The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-05-08

varied and interesting The prevailing
trees are oak and beeches, with pinion
pines, expresses, myrtles, mulberry
trees, and occasionally fig trees min
ged among them. l was greatly i'm
pressed by kind of dwarf beech which
/ had never seen in any other SYLVIA,
and of which we passed that day hun
dreds of specimens 1t often lay
stretched out almost fiat upon the
ground, and again where the soil ard
the exposure were favorable. it would
assume a form of perfect regularity and
rise to the height of six or eight feet.
The leaves are exceedingly small and
lustrous, making it a very decorative
plant. 1t seems surprising that botan-
lists have never brought it out to the
knowledge of the world, and made it
available for general cultivation. OF
the wild azaleas that we saw growing
in the Crimea, and the Caucasus too |
am bound to add that they were rather
poor and disappointing. Those of Pike
county are ten times finer.
YALTA-
About ) o'clock we reached Yalta, an
agreeable watering place witt hotels,
bath houses, and other amusements,
and perhaps 1,5OO regular inhabitants.
We stayed there three or four days, and
one of our most interesting excursions
was to Livadia, a country seat of vast
extent belonging to the Car. Getting
permission from the commander of the
guard, at the entrance, we spent a
large part of a day in visiting it. There
are several extensive dwellings, all
simple and convenient, not furnished
with any great magnifiCenCe, but suf-
fiCient for every requirement of COM
fort. In one bedroom of the imcarial
chateau we saw inserteu in the par
quetted floor a small cross of wood,
marking the spot where the late In
peror Alexander Ill. had died sitting in
lis chair.
We went through the greenhouses
finding them large, filled with many
| interesting yet not extraordinary
plants, especially palms, but not 9TH
erwise remarkable. 1t was like the col
lection of a millionaire with no un-
| usual taste and no extensive know
| ledge of botany or of the marvels Of
modern culture. The collection Of
| orchids seemed peculiarly limited. The
roads through the forest, which COW
| ers much of the estate, are perfectly
| good, but nothing more. There seemed
! for instance, to be scarcity of vitas
| taking advantage of the opportunity
of looking out upon the adjoining sea,
| 1t was a case of magnitude, but not Of
| high art.
There are several other famous es-
| tates in the vicinity, one or two of
| them belonging to members of the i'm
| perial family, but we did not attempt
! to visit them; and finally, having eX-
| hausted the interest of the shops in
| Yalta, and that is saying a good deal,
| we left the Crimea and its delightful
| climate one pleasant evening on a
| most excellent Russian ship, whose
! final destination was Batoum, the last
| Russian port at he eastern extremity
| of the Black Sea.
On the way we stopped first at
! Kertch, the ancient Panticapoeum at
the Straits of Ienikale and the Sea of
AzOff. 1t is very pleasant place, with
thirty odd thousand inhabitants and
an important trade, especially in salt.
! The most interesting object here is the
so-called tomb of Mthridates VII,
or Mithridates the Great, next to Han
| nibal perhaps the most energetic and
| irreCOnClable foe of ancient Rome.
! His tomb is a rather rococo structure
on the summit of a hill which over
| looks the city and the harbor. EXCa-
vations from the mounds about it,
and elsewhere near the city, have
contributed to the Imperial Museum
in st. Petersburg and to the British
Museum in London a quantity of
gold ornaments which compel atten-
tion even among the manifold treas
ures of those rich and most instrus-
tive collections on antiquities. The
share of the British Museum, was sent
there by Major Westmacott of the
British army, after the allies had cap
tured Kertch in 1855, during the oper-
ations of the Crimean war.
BOGUS RELICS.
We were able to drive nearly TO the
sumit of the hill and to examine close.
ly the ancient tomb. We found, how.
ever, that the territory surrounding II
was still frequented by a number OF
amateur explorers, who, with long ipor
hooks, poke in the gravel to find an,
tiquities that have escaped previous
efforts. From one of these / bought
for a few kopecks three or four little
terra cott2 images, which the seller
assured me had been dug out on the
spot but, on careful examination,
found that they had been made in ITALY
for sale as specimens of prehistoric art
We also visited the museum in one O
the streets near the water but saw
there nothing very impressive. the real
ly valuable articles having long sine,
been taken away. But the view from
the summit of the hill was superb, anC
we greatly enjoyed our afternooni