5.  The  Climate  is  more  rigorous  than  that  of  any  other
region  permanently  occupied  by  man.  In  ordinary  winters,
mercury  remains  a  solid  body  for  two  entire  months ;  and
even  in  summer,  graves  of  any  depth  cannot  be  dug  without
the  aid  of  fire.  The  surface  thaws  in  the  brief  warm  sum-
mer ;  grain  is  then  sown  and  reaped,  while  useful  vegetables
are  raised ;  but,  below  an  inconsiderable  depth, — ^three  or
four  feet — the  soil  is  constantly  frozen  throughout  the  year,
in  some  regions  to  the  depth  of  380  feet.
6.  There  are  no  towns  of  important  size ;  and  all  would
be  utterly  insignificant  but  for  the  public  offices,  the  mining,
metallurgical,  and  manufacturing  works  estabHshed  by  the
Bussian  government.
Chief  Towna.
{Tobolsk,  Omsk,  Tomsk,  Kjasnoy-
arsk,  Ekaterinburg,  Nevyansk,
Barnaul,  Kolyva,  JBeresov.
7.  Tobolsk,  on  the  Irtish,  near  its  confluence  with  the
Tobolythe  largest  town  of  Siberia,  contains  20,000  inhabitants;
and  is  much  frequented,  lying  on  the  inland  commercial
thoroughfare  between  Europe  and  China.  The  private
dwellings  are  almost  all  of  wood.  Omsk,  on  the  Irtish,  Tomsk,
a  thriving  commercial  town,  on  an  affluent  of  the  Obi,  and
Krasnoyarsk,  the  seat  of  government  in  the  department  of
Tenesei,  are  the  present  heads  of  government.  Ekaterin-
burg, with  15,000  inhabitants,  the  first  town  which  the  tra-
veller reaches  on  entering  Siberia;  and  Nevyansk  ;  are  mining,
smelting,  and  manufacturing  towns  at  the  foot  of  the  XJrais.
Barnaul  and  Kolyva  have  the  same  character  in  relation  to
the  Altai.  Prisoners  sent  to  Siberia  are  chiefly  employed  in
the  mines.  Beresov,  on  the  Obi,  is  a  small  wood-bmlt  place,
rendered  of  interest  as  the  abode  of  many  illustrious  exilea.
