﻿404 



Frof. Milne^Across Europe and Asia. 



about 350 versts N,W. from Ekaterinburg, which is reported as 

 being forty-two feet in thickness. It is described as being bitu- 

 minous and containing many earthy partings. 



These coal-fields on the eastern flanks of the Urals are by no 

 means the only coal-fields which have been discovered in Siberia. 

 Farther east, in the neighbourhood of Tomsk, anthracite has been 

 found, whilst more towards the south, in the Kirghis Steppes, no 

 less than sixteen seams have been found at the Euanda Mines. 



These were described by Mr. Wardroper, an English resident at 

 Tunien. They occur in a hilly country, traversing both hill and 

 dale over a large area, as shown in the accompanying sketch, where 



three seams are shown in section, two of which are seen cropping 

 out upon the slope of the distant hills. 



Beneath some of the seams there is an underclay, and above 

 them bands of ironstone. One of the seams is about 5 ft. 10 in. 

 thick, and dips about three inches to the foot. The associated 

 rock is a soft sandstone, of which I saw several specimens. The 

 character of the coal is not unlilce some of the Scotch splint coal. 

 The smaller seams are generally better than the larger ones, being 

 freer from impurities. Still farther east, in the neighbourhood of 

 Irkutsk, on towards the Amoor and on the Amoor itself, considerable 

 quantities of coal have been found. The characters of these seams 

 ai'e those of better class lignites, and their age is apparently Jurassic. 



Whilst in Ekaterinburg, my attention was daily attracted by 

 batteau firing in the neighbouring woods ; going in that direction, 

 I found that it arose from the guns of squirrel-hunters. Squirrels, 

 like other animals, wander in seai'ch of food, and they were then 

 in numbers round Ekaterinburg, though not seen at other seasons. 



Comparing the Fauna on the two sides of the Urals, there does not 

 aj)pear to be any striking difference, except in the case of one 

 small mammal, the common house or brown Eat, which is at present, 

 I believe, o\\\y to be found upon the western side of these mountains, 

 — that is, in their central and northern parts. The head-quarters of 

 this rat appear to be at Astrachan, where it exists in such numbers 

 as to give rise to stories, which, if repeated, would be thought in- 

 credible. It extends all over Europe, and up the Volga and its 

 tributaries, to the very foot of the Urals, and here it appears to stoj). 

 So far as boats and railways have gone, the rat has gone also. It 

 was conveyed by ship from Scandinavia to England, where it has 

 almost exterminated its black congener [Mus rattus), the aboriginal 

 species. In a similar manner it reached California, and probably 

 also China, Japan, and Amoorland. Wherever it has landed, it 



