42 



NA TURE 



[May 9, 1907 



RUSSIAN GEOGRAPHICAL WORKS. 



T^HE labours of the great Prjevalsky have been continued 

 by his lieutenants and others who participated in his 

 explorations of Central Asia, and we have already 

 mentioned the achievements of Mr. P. K. Kosloff. Mr. 

 V. 1. RoborovsI<y conducted an expedition, under the 

 auspices of the Imperial Russian Geographical .Society, 

 largely along previous lines, during 1893-5, and the records 

 are published in three volumes, viz. : — (i) the report of the 

 head of the expedition ; C2) that of his assistant, Mr. P. K. 

 Kosloff ; and (3J embodying the scientific results. We 

 have received the three parts of the first volume, (a) from 

 Tian-Shan to Nan-Shan ; (ft) Nan-Shan and Amne-Matshin ; 

 and (c) from .Amne-Matshin to Zaisan. Elaborate prepar- 

 ations were made, and the best procurable instruments 

 were placed at the disposal of the expedition. It is interest- 

 ing to note that Messrs. Vladimir and Eugene Prjevalsky, 

 brothers of the pioneer, cooperated with Mr. Roborovsky 

 and furnished some instruments used on former occasions. 

 A halt was made at the tomb of Prjevalsky, on the shore 

 of the lake Issik-kul, near Prjevalsk, where a requiem 

 was held. It was found that camels, valuable for arid 

 desert transport, suffer severely in cold and damp regions, 

 whereas yaks are most at ease in mountain travelling. 



The sands of Kum-tag cover a legendary city of vice, 

 destroyed beneath a shower of sand, 

 one righteous man escaping, as in the 

 case of the cities of the plain. .\t 

 Sa-tshzhoy the expedition met with 

 M. Splingaerd, a Belgian in the 

 Chinese service, whose knowledge of 

 the Chinese and their life is probab!\ 

 unique after many years' residence. 

 Gold is found in the mountains near 

 the Sa-tshzhoy oasis, of which un- 

 scrupulous advantage is taken by — 

 ofticials and citizens to the detricnent 

 of the re%-enue. The Shan-rdi lama, 

 visited by the party, previously 

 thought that Russians and English 

 were the same people. Mongols and 

 Tanguts call every European a 

 Russian. The Tanguts, who seem to 

 live bv cattle-lifting, are dreaded by 

 the Chinese and Mongols, and more 

 tlian once attempted to raid the ex- 

 pedition. A chapter is devoted to the 

 social and marriage customs of the 

 Tanguts, with whom polyandry is rife 

 and the e.xpression " illegitimate " ha-; 

 no meaning. The Mongols showed 

 Mr. Roborovsky a large portrait of 

 Genghis khan, whose re-appearance is expected before 

 long. Marriage among the lamas is prohibited in 

 most Buddhist countries, but is regarded lightly at Tsai- 

 dam, where many lamas settle. The city of Luktshun 

 and the Chantu people form the subject of a long chapter. 

 A preparation of stags' horns is a feature of Chinese 

 medicine. Wild stags are said to feed on a mythical herb 

 which no man can find, giving them special strength and 

 vigour. The horns are cut, dried, and smeared, then 

 taken as a tonic by men who feel their powers decay. 

 " Three days' weeping " is a strange remedy for scorpion 

 bite, suggested by a Sart named .\bdurahman. Sickness 

 of men and beasts seriously hindered progress, and sym- 

 pathy will be felt for the courageous leader, whose break- 

 down led to an earlier return from exploration and delay 

 in publication of these volumes. Elegant phototypes of 

 scenery add to their interest, together with meteorological 

 and botanical observations. 



In the first issue of the Transactions of the Imperial 

 Russian Geographical Society for iqo6 appears a lengthy 

 and interesting illustrated article by the botanist Mr. V. I. 

 Lipsky, author of " The Flora of Central Asia," on his 

 journeys in Russian Turkestan (Tian-Shan) in 1903. 

 Travelling was difficult, and many hardships had to be 

 surmounted, including locusts and piercing cold. Part of 

 the journey was " bv Dunganin," i.e. the Dunganins are 

 a tribe of Chinese Mussulmans who have settled in Russian 

 territory, and gain a living by horse transport of goods 



\0. 1958, VOL. 76] 



and passengers. Though progress is slow, it is not un- 

 pleasant, and these people bear a high reputation for 

 honesty. The Aksai country resembles the better-known 

 Pamir region. Mr. Lipsky records the fact as remarkable 

 that in the mountain lake Tshatir-kul, at a very high 

 level, he found specimens of Zostera marina. This article 

 concludes, with some notes on the Kirghiz, in whom the 

 author found strong Little Russian characteristics, both 

 in customs and songs. Kirghiz women enjoy greater 

 freedom than the rest of their Mussulman sisters, and 

 attract involuntary attention when walking unveiled in the 

 streets of Tashkend. In the same issue Mr. O. A. 

 .Shkapsky describes two journeys to the mountains of the 

 Tashkend district. After inspection of the mountain 

 pastures, where cattle are reared for the Ferghana and 

 Tashkend markets, he attaches great economic import- 

 ance to their more detailed survey, both as regards the 

 food of the cattle and the customs of the breeders. Mr. 

 Y. Edelstein contributes notes on the glaciers of the ridge 

 of Peter the Great, where he marked indications for the 

 guidance of future obMTvers. There is also a translation 

 of Prince P. Kropotkin's memoir of M. Reclus. and a 

 memoir of Baron F. von Richthofen by Mr. K. Bogdano- 

 vitch. .About twenty-five pages are occupied by a biblio- 

 graphy of Russian giographical literature, indicating a 

 prolific output. 



.Mr. Y. S. Edelstein made a geological excursion in the 

 autumn of 1903 in the south-eastern districts of Mukden 

 (Shentszin) province, including the Sin-tzin-tin, Feng- 

 huang-chen, and Liao-yang districts, and has published a 

 detailed account of his investigation of a semicircular 

 route from Mukden to Liao-yang. He collected speciinens 

 of rocks and soil, but the outbreal< of war prevented him 

 from bringing these home. In consequence, Mr. Edelstein 

 could only offer general deductions and a map of the broad 

 features of the immediate areas through which his route 

 lay. His justification for the publication of details more 

 meagre than he could have wished is the increased interest 

 attaching to Manchuria, and the fact that the Mukden 

 province has been unvisited by geologists since Richthofen. 

 In the early chapters of his work he traces his progress 

 step by step, and sums up general conclusions in the final 

 chapter. Mr. Edelstein thinks that serious gold-mining 

 enterprise would be amply rewarded, but hitherto the 

 Chinese have neither suspected the presence of gold in 

 pyrites nor understood how to extract it. Without enter- 

 ing into particulars, he observes that there is a great 

 future for this industry in Liao-dun. While there are no 

 large coal areas like that of the Don basin, there is ample 

 for local needs, while silver and lead veins were worked 

 when this region was under Corean sway. Marble, copper, 

 and asbestos are also reported, and the Chinese obtain 

 sulphur from pyrites. Considering that the expedition was 

 accomplished within one month, there is reason to believe 



