ST. PETERSBURG AND MOSCOW 9 



anxious to secure some Bohemian waxwings, in order, if 

 possible, to throw some light upon the vexed question of 

 the difference between the sexes. We bought a dozen 

 of the most perfect skins for eighty kopecks. There 

 were not many waxwings in the market, and all those we 

 bought proved, on dissection, to be males. In winter these 

 birds go in flocks, and it seems that the sexes flock sepa- 

 rately, as is known to be the case with many other species. 



On the evening of the loth of March we left St. 

 Petersburg, and travelled by rail all night to Moscow, 

 where we spent a day. In the market we were told 

 that waxwings were seen only in autumn. Jackdaws and 

 hooded crows we found very abundant in Moscow. We 

 left in the evening, and travelled by train all night and 

 the whole of the next day, reaching Vologda at midnight. 



We had previously written to the English Consul in 

 Archangel, and he was kind enough to buy fur dresses 

 for us and send them on to St. Petersburg. He also 

 commissioned M. Verakin, a Russian merchant in 

 Vologda, to furnish us with a sledge and provisions 

 for the journey. M. Verakin treated us most hospitably, 

 would not hear of our going to the hotel, and gave us 

 every assistance in his power. Unfortunately, he spoke 

 only his native Russ, but at last he found us an inter- 

 preter in the person of the German servant of a friend, 

 and we were able through him to convey our thanks to 

 our host for his kindness to us. 



From 8 a.m. on Sunday morning, the 14th of March, 

 to Thursday at noon, we travelled by sledge day and 

 night from Vologda to Archangel, a distance of nearly 

 600 English miles. Our sledge was drawn by three 

 horses, driven by a peasant called the yemsckik. Both 

 horses and drivers were changed at each station. There 

 were thirty-six stages, varying in length from fifteen to 



