THE SYR-DARIA 
93 
niore than two degrees and a half colder than at Gurum- 
serai, which is no miles distant from Khojent. Finally, the 
"Water was much clearer than at Gurum-serai, and carried a 
not inconsiderable quantity of drift-ice. For this reason, 
the bulk of the current flowing through the bed of the 
Syr-daria at Khojent on January 27th consisted of Naryn 
Water ; for it possessed generally the same characteristics as 
the latter : it was cold, clear, and charged with drift-ice. 
Shortly afterwards the temperature of the air sank. On 
January 30th at nine in the morning, at Chust, I read 
tt 7 Fahr. (— n°2 C.). At Namangan on February ist, 
^‘Sht in the morning, i4°g Fahr. ( — 9°5 C.); and the 
o owing day, at the same place and time, i 2 °q Fahr. 
(- io°6 C.). 
The ^ temperature had, without doubt, fallen in the 
ntountains, and to a very great extent. The tributaries 
® t e Naryn, and even the Naryn itself in part, began to 
reeze , the river was thus much reduced and became less 
an the Kara-daria. The Syr-daria dropped rapidly, and 
at urum-serai its volume was 5000 cubic feet less than on 
s^ay previous day. 
N is, no doubt, astonishing, that the volume of a river 
can c ecrease to so great an extent in such a short space 
time ; but it is a common phenomenon, and admits 
o easy explanation. The chief of the district of 
amangan told me, that the Naryn often rose there 
en eet during the course of five days, and fell again 
tal'^^""^*"*^^ rapidly. This phenomenon always 
after violent and continuous rain in the 
ouring mountains. As I have mentioned previ- 
ous y. It cannot be affirmed positively, that the Naryn is 
vWays the larger of the two rivers, for their respective 
of change with the seasons, i.e., with the changes 
xxrV,' ^'^P^^uture and the rainfall in the country through 
which they respectively flow. 
%r-daria does not freeze at any point of its 
urse through Fergana; but at Chinaz it often forms 
so thick that it will bear the post-troikas. 
