Holsteln. At the upper part, where it divides into two branches, on the tongue of land between them is situated the great German colony of Little Liebenthal ; on the right lies the village of Alexandrowsky, inhabited by Greeks ; on the left a Russian village, known by the promising appellation of " Rascal Valley," Burlaktshi Balk), and at the head of one of the branches the little Russian village of Sukhoi Liman. Besides these there are many fishermen's huts, and the estate and country-house of the Countess Potocki. I know of no second instance of such a dense population in the steppe.
The Greek village of Alexandrowsky presents a striking contrast to the stirring, active, prosperous German settlements. The Greeks have been located here since the time of the Empress Catherine, and have received ten times as much land as the Germans, yet are invariably in debt to them, and in most instances are content to make over the land to their neighbours for a small sum, that they may be spared the trouble of farming, and be enabled to lounge away their time and money in taverns. They live in wretched hovels, and every thing in their villages appears decayed and out of order. Even the church had lost its bell, and the congregati n was summoned by the strokes of a hammer upon an old broken piece of U'on, The only interesting object I could find, was an old grayheaded man from Ithaca, one of the original settlers, who was the very image of the noble swineherd of Ulysses, leaning silently on his stafi^, in the midst of the loud boastful talkers who surrounded him. The character of the swineherd, as well as that of the sage Ulysses himself, belongs to the country, and the Odyssey is still, at the present day, a living picture of the islands and seas of Greece.
After a long drive over the Greek steppe, we again set foot on German ground, in the fields and gardens of the great colony of Gross-Liebenthal, the seat of a government whose jurisdiction extends over ten other colonies. There are four of these districts, or Gebiete, and they contain altogether about 25,000 inhabitants. All these colonies of Southern Russia are under the authority of a colonial committee in Odessa, of which a Russian general is the president, and for each territory an inspector is appointed, who communicates with the committee. These inspectors are also Russians, but the Schultz, or chief of the viUage, is always a German, and is chosen by ballot by the community. All discussions concerning pubhc affairs ai'e carried on in general meetings of the inhabitants, called together by the sound of a bell, on which occasions also are promulgated all ordinances of the higher powers. Every territoiy possesses lands in
The Colonial Committee is in communication with a colonial department, wliicli forms a branch of the Mmistry for tlie Interior at St. Petersburg. The greater part of the German colonies are in the following provinces : — In the government of bt. Petersburg about 5000 souls, without, of com'se, including the numerous German residents in tlie capital ; in the government of Saratoft', on the Volgii, 100,000 ; in Little Kussia and in New Russia, 40,000 ; in Bessarabia, 30,000 ; on the stepiH^s and about the Sea of Azoff, 50,000 ; in the Crimea, 5000 ; and in the Caucasus, in the valley of the Kur, 5000 : in all about 250,000 German colonists. In tlie ccntnd part of the empire, in the ancient Muscovy, where the population is sufficiently dense, there are no colonies, nor in Poland, or the Bahic provinces, where the government had no land to give away. The most wealthy of these colonists are those about the Sea of Azoff, on the banks of tlie IMolotshna, or Little jNIilk Kiver. Among the peasants there, some are said to jmsscss as many as 20,000 slu-cp, ami they all of them lire iu cxccUent houses. When the Emperor Alexander, ou his wfiy common, with orchards, vineyards, fisheries, and sheep-walke, and from the produce of these estates are formed savings banks, which are of great service in times of scarcity.
The sheep we saw were all Merinos, or of some other fine breed, and the orchards promised such an abundant crop, that the trees had to be propped up mider the Aveight of their rich burden. It is observed that the trees in these gardens spread out their roots as far as possible in a horizontal direction, forming an entangled net work along the surface of the ground, and seem to delay as long as they can the fatal contact with the calcareous stratum beneath. The slightest declivity, by increasing the depth of the rich upper soil and affording some shelter, produces a marked improvement in the character of the vegetation.
to Taganroi?, rode through the Molotshna country, he exclaimed, in perfect astonishment, " Children, we have no occasion now to travel to Germany ; we have more than Germany Avithin our own empire."