VERNAL JOURNEY TO ASTRAKHAN.

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the Ogorodnoi Yerik, or, garden ditch, and from Kirpifhnoi Bu-gor, or, brick ifle, by Kirpifhnoi Yerik, or, brick ditch, is appro-priated either to gardens or a cemetery, and is füll of ancientTartarian tombs. Otherdryiflesadjacent,iuch asBugriDanilovye,Kobluifkoi, Tfhertofskoi, Parfhikofskoi, Kandakofskoi, and Ko-bylinikoi, though they have no remains of brick buildings, yetveftiges of a former population are everywhere vifible.

The nitrous earth of this country is a reddifh fandy marl, orfand mixed with clay, and interfperfed with pieces of bone. Itwould be necefTary to mix düng or urine with it, in greatquantities, to prepare a good compoft for the production offaltpetre, in walls or beds which might afFord a fufficientfupply for a fmall faltpetre-work. At this feafon there was buta very flight efflorefcence on the lixiviated earth. — The onlyplants which thrive on thefe nitrous beds are the Ceratocarpus,Ranunculus JaZcalus, Lepidium ruderale and perfoliatum, Scorzo-nera laciniata, Hyofciamus niger y Seeale proßratam and villofum *,S'tfymbrium, Loe/e/ia, and Sophia, Afperugoprocumbens, Lycop/isveßcarla and Cynoglqßum. Various fpecies of Salfolce, Polycrema,Atrifilices, and the numerous Mejferfchmidia, put forth their buds.

Krafnoi Yar is built on the bank of the Bufan, in an iflandformed by the confluence of that river with the Akhtouba andthe Algara, another branch of the Volga. It is interfedted byfeveral fmall canals ; for inftance, thofe of Mayafhnoi and Ogo-rodnoi Yerik. Part of this ifle is inundated at high water ; andthen the ftreets of even the higher parts of the town are over-

* Secakproßratum. Pallas's Travels, Part i. Supplement, page 485. N. 99.Triticum pumilum, Lin. Sup. Plant, p. 115.

R 2 floWCd.