Scope and Contents The first of seven field notebooks kept by William Bateson during the first part of his trip to the ‘Steppe’, including time spent in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Orenburg and Karabutak, en route to the Aral Sea. The entries are part travel diary and part field notes.They include descriptions of landscapes, plants and wildlife observed, places visited (including salt lakes), shells and fossils collected, people encountered (including the Kirghiz), local foods, customs and costumes, and...

Scope and Contents The second of seven notebooks kept by William Bateson during his trip to the Aral Sea and the surrounding area. The entries are part field notes and part travel diary. They include descriptions of the Aral Sea (reached on 21 August (page [8v]) and nearby salt lakes, of shells, fossils and local wildlife, and of his travels and experiences with the Kirghiz people.Entries include an account of a search for a group of thieves who stole a camel (pp. [2v-7r]); a description of the...

Scope and Contents 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...

Scope and Contents

Seven soft-bound pocket notebooks in Bateson's hand that he used for documenting his tour of 'the Steppe'. Some have original numbers on the covers which are given in the following descriptions. Entries are mostly in pencil, with occasional use of ink. The content is often exceptionally detailed, with general observations, accounts of incidents, and notes on flora and fauna (sometimes with sketches). A large proportion of the entries are dated.

Scope and Contents Bateson, on behalf of both the Royal Society and the University of Cambridge, undertook a tour of part of western central Asia to study various biological questions arising from the gradual desiccation of 'the Steppe'. He left London on 4 May 1886 for St Petersburg, Russia, returning to Cambridge in the Autumn of 1887. The Aral Sea and the surrounding area he studied particularly closely. After Bateson's death, his widow Beatrice published the letters that he sent to his family during the...