HOLLAND, one of the divisions of Lincolnshire in
Holland. England. It so much resembles the province of that name upon the continent, in most respects, being low and marshy, with the sea on one side, and canals running through it, that it must either have had its name from thence, or on the same account. On the east it has what the ancient geographers call Estuarium Maritatis, now the Washes, which are overflowed at high water, and part of Cambridgeshire on the south. The lower part of it is full of bogs and marshes, and has huge banks to defend it against the sea and land floods. The whole division seems to have been gained from the sea. The ground is so soft, that horses are worked unshod; and it produces plenty of grass, but little corn. Though there are no stones to be found in or upon the ground, yet the churches are all of stone. They have no fresh water but from the clouds, which is preserved in pits: but if these are deep, it soon turns brackish; and if they are shallow, they soon become dry.