94 THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. 



characteristic, however, of the Steppe is, the total 

 absence of trees, on a soil remarkable for its richness, 

 and the luxuriance of its herbage. For hundreds of 

 miles a traveller may proceed in a straight line without 

 encountering even a bush, unless he happens to be 

 acquainted with the few spots known to the Tartar 

 sportsmen, to whom they answer the purpose of game 

 preserves. Countless herds of horned cattle, and wild 

 or half-wild horses roam over these noble pasture 

 grounds, on which a calf, born at the foot of the great 

 Chinese wall, might eat his way along until he arrived 

 a well fattened ox, on the banks of the Dniestr, 

 prepared to figure with advantage at the Odessa 

 market. The poor animals suffer much during the 

 hot and dry summers, when every blade of grass is 

 parched up ; but the careful herdsman who has pro- 

 vided himself with an abundant stock of hay, is able 

 to keep his beasts alive until autumn returns to 

 gladden them with fresh abundance. 



The most pleasing aspect of the Steppe is that 

 presented in spring. In the first week of that season, 

 while as yet the snow has scarcely disappeared from 

 the earth, a luxuriant vegetation springs up, convert- 

 ing the waste into a fairy scene. On this carpet of 

 rich green grass, variegated by the hyacinth, the tulip, 

 the crocus, and the wild mignionette, besides a thou- 



