hiiiis. Ill proportion ;is llu' yrolo{<ical subsoil rliaiigcs in lliis way, a f^ieal iuiinl)iT of tlic 

 plants which arc common in Ihc more westerly rcf^ions. disaj)pcar, while new ones, 

 especially with a nunc distinct suliarctic stamp, creep in. The distance from Minusinsk 

 to Kushabar docs not exceed 120 worsts, Inil there is a considerable difference in the 

 natural conditions of the two places. The village of Kushabar itself is grandly situated 

 in a rugged, partly wooded country, on the edge of the forest zone, facing the snowy 

 mountains to tiie south, and the countiy around is considered to be one of the best 

 residences in all southern Siberia. It is situated on the boundary between the fertile 

 Siberian soil and the Sayansk eruptive rocks. Here tiic fertile and well cultivated black 

 soil area of the Siberian plain-land end, and in front cxiciul immense areas of the most 

 impenetrable type of Siberian virgin forest, called by the Russians the «b 1 a c k/> or 

 <,m o i s t t a i g a», extending nearly unbroken over thousands of wersts as far as the 

 Amoor Province, and forming a complete barrier against any progress of human culture 

 this way. 



In places, especially on level-land, there is often a remarkably sudden transition 

 between the steppe and the taiga. As cut with a knife, the border of the primeval 

 forest extends in a direct line; only a few steps, and the traveller from the sunny, open 

 steppe enters the moist twilight of the virgin forest. 



The climate here is very moist, showers occur at short intervals, and the tran- 

 sition from the dry climate in the more westerly steppe regions is very sudden. In spring, 

 the weather is rather variable in this part of southern Siberia, and severe storms may 

 arise suddenly, accompanied by great changes of temperature. In the first half of May, 

 the temperature rises quickly from some degrees of frost to towards 30" C. of heat. In 

 the second half of May, the weather is sunny and hot, the spring advancing very quickly. 



As an instance of the composition of the vegetation here are given in the following 

 a list of plants found by me on a diy and moderate dry mountain-side consisting of 

 granophyr, just outside Kushabar. 



Beiiila verrucosa. Pinus .sili>pstris. Popidiis trciniila.SoilnisAiiciiparia. Rosa aciciilaris. Vcgcl.Tiion 

 Cratacffiis scingitiiwa. Cornus alba. Ribes rubrnm. Carlina vulgaris var. nebroch'nsis, »' I\u.sli;il)ar. 

 Woodsia ilven.sis. Kpipactis lati folia. Verbascuin Thapsus, Arabis iucarnata. Agrimonia 

 pilosa. Armaria serpgllifulia. Mgosolis inlcrmcdia. PoU'idilla argenlea. Potentilla 

 norvegica. Achillea Millcfoliuui. Achillea impaliens, Hypericum perforatum. Hypericuu) 

 hirsulum. Eriisimum rhriraulhoides. Lappa touientosa. Ciisium hwceolalum. Tanacelum 

 vulgaie. Carum Carvi. (kimpanula glomerata. Care.x pediformis. Calaminlha Acinos. 

 Lotus corniculalus. Fragaria vesca. Rumr.r Acetosella. Rubus sa.vatilis. Veronica 

 Chamaedigs. Veronica agrestis. Polygonum dunjctorum. (U\elidonium majus var. 

 grandiflorus. Runw.v aiifolius. (ientiana macrophglla, Tara.vacum sj)pc.. pAiphrasia lalarica. 

 Euphra.sia hiilella. Euphrasia .Jaeschkei. Stellaria graminea. Slellaiia uliginosa. Galium 

 borealc. Plantago major. I'lanlago media, I'rlica dioica. 1 ri folium pr(dense. Tri folium 

 repens. Trifolium medium. Alchemilla minor. Alchemilla pasloralis. Polggida comnsiim 

 forma, Linaria vulgaris, Sagina procumbens. Dactglis glomerata. Primula elatior var. 



