520 Europe : — a popular Physical Sketch. 



Our northern fruit trees succeed but with difficulty at St. 

 Petersburg, which arises not so much from want of summer- 

 heat (there nearly equal to that of Copenhagen), as in con- 

 sequence of the winter and spring cold, which injures the 

 stems, and nips the trees in the bud. At St. Petersburg 

 experiments have been made to draw the stems along the 

 ground, thus affording them a cover under the winter snow, 

 and the results have turned out favourably, and fruit has 

 thus been produced even in less favourable years. As com- 

 monly cultivated, the fruit trees extend no farther than the 

 56* N. L. The apple stands the climate best, next to that 

 the cherry ; pears and plum trees find more difficulty. 



The most northerly vineyards occur at Zarizyn and Sa- 

 repta on the river Volga (48° N. L.), at Astrakan (46°) ; in 

 the western parts small plantations are found as far as 49" to 

 50° N. L. ; from which it will be perceived that the cultivation 

 of the vine extends as far north in eastern Europe as it does 

 in the western. Hemp and Jlax are much cultivated in Rus- 

 sia, and thrive well up to 64° N. L. 



The domesticated animals are the same as in central 

 Europe ; though the ass is found in the southernmost parts 

 only. Camels are met with in Wallachy, Moldow, and some 

 of the southern Russian provinces, where these animals how- 

 ever require during winter to be sewed up in blankets in 

 order to stand the cold. 



In the eastern parts of the Russian plain are found people 

 of the Kalmukian (Scythian) race, materially distinguished 

 from the Europeans; they are short, with broad faces, 

 with protruding jaws, and small half- shut eyes ; their skin is 

 of a yellow colour. The rest of the inhabitants belong to 

 the European (Caucasian) race. 



Crimea. This peninsula is united with the Eastern Euro- 

 pean plain by a narrow isthmus ; its northern part is a 

 perfect plain; in the southern is situated a small, but pro- 

 portionally lofty mass of mountains, very steep toward the 



