62 SIUMUIA. 



iciil and botiiiiical f!X|)loialion.s of tin; acadfiiiiciaii?* Maximov (1854) ami Korzliinsky (Ii92), 

 tlu! climatic coinlilions of tlio coiiiitiy liavfi alroady manifestly cliangod for lli<; haWiV and tlio 

 giadnal progress of tiio country, oxcooding Germany in extent, in the sense of its gradual 

 passage from the condition of the Germany of Tacitus to its present state, has already begun. 

 Hut of conrsf much time will still pass, before Russian colonization, now capable of occupying 

 not more than (jiie-fiftli of the ci^nntry, wrests step by step fnnn a stern nature even half of 

 tiie area fur I'liJlivntiipn ami civilizutiDii, and so far, wilhuiit the spots which are accessibh: 

 to cultivation ami colonization, the Amour country, in the mountainous region of which thep' 

 is still nmch gold to be found, is condemned only to sporadic and partly rapacious cultivation. 



The vegetative covering of the Amour country is luxuriant and peculiar, and display- 

 a great dill'erence from the floras of the other parts of Siberia. Even the woody vegetation 

 exhibits striking differences from the similar vegetation of not only Siberia but also Transbai- 

 kalia. With the onlinary Siberian races of conifers are here associated the Manchurian cedai- 

 (piniis laandslmrica Riipr.), the ayau pitch-pine (picea ajanensis Fisch.) and an ally of the 

 conifers, the yew (taxus baccata L.) peculiar to the mountains of the Caucasus. The ymv 

 nowhere else is to be met with in Siberia, and shews by its appearance on the lower Amour 

 the nearness of the sea. The flora of the foliage trees and shrubs is both richer and mon^ 

 varied, here going to meet the beneficent marine influences of the Eastern Ocean. The lime 

 genus is here represented by two peculiarly eastern forms, tilia cordata Mill, and tilia mandshu- 

 rica Rupr. et Max. The maple, a stranger to the whole of Siberia, has here four representa- 

 tives, of which the acer mono Max. is the characteristic local kind, the acor ginnala Max., 

 a species closely allied to the eastern European acer tataricum L. and the Semirecheusk 

 acer Semenowii Reg.; the acer tegmentosum Maxim, bears a resemblance to the American 

 kind (acer pensylvanicum L.); finally, the acer spicatum Lam. is undoubtedly an American 

 variety. The apple, already appearing in Transbaikalia in the shape of a very small fruited 

 variety (pyrus baccata), is here represented by a beautiful new species (pyrus ussuriensis 

 Max.), and the bird cherry by two local varieties, (prunus Maackii Rupr. et Maximo wiczil 

 Rupr.). Two local species of walnut embellish the forests of the Amour, juglans mandshurica 

 Max. and juglans stenocarpa Max., as also the local species of the ash unknown to the whole 

 of Siberia, fraxinus mandshurica Rupr. With the European and Transbaikal varieties of the 

 elm is associated the local ulmus montana Winckl. Further alongside the species of hazel 

 already appearing in Transbaikalia, corylus heterophylla Fisch., is found a new species, co- 

 rylus mandshurica Max. Finally, among the birches reappear a Kamchatka variety (betula 

 Ermanni Cham.) and one local timber tree (betula costata Trautv.). The third local variety of 

 birch, (betula Middendorfii Trautv.) is a shrub. The charming little tree of the Amour country 

 with a palmy crown, (dimorphantus mandshuricus Rupr.) is far removed from the character of 

 the Siberian trees. It belongs to the family of araliacea? which loves a moist climate and is 

 nowhere to be met with in Siberia. Xot less remarkable is the cork tree of this country (phello- 

 dendron amurense Rupr.), belonging to the family of zanthoxylea? nowhere to be met with 

 in the whole of Russia. 



The shrubs of the Amour country are still more peculiar than the trees. Not less than 

 24 varieties of shrubs here met with are entirely new for any one arriving from Siberia 



