WESTERN SIBERIA AND THE ALTAI MOUNTAINS 



481 



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Photograph by D. A. Foster 



AMERICAN ARMY OFFICERS IN A SIBERIAN WHEAT FIELD 



Agriculture is the principal occupation of the natives of Siberia as well as of the emigrant 

 Russians. It is estimated that half a million square miles of the empire are suitable for 

 cultivation. The chief grain-producing regions are the Tobol and Ishim valleys, the marshy 

 steppe between the Obi and Irtish rivers known as the Baraba, the territory around Tomsk, 

 and the foothills of the Altai Mountains. 



Photograph by Maynard Owen William* 



a glimpse of Siberia's lumber endustry 



South of the treeless northern tundras lies the almost illimitable forest zone oi Siberia. 

 abounding in birch, larch, and the conifers. With the improvement of transportation 

 facilities, the lumber industry will prove an enormous national asset. 



