Fkb. 23, 1857.] OSBORN ON TIIK SEA OF AZOV. o07 



the otluT, ami as to tlic unilunn cliaractor of those spits, boinj; ]n"ecipit(nis on 

 the east side and shelving on the wost. ITo would ask wliothor, in observing 

 tlioso spitxs IVoni iVrdiansk to Tajianroj;, Oai>tain Osborn luul noticed that tlj(>y 

 wore coni[K)S(.Hl of a solid subsoil of tertiary rooks, which on the east side had 

 been eaten down into precipices by the action of the sea, while on the other it 

 was covei-ed with merely alluvial accunadations? He apprehended that theso 

 spits were erosions of ancient tertiary olilVs, with which he was tolerably ac- 

 (piaintcd himself. Another point, upon which t'aptain t>sborn had remarked, 

 was that theri^ were ixirtions of the sea very saline, and others not so. That 

 phenomenon existed, not only throughout tho Sea of A/ov, but aK»*o in tlio 

 (■aspian, ami was due to the presence of subterranean salt-rocks which cropjvd 

 out here and there in pvat masses, '.riic Kussians coidd have any amount of 

 rock-salt they pleased. 'I'hc modern Azov must U^ far from the ancient town, 

 as in the great siege, ships went uj* to tlu) walls of tho town. 



Captain Osuoun said that the statistics to which he n'ferretl aflirmcd that 

 the sea had diminivshed six feet in 127 years. If it contin\u>d at that mte, it 

 wouUl nil u\) in 350 years; still lie thought the Don and other large rivers 

 which divschargo into this sea woidd always cut a channel for themselves. 

 The llussians asserted that the Caspian had deepened, although tlieiv was 

 no outlet out of the Caspian, and two or three large rivers discharged them- 

 selves into it on the utMthern side. Having stated that in HIT'J the l\us- 

 sians tbund six feet of water on the h\r of the Volga, and in IT-I.'l twelve feet, 

 he was told that at Asterabad, the Persians couUl iH>int out villages under 

 water and trees that had been covered, and that where anin\als conM ford at 

 one tinu', there wen^ now two fathoms of water. It wns a q\u>stiou, thcr(>for(>, 

 whether there might not have been a vsubsidcnce in the bed o( the Caspian, and 

 whether the Sea of Azov might not be preserved in a similar manner. If tlie 

 calculations were correct that it wouUl be tilled u}> in 350 years, he thought it 

 must have been tilled up along ago. With reference to t]i(> s[)it, it was evident, 

 as Sir Ivoderick ^lurchison said, that there liatl been a nn-k as a n\icleus for tho 

 spit to form upon. JUwond thest* spits again, he found knolls formed by tho 

 discharg«> of ballast from vi>ssels. Aroimd these knolls the mud was depo- 

 sited rapidly, forming perfectly cone-shaped shoals, and in a short time a series 

 of these soon got connected together. If s(>me means were not taken to put a 

 stop to this system, the sea would in a short time hardly Ik) navigable. 



Mh. liAiiHKNOK Oi.iiMiANT, F.u.ci.s., said, it was live years since lie went 

 over these countries, still he could unite corroborate what Captain C^sborn said 

 with resixx^t to the current in th(> Sea of Azov. 



The commercial aspect of afl'airs in that country was very interesting to a 

 stranger. The prohibitive system of liussia had nowhere U'en more strongly 

 develop(Kl than there, and its deleterious inlluence was clearly perceptible. 

 KatTa was the natural outlet for the commerce of that comdry, but the Russian 



foverimient had forced the commerce to go by way of Taganrog and Kertch. 

 n judging of the ]>eriod that wo\dd elai)so before the Sea of Azov tilled un, it 

 would be necessary to take into accoimt the conduct of the Knssian ollicials. 

 Tho Sea of Azov had Uien in existence 2500 years, to our certain knowknlgo, 

 and they couhl hardly C4\lculate that it would (ill up in 350 years. Hut tho 

 Russian ofVicials were doing all they could to fill it up. Vessels arriving at 

 Taganrog were strictly forbidilen to throw out ballast, but upon paymeid of a 

 bribe, the Hussian ollicials alKnveil it to 1k' thrown out. The con8e(iuence was, 

 that, as Taganrog prospered, the harbour got tilled up, and in time he supposed 

 it would bo so praspcrous that there would \k) no harlxmrat all. 'I'lic import 

 duties levied by the Russian government were so high that vi > 1 ..uiM only 

 go in ballast. With respect to the coujitry of the Don Cossacks, \\ liu ii In- had 

 crossed from one end to the other, he could only say that a ni"iv .lirny, 

 desolate, and detostttblc country he never travelled over. The Trlnnio/u ui«<. 



