The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

812 RUSSIA IN EUROPE.opposite bank of the river. Capital of one of the most populous Russian governments,Kherson is nevertheless a smaller place than Odessa, and even thanNikolayev, the port of the Bug. The bar, islands, and sand -banks in the riverprevent the approach of large vessels, which are obliged to stop in the liman 24miles farther west. Still it does a considerable export trade, especially in timber,cereals, and hides. Some of the old fortifications are yet standing, and on one ofthe gateways Catherine II. was able to decipher the inscription, "This is theroad to Constantinople."Podolia is entirely comprised in the basins of the Bug and Dniester, and mostof its towns are situated either on the163. The Lowke [nguletz.Boole 1 : 325.000.course or near the banks of theserivers. In the Bug valley areVinnitsa, a thriving place; theJewish Bratzlav, formerly capital ofa Polish province ; and Lifin, southwestof which is Bar, in the Rovvalley, where was formed the famousconfederation of 1768, which hastenedthe ruin of Poland.the Sinukha, theIn the basin oflargest tributary ofthe Bug, is situated the flourishingtown of Uman, where, to revengethemselves on the Bar confederates,the Cossacks and Little Russianpeasantry massacred the Poles andJews who had taken refuge here in1768. Now the Jews are morenumerous than ever. About midwaybetween the Bug and Dniester liesthe important city of Balta, at thejunction of the Odessa-Breslau andOdessa-Moscow railways. It does alarge trade in cattle and farm produce,forwarded chiefly to Odessa.5 Miles. On entering the government ofKherson, the Bug sweeps by Olviopoland Vosnesensk to its junction with the Ingul, in the basin of which stands the townof Telisavetgrad ("Elizabeth Town "), which has recently acquired a rapid developmentas the chief centre of traffic between Kremenchug and Odessa.In the neighbourhoodare some lignite mines. Another town also remarkable for its recentexpansion is Nikolayvc, on both banks of the Ingul, just above its junction withthe Bug, where the two streams assume the proportions of a liman, or wide estuary.Since 1789 Nikolayev has been the chief Russian naval station on the Black Sea.While Sebastopol was planned more for aggressive purposes, the somewhat inland