Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1893-10-23
q CONTINENT IN ITSELF.
| Tho Vast Extent and Wonderful Variety
: of Siberia.

To many in this country Siberia is
a subarctic territory-a region cold,
barren and inhospitable and covered
during the greater portion of the year
with snow. But nothing could be
further from the truth. Siberia is
virtually continent in itself, and
presents continental diversities of
climate. scenery and vegetation. An
idea OF it's enormous extent may be
formed when it is said that the coun-
try is 5000 miles long and $500
miles wide, but much better idea
may be gained by simple illustra.
tion. Ii it were possible to move en-.
tire countries from one part of the
globe to another, you could take the
whole United States OF America,
from Maine to California and from
Lake Superior to the Gulf Of Mexico
and set it down in the middle of ST.
oerla without touching anywhere the
boundaries Of the latter territory.
You could then take Alaska and all
the States of Europe. with the single
exception OF Russia and fit them
into the remaining margin like the
pieces OF dissected map; and after
having thus accommodated all of the
United States, including Alaska and
ali or Europe, except Russia. you
would still have more than 300, 600
square miles Of Siberian territory to
spare-or. in other words you. would
still leave unoccupied in Siberia an
area half as large again as the Empire
or Germany. The area Iof the Sibe-
rlan provinces is 5, 4Y3, 629 square
miles, and Of the United States,
Alaska and Europe (outside European
Kussla) 8, 1874, 100 square miles, leav
Ing balance in favor of Siberia of
300, 500 square miles
The single province of Tobolsk,
which in comparison with the other
Siberian provinces ranks only fourth
in point OF size, exceeds in area all
OF our Northern States from Maine to
Iowa taken together. the province
OF Yeniseisk is larger than all the
United States east OF the Mississippi
River, and the province Of Yakutsk
Is IL times as large as Great Britain.
"a times as large as the State Of
pennsylvania, and might be cut up
into 1888 such States as Massachu-
sets; and yet Yakutsk is only one of
ii Siberian provinces.
In Siberia, which stretches from
the latitude of Italy to the latitude
OF Central Greenland, one would nat
uraliy expect to find and one does
find many varieties OF climate and
scenery. In some parts of the Prov
incc OF Yakutsk the mean tempera-
ture of the month of January is more
than so degrees below zero, FAIR.
while In the Province of Semipala-
tinsk, the mean temperature of the
month OF July is - degrees above;
and such maximum temperatures as
% and 100 degrees in the shade are
comparatively common. On the
Taimyr Peninsula, east of the Gulf
of OBJ, the permanently frozen ground
thaWs out in summer to a depth of
only few inches and supports but
scantv vegetation of berry bushes and
moss, while in the southern part of
Western Siberia watermelons and
cantaloupes are profitable crop; to-
bacco is grown upon thousands OF
plantations, and the peasants harvest
annually more than so, 900. 900 bush
els OF grain. In the fertile and ara
BILE zone of Southern Siberia, which
is belt OF country 400 or 500 miles
wide lying along the central Asiatc
and Mongolian frontier, there are a
dozen towns which have a higher mean
temperature in summer than the city
OF London. The summer tempera-
ture OF the whole belt Of country,
from the Ural Mountains to the Pa
cldc, averages six degrees higher than
the mean summer temperature of
England
The country between the Urals ana
Tiumen, a great commercial city in
the Government OF 1obolsk in West
ern Siberia, is thus spoken of by
George KEENAN,, the great Russian
traveller
"SQmetimes, for miles together.
the road ran through unfenced but
cultivated land where men and wo-
men in bright-colored dresses were
blowing. narrowing, or wedding young
grain; sometimes we plunged into
dense cool forest, from the depths of
which we could hear the soft notes of
shy cuckoos, and then we came out
into a great sea of meadow blue with
forget-me-nots, where field sparrows
and warblers were filling all the air
with Joyous melody. Flowers met the
eye everywhere in great variety and
in almost incredible profusion.
Never had we seen the earth so
carpeted with them even in Cali
fornia The roadside was bright
with wild roses, violets, buttercups.
primroses, marsh marigolds, yellow |
peas, iris and Tartar huneysuckles:
the woods were whitened here and |
there BY soft clouds of wild-cherry
blossoms, and the meadows were lit |
orally great floral seas of color. In
some places the beautiful rose like
flowers of the golden trollius covered
hundred OF acres with an almost un-
broken sheet OF vivid yellow; while a
few miles farther on. the steppe to
the very horizon was bluesocean of
do not mean SIM
ply that the ground was sprinkled