18 The Hon. Mr. Strangways on the. Geology of Russia. 



length : and the merchandize is arranged in rows placed across the vessel, so 

 as to leave a certain interval between each row. This, together with the flexi- 

 bility of the bottom, enables them so far to yield to the current^ that the great- 

 est waves barely cause the tops of the rows of sacks, casks, or other merchan- 

 dize, to touch each other. Were they set close together, the boats would pro- 

 bably break, or be upset. Signal staifs on the most conspicuous points give no- 

 tice of the approach of the water and boats ; when rn^n, women, and children, 

 flock from the neighbouring villages, to give any necessary assistance to those 

 engaged in this perilous navigation. When the waters have subsided, the pas- 

 sage is stopped for the next three weeks or month, according to the dryness 

 or wetness of the season, till sufficient water is collected to fill the rivers as 

 before. And this is repeated at intervals during the whole summer. 



Although the Msta, at these moments of its being enlivened by a sudden 

 and as it were miraculous navigation, presents a most curious and interesting 

 spectacle ; yet it is at low water that it is best adapted for geological investiga- 

 tion, as its rocks are then more exposed. By going a day before the waters 

 are let off, it may be observed at high and low water within a short space of time. 

 Among the artificial parts of this communication, the canal and sluices of Vish- 

 ney Volochok, which are on a very large scale, and lined with gray granite sup- 

 plied by the boulders of the neighbourhood, must be particularly noticed. 



From Borovichy the high country stretches in a north-easterly direction 

 between Tikhvin and Oustiouslina, where there exists a second water com- 

 munication across it, by means of the rivers Sas and Mologa and their afflu- 

 ents, which approach within a short distance of each other and are joined by 

 a canal. This line of junction between the districts on the Volga and those 

 on the Lake Ladoga, as well as the road which accompanies it, is now under 

 a system of progressive amelioration. The face of the country is hilly, but 

 sandy ; I could not discover the limestone any where in situ, although some 

 loose blocks of it, together with pieces of chert, are to be seen in small quan- 

 tities south of Choudzi *. 



There is yet a third system of navigation at present in progress across this 



* One of the most remarkable facts with regard to the central parts of Russia, is the quantity 

 of siliceous boulders which are scattered over the governments of Moscow, Vladimir, Tver, and 

 the neighbouring countries. They are found on the Valday Hills, but rarely north of them, al- 

 though they occur there in situ : a strong proof of the direction of the diluvian current from 

 north to south. They resemble in general the chert of (he mountain lime, and contain tcrcbra- 

 tulitcs, caryophyllites, entrochites, astroites, meandrites, and many other marine fossils, beauti- 

 fully preserved and frequently agatized. They are rarely found north of the town of Valday, or 

 e*st of Kostroma. Their boundary on the south and west is unknown. 



