which is a little more on the ruffet, and had their new one, which is fhort, very smooth, and fhining. It is unanimously afferted that the Dhiggetei furpaffes all other animals in the course, and that the best horfe is not a match for him. He can be taken no otherwise than by ftratagem. The hunter is obliged to get the wind of him, and to hide himself till he comes near enough to fhoot. When a troop of them perceives danger, or discovers a huntfman lying on the ground, or walking double, the conducting stallion immediately begins to leap three times round towards the object of alarm, and then flies off with the rest. On this account, a ftallion is much more eafily killed than a mare. If he be knocked down, the troop difperfes; and it is then probable that some of the stray mares will be taken in the country. This animal has never yet been tamed. A Kofack of Nershinsk, having taken one of the foals, kept it several months, and tried to tame it; but it refifted all his efforts, and finally killed itself with kicking and struggling.'

The lake Baikal yields a fifh which is entirely peculiar to it. The Ruffian inhabitants of the borders of the lake call it Solomjianka. It has only been known within these few years; though probably the knowlege of it had previously exifted, and been loft by negligence. This fith perfectly refembles a lump of fat. When put on the gridiron, the oily fat with which it is filled melts fo as to leave nothing but the bones. It is never taken in nets, and has never been feen alive. It is with probability supposed to refide only in the gulphs of the Baikal. It exifts in the centre of the lake, and in several places of the steep banks to the North; where lines of 300 or 400 fathoms have failed to reach the bottom. It would be difficult to affign the causes which throw these fifh to the furface. It happens commonly in fummer, during the high winds which come from the mountains, or the hurri canes from the north. At those seasons, these fish are thrown on the banks, especially on the coafts of Pofolfkoi, or towards the mouth of the river of that name. When the lake has been agitated by tempefts, they are found floating on the water in fuch quantities as in fome years to form a parapet on the fhore. This proves a rich harvest for the inhabitants, who extract an oil from them, which they fell to the Chinese. This year, they only appeared in the month of June, immediately after a hurricane; and the quantity was not confiderable. They were twice fent to me to Pofolfk, fome dried, others preferved in fpirits of wine. They appeared the second time on June 24. When thefe fish are thrown on fhore, they are not devoured by the gulls and crows, which are probably difgufted with their oily fat. They fcarcely remain two hours on the bank before a flight preffure with the hands makes them melt to oil,'

We shall terminate thefe zoological remarks on this part of Siberia, with an extraordinary proof of its cold, fhewn by the congelation of mercury expofed fimply to the open air. M. PALLAS was then at Krafnojarfk, between 56 and 57 degrees of latitude.

⚫ Winter was felt early; from the beginning of December the cold was exceffive. On the 6th and 7th of that month it furpaffed what

had

had been remembered in Siberia. The air was calm, and at the fame time, as it were, condensed; so that, although the weather was very fine, the fun appeared as through a cloud. I obferved, on the 6th in the morning, that the mercury of an excellent thermometer which I had remaining, fell into the ball and condensed there; which I had never before remarked in my observations on this inftrument for eight years, I carried it from the gallery, where it was, into a chamber, moderately warmed with a ftove. In this temperature, the column of mercury that had condensed in the tube, immediately fell into the ball but that of the ball gradually recovered its fluidity in about half a minute. I repeated this experiment feveral times, and always with the fame fuccefs, fo that each time there remained in the tube only fome little particles of mercury, and often one alone. In order to observe the progreffion of the phænomena, I gently warmed the ball of the thermometer by applying my fingers on it, and remarked the afcent of the mercury. I clearly faw that the condensed and frozen columns made a confiderable refiftance before they were pushed upwards. During this interval I exposed about a quarter of a pound of mercury, which had been well washed in vinegar, ftrained through leather, and carefully dried, in an open faucer, placed on the northern fide of the gallery of my house. In less than an hour the edges of the furface of the mercury were frozen; and, in a few minutes afterward, all was condenfed by the cold into a foft mass perfectly refembling tin. The infide, however, being still fluid, the frozen furface prefented different ramified wrinkles; yet the greater part of it was tolerably smooth. 1 obferved the fame thing in a larger quantity of mercury, which I expofed to the air in like manner. This mafs of frozen mercury bent more eafily than lead, and by a fudden flexure it became more brittle than tin; on flattening, it appeared fomewhat grumous. I placed it under the hammer, but, not being quite cold, the quickfilver fell from it drop by drop. The fame circumstance occurred in touching it with the finger, the end of which was benumbed by the touch. I placed it in a chamber temperately warmed by a ftove; there the mafs thawed, and became like wax before the fire: the drops feparated from the furface, and it did not melt all at once. On breaking it in the cold, the pieces attached themselves to each other, as well as to the faucer in which I placed them. The cold feemed to diminish towards night, yet the frozen mercury preserved its condensation; and the other experiments which I tried with the thermometer had the fame results. I made fimilar obfervations on the 7th. Some hours before fun-fet, the wind turned north-weft, and the thermometer rofe to 215 degrees (Delise's), and then the masses of mercury began to melt.'

M. PALLAS was informed that at Irkontsk (lat. 52.) the mercury in the thermometers and barometers froze on the 9th of the fame month.

In feveral parts of his tour, M. PALLAS met with colonists; fome of them voluntary fettlers, others compelled, and in very dif ferent states as to comfort. The following paragraph will thew how dangerous it is, in these cases, to entrust an arbitrary power

of

of felection to a set of men rendered incapable, by fituation or intereft, of fympathifing in the welfare of those over whom they exercise authority,

The colony established in the territory of Tomsk is of all the most miferable and ill peopled. I am ignorant of the caufe. Thefe colonies in general want women; whence the greater part of the young people, being unable to marry, give themfelves up to debauchery. It must be confeffed that the choice of perfons destined to people Siberia is extremely faulty. Thofe to whom it is committed are the Ruffian provincial gentry. I have feen, among the wretched peafants on whom the lot fell, infirm and difabled perfons, men long married without having had any children, and old men abfolutely unfit for population. What is still more shocking, is, that lords are found, who, from a fordid difpofition, have the inhumanity to fend away married men, when arrived at an age in which they can do them little more fervice. By these means, they separate them from their wives and numerous families, and fend them to perish with grief and distress in thefe inhospitable regions. Hence it happens that these poor wretches, in order to obtain a companion and helpmate, forget in course of time that they have left a wife and children in their own country, and contract marriage with the firft female whom they meet in their new fettlement. Many have told me, with tears in their eyes, how afficted they were at being obliged to abandon their families, with whom they could have lived perfectly happy, had they been permitted to carry them along with them into Siberia; in which cafe, far from complaining, they would have bleft the hand which had delivered them from the tyrannical yoke of the lords under whom they formerly lived.'

The German colonies on the Volga afford an interefting article to those who fpeculate on the means of improving an uncultivated country. The foil and climate, however, are but moderately favourable to the farmer; and the industrious artifans, of whom there are a confiderable number and variety, do not feem yet to have acquired an adequate market for their goods,

Many of the defart tracts in the neighbourhood of the Cafpian fea contain falt-fprings and lakes. Of thefe, one of the moft confiderable is that commonly called the lake of Elton, properly the Altan-Nor, (golden lake,) fituated in the government of Saratof, not far from the Volga. We fhall translate part of the description of this lake, which supplies the furrounding country with falt:

The Altan-Nor may be regarded as inexhauftible in falt, and it is not difficult to discover the cause of its riches. The brine collected in this lake, from the falt ftreams which run into it, has a furface more than fufficient for evaporation; and the falt remains, and forms year after year new layers. It is poffible that wet years may fome. mes increase the brine, but the diminution of falt can scarcely be

come

come fenfible in comparison to the whole mafs. The falt has hitherto been obtained at three different places on the bank: but what has been taken is fcarcely any thing compared to the whole quantity, and even this lofs is repaired in a very few years. The depth of the bed of falt which covers the bottom of the lake has not been yet founded. When they work it, they begin with taking away the first cruft which has been formed during the year: this falt, having not yet acquired its perfect folidity and maturity, is laid afide. The second layer, formed in the preceding year, is then taken off. Thefe layers are separated from each other by a flight interpofition of black mud. When come to the fifth layer, they find between it and the fourth a fimilar mud four fpans in depth. Under it are other layers of falt, thinner and more compact than the upper. It is not poffible to found deeper, on account of the mud, which becomes too fluid. The layer which they were now working was of an extraordinary thicknefs, owing to the great drynefs of the fummer. The year's falt formed a bed nearly five fingers thick, and it was ftill augmenting. The east winds having caufed the falt waters of the bank to retire, the manner of formation of the falt was diftinctly fhewn. It was fpread in clots, thin, but of the fize of a span. When the weather is calm, thefe form at the furface of the brine in pellicles, or fmall very thin crufts; which, acquiring a certain weight, fall to the bottom, and accumulate layer on layer. The little intermediate fpaces fill up by the formation of new falt, fo that the whole heap becomes one mafs. When thefe clots are detached, they prefent, below the cubes and on the furface, very fine needles of Glauber's falt, which have a beautiful appearance. Thefe cubes and needles are principally formed in the cool feafon of autumn, whence the fummer's falt is always the beft, being lefs adulterated by the bitter falt. It is in this respect that the fal gem of Ilezki is much fuperior to the falt of Elton.

The fprings which arife from the bed of the lake make themfelves a paffage across the falt, and form canals. If, after the retreat of the waters, a perfon wishes to cross the lake on foot, he must take care of these channels, because he would run the risk of plunging into the black mud with which they are filled. The falt water of these Springs has commonly a reddish appearance, and a strong fmell of rotten eggs. There forms on it a fat various-coloured pellicle fwimming on the furface. When the falt waters of the lake are confiderably high, and the fun fhines on them, they appear quite red from a distance. When I was witnefs of this phænomenon, the brine had fomewhat of a fire colour. The year's falt which forms the upper layer, and which has not yet acquired all its confiftence, does not become white, and only hardens at the furface; on breaking it, its colour is a deep red. It has at the fame time that violet or ftrawberry fmell which is remarked in all the red falts, and preferves it a long time. In fome places it takes a greenish hue.'

Having thus given our readers a few fpecimens of the information and amufement which they may expect from this great and valuable work, we fhall only add that each volume is terminated by an appendix, containing a defcription, in Latin, of the various new or uncommon objects of natural history men

3

tioned

tioned in the tour; and that to the fifth volume are annexed additions and explanations relative to various points, taken from the writings of Gmelin, Lepechin, and other travellers through the fame countries.

The plates and maps are important companions. The former contain chiefly reprefentations of fubjects of natural hif tory; alfo portraits of men and women, of different tribes, &c. &c.

ART. II. The Marquis DE CASAUX's Confiderations on the Effects of Taxes.

THE

[Article concluded from the Review for February.]

HE measure which this profound writer principally and forcibly recommends, in his principles of taxation, is-to fpare the Poor, not by forbearing to tax the neceffaries of life, for they are every where either directly or indirectly taxed, but by allowing the people an increafe of wages proportioned to the amount of their taxes; or rather by leaving it to labour, and indeed to every article that is bought or used by man, to find its own level; abandoning the abfurd practice of railing the price of commodities, and at the fame time beating down as low as poffible the wages of the working part of the public. Every ftatesman, of every country, he obferves, has always profeffed a defire to spare the poor working man: but these profeffions, were delufive and never realized.

:

In England, (fays he,) where they are as loud as in any other. part of the world in their expreffions of pity for the lot of the poor man, malt, beer, fpirits, candles, coals, &c. are taxed, as if he never ufed any of them. It is true that they begin by faying, with respect to beer and fpirits, that the object of the duty laid on them was to prevent exceffes equally prejudicial to morals and to health but who could not fee through the hypocrify of fuch a declaration, when the minister was always taking credit for the progreffive produce of this very duty, as much as for that of all the others? who could be blind to the real object of this tax, when it was feen that all others, which, like this, bore equally on the poor and on the rich, were the most productive, the most certain, and the most easy to be collected ?

In my plan, I will be as cautious and circumspect as they are in England, where it is not the barley, the wheat, nor any other fort of grain, that is taxed, for that would be dreadful as they fay; they only tax the malt, which cannot be made without a prodigious quantity of barley; the beer, that cannot be made without malt; and fpirits, which can be distilled only from wheat and other grain of which great quantities are annually confumed in diftilleries. How much would government find itself embarraffed, were the poor working people to renounce and abstain from thefe very precious and productive immoralities!'

The