The flora of Tula deserves some attention as marking the transition from that of the south-east steppes to that of north-west Russia. A line drawn on the northern slope of the water-parting already mentioned (a few miles to the south of the city of Tula) divides the province into two parts, of which the southern is a black earth region and the other is chiefly covered with boulder clay. The boundary is marked by a series of crown forests— formerly a means of defence against the nomad tribes, whence their name Zasyeka—which at the same time constitute a line that is not passed by several species characteristic of the steppe region, such as the Lilia of the steppes, Lilium Martagon, Linum flavum, Lathyrus pisiformis, Geranium sanguineum, Pyrethrum corymbosum, and Serratula heterophylla. On the other hand, several northern species, which are quite common in the marshes of Moscow, do not penetrate into Tula, and several others, such as Linnaea borealis, Viola palustris, Cirsium palustre, Pedicularis palustris, do not cross the Zasyeka. The same forests shelter several northern species which do not appear either in northern or southern Tula, as also several southern herbaceous plants which are now only occasionally met with in the black earth steppes of south Russia. Several West-European plants (Sanicula europaea, Carex remota, Cephalanthera ensifolia, Allium ursinum) find their eastern limits in Tula. Another interesting feature is the extension down the valley of the Oka, not only of pine-forests, which are not found elsewhere within the province, but also of many herbaceous plants originally from the south or south-west. The steppe flora of Tula is being rapidly impoverished in consequence of the spread of agriculture: many steppe plants are now found only in their last retreats on the dry uncultivated limestone crags.

The population of the government (750,000 in 1777) in 1883 was 1,360,000, of whom 115,770 were urban. They are all Great Russians, and either Orthodox Greeks or Raskolniks. Their chief occupation is agriculture, 70 per cent. of the area being arable. Nearly one-half of the soil belongs to landlords and merchants, and the other half to the peasant communities (53 per cent. of the area, and 58 per cent. of the land under culture). The crops for 1883-85 averaged 7,574,200 quarters of grain and 10,172,000 bushels of potatoes, largely used for distilleries. Beet-root culture is increasing (8520 acres in 1885, yielding 59,800 cwts. of sugar). The growth of tobacco is also spreading ( 10,000 cwts. in 1885). There were in 1883 380,620 horses, 203,500 cattle, and 786,000 sheep. Manufactures are rapidly developing; their aggregate production was valued at £1,649,720 in 1883 (distilleries £293,956, sugar-works £601,827, tanneries £148,356, iron works, brass works, &c., about £150,000). Petty trades, especially the manufacture of tea-urns, small brass ware, and harmoniums, and also weaving, are extensively carried on and support a lively export trade; timber, raw metals, and various manufactured wares are imported. The government is traversed by the Moscow and Sebastopol and the Ryazhsk and Vyazemsk Railways, as well as by the Oka. The government is divided into twelve districts, the chief towns of which, with their population in 1882, are Tula (see below), Alexin (4960), Bogoroditsk (8030), Byeleff (9300), Epifañ (3820), Efremoff (7770), Kashira (4610), Krapivna (1560), Novosil (4660), Odoeff(5140), and Tcherñ (2675). Byeleff, Alexin, and Kashira are important loading places on the Oka. The villages Malevka (coal-mines) and Niki-tino have more than 5000 inhabitants each.

History.— Before the Slavonic immigration, the territory of Tula was inhabited by the Mordves on the north and the Mestchers in the south. The Slavs who occupied the Oka belonged to the branch of the Vyatichis, who were soon compelled to pay a tribute to the Khazars. Subsequently the territory on the Oka belonged to the principality of Tchernigoff, thus maintaining its connexion with south-west Russia. In the 14th century part of it fell under the rule of Ryazan and Moscow, while the remainder was under Lithuanian dominion till the 15th century. Several of the towns of Tula were founded in the 12th century, but the colonization of this fertile region went on slowly on account of the raids of the Tatars.

TULA, capital of the above government, is situated on the Upa, 120 miles by rail to the south of Moscow. Other railway lines connect it with Ryazan and Orel. It is built in the broad but low, marshy, and unhealthy valley of the Upa and is divided into three parts,—the Posad on the left bank, the Zaryetskaya or Oruzheinaya on the right bank, and Tchulkova between the Upa and the Tulitsa. It is an old town of Old Russia, but its growth began only towards the end of the 18th century after the manufacture of arms had commenced, and now (1887) its population has reached 65,100 (63,500 in 1882). They are employed chiefly either at the imperial gun factory or at numerous private factories (about 130, with 4350 men) and small workshops. The main branch of the industry is the making of rifles (from 20,000 to 30,000 annually). Next in importance comes the manufacture of samovars (tea-urns), in which more than 5000 persons are engaged. All sorts of cutlery and ironmongery are manufactured in the small workshops of Tula, which have a high repute in Russia. No fewer than 240,000 harmoniums are turned out annually; nearly 150,000 cwts. of steel, iron, and brass are imported every year for this industry alone.

The town of Tula is first mentioned in 1147; but its former site seems to have been higher up the Tulitsa. Its wooden fort was replaced in 1514-1521 by a stone “kreml,” which still exists. Boris Godunoff founded a gun factory at Tula in 1595, and in 1632 a Dutchman, Winius, established an iron foundry. Michael Alexis and Peter I., especially the last-named, took great interest in the gun factories, and large establishments were built in 1705 and 1714, which soon turned out 15,000 rifles in a year. Catherine II. and Paul I. further improved the manufactures, which during the wars with France supplied more than half a million rifles.