The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-11-12

schuyier's Travels in Turkistau.

ing Central Asia which can be satisfactorily an
twcrcd only by one who has visited the country.
what. for example, are the main emupria OF
trade and the most available avenues Of com
muncaton between Eastern Europe and lndia7
What are the actual resources, commercial and
economical. Of the region lately occupied by
Russia, and to what extent are these susceptible
OF DEVELOPMENT under stable and enlightened
Governments And finally. now far nd III what
sense can the present Russian administration
Of those provinces be regarded a. an prove
ment on the rt tine OF the native rulcrs7 There
are, Of course many other matters to which
tuch travellers as kaniy, Reichthofen, and
Echweinfurth. who carry with them the acquire
ments Of accomplished scientists. would direct
attention But the general Inquiries above out
tined within the faculty of any Intelligent
man who has some command OF the Russian
language, and we should expect to md them
fully met In the two thick volumes of
hr. EUGENE SoHuyLER's recent elaborate
work - Turkistdn; Notes Of Journey IN
Eastern Itafststdn, Ehoknnd, Bikhdru, and
KulJd. On certain heads, as we shall pres
emily point out, this book supplies us with
Information of substantial value; but we are
bound to say that the writer's personal observa-
lions might have been compressed In u narrow
tpace aud that tho larger part OF these bulky
tones could apparently have been compiled at
81. Petersburg without undergoing a Journey to
Tashkeut.
II Is not always easy to reconcile the concu-
ions Of this traveller with the facts cited. TITUS
he 81 eaks OF NJ. dc Lesseps's plan for trans
Asiatc railway from Oren burg to Peshawut a. n
"wild project" Yet he had occasion TO verify
In his own experience the alleged unntness of
the Aral Sea for navigation owing to Its shall
lows and distractions, and he seems to be
aware OF the practical difficulties In the way
Of Improving the two great feeders Of that
basin. the Amu-Darya and Syr- Darya. which. to
the eye OF the geoRrapher. appear to he the natu-
raj routes Of commerce with the South The
fact Is that in order to In these courses SUI
ncient water Tor navigation, II would he neees-
sary to forego the system Of irrigation. and this
by cutting short the productive power If Central
Asia would aumhilate one Of the main grounds
on which increased facilities OF through trans
portation are desirable. where, as In this case.
the problem of intercommunioation obviously
admits Of but one solution, the railway. It IL
difficult to see how movement in that drec-
tiOn organized Toy the first Of living engineers
can be stigmatiIed As Wild. This. by the way
T. not the oniY instance In these volumes OF
certain nippancy aud boldness or assertion ex-
cusaoe enough IN a young writer, but hardly
calculated to inspire confidence.
In all the schemes which have been suggested
for an al-rall route through Central Asia. Tash-
kent Is recognized ~ the PRINCIPAL focus Of com.
merce. nd consequently as an essential hinge
OF the projected line. But Mr.. Schuyler denies
the proprieiy II this assumption. " rashkent,"
he saws. " Is not N manufacturing nor an agrtcul-
turai centre, nor is 1t really trade centre. 1t
lies on the road from Knokand to Oreubu ana
Yroitzk, and that is all" The statistics, how
ever, subsequently adduced do not seem to bear
out this statement. The trade OF Tsshkent In
1913 aggregated seventeen millions of rubles,
while that OF Bukhara In 1862, when II was far
larger than In any subsequent year. only reached
eleven millions. or the goods imported at fash
Kent, moreover, only quarter were 10 transit
to khokand. When we add that the commerce
win khiya and X ishgM is utterly Insignificant,
VIII be obvious that IL there Is any such thing
In Central Asia as "A tride centre II is Iashkent.
Notwithst nding. therefore. MIR. Schuyler's per-
fonni opinion, the facts aud figures which he
has collected seem To con Del the inference thtt
Central Asiitic railway Is practicable and even
indispensable. and that Tnshkent As the chief
commercial emporium OF the whole country
must inevitably be included 81 the line.
The value of Russian c0uquests IN this quar-
Ter, except from strategcd point Of Wow is
re- resented 10y Mr. Schuyler to be very small.
"Ceuiral Asia" he saws, has no stores OF
wealth ana no economical resources neither by
Us agricultural nor its mineral wealth. nor by
It, commerce, nor by the revenue to be
derived from it. can It ever repay the
Russians Tor what 1t has already cost.
Had Russia known fifteen years ago as
much about the countries Of Central Asia as sue
does now, there can be hardly doubt IN i there
would have been no movement ia that direc-
Il H. This Is the writer's formal sum niug up,
NM % Is worth while to see how far It Is j4sti-
tei oy facts which he has himself brought out
IL other portions Of these volumes. TIE princi
Iui siaI les II export from thii region are cotton
ana SILK " Az present there are about twenty
I've million pounds of cotton sent ever, year
from Central ASH 10 Russia, or about One-fffh
~ he whO'e amount impjit,d for the use of Rus.
nan ntdntldetEts.' Yet the quality OF TINS cot
ton 10 very bad Oh account Of the defective way
ia which II Is cleaned and IT'S admixture with
I'reen matters The loss from these causes il
uf'en MY per cent, while that from the worst
Jrt Indian cotton IL only eighteen per cent.
'w the Russian Government has undertaken
. cure these evils by the importation Of glns
nm Dresses. and also to improve the length and
q a'itv Of the staple h. the Introduction Of
mclean Tietes; ia Other words. 10 de- for his
rv-'"u Precisely what has been done for Egypt
: .' n.rked appreciation ~ price, which must
ie-tlt fro the new method. culture and pre-
L. ration. VIII give notable impulse to produce
ten; and II Increased facilities Of coinmunica-
tINN should Kermit thf IMPORTATION OF gram
f".u Russia. the greater part Of the land now
devoted to wheat ia F,rgana. ZlrAlshaen. and
4 ser fertile y4lleys might Le probably assigned
l. CIT u. As regards the production Of
tilH IA Central ASH, brunch OF Industry
which Is less than century old this
J. estimated. after careful calculations. at
ttOut ur and half million pounds" one
tlrd # witch comes from XII kand. one. third
from bukhara, aud about n million pounds from
tn oistilct OF when Ia, hkent il the capital.
"ite climatic q Central Asia Is Ia the highest
d. &c favorable to sila culture. There is
Aln' 81 no rain uof hail during the summer,
NAiic thander storms aLd violent winds are in
~ ent. and 1t is Therefore possible to do with
.'.i rtinco heat and ventilation. At the same
tn there Is am abundance Of the indlspens de
lost Of the worms-the mulberry treo.' Ia
~ r', here i nothing to check the indefinite
~ n-ion Of liz production except the care
l,-- uctbods IL breeding ana clumsy processes
a. trhug employed by the inhabitants. Hu
o. ''e are defect. which may be relnrdied. The
10 ndihs Of llru'es Ii already begun, and the
81 Hiue icmand l1l cocoons Of the better 81 iss
I'm hardly fail Ia urDVoke a mara fufellisert