ISTRIA (anciently also Histria, in German Istrien, and formerly Histerreicli), a margraviate of Austria, forming the southern part of the Küstenland crownland, is contained in the peninsula which, bounded on the north by the districts of Trieste, Görz, and Carniola, stretches southwards into the Adriatic Sea, between the Gulf of Trieste (Sinus Tergestinus), and the Gulf of Quarnaro (Sinus Flanaticus). The area of the official district, which includes Veglia, Cherso, Lussino, and other smaller islands on the south-east coast, is 1908 square miles, of which 1545 belong to the peninsula itself. The surface is mountainous, especially in the north and east regions, which are occupied by offshoots from the Julian Alps. Monte Maggiore (4573 feet) in the north-east is the highest summit. The Quieto in the west and the Arsa in the east, neither of which is navigable, are the principal streams. The west coast abounds in convenient bays and harbours, of which Pola, an imperial naval station, is the chief; but the steep and rocky east coast is beset with shallows and islets, and is much exposed to the prevailing winds, the Sirocco from the south-south-east and the Bora from the north-east. The climate of Istria, although it varies with the varieties of surface, is on the whole warm and dry. The soil is not unfertile, but its resources are far from being fully developed. About one half of the total area is occupied with scanty grass and pasture land, while timber and the various annual crops divide the remainder in different proportions. Wheat, oats, potatoes, and rye are grown in the north, and in the south wheat, maize, rye, olives, vines, and melons. The harvest of 1872 yielded 46,410 bushels of wheat, 157,385 of rye, 165,800 of oats, and 158,200 of maize; and the value of the ...