ej nearly reach hands
to one another through affluents, which rise so close to each other
that the two river systems might easily be connected by canals. This
is also the case with the affluents of the Yenesej and the Lena,
which at many places almost meet, and the Lena itself is, according
to Latkin's statement, navigable from the village of Kotschuga to
the sea. We see from this how extraordinarily advantageous is the
natural system of interior communication which Siberia possesses,
and at the same time that a communication by sea between this
country and the rest of the world is possible only by the Arctic
Ocean. It is on this that the enormous importance of the navigation
of the Siberian Polar Sea depends. If this can be brought about,
Siberia, with an inconsiderable expenditure in making canals, will
not only become one of the most fortunate countries of the globe in
respect of the possibility of the cheap transport of goods, but the
old proposal of a north-eastern commercial route to China may even
become a reality. If, on the other hand, navigation on the Polar Sea
be not brought about, Siberia will still long remain what it is at
present--a land rich in raw materials, but poor in all that is
required for the convenience and comfort with which the civilised
man in our days can with difficulty dispense.

Many perhaps believe that the present want of commercial
communication may be removed by a railway running across Russia and
Southern Siberia. But this is by no means the case. On the contrary,
communication by sea is an indispensable condition of such a railway
being profitable. For it can never come in question to carry on a
railway the products of the forest or the field over the stretch of
three to five thousand kilometres which separates the fertile river
territory of the Ob-Irtisch from the nearest European port. Even if
we suppose that the railway freight, inclusive of all costs, could
be reduced to a farthing the kilometre-ton, it would in any case
rise, from the grain regions of Siberia to a harbour on the Baltic,
to from 4_l_. to nearly 7_l_. per ton. So high a freight, with the
costs of loading in addition, none of the common products of
agriculture or forestry can stand, as may easily be seen if we
compare this amount with the prices current in the markets of the
world for wheat, rye, oats, barley, timber, &c. But if the Siberian
countryman cannot sell his raw products, the land will continue to
be a