The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-09-08
The seif-Rccruitins Power of Russia.

The Seif-Rccruiting Power Of Russia.
Russia was said by her enemies to be in
solvent before the late war began. 1t is
certain that oven on peace footing the cX-
! pCnditurcs for 1877 must have shown an
excess over the revenue. How much moro
! difficult problem must bc solved by the
Finance Minister. now that the normal bur
deus are swollen 10y the interest on u new
| debt, varously computed at two TO three
| hundred millions Of dollars. II is not sur
! prising, therefore, that the projected loan Of
| 3O0,OO0,OOO roublcs should have proved
| partial failure. For the moment, IL IL plain
that rcsOlutc and sweeping economies must
be made In every department Of the civil
and military administrations. But the
urgent and essential question II, how long
| will these reductions last Must they
| bc pushed so far and SO long Ms Ia cripple
| the efficiency uf the Northern Empire and
deprcss its political weight, or are the pro-
ductive and Industrial resources ~ the
country likely 10 prove sufficiently elastic
| to meet after short interval the supple
mentary demands?
Let us glance first at those staples grain
and -four flax and hemp which constitute
almost exclusively the objects of export ~
| we take the mean figures Of ten years. We
| shall find the total annual production OF
cereals not far from billion and four hun
! dred million Of bushels that Of ilaxsecd
and raw flax nearly six million metric quin-
tails and that Of raw hemp about one and n
quarter million quintals. Deducting the
amounts consumed In the country there
would remain available for export ON an
average some iifty-fvc million bushels Of
grain and flour, and three and a half million
quintals " flax and hemp in the double
commercial form ~ raw fibre and seed
Passing to minor fruits Of Muscovitc agri-
culture, we may mention that n tobacco Of
fair quality is produced on n considerable
scale in Little Russia, the Taurls, and the
Caucasus; while the yield of Russian vine
yards reaches about 1872. 900 gallons. de-
rived mainly from the Crmea Bessarabia,
and the Transcaucasian province The cul
TURF ~ the beet root also has ~ late made
considerable progress in European Russia
employing some 800 sugar mills. and
turning out each year upward Of l20,OOO,O00
pounds of sugar III silk culture the
growing of cocoons has scnsibly advanced
toward the south, has already crossed the
| Caucasus, and now delivers to CONSUMPTION
more than two million pounds. As to wool,
the present production is computed at
l20,oo0,00O pounds. So much for the pro-
ducts Of the Russian farmer and grazier;
but we should point out that hitherto only
the most primitive methods and implements
have for the most part been used. Now.
however, the steam ploughs, harrowJ
reapers, and threshers invented in Amer
lea and England are beginning to be intro
duced, and it Is certain that no country In
| the world offers more promising field kDr
| their application. Thus to take an examI le
from the European possessions Of the Car,
what Is known as the TchernozGme or Black
Earth zone OF the steppes, covers an
Immense area embracing nearly $50 600
acres, and employing an agricultural
| population OF twenty-five millions. This
belt alone produces seven-tenths OF all
the wheat now harvested in Russia, and we
could not easily fix the limit TO which pro-
duction may be raised by the introduction
| on an extensive scale Of improved machines
and processes
In estimating the elasticity of Russia's
natural resources we may leave out OF the
account mineral products, and alcoholic
compounds, since the yield Of those com
modites Is likely to remain stationary As
n rule, neither scientific acumen nor liberal
expenditure has been wanting to the de-
velopmont Of the iron, copper, and silver
mines Of the Northern Empire II is true
that coal basin recently discovered at the
foot Of the Ural Mountains may, il reports
should prove well founded, materially aug
ment the wealth derived from mineral
sources. As to the yield Of spirits distilled
from grain or from potatoes, and Of whicf
kummel and shUrus are the species most ! n
request, there was Il sensible falling off ot
last accounts, showing that the limit If
taxation had been reached in this direct inu
II we turn TO the textile industries, v hich
during the last decade exhibit n cred tahln
advance, we shall note hopeful augr ries of
ultimate solvency, provided an 9 ooch Of
peace and internal tranquility c, he as.
surcd to the subjects of the Car The nm.
nual. products, for example, Of thf cotton I'm.
du7try, which was only introdU cod toward
the end Of the last century, are now valued
at upward OF a hundred mi lion dolIors
The wool industry, which nc etartcd hv
Car PETER, now employs dn.luding vorr
mills and cloth Mills some sso establish
ments and 10000 workmf Although th,
go, So, l,"' ',iI i"A and hemp not re
-. ufacture IS sent u
."'n's" p"' Nv citing to tho last sta
| tisticS some twenty Il nan - 1t. ,,,o I,
| operation, How muc h ~ thoau,, ,,rc,,,,, !,
Russia is kept for b ono consnnn,inn ma,
| be inferred from tn . fac, TINT thc nnn,,,or -
silk weaving ests ,Ii.bmonts IL NOT IN, fro,
| two hundred, an Ithot thoir animal faIrio
nave an eS.."'" ed value Of Sl0,0O0.000. W
may auu VI" Russian hides and lcathe
nave iohs uo N highly priced commodities
anu 'ii"' I" ir production Is increasing
oh 'i' hole, it may be said that as II
garus ha ,ural wealth, and the capacity
! seeu''w . an immense surplus for exchaDg