Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1876-10-12

leather Deltlng ana hair macnlnc DeItlDS, anu
candy-making machinery. The last is in
operation for the manufacture of mint drops,
and is scarcely entitled to the name of ma
chinery, as it requires that nearly all the
work shall be done by hand. A. A. w.
PHILADELPHIA, September 22a, 1876.
The Russian exhibits in Agricultural Hall
are principally the immediate products of
agriculture or the forest, or of manufactures
directly connected with agricultural pursuits.
From Russia's extended Territory, we should
expect great variety in the products; but, we
must remember that agriculture is there at
low stage. Less than one-ffth of the land is
arabic; and the old three-course system of
husbandry. by which the arabic land lies
fallow one year in three, is still in general
practice.
Among the cereals, wheat is the principal
exhibit. Many varieties of varying degrees
of quality are shown. None of them are
as white and plump as the white wheats of
our Pacific coast; but the white wheats,
which predominant, are all fine specimens.
One variety is very dark amber, with
plump kernel. The exhibit of barley is next
in quality. The grain is plump and bright,
and most of the samples would rank as num-
bcr one. One variety loses its husk when
threshed, and the kernels resemble large,
dark, swollen rye. The specimens of corn
are very unequal in quality. The small,
yellow kernel, with large hull, peculiar to
the country bordering the Black Sea, is the
most inferior to ALL Two other red striped
varieties are of much better quality. The
samples of rye are plump and of dark blue
color. The oats are fair white variety, but
not of the best. The exhibits of beans, peas,
millet, grass seed, etc., are insignificant.
The display of wood is very small, and
gives but poor idea of the wealth of the
empire in timber. Forty per cent, of Russia
is forest land. The samples are small blocks
or slabs about eight inches square, on one
of which is the bark of the tree. One side is
polished and the other left rough. The lead
ing varieties are the white pine, poplar, beech
and larch. There are also shown tree seeds,
willow bark for tanning purposes, and large
number of trunks and boxes made of bass
wood bark, and fastened together by the thin
inside bark
One case contains many glass jars filed
with nuts. Among them are cedar nuts,
resembling beech nuts; foondooks, from the
Crimea, which are indentical with what we
call hazel nuts; also, Spain nuts, a rather
large variety of hazel nuts; and English wal
nuts. Dried fruits are shown, among which
are apples dried whole, huckleberries, rasp-
berries, strawberries and peas. Dried and
ground acorns, barley and chicory, are
shown as substitutes for coffee.
For the past ten years, the silk worm cul-
ture of Russia has suffered greatly from a
disease among the worms. There are but
two exhibitors of cocoons and raw silk in
skeins, although the placards set forth that
the Southern Provinces yield 10000 pounds
of silk annually.
There are fourteen exhibitors of wool,
washed and unwashed. The unwashed
samples are arranged in tufts to show the
lengths and also in single heeces. The me-
rinos are in the largest proportion. The
Russian and Negretti breeds are rather
long staple. The wool of the common Rus
sian sheep is hard and coarse. Several sacks
of Astrakhan and Angora wool are shown,
the latter of fine quality. One case is filled
with skins of the sheep, goat and other wool
bearing animals, tanned and made into pale
tots, coats and other garments. Another case
contains wool felts manufactured into over
shoes and leggings felted in one piece, very
serviceable in snowy weather.
Bee culture seems to center in Poland.
There is an exhibit of an improved beehive,
with movable frame and artificial honey
comb, which resembles the Langstroth hive
now so much in use in America. Beeswax
is shown, crude and purified A large ex-
hbit is made of wax candles. One case is
f ed with wax fruit, representing the cult
vated fruits of the country. Apples are
shown in many varieties, but all are inferior
in size and color to what we are familiar
with.
Flax and hemp are exhibited raw, cleaned,
combed, and in the stalk. The products from
these fibres are shown in coils Of rope and
twine, and in a number of exhibits of OIL
cake and meal and flax seed. There are also
several samples of linseed oil and rape-seed
oil.
Refined and raw sugars are largely exhibi-
ted The refined sugar is in large loaves,
some of which are split lengthwise to show
the crystals. The manufacture is entirely