68 PROCEEDINGS OF WASHINGTON MEETING. 



Time will not allow me to proceed further in detail. I wish only to say that I 

 do not think we have yet reached the full solution of the difficult problem of conti- 

 nental elevation. On the contrary, this is not to be expected when we consider 

 that we have scarcely more than commenced a methodical investigation ; but I 

 think that it has been shown that we have good chances of reaching the goal by 

 the somewhat long but reliable way of induction. 



The paper was discussed by T. C. Chamberlin, E. W. Hilgard, G. K. 

 Gilbert and the author. 



The fourth paper presented was on — 



THE " BLACK EARTH " OF THE STEPPES OF SOUTHERN RUSSIA. 

 BY PROF. A. N. KRASSNOF, OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHARKOW, RUSSIA.* 



Among the problems belonging both to geology and to geography, the study of 

 the Quaternary sediments, including the soils, is one that has for a long time at- 

 tracted the attention of the votaries of these two sciences. In fact, the soils, like 

 most of the other recent formations, have so great an influence on scenery, culture 

 and vegetation that to know their origin, properties and distribution is as important 

 for the geologist as for the geographer. This is the reason why I, a geographer, 

 have come to attend the Geologic Congress and to take part in the discussions on 

 the Quaternary sediments of the globe. The object of my communication to-day 

 is to lay before you some recent researches on the Russian soils, which bear some 

 relation to those of America, and which are of general interest. 



In Russia the study of the vegetal soils, and especially of the "black earth," has 

 recently attracted the attention of geologists, and it is to this study that most of our 

 researches have been devoted. It is my purpose in the following remarks to make 

 you acquainted with the principal results of these studies. 



It is well known that the soils of southern Russia differ greatly not only from 

 those of other parts of Russia but also of the other countries of Europe. Only the 

 Hungarian, and perhaps some of the southern Prussian soils, have some similarity 

 with our black earth, but these are far less characteristic than those of Russia. 



This soil, which we call chernozem, or " black earth," has long been famous for its 

 fertility, its black color, and its wealth in organic substances of a very peculiar 

 character, different from those of our marsh lands. These properties have attracted 

 the attention not only of travelers and of the natives, but also of naturalists ; and, 

 toward the end of the last century, Pallas, and shortly after, Murchison tried to 

 explain the mode of formation and the cause of the fertility of the " black earth." 

 Pallas looked upon it as a sediment of marine origin, formed by algpe and other 

 organisms decomposed and petrified. According to him, the steppes of Russia were 

 but recently abandoned by the waves of the sea. It is hardly necessary to say at 

 this day that this hypothesis rests on no scientific proof. Neither are the soil itself 

 and the underlying ground stratified, as are all marine formations, nor are they 

 tocked with the fossil remains of sea animals. There is no proof that the sea covered 

 the surface of southeastern-central Russia after the retreat of the Tertiary ocean, 

 which took place at a remote date. It is not surprising therefore that though this 



♦ Translated by K. Stein. 



