8EMIPALATINSK. 209 



cherry, hawthorn, and saxsaul, while among the her- 

 baceous vegetation wormwood, willow-herb, feather- 

 grass, and reeds are conspicuous. Agriculture is hope- 

 lessly handicapped by the climatic conditions : want of 

 rain and irrigation, the high temperature which is usual 

 by the end of May, sand-storms which sweep across the 

 plain in summer, and blizzards which devastate the 

 country in winter. Industrial development in so thinly 

 populated a country is naturally insignificant, and the 

 rearing of live-stock, being the only form of husbandry 

 to which the land is suited, forms the chief occupation 

 of its people. So vast is the country and so scattered 

 the population that one observes no great quantity of 

 cattle as one travels through it, but, according to sta- 

 tistics compiled a few years ago, there were upwards 

 of three million head of live-stock in the Semipalatinsk 

 district, of which more than half consisted of sheep, the 

 remainder being made up of horses, cattle, camels, and 

 goats. 



At last a thin line of trees becomes visible, marking 

 the course of the Irtish river, and the roofs and spires 

 of Semipalatinsk rise on the horizon. After what one 

 has become accustomed to for days, the town seems 

 almost magnificent ; but its magnificence is comparative. 

 There are a few good houses of brick, and the churches 

 and cathedrals, with their whitewashed exteriors and 

 green cupolas and gilded spires, produce a certain efiect ; 

 but the large majority of the houses are small and built 

 of wood, and the whole population does not exceed 

 30,000. The ground all round is flat and sandy, and 

 the climate liable to be unpleasantly hot in summer 

 and intensely cold in winter. 



The few^ shops are tolerably well supplied with 

 European goods, thanks to the communication with 

 Omsk on the Siberian railway afforded by the Irtish 







