3S SUIKIMA. 



vc^M'iiiiivc jxTiod it is licio only IV iiiid inovcs <'Xlri')iic|y iiii(av()iiiali|«- lo lln- i|i-v<'l<i|imeiil 

 of {igrioiiltinf, wliicli Ikti- ciiniiot lie tlic muiti oc(^ui|)iiiir>ii (,i iIm- inliahiianis. Ijiii diily 

 a lijiiilcil ami fifcasional siipjiorl lo llic lorcst, iiidiislrie.s. i'liithiT, in ri-t-'anl to tli<' 

 aiiiinal alinosjdicric, pit'cijjiiation iailin;/ lu its stiaic, ijif lon-sl '/oik; of Kastf-ni is \v(irs<' 

 situated than that in Wcslcrn Siticiia: il Imic dcics nut cxrccd 40f) iiiilliincln's, ol which 

 rrioreov(!r. iiall' or L'OO inillinn'iirs lalls in ihc conrsc of tin- llircc sntiinnT inonihs, 



Tlic iliiiil nr [Mihir inndra zon<' is I'ai' inoic dcvi'Inpcd in Kaslorn than in Wi'Sii-ru 

 Sitx'iia, occupying'' as il dues in tin; IdrnnT an an-a 3.5 linn's that \vlii<di it covi-is in 

 the latter. With an cMmt nl 2 l/XK) sipian; ^a'o^M'apliifal niilrs it yields a wiilo f'ielil lor the 

 invcstif^Mlion (d' all llir (•(niilitinns (d lilc upon llic erjntincnls nl' \\\r cartli sitnatcfj bi-yoMii 

 tlic arciic rirclr. As a saiii})lc of the climatic conditions ol' this cxticino nortli ol' tin- fonti- 

 iK'nl <d Ilic Old World, are llie nieteorolojrical observations in one of the lartliest liahitable 

 pdiiils en 111!' Ycnissci, the si'tllcineiit called Tolsty Xos, lyin^ in laiiinde 70"10'X. Hero 

 Ihe mean ainnial lemperalnre is (ndy — 13", and ilir mean w inter tempei'atnre — 30°. The 

 cohUiSt montli siuiws almost — 31': ilie mean summer temperature is -|- 5", and that ol' the 

 hottest month -f 9". Tlicre can tic no (piestion of the mean temperature of the vegetative period, 

 as that is so liriid' thai it excludes all possibility of even ilie ilioiight of agriculture. L'nder 

 such circumstances all this country can be exploiied only by polai- leindeei- breeding/ tribes 

 or by native or immigrant liunters or fishermen. 



In Easieni as in W'esieiii Sibeiia, the [Una of the country is extremely sensitive and 

 reflects to a nicely its climatic c(mditions. The alpine and subalpine flora of the Sayan 

 lange has a great resemblance to thai of ilie Allai, while at the same time exhibiting 

 ceriain ilepariures from it. Thus in ihe Alpine Sayan flora, appear certain polar forms not 

 mel with in ihe arctic zon(> of iMiidpe and Western Siberia, but peeuliar to ihe arctic zone 

 of Eastern Siberia and America; many Altaic species vanish, which rise high on the Altai 

 slop(> Iroin tlie steppes id' Central Asia, adjacent to that region, and on the other hand 

 vegetable forms appear wliieh do ik,i oecni- ai all in the Altai, but are either entirely local 

 or coninion lo the Sayan and ihe Stanovoi ranges, and even lo the more remote Tian-Shan. 

 To the laller forms belongs ihe prickly shrub with gray foliage and yellow flowers character- 

 isiic (d' the Alpine zone, known under ihe name of the camel's tail among the Tiurk tribes 

 Tiiiek-iiiriuk, (<;aiagaiia jubata P(dr). 



The flora of the Sayan slope, that is, of the cultivated or agricultural tract of Eastern 

 Siberia also possesses essential distinctions from that of the Western Siberian lowland, 

 (iiiieliii ali'eady noticed iliai on crossing the Yenissei ihe flora considerably alters. And in 

 fact, lo the east of the Yenissei noi a few characteristic Siberian plants occur, not to be 

 luei with in ihe "Western. Siberian lowland. But this is explained not so much by any sharp 

 change in the climatic conditions, which really does not exist, as by the circumstance that 

 the slope of the Sayan ridge where il is intersected by the great Siberian tract, does not 

 exhibit a flat low lying expanse like Western Siberia, but is scored by more or less elevated 

 ofl'shoots of the Sayan, by Mhich its mountain flora pushes its way deep into the cultivated 

 or agricultural zone of Eastern Siberia. Examples such as struck the eye of such an expe- 

 rienced naiiiralisi as (imelin might be quoted in large number. Thus, of the family of crow's 



