282 RICH MEADOW-LAND. 



hills, beyond which lie the well-watered districts of 

 Northern Mono-olia. 



о 



The poor pasturage of the Central Gobi now 

 gives place to rich meadow-land, increasing in luxu- 

 riance the nearer we approach Urga. The karmyk, 

 the biidarhana, and the onion entirely disappear, and 

 are replaced by several kinds of grasses, vetches, 

 Compositcc and carnations. Animal life, too, becomes 

 suddenly abundant. Dzerens roam over the fat 

 pasture-lands,^ alpine hares [Lago?jiys ogotond) and 

 marmots i^Arctomys bobac) bask in the sunshine, and 

 high up in the sky soars the lark, whose familiar 

 song we had not heard since луе left Kan-su. 



Water, however, is still as scarce as ever ; of 

 lakes and rivers there are none, and only an occa- 

 sional spring or well, at no depth below the surface. 

 Indeed between Ala-shan and Urga we never saw a 

 well deeper than eight feet, and water is generally 

 obtainable at a less depth by digging for it in the 

 right place. ^ 



As for the climate of these last months in Mon- 

 golia, I should say that the heat in July and August 

 is equally severe, the thermometer rising to 97° Fahr. 

 in the shade. The nights are always warm, some- 

 times hot,^ and the air exceedingly dry, no dew 

 falling. We had not a single good shower, although 

 large clouds often gathered only to send a few drops 



' We saw no dzerens in the Central Gobi, but they appear there 

 periodically, wherever pasturage is abundant. 



^ The wells in Ala-shan are also at no great depth from the surface. 

 ^ Only on two occasions, viz. on August 21 and 24, the temperature 



at sunrise fell to 43" and 41° b'ahr. 



