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 Fundamentals and Applications of

R en e wabl e E n e rg y

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 viii   Contents

5-6 Considerations in Wind Power 8-6 Solid Municipality Waste 250

Applications 153 References 255
References 157 Problems 255
Problems 158
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 6 Ocean Energy 261
Hydropower 163 9-1 Introduction 261
6-1 Introduction 163 9-2 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion 261
6-2 Analysis of a Hydroelectric Power 9-3 Wave Energy 265
Plant 165 Power Production from Waves 266
6-3 Impulse Turbines 173 Wave Power Technologies 270
6-4 Reaction Turbines 177 9-4 Tidal Energy 272
6-5 Turbine Specific Speed 185 References 277
6-6 Run-of-River Plants and Problems 277
Waterwheels 186
CHAPTER 10
References 189
Problems 189 Hydrogen and Fuel Cells 281
10-1 Hydrogen: An Energy Carrier 281
CHAPTER 7
10-2 Fuel Cells 286
Geothermal Energy 195 Thermodynamic Analysis of
7-1 Introduction 195 Fuel Cells 289
7-2 Geothermal Applications 197 References 297
7-3 Geothermal Heating 198 Problems 297
Degree-Day Method for Annual Energy
CHAPTER 11
Consumption 200
7-4 Geothermal Cooling 205 Economics of Renewable Energy 301
Absorption Cooling System 205 11-1 Engineering Economics 301
7-5 Geothermal Heat Pump Systems 208 11-2 The Time Value of Money 302
Heat Pump Systems 209 Effect of Inflation and Taxation on Interest
Ground-Source Heat Pump Rate 305
Systems 210 11-3 Life Cycle Cost Analysis 306
7-6 Geothermal Power Production 215 Cost-Benefit Analysis 306
7-7 Geothermal Cogeneration 226 Unit Product Cost 309
References 230 Comparison of Projects Based on
Problems 230 Life Cycle Cost Analysis 309
11-4 Payback Period Analysis 311
CHAPTER 8
References 313
Biomass Energy 243 Problems 313
8-1 Introduction 243
8-2 Biomass Resources 243 CHAPTER 12
8-3 Conversion of Biomass to Energy and the Environment 319
Biofuel 244 12-1 Introduction 319
8-4 Biomass Products 245 12-2 Air Pollutants 321
Ethanol 245 Particulate Matter 324
Biodiesel 246 Sulfur Dioxide 325
Methanol 246 Nitrogen Oxides 329
Pyrolysis Oil 247 Hydrocarbons 331
Biogas 247 Carbon Monoxide 332
Producer Gas 248 Ozone, Smog, and Acid
Synthesis Gas 248 Rain 333
8-5 Electricity and Heat Production by 12-3 Emissions from Automobiles 336
Biomass 249 Catalytic Converters 339

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 Contents    ix

12-4 The Greenhouse Effect 342 APPENDIX 1

CO2 Production 344 Property Tables (SI Units) 359
12-5 Stratospheric Ozone
Depletion 350 APPENDIX 2
12-6 Nuclear Waste 351 Property Tables (English Units) 371
References 352
INDEX 385
Problems 353

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00_Kanoglu FM_i-xiv.indd 10 24/04/19 10:01 AM
 Preface

BACKGROUND
The concern over the depletion of fossil fuels and pollutant and greenhouse emissions
associated by their combustion can be tackled by essentially two methods: (1) using
renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels; (2) implementing energy efficiency prac-
tices in all aspects of energy production, distribution, and consumption so that less fuel is
used while obtaining the same useful output. Energy efficiency can only reduce fossil fuel
use while renewable energy can directly replace fossil fuels. The main renewable energy
sources include solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass. Wave and tidal energies
are also renewable sources but they are currently not economical and the technologies are
still in the developmental stage.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The study of renewable energy typically involves many different sciences including ther-
modynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, geophysics, and chemistry. In this textbook,
the primary emphasis is on thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics aspects of
renewable energy systems and applications. This book provides an overview of common
systems and applications for renewable energy sources. Systems are described and their
fundamental analyses are provided.
The importance of renewable energy is relatively well-understood and there are
numerous books written on the subject. However, most of these books are concentrated
on providing general information and practical guidance for practicing engineers and the
public, and most books are not suitable as a textbook for classroom use. This book is pri-
marily intended as a textbook for an upper level undergraduate textbook for all relevant
engineering majors. It may also be used as a convenient reference book for engineers,
researchers, policy makers, and anyone else interested in the subject. This book provides
insight into both the scientific foundations and the engineering practice of renewable
energy systems. The thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and thermochem-
istry background needed for the study of renewable energy is readily provided and thus
the need for prerequisite courses is greatly minimized. This allows the use of this book for
a variety of engineering majors since not all students may have backgrounds related to all
thermal science courses. The book features both technical and economic analyses of renew-
able systems. It contains numerous practical examples and end-of-chapter problems and
concept questions as well as multiple-choice questions.

OVERVIEW OF TOPICS
The first chapter covers the general energy picture of the world, a brief introduction to
renewable energy systems, and a discussion of various fossil fuels. Chapter 2 provides a com-
prehensive review of thermal-fluid sciences needed for studying renewable energy systems

xi

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 xii   Preface

including thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, thermochemistry, power plants,

and refrigeration systems. Chapter 3 is on fundamentals of solar energy and Chap. 4 is
on solar energy systems and applications. Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 cover wind, hydro,
geothermal, biomass, and ocean (OTEC, wave, and tidal) energies, respectively. Hydrogen
is introduced as an energy carrier and the principles of fuel cells are described in Chap. 10.
Chapter 11 describes engineering economic analyses of renewable energy projects. Finally,
environmental effects of energy are covered in Chap. 12.

KEY FEATURES
• A comprehensive review of thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics,
thermochemistry, power plants, and refrigeration systems
• Technical and economic analysis of renewable energy systems
• Rigorous descriptions and analyses of renewable energy systems and applications
including concepts and formulations
• Approximately 75 worked-out example problems throughout the chapters
• Over 850 end-of-chapter problems including conceptual and multiple-choice questions

UNIT SYSTEM
In recognition of the fact that English units are still widely used in some industries, both
SI and English units are used in this text, with a primary emphasis on SI. The material in
this text can be covered using combined SI/English units or SI units alone, depending on
the preference of the instructor. The property tables in the appendices are presented in both
units.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge with appreciation the numerous and valuable
comments, suggestions, constructive criticisms, and praise from several students and
colleagues. Special thanks go to Dr. Mehmet Fatih Orhan, Dr. Ceyhun Yilmaz, and Tuğberk
Hakan Çetin for their help in the preparation and checking of the manuscript. We would
like to express our appreciation to our family members for their continued patience, under-
standing, inspiration, and support throughout the preparation of this text.

Mehmet Kanoğlu
Yunus A. Çengel
John M. Cimbala

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 Fundamentals and Applications of

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00_Kanoglu FM_i-xiv.indd 14 24/04/19 10:01 AM
 CHAPTER 1
Introduction to
Renewable Energy

1-1 WHY RENEWABLE ENERGY?

To meet its energy needs, the world community currently depends heavily on fossil fuels
that are nonrenewable and unfriendly to the environment. Table 1-1 presents total world
delivered energy consumption based on end-use sector and fuel type. Breakdown of each
fuel by sector and each sector by fuel is also provided. As shown in Fig. 1-1, more than half
of the global energy is used by the industrial sector (54.6%), followed by the transportation
sector with 25.6 percent, the residential sector with 12.7 percent, and the commercial sector
with 7.1 percent (EIA, 2018). Energy use is expected to increase worldwide, driven mainly
by industry, but this will mostly take place in developing countries with strong economic
growth.
Total global energy supply in 2017 was 589 Quad Btu, which is equivalent to 5.6 × 1017 kJ.
Fossil fuels accounted for 82.7 percent (27.1% coal, 33.4% oil, 22.2% natural gas) of this
total energy production. Renewable energy (including hydroelectric power), which is envi-
ronment-friendly and can be harvested indefinitely, was responsible for 12.7 percent of the
total energy supply globally. Nuclear power supplied the remaining 4.6 percent of the total
energy supply (Fig. 1-2) (EIA, 2018).
In 2015, total electricity generation in the world was 24,255 TWh (or 24.255 × 1012 kWh
since 1 TWh = 1 billion kWh = 109 kWh). Fossil fuels accounted for 66.3 percent of total
electricity generation in the world with 39.3 percent for coal, 22.9 percent for natural gas,
and 4.1 percent for oil. Renewable energy (including hydroelectric power) and nuclear
power were responsible for 23.1 percent and 10.6 percent of global electricity generation,
respectively (Fig. 1-3). A total of 5603 TWh (or 5.603 × 1012 kWh) of renewable electricity
was generated that year (IEA, 2017).
Total installed capacity of electricity in the United States in 2016 was 1074 GW, and
the U.S. power plants generated 4077 TWh (4.077 × 1012 kWh) of electricity that year.
Figure 1-4 shows the percentages of electricity generation in the United States by the fuel
type and source. Approximately 83.9 percent of electricity was generated by coal, natural
gas, and nuclear power plants. The remaining 16.1 percent was generated mostly by renew-
able sources including hydro (6.5%) and wind (5.5%). The remaining generation was due to
biomass, solar, and geothermal (EIA, 2018).
A comparison of U.S. electricity production data to global electricity generation data
shows that the share of renewable electricity in the United States is considerably less than
that in the world. Therefore, great potential exists to increase the share of renewables in

01_Kanoglu_Ch01_p001-018.indd 1 24/04/19 9:46 AM

 2   Chapter 1. Introduction to Renewable Energy

TABLE 1-1 Total World Delivered Energy Consumption by End-Use Sector and Fuel in 2017 (EIA, 2018)
All values are in Quad Btu (quadrillion Btu). (1 quadrillion Btu = 1 × 1015 Btu = 0.95 × 1015 kJ)

All End-Use
Fuel Total Electricity Residential Commercial Industrial Transportation Sectors
Oil* 196.7 6.7 8.5 3.9 69.7 106.7 188.8
Natural gas 130.7 44.0 20.6 8.8 53.2 4.1 86.6
Coal 159.8 90.5 4.3 1.6 63.5 0.0 69.4
Nuclear 26.9 26.9 — — — — —
Electricity — — 21.0 16.8 35.1 1.6 74.5†
Renewables 74.9 55.5 1.3 0.2 17.9 — 19.4
Total 589.0 223.6† 55.7 31.3 239.4 112.4 438.8
The values given for oil also include other nonpetroleum liquid fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, coal-to-liquids,
*

natural gas liquids, and liquid hydrogen.

The difference between the total energy value of fuel consumption to produce electricity (223.6 Quad Btu) and the
†

actual amount of electricity consumed by all end-use sectors (74.5 Quad Btu) is equal to the energy lost during the
production of electricity, which is equal to 223.6 - 74.5 = 149.1 Quad Btu. As a result, the difference between the totals
in the second and last column is also equal to 589.0 - 438.8 = 150.2 Quad Btu, which is very close to 149.1 Quad Btu.

Residential, Commercial,
Transportation, 12.7% 7.1%
25.6%

Industrial,
54.6%

Figure 1-1 Percentages of global

energy use by end-use sectors in
2017 (EIA, 2018).

Nuclear,
4.6%

Renewables,
12.7% Coal,
27.1%

Natural gas,
22.2%
Oil,
33.4%

Figure 1-2 Percentages of total world

primary energy supply by fuel in 2017
(EIA, 2018).

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 1-1 Why Renewable Energy? 3

Oil,
4.1%

Renewable, Hydro,
7.1% 16.0%
Coal,
39.3%
Nuclear,
10.6%
Natural gas,
22.9%

Figure 1-3 Percentages of global electricity generation by fuel type and source
in 2015. Total electricity generation = 24,255 TWh (IEA, 2017).

Hydro, Other,
6.5% 2.6%

Nuclear, Coal,
19.7% 30.4%

Biomass,
Wind, 1.5%
5.5% Natural gas,
33.8%

Figure 1-4 Percentages of electricity generation by fuel type and source in the
United States in 2016 (EIA, 2018).

the U.S. energy mixture. In 2000, only nine percent of electricity came from renewables,
and EIA (2018) projections indicate that the renewables will constitute 18 percent of elec-
tricity generation by 2040. Coal- and nuclear-based electricity generations are expected to
decrease in the coming years, but natural gas electricity generation is expected to increase
due to additional shale gas reserves.
Renewable electricity generation by source in the United States is given in Fig. 1-5.
Total generation by renewables was about 640 billion kWh in 2017. This is projected to
increase above 1600 billion kWh by the year 2050. Renewable electricity generation in 2017
is dominated by hydropower and wind, but solar electricity increased at the highest rate
among all energy sources. Solar electricity is estimated to take the greatest share by the
year 2050, followed by wind, hydropower, and geothermal. Other renewables represented
in Fig. 1-5 are due mostly to biomass electricity production by the means of MSW/LFG
(municipal solid waste/land fill gas) (EIA, 2018).
Renewables are currently the fastest-growing energy source in the world. Depletion
and emission concerns over fossil fuel use and increasing government incentives can cause
even higher growth in the use of renewables in the coming decades. The fastest-growing

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 4   Chapter 1. Introduction to Renewable Energy

2017
1800
History Projections
1600
1400
1200
1000 Solar PV
800
600 Wind
400 Geothermal
hydroelectric
200 other Figure 1-5 Renewable electricity
0 generation by source in the United
2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 States, in billion kWh (EIA, 2018).

renewable sources are solar and wind. The installed wind capacity has increased from
18 GW in 2000 to 539 GW by the end of 2017. The solar power capacity has increased
by 97 GW in 2017 bringing the global capacity to over 400 GW. The installed capacity
of hydropower exceeds 1250 GW worldwide. Hydroelectric, geothermal, and wind power
generation technologies are able to compete with fossil fuel–based electricity generation
economically, but solar electricity generation is still expensive. However, steady decreases
in solar electricity cost combined with increased government incentives are likely to help
wider use of solar electricity in the coming years.

EXAMPLE 1-1 In Table 1-1, the total energy consumption by different energy sources is given to be 589.0 Quad Btu
An Analysis of World while the total energy use by all end-use sectors is 438.8 Quad Btu. Explain the difference between
Energy Consumption these two values. Using the data in Table 1-1, calculate the total amount of energy lost during the
production of electricity by all energy sources. Also, calculate the amount of electricity produced in
kWh and the overall thermal efficiency of electricity production by all energy sources.

SOLUTION The difference between the total energy value of fuel consumption to produce electricity
(223.6 Quad Btu, third column, last row) and the actual amount of electricity consumed by all end-use
sectors (74.5 Quad Btu, last column, fifth row) is equal to the energy lost during the production and
distribution of electricity, which is equal to

Energy lost = 223.6 − 74.5 = 149.1 Quad Btu

The difference between the totals in the second and last column is equal to

Energy lost = 589.0 − 438.8 = 150.2 Quad Btu

which is very close to the value of 149.1 Quad Btu.

The amount of electricity produced is expressed in kWh as

1 kJ   1 kWh 
Electricity produced = (74.5 × 1015 Btu)
 0.94782 Btu   3600 kJ 

= 21.83 × 1012 kWh = 21.83 trillion kWh

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 1-1 Why Renewable Energy? 5

The thermal efficiency of a power plant is defined as the power produced divided by the energy
consumed. According to the data in Table 1-1, 223.6 Quad Btu of energy is consumed in all power
plants worldwide, and 74.5 Quad Btu of electricity is produced. The overall thermal efficiency of
producing electricity is then
Electricity produced 74.5 × 1015 Btu
ηth,overall = = = 0.333 = 33.3%
Energy consumed 223.6 × 1015 Btu
That is, about 67 percent of energy is lost during the conversion of energy sources (coal, oil, natural
gas, renewable) into electricity. ▲

EXAMPLE 1-2 Ton of oil equivalent (toe) is an amount of energy unit commonly used to express large amounts of
Ton of Oil Equivalent energy. It represents the amount of energy released by burning 1 ton (1000 kg) of crude oil. One toe
(toe) Unit is taken equal to 41.868 GJ, sometimes rounded to 42 GJ. The power plants in the United States gen-
erated 4.05 × 109 MWh of electricity in a year. According to the data in Table 1-1, 74.5 Quad Btu of
electricity is produced. Express these values in the toe unit. Also, determine the percentage of global
electricity generation that occurred in the United States.

SOLUTION Noting that 1 MWh = 1000 kWh, 1 kWh = 3600 kJ, 1 GJ = 1 × 106 kJ, and 1 toe = 41.868 GJ,
we express electricity generation in the United States in toe, as follows:

Electricity generation (in U.S.) = (4.05 × 109 MWh) (

1000 kWh
1 MWh )  3600 kJ   1 GJ   1 toe 
 1 kWh   1 × 106 kJ   41.868 GJ 

= 3.48 × 10 8 toe

Noting that 1 Quad = 1 × 1015 Btu and 1 toe = 41.868 GJ, we express global electricity generation in
toe, as follows:

 1 × 1015 Btu   1.055 kJ   1 GJ   1 toe 

Electricity generation (world) = (74.5 Quad) 
 1 Quad   1 Btu   1 × 106 kJ   41.868 GJ 
= 1.88 × 10 9 toe

The percentage of global electricity generation that occurred in the United States is determined to be

Electricity generation (U.S.) 3.48 × 108 toe

Percent generation in U.S. = = = 0.185 = 18.5%
Electricity generation (world) 1.88 × 109 toe

That is, 348 million toe of electricity is generated in the United States and 1.88 billion toe of electricity
is generated in the world. The U.S. electricity generation represents 18.5 percent of global generation.
Note that toe unit is not normally used to express the amount of electricity. Instead some multiples of
kWh such as MWh, GWh, and TWh are used. ▲

Consequences of Fossil Fuel Combustion

Fossil fuels have been powering industrial development and the amenities of modern life
since the 1700s, but this has not been without undesirable side effects. Pollutants emitted
during the combustion of fossil fuels are responsible for smog, acid rain, and numerous
other adverse effects on the environment. Environmental pollution has reached such high
levels that it has become a serious threat to vegetation, wildlife, and human health. Air pol-
lution has been the cause of numerous health problems including asthma and cancer. But
this fossil fuel–based economy is not sustainable since the estimated life of known reserves
is limited. Therefore, the switch to renewable energy sources is inevitable.

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 6   Chapter 1. Introduction to Renewable Energy

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas that contributes to global
warming. Global climate change is widely regarded as due to the excessive use of fossil
fuels such as coal, petroleum products, and natural gas in electric power generation, trans-
portation, buildings, and manufacturing, and it has been a concern in recent decades. The
concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere as of 2019 is about 410 ppm (or 0.41%). This is
20 percent higher than the level a century ago. Various scientific reports indicate that the
earth has already warmed about 0.5°C during the last century, and it is estimated that the
earth’s temperature will rise another 2°C by the year 2100. A rise of this magnitude is feared
to cause severe changes in weather patterns with storms and heavy rains and flooding at
some parts and drought in others, major floods due to the melting of ice at the poles, loss
of wetlands and coastal areas due to rising sea levels, variations in water supply, changes in
the ecosystem due to the inability of some animal and plant species to adjust to the changes,
increases in epidemic diseases due to the warmer temperatures, and adverse side effects on
human health and socioeconomic conditions in some areas.
The combustion of fossil fuels produces the following undesirable emissions (Fig. 1-6):
• CO2, primary greenhouse gas: contributes to global warming
• Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbons (HC): cause smog
• Carbon monoxide (CO): toxic
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2): causes acid rain
• Particulate matter (PM): causes adverse health effects
Notice from this emissions list that CO2 is different from the other emissions in that
CO2 is a greenhouse gas and a natural product of fossil fuel combustion while other emis-
sions are harmful air pollutants.
The concern over the depletion of fossil fuels and pollutant and greenhouse emissions
associated with their combustion can be tackled by essentially two methods:
1. Using renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, biomass, and
geothermal to replace fossil fuels.
2. Implementing energy efficiency practices in all aspects of energy production, dis-
tribution, and consumption so that less fuel is used while obtaining the same use-
ful output.
Energy efficiency is to reduce energy use to the minimum level, but to do so without
reducing the standard of living, production quality, and profitability. Energy efficiency is an
expression for the most effective use of energy resources, and it results in energy conserva-
tion. Energy efficiency can only reduce fossil fuel use while renewable energy can directly
replace it.

FOSSIL FUEL EMISSIONS

CO2 ⇒ global warming
NOx and HC ⇒ smog
CO ⇒ toxic
SO2 ⇒ acid rain
PM ⇒ adverse health effects Figure 1-6 Effects of undesirable
emissions from the combustion
of fossil fuels.

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 1-1 Why Renewable Energy? 7

RENEWABLE ENERGY
SOURCES
Solar
Wind
Hydro
Geothermal
Biomass Figure 1-7 The switch from fossil
Ocean (OTEC, wave, tidal) fuels to renewable energy sources
is inevitable.

Renewable Energy Sources

The main renewable energy sources include solar, wind, hydro, biomass, and geothermal
(Fig. 1-7). Energy sources from the ocean, including ocean thermal energy conversion
(OTEC), wave, and tidal, are also renewable sources, but they are currently not economical
and the technologies are still in the experimental and developmental stage.
An energy source is called renewable if it can be renewed and sustained without any
depletion and any significant effect on the environment. It is also called an alternative,
sustainable, or green energy source (Fig. 1-8). Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas,
on the other hand, are not renewable, and they are depleted by use. They also emit harmful
pollutants and greenhouse gases.
The best-known renewable source is solar energy. Although solar energy is sufficient
to meet the entire energy needs of the world, currently it is not used as extensively as fos-
sil fuels because of the low concentration of solar energy on earth and the relatively high

Figure 1-8 Renewable energies such as solar water collectors are called green energy since they emit
no pollutants or greenhouse gases.

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 8   Chapter 1. Introduction to Renewable Energy

capital cost of harnessing it. The conversion of kinetic energy of wind into electricity via
wind turbines represents wind energy, and it is one of the fastest-growing renewables as
wind turbines are being installed all over the world. The collection of river water in large
dams at some elevation and then directing the collected water into a hydraulic turbine is
the common method of converting water energy into electricity. Hydro or water energy
represents the greatest amount of renewable electricity production, and it supplies most of
the electricity needs of some countries.
Geothermal energy refers to the heat of the earth. High-temperature underground
geothermal fluid found in some locations is extracted, and the energy of the geothermal
fluid is converted to electricity or heat. Geothermal energy conversion is one of the most
mature renewable energy technologies. Geothermal energy is mostly used for electricity
generation and district heating. Organic renewable energy is referred to as biomass, and
a variety of sources (agriculture, forest, residues, crops, etc.) can be used to produce bio-
mass energy. Biomass is becoming more popular with the help of the variety of available
sources.
Wave and tidal energies are renewable energy sources, and they are usually considered
as part of ocean energy since they are available mostly in oceans. Thermal energy of oceans
due to absorption of solar energy by ocean surfaces is also considered as part of ocean
energy, and this energy can be utilized using the OTEC system. Wave and tidal energies
are mechanical forms of ocean energy since they represent potential and kinetic energies
of ocean water.
Hydrogen is an energy carrier that can be used to store renewable electricity. It is still
a developing technology, and many research activities are under way to make it viable.
Fuel cells convert chemical energy of fuels (e.g., hydrogen) into electricity directly without
a highly irreversible combustion process, and it is more efficient than combustion-based
conversion to electricity.
All renewable energy sources can be used to produce useful energy in the form
of electricity and some renewables can also produce thermal energy for heating and
cooling applications. Wind and water energies are converted to electricity only while
solar, biomass, and geothermal can be converted to both electricity and thermal energy
(i.e., heat).
Electric cars (and other electricity-driven equipment) are often touted as “zero-emission”
vehicles, and their widespread use is seen by some as the ultimate solution to the air
pollution problem. It should be remembered, however, that the electricity used by the
electric cars is generated somewhere else mostly by burning fossil fuels. Therefore, each
time an electric car consumes 1 kWh of electricity, it bears the responsibility for the
pollutants emitted as 1 kWh of electricity (plus the conversion and transmission losses
generated elsewhere). The electric cars can be claimed to be zero-emission vehicles only
when the electricity they consume is generated by emission-free renewable resources such
as hydroelectric, solar, wind, and geothermal energy. Therefore, the use of renewable energy
should be encouraged worldwide, with incentives, as necessary, to make the earth a better
place to live.
We should point out that what we call renewable energy is usually nothing more than
the manifestation of solar energy in different forms. Such energy sources include wind
energy, hydroelectric power, ocean thermal energy, ocean wave energy, and wood. For
example, no hydroelectric power plant can generate electricity year after year unless the
water evaporates by absorbing solar energy and comes back as rainfall to replenish the
water source (Fig. 1-9).

01_Kanoglu_Ch01_p001-018.indd 8 24/04/19 9:46 AM

 1-2 Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Energy 9

Winds

Clouds

Rain

Power lines Evaporation

Reservoir

Solar
HPP
energy

Figure 1-9 The cycle that water undergoes

in a hydroelectric power plant (HPP).

1-2 FOSSIL FUELS AND NUCLEAR ENERGY

The main energy sources include coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear energy, and renewable
energy (Fig. 1-10). Among these, coal, oil, and natural gas are fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are
responsible for more than 90 percent of global combustion-related CO2 emissions with
37 gigatons (37,000 million tons) in 2017. The shares of fossil fuels to the global CO2 emis-
sions are 45 percent for coal, 35 percent for oil, and 20 percent for natural gas (IEA, 2017).
Here, we provide a short review of fossil fuels.

Coal
Coal is made of mostly carbon, and it also contains hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and
ash (noncombustibles). The heating value of carbon is 32,800 kJ/kg. The percentages of
carbon and other components vary depending on the production site. Energy content per
unit mass (i.e., heating value) and sulfur content are among the important characteristics of
coal. High energy content allows extraction of more heat from coal, making the fuel more
valuable. Low sulfur content is crucial to meet emission limits of sulfur compounds. Coal is
used mostly for electricity production in steam power plants. It is also used for space heat-
ing, water heating, and steam generation.

ENERGY SOURCES
Coal
Oil Fossil
fuels
Natural gas
Nuclear
Renewables

Figure 1-10 Main energy sources.

01_Kanoglu_Ch01_p001-018.indd 9 24/04/19 9:46 AM

 10   Chapter 1. Introduction to Renewable Energy

There are four common types of coal with the following general characteristics.
Bituminous coal: It is also known as soft coal. It has high energy content but unfortu-
nately also has high sulfur content. A representative composition (referred to in the
industry as an “assay”) of this coal by mass is 67 percent carbon, 5 percent hydrogen,
8.7 percent oxygen, 1.5 percent nitrogen, 1.5 percent sulfur, 9.8 percent ash, and
6.7 percent moisture. The higher heating value for this particular composition of coal
is 28,400 kJ/kg. Bituminous coal is primarily used for electricity generation in power
plants.
Subbituminous coal: It has lower energy content due to lower fractions of carbon and
hydrogen but also lower-sulfur content compared to bituminous coal. A representa-
tive composition of this coal by mass is 48.2 percent carbon, 3.3 percent hydrogen,
11.9 percent oxygen, 0.7 percent nitrogen, 0.4 percent sulfur, 5.3 percent ash, and
30.2 percent moisture. The higher heating value for this particular composition of coal
is 19,400 kJ/kg. Subbituminous coal is primarily used for electricity generation and
heating applications.
Anthracite coal: It is also known as hard coal. It is far less common compared to bitu-
minous and subbituminous coals. It is used mainly for residential and industrial heat-
ing applications. Few coal-fired plants burn it. It contains 80 to 95 percent carbon
with low sulfur and nitrogen content. The ash content is between 10 and 20 percent
and the moisture content is 5 to 15 percent. Its heating value is typically higher than
26,000 kJ/kg.
Lignite: It is also known as brown coal. It is the lowest-quality coal with low energy
content and high sulfur and moisture fraction. The carbon content is only 25 to
35 percent with a low heating value of less than 15,000 kJ/kg. The moisture and ash
content can be as high as 75 and 20 percent, respectively. It is used mainly for electric-
ity generation.
In the combustion of coal, hydrogen and sulfur burn first and carbon burns last. As a
result, nearly all of the sulfur burns into SO2 and nearly all of the hydrogen burns into H2O
by the following reactions:

S + O2 → SO2
H2 + ½O2 → H2O

Carbon burns according to the following reactions:

C + ½O2 → CO
CO + ½O2 → CO2

If some CO cannot find sufficient oxygen to burn with by the time combustion is com-
pleted, some CO is found in the combustion products. This represents a very undesirable
emission as well as the waste of fuel as CO has energy content (the heating value of CO is
10,100 kJ/kg). This can happen even in the presence of stoichiometric or excess oxygen due
to incomplete mixing and a short time for the combustion process.
Combustion of coal also causes pollutant emissions of unburned carbon particles, CO,
unburned HC, SO2, ash, and NOx. The amount of CO2 emission depends on the percentage
of carbon in coal and the degree of completion of the combustion of carbon. Coal is con-
sidered to be the most polluting fossil fuel compared to liquid and gaseous fuels as well as
being the largest contributor to global CO2 emissions with about 40 percent.

01_Kanoglu_Ch01_p001-018.indd 10 24/04/19 9:46 AM

 1-2 Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Energy 11

EXAMPLE 1-3 The assay of particular coal from Illinois is as follows by mass: 67.40 percent carbon (C), 5.31 percent
Heating Value hydrogen (H2), 15.11 percent oxygen (O2), 1.44 percent nitrogen (N2), 2.36 percent sulfur (S), and
of Coal 8.38 percent ash (noncombustibles). What are the higher and lower heating values of this coal? The
heating value of sulfur is 9160 kJ/kg.

SOLUTION The combustible constituents in the coal are carbon C, hydrogen H2, and sulfur S. The
heating value of sulfur is given to be 9160 kJ/kg. The higher and lower heating values of hydrogen
are 141,800 kJ/kg and 120,000 kJ/kg, respectively, and the heating value of carbon is 32,800 kJ/kg
(Table A-7 in Appendix). Note that if the combustion of a fuel does not yield any water in the combustion
of gases, the higher and lower heating values are equivalent for that fuel.
Using their mass fractions (mf), the higher heating value of this particular coal is determined as

HHV = mf C × HHVC + mf H2 × HHVH2 + mf S × HHVS

= (0.674)(32,800 kJ/kg) + (0.0531)(141,800 kJ/kg) + (0.0236)(9160 kJ/kg)
= 29, 850 kJ/kg

Similarly, the lower heating value of the coal is

LHV = mf C × LHVC + mf H2 × LHVH2 + mfS × LHVS

= (0.674)(32,800 kJ/kg) + (0.0531)(120,000 kJ/kg) + (0.0236)(9160 kJ/kg)
= 28, 695 kJ/kg

The difference between the higher and lower heating values is about 4 percent. ▲

Oil
Oil or petroleum is a mixture of a large number of HC with different compositions. Crude
oil has 83 to 87 percent carbon and 11 to 14 percent hydrogen with small amounts of other
components such as sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, ash, and moisture. End products such as gaso-
line, light diesel fuel, jet fuel, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), natural gas, and heavy diesel
fuel (fuel oil) are obtained by distillation and cracking in oil refinery plants (Fig. 1-11).
Nonpetroleum liquid fuels may include ethanol, biodiesel, coal-to-liquids, natural gas liquids,
and liquid hydrogen.
Gasoline and light diesel fuel are used in automobiles and can be approximated by
C8H15 and C12H22, respectively. Diesel fuel also includes some sulfur, but the regulations in
the United States and European Union already reduced the sulfur limit from about 300 to
50 and then to 10 ppm (parts per million). The higher heating values of gasoline and light
diesel fuel are 47,300 and 46,100 kJ/kg, respectively.

OIL PRODUCTS
Gasoline
Light diesel fuel
Heavy diesel fuel
Jet fuel
LPG
Natural gas Figure 1-11 Main petroleum fuel
products.

01_Kanoglu_Ch01_p001-018.indd 11 24/04/19 9:46 AM

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The Project Gutenberg eBook of A year in
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 This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
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Title: A year in Russia

Author: Maurice Baring

Release date: December 9, 2023 [eBook #72360]

Language: English

Original publication: London: Methuen & Co, 1907

Credits: Richard Tonsing, Peter Becker, and the Online

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A YEAR IN

RUSSIA ***
Transcriber’s Note:
New original cover art included with this eBook is
granted to the public domain.
 A YEAR IN RUSSIA

BY
MAURICE BARING
AUTHOR OF “WITH THE RUSSIANS IN MANCHURIA,” ETC.

METHUEN & CO.

36 ESSEX STREET W.C.
LONDON
 First Published in 1907

DEDICATED

TO

LADY CONSTANCE LYTTON

“Vieni a veder Montecchi e Cappelletti,

Monaldi e Filippeschi, uom senza cura;
Color già tristi e costor con sospetti.
Vien, crudel, vieni e vedi la pressura
De’ tuoi gentili, e cura lor magagne:
E vedrai Santafior come si cura.
Vieni a veder la tua Roma, che piagne,
Vedova, sola, e dì e notte chiama:
Cesare mio, perchè non m’ accompagne?”

Dante (Purg. VI.)

“Une nation ne se sépare jamais de son passé sans de cruels déchirements.”

“Why, Sir, absolute princes seldom do any harm. But they who are governed by
them are governed by chance. There is no security for good government.”

Dr. Johnson
 PREFACE

The basis of most of these chapters is composed of letters

contributed during the current year to the Morning Post, by whose
kind permission they are here republished. They reflect the fleeting
ideas, the passing moods of the moment; but as the various moments
of which they reflect some kind of image form part of what must
constitute an eventful chapter of Russian history, I have thought that
it would be worth while to republish them, so as to furnish some kind
of record of what people were thinking and saying while the
interesting things—which history will relate—were happening, and so
as to give a few sidelights showing the attitude of “the man in the
street,” during the hours of crisis. Such sidelights tend to show how
little even the greatest crises in the lives of States affect the daily life
of the average man. The people who cry out that the state of things is
intolerable and not to be borne are, for the most part, well-to-do
people who work up their indignation towards the end of a good
dinner. The people who to the far-off looker-on seem to be
undergoing intolerable oppression are themselves lookers-on, and
they scarcely look, hardly realise and seldom say anything.
I have endeavoured in these chapters to present impartially the
widely divergent points of view of various people; at the same time I
have made no attempt to disguise the whereabouts of my
sympathies, being mindful of the sage, who, as Renan translates him,
says: “Ne sois pas trop juste, et n’affecte pas trop de sagesse de peur
d’être un niais.”
These sidelights being the reflections of fugitive phases, I have
made no attempt to introduce an element of consistency into them,
nor have I in the light of subsequent events tried to modify the effect
of the hopes which proved to be illusory or of the fears which were
groundless—hopes and fears which I myself shared with those by
whom I heard them expressed.
To those who take a serious interest in the Russian evolution I
would suggest two valuable books, “The Crisis in Russia,” by
Professor Milioukov (London: Fisher Unwin, 1905), and “La Crise
Russe,” by Maxime Kovalevsky (Paris: Giard & E. Brière, 16, Rue
Souflot, 1906).
“Modern Customs and Ancient Laws of Russia,” by the same
author (Nutt, 1891), will be useful to the student of the past history of
Russia. Nor can one too often recommend “L’Empire des Tsars,” by
M. Leroy-Beaulieu. Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace’s work on Russia
needs no recommendation. All these books, which deal with the past
of Russia, will help the student to understand what is happening at
present; for without some knowledge of the past history of Russia,
what is now taking place cannot but be incomprehensible.

St. Petersburg
CONTENTS
 PAGE
PREFACE ix
INTRODUCTION xiii
CHAPTER
I. ST. PETERSBURG TO GODZIADAN 1
II. JEN-TZEN-TUNG 11
III. THE STRIKE AND THE MANIFESTO OF OCTOBER 21
(30TH) 17TH
IV. MOSCOW AFTER THE MANIFESTO 31
V. ST. PETERSBURG BEFORE THE SECOND STRIKE 39
VI. MOSCOW—THE DECEMBER RISING 43
VII. MOSCOW—AFTER THE RISING 63
VIII. THE “INTELLIGENZIA” 75
IX. THE BEGINNING OF THE REACTION 84
X. CURRENT IDEAS IN ST. PETERSBURG 97
XI. DOSTOIEVSKI’S ANNIVERSARY 121
XII. THE POLITICAL PARTIES 128
XIII. IN THE COUNTRY 137
XIV. THE ELECTIONS 152
XV. EASTER AT MOSCOW—THE FOREIGN LOAN 162
XVI. THE AGRARIAN QUESTION—ON THE EVE OF THE 178
DUMA
XVII. THE OPENING OF THE DUMA 191
XVIII. FURTHER IMPRESSIONS OF THE DUMA 202
XIX. THE DEADLOCK 212
XX. CURRENT IDEAS ON THE DUMA 225
XXI. THE BEGINNING OF DISORDER 233
XXII. PRINCE URUSSOFF’S SPEECH 250
XXIII. NAZARENKO, AND OTHER PEASANT MEMBERS 258
XXIV. THE DISSOLUTION OF THE DUMA 281
XXV. IN THE COUNTRY AFTER THE DISSOLUTION 288
INDEX 309
 INTRODUCTION

This book is nothing else but a collection of notes, a bundle of

impressions gathered during a year’s stay in Russia. It lays no claim
to be either exhaustive or even of any practical use to the serious
student of the Russian Evolution. It is written for the ignorant, and
with the object of helping them to decide whether they wish to take
an interest in what is now happening in Russia, or not. I cannot take
them into the house and show them all over it from floor to ceiling
with the knowledge and authority of a master-builder; all I can do is
to open a small window and ask them to look through it and observe
certain things, pointing out how far these things are typical of the
whole; and my hope is that the glimpses I have given them will
enable them to decide whether they wish to go and knock at the front
door and investigate for themselves.
This book consists solely of a record of things I have seen and
heard myself in Russia during an interesting year of the history of
that country. My experience of English opinion on Russian things
has convinced me that in order to make such a record as intelligible
as possible, a great deal of introduction and explanation would be
necessary. The reason of this is that the ignorance in England about
Russia is extraordinary; and most of the current literature—I mean
the books published on Russian affairs—instead of dispelling that
ignorance, succeed rather in increasing it. Russia and Russian affairs
are so little known in England that the country has proved a happy
hunting ground for sensational writers of fiction and still more
sensational purveyors of facts. Leaving the writers of fiction out of
the question, the chief bar which seems to separate writers about
Russia from a just estimate and a valuable appreciation of that
country is the language. It is possible to convey information about
Russia if you are ignorant of the Russian language; and such
information may prove to be not only useful, but of surprising
interest to people who are totally ignorant of the country. But unless
you are acquainted with the Russian language it is impossible to
acquire an intimate knowledge of the Russian people, and it is
difficult to understand many things which happen in Russia.
I had, therefore, the intention, before proceeding to a record of any
things I had seen myself, to collect and convey the impressions I had
received of the Russian character and of Russian life in various
classes, correcting and illustrating my impressions by those of others
who have worked in the same field, and by evidence drawn from
Russian literature. I meant to try and illustrate books by examples
taken from life, and throw light on events and people by examples
taken from literature; but I found when I began to do this that the
writing of such an introduction was equivalent to the writing of two
large books, one on the Russian people and one on Russian
literature, a task which I still hope to accomplish some day, but for
which I do not at present feel sufficiently equipped. Moreover, even
were I sufficiently equipped, the writing of two such books cannot be
accomplished in a hurry in a country which is in a state of political
effervescence. I have therefore sadly resigned myself to work
backwards, and give to the public my record of raw facts first and the
explanation at a later date.
Nevertheless in giving this collection of scraps to the public I still
have an aim and a purpose. As I have said, Englishmen are
amazingly ignorant of Russia; not only because they deliberately
prefer the works of sensation-mongers to those of really well-
informed writers like Sir D. M. Wallace or M. Leroy-Beaulieu, but
also because, when they honestly seek for truth in the newspapers
which are by way of being serious, they are almost invariably misled.
On the other hand Englishmen who live in Russia, even if only for a
short period—such as officers from the Indian Army who come out
on leave to learn the language—find no difficulty in forming a just
appreciation of the country and its people. It has always struck me
that if any such person were to write a record of what he saw and
thought, that record would have a real value because it would
constitute an aspect of the truth and not an aspect of the lie. This is
therefore my aim, and it is the only merit I claim for this work. It
contains aspects of things, seen by some one whose object was to try
and understand the ordinary and not to invent the extraordinary.
And therefore, although my work has no sort of claim to be taken
seriously, either as history, or as a manual of useful information, it
will have the negative merit of being free from any attempt at
sensationalism, and, I hope, the positive merit of containing some
aspects of the truth, some unvarnished record of la chose vue.
If what I have written leads others to take an interest in Russia and
to go and see for themselves, and to treat exhaustively in a masterly
fashion the things at which I have hinted incompletely and haltingly,
I shall feel amply rewarded.
Somebody might object that even if we are totally ignorant of
Russia in England there is no great harm done, that Russia is a far-
off country with an impossibly difficult language; why should we
bother about it? To this I would reply that the British people have
shown themselves to be gravely concerned about the increasing
competition with which the Englishman has to contend in all
branches of life, and at the alarming improvement in the methods of
his neighbours, which is met by no similar improvement at home.
British trade, British influence, are rapidly, it is said, being
outstripped. Remedies, such as protection, are suggested. As to
whether such a remedy would prove efficacious or not I have no idea;
but one practical reason of our stagnation in certain matters cannot
fail to strike the most indolent observer. Our neighbours are well and
practically educated. We are not. Is not this fact the cause of a great
many things? If we want to remedy an evil we must look for the
cause. I firmly believe that the unpractical education which is given
to so many of us is largely responsible for the comparative stagnation
of Englishmen in matters of trade and enterprise, compared with the
sedulous efforts of the citizens of other countries. I am not
advocating the introduction of a purely continental system of
education, nor would I like to see our system of athletics disappear;
but it is obvious that there is not and never will be any danger of
either of these two things happening. But I never mean to lose an
opportunity of advocating a radical reform in the old-fashioned
strictly classical education given and received at our public schools
and rendered necessary by the obstinacy of our universities, owing to
which Greek and Latin are taught (but no longer learned except by a
slender minority), to the exclusion of all other useful knowledge.
 The mass of boys who now learn nothing because Greek and Latin
mean nothing to them, would gladly assimilate something which
would be useful to them in after life: for instance, some smattering of
their own history, some mastery of the English tongue, or the
knowledge of a modern language.
There is no country where the disadvantage at which an
Englishman finds himself compared to his continental rivals is made
so plain as in Russia. In Russia there is, and there will be even more
in the future, an immense field for foreign enterprise. The Germans
have taken, are taking, and will take the utmost advantage of this
fact. The English are content to send advertisements here, written in
the English language, and never dream of trying to learn Russian
themselves.
A working knowledge of the Russian language is acquired here by
the average British officer, working for an examination, in the course
of six months. Therefore this difficulty, though serious, is not
insurmountable. This, then, is the practical reason which I advance
for the furthering of knowledge about Russia. I say that such
knowledge is useful and advantageous to Englishmen. I have another
reason for wishing such knowledge to be propagated, which is
personal and moral, but not sentimental. It is this. I confess that I
entertain perhaps a foolish desire for goodwill among nations. Of
course I know very well that rivalries and conflicts must exist.
Sometimes such rivalries and conflicts are the result of a
fundamental antagonism and of the struggle for existence. But
sometimes they are merely the outcome of misunderstanding and
prejudice.
One of the wickedest things which shelters itself under the holy
name of patriotism is the spirit which stirs up such prejudice and
incites one country against another groundlessly by playing on
ignorance and popular passion. With regard to Russia this has been
done with considerable success. So far from considering such action
to be patriotic, I consider it to be criminal; and although it may not
be of the slightest interest to any one to hear this opinion expressed,
to express it is a pleasure which I cannot deny myself. Whatever
faults this book may contain, I mean to make up for the
disappointments which it has caused me by indulging to the full in
the luxury of saying exactly what I think in its pages. I cannot,
unfortunately, hope to be among those masters who, speaking with
inspired authority and unerring skill, compel the crowd to listen to
their message, and at the sound of whose clarion-like utterance the
“forts of folly” fall to the ground like the walls of Jericho. Mine is a
humbler task, a more inglorious ambition. I hope to be like an
obscure mouse who nibbles in the darkness at the net which holds
the lion captive. The mouse in his lifelong effort succeeds perhaps
only in gnawing away a little; and I shall be content if I succeed in
nibbling through the most tenuous thread of this great net of error,
misunderstanding, and falsehood. There are other mice who will
come after me, and who knows? perhaps one day the lion will be set
free.
Finally, if it be asked from what point of view I approach my study
of Russia, I would answer that I have no political views whatever in
the matter; I have tried to make it my business to discover,
understand, and explain the points of view of the people with whom I
have met; with some of these views I sympathise, with others I do
not. I have already said that I have not disguised my sympathies, but
I have attempted to understand even what repelled me; my attitude
is that of a sympathetic friend, for whether the Frenchman who said
“L’intelligence est presque toujours la sympathie” was right or
wrong, I am convinced that the converse is true, and that the spirit of
carping is nearly related to stupidity.
A YEAR IN RUSSIA
 CHAPTER I
ST. PETERSBURG TO GODZIADAN

August 8, 1905.

I left St. Petersburg this evening for Manchuria. The one absorbing
discussion in St. Petersburg is the question of the peace negotiations.
Will there be peace or not?

In the train on the way to Irkutsk,

August 11th.

I started for Irkutsk on the 9th from Moscow. The train is crowded
with people—officers going to the war, men of business going to
Siberia, women and children. It is exceedingly hot. The last time I
travelled in this Trans-Siberian express the winter had just given way
to the leafless and bare aspect of early spring. Now we travel through
great stretches of green plains, past huge fir-woods which are burnt
and browned by the heat. The topic of the peace negotiations
continues to prevail above all other topics. I am constantly asked my
opinion. We have just received the latest telegrams from Portsmouth.
A man of business asked me if I thought there would be peace. I said
“Yes.” “There won’t be,” he replied. The railway line is fringed all the
way with pink flowers, which, not being a botanist, I take to be
ragged robin. At night the full moon shines spectral and large over
the dark trees and marshes, and every now and then over stretches of
shining water. The officers discuss the war from morning till night.
They abuse their generals mercilessly. They say that it is impossible
for Russians to look foreigners in the face. In my compartment there
is an army doctor. He assisted at the battle of Mukden and is now
returning for the second time to the war. He tells me that he wrote a
diary of his experiences during the battle and that he is unable to re-
read it now, so poignantly painful is the record. He trusts there will
not be peace. He is sanguine as to the future. He loathes the liberal
tendencies in Russia and detests Maxim Gorki. Yet he is no Jingo.
A gentleman from Moscow, and his wife, on the contrary, inveigh
bitterly against the Government and the war. (I saw these same
people again at Moscow after the December rising. Their house was
situated in a street where the firing had been heavy and abundant.
They had had enough of revolution and blamed the revolutionaries
as severely then as they now blamed the Government.) We
constantly pass trains full of troops going to the war. The men all ask
the same question: “When is peace going to be?” They ask for
newspapers and cigarettes. I gave some of them some bottles of
whisky, which they drank off then and there out of the bottle. An
amusing incident happened last evening. We had stopped at a siding.
Everybody had got out of the train. I was walking up and down the
platform with one of the passengers. We saw a soldier throwing big
stones at the window of the washing compartment.
“What are you doing that for?” we asked.
“I want to speak to his Honour,” the soldier said; “he is washing
his face in the washing-room.” And through the window of the
compartment, lit by electric light, we could see the silhouette of an
officer washing his face.
“Why don’t you go and knock at the door?” we asked.
“They are” (to speak of a person in the third person plural is
respectful in Russian, and is always done by inferiors of their
superiors)—“they are ‘having taken drink’ (Oni Vipimshi),” he
replied, and then he added, lest we should receive a false impression,
“His Honour is very good.”
As we passed train after train of troops I reflected on the rashness
of prophecy. How often I had heard it said in London, when the war
broke out, that the line would break down immediately. Even when I
reached Mukden I heard people say that the line could not possibly
last through the summer, and here it is supporting gaily train after
train in the second year of the war.

On the way to Chita, August 20th.

We arrived at Irkutsk on the morning of the 17th and took the train
for Baikal. At Irkutsk station there was a train of sick soldiers
returning from the war. They begged for newspapers. The tedium of
their long journey is, they say, intolerable. They say there has been a
good deal of typhus in Manchuria.
We crossed the lake in the steamer. Its summer aspect is far less
striking than the strange glory which it wears when it is frozen, and
the distant mountains seem like “a sunny pleasure dome with caves
of ice.” In summer the waters are blue, the nearer hills grey and the
distant mountains blue, but with nothing strange or unreal about
them. Yet when the sunset silvered the grey tints and spread a ragged
golden banner in the sky, the lake was extremely beautiful in another
way. At Baikal station there was the usual struggle for places in the
train. How well I remembered the desperate struggle I had gone
through to get a seat in a third-class carriage at this same place last
year! This time it was in the first-class carriage that the conflict took
place. An engineer got into the same carriage as I did. He occupied
one of the lower berths and I the other. Presently a lady arrived,
bound for Chita, and looking for a place. She came into our carriage
and asked to be allowed to have one of the lower berths. The
engineer flatly refused and said that he had occupied his seat and
had a right to keep it. I told her I would let her have mine with
pleasure. She occupied it and went out. I moved my things into the
upper berth. “Why on earth did you give up your seat?” the engineer
asked. “You had a right to keep it.” When the lady came back she
said to me: “Ah! you are evidently not a Russian; no Russian would
have given up his place.” The engineer turned out to be quite a good-
natured sort of person, but there is something about trains which
makes people who are by nature mild and good-natured turn into
savages, and instils into them a passionate determination to cleave to
their rights. The next morning another man arrived in our carriage,
with a large basket and a second-class ticket. This upset the engineer,
who complained to the “Controller” of the train, and the poor man
was turned out. The engineer snorted and said: “There’s an insolent
fellow for you.” The lady was the wife of an engineer who was
employed at Chita; and she told me much about life in Chita: how
hard times were, owing to the war, how scarce food was getting—
“Und wie so teuer der Kaffee,
Und wie so rar das Geld!”