Peter Kropotkin and John Thomas Bealby

“ The chief river of the province is the Syr-darya (q.v.) . The frontier touches the eastern shore of the Sea of Aral, and numerous small lakes, mostly salt, are scattered over the sandy plains. A few lakes of alpine character occur in the valleys of the hilly tracts.
The climate of the province varies greatly in its different parts. It is most severe in the mountain region; and in the lowlands it is very hot and dry. As a whole, the western parts of the Tian-shan receive but little precipitation, and are therefore very poor in forests. ”

“ A girdle of loess, varying in width from 30 to 50 m., encircles all the mountain tracts, increasing in extent in Bokhara and at the lower end of the valley of Ferghana. It seems certain that during the Lacustrine period the Caspian was connected by a narrow gulf with the Aral basin, which was then much larger, while another inland sea of great dimensions covered the present Balkash basin, and at an earlier period may have been connected with the Aral basin. ”

“ Cotton is cultivated. Gardening is greatly developed. Sericulture is an important source of income. Livestock breeding is largely pursued, not only by the nomads but by the settled population. Fishing is prosecuted to some extent on the lower Syr. Timber and firewood are exceedingly dear.
The population of the province was estimated in 1906 as 1,779,000. ”