The Press. — London, England, 1855-03-24 00:00:00

Yittraturt. The Crimea and Odessa. Journal of a Tour ; with an Account of the Climate and Vege- tation. By Dr. Charles Koch. Murray. ALTHOUGH this tour was accomplished some ten years ago, and since that time, especially within the last year, we have had several etcellent descriptive works on the same subject, yet Dr. Koch's volume is worthy some attention for two reasons. He is a scientific man, and has already published three valuable works upon the Caucasus and the East (" Reise (lurch Russian(' nach dem Kaukasichen Isthmus," " Wanderungen im Oriente," and " Beitriige zur Flora des Orientes "), and upon the occasion of this tour he was completing for the Prussian Govern ment a scientific exploration of Southern Russia, under the special protection of the Imperial autocrat. Consequently he enjoyed much greater facilities than previous or sub sequent travellers who were merely making a tour of pleasure. In his preface Dr. Koch complains that even to this day very erroneous opinions are held by most people concerning the climate and capabilities of the Crimea; and, added to this, the maps that are constantly appear ing both here and in Paris insert numerous Tartar towns and villages which have no ex istence whatever, besides giving exaggerated populations to those which do exist, and thus helping to strengthen a very false impression of the fertility, population, and general re sources of the country. Few regions of the same limited extent present a greater variety of feature than the Crimea arid steppes ; undulating hills or immense moun tain ranges ; deep ravines and hollowed-out valleys, some densely wcoded, some without a tree ; a putrid sea upon the eastern side, abounding with salt, washing low, sandy shores, with the vast, shallow Sea of Azof beyond ; while on the west the deep, dark Euxine—the sea of storm and hurricane — dashes its restless billows against an iron bound coast of gigantic rocks. Uncultivated throughout its great extent, partly from the poverty of the soil and partly from want of water, it offers but few temptations for settlement and agriculture ; and the Tartar inhabitants, except in the neighbourhood of the towns, wander with their flocks over the steppes or upon the yailas (the tablelands of the mountain ranges) for the greater part of the year, changing their residence at short in tervals of time, according as fresh pasture ground is required for their herds. With great extremes of heat and cold in its climate, almost insupportable in either summer or winter, it is, at the same time, subject to the most bitter cold north-easterly winds from the Siberian mountains, or the most parching east-south-easterly winds from across the Sea of Azof. The fall of rain, too, is as varied as any other feature of the country, sometimes pouring down in torrents for days, and flooding the country ; at others the most distressing droughts will occur, the very rivers drying in their courses, and not a drop of rain will fall upon the land for months to come, while tor rents will descend within a few miles of the coast, upon the broad surface of the Black Sea. Such is the Crimea according to Dr. Kqeh. Having entered the peninsula at Xertch, Dr. Koch passed through Kaffa and Kara-su- Basar (a Tartar town), en route to Simferopol and Sebastopol ; from thence round the south eastern coast to Aloushta, and from that town, partially retracing his steps, he returned through Simferopol across the southern steppes to Perekop and Odessa, and from thence to the frontier. Simferopol—about which we have heard so much as the head-quarters of the Russ ian army, and the coveted spot of plenty for the allies—is the market town of the Crimea. The Tartars sell here their cattle, the Ger mans their vegetables, the Russians their corn and bread, while the Jews, having an eye to business, keep the brandy-shops as the best and most profitable speculation. There are a great number of Germans in Simferopol, and London : Ilsifts. THE PRESS. indeed throdghout the whole of the Crimea, particularly iu the southern districts, where their• principal business is the care of the vines and orchard s,which are cultivated at a vast expense, on the estates of the Russian nobility. Passing through Baktchi•Serai (a Tartar town beautifully situated in a deep, dark dell), Dr. Koch reached Sebastopol ; but there is little to interest in his description— he tells us nothing that we do not know better ourselves. We append one remark which concludes the chapter upon the occupation of the Crimea : T have already mentioned that the allies will probably be satisfied with destroying the fleet of the Black Sea, and the fortifications o' Sebastopol. A permanent occupation would cost the Western powers enormous sacrifices, and yet finally would lead to no result. Sebastopol would never become a Gibraltar. The greatest difficulty attendant on a permanent occupeion is the constant maintenance of such a large body of troops as it appears would be requisite for a place so remotely situated. Were all the country to be conquered, together with Sebastopol, the difficulties would only be increased, as the vicinity of an ever•powerful enemy requires the utmost measures of defence to be maintained, especially as the sole object of the latter would be to regain possession of the peninsula. The Crimea will never be able to support large armies in addition to its own population, for there is a total absence of water, with the exception of the small supply to be found in the few valleys; and, failing this, as even aqueducts cannot be constructed, it is impossible that fertility, and still less agriculture, should flourish. Dr. Koch, after leaving Sebastopol, pro ceeded round the coast-road from Balaklava to Aloushta. The valley of Baidar, he tells us, a short distance from Balaklava, is a most beautiful spot : wooded dells, tempting or chards, and bright patches of waving corn, with picturesque homesteads, meet the eye at every turn. The scenery, he says, is en chanting, the post-road excellent, the horses strong and well-conditioned, but the expense of travelling is painfully extortionate, while the accommodation afforded is abominable, and below the average of tho very worst Ger man inns. We will pass over the scientific observa tions of the coast-range. The aqueous for mation, the sedimentary strata, and the subterranean pressure, we will leave for geologists, merely observing that upon the uppermost portion of this southern range are found the yailas, or level flats, which are more or less luxuriant, and repaired to by the Tartars with their flocks during summer. Upon the coast-range on the northern side of the Crimea the vegetation is very scanty ; and Demidoff and other travellers, says Dr. Koch, commit a serious error when they designate the whole of the Crimean ranges as yailas. It is only so in portions of this southern range. Aloupka, Orianda, and 'Yalta, the several seats of Prince Woronzoff, the Emperor and Empress, and the Princess Galitzin, all situated in the most enchanting spots, Dr. Koch duly visited, and he speaks in rapturous terms of the beauty of the scenery and the magnificent and imposing grandeur of the sea view from this mountainous coast, with cliffs varying from 2,000 to 4,000 feet high. The cultivation of the vine is mainly carried on here ; and in these fertile valley s of the south eastern sea-coasts the vines seem to flourish, but they change their nature, and the wine produced at so great a cost, far beyond the value of an imported wine, is on the whole inferior in quality. The fruit, on the other hand, is good, and the best quality is sent direct to Moscow and St. Petersburg. The imperial gardens of Nikita are the most fa mous. Every fruit is here carefully grown— peaches, apricots, plums, almonds, walnuts, &c.—and the vines are very numerous, but not flourishing : The whole of Europe u far as Lisbon, Madeira, South Africa, Asia from Tiflis to Shiraz, and even North America, were placed under contribution in order to supply the best among their vines for the southern coast of the Crimea. No expense has been spared to obtain a celebrated vine even from the remotest corner of the globe. But these varieties all more or less lose their peculiar merits on the Crimean soil, and retain nothing but the name. I thought that I recognised the foliage of the early Wiirzburger, the Rhenish Riessling, the Traminer of the Palatinate, and the favourite Bordeaux, &c., but not the grapes, and still less the wine prepared from them On the other hand, such excellent wines were presented to me in Nikita, and still more in Magaratch, by Prince F. B. Galitzin, that they would have met with approval from the most experienced wine-drinkers. We were, however, told that the preparation of this quality of wine demands snob extreme care, that it is impossible to trade in it, for it would SATURDAY, either be given awity at enormous loss, or would have immense prices attached to it. lt is besides the universal opinion of vine-growers in the Crimea, that, although much attention is paid to the cal tare of the vine, yet there are few people who are able to prepare the wine with sufficient knowledge of the subject. Enormous sums have been expended in order to render the sterile ground productive ; nearly as much has been bestowed in obtaining vines from all parts of the globe, and in inducing vine-dressers to come and tend the vine; but there is an entire absence of experienced coopers, who know how to manage the wine, both during and after the fermentation, and, though it will hardly be credited, even the pper and effective implements are wanting. H ro is description of his journey over the ranges to Simferopol, and from thence to Perekup, across limestone steppes for ninety-five miles, without meeting a flock of sheep, or passing a single village upon the road—for there are none, nothing but a few (five) miserable post-stations—is with out much incident. Perekop is about two and a half miles across; the town is of no consequence, except as being the very key to the Crimea ; but Dr. Koch omits to tell us the depth of water in the bay. Between Perekup through Aleshki and Kherson to Nioolaev is a distance of some 107 miles. Nicolaev was formerly the head-quarters during winter of the Russian fleet, but building and fitting out the different men-of-war are now its sole duties. It is a most important arsenal, and appears to have been wholly overlooked by Admiral Dun das in his late direction of the coast opera tions of our fleet. Of the vegetation of the Crimea Dr. Koch does not speak favorably: culinary vegetables do not flourish ; turnips produce woody fibrous roots ; carrots the same ; spinach is bad, and cabbage coarse; while lettuce must be sown in autumn to show a head in spring. Camels and sheep are the staple animals of the Crimea. The dromedaries which Demidoff mentions, Dr. Koch says are not to be seen ; he met with only the double-humped camels, with a singu larly beautiful mane, which reaches to the ground, and which is used as wool, and woven by the women into cloths and other stuffs. The sheep are something like the fat-tailed sheep of the Russian steppes, but not so fine, and Dr. Koch remarks that, throughout the whole of his tour, he never met with any of those re nowned Crimean sheep which supply the Cri mean fur, although a few flocks do exist. Of the Tartars Dr. Koch speaks very favorably. Their whole population scarcely amounts to 60,000 souls, though once they were 300,000 ; but the Russian Government has done all in its power to repeople this deserted country. Germans, Greeks, Armenians, and Jews aro encouraged to settle, but the want of trade is the great drawback—Odessa has absorbed the whole trade of the Black Sea. The habits of the Tartars are simple, sober, and cleanly, and their domestic life unexceptionable. A Tartar village, says Dr. Koch, strikes one immediately on entering it by the cleanliness of the streets and houses ; no naked or ragged children ; order, activity, and industry surround you on all sides : they are, moreover, exceedingly hardworking and frugal. Throughout Dr. Koch's journey he met with few if any incidents worth recording, but his remarks upon the geology, the climate, and the physical features of the country are pointa upon which he throws greater light that any other traveller. The one great want of the country is water, and after the early days of spring the steppes become barren and dusty wastes, offering no means of subsistence for men or animals. The fertility of the country is confined to a few valleys among the ranges of the south-east coast, and this is a point worth the consideration of the allied generals in their projected operations in the field. An excellent and accurate map accompanies this book, which, on the whole, materially in creases our information with regard to the physical features of the Crimea, its population, and its resources. Popular Sketch of the Origin and Development of the English Constitution. Two Vols. Vol 11. From the Accession of James I. to the Present Period. By Henry Raikes, M.A. London : W. H. Dalton. EVERYTHING has its use : the " gauging plea "of Poor Peter Peebles v. Planistanes " afforded excellent practice to the young Scotch advo cates, and what that plea was to them the 1 14