The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-06 00:00:00

NIKOLAIEV.

As wo proceeded the weather cleared up ; and about
two o'clock wo reached a pretty little village on the
right bank of the 13oug, where wo had to cross over to
Nikolaiov in a ferry boat.
The cottages in this village were built with some pre-
tensions to taste, and had gardens with flowers ; acacia
and poplar trees also helped to render the scene attrac-
tive, after a drive through a district only partially culti-
vated, with a few cornfields here and there, and the
country extending for miles without a bush or hedge.
Now and then we had passed a farm house or two ;
but Generally there had been an absence of any signs
of life.
The appearance of a government courier generally
quickened the senses of the people at the post-houses, nor
was the influence of authority lost upon the boatman at
the ferry ; who, on seeing the aiguillettes worn by my
companion, soon cleared the boat of other carriages
which he was about to convey over the river, in order to
forward ours without delay.
That portion of Nikolaiev which we saw was built on
high ground close to the river. This town was oncoa
place of consequence ; but its commercial pfroosdpeearettay.
must have been sapped by the rivalry o
nd I read
Line-of-battle ships are still built here,
a
in the papers of one having been launched
n
exploitt e battle
but o f
I S i nmoupeeh
, and
doubt t namedhe t
riunt
hactivity in the i 100 f soon after
o tuL orf e
as there did not appear to bef
said to have been cons-
elapsed since the other .
spaitlhaecreroswsatshel, river.
dockyard,
which w euladn dhave takenaw t h a rmoreibs ot
maaen aor erectga i a
thann-O Whaard,
moored
steamer
a cro sunder the
repair.
I only saw at Nikwoalaietrwouaa,rsutall
the shore two Aus-
trian
s
d closer to sall
It
passedtok u six
Russian
half
uhhei
guo
-huurefr.
merchantmen. This Russian squadron consisted
sgovernmenttream elowaehtloleout:rw,
of some frigates and corvettes in an efficient state, if
we may judge from their appearance aloft. They car-
ried the ordinary Russian flag, which consists of three
/ colours, white, blue, and red, horizontally, and not that
lusually borne by men-of-war. I cannot account for this
apparent deviation from the general rule, but will re-
late the explanation given the by an officer at Odessa, on
my inquiring how it was that none of the forts at
Odessa or Eupatoria hoisted any flag at all, even during
the bombardment of the former city. lie said that these
places were simply commercial cities, and not allowed
to hoist the imperial colours, which they were not
capable of defending.
Thu imperial ensign is white, with a blue diagonal
cross extending from corner to corner. 1 imagine that
the squadron lying at Nikolaiov had not its full coin-

plement of men, and that this was the reason of its Ay.,
ing the national colours instead of the imperial flag,
which was carried by the schooner.
On landing, we found to our astonishment that no
post-horses were to be had. We therefore left the car-
riage and luggage to the care of a soldier, and proceeded
in search of the Hotel de Londres, which we had some
difficulty in finding, as it was in the town, at a distance
of a mile from the dockyard. We, however, enjoyed
the walk,
so many
lk,whichafforded us relief, after sitting in a close
hours.
The town of .Nikolaiev is regularly built, as indeed are
most modern cities in Russia ; the streets run at right
angles to each other, and their width, length, &c., are
fixed by decree of the Government, which takes all these
matters under its especial care.
While dinner was being prepared we enjoyed the
luxury of a good wash, of which, as may be supposed,
we were much in need, cooped and splashed as we bad
been 'on the journey. The indifference of the people of
this country generally to the use of water appear-Ed to
inmost singular; indeed, I have sometimes fanckd tha
they have au objection to it, for, instead of properly
washing themselves, I have seen them satisfied with
taking a mouthful of the element, which they would
spurt out upon their hands and then rub over their faces.
There must, of course, be many persons in Russia who
form exceptions to this uncleanly neglect of the use of
water ; but I speak only from the observation I was
enabled to make during my personal experience in the
country ; even in the hotels, where they profess to give
you the convenience of a washhand-stand, the basins
are of the size and shape of a pie-dish, and the ewers
like large English milk jugs.
I called the place an "hotel" at which we put up ;
this title, however, it did not assume, but was satisfied
with the more modest denomination of " traktir de Lon-
dres" (which is, I suppose, a corruption of the German
" traktirhaus"), as it only professed to provide refresh-
ments. It was some time before dinner could be pre-
pared, so that we had time to take a nap, which greatly
refreshed us. It was here that my companion pur-
chased the chain I mentioned in a preceding chapter,
which we had been recommended to procure for secur-
ing our luggage behind the coupe. He was asked by
the people, who crowded round him, whether ho in-
tended to put it upon the prisoner ; he was much
amused at this supposition, and came and detailed the
anecdote to me with much glee and good.humour.-44.
Personal Narrative of the First Lieutenant of B. M. S.
Tiger.

THE AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS OF
SCOTLAND.

(From, the Scotsman.)

The important inquiry into the agricultural statistics
of Scotland, which Government has intrusted to the
Highland Society, is, we are glad to learn, making satis-
factory progress. As our readers are aware, the inquiry
of last year extended to only three countes—Hadding-
ton, Roxburgh, and Sutherland ; this year it will embrace
the whole of Scotland. The machinery by which the
necessary information is being collected is much the
same as that adopted in the case of these three counties,
with a few slight alterations, which the experience of
last year suggested.
The limited inquiry of 1353 was farther advanced than
the present one at this period of the year ; but this has
arisen not so much, if at all, from the greater magnitude
of the work to be performed and the results to be attained
on this occasion, as from the late period at which the
society received the authority of Government to make a
commencement. No step even of a preliminary nature
could be taken till this authority was given, and nothing
could therefore be done till the month of June. In suc-
ceeding years—for it is to be inferred that the inquiry
will be an annual one—the same delay will not take
place, and the machinery, which had this year to be or-
ganised, will not have to be called into existence.
This machinery, we may state, consists of enumerators
and committees for each parish or district of the country,
every enumerator and every member of the committee
being a farmer. The duties of enumerator are much
less onerous than they were last year. He had then to
serve and collect the schedules, and to examine and
return them to Mr. Hull Maxwell ; but this was not
only a laborious but an invidious task, for many farmers
objected to pass the details of their crop and
stock under the review of a neighbour. To obviate
this difficulty, the schedules are now issued by and
returnable directly to Mr. Maxwell. The services
of enumerators in regard to schedules will only
be required where occupiers have failed to make
returns in the ordinary manner ; after a certain date the
enumerators will be asked to procure these returns in
the mode which they may think best. They will also,
along with the committee, prepare an estimate of the
crops ; and this is the most important part of their
duty. These estimates will not be given in till the end
of October or beginning of November, and they will
form as close an approximation as possible to the aye-
rage acreable yield of each crop grown in the district.
One of the first things to be undertaken in connection
with the inquiry was evidently the preparation of lists of
the occupiers of land to whom schedules were to be sent.
It was originally proposed to ask the inspectors of the
poor for the different parishes to furnish these. Ultimately,
however, it was resolved to request the sanction of the
Board of Inland Revenue to apply to the Property-tax
Assessors for copies of their lists. This sanction was at
once given ; circulars were at once issued to the asses-
sors, and in cases where the assessors refused to furnish
the required information application was made to
the parochial inspectors. For future inquiries the
lists will, of feourse, require only a revision. While
these lists were being made up Mr. Maxwell visited
most of the principal county towns, and held pub-
lie meetings, which were influentially attended, and
at which he explained the nature and objects
of the inquiry. We believe it was Mr. Maxwell's inten-
tion to extend his visits to the northern counties and to
Orkney, but the arrangements necessary in contempla-
tion of the Berwick Show made it impossible for hint to
fulfil this intention. The result of all the meetings which
he held was highly satisfactory.
The next step was to arrange suitable districts. This
having been done, the services of upwards of a hundred
well•qualified enumerators were obtained, as well as the
assistance of nearly 900 influential farmers, to act as
members of committee in their respective parishes.
The list of occupants having been prepared, the
schedules to be filled up with the requisite information
were issued. The schedule consists of two sections—
one for crop, the other for stock. Under the first the
farmer is asked to state, as nearly as he can, the acre-
age of his farm, and how that acreage is cropped—how
many acres ho has of wheat, barley, oats, turnips, po.
tatoes, &c.—how many of grass under rotation, and of
permanent pasture. In the second, the number of his
horses, cows, &c., is to be stated.

The issue of these schedules is now completed, except in
Bute and Arran, the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire, the
parish of Kincardine (Ross-shire), and the parish of
Ellon, for which uo lists have yet been received from the
assessors. They have been forwarded to about 47,000
occupiers of laud ; this must aot, however, be regarded
as the number of farms in the country, because it some-
times happens that one man has a dozen farms, and in
one instance 23 farms were included in one schedule.
A large proportion of these schedules have now bean
returned, and they are in course of being arranged and
tabulated.

Last year these schedules were sent to all persons hav-
ing farms above two acres in extent. This year it was
resolved to limit the issue in the Lowlands to parties
paying not less than 101. of rent, and in the Highlands
to persons paying 201. and upwards. But as it is de-
sirable that information should be obtained regarding
the extent and produce of land rented below those
rates, the enumerators have been furnished with forms
of returns exhibiting the number of occupiers, the gross
average so occupied in their respective districts, the
average rotation of cropping observed, and the total
estimated amount of stock possessed by such tenant.
As last year, each enumerator will, with the assist-
ance of the committee of his district, prepare an esti-
mate of the average produce of the various crops
grown in his district ; and Mr. Maxwell has requested
that, in addition to the estimates of this year's crop,
committees shall report what, in their opinion, has
been the average yield of the different crops over
an ordinary period—say of five years—in order that
a comparison might at once be made with the returns
for the present year, showing whether they are in excess
or deficiency of an ordinary average. Without such a
standard, Mr. Maxwell observes in his circular to the
tthhaenms4tlh. of
Ait
tehneumanenrautaolrrse,
ttuhrisnisnfrm
fora
asteinroiescoofulydeanrost. be acquired from
m
adyoubebt
Mayh the
u
no
,hlea3sllitr. Hall Maxwell, the inquiry
meseo early as
The magnitude of the
Highland
ehraeirsaenwrdi
et r
Society,
wd
ha ka ivneg
those of the
judgedpt
ho
es t
raegseuolaftms fromonul
anyttsnhtoeot factnb oe
ol less tianssei udn
and their in-
defatigable arf
aet
gi
nca obt uhi
ene t
bsi ene scn
rd
et
sat
aok
rfe
ynt
will be concluded so satisfactorily in every way as to
justify the confidence reposed in them by Government.

cnors iN THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND.—An Inverness
corn circular says :—" Of wheat the crop is abundant,
finest
g thehthe
that
m r
egebreadthosry,faoeifonrauurisB
thet
tp
generallywaao
Le
two preceding
t od, s
Lothian
aohmni
i l
adi
lnsdt
fiobe we n
yield havinggreater.
The
quality
than forof
gnwre
0,
have
‘l3,
tuht
s growths.
appearede
harvests,r
Ih na which
R notos
whilea
equalledn d 1s
Moray-
shires,
noroutstrippingttahhyes.
immediate vicinity of Inverness the quality is unex-
ceptionably fine-631 b to 64iIb. per bushel, being the
general weight of that which has already been brought
to market. The acreage of barley is considerable,
and the produce univerally good. Seeing a great
hulk of straw, however, I question whether weights
will attain the extreme of those of last year. The
cultivation of oats being principally confined to the
higher districts, there still remains a proportion of
the crop unsecured. That which is stacked is as fine
as can be desired, and mealing uncommonly well. AB
regards our potato crop, it is gratifying to say that the
disease will not tell to the extent dreaded at an earlier
period of the season, when a total destruction was
feared ; and it is not likely, from the extra extent
nderszes of cups are
fpellatn;tebdu,t tihtamt
aaynbye deficiency in
n thei supply will be
likely to prevail."
letter from the Baltic, written to a relat
Marinesive were
We have received the following story, contaainteTdhionrna
Falcon, near this town :—" Two or three
French,fell t
hve: d
fort, but
up, theyowdnecwideetint
onwh seonmt
he
e outpost
former, dutyin
obediencev,-ith a
the ground on the firing
after the French general
not to do so in future. Soon brf
from
orrmeoofettih_
being fired d
carne up the hill, and on a g
liktoennontro'dema
of the Marines,
o n observing the Frenchmoien a :con stand
cried cut to his comrade ' All
threw himself down,
~ _ ,
bobs. --ZoNiCiBd County Herald.
the general, likewise one
right, Bill, BaragnaY