The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-02-19

In case oil dlrt-5t necessity. btslNes ttlbi thn
railway facilities, though constantly I'm
proving. are still inadequate TO the vast
q rea Of the country. Thus in winter most
Of the traffic in the rural districts is con-
Quoted by sledge in the old time ma;isS,,
Quite, naturally, Therefore trayeliers
break their journey at the country house,
OF their friends Nor do these self-invited
guests ever fail TO receive the warTneht 81
welcomes. for the Russian, OF whatever
class il the soul of hospitality
In describing the Russian country dwell
ing no mention has been made Of the vast
underground construction which takes tia
place of our cellar. This is the storehouse.
equal to the house in area, and "a divided
by means of corridors, radisting from "a
large open space III the centre, the doors
OF these storeroorns all securely fastened
with huge home made locks.
The central space is occupied by bed
OF carefully dried sand. in which are planted
roots to be used during the long months Of
winter paisnips. carrots. tuTnips and 'he
like. Huge casks and barrels. looking like
n regiment Of very stout soldiers in the dim
light. are filed with sailed beef. ISL
half fermented cabbage tstchie) and beet
roots; these form an important part OF the
winter Diet
Should the storerooms be opened TO our
inspection we would see innumerabla
sides OF bacon. smoked mutton hams
smoked geese. and still other casks con
tanning butter. linseed and other vege
farm produce), and other regiments formed
by sacks OF -four
Impossible you say2 Not at all. for YOU
must remember that on this estate from
forty to fifty mouths must be fed every day,
besides the guests. Of whom mention has
just been made. and who form no incou
siderable item in the consumption OF thu
winters stores.
We may be sure that the kha zyeeana
mistress of the housed is not behind her
hrtzla nd IN aCfiNfsV in tho uek that
tain to their common welfare. She viii
oversee the smoking Of the hams. bacon,
fish, &c. for each good housewife has her
special method and yies with her neigh
Dor in the perfection Of their preparation
The solid soup, which plays nm important
part in the summer cuisine OF the Russian
IL also prepared at this season. Should
spinning and weaving be carried on. as a
more than likely to be the case the mora
delicate fabrics will come under the eye
il not the hand of the khazyeeana. RussiHn
hand woven linen OF the finest quality j.
u work Of art. quite beyond price. and the
khazyeeann feels personal pride in its OK
oellence.
The delights Of sedge ride in Russia
can be fully Understood only by those who
have enjoyed that pleasure. The horses arc,
doubtless harnessed in tho well kn0wu
troika fashion. three abreast. Where the
roads are very narrow, three, sometime
four, horses are harnessad tandem. o mode
requiring considerable skill on the PAN
OF the driver.
But n spill from one Of these low sicdgcs
even with the horses going at full speed,
rarely entails serons consequence and
il generally treated as good joke indeed
II strongly resembles being flung into
feather bed. Should the foreigner be enjoy
ing his first sledgc ride It's more than liEely
the driver will slyly assist the seeming
accident when n drift ~ suitable s2o *
reached. But the snow. dry as salt. brushes
of easily and the drive is resumed gayly
az ever
The Russian goodman is an artist in
his profession. On seat raised TO such
an extent that he seems to be almost stand
ing. his feet firmly planted against tho
footboard, he holds one rein in each land,
this seemingly peculiar method, Of driving
being absolutely necessary with the hard
mouthed Russian horses.
No whip Is used or needed. but the
horses are urged TO top speed by CULTURE
cries and various epithets shouted by the
coachman, the remarks being of charaC-
ter that the foreigner is probably fortunate
in not compromising.
Those who know winter only in temperate
climates can form no idea of the beauty Of
this season in Russia. The snow, thicky
clustered on the branches of trees a,sume-
every sort Of weird shape. varied by spark
ling icicles OF every conceivable form
For weeks the sky will be cloudess and the
sun. Offering on the dazzling snow cover
ing the earth like a garment. makes a scene
even be increased as evening APPROACH
The glorious tints of the Russian winter
sunset are indcscr!bable.
At this season you will see long lines ~
peasants traversng the country roads in
their little sledges. which are identical in
construction with those Of a hundred year
ago. Theae bear men, women. boys and
girls all fiocking TO the urban centres. or
these a vast number proba bly, are The
kustar peasants before mentioned. Sucn
iva Niyutf lone u-fa -aI
the moujiks (peasants) working at various
trades in any village, however insigmii-
cant.
The intelligence Of the moujill is collective
rather than individual and their spirit ~
obedience, remnant OF serfdom, s"emS
to render them incapable of working unless
under direction. Should three moujiks Ia
sent TO chop trees. their first act before
setting 10 work would be to select one a.
leader, and, though he will probably take
little part in the work himself the other
will labor under his direction IN perie'
contentment.
With the knowledge Of this national char
acteristio in mind IL IL not difficult TO under
stand how natural it is for the moujiks TO
form themselves into artels for the carrying
on OF their various trades. The formation
Of an artel is very simple. A starosih
Qeader) il first elected. and a. every enter
prise. however small. requires some cap
tai, each member contributes all he can
spare.
Possibly from 500 to s25 is raised in MI.
way. This suffices for start But II
money 10 not forthcoming from the mem
bers. they may be eJble to borrow ". or
again. several Of their number MAJ "a
sent TO work in the nearest town during
the winter to raise the necessary capita
As soon as this is secured, svieelRs
cooperative work shop, is construcie1
This will merely be a roughly built iloa
probably situated at the end OF the village.
There the trade, learned in the days "'
serfdom, makes a fresh start
Unfortunately for the moujik he posse-s''
far more industrial than commercial CAP
city and a natural result II tan'T
1eeced by the middlemen in the di-p'~a'
Of the results OF his labor. for they purcld''
these products OF the arteis for less than
half OF the price they eventually OBTAIN
for tnegn.
This whole subject Of industrial COOP
ton IS one Of vast importance 20 Rns-H
as all students Of her social and polite
economy cannot fail TO realize. Tho"
who have the best welfare Of N" -.
at heart must agree with q reoert wr'".
on this subject, Prof d. l. Mendetei who
says:
There Is every reason 10 hope ma p
Will soon come to be realized a. rro'-