ISO 7.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
399 
ed picture of eastern manners or customs. At this point, 
or near here, for 500 of GOO years past, there has been an 
annual fair, lasting; from four to sis weeks, at which the 
people of the East and the West have met for the sale or ex- 
change of their respective productions and manufactures. 
The £reat Volga River, as you will see by the map, empties 
Into the Caspian Sea, 1G00 miles below this point. That 
sea has no outlet to the ocean for communication with 
the outer world ; so the various peoples and tribes around 
the Caspian Sea, as well as the Chinese, from the east, 
and the Siberians, from the northeast, or northern Asia, 
bring their products here, and meet the western people, 
who bring; their goods from Western Russia, Germany, 
France, and Great Britain. The sales amount to from 
$70,000,000 to §100,000,000 worth annually. The River Oka, 
from the west, here unites with the Volga, and the 
locality of the fair is on the point of land between the 
north shore of the Oka and the southwest or right bank 
of the Volga. The city of Nijni-Novgorod is on a high 
bluff, between the Volga and Oka, on the south side of 
the latter. The rivers are full of boats of all descriptions 
imaginable, many of which have been poled up the whole 
length of the Volga. From the tower on the bluff, I can, 
at one view, see thousands of these boats, many of them 
landing or taking in merchandise. For three or four 
miles up the right or west bank of the Volga, there are 
immense piles of goods, covered with mats or skins. 
I never before saw such quantities of merchandise 
collected in one place; it is as iF you should remove 
all the buildings in New York, and expose the contents 
upon the banks of the rivers. The bales of cotton and 
hogsheads of sugar, (beet sugar from Europe,) seem in- 
numerable. The trading ground consists of hundreds, 
perhaps thousands, of one-story bazaars, arranged along 
regular streets, running at right angles. Each nation has 
its own quarter, or streets, but during the hours of trade 
the different peoples are of course much commingled. 
Each nation adopts its own peculiar style in the construc- 
tion and arrangement of the bazaars. In the Chinese 
quarter, for example, all the bazaars are in the pagoda 
form, and all the people coming here retain their peculiar 
modes of dress. As we walked around the fair, our in- 
telligent polyglot guide pointed out the different races, 
and interpreted for us as we chaffered and made some 
Email purchases as souvenirs of our visit. Here were 
Siberians with minerals, precious stones, furs, etc.; there 
were Chinese, with their stocks of Oolong and Souchong, 
their ivory and wood work, cloths, silks, etc.; here were 
Persians, with their richly wrought gold and silver fab- 
rics ; there were Tartars, Kalmucks, and so on— an end- 
less variety— Georgians, Circassians, Caucasians, Cos- 
sacks, Arabs, Armenians, Syrians, Turks, Russians, Ger- 
mans, French, English, etc., etc.,— making alt together 
the most novel gathering in the world, I suppose. The 
jargon of languages scarcely falls below what must have 
been heard around the tower of Babel itself. These fairs 
usually extend from July 23d to September 22d of each 
year. The second class fare, (fully equal to the American 
first class,) by railroad, from St. Petersburg to Moscow, 
(400 miles,) is 13 Roubles ; and from Moscow to 
Nijni-Novgorod, (373 miles,) 9 J£ Roubles. A Rouble of 
Russian paper money is at present worth about 6S or 70 
cents of American gold, or a little less than $1 of United 
States currency. The Rouble is divided into 100 Kopecks, 
bo that the Russian Roubles and Kopecks correspond with 
our dollars and cents, but 5 gold Roubles are just about 
equal to 4 gold dollars, when the paper money of both 
nations is on a par with gold." 
"Moscow, Russia, August 26th Taken all in all, this 
is the most interesting city we have visited. We have 
been out to the 4 Sparrow Hills, 1 two or three miles west, 
on to the high ground, where Napoleon's army, in 1S12, 
caught their first glimpse of the city, after the long, te- 
dious march of more than a thousand miles, the latter 
part of it fighting their weary way over the vast plains of 
Lithuania or Western Russia. No wonder the poor fel- 
lows shouted in wild delight, 'Moscow! Moscow p Few 
of them lived to carry home the vivid impression made 
upon them by their first view of the goal of their toilsome 
pilgrimage The view from these hills is grand, glo- 
rious ! Spread out over a wide plain, which is encircled 
by the serpentine Moskva River, lies the curious city of 
■400 churches, mostly with green roofs, and each sur- 
mounted by from one to a dozen domes or minarets. Of 
these domes I counted 506, visible from one point. A 
large number of them arc covered with gold and silver, 
and the reflection of the setting sun gives a resplendency 
excelling my highest previous conceptions of even the 
* new Jerusalem ' itsclfl... Near the center of the city is 
the far famed Kremlin. This is a semi-circular space, 
enclosed by a high wall, nearly 1J£ miles in length, sur- 
mounted with curiously shaped towers, a hundred yards 
or so apart, besides which there are five large gateways. 
Within this wall are the three ancient palaces, the treas- 
ury building, four gorgeous churches, the high tower of 
Ivan Veliki, (John the Great.) at the foot of which is the 
Great Bell or Tsar Kolokol, (Isar »f bells.) Within the 
Kremlin, also, is the arsenal, around the outside walls of 
which are arranged over 800 cannons, the trophies of war 
—a larger part of them taken from or left behind by Na- 
poleon; the Senate House, some smaller buildings, and 
paved open spaces fill up the rest of the Kremlin. The 
treasury buildingcontainsan immense amount of curious- 
ly mingled gold and silver plate and precious stones, 
presented by the sovereigns of many nations, the crowns, 
and thrones, and regal insignia, not only of ancient and 
modern Russia, but of captured and subjugated nations, 
as Poland, Kasan, etc. The larger one of the three pal- 
aces, built by the late Emperor Nicholas, excels even 
the palaces of St. Petersburg and Paris, in the gorgeous 
decorations of some of its larger rooms. Of the four 
Kremlin churches, the Cathedral of the Assumption, 
where all the emperors of Russia have been crowned, is 
the most noted. Its walls, its ceilings, and even its in- 
terior columns, are entirely covered with richly gilded 
paintings, most of them full size portraits of prelates of the 
church, saints, and scripture characters. Standing with- 
in the great nave, one has peculiar sensations when he 
finds himself thus gazed upon, from every point above 
and around, by so many renowned personages, whose real 
presence is so well represented by the artist's brush and 
pencil. In the second church, St. Michael's Cathedral, 
the main floor is largely occupied with the tombs of the 
Emperors down to Peter the Great, since which time they 
have been buried at St. Petersburg. In the third, the 
Cathedral of the Annunciation, the Czars have long been 
baptized and married. The floor is paved with jasper and 
agate. In the fourth church, the Metropolitan, is manufac- 
tured the holy oil which is distributed throughout the em- 
pire, and which is used in the baptism of every child born 
in the Greek or National Church. In this cathedral, also, 
is shown a great number of robes, mitres, diadems, etc., 
wrought with costly pearls, diamonds, and other precious 
stones of untold value. One robe alone contains over 50 
pounds weight of these precious stones and gems. These 
few items must sufiice to give yon a faint idea of the im- 
mense treasures contained within the Kremlin. The 
great bell is worthy of its name and fame. It is now raised 
upon a circular stone wall, five feet high. Its proportions 
are perfect, its hight over 20 feet, and I measured 68 feet 
around its base. (To get a full idea of its size, drive down 
a center stake, and with a cord, 11 feet long, as a radius, 
mark out a circle 22 feet across. A 20-feet pole, set up in 
the center, will help the conception of its great size.) 
It weighs 444,000 pounds, or 222 tons ! A fragment, about 
7 feet high and 6 feet wide, is broken out of the rim, and 
stands down against the wall, so that by climbing upon 
the wall, one can walk in through ' the crack of the bell,' 
as it is called. The Ivan Veliki tower, from which one 
has a good view of all the city, contains 40 bells, one of 
them half the size of the great bell, and others of some- 
what smaller proportions. The chiming of only six of 
these, of medium size, produced painful emotions in our 
heads, and gave a benumbing jar to the whole body 
Some distance outside the Kremlin wall is another, the 
old city wall, and beyond this, the city extends two to 
three miles each way from the center. There is every- 
where an odd commingling of spacious public and private 
edifices, aud the mean abodes of the poor. Log struc- 
tures, neatly framed and trimmed at the corners, how- 
ever, are frequently seen within the cit3 r . There is every- 
where an ancient air and slowness of movement, with 
beggars and people in rags unpleasantly frequent — 
quite different from the thrift and activity visible at St. 
Petersburg." 
"St. PETEnsEima, August 20th Of this city I have 
already written somewhat. Returning here two clays 
since, we have been around the public parks, and to 
Peterhof, etc., and my first impressions of the city are 
fully confirmed. Taking into account its inland posi- 
tion, its high northern latitude, its comparatively recent 
foundation, and the natural difficulties to be overcome in 
its low alluvial soil, it is a marvel of enterprise, unequaled 
elsewhere in the world ! The palaces and public build- 
ings are spacious, and exhibit within a solid magnificence 
hardly to be found elsewhere in Europe— not even in 
Puris. With a continuance of the policy and plans of the 
present Czar, Russia must continue to advance rapidly in 
civilization and refinement. The education of the masses 
now emerging from slavery and serfdom, and a shaking- 
ofl'of the more superstitious or idolatrous rites and cere- 
monies of the established church, are most needed, and 
the tendency is in this direction. Great freedom of re- 
ligious belief and worship is already granted, and educa- 
tion is making rapid strides." 
General Notes on Russia "Granitza, South- 
western Russia, August 31st During the last two days, 
we have come down from St. Petersburg, nearly 8G0 miles, 
to this point, slopping only a night in Warsaw, as the 
cholera is somewhat prevalent there. I am now awaiting 
the tratu that will take us across the Austrian border, aud 
out to Cracow, to visit the salt mines. .. .1 have traveled 
over 2000 miles in Russia during the present month — with 
all the ease, comfort, and convenience, and with a« much 
personal freedom as I have ever fouud in America or 
Western Europe, and any American can do the same. The 
espionage of our passports and luggage has been merely 
nominal, and at only two points— viz.: on entering Fin- 
land, and on passing through Warsaw European Rus- 
sia, throughout, is more level than I expected to find it. 
In its general surface it corresponds with our Western 
prairies, but is generally covered with forests where not 
under cultivation. The trees are mainly white birch, 
spruce, and pines, though other kinds are frequent- 
ly met with. From St. Petersburg, via Moscow, to Nijni- 
Novgorod, I estimate that about half the land visible 
from the railroad is under cultivation. From St. Peters- 
burg southwest, for the first 400 miles perhaps, one third 
of the country is still in forests. Russian Poland is al- 
most one vast fertile field. Wheat is the staple crop every- 
where, though pasture lands abound on the route south- 
east from St.Petersburg. Highly fertile soils are apparent- 
ly of rare occurrence, and pine lands of a somewhat 
sterile character are frequent ; yet, on the whole, I judge 
that four or five times the present population could be 
readily sustained with improved modes of tillage. There 
are many indications of the introduction of a better class 
of agricultural implements, and I believe American in- 
ventors and manufacturers will find in Russia an excel- 
lent opening, not only to improve their own financial in- 
terests, but to benefit this country as well. The hand 
sickle, everywhere seen in the harvest fields at this sea- 
son, as well as the rude hay scythe, will readily yield to 
the mowing and reaping machines ; and the same may be 
said of the rude plow and other implements. The policy 
of the government is liberal towards all foreign improve- 
ments — The relics of serfdom are everywhere visible, 
though rapidly dying out. As a rule, the small huts of 
the serfs are gathered in clusters or villages around or 
near the more stately dwellings of their former proprietors, 
and the smaller or larger Greek church, with its green 
roof and gilded dome, is close at hand. The liberated serfs 
generally work for their former masters, a part of the 
time at least, at mutually agreed upon wages, though 
every one is at liberty to go and come at pleasure. Mu- 
tual interest is at present the only bond that keeps these 
people in their original localities. Each peasant is al- 
lowed a plot of ground of his own. in fee simple, and 
without any payment except the past services of himself 
or ancestors, and each can purchase as much more as his 
accumulated earnings and savings supply the means for. 
Schools are opened in most of the serf villages. As far 
as I can gather from observation and from frequent con- 
versation with intelligent Russians, I judge that the po- 
litical and educational condition of the Russian people is 
being rapidly assimilated to that of our own country, 
though, of course, still far behind us in the degree of ad- 
vancement. A generation or two will do much to lessen the 
difference. 1 look forward to the period as not far distant 
when Russia will become, in many respects, the United 
States of the Old World " 
Tlie Use of Plaster on New Land. 
The announcement in our August issue, in an 
article on " Top Dressing Grass Land," that two 
bushels of plaster produced over two tons of hay, 
by accurate measurement made at the State Agri- 
cultural College of Michigan, took most of our 
readers by surprise, and awakened in others a 
strong feeling of incredulity. The sentiment 
was not much softened by the statement that the 
cuttings were made twice a year, and the experi- 
ment extended over two seasons. AVe arc not 
surprised at this, for we have used plaster by the 
sea shore, without the slightest perceptible ef- 
fect. This is the general testimony of sea shore 
farmers. Probably, the soil gets gypsum, or its 
equivalent, from the sea manures so commonly 
used near the shore, or blown inland from the 
sea itself, for sulphate of lime is contained in 
sea water. In the grazing districts, remote from 
the shore, on the contrary, plaster is highly val- 
ued, and produces wonderful results, even when 
applied at the rate of one bushel to the acre. 
Michigan is greatly blessed in its supplies of 
plaster. Besides the extensive deposit at Grand 
Rapids, a new bed has recently been opened at 
the town of Alabaster, in Josco County, on Sag- 
inaw Bay. This deposit lms remarkable facil- 
ities for quarrying and marketing. It lies im- 
mediately upon the shore of one of the best har- 
bors in the State; it has no overlying rock, and 
