TO PAULQVSKOY. 279 
have in many instances converted the desolate CIP ) P - 
steppe* into fields of corn. Their caravans are ' — ¥ — > 
drawn by oxen, which proceed about thirty 
versts in a day. Towards evening, they halt in 
the middle of a plain, near some pool of water; 
when their little waggons are all drawn up into 
a circle, and their cattle are suffered to graze 
around them; while the drivers, stretched out 
upon the smooth turf, take their repose, or 
enjoy their pipes, after the toil and heat of the 
day. If they meet a carriage, they all take off 
their caps and bow. The meanest Russians 
bow to each other, but never to a stranger. 
South of JVoronetz we found the country 
perfectly level, and the roads (if a fine turf trormetx, 
lawn may be so denominated) the finest, at 
this season, perhaps in the whole world. The 
turf upon winch we travelled was smooth and 
firm, without a stone or a pebble, or even the 
mark of wheels, and we experienced little or no 
dust. Nothing could be more delightful than 
this part of our journey. The whole of these 
(2) Steppe, is the name given, in the South of Russia, to those plains, 
which, though capable of cultivation, have never been tilled. They 
are covered with wild plants ; and sometimes, perhaps improperly, 
called deserts. In America, similar plains are called Prairies. 
