Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/407

RUSSIA. 367 RUSSIA. the same latitudes. The mean annual tempera- ture, corrcelcd lor altitude, is a little lower as one goes from west to east; and this tendency holds to the Pacific coast of Asia. There is naturally a great diversity of tempera- ture as one proceeds from north to south, since Russia reaches into the Arctic Zone and extends as far south as the latitude of Lombardy. Frozen swamps skirt the north coasts and the vine and the olive thrive in the Crimea. All of the ex- treme north has severely cold weather or hard frosts from 6 to 8 months in the year. The mean temperature of .January at Saint Petersburg is about 15° F. and of .July about 64°. lloscow, although much farther south than Saint Peters- burg, has a still more rigorous winter climate, owing to its inland location. The mean tempera- ture of Odessa in summer and in winter is about the same as that of Boston. On the whole the climate is very uniform considering the size of the country. As the Russian plain is low, atmospheric disturbances are easily propagated over the entire surface. Xo mountain ranges obstruct the cold north wind that sweeps from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea. The warm southern breezes are felt along the slopes of the Urals to the mouth of the Petchora and to Arch- angel. In the greater part of Russia proper the winters are long and severe and the summers are hot and sultry. In the Baltic Provinces the win- ters are less severe than in the interior. The rainfall of European Russia is less than that of Western Europe: but though the average pre- cipitation is not over 20 inches a year, it is usu- ally sufficient to insure good crops. The rainfall decreases from northwest to southeast, being smallest aromid the northern shores of the Cas- pian Sea. At Saint Petersburg the annual precipitation is 18 inches, at Kazan 14, and at Astrakhan 4.8 inches. Xearly the whole of Russia is covered for months in winter with a thick mantle of snow, which contrib- utes greatly to the fertility of the soil when the spring thaw sets in. Snow covers the groiuid at Odessa for 80 days and at !Mos- cow- 120 days. The rivers throughout the empire freeze in winter. The coldest winds of the coun- try are the moist north and the dry east winds. The mixed clays and sands spread over the surface of nearly the entire northern half of the country in the glacial epoch form soils of fair average fertility, on which grow vast ex- panses of forests and large areas of Jlax. hemp, and cereals. The region of unsurpassed fertility, however, is the black earth lands between the glacier-swept area and the steppes of the extreme south, covered with deep, ricli humus, now con- siderably impoverished, owing to many years of over-cropping without fertilizers. The only lui- fertile region in the warmer areas is the salt steppes of the southeast, whose unproductivity is due more to the lack of rain than to the failure of plant-food in the soil. Flora. The five areas into which the vegeta- tion of European Russia may be divided corre- spond roughly to so many climatic zones. In the north, between the Arctic Circle and the ice ocean, is a treeless land (tundra), covered with vast marshy moors, interrupted by boulder- strewn plains, solidly frozen nnich of the year, and producing nothing but reindeer and other mosses, lichens, and stunted shrubs. South of the tundra is the forest region, the third largest in the temperate zone*, covering more than n third of Russia, ami embnieing the iu>rth niid a part of the central regions. The low forcHti* forming the northern belt of the foreht zone i-on- sist of birch, larch, silver fir, and some oilier hardy trees. They are succeeiled by the liigli forests of splendid arliori'al vegetation, nmstly conifers, ]>ine and lir, yielding great supplies of soft lumber and resin, turpentine, anil tar. The conifers are succeeded by the great ileciduoug forests of Central Russia (oak. iiia|de. asli, and other trees), which form the southern belt of the forest zone. Agriculture has pushed northward into this zone, and large areas of the llax. hemp, and rye fields occujiy cleareil lands. Soutli of the forest zone and roughly bounded on the north by the Volga is Russia's gri.at<>st source of wealth — the black earth region 1 '/'c/K-niorioin ) , the granary of Russia, with boundless fields of wheat and other cereals, and with an abundance of grasses, but with an absence of trees. This broad zone extends into Rumania on the west and passes around the Southern I'rals into Siberia on the east. Still farther to the south, skirting the Black and Caspian seas, lie the steppes. The River Don, traversing the steppes, divides them into two parts of very dill'erent character. The western and well-watered half is a populous pastoral district, rich in nutritious grasses, on which many millions of cattle, horses, and sheep are fed and fattened; the eastern half, arid and inhabited only by wandering tribes of Kal- unicks and Cossacks, is occupied by bleak plains, salt marslu'S an<l lakes, and sandy deserts. Hes- saraliia and tlic Crimea form a southern zone be- yond the steppes, wlicre maize thrives, the wines of Russia are produced, and the olive ripens. Fauna. The Arctic fox and polar bear, rein- deer, and seals are found along the northern coa.sts or on the lands north of the Arctic Circle. The forests formerly made Russia the great source of the fur and skin trade of Eurasia, but this commerce has been largely reiluced by the over-destruction of fur animals, and Russia has for years given way to Silieria as the chief source of the empire's fur trade. The fox. hare, brown and other bears, wolf, lynx, elk and other deer, wild boar, and glutton still abound in the forests. The beaver is now found only in the Government of Minsk. Most of the carnivora of the forest belt and also squirrels, foxes, and hares are foviud in the black earth region, but the most distinctive animals of this agricultural area are the suslik and the bailiak, which aro the pests of the grain fields. Birds, most uu- nu'rous in the forests, include the grouse, hazel hen, and partridge. The northwestern coast waters, warmed by the Atlantic ilrift. abound with cod. salmon, and other highly prizx-d fish, and not only the coast but also the river fisheries are highly important. The most remarkable fish- ing giounds are situated near the mouths of the Don, Volga, and I'ral. where herring, sheat-fish (10 to 12 feet long: weight over tidO pounds), and sturgeon are caught in incredible numbers. About one-half of the enormous value of the Russian fisheries is yielded by the Caspian Sea. Geology and Minkbai, Rksoircbs. Russia proper is a geological world apart from the rest of Europe. The endless variety of structure that is seen in Western Europe gives place in Russia, to almost horizontal layers, rising and falling only