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ALTDORF — ALTEN ESSEN numerous tributaries rise on the northern slopes of the Russians, they speak a Turkish language. Both the Telenghites the Altayans are Shamanists, but many of the former are Alatau, and their fertile valleys are occupied by a thick and already quite Russified. As to the virgin forests of the Kuznetsk Russian population, the centre of which is Kuznetsk, on Alatau—the Chern, or the Black Forest of the Russians,—they are peopled by Tatars (Chernevyie or Black Forest Tatars), who live in the Tom. small settlements, sometimes of the Russian type, but mostly Geology.—The geology of the Altai is yet imperfectly known. very wooden yurtas of the Mongolian fashion. They can hardly Granite, together with porphyry and porphyrite, intersected by in keep any cattle, and live the poor life of forest-dwellers, feeding veins of jade (veined porphyrite) and various breccias used for upon various wild roots, when there is no grain in the spring to be decorative purposes at the Kolyvaii stone-cutting works, as also crushed with a hand-mill. Honey and cedar-nuts (from Pinus diorites, diabases, augite porphyry, hyperstenite, &c., enter _ to cembra) collected in the forests are much relied upon for buying a large extent into the composition of its mountains. The granites grain from the Russians. Hunting and fishing are also resorted are very much decomposed, and take fantastic shapes round Lake to, and the skins and furs are tanned by the family. Kolyvah. Volcanic basalts and andesites are found in the Salair Agriculture.—The chief occupation of the Russians is agriculture range. The great bulk of the mountains consists of various schists, (about 3,500,000 acres under culture), cattle breeding, bee culture limestones, sandstones, &c., belonging to the pre-Silurian period, (over 400,000 mining, gathering of cedar-nuts (from 3000 the Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous ages; they are chiefly to 10,000 cwts.hives), and hunting. All this produce is exported developed in the northern outer parts of the Altai. Since the Car- partly to Tomskyearly) and partly to Kobdo in Mongolia. boniferous period the Altai has not been under the sea, and its coalTowns.—The real capital of the Altai is Barnaul, the centre of bearing Jurassic deposits are of fresh-water origin; only in the the mining administration and altogether an animated commercial Alatau are they of marine origin, and show that this part of the town (29,408 inh.); Biysk, which is the commercial centre (17,206 highland was partially invaded by the sea during the Secondary age. inh.); Kuznetsk (3140 inh.), Ust-Kamenogorsk (8958), and the Numerous traces of an extended glaciation (including striated mining towns Kolyvah (11,703), Zmeinogorsk (6083), Riddersk rocks) have been discovered by Prof. Sapozhnikotf. As a rule, the (4000), and Salairsk (2500). Many villages are very populous. mountains are covered with thick diluvial deposits, and the Administration.—Most of the Altai region, covering an area of forms of their granitic domes also suggest a wide glaciation. 170,000 square miles and including the Kuznetsk region, Flora.—The flora of the Altai, explored chiefly by Ledebour, is nearly forms a domain of the imperial family under the name of Altai rich and very beautiful. Up to a level of 1000 feet on the northern, Mining District. and 2000 feet on the southern slopes, the flora is the habitual Authorities.—Ritter’s Asien, Ledebour’s Peise, TchikEuropean flora which spreads in Siberia as far as the Yenisei. The steppe flora also penetrates from the south-west and drives the Altai hatcheff’s Altai, and Cotta’s Altai are still very well worth flora to a still higher level. But above these levels up to 6000 consulting. Of modern works, Zhivopisnaya Eossiya (“Picturfeet, which is the average limit of tree vegetation, the mountains are esque Russia”), vol. xi., by Potanin, Mushketoff, Adrianoff, covered with beautiful forests of birch, Finns cembra, Abies sibirica, and others; Semenoff’s Geographical Dictionary; Adrianoff’s Larix sibirica, Picea obovata, and so on, while the meadows are “Journey to the Altai,” in Zapislci Russ. Geogr. Soc. xi. ; clothed with a rich, brightly coloured, and typical covering of herba- Yadrintseff’s “Journey in West Siberia,” in Zapt ski West Sib. ceous plants. Even the alpine meadows, which have many species Geogr. Soc. ii. ; Golubeff’s Altai, 1890 (Russian); Schmurlo, in common with the Alps, have a number of their own Altayan “Passes in S. Altai” (Sailughem), Izvestia Russ. Geogr. Soc. 1898, species. xxxiv. 5; Prof. Sapozhnikoff, various articles on glaciers, &c., Mineral wealth.—In respect of mineral wealth, the Altai proper in same periodical, 1897, xxxiii. ; 1899, xxxv. (p. a. K.) is rich in silver, copper, lead, and zinc ores, while in the Alatau, gold, iron, and coal are the chief resources. The Alatau mines are AltdorF, the capital of the Swiss canton of Uri, only now beginning to be explored, while the copper, and perhaps with a station on the St Gothard Railway, 22 miles from also the silver ores of the Altai proper were already worked by the Gdschenen and 34 miles from Lucerne. In 1899 a fine prehistoric “Chud,” at a time when the use of iron was not yet known. Russians began to mine in 1727 at Kolyvan, and in 1739 new carriage road was opened from Altdorf through the at Barnaul. But the Altai mines were made the property of the Schachenthal and over the Klausen Pass (6404 feet) to imperial family (r< The Cabinet of His Majesty ”), and the miners Linththal (30 miles from Altdorf), and so to Glarus. In were made serfs, which they remained until 1861; and this circum- 1895 a fine bronze statue of Tell and his son, by Kissling, stance hampered to a great extent both the development of mining and the colonization of the country. The ores of the Altai proper was set up in the market-place. In 1899 a theatre, close appear nearly always in the shape of irregular veins containing silver, to the town, was opened for the sole purpose of representlead, copper, and gold,—sometimes all together,—and they are ing Schiller’s William Tell. There is a stately parish worked chiefly at Zmeinogorsk (or Zmeietf), Zyryanovsk, Ust- church. Population in 1888, 2542; 1899, 2553; in 1900, Kamenogorsk, Riddersk (abandoned in 1861), and elsewhere. They ofler, however, great difficulties, especially on account of 3134. their continually varying productivity and temperature of fusion. ASfena, a town of Prussia, province Westphalia, The beautiful varieties of porphyries—green, red, striped, &c.— which are obtained, often in big monoliths, near Kolyvan, are cut 38 miles by rail S.S.E. from Dortmund. It has hardware at the imperial stone-cutting factory, whose produce is well known (especially fine wire) industries, a castle, and a museum. in the art galleries and palaces of Europe. Aquamarines of Population (1885), 9387 ; (1895), 12,108 ; (1900), 12,769. mediocre quality but enormous size (up to 3 inches in diameter) are found in the Korgon mine. The northern, or Salairsk, a town of Germany, capital of the duchy mining region also is rich in silver ores, and the mine of this of ASItenhurg’, Saxe-Altenburg, 23 miles S. from Leipsic by rail, with name used formerly to yield up to 7776 lb of silver in one year. But the chief wealth of the north-east Altai is in the Kuznetsk fine suburbs. A museum, with natural history, archaeocoal-basin, also containing iron ores, which fills up a valley between logical, and art collections, has been erected, and there the Alatau and the Salairsk range for a length of about 270 miles, may be mentioned St. Bartholomew’s church (1089), the with a width of about 65 miles, and is considered by Prof. Mushketoff as equal to the best coal basins of England and South German Renaissance town hall (4562-64), a lunatic asylum, Russia. Schiuah]hausen’s researches prove that these Coal Measures teachers’ seminary, and agricultural school. There are belong, like all those of East Siberia, Turkestan, &c., to the Jurassic lignite mines in the vicinity. Population (1885), 29,110 ; formation. The country is also covered with thick diluvial and alluvial deposits containing gold. Gold is extracted in many places (1895), 33,420; (1901), 37,110. in the Altai; to the extent of 2887 kilograms in 1897. However, Aitendorf, a commune of Prussia, in the Rhine all the mining is now on the decline. Instead of the 36,000 lb of province, 1 mile W. from Essen, with coal-mines and ironsilver which used to be extracted, only 6060 lb were extracted in 1897. The yield of lead was 33,000 cwts. in 1868-71, and 20,000 works. It embraces the two colonies of Krupp’s workcwts. in 1895 ; of copper, 4400 cwts. in 1897. Coal, however, is people — Kronenberg (population, 7764 in 1890) and being extracted in small quantities. Schederhof (4431). In 1901 it wTas incorporated with Population. —The Russian agricultural population has rapidly Essen. Population (1885), 25,693; (1895), 40,280; increased since the fertile valleys belonging to the imperial family have been thrown open to immigration, and it is estimated (1900), 63,271. that the present agricultural population of the region (Biysk, Altenessen, a commune of Prussia, in the Rhine Barnaul, and Kuznetsk districts) already reaches about 800,OOo! The natives may represent a population of about 45,000. They are province, 3 miles N. from Essen, with coal-mines, machinery Altayans in the west and Telenghites in the east, with a few factories, and lime-kilns. Population (1885), 15,599; Kalmyks and Tatars. Although all called Kalmyks by the (1895), 20,976; (1901), 27,938.
