The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-06-13
KISHINEFF NOT BAD
 PLACE ID RESIDE
It Has Attractions for All Save
 the Jews
SCHOOLS ARE EXCELLENT
Probably the Most Attractive Parts of the City Are the cardens-For Many Months the Climate Is
 Like That of California.

New York, June 12.-(special)-so great has been the interest of the public in the recent massacre in Kishineff that little or no attention has been given to the physical characteristics of the place. And yet there are men over in the East Side who have lived in Kishineff and say that in many ways 1t Is quite unlike any other city in the world. One of these men, who was in Kishineff not a great while ago and who took sufficient interest in 1t to learn much of its history, told yesterday of some of it's most remarkable features. Judging from the way he spoke of It, Kishineff is not at all bad place to live in-that is. for any one but Jew.
 Altogether the most attractive part or the city, according to the description or the former inhabitants, are the wonder full gardens In the suburbs. These gardens occupy no less than 12000 acres, which IS about nineteen square miles. The tertil- ity is not excelled anywhere. and 1t IS said to be rare occurrence Tor crop of anything to fall The chief product of these rich acres are fruits and that kind of vegetables, which in America IS associated with the word trucking ln- mense quantities of wine come from the vineyards of the gardens of kishinen. And many of the expensive foreign cigar cites smoked by people here in New York are made of tobacco that was raised in these same fields.
 PIums a Great Attraction.
 But of all things for which the Bes- sarabian capital Is noted, said thls ln- formant with a reminiscent smacking Of the lips the plums are the most deserving. They are dried and exported, going 10 Odessa or some Mediterranean port, and are famous all over southeastern Europe.
 For many months of the year." he con- tinued "the climate of Kishineff Is just about like that of Southern California Is said to be, but we had some pretty cold weather, though it didn't last long. The coldest month has an average tenn perature of about 20 or 30 degrees Fahren- heit, and in the hottest month 1t Is never over 75 degrees"
 The formation of the city is very strik- Ing and unusual The old, or lower town Is on the banks of the river Bky, a tribu- tary of the Dniester, and the new, or high town, is on high crags rising in some places to nearly 500 feet above the level of the river.
 It is doubtful If any town in Russia, the nation of fairs, has more of them than has Kishneff. Twice week they occur. and the yearly returns from them amount to something like $1, 500,0O0. Trade is exceedingly active, and with every year 1t becomes more important. Kishinen be- Ing the chief center of the Bassarabian commerce in tallow, grain. and countless other articles. Though the recent out rages perpetrated there inevitably cre- ate the impression that Kishineff is in al very primitive state of civilization, such is far from true. Whatever may be the character of many inhabitants. and how ever villainous and cruel they may have proved themselves, their city Is very rich In some things that are usually con- sidered adjuncts of civilization.
 Schools Are Good.
 For instance, the schools are said to be very good, and there are several theatres. magnificent Turkish baths, large mar kets, especially for cattle and corn, and eighteen or twenty churches. The River Byk, winding in and out among the hills and crossed by several bridges, with the fertile fields lying in the low part of the town, presents a picture, the travellers say, far from unpleasant. The popula- ton is something between 10000 and l2O,- 900 and Is growing steadily. The railroad from Odessa to Jassy, in Roumania, passes through Kishineff, which Is only about 120 miles northwest of the former city. Kishineff Is the seat of the arch bishopric of Bessarabia and has an ec- clesiastical seminary with nearly 1000 stu- dents besides college and several sec ondary schools. Steam flour mills, candle and soap works, distilleries, tobacco fac tories-all of these are in the interesting city. The streets however, it is said, are mostly unpaved and the buildings are plain.
 Although 1t is a matter of history, sev- eral hundred years old now, the way In which the immediate vicinity of Kishineff has been the home of so many different peoples is particularly interesting in view of the late race troubles. Far back. almost before history began, the Cymri and Scythians lived there. They were busted by the Geti, who in turn were conquered by the Roman Emperor Trajan. In the third century, A. D., came the Goths re- gently become Christians; later the Huns, then the Avars and Bulgarians. then Sla- vonans. then the Bessi, from whom the name Bessarabia is taken. And so 1t went on, one nation coming and busting the other. Even now there are two Gypsy villages in which about 5000 Gypsies live.
 All these names are only part of those of the nations that came, and now it would probably take an ethnologist en- dowed with supernatural powers to de- termine the genealogy of the people of 1 Kishineff.