245 



specimens of the Musk Animal, and the skulls and horns of 

 the Argali, and other animals. Of minerals, there were 400 

 species. 



From the first volume of these " Travels," we extract the 

 following 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 



ON 



THE FLORA OF THE ALTAIC MOUNTAINS, 



AND THE NEIGHBOURING STEPPES. 



The southern and western part of the country, which it was 

 the object of the present journey to examine, consists of 

 wide steppes, whose soil is partly sand and partly clay, con- 

 taining more or less of saline principle. It is watered by 

 the Irtysch River, which, above Buchtarminks, changes its 

 northern direction from the mouth of the Narym, to west- 

 north-west, and continues thus to Ustkamenogorsk, then 

 runs nearly north-west till below Semipalatinsk ; but from 

 thence, constantly resumes its northerly course. Besides 

 this, the Alei must rank as a principal river in that part of 

 the steppe, situated to the north of the Irtysch ; while the 

 Uba, on the contrary, has only a short course through it, 

 and the Ulba, rising out of a mountain, pursues its way 

 along the foot of it to the Irtysch, into which it empties 

 itself near Ustkamenogorsk. 



In the north-western part of this steppe, many lakes are 

 seen, some of which are very strongly impregnated with 

 salt, and none perhaps are quite destitute of it. Farther 

 south, particularly in the eastern part of this ste})pe, situated 

 near the mountain north of the Irtysch, and through the 

 whole district south of this river, the ground rises, partly 

 into separate hills, and partly into ranges of little eminences. 

 These extend from Barnaul to the village of Sauscka, situ- 

 ated at the foot of the mountain, rising in the form of 

 terraces, from 360 to 1,156 Parisian feet in height. Large 

 Pine forests stretch from Barnaul, close by Loktewsk, to 

 the outpost of Schulbinsk, on the Irtysch ; the banks of the 



