The import trade is chiefly in American and German hands, and comprises miscellaneous goods, of which they told me at least fifty per cent. were wines and intoxicating liquors!  The Russian emperor should make intemperance a penal offence and issue an edict against it.

A Boston house was the first foreign one opened here, and then came a German one.  Others followed, principally from America, the Sandwich Islands, Hamburg, and Bremen.  Most of the Americans have retired from the field, two were closing when I was at the Amoor, and Mr. Boardman’s was the only house in full operation.  There were three German establishments, and another of a German-American character.

All the cereals can be grown on the Amoor, and the yield is said to be very good.  When its production is developed, wheat can be exported to China and the Sandwich Islands at a good profit.  Until 1864 the government prohibited the export of timber, although it had inexhaustible quantities growing on the Amoor and its tributaries.  I saw at Nicolayevsk and elsewhere oak and ash of excellent quality.  The former was not as tough as New England oak, but the ash could hardly be excelled anywhere, and I was surprised to learn that no one had attempted its export to California, where good timber for wagons and similar work is altogether wanting.  Pine trees are large, straight, tough, and good-fibred.  They ought to compete in Chinese ports with pine lumber from elsewhere.

[Illustration:  NOTHING BUT BONES.]

There is a peculiar kind of oak, the Maackia, suitable for cabinet work.  Some exports of wool, hides, and tallow have been made, but none of importance.  One cargo of ice has been sent to China, but it melted on the way from improper packing.  A Hong Kong merchant once ordered a cargo of hams from the Amoor, and when he received it and opened the barrels he found they contained nothing but bones.  As the bone market was low at that time he did not repeat his order.

Flax and hemp will grow here, and might become profitable exports.  There is excellent grazing land and no lack of pasturage, but at present bears make fearful havoc among the cattle and sheep.  In some localities tigers are numerous, particularly among the Buryea Mountains, where the Cossacks make a profession of hunting them.  The tiger is not likely to become an article of commerce, but on the contrary is calculated to retard civilization.

With increased agriculture, pork can be raised and cured, and the Russians might find it to their advantage to introduce Indian corn, now almost unknown on the Amoor.  At present hogs on the lower Amoor subsist largely on fish, and the pork has a very unpleasant flavor.  The steward of the Variag told me that in 1865, when at De Castries, he had two small pigs from Japan.  A vessel just from the Amoor had a large hog which had been purchased at Nicolayevsk.

The captain of the ship offered his hog for the two pigs, on the plea that he wished to keep them during his voyage.  As the hog was three times the weight of the pigs the steward gladly accepted the proposal, and wondered how a man who made so absurd a trade could be captain of a ship.  On killing his prize he found the pork so fishy in flavor that nobody could eat it.  The whole hog went literally to the dogs.