A Trip to Pilawin, the Deer-park of Count Joseph Potocki in Volhynia, RussiaLydekker, Richard
History
A Trip to Pilawin, the Deer-park of Count Joseph Potocki in Volhynia, Russia
Lydekker, Richard
Game reserves; Pilawin (Volhynia, Ukraine)
Reverting to the Schepetowka district, it remains to refer to the
occurrence of large erratic blocks of a grey syenitic gneiss (commonly
miscalled granite) which are used for road-metal, and likewise as an
ornamental building stone at Antoniny. What I take to be the same rock
is found _in situ_ at Koretz, where it forms the foundation of an
ancient ruined castle belonging to the Count. I was also interested
in a rock containing fine blue crystals of Labrador felspar, polished
balls of which are displayed at the entrance of Antoniny.
To the northward of Schepetowka the nature of the country undergoes a
remarkable change, the soil becoming sandy in place of alluvial, and
magnificent forests of Scotch fir replacing the cultivated ground and
oak-forests on the south side of the line. In these forests, a short
distance from Schepetowka, wild boars are still numerous, although the
number of head is believed to have been reduced by the severity of last
winter. The huge size attained by the Schepetowka boars is demonstrated
by a magnificent specimen--the gift of Count Potocki--exhibited in the
Natural History branch of the British Museum at South Kensington.
After continuing for about a dozen or fifteen miles, the pine-forests
cease, and we are once more on open cultivated land, which continues
all the way to Pilawin; the soil being, however, more sandy and lighter
in colour than that of the Antoniny district.
[Illustration: EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN BISON IN THE PILAWIN PARK.]
Only one change of horses was made on this journey, and that when
only about one-third the distance had been accomplished. Despite the
frightful condition of the roads and torrents of rain, the second team
covered the sixty odd kilometres at a long swinging trot, which was
only broken for short intervals twice during the journey. The last
few miles before reaching the Pilawin forests were, however, on a
macadamised road--the great military road from Warsaw to Kieff. Turning
off from this road to the left some few miles after leaving Koretz, the
final stage to Pilawin--about seven kilometres--was almost entirely
through magnificent primeval forest. At the turning we were met by an
escort of twelve Don Cossacks (whose duty it is to patrol the park),
who rode alongside and behind the carriage till our destination was
reached at 3.30, the whole eighty kilometres from Schepetowka having
thus been covered, despite the heavy rain, in six-and-a-half hours.
[Illustration: A TYPICAL PILAWIN SCENE.]
The forest tract to which Count Potocki has given the name of Pilawin
(a title connected with the ancient family crest) comprises about
seven thousand acres enclosed by an eight-foot timber paling, replaced,
however, in front of the shooting-lodge by wire fencing. The area of
the whole forest from which Pilawin is cut off is about thirty thousand
acres.
[Illustration: MAP OF PILAWIN.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account