Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/408

* EUSSIA. 368 BUSSIA. here and there in gentle undulations and covering luimlreds of thousands of square miles, with near- ly tho same outward aspect and the same interior structure. The great zones of Paleozoic and Car- boniferous rocks that cover Russia stretcli away east and south to the very heart of Central Asia. Along the base of the Urals, between the Arctic and the steppes of the Caspian, extend the new- red sandstones, the Permian formations deriving their name fnnn the l4overnment of Perm, which are generally regarded as marking the close of the Paleozoic era. There are also some rocks of more recent ages. .Turassie strata skirt the Permian southward and overlap them in the centre, forming a rough triangle which tapers from the Arctic to the 'olga ; and farther south, chalk. Tertiary and more recent rocks skirt a granitic tableland that obliquely crosses the steppes in the extreme south ; granites are also predominant in Finland. In the southwest of Poland the highhxnds contrast forcibly with the groat plain in the variety of their formations, which include clialks and .furassic, Triassic, Car- boniferous, and Devonian rocks, many minerals being mined in this hilly region. The Urals form geologically one system throughout of crystalline rocks. The gold of the Middle Urals is not sought in the granitic and serpentine rocks, but in the detritus that covers a large area at the base of the mountains. The mountains that cross the south side of the Crimea are of lime- stone and are mere fragments of the former ranges. The whole of North Russia, with the excep- tion of that portion of the plain along the Urals, w'as buried during the glacial period un- der the ice masses which invaded it from the Scandinavian peninsula, covering the land with morasses and erratic boulders, and leaving thou- sands of glacial lakes among the evidences of the various advances and retreats of the ice sheet. Xo region of Europe is more thickly sprinkled with erratic boulders, many of enor- mous size, than Finland. In the southern part of Russia, on the other hand, no erratic boulders are found to the south of Tula, Ryazan, and Kazan. All traces of the ancient glaciers disappear where the black earth lands begin. The great region of salt lakes, marshes, and steppes which forms the southeastern steppe region of Russia is a remnant of the old Caspian basin. In its mineral wealth Russia is one of the most richly endowed countries of Europe. Gold, sil- ver, platinum, iron, copper, zinc, salt, and coal are the principal minerals worked. Defective means of communication and dearth of fuel have hitherto prevented the mining industry from at- taining full development. The only regions where coal and iron in juxtaposition are largely mined are in the Donetz coal basin and Poland. Between 1887 and 1897 Russia tripled its pro- duction of iron and steel. Iron ore is found in Perm and Vyatka (Urals), in a mining region around Moscow ( Central Rvissia ), in the Donetz basin ( South Russia ), Poland, Finland, and to a small extent in some other regions. Magnetic ironstone, the most valuable iron ore, is mined along a large part of the Urals. The production of pig iron has ranged since 1808 from 2.200,000 tons to 2.8.50.000 tons a year. South Russia has supplied about one- half, the Urals about one-fourth, and Poland one-ninth. The production of steel in 1899 was 1.318,000 tons, the rolled iron product being only about one-third as large as the steel output. Rus- sia supplier aliout four-tlfths of all the cual and pig iron cunsumed in the country and nearly all of the steel. Coal exists in much greater quan- tities than was formerly supposed. The best coal (partly anthracite) is obtained in South Russia near the Donetz River, and these mines and those of Poland yield two-thirds of the output. The mines of Poland are a continu- ation of the Silesian coal measures. The cen- tral coal field south of Moscow is also important. It is somewhat difficult to work the Russian coal dejjosits. and, though the total annual yield has steadilv increased (298.500 tons in 18(i, Ii9o.400 in 1870, 3.280,000 in 1880, 6,022,000 in 1890, and over 12.000.000 tons in 1899), the supply falls short of the quantity required. The imports, chiefly from England, are large in spite of the tariff. The chief sources of gold are Siberia (28.270 kilograms in 1899) and the Ural Moun- tains (10.465 kilograms), about one-fourth of the product being obtained from auriferous veins. Copper (8000 tons in 1901) comes chiefly from the Urals and Caucasus and to a lesser extent from Poland and Finland. About 90 per cent, of the world's supply- of platinum comes from the west side of the Urals ( 0223 kilo- grams in 1901). Zinc (6000 tons in 1901) is a product of Poland. Mercury ( 357 tons in 1899) comes from Ekaterinoslav in South Russia and Caucasia. Salt is found in Russia in iii- e.xhaustible abundance. The rich beds of rock salt in the Donetz basin yielded 789,800 tons in 1899: 333.600 tons came' from Astrakhan, and 315.500 from Perm. The total product in 1899 was 1,043,000 tons. The lakes of the southeast- ern steppes yield abundant salt and some of them are filled with a saturated solution of salt. Many lakes also yield soda. Iridium (solid), nialacliite (in large blocks), lapis lazuli, emer- alds, diamonds, topazes, and onyxes are found in the Urals, and amber on the Baltic coasts. Russia is deficient in building stone, but colossal blocks of granite occur in Finland. Porcelain clay and meerschaum are found in the Crimea, ilarble is quarried in Finland and the Crimea. There are numerous chalybeate, sulphur, and sa- line springs. Peat moors on the Baltic coast and near JIoscow are a source of fuel. The Baku ])e- Iroleum fields in Transcaucasia are one of the greatest sources of mineral oil in the world. The total production of crude oil in 1901 was 85.108,- 550 barrels. A pipe line with pumping stations over the mountains from Balai to Batuni to fa- cilitate transportation by Black Sea routes was nearing completion in 1903. Two-thirds of Rus- sia's contribution to the w'orld's gold output comes from Siberia. The world receives its chief supply of manga- nese from the Caucasian mines in the Govern- ment of Koutais, where there is a vast bedded deposit nearly seven feet thick, h'ing practically level. The production in 1899 was 416,340 long tons. Agriculture. Russia is preeminently an agri- cultural State. It pays for its imports with farm produce, and four-fifths of the population subsist by luKliandry. One-fifth of the surface, however — the tundras in the north and the salt steppes in the southeast — is entirely incapable of cultiva- tion. There are also about 15.000.000 acres of unproductive swamp lands in West Russia, but