952 The American Naturalist. [November, 



nection with it and for the warm-hearted hospitality tendered 

 them in every part of the broad empire which they visited. 



The program of excursions, issued early in the year by the 

 Committee of Organization, was carried out in all its essential 

 details. Moscow was the starting point of the first excursion 

 to the Urals preliminary to the Congress, and consequently it 

 was that city which most of the excursionists made their first 

 objective point on entering the country. We found wherever 

 we crossed the border that our membership tickets made the 

 passage through the Custom House easy, although they did 

 not replace our passports which we had often to show. Our 

 railroad passes too, were accepted without question, and the 

 most courteous treatment greeted us on every hand. 



At Moscow we found the Bureau of tlie Congress established 

 in the halls of the University, and here and in the parlors of 

 the Continental Hotel, frequent gatherings of the excursionists 

 took place during the three days we were in the city. The 

 excursions in the vicinity of Moscow were of moderate inter- 

 est geologically, the greatest attaching to that which visited 

 the richly fossiliferous middle Carboniferous beds of Miatch- 

 kowo on the bank of the Moskwa Kiver. On the other hand, 

 the city itself with its wholly oriental character in architecture, 

 coloring and street life, offered more than enough attractions 

 to occupy the time at our disposal, and there were doubtless 

 few who did not regret leaving this, the centre and fountain- 

 head of the Russian national life. 



About one hundred and thirty-five persons took part in the 

 Ural excursion, of whom nine were ladies. A special train of 

 thirteen cars was our means of transport and place of abode 

 for the first three weeks of the trip, while a restaurant train of 

 box cars, provided with tables and cliairs, preceded us and 

 furnished forth our meals. If there were numerous discom- 

 forts associated with this style of living, one could not but re- 

 member that there was no precedent for or experience of such 

 an excursion as ours in the remote regions which we visited, 

 and criticism was disarmed by the conditions. 



From day to day excursions of various kinds were made 

 along or away from the general line of the railroad which was 



