The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-01-26
REMARKABLE STAMPS.

1LuSSla 1TlVdIe TOSldl flOuLeS, COH-
 meeting With the Governments Make
 Complete Collections Impracticable.
 In Russia everything large is loud, and the stamp collector who possesses some of the curious Russian local pos tai labels will be inclined to think so, too. ''Colors shriek and flame," and our stamp albums on the pages allotted to Russian stamps bear out that state ment. Russia's postal system is worked on different lines from ours owing to the vastness of the land to be covered. It is easy to understand that in a country of Russias dimesions it would not pay to run the postoffice mail routes into every little nook and corner. The manner in which this difficulty is sur mounted is both interesting and novel. The Imperial Post determines a fixed route for it's mails. All districts which are not on that route are permitted to establish miniature posts, which carry letters to the nearest station on the route of the Imeprial Post. These posts are organized and worked by the local municipal governments, which issue stamps for the purpose These posts were authorized by an edct (dated Sept. 3, 1S70) to carry local letters from one point in the district to another, and also to take letters to and from the nearest office of the government postal service. On account of the great num- Der of these posts, there is big and varied task before the collector who With their characteristic fondness for amasses an album of these stamps. vivid colors, the designers of these rural stamps have made them of many hues, and if they are not particularly artistic they are decidedly highly col ored. Some of the results are, in con- sequence often absurd in the eyes of a Briton, but 1t must also be admitted that some of them are admirable speci- mems of the engraver's art.
 The stamp of TiraspoI, whic h s with others, shown in the magazine would vie with a matchbox label in point of size. Two penny English stamps could be laid side by side on the top of this phlatelic giant and still not cover it completely. Tiraspol is district in the Province of Cherson. The stamp is marvel of the designers
 
 five coors. namely. gold, red, black, green and yellow Tn 1t the Russian eagle is surmounted with cross print ed in gold, the arms of the municipal ity of Tiraspol are shown below the Russian standard, and the inscriptions indicate that it Is a "Tiraspol rural stamp" Any one learning the Russian language would do we'll to collect these rural stamps. Tn a few weeks he would become so interested in Russia and it's postal system that the language with its grammar, would be the only outlet for his enthusiasm. Another educational advantage to be gained from Russian rural stamps is the knowledge of the geography of the interior of the country, and the stamps pave the way for a very good knowl- edge of Russia's numerous provinces, municipalities and small towns. A curiously mystic-looking stamp comes from Tikhvin, in the Province of Nov gorod. The design shows a sun, print ed in gold, and band of silver on a shield of red and blue. The outer frame is in black. This handsome stamp is printed in five colors. Another illustra- tion is of stamp from Oustsysolsk, in the Province of Vologda. It shows a typical local landscape, in the fore ground of which stands shaggy bear, whose gaze is fixed upon some unseen prey. The stamp is pretty one, being printed in three colors, red, blue and brown, the last-named color being re- served for Bruin, the typical animal of Russia.-London Westminster Gazette.