Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/1305

 PRODUCTION AND INDUSTRY

949

and 9,243,000 swine, showing thus a notable diminution against 1882. Poland had, same year, 1,204,340 horses, 3,013,400 horned cattle, 3,754,665 sheep, and 1,499,100 swine In Caucasia and Turkestan, in 1892, there were 1,690,740 horses, 6,511,930 cattle, 20,175,800 sheep, 960,000 swine, 441,120 camels, and 211,760 mules and asses. The horse census of 1891 showed 21,665,632 in European Russia and Poland, 706,985 horses in North Cau- casia, and 449,343 in Transcaucasia.

Since sanitary measures have been taken for slaughtering the herds of cattle attacked by epizooty, the number of heads of cattle lost every year, which formerly attained from 180,000 to 220,000 heads, has been reduced to 14,000 a year for the period 1890-94.

There are now 68 experimental farms under the Ministry of Agriculture.

II. Forests.

Of the total area of European Russia, nearly one-third is under forest. It appears from recent investigation that the following areas are under forest in European Russia, Poland, Finland, and Caucasia (the two latter incomplete) -. — European Russia, 422,307,000 acres ; Poland, 6,706,000 ; Finland, 50,498,000 ; Caucasia, 18,666,000 : total, 498,177,000 acres. On Jan. 1, 1895, the area of forests under Crown management in Russia attained 618,244,000 acres, out of which 36,959,000 acres were under regular treatment. The net revenue of the Crown forests attained in 1896 only 14,500,000 roubles.

An important measure was taken in 1888 for the protection of forests, most of which have been placed under a special committee appointed in each province of European Russia. Some forest lands have been recognised as ' protective ' for rivers, &c. , and they can in no case be destroyed, felling of timber in these tracts being submitted to severe regulations.

III. Mining and Metals.

The soil of Russia is rich in ores of all kinds, and mining industry is steadily increasing. The statistics during the years 1880 and 1889-95 are given in the following table : —

Yeai-

Gold

Plati- num

Silver

Lead

Zinc

Cop- per

Pig Iron

Iron

Steel

Coal

Naph- tha

Salt

Kilogrammes

Tons

Thousands of tons

1880 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896

43,276 38,003 39,394 39,016 42,996 44,804 42,910 41,110 37,176

2,947 2,622 2,837 4,183 4,357 5,094 5,210 4,415 4,930

10,107 13,857 13,776

-

13,688

12,459

9,980

10,757

1,146 569 825 558 883 844 743 412

4,256 6,343

3,697 5,059 4,522 4,935 4,951

3,203 5,978 5,318 5,456 5,315 5,463 5,409 5,570 5,416

448 740 926 1,005 1,072 1,149 1,332 1,452 1,612

292 428 433 448 497 499 503 440

307 258 378 433 515 630 726 879

3,289 6,213 6,015 6,233 6,946 7,122 8,762 9,099 9,314

352 3,310 3,980 4,757 4,896 5,793 5,162 7,057

779 1,370 1,361

1,405 1,337 1,316 1,523

Gold is obtained chiefly in Siberia (71,532 lbs. in 1893 and 64,208 lbs. in 1895) and the Ural Mountains (26,352 lbs. in 1893 and 21,451 lbs. in 1895), where one-fifth of the whole is obtained from pulverized rocks ; silver