The Russian Empire is, in many respects, the most remarkable in the world. With an area of more than eight and a half million of square miles, and a population of 110 millions, it is larger than the whole of the British Empire, including India, Canada, and Australia, and is about seventy times the size of the British Islands alone. It is natural that the internal transport of such a vast territory should present problems of deep interest, and should tax the resources of the engineers that have been from time to time occupied with their determination. This has been more than ordinarily difficult because of the vast distances to be traversed, and the inclement character of the climate, which practically seals up navigation entirely over a great part of the Empire for about six months of the year. Happily, the Empire is provided with a very ample river system, having, indeed, longer and deeper rivers than any other country in Europe, which means, of course, that water transport is available over long distances, without making any special or costly provision for that purpose. The enormous distances over which merchandise has been carried in pre-railway times, throughout the Russian Empire is justly regarded as one of the most remarkable chapters in the history of transportation. For many years previous to the commencement of the present century, large quantities of iron, salt, gold and silver, furs and skins, tallow, leather, marble and precious stones, in addition to the special products of China, were carried from the latter country to St. Petersburg, a distance of fully 2000 miles. The route adopted appears to have been by the Selenga to the Baikal Lake, and thence by the Angara to the Yenisey, where the merchandise was unloaded and carried overland as far as the river Ket. By this stream it was carried to the Obb, and thence up the Irtish and the Tobol, where it was again unloaded, and carried overland to the Tchussovaia, where it was put on vessels, and whence it was carried to the Kama and finally into the Volga. Such a system of transport is probably unequalled for extent and variety in any other part of the world, but the frequent removals and trans-shipments on this and on other principal routes rendered it a matter of urgent importance to connect the different waterways by canal navigation, whereby the leading maritime routes could be joined together.