From Merv station, 118.01 sagenes above sea-level, the railway runs at first in a south-easterly direction, passing due south and south-west along the valleys of the Murghab and Kushk rivers. The first station beyond Merv is Talkhatan Baba, some 37 versts distant at an elevation of 127.06 sagenes. This place is situated in country which is both sandy and flat, while barely 6 versts away is the Murghab river, upon which the station is dependent for its water-supply. Twenty versts further the line meets the spreading prosperity of the Yulatan oasis, from which the point derives its name. Yulatan station stands at a height of 134.16 sagenes; and, although a pleasant freshness is imparted by the oasis to its environment, the general spectacle is very dreary, being broken only by the contours of low dunes and undulating sand ridges. A small village has been founded by the Russians on the banks of the stream, the first colonists to establish themselves in Yulatan appearing in 1885. An open square, surrounded by little brick and stone buildings distinguishes the centre of the settlement. Four wide streets, along the gutters of which are planted tall trees, radiate from it; while the population consists principally of Persians, Khivans, Sarts, Armenians and Bokharan Jews. The percentage of Russians is inconsiderable. Yulatan contains the headquarters of the District Commissioner, the Sixth Company of the 1st Trans-Caspian Railway Battalion and two companies of the 1st Caucasian Rifle Battalion. There are also a post and telegraph office, a mixed primary school, an hospital with six beds, a synagogue and a large public garden. The trade is in the hands of Bokharan Jews and the market assembles upon Mondays and Thursdays. In the district around the station there is a Tekke population of 15,000, occupied, for the most part, in the cotton industry. By reason of its trade this station is the most important commercial centre on the line. In 1901, for which statistics have only just become available, there were: Passengers. _Arrivals._ _Departures._ 2108 2084 _Imports._ _Exports._ Merchandise 10,569 poods Merchandise 30,161 poods. Sugar 413 ” Wheat 2,109 ” Kerosene 602 ” Barley 3,581 ” Flour 856 ” Cotton 16,763 ” These figures have increased greatly in more recent years, the bulk of the trade from the Yulatan oasis line now converging upon this point.