1874); "A General View of the History of the English Bible " (1868) ; and " The Christian Life Mani- fold and One," six sermons (1870). WESTERBOTTEN, a N. Ian of Sweden, in Norrland, bordering on Norway and the gulf of Bothnia ; area, 23,B65 sq. m. ; pop. in 1874, 96,084, including many Lapps. It is traversed by branches of the Kidlen mountain chain, and includes Lakes Stor, Stor Uman, and Horn Afvan. It is drained by the Umea and its branch the Windel, the Pitea, and other rivers, most of them forming cataracts and rapids. The heat in summer is oppressive. Agricul- ture is limited. Forests abound, and the prin- cipal trade is in timber. Iron, lead, and cop- per are produced.- Fish are plentiful, espe- cially salmon. The province is famous for its furs and game, particularly reindeer, and it is a favorite reSbrt of sportsmen. Capital, Umea. WESTERN AUSTRALIA, a British colony in Australia, comprising all of the continent W. of Ion. 129 E. ; area estimated at 978,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, exclusive of aborigines, 24,- 785; estimated in 1875, 27,371. The coast, which is mostly flat, is about 3,000 m. long, and is indented by many bays and fringed with numerous small islands and coral reefs, inside of which is good anchorage. The principal in- lets are Cambridge gulf, Admiralty gulf, York sound, Brunswick bay, Collier bay, King sound, Roebuck bay, Exmouth gulf, Shark bay, Geo- graphe bay, Flinders bay, Tor bay, and King George's sound. The surface is mostly level and undulating, and is in great part covered with forests. The principal mountains are the Victoria, Herschel, and Darling ranges, which run parallel to the W. coast, at distances vary- ing from 10 to 25 m. from it, and seldom ex- ceed 2,000 ft. in height. Mt. William in Mur- ray county, 8,600 ft. high, is one of the highest peaks in the colony. The chief rivers on the N. W. coast are the Glenelg, Fitzroy, De Gray, Sherlock, Fortescue, and Ashburton ; on the S. W., the Gascoync, Murchison, Irwin, Arrow- smith, Moore, Swan, Murray, and Collie; and on the S., the Blackwood, Frankland, Kalgan, and Pallinup. The Swan, with its affluents, the Canning, Avon, and others, drains several of the most important counties, and empties into a bay called Melville water, in lat. 82. On its estuary are situated Perth, the capital of the colony, and Fremantle, the principal port. There are no large lakes, but many shal- low lagoons, most of which are salt. The lar- gest are Austin, Moore, Great Salt, and Bar- lee. The W. coast has a sandy soil composed chiefly of the detritus of old coral reefs ; in- land is found a conglomerate of disintegrated granite stained with iron, and called ironstone, among which are granite, slate, quartz, trap, and pipe clay. Vast plains of sand, covered with spinifex and scrubby timber, but with no grass nor watercourses, are found in the inte- rior ; but there is much land suitable for sheep grazing and agriculture. The flora and fauna are similar to those of the other Australian colonies. Flowers, fruits, and vegetables from all parts of the world are easily acclimated, and deer, Angora goats, hares, and trout have been introduced. The mineral riches are very great, silver, lead, copper, iron, and plumbago being found in many places. In 1873-'4 valu- able auriferous quartz lodes were discovered, and there are indications of coal and petro- leum. The climate is very salubrious; in the southern part it resembles that of England, in the middle that of S. Italy, and in the north, though hot, it is generally dry and tempered with cool breezes. Severe droughts and heavy floods are unknown. Snow is never seen, and ice but seldom. The principal industries are agriculture and stock raising. In 1874 there were 45,292 acres in crops, of which 23,427 were in wheat. Wine and silk are produced to some extent, the cocoanut is raised on the N. W. coast, and sugar cane has been intro- duced from Mauritius. Cotton thrives, but coffee is a failure. The live stock consisted