VYERNYI, formerly Almaty, capital of the Russian Central-Asian province of Semiryetchensk, is situated on a plateau at the base of the Trans-Ili Alatau, in 43° 16' N. lat., 47 miles to the south of the Ili river. It was founded in 1854 as a small blockhouse, but from the advantages of its situation—the fertility of the surrounding country, the ample water-supply from the Ałma-tinka river, and of timber and firewood from the valleys of the Alatau—it rapidly increased; in 1884 the population numbered 17,545, nearly 3000 of them military. Around the central blocks are several suburbs of wooden and brick houses; the streets are broad and planted with trees. Most of the houses are surrounded by thick growths of poplar and elm as well as by fruit-gardens, and the streets and squares are refreshed by channels of running water. The Little Russian, Kirghiz, and Tarantchi villages which surround the town, and have excellent orchards, amply supply Vyernyi with all necessaries. The Tarantchis proved specially helpful to the young settlement on account of their laborious habits and their acquaintance with the agriculture of the steppes. Situated as it is on the site of the old Ałmaty, at the crossing of two roads—from Kuldja to Tashkend, and from Semipalatinsk to Kashgar —Vyernyi carries on an active trade in wheat, rice, corn, tea, oil, and tobacco. The dislocation of the rocks on the northern slope of the Alatau Mountains is the cause of severe earthquakes, the last of which, on June 9, 1887, destroyed or damaged nearly a thousand stone houses in Vyernyi and its neighbourhood, killing 326 persons. Slighter shocks were felt up till February 1888.