343 
Prof. Milne — A cross Europe and Asia. 
seat in the small uncomfortable carriages in whick you kave to ride. 
Tke former is of wood, and tke latter of granite cobble stones. Tke 
wood paving is generally laid in kexagonal blocks ; but altkongk so 
good in summer, in winter it is very slippery, owing to tke freezing 
of tke moisture with wkick it is always permeated. Tke direction 
taken by tke water in entering tke wood is very noticeable, even in 
summer- time, by dark radiating lines parallel to tke medullary rays. 
On tke evening of tke 19tk August I left St. Petersburg by train 
for Moscow, wkere I koped to be successful in finding a companion 
for tke coming trip across Siberia. So long as dayligkt lasted 
we were passing over a flat and marshy country. Most of it 
was covered witk corn-fields, wkere tke reaped crops were yet 
Standing in skeaves. Here and tkere were clumps of birck, tkickets 
of spruce and alder, and small woods of fir and juniper. In tke 
moming, before we came in sigkt of tke domes and spires of Moscow, 
tke country was sligktly undulating. As tke line between tkese 
two capitals is as straight as it could practically be made, we took 
everything as it came. Tke design of tke engineer kad been tkat it 
should pass in tke vicinity of several large towns ; but tke Emperor 
Nicolas, to wkom tke plans were submitted, laid bis rule upon tke 
paper between tke two extremes, and drew a straigkt line, intimating 
tkat it was between St. Petersburg and Moscow tkat he wisked to 
travel. And tkus originated tke straigktest railway line in Europe. 
Tke strata on wkick Moscow Stands are, I believe, of Liassic age. 
Comparing tke site on wkick tke town is built and tke surrounding 
country, witk tkat in and about St. Petersburg, I found myself in 
quite a killy country. Tke only museum in tke town wkick I visited, 
wkere anytking of geological interest is exkibited, was tke Museum 
Polytecknique, and kere all tkat I saw were a few maps, models, 
sections and specimens, wkick are ckiefly exkibited for educational 
purposes. Notwithstanding tke endeavours of many friends to find 
me a travelling companion, on tke evening of tke 26tk I started off 
alone upon tke next section of my joumey, wkick was to be as far as 
Nijni Novgorod. In going to tke railway Station I kad a long drive 
of seven miles or more, all tkat I remember of wkick was tkat at one 
point tke road made a skarp descent into a valley, on eitker side of 
wkick I saw notking but alluvium. It was nearly dark before the 
train started, and I could see notking until next moming, wken 
I woke up, and saw tke Yolga. Between us and the river there was 
a huge flat plain, covered witk com-fields and copses. On tke otker 
side, wkick was tke soutk side of the river, kigh banks rose up to 
form a long and well-marked scarp. On tke top of tkis scarp tke 
old town of Nijni Novgorod is built, and it was not very long before 
we saw its white towers glistening in tke moming sun. At tke time 
of my arrival tke Great Fair, wkick is disappointing to all sigktseers, 
was going on. It is carried on in a series of one-storied kouses and 
sheds built upon tke flat ground upon tke north side of tke river. 
Amongst otker wares I saw a few minerals offered for sale. Besides 
a few pieces of alexandrite from tke Urals, and dioptase from tke 
Kirgkis Steppes, tkere was notking but a number of common minerals 
