X. whether an attempt were made to lead us into, CHAP. or out of, a snare: it ended, however, like many such adventures, in nothing. The next morning, June the seventh, we travelled very expeditiously through Celo Staroy Ivotinskoy, to the town of WORONETZ, situate upon a river Woronetz. of the same name, near to the spot where it falls into the DON. CHAP. XI. CHAP. XI. FROM WORONETZ, TO THE TERRITORY OF THE Present state of Woronetz-Climate and productions- IN the reign of PETER THE GREAT, when that monarch came to Woronetz to build his first XI. Present Woronetz. ship of war, there were scarcely an hundred CHAP. wooden huts in the place. It is now a very handsome town; and its commerce entitles it State of to considerable distinction. By means of the Don, it possesses an easy intercourse with the BLACK SEA. Every year, vessels go laden to Tcherchask with corn; accomplishing their voyage in about two months. In winter they receive merchandize, by sledges, from the Crimea and from Turkey. Its merchants travel into Siberia for furs, and then carry them even to the fairs of Francfort. The Russian Isvostchick is seen at a German fair, and the same person may be found in the remotest parts of Siberia. Sometimes they pursue their course to the coasts opposite to England, and buy English hardware, cottons, Japan ware, &c. with which they travel to all parts of Russia. and Pro WORONETZ, from its remarkable situation, is Climate particularly qualified to become a great capital. ductions. It is placed so as to enjoy the advantages both of warm and of cold climates, and it holds an intercourse with all parts of the empire. Nature is so bountiful here in the summer, that plants found in very southern latitudes grow almost spontaneously. The Water-Melon, rarely in perfection anywhere, is as common at Woronetz as the cucumber in England, and it flourishes in the open air, with spicy and aromatic herbs. CHAP. Yet the inhabitants experience very great ex XI. tremes of temperature; having sometimes, according to the thermometer of Réaumur, thirty degrees of cold in the winter, and twenty-eight degrees of heat' in the summer. They use the precaution of double casements to their windows, as at Moscow and Petersburg, and have very large stoves in all their apartments. In the "Journal des Savans Voyageurs," published at Berne in 1792, a commentator attempts to explain the cause of the extraordinary difference observed in the productions of the climate and soil of Woronetz, when compared with those of other countries in the same latitude; by saying that the nature of the soil necessarily supplies that which the climate would not otherwise afford. The earth is strongly impregnated with nitrat of potass in all the environs of Woronetz; and it is to the presence of this mineral that the extraordinary fertility of the Ukraine has been attributed. The whole country south of Tula abounds with it; insomuch that it sometimes effloresces on the soil; and several fabrics for extracting it have been established. The immediate soil below the town of Woronetz is sand; upon (1) Equal to ninety-five of Fahrenheit. (2) See Note to p. 116. Voyages chez les Peuples Kálmouks et les Tartares. a steep mound or bank of which it has been (3) The Champagne wine has been imitated in England, with success, by using gooseberries before they ripen, and by supplying the want of the saccharine acid with loaf-sugar. If the process be properly attended to, there is very little difference. Both are artificial compounds. The common Champagne wine drunk in this country is made with green grapes and sugar. The imitation of it, with green gooseberries and sugar, is full as salutary, and frequently as palatable. (Note to the First Edition.) Since this Note appeared, a French translation of these Travels has been published at Paris, with Additional Notes “par le Traducteur." Alluding to these observations respecting the Champagne wine, he says, "C'est sans doute par un sentiment de patriotisme, et pour dégoûter ses compatriotes du vin de Champagne, que le Docteur Clarke se permet de hasarder de pareilles assertions. Croitque le vin de Champagne se fasse avec du sucre et des raisins verts ou des groseilles, et qu'un semblable mélange puisse passer, même en Angleterre, pour un analogue des vins d'Aï et d'Epernai ?” il It so happens, that the author's information respecting the Champagne wine does not at all depend upon any conjectures he may have formed: it is the result of inquiries which he made upon the spot, and of positive communication, (relative to the chemical constituents "des vins |