Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-03-09


utterly ignores the idea Of a person
with such an unlikely name as
Madden having anything whatever
to do with the boards of wealth ac-
cumulated by the dead O'Keefe.
The sterpes and Gases OF Central
Asia.
The Steppes are the bottom of
ancient seas which once rolled over
a large portion of the continent of
Asia, and which, when swept BY
storms, rise in tumultuous waves,
not of water, but of sand, the parti-
cles of which might be likened to
spray but that they burn like
sparks of fire. The terror inspired
by these storms is such as to deter
even the most adventurous mer-
chant from traverSing the Steppes
in summer, unless under the most
pressing necessity. Their aspect,
when covered with snow, is de-
scribed as strangely awful and
oppressive, exhibiting the expanse
of the ocean without its animation,
and solitude of the arctic regions
without their sublimity. Woe to
the traveller who is overtaken by u
snow storm in the Steppes; his
doom is inevitable, and bodies of
troops, which have essayed the
perilous task Of marching across
the Steppes in winter, have been
overtaken and overwhelmed by q
tempest of snow. Dreary as are
the Steppes in winter, their aspect
in spring is not without a certain
beauty. The vegetation is rapid,
and they are clothed with short
vivid green grass, interspersed with
scarlet poppies, wild tulips, yellow
larkspurs, geraniums, aud many
kinds of cruciferous and legumi-
nous plants. The oaseS of Central
Asia afford striking contrast to
the surrounding deSolation, and the
cities which in past ages sprang up
in these favored spots abounded in
everything that could crafty the
heart of an Asiatic. Even in their
decay they possess attractions S
which excite the enthusiasm OF
travellers, and Bokhara, Balkh,
Khokan, Samarcand, Khiva and
Tashkend are still celebrated for
their babbling streams, bubbling
fountains, delightful gardens, and
deep umbragcous groves. The oases
are very carefully cultivated. Water
melons are grown over extensive
areas and afford the most grateful
alienation to the often oveypower-
ing heat; fruits of various kinds
are raised in great perfection, and
tobacco of the finest quality is pro.
duced i'll such abundance as tC
place this necessary Of life for an
Asiatic within the reach of the
poorest individual. The gardens,
Mr.. Schuyler says, constitute the
beauty of this land. The long rows
of poplar and elm trees, the vine
yards and the dark foliage Of the
pomegranate transport one at once
to the plains of Lombardy or the
south of France. In the early
spring the cities and their vicinity
are one mass of white and pink
with the bloom of almond, peach,
cherry, apple, apricot and plum
trees, which perfume the air foi
miles around. These gardens
are the favorite resorts of the peo-
pie in summer, and well they may
be, for nowhere are fruits more
abundant, and of some varieties
nowhere are they better. The ap-
ricots and nectarines it would be
impossible to surpass. Peaches,
though smaller in size, are said to
possess a higher flavor than the
best of England, The large blue
plums of Bokhara are celebrated
over the whole of Asia. There are
in common cultivation ten varieties
of melons. In that hot climate
they are considered particularly
wholesome, and in summer form
one of the principal articles Of food.
An acre of land properly prepared
will produce, in ordinary years,
from 1000 to 5000, and in good
years double that quantity,
The Green Three-Cent stamp.
By about the middle of next
May the public will have seen the
last of the present three-cent stamp
and will become to get accustomed
to something red, and possibly a
new tint. The best and fastest
color known--thp green three-haS