In conjunction with the Bug, ' it forms a large liman, or swampy lagune, called Dnieprovskoi, nearly 50 miles long, and from 1 to 6 miles broad, by which it discharges itself into the North Gulf of the Black Sea. This liman extends from Cherson to Oezakoff, and in summer has hardly six feet of water. The Dnieper, seen from Cherson, resembles a vast lake studded with islands. The entire length of the Dnieper, measured by its windings, is about 1,200 miles; in a straight line it is about 650 miles from its source to its mouth. Its depth of water at Smolensk is from 1 6 to 20 feet; at Kiev, 20 feet; at Krementchug, 20 feet; at the rapids, 8 feet; below the rapids, from 7 to 12 feet; at its embouchure, from 5 to 6 feet. Its average width is estimated at 700 paces, and the surface which this river and its tributaries drain is exceeded only among European streams by that of the Danube. The Dnieper flows for the most part between high banks, the greatest elevation of which is along the east side. The upper part of its course is through a marshy country; in the middle and lower course it passes over numerous rocks, and between banks of the older calcareous formation. It is broader, deeper, and more rapid than the Don, and is navigable from Smolensk to Kiev; but below the latter town, the river is traversed by a granitic chain, and the navigation is interrupted for about 40 miles by 13 rapids called poroge, and also by huge blocks of stone. Here the river presents a most magnificent sight, careering along in a bed at least 1000 feet wide, which for miles on miles is one continued sheet of boiling foam. This space is passable for vessels of small draught during the spring floods only, and even then only with great difficulty and danger. Works have been undertaken at various periods to render this part of the 'river navigable. All merchandise for Cherson, on the Black Sea, used to be unladen at Old Samara, whence it was conveyed by land to Alexandrofsk, at the mouth of the Moscofska, a distance of about 46 miles by land. From this spot to the mouth of the Dnieper, a distance of 260 miles, the navigation is unimpeded. The goods that descend the rapids of the Dnieper consist almost exclusively of timber, firewood, and iron from Siberia. Tar is also brought in immense quantities from the Polish forests. Below the cataracts, and as far as the liman of this river, upwards of 70 islands occur, amidst which moving sands impede the navigation during summer. These islands produce a grape called biroussa, which resembles the currants of Corinth. They are reported to swarm with serpents, and abound in a sort of wild cat. Flowing through more than 9 degrees of latitude, great diversity of climate is experienced along the course of this river. At Smolensk the waters freeze in November, and continue ice-bound until April; at Kiev they are generally frozen from January to March. The direction of its course from north to south delays its rise till late in the spring, as the streams which feed it from the north do not thaw till the end of April. The
Dnieper abounds in fish, particularly sturgeon, carp, pike, and shad. This river is the Borysthenes of the Greeks, and the Danapris of the middle ages. It is first mentioned by Herodotus. Except the more southerly parts, its banks have long been inhabited by races of Slavonian origin. Towards the mouth, from the Ross on the right, and the Vorska and Soula on the left bank, the country was for a long time a mere steppe, where nomadic tribes fed their numerous flocks. By treaty with Turkey, and since the partition of Poland, both banks of the Dnieper have become the property of Russia. The lower part of its course has been the scene of many sanguinary conflicts between the Turks and Russians; the upper part, particularly the neighbourhood of Smolensk, was the scene of some severe conflicts in Bonaparte's retreat in November 181 2.'
Of the forests on the Dnieper, M. Polytaief writes: — ' Under the name of Dnieper forests I understand the forests that are on the Dnieper, and also those on its affluents, therefore into the number of Dnieper forests enter those in the governments of Minsk, Moghileff, Smolensk, Orel, Koursk, Tchernigov, Kiev, Volhinia, Cherson, Ekatherinoslaff, and Poltava. In inspecting the forests of these governments I shall principally pay attention to the crown forests — or more correctly speaking, the forests under government management.