DON COSSACKS. 
flowing parallel to each other; exhibiting a 
distinct and different colour which is peculiar to 
the respective water of each current. In the 
shallows of the Don, the Typha palustris flou- 
rishes luxuriantly. We found the inhabitants 
of Axay, and afterwards those of Tcherkask, 
devouring this plant raw, with as much avidity 
as if this article of diet had been connected 
with some religious observance. The stalks 
appeared in all the streets, and in every house, 
bound into little fascines about three feet in 
length, as our gardeners bind asparagus : these 
bundles were hawked about, or sold in the 
shops. The season for eating this vegetable 
had just commenced. The Cossacks, peeling off 
the outer cuticle, select near the root of the 
plant a tender white part of the stem ; which, 
for about the length of eighteen inches, affords 
a crisp, cooling, and very pleasant article of 
food. We ate of it heartily, and became as fond 
of it as were the Cossacks ; with whom, young 
or old, rich or poor, it is a most favourite 
repast. The taste is somewhat insipid ; but in 
hot climates, this cool and pleasant vegetable 
would be highly esteemed. The Cossack officers, 
however, who had been in other countries, said 
that it is only fit for food when it grows in the 
marshes of the Don. 
