Chapter 49

is one of the most fertile in central Europe. There are several ranges of hills, but no point within the province attains a great elevation. The only river of importance is the Ill, which falls into the Rhine after a course of more than 100 m., and is navigable below Colmar. The hills are generally richly wooded, chiefly with fir, beech and oak. The agricultural products are corn, flax, tobacco, grapes and various other fruits. The country has a great wealth of minerals, silver having been found, and copper, lead, iron, coal and rock-salt being wrought with profit. There are considerable manufactures, chiefly of cotton and linen. The chief towns are Mulhausen and Colmar in the upper district and Strassburg in the lower. The province is traversed from east to west by the railway from Strassburg to Nancy, and the main line north and south runs between Basel and Strassburg.

History. -- From a very early period Alsace has been a disputed territory, and has suffered in the contentions of rival races. Inhabited by the Rauraci and the Sequani, it formed part of ancient Gaul, and was therefore included in the Roman empire in the provinces of Germania Superior and Maxima Sequanorum. The Romans held it nearly five hundred years, and on the dissolution of their power it passed under the sway of the Franks. In the Merovingian period it formed a duchy attached to the kingdom of Austrasia, and was governed by the descendants of duke Eticho, one of whom was St Odilia. After the death of Charlemagne, Alsace, like the rest of the empire, was divided into countships. But the duchy was re-established after the death of the German king Henry I., and became hereditary in the Hohenstaufen family, and then in the house of Austria,

which succeeded in 1273 to the imperial dignity. In the beginning of the 12th century the country was divided between the two landgraviates of Upper and Lower Alsace, but to counteract the power of the nobles the emperors established in Alsace a great number of free towns. This state of things continued until 1648, when a large part of Alsace, comprising the two landgraviates of Upper and Lower Alsace and the prefecture of the ten free imperial towns, was ceded to France by the treaty of Westphalia. In the war which preceded this peace (generally known as the Thirty Years' War) Alsace had been so terribly devastated by the Swedes and the French that the German emperor found himself unable to hold it. The population was greatly reduced in numbers, and much of the land was left uncultivated. In the war between France and the Empire, arising out of the attempt of Louis XIV to seize Holland, that part of Alsace which remained to Germany was again overrun by the French. Although this war was terminated in 1678 by the treaty of Nijmwegen, the French monarch was desirous of incorporating a still larger amount of Rhine territory; and accordingly in 1680 he laid claim to a number of territories, belonging to princes of the Empire, which he alleged had been dismembered from Alsace. It was ordered that these territories should be at once restored to that province under the crown of France, and several independent sovereigns were cited to appear before two chambers of inquiry, called chambres de reunion, which Louis had established at Brisach and Metz. The princes appealed to the emperor and to the diet; but the previous wars had so exhausted the power of the former that nothing could be done to resist the aggression. In 1681 the French troops under Louvois seized Strassburg, aided by the treachery of the bishop and other great men of the city. A further war broke out, but by the treaty of Ratisbon (Regensburg) in 1684, Strassburg was secured to France. The war was renewed in 1688 and continued until 1697, when the peace of Ryswick confirmed definitively the annexation of Strassburg to France. Some remaining territories of small extent were acquired by the French after the revolution of 1789, including Mulhausen, which had been a republic allied to Switzerland.

Originally Celtic, the population was modified during the Roman period by the arrival of a Germanic people, the Triboci. In the 5th century came other German tribes, the Alamanni, and then the Franks, who drove the Alamanni into the south. Since that period the population has in the main been Teutonic; and the French conquests of the 17th century, while modifying this element, still left it predominant. The people continued to use a German dialect as their native tongue, though the educated classes also spoke French. Protestantism was professed by a large number of the inhabitants; and in many respects their characteristics identified them rather with the race to the east than that to the west of the Rhine. In process of time, however, they considered themselves French, and lost all desire for reannexation to any of the German states.

Alsace suffered a good deal in the war of 1870-71. The earlier battles of the campaign were fought there; Strassburg and other of its fortified towns were besieged and taken; and its people were compelled to submit to very severe exactions. The civil and military government of the province, as well as that of Lorraine, was assumed by the Germans as soon as they obtained possession of those parts of France, which was very shortly after the commencement of the war. The Alsatian railways were reorganized and provided with a staff of German officials. German stamps were introduced from Berlin; the occupied towns were garrisoned by the Landwehr; and requisitions on a large scale were demanded, and paid for in cheques which, at the close of the war, were to be honoured by whichever side should stand in the unpleasant position of the conquered. The people, notwithstanding their German origin, showed a very strong feeling against the invaders, and in no part of France was the enemy resisted with greater stubbornness. It was evident from an early period of the war, however, that Prussia was resolved to reannex Alsace to German territory. When the preliminaries of peace came to be discussed at Versailles in February 1871, the cession of Alsace, together with what is called German Lorraine, was one of the earliest conditions laid down by Bismarck and accepted by Thiers. This sacrifice of territory was afterwards ratified by the National Assembly at Bordeaux, though not without a protest from the representatives of the departments about to be given up; and thus Alsace once more became German. By the bill for the incorporation of Alsace and German Lorraine, introduced into the German parliament in May 1871, it was provided that the sole and supreme control of the two provinces should be vested in the German emperor and the federal council until the 1st of January 1874, when the constitution of the German empire was established. Bismarck admitted the aversion of the population to Prussian rule, but said that everything would be done to conciliate the people. This policy appears really to have been carried out, and it was not long in bearing fruit. Many of the inhabitants of the conquered districts, however, still clung to the old connexion, and on the 30th of September 1872 -- the day by which the people were required to determine whether they would consider themselves German subjects and remain, or French subjects and transfer their domicile to France -- 45,000 elected to be still French, and sorrowfully took their departure. The German system of compulsory education of every child above the age of six was introduced directly after the annexation.

ALSACE-LORRAINE (Ger. Elsass-Lothringen), a German imperial territory (since 1871), consisting of the former French province Alsace (then divided into the departments of Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin), together with its capital Strassburg, and German Lorraine (which included the department of the Moselle and portions of the departments of Meurthe and Vosges), together with the capital and fortress of Metz. The imperial territory (Reichsland) is bounded S. by Switzerland; E. by Baden, from which it is separated by the Rhine; N.E. and N. by the Bavarian Palatinate, the Prussian Rhine Province and Luxemburg, and W. by France. Its area is 5601 sq. m. The maximum length from N. to S. is 145 m.; the maximum breadth E. to W. 105 m., and the minimum breadth, on a line drawn through Schlettstadt, 24 m. In respect of its physical features, Alsace-Lorraine falls into three parts -- mountain land, plain and plateau. The first, practically co-extensive with the western half of Alsace, consists of the Vosges range, which running in a northerly direction from the deep gap or pass of Belfort (trouee de Belfort) forms in its highest ridges the natural frontier line between Germany and France. Between this mountain chain and its spurs, which fall steeply to the E., and the Rhine, stretches a fertile plain forming the eastern half of Alsace. In the N.W. a high and undulating plateau, which gently descends in the W. to the valley of the Moselle, occupies nearly the whole area of Lorraine. The drainage of the Vosges valleys and of the Rhine valley is collected and carried into the Rhine about 10 m. below Strassburg by the Ill, which has a course of more than 100 m. and is navigable below Colmar. With the exception of a few streams which run to the Rhone, all the waters of Alsace flow into the Rhine. The climate is on the whole temperate -- warmest in the lowest districts (460 ft. above sea-level) of N. Alsace, and coldest on the summits of the Vosges, where snow lies six months in the year. The mean annual temperature at Strassburg is 49.8 deg. F., at Metz 48.2 deg.; the rainfall at Strassburg 26 1/4 in., and at Metz 27 1/2 in. The Rhine Valley is in great part fertile, yielding good crops of potatoes, cereals (including maize), sugar beet, hops, tobacco, flax, hemp and products of oleaginous plants. But grapes and fruit are amongst the most valuable of the crops. The cereals chiefly grown are wheat, oats, barley and rye. Great quantities of hay are harvested. This description embraces also the production of Lorraine, where agriculture is less strenuously carried on, and the fertility of the soil is less. But Lorraine possesses, in compensation, greater riches in the earth, in coal and iron and salt mines. Cows are grazed on the S. Vosges in summer, and large quantities of cheese (Munster cheese) are made and exported. Total population (1905) 1,814,626.

The farms in Alsace are mostly small and are beld partly as a

private possession, partly on the communal system; in Lorraine there are some larger occupations. The manufacture of cottons, and on a smaller scale of woollens, is special to Alsace, the chief centres of the industry being Mulhausen, Colmar and the valleys of the Vosges. The territory has always been the centre of an active commerce, owing to its situation on the confines of Germany, France and Switzerland, and alongside the great highway of the Rhine. The communications embraced some 1249 m. of railway (1903), of which 1108 m. belonged to the state, a good system of roads, and several canals (notably the Rhine-Rhone, the Rhine-Marie and the Saar Canals), in addition to the rivers. Administratively the territory is divided into the following three districts, showing a density of population of about 316 to the sq. m.:--

Population. Districts. Area in sq. miles. 1885. 1905. Upper Alsace . . 1354 462,549 512,709 Lower Alsace . . 1845 612,077 686,359 Lorraine . . . 2402 489,729 615,558

On the sex division, 935,305 were in 1905 males, and 879,321 females. The percentage of illegitimacy is about 7. The rural population embraces 51% of the whole, the urban population 48%. The largest towns are Strassburg (the capital of the territory), Mulhausen, Metz, Colmar, all above 20,000 inhabitants each. Classified according to religion there were, in 1904, 372,078 Protestants, 1,310,391 Roman Catholics, and 32,379 Jews. Education is provided for at the university of Strassburg, in 21 classical and pro-classical schools, in 18 modern schools, and in nearly 4000 elementary schools. Over 85% of the people speak German as their mother-tongue, the rest French, or a patois of French. The annual revenue and expenditure are each somewhat in excess of L. 3,000,000. Customs and indirect taxes yield more than three-fifths of the total revenue, and direct taxes less than one-fourth. The state forests give about one-ninth of the whole. The higher administration of justice is devolved upon six provincial courts and a supreme court, sitting at Colmar. Moreover, there are purely industrial tribunals at Mulhausen, Thann, Markirch, Strassburg and Metz. The fish-breeding establishment at Huningen in Upper Alsace should be mentioned.

Constitution. -- The sovereignty over the territory was by a law (Reichsgesetz) of the 9th of June 1871 vested in the German emperor, who, until the introduction of the imperial constitution on the 1st of January 1874, had, with the assent of the federal council (Bundesrat) and, in a few cases, that of the imperial diet (Reichstag), the sole right of initiating legislation. In October of this last year a committee (Landesausschuss) of the whole territory was appointed to deliberate on laws proposed to it before they received the final sanction of the emperor. On the 2nd of May 1877, the Landesausschuss was itself empowered to initiate legislation within the competence of the territory, and in 1879 the imperial viceroy (Statthalter), representing the imperial chancellor, who had until then been the responsible minister, took up his residence in Strassburg. He is assisted in the government by 4 ministers of departments, under the presidency of a secretary of state, and, when occasion demands the extraordinary discussion of legislative proposals, by a council of state (Staatsrat), consisting of the secretary of state, under secretaries, the president of the supreme court of justice of the territory and, as a rule, of 12 nominees of the emperor. The Lanitesaus-schuss, a constitutional body with parliamentary privileges, consists of 58 members, 34 being appointed out of their number by the various district councils (Bezirkslage), 4 by the large towns, and 20 by the rural districts. Alsace-Lorraine is represented in the Bundesrat by two commissioners, who have, however, but one voice; and the territory returns 15 members to the Reichstag.

See A. Schmidt, Elsass unid Lothringen (Lerp., 1859); Spach, Histoire de la basso Alsace et de la ville de Strasbourg (Stras., 1860); von Mullenheim Rechberg, Die Annexion des Elsass durch Frankreich und Ruckblick auf die Verwaltung des Landes, 1648-1697 (Stras., 1897); Du Prel, Die deutsche Verwaltung in Elsass, 1870-1879 (Stras., 1879); L. Petersen, Das Deutschtum in Elsass-Lothringen (Munich, 1902). (P. A. A.)

ALSATIA (the old French province of Alsace), long a ``debatable ground'' between France and Germany, and hence a name applied in the 17th century to the district of Whitefriars, between the Thames and Fleet Street, in London, which afforded sanctuary (q.v.) to debtors and criminals. The privileges were abolished in 1697. The term is also used generally of any refuge for criminals.

ALSEN (Danish Als), an island in the Baltic, off the coast of Schleswig, in the Little Belt. It formerly belonged to Denmark, but, as a result of the Danish war of 1864, was incorporated with Germany. Its area is 105 sq. m.; the length nearly 20, and the breadth from 3 to 12 m. Pop. (1900) 25,000, most of whom speak Danish. The island is fertile, richly wooded, and yields grain and fruit. Sonderburg, the capital, with a good harbour and a considerable trade, is connected with the mainland by a pontoon bridge. Other places of note are Norburg and Augustenburg. On the peninsula Rekenis at the S.W. end of Alsen there is a lighthouse. Here, in 1848, the Danes directed their main attack against Field-marshal Wrangel's army. In 1864 the Prussians under Herwarth von Bittenfeld took Alsen, which was occupied by 9000 Danish troops under Steinmann, thus bringing the Danish war to a close. Since 1870 Alsen has been fortified.

'ALSHEKH, MOSES, Jewish rabbi in Safed (Palestine) in the later part of the 16th century. He was the author of many homiletical commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. His works still justly enjoy much popularity, largely because of their powerful influence as practical exhortations to virtuous life.

ALSIETINUS LACUS (mod. Lago di Martignano), a small lake in southern Etruria, 15 m. due N.N.W. of Rome, in an extinct crater. Augustus drew from it the Aqua Alsietina; the water was hardly fit to drink, and was mainly intended to supply his naumachia (lake made for a sham naval battle) at Rome, near S. Francesco a Ripa, on the right bank of the Tiber, where some traces of the aqueduct were perhaps found in 1720. The course of the aqueduct, which was mainly subterranean, is practically unknown: Frontinus tells us that it received a branch from the lake of Bracciano near Careiae (Galera): and an inscription relating to it was found in this district in 1887 (F. Barnabei, Notizie degli Scavi, 1887, 181).

ALSIUM (mod. Palo), an ancient town of Etruria, 29 m. W. by N. of Rome by rail, on the Via Aurelia, by which it is about 22 m. from Rome. It was one of the oldest cities of Etruria, but does not appear in history till the Roman colonization of 247 B.C., and was never of great importance, except as a resort of wealthy Romans, many of whom (Pompey, the Antonine emperors) had villas there. About 1 1/2 m. N.E. of Palo is a row of large mounds called I Monteroni, which belong to tombs of the Etruscan cemetery. Considerable remains of ancient villas still exist along the low sandy coast, one of which, about 1 m. E. of Palo, occupies an area of some 400 by 250 yds. The medieval castle belongs to the Odescalchi family. Near Palo is the modern sea-bathing resort Ladispoli, founded by Prince Odescalchi. See G. Dennis, Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria, i. 219.

ALSOP, VINCENT (c. 1630- 1703), English Nonconformist divine, was of Northamptonshire origin and was educated at St John's College, Cambridge. He received deacon's orders from a bishop, whereupon he settled as assistant-master in the free school of Oakham, Rutland. He was reclaimed from indifferent courses and associates here by a very ``painful'' minister, the Rev. Benjamin King. Subsequently he married Mr King's daughter, and ``becoming a convert to his principles, received ordination in the Presbyterian way, not being satisfied with that which he had from the bishop.'' He was presented to the living of Wilby in Northamptonshire; but was thence ejected under the act of Uniformity in 1662. After his ejection he preached privately at Oakham and Wellingborough, sharing the common pains and penalties of nonconformists, -- e.g. he was imprisoned six months for praying with a sick person. A book against William Shedock, dean of St Paul's, called Antisozzo (against Socinus), written in the vein of Andrew Marvell's Rehearsal Transprosed, procured him much celebrity as a wit. Dr Robert South, no friend to nonconformists, publicly pronounced that Alsop had the advantage of Sherlock in every way. Besides fame, Antisozzo procured for its author an invitation to succeed the venerable Thomas Cawton (the younger) as independent minister in Westminster. He accepted the call and drew great multitudes to his chapel. He published other books which showed a fecundity of wit, a playful strength of reasoning, and a provoking indomitableness of raillery. Even with Dr Goodman and Dr Stillingfleet for antagonists, he more than held his own. His Mischief of Impositions (1680) in answer to Stillingfleet's Mischief of Separation, and Melius Inquirenduni (1679) in answer to Goodman's Compassionate Inquiry, remain historical landmarks in the history of nonconformity. Later on, from the entanglements of a son in alleged treasonable practices, he had to sue for and obtained pardon from King James II. This seems to have given a somewhat diplomatic character to his closing years, inasmuch as, while remaining a nonconformist, he had a good deal to do with proposed political- ecclesiastical compromises. He died on the 8th of May 1703, having preserved his ``spirits and smartness'' to the last.

See Wood's A thenae (Bliss) iv. 106; Calamy's Life of Baxter, ii. 487; Wilson's History and Ant. of Dissenting Churches, iv. 63-66. (A. J. G.) ALSTED, JOHANN HEINRICH (1588-1638), German Protestant divine. He was some time professor of philosophy and theology at Herborn, in Nassau, and afterwards at Weissenburg in Transylvania, where he remained till his death in 1638. He was a marvellously prolific writer. His Encyclopaedia (1630), the most considerable of the earlier works of that class, was long held in high estimation.

ALSTON, CHARLES (1683-1760), Scottish botanist, was born at Eddlewood, near Hamilton, in 1683, and became lecturer in materia medica and botany at Edinburgh and also superintendent of the botanical gardens, of the plants in which he published a catalogue in 1740. He was a critic of Linnaeus's system of plant-classification (see BOTANY.) He died on the 22nd of November 1760 at Edinburgh. His Lectures on Materia Medica were published posthumously in 1770.

ALSTON, a market-town in the Penrith parliamentary division of Cumberland, England, 29 m. by road E.S.E. of Carlisle, on a branch of the North-Eastern railway from Haltwhistle. Pop. (1901) 3133. It lies in the uppermost part of the valley of the South Tyne, among the high bleak moors of the Pennines. Copper and blende are found, and there are limestone quarries. The mines of argentiferous lead, belonging to Greenwich Hospital, London, were formerly of great value, and it was in order that royalties on the Alston lead mines and on those elsewhere in the county might be jointly collected that the parish was first included within the borders of Cumberland, in the 18th century. As many as 119 lead mines were worked in the parish in 1768, but the supply of metal has been almost exhausted. Coal is worked chiefly for lime-burning, and umber is prepared for the manufacture of colours. Thread and flannels are also made. Whitley Castle, 2 m. N., was a Roman fort, the original name of which is not known, guarding the road which ran along the South Tyne valley and over the Pennines. It has no connexionwith Alston itself.

ALSTROMER, JONAS (1685-1761), Swedish industrial re-former, was born at Alingsas in Vestergotland, on the 7th of January 1685. He left his native village at an early age, and in 1707 became clerk to Alberg, a merchant of Stockholm, whom he accompanied to London. After carrying on business for three years, Alberg failed, and Alstrom (as his name was before his ennoblement) engaged in the business of shipbroker on his own account, and eventually proved very successful. After travelling for several years on the continent, he was seized with the patriotic desire to transplant to his native country some of the industries he had seen flourishing in Britain. He accordingly returned to Alingsas, and in 1724 established a woollen factory in the village. After preliminary difficulties it became a very profitable business. He next established a sugar refinery at Gothenburg, introduced improvements in the cultivation of potatoes and of plants suitable for dyeing, and directed attention to improved methods in shipbuilding, tanning and the manufacture of cutlery. But his most successful undertaking was the importation of sheep from England, Spain and Angora. He received many marks of distinction, was created (1748) knight of the order of the North Star, and a few years later received letters of nobility, with permission to change his name to Alstromer. He died on the 2nd of June 1761, leaving several works on practical industrial subjects. A statue was erected in his honour in the exchange at Stockholm. One of his sons, Clas (Claude) (1736-1794), was a naturalist of considerable eminence. During a voyage to Spain he noticed a native Peruvian plant known in Peru as the lily of the Incas, at the Swedish counsul's at Cadiz; he sent a few seeds to his master and friend, Linnaeus, who named the genus in his honour Alstromeria. He also wrote a work on sheep-breeding.

ALTAI (in Mongolian Altain-ula, the ``Mountains of Gold''), a term used in Asiatic geography with Various significations. The Altai region, in West Siberia and Mongolia, is similar in character to Switzerland, but covers a very much greater area. It extends from the river Irtysh and the Dzungarian depression (46 deg. -47 deg. N.) northwards to the Siberian railway and to the Sayan mountains. The backbone of the region is the Sailughem or Silyughema mountains, also known as Kolyvan Altai, which stretch north-eastwards from 49 deg. N. and 86 deg. E. towards the western extremity of the Sayan mountains in 51 deg. 60' N. and 89 deg. E. Their mean elevation is 5000-5500 ft. The snow-line runs at 6700 ft. on the northern versant and at 7800 ft. on the southern, and above it the rugged peaks tower up some 3200 ft. more. Passes across the range are few and difficult, the chief being the Ulan-daban at 9275 ft. (9445 ft. according to Kozlov), and the Chapchan-daban, at 10,555 ft., in the south and north respectively. On the east and south-east this range is flanked by the great plateau of Mongolia, the transition being effected gradually by means of several minor plateaus, such as Ukok (7800 ft.), Chuya (6000 ft.), Kendykty (8200 ft.), Kak (8270 ft.), Suok (8500 ft.), and Juvlu-kul (7900 ft.). This region, which is not accurately known, is studded with large lakes, i.e. Ubsa-nor (2370 ft. above sea-level), Kirghiz-nor, Durga-nor and Kobdo-nor (3840 ft.), and traversed by various mountain ranges, of which the principal are the Tannu-ola, running roughly parallel with the Sayan mountains as far east as the Kosso-gol (100 deg. -101 deg. E. long.), and the Khan-khu mountains, also stretching west and east.

The range of the Altai proper, known also as the Ek-tagh, Mongolian Altai, Great Altai and Southern Altai, likewise extend in two twin parallel chains eastwards as far as 99 deg. , if not farther. The Ek-tagh or Mongolian Altai, which separates the Kobdo basin on the north from the Irtysh basin on the south, is a true border-range, in that it rises in a steep and lofty escarpment from the Dzungarian depression (1550 to 3000 ft.), but descends on the north by a relatively short slope to the plateau (4000-5500 ft.) of north-western Mongolia. East of 94 deg. the range is continued by a double series of mountain chains, all of which exhibit less sharply marked orographical features and are at considerably lower elevations. The southern chain bears the names of Karaadzirga and Burkhan-ola, and terminates in about 99 deg.; but the northern range, the principal names of which are Artsi-bogdo and Saikhat, extends probably most of the way to the great northward bend of the Hwang-ho or Yellow River round the desert of Ordos. Whereas the western Ek-tagh Altai rises above the snowline and is destitute of timber, the eastern double ranges barely touch the snow-line and are clothed with thick forests up to an altitude of 6250 ft. The slopes of the constituent chains of the system are inhabited principally by nomad Kirghiz.

The north-western and northern slopes of the Sailughem mountains are extremely steep and very difficult of access. On this side lies the culminating summit of the range, the double-headed Byelukha (the Mont Blanc of the Altai), whose summits reach 14,890 and 14,560 ft. respectively,1 and give origin to several glaciers (30 sq. m. in aggregate area). Here also are the Kuitun (12,000 ft.) and several other lofty peaks. Numerous spurs, striking in all directions from the Sailughem mountains, fill up the space between that range and the lowlands of Tomsk, but their mutual relations are far from being well known. Such are the Chuya Alps, having an average altitude of 9000 ft., with summits from 11,500 to 12,000 ft., and at least ten glaciers on their northern slope; the Katun Alps, which have a mean elevation of about 10,000 ft. and are mostly snow-clad; the Kholzun range; the Korgon (6300 to 7600 ft.), Talitsk and Selitsk ranges; the Tigeretsk Alps, and so on. Several secondary plateaus of lower altitude are also distinguished by geographers. The Katun valley begins as a wild gorge on the south-west slope of Byelukha; then, after a big bend, the river (400 m. long) pierces the Katun Alps, and enters a wider valley, lying at an altitude of from 2000 to 3500 ft., which it follows until it emerges from the Altai highlands to join the Biya in a most picturesque region. The Katun and the Biya together form the Ob. The next valley is that of the Charysh, which has the Korgon and Tigeretsk Alps on one side and the Talitsk and Bashalatsk Alps on the other. This, too, is very fertile. The Altai, seen from this valley, presents the most romantic scenes, including the small but deep Kolyvan lake (altitude, 1180 ft.), which is surrounded by fantastic granite domes and towers. Farther west the valleys of the Uba, the Ulba and the Bukhtarma open south-westwards towards the Irtysh. The lower part of the first, like the lower valley of the Charysh, is thickly populated; in the valley of the Ulba is the Riddersk mine, at the foot of the Ivanovsk peak (6770 ft.), clothed with beautiful alpine meadows. The valley of the Bukhtarma, which has a length of 200 m., also has its origin at the foot of the Byelukha and the Kuitun peaks, and as it falls some 5000 ft. in less than 200 m., from an alpine plateau at an elevation of 6200 ft. to the Bukhtarma fortress (1130 ft.), it offers the most striking contrasts of landscape and vegetation. Its upper parts abound in glaciers, the best known of which is the Berel, which comes down from the Byelukha. On the northern side of the range which separates the upper Bukhtarma from the upper Katun is the Katun glacier, which after two ice-falls widens out to 700-900 yards. From a grotto in this glacier bursts tumultuously the Katun river. The middle and lower parts of the Bukhtarma valley have been colonized since the 18th century by runaway Russian peasants -- serfs and nonconformists (Raskolniks) -- who created there a free republic on Chinese territory; and after this part of the valley was annexed to Russia in 1869, it was rapidly colonized. The high valleys farther north, on the same western face of the Sailughem range, are but little known, their only visitors being Kirghiz shepherds. Those of Bashkaus, Chulyshman, and Chulcha, all three leading to the beautiful alpine lake of Teletskoye (length, 48 m.; maximum width, 3 m.; altitude, 1700 ft.; area, 87 sq. m.; maximum depth, 1020 ft.; mean depth, 660 ft.), are only inhabited by nomad Telenghites or Teleuts. The shores of the lake -- reminding a visitor somewhat of the Swiss lake of Lucerne -- rise almost sheer to over 6000 ft. and are too wild to accommodate a numerous population. From this lake issues the Biya, which joins the Katun at Biysk, and then meanders through the beautiful prairies of the north-west of the Altai. Farther north the Altai highlands are continued in the Kuznetsk district, which has a slightly different geological aspect, but still belongs to the Altai system. But the Abakan river, which rises on the western shoulder of the Sayan mountains, belongs to the system of the Yenisei. The Kuznetsk Ala-tau range, on the left bank of the Abakan, runs north-east into the government of Yeniseisk, while a complexus of imperfectly mapped mountains (Chukchut, Salair, Abakan) fills up the country northwards towards the Siberian railway and westwards towards the Ob. The Tom and its numerous tributaries rise on the northern slopes of the Kuznetsk Ala-tau, and their fertile valleys are occupied by a dense Russian population, the centre of which is Kuznetsk, on the Tom.

Geology. -- Geologically the Altai mountains consist of two distinct elements which differ considerably from each other in composition and structure. The Russian Altai is composed mainly of mica and chlorite schists and slates, together with beds of limestone, and in the higher horizons Devonian and Carboniferous fossils occur in many places. There is no axial zone of gneiss, but intrusions of granite and other plutonic rocks occur, and the famous ore deposits are found chiefly near the contact of these intrusions with the schists. The strata are thrown into folds which run in the direction of the mountain ridges, forming a curve with the convexity facing the south-east. The Mongolian or Great Altai, on the other hand, consists mainly of gneiss and Archaean rocks. The strike of the rocks is independent of the direction of the chain, and the chain is bounded by faults. It is, in fact, a horst and not a zone of folding.

Flora.--The flora of the Altai, explored chiefly by Karl F. von Ledebour (1785-1851), is rich and very beautiful. Up to a level of 1000 ft. on the northern and 2000 ft. on the southern slopes, plant life belongs to the European flora, which extends into Siberia as far as the Yenisei. The steppe flora penetrates into the mountains, ascending some 1100-1200 ft., and in sheltered valleys even up to 5500 ft., when it of course comes into contact with the purely alpine flora. Tree vegetation, which reaches up as high as 6500 and 8150 ft., the latter limit on the north and west, consists of magnificent forests of birch, poplar, aspen, and Coniferae, such as Pinus cerebra, Abies sibirica, Larix sibirica, Picea obovata, and so on, though the fir is not found above 2500 ft., while the meadows are abundantly clothed with brightly coloured, typical assortments of herbaceous plants. The alpine meadows, which have many species in common with the European Alps, have also a number of their own peculiar Altaian species.

Mineral wealth.--The Altai proper is rich in silver, copper, lead and zinc ores, while in the Kuznetsk Ala-tau, gold, iron and coal are the chief mineral resources. The Kuznetsk Ala-tau mines are only now beginning to be explored, while the copper, and perhaps also the silver, ores of the Altai proper were worked by the mysterious prehistoric race of the Chudes at a time when the use of iron was not yet known. Russians began to mine in 1727 at Kolyvan, and in 1739 at Barnaul. Most of the Altai region, covering an area of some 170,000 sq. m. and including the Kuznetsk district, has since 1746 formed a domain of the imperial family under the name of the Altai Mining District. The ores of the Altai proper nearly always appear in irregular veins, containing silver, lead, copper and gold -- sometimes all together, -- and they are, or were, worked chiefly by Zmeinogorsk (or Zmeiev), Zyryanovsk, Ust-Kamenogorsk and Riddersk (abandoned in 1861). They offer, however, great difficulties, especially on account of their continually varying productivity and temperature of fusion. The beautiful varieties of porphyry -- green, red, striped -- which are obtained, often in big monoliths, near Kolyvan, are cut at the imperial stone-cutting factory into vases and other ornaments, familiar in the art galleries and palaces of Europe. Aquamarines of mediocre quality but enormous size (up to 3 in. in diameter) are found in the Korgon mine. The northern, or Salair, mining region is rich in silver ores, and the mine of this name used formerly to yield up to 93,300 oz. of silver in the year. But the chief wealth of the northern Altai is in the Kuznetsk coal-basin, also containing iron-ores, which fills up a valley between the Kuznetsk Ala-tau and the Salair range for a length of about 270 m., with a width of about 65