RUSSIAN STEPPE 271 



The steppe may be formed upon various soils, such as 

 sand, loess, and clay, but the chief feature of South 

 Russia is a deep and fertile cover of fine loam, formed 

 by the accumulation of dead and decomposed vegetable 

 matter, known as ' black earth ' or chernozyom. The 

 conditions of the soil, its porosity, depth, fineness, chemi- 

 cal and physical nature, and its proportion of organic 

 matter, control the various details of appearance and 

 composition of the steppe. The main part of the vege- 

 tation consists of short tufts of grass which very seldom 

 form a continuous sward like that of our lawns or 

 meadows. Those grasses have generally narrow, stiff, 

 dull green or bluish leaves, wiry, curled or rolled in 

 along the edges. On the black earth, sheep-grasses and 

 leader 'm predominate: on less generous soils, feather 

 or thyrsa-grasses spread a silvery sheen in earl}* 

 summer. Among these tufts of grass, however, numerous 

 kinds of low herbs, short-lived annuals, perennials 

 with stronger tap-roots, bulbs and tubers, and even 

 under-shrubs, cropping up at various times of the year, 

 are profusely interspersed, their abundance being deter- 

 mined entirely by local conditions of soil and drainage. 



After the dreary winter, the first awakening is 

 announced by a magnificent blossoming of bulbs and 

 tubers, among which are fritillaries, garlics, squills, 

 gageas, tulips, irises, pheasant's-eyes, and corydalis. 

 Early summer, with its changing skies, exhibits equally 

 glorious sights, such as boundless fields of blue flax, red 

 poppies, clovers, nonsuch, milk-vetch, yarrow, hedge- 

 mustard, and many others. With the coming of the hot 

 weather, under dazzling skies and a scorching sun, when 

 the overheated atmosphere is all aglow with fantastic 

 visions, mirages, and fata morgana, all delicate plants 

 die out. The glamour of spring vanishes, and a grey, 



