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ia separated from the Russian port of Moldavia by the Via 

 Tr.ijan.i, tbo most eastern of the Roman roads in this 

 quarter of Europe, which commences at Kasziiisko on the 

 Danube, near the mouth of the Serete, is intersected by the 

 Pruth ubovc F alga, and terminates on the right bank of the 

 vr. between Bonder and Leonticff, a village not far 

 from Kopanka. 



Both thckc subdivisions of Bessarabia composed the 

 eastern districts of the Roman province of Dacia ; and at 

 the IKI.H! \\herc the Via Trajana crosses the Pruth lay 

 the small town of Trajnuo, or Castra Trajana, probably 

 the Pnetoria Augusta of Ptolemy, in the neighbourhood of 

 what is now called the Rod Tower, a defile in the most 

 southern arm of the Carpathians. 



The Russian province of Bessarabia contains an area of 

 about 18,900 square miles; it extends between 44' -15' 

 and la JO' N. lat., and 26 35' and 30" 60' E. long., 

 K in.; nearly equal in surface to the States of the Roman 

 Church. while it is more than four times as large as York- 

 shire. It is bounded on the north-cast and cast by the 

 Russian provinces of Podolia and Cherson, from which it is 

 separated by the Dniester ; on the south-east by that port 

 of the roasts of the Block Sea which lies between the mouths 

 of the Danube and Dniester ; on the south by the Danube, 

 which separates it from the province of Dobrudsha in Turkish 

 Bulgaria ; on the west by the line of the Pruth, by which 

 it is separated from Turkish Moldavia ; and on the north- 

 west by that part of the kingdom of Austrian Galicia which 

 is called the Buckowine. 



If Bessarabia were properly cultivated, there ore few coun- 

 tries which would surpass it in productiveness. Tho larger 

 portion of it, which lies to the north, and once composed 

 part of Moldavia, is traversed by the low and here subsiding 

 range of the Transsylvanian branch of the Carpathian 

 mountains ; its surface presents a delightful succession 

 of hills and dales, the loftier hills being richly wooded, 

 and the less elevated covered with vineyards, while the 

 low lands are characterised by an extremely fertile sandy 

 loam, which is coated with a deep layer of vegetalAc 

 mould, in many parts improved by the admixtuie of salt- 

 petre. The Budjak, on the other hand, which lies to the 

 south of this district, though it is comparatively high and 

 incloses several lakes in the vicinity of the Black Sea and 

 Danube, consists of Hat monotonous steppes, unrelieved 

 by wood or forest, and is liable to frequent inundations in 

 its southern districts. Its soil is a mixture of sand and 

 clay, peculiarly fitted for agricultural purposes ; these dis- 

 tricts, however, for want of roads and other facilities of 

 transport, have been hitherto restricted to grazing and the 

 cultivation of fruit. The reed-grounds, which line every 

 lake, and cover the extensive morasses in this part of 

 Bessarabia, supply, in conjunction with dried animal manure 

 and the ' burian,' or jungle-grass, which springs up in the 

 uncultivated lands, a substitute for fuel. 



The principal river in Bessarabia is the Danulie, which 

 borders it on the south, from the mouth of the Pruth to the 

 Black Sea, and includes the three channels already men- 

 tioned, which form the large islands of Zatoka, Tshcral, 

 and Loti, and several minor ones. The next in importance 

 arc its tributary the Pruth, which bounds the province on 

 the west, enters it below Tshcrnovitz from the Buckowine, 

 quits it between Reny and Galatz, where it falls into the 

 Danube, is navigable throughout its course in this quarter, 

 and is increased by the in (lux of the Delawez, Rakowcz, 

 Tshuger, Baglui, and other streams ; the Jalpuch, the 

 largest river which rises in Bessarabia, flows into the lake 

 if the same name in the south-west, and afterwards 

 empties itself into the Danube ; the Kogalnik, and Sarata, 

 two rivers in the Budjak, both of which flow into the 

 Black Sea; and, lastly, the Dniester, a muddy, yellow- 

 tinted, and exceedingly rapid stream, which skirts the 

 northern confines of Bessarabia, entering from the Bucko- 

 wine near Kliotin, and afterwards forms its eastern boun- 

 'n the sido of Podolia and Cherson, until it discharges 

 the Black Sea. In this line its breadth varies 

 'yt'> one hundred fathoms: its chief tributaries 

 on thu Bo'.anibian side are, the Reut, which has its influx 

 ic to Dybossari ; and the Botna. 



The northern part of tho province contains no inland 

 waters of any magnitude ; the southern, in the neighbour- 

 hood of tho l>anubc and Black Sea, abounds with them. 

 Among thu liutt wo may mention the great ' liman ' (a 

 Russian word signifying an expanse of water mixed with 



mud, nuhea, Sec.) of the Dniester, which lies ut its mouth, 

 and is eighteen miles in length ai.4 live in breadth ; lake 

 Sasyk, which has two small outlets through the in.rli ram- 

 part of sand that divides it from the Bl.u -k s.-.i. ami tnrmigh 

 which the Kogalnk and Sarata flow ; lakes Ki-.'.Vm-uM, 

 Katlabuga, Tashpanar, and Sallian, which .: 1 by 



canals, and fall into the Danube near Ismail ; lake Julpueb, 

 one of the largest of these waters, and abounding witu ii-h : 

 and lake Kagul, at the mouth of the Pruth, oppos. 

 which the Danube is studded with a multitude ol little 

 islands. In the lakes next the Danube the water is 

 but in those next the Black Sea it is salt. Bes.sarabi .. 

 a number of mineral springs, which have not hitherto been 

 turned to account, or even examined with any care. 



The climate is in general mild, salubrious, and agreeable 

 the grape, the finer Kinds of fruit, and melons grow in the 

 open air. The steppes of the Budjak, however, ha-, ing no 

 shelter from trees or woods, are sometimes so hot in summer 

 that the grass withers; yet the vicinity of the Carpathians, 

 and the more remote range of the Balkan fortunately pre- 

 vent this extreme heat from being of long duration in ordi- 

 nary seasons. The winter is piercingly cold in these dis- 

 tricts, which are unprotected by the high lands or mountains. 



Since Bessarabia has been incorporated with the Russian 

 dominions, the cultivation of the soil has been rapidly im- 

 proving, and numerous colonies have been settled in the 

 heart of the country : they are principally located on the 

 banks of the Kogalnik, and consist of about 3000 Poles, 

 2400 Prussians, 2650 Wiirtembergers, and 200 Frenchmen, 

 Bavarians, Bohemians, Sec. The villages in which they re- 

 side have been named after the victories gained by the 

 allied forces in the campaigns between 1812 and 1815 ; such 

 as Culm, Krasnoi, La Fere-Champenoise, Brienne, Leipzig, 

 Beresina, Borodino, .Paris, Arcis, Stc. One village is called 

 Helvetia, its inhabitants being Swiss, who are employed in 

 cultivating the vine. In 1828 there were nineteen German 

 settlements in the whole province, and sixty-six Bulgarian ; 

 the first contained 8681 inhabitants, and the last (chiefly in 

 the district of Ismail) 30,000 and upwards. Notwithstand- 

 ing these immigrations very extensive districts of productive 

 land remain either uncultivated, or are only used as pasture 

 for cattle and sheep. The descriptions of grain raised in 

 Bessarabia are wheat, barley, millet, and particularly kuk- 

 uruz, or maize, the meal of which is substituted for wheatec 

 flour. The corn lands, from the facilities for export afforded 

 by the ports of Rdny and Ismail, are situated chiefly in that 

 direction ; but, in general, the want of markets for grain 

 discourages cultivation, nor are there more than two re- 

 gular farms in all the country. The growth of the vine 

 has considerably spread since tho year 1822, when heavy 

 duties were imposed upon all apples, nuts, and wines brought 

 from Turkey. The vineyards are principally situated in the 

 district of Akerman, in which Helvetia lies : the quantity 

 of wine produced in Bessarabia in the year 1826 was 44,800 

 vedras (about 145,860 gallons), independently of the produce 

 of the crown plantations, which amounted to 32,000 bottles. 

 The quality has been much improved of late by the intro- 

 duction of French, Rhenish, and Hungarian stocks. The 

 Palinkowoye Wino, a red wine which is allowed to lie on 

 wormwood for a time, is prepared in large quantities, and 

 esteemed an excellent medicament. Flax, hemp, tobacco, 

 and poppies are also grown, and a multitude of gardens and 

 orchards furnish an abundant supply of apricots, ! . 

 apples, pears, plums (which are dried and exported from tho 

 districts of Orkhci and Khotin), and walnuts. Rock and 

 water melons are extremely fine, in the district of Bender 

 particularly ; cucumbers of enormous size arc grown, as well 

 as gourds, onions, garlic, and Spanish pepper. 



The northern parts of Bessarabia, which are full of forests, 

 especially those about the banks of the Pruth, produce 

 the oak, beech, linden, maple, poplar, and other species of 

 trees; and the districts of Orkhei and Yassy yield excellent 

 oak for shipbuilding. It is of extraordinary dimensions, ami 

 chiefly felled in the forests belonging to monastic establish- 

 ments. The mulberry also thrives in this soil. The great 

 resource of the province is, however, the rearing of horned 

 cattle, horses, and sheep; for the steppes of the Budjak 

 abound in excellent grass, and the northern districts in rich 

 meadows and pastures. In spite of tho losses which the 

 owners sustain from exposing their flocks ami herds to the 

 violent snow-drifts of winter among the steppes, they are \ ct 

 enabled to export several thousand heads of cattle ami 

 sheep, as well as horses, and to supply themselves with wool 



