Eng; oe 
cies suddenly disappear at the margins of the depressions 
and all that is left is a meagre flora, frequently reduced to 
two or three Chenopodiaceae, such as Brachylepis salsa, 
Anabasis aphylla, species which are uniformly distributed 
throughout the whole area. 
These changes in the soil-conditions are mainly 
responsible for the variations in the general physiognomy 
of the vegetation. They also bring into prominence certain 
plant-forms which may be observed over considerable areas 
and which furnish the features characteristic of the areas 
or sub-floras into which the Aralo-Caspian countries may 
be divided. 
There are five of these areas: 
1) The Stipa-steppe 
2) The Clay-deserts 
3) The Salt-deserts 
4) The Moving-sand-deserts 
5) The river Serafshan.” 
The following is a summary of Borszczow’s description 
of these areas. 
1) The area of the Stipa Steppe is the most northern, 
and extends from its southern boundary at the Mugodshar 
mountains and the rivers Tshit-Irgis and Turgai, towards the 
N. E. where it merges into the grass steppes of the southern 
part of the Tobolsk government. The Stipa Steppe thus lies 
outside of the area under consideration in this work. The 
surface of the steppe is almost everywhere undulating. 
Forests do not occur, but here and there are groves mainly 
consisting of poplars and willows. The most prevalent plant 
is Stipa capillata, then follows Festuca ovina. Besides these a 
number of species are recorded: Amygdalus nana, Spiraea-spe- 
cies, Ulmus campestris, Caragana frutescens, Poplars, Willows, 
Betula and Alnus, Ranunculaceae, Dianthus and Silene, Eryngium, 
Trinia, Compositae (Cirsium acaule, Jurinea, Saussurea, Echinops), 
also Tulipa, Iris, Allium and Carex. About 10 per ct. of the 
