cold and violent winds of the steppes of Central Asia,
in a way that no tent or combination of tents could pretend to effect. A
jourt of from 20 to 25, or even 30 feet in diameter, forms two
camel-loads, or about half a ton in weight.

[Fig. 8].

One camel carries the felt, the other the wood-work. Fig. 9 shows the
jourt half-covered; and fig. 10 gives an enlarged view of a portion of
the side. There are four separate parts in its structure:--1. The
door-way, a solid piece of ornamental carpentering, that takes to pieces
instantly. 2. The sides, which consist of lengths of wood-work, that shut
up on the principle of the contrivance known sometimes as "lazy-tongs,"
and sometimes as "easy-back scissors:" they tie together and make a
circle, beginning and ending with the doorway; a tape is wound round
them, as shown in fig. 9, about one-third from their tops. 3. The
roof-ribs. The bottom of each of these is tied to the sides of the jourt
(A, fig. 10), and its top fits into a socket in--4, the roof-ring, which
is a hoop of wood strengthened by transverse bars. Over this framework
broad sheets of felt are thrown: their own weight makes them lie
steadily, for they are quite an inch in thickness; however, in very
stormy weather, if I recollect aright, they are weighted with stones, or
they are stitched together. There is no metal in the structure: the laths
of willow-wood that form the sides are united, where they cross, by
pieces of sinew knotted at either end; these act as pivots when the sides
are shut up. I am indebted to the late Mr. Atkinson for my information on
these interesting structures. Further particulars about them, the native
way of making the felt, by continually rolling sheepskins with the wool
between them, and numerous pictures, in which jourts form a striking
feature, will be found in his beautifully illustrated work on Siberia.

[Fig 9 and 10 as referred to above and Fig. 1 for following section].

Small Tents.--For tents of the smallest size and least pretensions,
nothing can be better than the one represented in fig. 1: the ends are
slit down their middles, and are laced or buttoned together, so that, by
unfastening these, the tent spreads out to a flat sheet of the form of
fig. 2, well adapted for an awning, or else it can be simply unrolled and
used with the bedding. It is necessary that a tent should be roomy enough
to admit of a man undressing himself, when wet through, without treading
upon his b