Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-08

cents per ton per mile. There is a great
variety In rates. so that it is impossible to
describe just what things cost. The freight
brings in the greatest per cent of profit
to the road and it is increasing more rapid
ly than the passenger traffic.
Russia is farming country, and large
part of the freight Is made up of grain and
agricultural products. Some of the articles
are peculiar to the country. Prince Hill
kof told me that he was shipping train
loads Of game birds from Siberia to the
markets of Europe and 1 know that the
export of poultry is so enormous that it
forms an important freight item More
than 100000 tons of geese, chickens and
eggs are carried over the railroad in year
and the exports of this kind to other parts
of Europe now amount to almost $4,000
600 annually. The eggs exported alone
bring in about s15,OO0O00, while the live
geese sent to Germany sold for some
million dollars more.
A great many pigeons are being raised
and also ducks, turkeys and pheasants.
Some of the larger estates have begun to
breed cartridges. quails and grouse, and
others have great f1ocks of half wild
pheasants which they raise for the market.
AS to eggs, $4,000 tons are now annually
carried over the railroads and this traffic
is steadily increasing. The most of them
go to Germany and Austria, a large part
to Great Britain and some to Belgium and
Holland. Almost three million pounds of
eggs are exported in bulk, the eggs being
broken and the yolks separated from the
whites. The yolks go to Germany, Den
mark, England and Holland and the whites
to Germany and Great Britain.
Live Birds by Rail.
It is interesting to look at one of the
Russian bird trains. The birds are put In
wicker crates, each of which will hold
about twenty; and there are forty or fifty
such crates in one car. There will often
be 1000 ducks or 1900 chickens in a single
car. There are whole train loads of fowls,
especially live geese. which come from CEN
trail, southern and western Russia. They
60 chiefly to Germany, although some are
exported to Austria, France and Turkey.
AS to the home market the chief center of
the trade is here at Moscow, where about
q million and a half of birds annually
consumed The busiest time Is along In the
fall and from then until Christmas The
birds are killed as soon as the weather is
cold enough to freeze them, and they are
kept in a frozen state until needed. This is
so of all sorts of fowls and birds. The
chief market for poultry is st. Petersburg.
where Moskow chickens bring 80 cents a
pair, turkeys 81 CO. capons about 81. Is and
geese the same as the turkeys.
American Goods by Ship and Train.
At present most Of our exports come to
the Black sea or the Baltic. Some goods
are shipped across Europe, but these are
generally consigned to Germany. The di-
rect shipments go to Odessa, Riga. Rival or
st. Petersburg, whence they are sent by
railroad or by river and canal to different
parts of the country. The new railroads
will open up the whole empire, and within
a very few years 1t will be possible to con-
sign goods to any village in Russia.
100000 Miles of Waterway.
The water communications of Russia are
also improving. Indeed few people have
any idea of their enormous extent. In Eu-
rope alone Russia has 10000 miles of ca
nails. rivers and lakes which are navigable
for some kind of craft. In Siberia there
are 30 600 miles of navigable rivers, and in
Central Asia 1900 miles more. The mer-
chant feet is enormous. There are about
$4,000 vessels and more than 1900 steam
ers. More than 100000 tons of goods are
annually carried on the rivers and the pc
troleum fleet of the Caspian sea comprises
fifty-seven steamers and 263 sailing YES
sells. The Volga is a great water highway
thronged with shipping and the same is
true of parts of the Don. the Dneiper the
Bug and other rivers You can now go from
st. Petersburg to the Caspian sea by the
Neva the canals and the Volga, and as the