300 cook's voyage to oct. 



in the culture of oats, barley, and rye, in different 

 quarters near this river, which have generally suc- 

 ceeded ; that, in particular, some persons belonging 

 to the convent of Jakutsk, who had settled in that 

 part of the country, had sown barley there, which 

 had yielded an extraordinary increase ; and he has 

 no doubt but that wheat, in many parts, particularly 

 near the source of the Bistraia and Kamtschatka, 

 would grow as well as in the generality of countries 

 situated in the same latitude. Perhaps the superior 

 fertility of the country here spoken of may, in a great 

 measure, be accounted for, from its lying in that part 

 of the peninsula which is by much the widest, and 

 consequently farthest removed from the sea, on each 

 side. The moist chilling fogs, and drizzling weathery 

 which prevail almost perpetually along the coast, 

 must necessarily render the parts adjacent very unfit 

 for all the purposes of agriculture. 



It is natural to suppose, that the severity of the 

 climate must be in due proportion to the general 

 sterility of the soil, of which it is probably the cause. 

 The first time we saw this country was in the begin- 

 ning of May, 1779, when the whole face of it was 

 covered with snow, from six to eight feet deep. On 

 the 6th we had snow, with the wind from the north- 

 east. On the 8th of May, at noon, the thermometer 

 stood at 32°; and the same day, some of our men 

 were sent on shore to try to cut wood ; but the snow 

 was still so deep on the ground, as to render all their 

 attempts fruitless. Nor was it found practicable to 

 proceed in this necessary business, with all the efforts 

 of a very stout party, till the 12th, at which time 

 the thaw began to advance gradually. The sides of 

 the hills were now in some places free from snow; 

 and by the beginning of June, it was generally 

 melted from the low lands. On the 15th of June, 

 the day we sailed out of the harbour, the thermometer 

 had never risen higher than 58°, nor the barometer 

 than 30° 04'. The winds blew almost invariably 



