On the Geography, Mc. of the Crimea. 227 



volcanic phenomena, says, in his work on the lava of 

 .Etna, that volcanoes have perforir.ed too important a pan in 

 the antient history of our globe not to interest every natu- 

 ralist, he is perfectly right; but when he ^^^^, that vol- 

 canoes have also contributed much to the formation oj our 

 continents and mountains, he attributes an effect to thetn 

 with which they have had nothing to do. The beds ot our 

 continents and our mountains existed before the volcanoes, 

 as every phenomenon shows. The volcanoes have broken 

 out through beds already formed, and have raised up moun- 

 tains very different from those which owe their origin to the 

 deposits of the sea. The latter are primary formations, and 

 the work of water ; volcanoes are posterior formations, and 

 the products of fire. 



XXXVIII. Some Particulars respecting the Geography, 

 Natural Productions, and History of the Crimea*. 



M. Reuilly first describes, in a sort of introduction, the 

 route he pursued on his way to the Crimea. He set out 

 from Petersburgh in February 1803, and directed his course 

 along the Odessa. In order to arrive at the Odessa he tra- 

 versed what is called Steps, wild and uncultivated, where 

 neither trees nor shrubs are to be seen. The small number 

 of inhabitants which live in these Steps consists of exiles 

 and deserters from different governments, but travelling is 

 nevertheless secure. Before reaching Nicolaief he fell in 

 with the river Bug, the environs of which, below the town, 

 are remarkable for vestiges of Grecian antiquities. Being 

 arrived at Cherson, he passed the Little Ingoul, then at 

 some distance the Nieper, whence the route leads to No- 

 gais Tartary, an immense plain, often totally obscured by 

 whirlwinds of sand, from which it is asserted that the 

 J^ogais Tartars defend themselves by wearing goggles. 



The work is divided into two parts. The first contains 

 the physical or geological state of the Crimea, the peninsula 



• Extracted from " royai^e en Cnmi,,tt mr Us Bord, d, la Mer Noire, pendant 

 CAmUe lS03 ; fv J. lituilly, {Tt." 



p 3 fprmcrly 



