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northern extremity joins the undulating plateau (400 to 600 ft.), built up of sandstones and marls, which separates the tributaries of the Tobol from those of the See also:

RIVER

river Ural, and falls by a range of steep crags—probably an old See also:

SHORE

shore-See also:

LINE

line of the Aral basin—towards the steppes. The steppe land of Turgai. is only some 3oo ft. above the sea-level, and is dotted with lakes, of which the Chalkar-teniz, which receives the Turgai and its tributary the Irgiz, is the largest. The Turgai was, at a See also:

RECENT

recent See also:

EPOCH (Gr. E7roxij, holding in suspense, a pause, from E1rxav, to hold up, to stop)

epoch, a large river flowing into the Sea of Aral and receiving an extensive See also:

SYSTEM

system of tributaries, which are now lost in the sands before joining it. Re-mains of aquatic See also:

PLANTS

plants buried in the See also:

SOIL

soil of the steppe, and shells of Mytilus and Cardium, both still found in the Sea of Aral, show that during the Glacial See also:

period this region was overflowed by the See also:

WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters of the Aral-Caspian Sea. The See also:

CLIMATE

climate of Turgai is exceedingly dry and See also:

CONTINENTAL

continental.

Orsk, a See also:

TOWN

town of Orenburg, on its north-western border, has a See also:

JANUARY

January as 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 as that of the See also:

west See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast of Novaya Zemlya (–4° F.), while in See also:

JULY

July it is as hot as July in See also:

MOROCCO

Morocco (73 ) ; the corresponding figures for Irgiz, in the centre of the province, are 7° and 77° At Irgiz and Orsk the See also:

ANNUAL

annual rainfall is somewhat under to in. and 12 in. respectively (3 in. in summer). The west winds are parched before they reach the Turgai steppes, and the north-east winds, which in See also:

winter bring cold, dry snows from See also:

SIBERIA

Siberia, raise in summer formidable clouds of See also:

sand. A climate so dry is of course incompatible with a vigorous See also:

FOREST

forest growth. There is some See also:

TIMBER

timber on the southern Urals, the Mugojar Hills and the See also:

WATER

water-parting of the Tobol; else-where trees are rare. Shrubs only, such as the See also:

WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild See also:

CHERRY

cherry (Cerasus chamaecerasus) and the See also:

DWARF (A.S. dweorg, D. dwerg, Icel. dvergr)

dwarf See also:

ALMOND (from the O. Fr. almande or alemande, late Lat. amandola, derived through a form amingdola from the Gr. l uybian, an almond; the al- for a- is probably due to a confusion with the Arabic article al, the word having first dropped the a- as in the It

almond (Amygdalus nana) grow on the hilly slopes, while the See also:

rich See also:

black-See also:

earth soil of the steppe is chiefly clothed with See also:

FEATHER (0. Eng. (ether, Ger. Feder, from an Indo-European root seen also in Gr. lrrepov, and aEreo-Oat, to fly)

feather grass (Stipa pennata), the well-known See also:

ORNAMENT (Lat. ornare, to adorn)

ornament of the south Russian steppes. In 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 the grass vegetation is luxuriant, and geese and See also:

CRANES (so called from the resemblance to the long neck of the bird, cf. Gr. 'y pavor, Fr. grue)

cranes are attracted in vast See also:

numbers from the See also:

heart of the steppe by the See also:

FIELDS, JAMES THOMAS (1817-1881)

fields of the Kirghiz. The. See also:

JERBOA

jerboa (Dipus jaculus) and the See also:

MARMOT

marmot (Spermophilus rufescens) are characteristic of the See also:

FAUNA

fauna; another See also:

SPECIES

species of marmot (Arctomys bobac) and the steppe See also:

fox (Canis corsac) are See also:

COMMON

common; and the See also:

SAIGA (Saiga tatarica)

saiga See also:

ANTELOPE

antelope of Central Asia is occasionally met with. Farther south the black earth disappears and with it the feather grass, its See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place being taken by its congener, Stipa c¢ illata. Trees disappear, and among the bushes along the See also:

banks of the rivers willows and the pseudo-See also:

ACACIA

acacia or Siberian See also:

PEA (Pisum)

pea See also:

tree (Caragana micro phyla) are most prevalent. In the See also:

MIDDLE

middle parts of the province the clayey soil is completely clothed with See also:

WORMWOOD

wormwood (A rtemisia fragrans and A. monogyna), with a few grassy plants on the banks of the rivers and lakes (Lasiagrostis splendens, Alhagi camelorum and A. kirghizorum, (Alone portulacoides, Halimodendrum argenteum) ; while large areas consist of shifting sands, saline See also:

CLAYS, PAUL JEAN (1819-1900)

clays clothed with various Salsolaceae, and the desiccated beds of old lakes. Such lakes as still exist, '' See P. S.

Nazarov, in " Recherches zoologiques See also:

DENS, PETER (1690-1775)

dens See also:

les steppes See also:

des Kirghizes," in See also:

Bull. sot. des natur, de See also:

Moscow (1886), No. 4. notwithstanding the rapid See also:

DESICCATION (from the Lat. desiccare, to dry up)

desiccation now going on, are surrounded by thickets of reeds—the See also:

RETREAT (O. Fr. retrete, mod. retraite, from Lat. retrahere, to draw back)

retreat of wild boars. Turgai is thus the borderland between the See also:

FLORA

flora of See also:

EUROPE

Europe and that of Central Asia. The See also:

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

population was estimated in 1906 at 511,800, composed mainly of Kirghiz, though Russians have immigrated in large numbers. The province is divided into four districts, the See also:

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

chief towns of which are Turgai, the See also:

capital; Ak-tyubinsk in the See also:

DISTRICT

district of See also:

ILETSK

Iletsk; Irgiz and See also:

KUSTANAISK

Kustanaisk in the See also:

NIKOLAYEVSK

Nikolayevsk district, a See also:

PRAIRIE (adopted from the Fr. prairie, a meadow-tract. Late Lat. prataria, Lat. pratum, meadow)

prairie town which has grown with See also:

GREAT

great rapidity. See also:

Agriculture is mainly carried on by the Russian settlers in the Nikolayevsk district, where the crops do not suffer so much from droughts as they do elsewhere. But the Kirghiz have also begun to cultivate the soil, and in 1900 there were in all 612,200 acres under cereals. The See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal crops are See also:

rye, See also:

wheat, oats, See also:

BARLEY (Hordeum sativum)

barley and potatoes. Livestock breeding is the leading occupation of the Kirghiz. Camels are bred and kept by the nomads both for their own See also:

PERSONAL

personal use and for the transport of goods between See also:

Bokhara, See also:

KHIVA

Khiva and Russian See also:

Turkestan. Considerable quantities of 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 and various See also:

animal products are exported to Orenburg, Orsk and See also:

TROITSK

Troitsk, and to Ust-Uisk and Zverinogolovsk, where large fairs are held.

The Kirghiz of the southern parts migrate in winter to the better sheltered parts of the province of Syr-darya, while in the summer some 30,000 kibitkas (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 tents) of nomads come from the neighbouring provinces to graze their cattle on the grassy steppes of Turgai. See also:

Salt is obtained from the lakes. There are a few oil-See also:

WORKS

works, tanneries and See also:

FLOUR

flour-See also:

mills, and the Kirghiz are active in the making of carpets and felt goods. See also:

EDUCATION

Education is a little more advanced than in the other steppe provinces; the system of " migratory See also:

SCHOOLS

schools " has been introduced for the Kirghiz. See Y. Talferov, The Turgai Province (1896), in Russian. (P. A. K.; J. T.

End of Article: TURGAI

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