EKATERINBURG 475 



Should you ask why it is not of amber, the answer will 

 probably be given you that amber is dangerous, being 

 capable of conveying infection. 



We left Tiumen at sunset on Saturday night, and made 

 the first station in four hours, over a road which was a 

 disgrace to the town. No ditches bordered it, and the 

 rain that fell had to lie until the sun or the wind dried it 

 up. We could not discover the slightest evidence that 

 the road was ever mended. At the first station we slept 

 four hours, simply to recover from the effects of the 

 wretched journey over this highway, and then we travelled 

 the whole of the following day without any improvement in 

 the condition of our route. 



The next morning, however, after a six hours' night 

 rest, we came upon excellent roads, and reached Ekaterin- 

 burg at eight o'clock in the evening. The presence of 

 rock on the road-side, a few stations before, indicated our 

 near approach to the Ural. I saw no birds of special 

 interest on the journey. The peasants we passed were 

 busy stacking their corn. We got very comfortable 

 quarters at the American Hotel, and spent an 

 interesting day. Mr. Onesime Clerk was kind enough 

 to do the honours of the place. He took us to see 

 the Emperor's private manufactory of works of art, 

 executed in the various valuable stones found in the 

 Ural. We saw huge blocks of material and several 

 unfinished vases, but as it was a holiday the men were 

 not at work. 



We visited the observatory, from which there is a 

 panoramic view of the town, and were much astonished to 

 learn that the average rainfall per annum for the last 

 forty years has been eleven inches only (278 millimeters). 

 The town looked very different now in the summer time 

 from its winter-season appearance. It was by far the 



