s 
PALLAS’S TRAVELS 
vicinity of Tshorguna, opens itself a passage 
tewards the north-west, where the moun- 
tains are more dissevered, and less elevated. 
Beside the detached villages of Varnutka and 
Kutshuk-Miskomia, the dale also contains 
those of Kaitoo, Baidar, Safftik, Kalendé, 
Beeyouk-Miskomia, Tylii, Uirkusta, Baga, 
Ussundshi, Savatka, and Skela; which are 
collectively inhabited by at least 700 families 
of turbulent Tartars. Luxuriant woods, 
consisting throughout of umbrageous trees, 
cover this extensive tract, except in such 
open parts as have been converted into arable 
land. Excellent oak-trees still occur here ; 
though, during the late war with the Turks, 
the best timber for ship-building was carried 
off, in order to supply the Russian fleet sta- 
tioned in the Black Sea. ‘The walnut-tree 
likewise prospers uncommonly in this, as 
well as in the vale of Shuli, and in all the 
southern vallies environed by mountains, 
where the oldest and most bulky of these 
trees are to be met with. In the village of 
Uirkusta, there is one particularly celebrated: 
it standsin a garden, is of a prodigious ex- 
tent, and has in some seasons been preduc- 
tive of from eighty to one hundred thousand 
walnuts.” 
-The next division of the volume before 
‘us, relates the particulars of a journey 
over the Tshatyrdag, and through the 
south-eastern mountains of the Crimea: 
it is principally occupied by minute de- 
tails of topographical mineralogy and 
botanical lists, and presents nothing pe- 
culiarly interesting to those who are un- 
acquainted with the country. 
The last of the author’s journies in 
the Crimea, and that which is the longest 
and most abundant in curious informa- 
tion, extended through the interior of 
the Crimea, .along the peninsula of 
Kertsh, and to the isle of Taman. The 
first interesting object is the town of 
Karassubazar, the most flourishing of 
any in the whole country, on account 
of the brisk and advantageous trade that 
it carries on with a populous neighbour- 
hood: a considerable number of manu- 
factures are established here; the markets 
are copiously supplied with cattle, and 
with fruit and vegetables of all: kinds, 
from the beautiful orchards that sur- 
round the place ; and the Jews residing 
here make great quantities of wine. 
The ruined town of Eski-Krim, near 
Kaffa, is next described, and presents a 
melancholy instance, that Russian con- 
uests are to the fuil as destructive as 
those of the Turks. ‘The rapacious and 
desolating spirit of Potemkin was let 
loose to range uncontrolled in this fine 
country. He destroyed the relics of 
THROUGH RUSSIA. 103 
Grecian civilization, and the finest spe- 
cimens of Tartar architecture, to furnish 
materials for barracks, distilleries, and 
churches, of which the greater part 
@ 
- were never finished, or have been al- 
ready abandoned. The abundance of 
mulberry-trees in this neighbourhood 
** Suggested to prince Potemkin the idea 
of establishing here a seminary for rearing 
silk-worms, and a nursery for additional 
plantations. With this view, he engaged 
in the Russian service a certain count Parma, 
of Milan; who was appointed director of 
the institution for raising silk; and, though 
possessing a very imperfect knowledge of the 
business, he enjoyed a handsome salary. 
Several Tartar buildings were also assigned 
to him, as well as 1,850 dessatines of the 
richest soil around the town, both for the 
planting of mulberry-trees, and for settling 
the colonists devoted to the culture of silk. 
But the disturbances during the late war 
prevented the execution of this project on a 
large scale. The director obtained his pay 
regularly till the year 1796; and all his efforts 
have been productive only of from six toten 
pounds of silk annually, and in the last year 
of twenty pounds weight; beside which, he 
has laid out a nursery of several thousand 
mulberry-trees. In consequence of such 
failure, the attempt has been totally relip- 
quished.” 
The port of Kaffa itself, which from 
its commerce was called Little Constan- 
tinople, and was inhabited for the.-most 
part by Greek and Armenian families, 
which had been the principal emporium 
of the Genoese in the Black Sea, and 
had continued to flourish under the rule 
of the Tartar princes, “ since the late 
Turkish war, when the Russians made 
themselves masters of Kaffa, and es- 
pecially after the occupation of the whole 
peninsula, was almost depopulated, in 
consequence of the numerous emigra- 
tions: so that, with the exception of a 
few small quarters, it now presents a 
prodigious heap of ruins, that cannot 
tail to excite commiseration.” 
From Kaffa our traveller. proceeded 
to the peninsula of Kertsh and the isle 
of Taman, a low flat district, resting 
upon beds of ccal and pyritical schistus, 
and remarkable for springs of petroleum, 
and the volcanoes of mud which have 
from time to time broken out here. The 
latest of these phenomena happened, 
in the year 1794, and is thus described 
in an official document, written by the 
inspector of quarantine at T,man: 
«© On the 27th of February, at half past 
eight o'clock in the morning, the following 
H4 
