The sixth of seven notebooks kept by William Bateson during his trip to the Aral Sea and the surrounding area. The entries in this notebook are almost exclusively field notes rather than travel diaries. They include records of water quality at salt lakes and water holes, and of flora and fauna observed, e.g. on pp. [1r-3r], [5r-7r] and [9v-11v].

A number of sketches are included, e.g. of people (pp. [4r-4v] and [9r]), plants (pp. [3v] and [68v]), a ship (page [12r]), a measuring instrument (page [58v]), and a carved stone (page [67r]). Some entries are written in the Kirghiz language and in Russian.

The entries concerning observations of the natural world are annotated in pink ink with numbers running 98-237. A single loose note is inserted inside the front cover (page [i]).