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snow-clad peaks reaching r 1,000 to 14,000 ft. In the south Semiryechensk embraces the intricate systems of the Ala-tau and the Tian-shan. Two ranges of the former. the Trans-Ili Ala-tau and the Kunghei Ala-tau, stretch along the See also:

north See also:

SHORE

shore of Lake Issyk-kul, both ranging from ro,000 to 15,000 ft. and both partially snow-clad. South of the lake two ranges of the Tian-shan, separated by the valley of the Naryn, stretch in the same direction, lifting up their icy peaks to 16,000 and 18,000 ft.; while westwards from the lake the precipitous slopes of the See also:

Alexander See also:

CHAIN (through the O. Fr. citable, chcene, &c., from Lat. catena)

chain, 9000 to 10,000 ft. high, with peaks rising 3000 to 4000 ft. higher, extend into the province of Syr-darya. Another See also:

mountain-complex of much See also:

LOWER

lower See also:

ELEVATION

elevation runs north-westwards from the Trans-Ili Ala-tau towards the See also:

SOUTHERN

southern extremity of Lake Balkash. In the north, where the province See also:

BORDERS, THE

borders Semipalatinsk, it includes the western parts of the Tarbagatai rapge, the summits of which (10,000 ft.) do not reach the limit of perpetual snow. The See also:

REMAINDER, REVERSION

remainder of the province consists of a fertile See also:

STEPPE (from the Russ. stepi, a waste)

steppe in the north-east (Sergiopol), and vast uninhabitable See also:

sand-steppes on the south of Lake Balkash. Southwards from the last-named, however, at the See also:

FOOT

foot of the mountains and at the entrance to the valleys, there are See also:

rich areas of fertile See also:

LAND

land, which are being rapidly colonized by Russian immigrants, who have also penetrated into the Tian-shan, to the east of Lake Issyk-kul.

The See also:

CLIMATE

climate is thoroughly. See also:

CONTINENTAL

continental. In the Balkash steppes the See also:

winter is very See also:

COLD (in O. Eng. cald and ceald, a word coming ultimately from a root cognate with the Lat. gelu, gelidus, and common in the Teutonic languages, which usually have two distinct forms for the substantive and the adjective, cf. Ger. Kolte, kalt, Dutch koude

cold; the lake freezes every See also:

YEAR

year, and the thermometer falls to 13° F. In the Ala-kul steppes the winds See also:

BLOW, JOHN (1648-1708)

blow away the snow. The passage from winter to See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring is very abrupt, and the prairies are rapidly clothed with vegetation, which, however, is soon scorched up by the See also:

sun. The average temperatures are: at See also:

VYERNYI (formerly ALMATY)

Vyernyi (2405 ft. high), for the year 46.4° F., for See also:

JANUARY

January 17°, for See also:

JULY

July 74°; at See also:

PRZHEVALSK

Przhevalsk (5450 ft.), for the year 36.5°, for January 23°, for July 63°; still higher in the mountains, at Naryn (6900 ft.) the average temperatures are only, for the year 43.7°, for January 1.4°, for July 64.4°. The yearly rainfall at these three places is 21.0, 16.o, and 11.8 in. respectively. The most important river is the Ili, which enters the province from Kulja and drains it for 250 m. before it enters Lake Balkash. The Chu rises in the Tian-shan Mountains and flows north-westwards through Akmolinsk; and the Naryn flows south-westwards along a See also:

LONGITUDINAL

longitudinal valley of the Tian-shan, and enters Ferghana to join the Syr-darya. Lake Balkash, or Denghiz, Lake Ala-kul (which was connected with Balkash in the See also:

POST

post-See also:

PLIOCENE (from the Gr. sr?eiov, mere, and xatvbs, recent)

Pliocene See also:

period, but now stands some See also:

HUNDRED

hundred feet higher, and is connected by a chain of smaller lakes with Sissyk-kul), Lake Issyk-kul and the alpine lakes of Son-kul and Chatyr-kul are the See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal sheets of See also:

WATER

water. The See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population was estimated in 1906 as 1,080,700. See also:

KIRGHIZ

Kirghiz See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form 76% of the population, Taranchis 5.7 %, Russians 14 % and Dzungans most of the remainder. The province is divided into six districts, the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief towns of which are Vyernyi (the See also:

capital), See also:

JARKENT

Jarkent, Kopal, Pishpek, Przhevalsk and Sergiopol.

The chief occupation of the Russians, the Taranchis and the Dzungans, and partly also of the Kirghiz, is See also:

agriculture. The most important crops are See also:

wheat, See also:

BARLEY (Hordeum sativum)

barley, oats, See also:

millet, See also:

rice and potatoes. A variety of oil-bearing See also:

PLANTS

plants and See also:

green See also:

FODDER

fodder, as also See also:

cotton, See also:

HEMP (in O. Eng. henep, cf. Dutch hennep, Ger. Hanf , cognate with Gr. Kavval3er, Lat. cannabis)

hemp, See also:

FLAX

flax and poppies, are grown. Live-stock breeding is very extensively carried on by the Kirghiz, namely, horses, See also:

CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle, See also:

sheep, camels, goats and pigs. Orchards and See also:

FRUIT (through the French from the Lat. fructus; frui, to enjoy)

fruit gardens are well See also:

DEVELOPED

developed; the See also:

CROWN

crown maintains two See also:

MODEL (0. Fr. modelle, mod. modele; It. modello, pattern, mould; from Lat. modus, measure, standard)

model gardens. See also:

BEE (Sanskrit blza, AS. ben, Lat. apis)

Bee-keeping is widely spread. The factories consist of See also:

FLOUR

flour-See also:

mills, distilleries, tanneries and See also:

TOBACCO

tobacco See also:

WORKS

works; but a See also:

GREAT

great many domestic trades, including See also:

CARPET

carpet-See also:

WEAVING

weaving and the making of See also:

FELT (cognate with Ger. Filz, Du. vilt, Swed. and Dan. fill; the root is unknown; the word has given Med. Lat. filtrum, " filter ")

felt goods, See also:

SADDLERY

saddlery and See also:

IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron goods, are carried on, among both the settled inhabitants and the See also:

NOMAD (Gr. voµas, voµabes, wandering)

nomad Kirghiz. There is a See also:

trade with China, valued at less than See also:

HALF

half a million See also:

sterling annually. Previous to 1899 this province formed See also:

PART

part of the See also:

general-governorship of the Steppes.

End of Article: SEMIRYECHENSK

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