﻿566 Frof. Milne— Across Europe and Asia. 



the difficulty," Before at once accepting these views of Mr. Wallace 

 in the adoption of Mr, Belt's idea as to the origin of the Siberian 

 Steppes, to which latter I have already referred at length, I will 

 relate the few facts I collected, all of which, I think, have a bearing 

 on this interesting speculation. 



When at Irkutsk I saw a Baikal seal. It was short and thick, 

 and said to be a young one. It had a generally greyish colour, but 

 rather darker on the back than upon the other portions of its body. 

 As the seals grow older, the body deepens in colour. One thing that 

 I was distinctly told was that they are never marked, with spots or 

 patches. 



The only seal that I have seen which is anything like the Baikal 

 Seal is the so-called bay seal of Newfoundland and Labrador, which 

 often ascends rivers and permanently inhabits inland lakes. Speak- 

 ing from memory, which is unfortunately of but little value in 

 making the nice distinctions which are required when establishing 

 the identity or distinction of two species, these latter seals are more 

 elegant in their proportions than those from Lake Baikal, and, what 

 is more, at certain periods of their existence, they have various 

 markings developed on their skin — a feature which is absent in the 

 Baikal seals. 



The head-quarters of the seal in the Baikal Lake are at its northern 

 end, but in winter they collect round those portions which are said 

 to remain unfrozen. 



I also heard that seals are found in Lake Kosogol, across the 

 borders, further to the south; they are also reported as existing in 

 another lake lying to the east, and in the Oron Lake to the north- 

 east. If this is true, and, from the relations which the fauna of other 

 lakes bear to that of the Baikal, it is not unlikely, then we shall 

 have a striking piece of evidence indicating to us the probable way 

 in which these lakes may have originated. 



Across the northern end of the lake a series of soundings have 

 been made by M, Debovsky, of Irkutsk, who also examined its 

 fauna. The greatest depth attained at this end was 1373 feet. In 

 some places it is stated as being 800 fathoms. This is very deep, 

 but if we were to draw a section across the lake, which would be 

 about forty-five miles long, the magnitude of this would be seen to 

 be more or less apparent. The bottom consists of various materials, 

 such as pebbles, clay, rocks, and sand. The fish of the lake form a 

 great trade, and supply many vessels upon its waters. Many of 

 these vessels come down the Angara as far as Irkutsk, where they 

 discharge their cargo. The commonest of these fish, which I had 

 many times the pleasure of eating, were Goregonus omul and Lota 

 vulgaris. These two fish, which are known respectively as the 

 omool and naleem, are to be seen in the house of every Siberian, 

 and they are esteemed so much that they may sometimes be found 

 amongst the Eussian residents in China. The omool is peculiar, I 

 believe, to the Baikal ; but the naleem is found farther west. Other 

 fish inhabiting tl}e lake are : Idus melanotus, Acanthopsis tcenia, 

 and Ferca Jiuviatilis : these are also found farther west, Salmo 



