BILSOK, 



SINGAPORE. 



6SO 



oeoapiot the iui of tb ancient SUiilit, which WM a colony of 



IHLSOE. 



81 L V BRTON. 



FII.VR& (ALOARVE.] 



SIMBIRSK, * government of Asiatic Russia, is situated between 

 $ and Sr V. Ut, 4S SO* and 60" 5' E. long. It is bounded N. by 

 Kaui, E. by the river Volga, which separates it from the new govern- 

 ment of Samara, S. by Saratov and Pensa, and W. by Nijni-Novgorod. 

 The area is 17,733 square mile*, and the popnlation 927,311. The 

 surface U in general an undulating plain, but along the bank of the 

 Volga there i a range of hills composed of clay, mnrl, limestone, and 

 Ireeatonc, rising in some places to the height of 400 feet. The prin- 

 cipal river of this government Is the Volga, which <nters it from 

 Kasan, about the middle of the northern frontier, and runs in a 

 direction nearly south to Stavropol, where it turns to the east ; and 

 there, after twing joined by the Sok, coming from Orenburg, it makes 

 a semicircular bend, and at Samara turns due west, in which direction 

 it proceeds as far as the town of Sysran, when it again turns to the 

 south. Among the minor rivers which belong to the basin of the 

 Volga are the Ousa, and the Sysran. The lakes and rivers are 

 upwards of 500 in number, but they are all small. The climate is 

 generally healthy ; bat the cold in winter and the heat in summer are 

 extreme. The Volga is usually frozen during five months in the year. 



The soil is generally fertile, and is carefully cultivated ; producing 

 rye, wheat, spelt, oats, barley, millet, and buckwheat. The inhabit- 

 ants cultivate also the poppy, peas, lentils, flax, much hemp, tobacco, 

 and some potatoes. Horticulture is in a backward state. In the 

 northern parts of the government there are extensive forests. The 

 breeding of cattle is attended to among the Kalmuck Tartars. The 

 Tartars apply to agriculture with great success. Game is abundant, 

 but the fur-bearing animals are scarce. The fisheries of various kinds 

 in the Volga are productive. The minerals are alabaster, sulphur, 

 and limestone. 



The manufactures carried on are those of woollen cloths, blankets, 

 carpets, sail-cloth, leather, silk, and nankeen. Glass-wares, soap, and 

 candles are manufactured ; and there are many spirit distilleries. 

 The exports consist of horses, oxen, hemp, apples, water-melons, corn, 

 fish, tallow, leather, raw hides, and millstones. 



Simbirti, the capital of the government, is situated on the right 

 bank of the river Volga, and near the right bank of the Sviaga, which 

 runs northward, while the Volga flows to the south. The town 

 stands on an eminence which commands a fine view of the Volga and 

 over an immense extent of country uninterrupted by forests. The 

 town is not regularly built, but there are some broad and straight 

 tUeeU. Almost all the houses are of wood, but neat and convenient 

 within. The churches, 16 in number, are all of stone, except one, 

 which is of wood. There aro two monasteries, a gymnasium, and 

 manufactories of candles and soap, and some tanneries. The town is 

 hi a very fertile plain, and on one side there are gardens and orchards. 

 The popnlation amounts to 18,000. Of the other towns the most 

 considerable is Sysran, on the river of the same name, near its conflux 

 with the Volga, It has 8000 inhabitants, numerous churches, four 

 public schools, and factories of various descriptions. 



The government of Samara was constituted by a ukase issued in 

 December 1850. It comprises three districts taken from the govern- 

 ment of Orenburg, two districts of the government of Saratov, and 

 one district, with two parts of districts of the government of Simbirsk. 

 The area and population of each of the governments affected by this 

 new arrangement, now stand as follows : 



The government of Samara is composed of the following districts : 



Samara, the capital of the government, is situated on the left 

 bank of the Volga and the right bank of the Samara River. It 

 contains about 11,000 inhabitants, who carry on a considerable 

 trade in cattle, sheep, alt-fih, caviar, skins, leather, and tallow. 



The town was built in 1591 as a defence against the Kalmucks. 

 Stavropol, population 3400, the chief town of the Kalmucks, is 

 situated on the left bank of the Volga, about 20 miles N.W. from 

 Samara. This town was built for the Kalmucks on their conversion 

 to Christianity, about the year 1737. In the centre is a kind 

 of fort, surrounded with palisades, which is the residence of the 

 chief of the Kalmucks. The Russian or Cossak garrison is in the 

 upper town. The merchants reside together in a slobos, and the 

 citizens occupy the lower town. Bugulma, about 140 miles N.E. 

 from Samara, contains a population of about 2000, and carries on a 

 considerable trade in cotton and woollen cloth. Two large fairs are 

 held here annually. Btiguruslan, on the river Kivi'l, which joins the 

 Samara, is about 100 miles E.N.E. from Samara. Busuluk, is situated 

 near the junction of the river Busuluk with the Samara, about 90 miles 

 E.S.E. from Samara town. It possesses tanneries, and some trade. 

 A large annual fair is held at Busuluk. 



SIMCOE, LAKE. [CANADA.] 



SIMFEROPOL, or S1MPHEROPOL. [CRIMEA.] 



SIMMENTHAL. [BERN.] 



SI MOTS, RIVER. [TROAD.] 



SIMONOSELLI. [JAPAN.] 



SIMON'S TOWN. [CAPE or GOOD HOPE.] 



SIM PANG, RIVER. [BORNEO.] 



SIMPLON. [SWITZERLAND.] 



SINAI, MOUNT. [ARABIA.] 



SINDE. [HINDUSTAN.] 



SI-NGAN-FOO. [CHINA.] 



SINGAPORE is a British settlement in the East Indies, situated on 

 the southern extremity of the Malay peninsula. It consists of the 

 island of Singapore, and about 50 islets dispersed south and east from 

 it in the Straits of Singapore. The territories of this settlement 

 embrace a circumference of about 100 miles, including the seas and 

 straits within 10 miles of the coast of the island of Singapore, and 

 they lie between 1 8' and 1 32' N. lat., 103" 30' and 104 10' 

 E. long. 



The island of Singapore has an elliptical form, and is about 25 miles 

 in its greatest length from east to west, and 15 milts in its greatest 

 width. The area is estimated at about 275 square miles. The island 

 is divided from the continent of Asia by a long and narrow strait 

 called Salat Tabrao, or the Old Strait of Singapore. This strait is 

 nearly 40 miles long, and varies in width between 2 miles and a 

 quarter of a mile. This strait was formerly navigated by vessels 

 bound for the China seas ; but the Strait of Singapore is now pre- 

 ferred. The Strait of Singapore is the high road between the eastern 

 and western portions of maritime Asia. 



The surface of the island is gently undulating, here and there rising 

 into low rounded hills of inconsiderable elevation. The higher ground 

 rises in general not more than 100 feet above the sea ; the highest hill, 

 called Bukit Tima, which is north-west of the town, docs not attain 

 200 feet. The shores of the island are mostly low, and surrounded 

 by mangrove-trees. In several places the coast is indented by salt- 

 creeks, which sometimes penetrate into the land from three to six 

 miles. When the island was first occupied by the British it was 

 entirely and is still for the greater part covered with a forest com- 

 posed of different kinds of trees, five or six of which are well adapted 

 for every purpose in house-building. The water of the rivulets is 

 almost always of a black colour, disagreeable taste, and peculiar 

 odour, properties which it appears to derive from the peculiar nature 

 of the superficial soil over which the streams flow. The water drawn 

 from wells which are sunk lower than the sandy base is less sensibly 

 marked by these disagreeable qualities. The southern and western 

 division of the island consists of laterite resting on sandstone. 

 Granite appears in the north and east. Iron-ore is abundant ; but 

 tin, so plentiful on the neighbouring continent, has not been found in 

 the island. 



The climate of Singapore is hot, but equable, the seasons varying 

 very little. The atmosphere throughout the year is serene. The 

 tempests of the China Sea sometimes occasion a considerable swell in 

 the sea, and a similar but less remarkable effect is produced by a tem- 

 pest in the Bay of Bengal. The effects of these remote tempests are 

 particularly remarkable in the irregularity of the tides, which at times 

 run in one direction for several days successively, and with great 

 rapidity. The regular and periodical influence of the monsoons is 

 slightly felt, the winds partaking more of the nature of laud and sea 

 breezes. To these circumstances must be attributed the great 

 uniformity of the temperature, the frequent fall of showers, and the 

 absence of a periodical rainy season. The greatest quantity of rain 

 falls in December and January, and the smallest in April and May. 

 These frequent rains keep the island in a state of perpetuul verdure. 

 The thermometer ranges during the year between 72 and 88. The 

 mean annual temperature is 807 Fahr. The daily range of the ther- 

 mometer never exceeds 10 degrees. The climate of Singapore is 

 remarkably healthy, owing to the free ventilation that prevails, and 

 to the almost entire absence of chilling land-winds. 



Singapore is not rich in agricultural productions. Considerable 

 tracts near the town have been cleared by the Chinese, who have suc- 

 ceeded in cultivating different kinds of fruits and vegetables, rice, 

 coffee, sugar, cotton, and especially pepper and the betelvine (Piper 



