The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-12-05
Chicago Gets GpSeS Of the Agricultural Situation in The Soviet Union
Speech Delivered by G. OhsoL of the Amtorg Trading Co.

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he tongue of the desert" which is
projecting itself from the planes of
central Asia into southeastern Rus
STA, north of the Caspian Sea and
south of the Ural mountains. Second,
it is to supply the rapidly growing
Russian wool industry with improved
types of wool.
Old Russia even under the princes
knew how to make coarse woolens.
Peter the Great tried to develop sheep
farming in the Ukraine. From 1905
up to 1880 Russia was importing
Merino sheep from Spain. By 1880
she counted about fifteen million
heads Of fine fleeced Merino. Compe-
tition of Australia and South Africa,
however, coupled with the rapid colon
ization of southern Russia cut down
the size of the sheep focks of czarist
Russia.
THE extensive wheat farming which
4 was stimulated at that time with a
view to increase wheat exports, de-
creased the sheep focks to such an
extent that Russia began to import
Merino woolss After 1907 when the
agrarian awsSpromulgated by the
czarist Prime Minister Stolypin, Gre
ated small individual holdings out Of
village commons, tn enumber of sheep
fiocks owned by the peasants de-
creased still more. BY 1921, after the
world war and the civil war, the total
sheep focks of the Soviet Union had
decreased to forty million head. From
that year on, however owing to the
effective means adopted by the Soviet
government for the extension Of sheep
farming, the number of sheep increas-
ed very rapidly. At the present time
the total number of sheep in Russia
is estimated by Prof. Ivanov at eighty
million head of which there are about
100000 Merino sheep of various de-
grees of purity.
OF course the types of Russian peas
ant sheep are mostly of low inbred
variety with a very poor grade of
wool unsuitable for the manufacture
of high class woolens and worsted.
To improve the quality of these sheep
and of their fleece, the Soviet com.
missariat of agriculture decided to
import several thousand Merinos of
the Rambouillet type from the United
States of America
Two representatives of the commits
sariat of agriculture, Mr.. M. s. Pere-
ferkovitch, manager of the animal in
dustry division, and Professor M. w.
anog, expert in sheep, came to this
country and made hasty survey Of
the sheep fiocks of the Rambouillet
in Ohio, Wyowing, Colorad oand Ore
gon during September. Thanks to
the hearty cooperation Of the Ram
bouillet Sheep Breeders Association,
and especially awnig to the effective
assistance of is capable secretary,
Mr.. Dwight Lincoln, they we're able to
select within a, months time a very
high grade flock of sheep.
The first shipment of those sheep
consisting of 1000 head left on board
the steamship Ardenhall on October
oath, reaching the port of Novorossisk
on November goth. The sheep with
stood the severe Fall storms very
well, only nine having persisted, but
twenty-one lambs having been born
on the way and several hundred pairs
of newly weds completing their first
honeymoon trip.
THE other steamship Westward with
L some 1900 head of sheep on board
left New York November 7th, and
landed at Novorossisk on November
30th. These sheep are to be distri-
buted among government and cooper
alive sheep farms in the Ukraine,
Northern Caucasus and some in Sibe-
ria. Some rams are to be used to
improve the sheep fiocks of the local
farmers. We hope that those Amer
lean rams will be accorded full re-
cognition by the Russian peasant
sheep.
OF equal Importance is the hog in
dustry in Russia at the present time.
While the number of hogs in the Eu-
ropean part OF the Soviet Union was
nineteen and a half million in 1916, 1t
had been reduced to nine million by
1928. ~,
BY the end of 1924 the number of
hogs was again near seventeen mil
lion.
Bacon factories have been establish
ed at various points in Central and
South Russia. to cure bacon hams for
export. II
Dairying is likewise being developed
at rapid rate The pre-war export
of butter from Siberia was about
rs 1000 tons per annum. In 1920 it fell