THE CONDITIONS OF RUSSIAN AGRICULTURE 179 



of agricultural machinery has increased enormously during quite 

 recent times. At some of the posting stations and local trading 

 centres a fair assortment of modern implements may be seen 

 and small machines of British, German and American manufac- 

 ture. German and American goods sell more readily than 

 British, not because of any superiority in quality or workman- 

 ship but simply because the German manufacturer ascertains 

 what is required and sends it, whilst the Englishman sends what 

 he is accustomed to make in the ordinary way regardless of any 

 particular local requirement. 



Much of the western country is covered by forests which 

 extend as great arms across the land. Crops of potatoes, 

 barley, flax and oats occupy small patches of the open country. 

 Animal manure is very scarce, the soil is hungry and until 

 the financial position of the peasant farmers has been improved 

 by several more relatively good harvests they will not be able 

 to afford the outlay necessary on livestock or to purchase 

 artificial fertilisers. 



Leaving Livonia and travelling eastward, the conditions 

 become more truly Russian. There is indeed some excuse for 

 the pride the Letts exhibit in speaking of a journey into the 

 next province — Pskov — as a journey into Russia. The country 

 loses in interest, there is less land under forest, the trees are 

 smaller and there is less cultivated land. The plots of arable 

 land resemble remote patches in a great garment. 



In Russia proper the standard generally is lower than in the 

 Baltic Provinces, agriculture is more primitive, resembling that 

 of the north. Farming is extensively conducted on the triennial 

 system — winter grain, summer grain and fallow — although the 

 more intelligent adopt a six years' rotation, which includes 

 potatoes, flax, clover, oats, barley and fallow. 



In the vicinity of the city of Pskov are two brothers, energetic 

 men, who have farmed a small property of their own during 

 many years past and it is interesting to note that both admit 

 that they are perfectly satisfied and pleased with their crops. 

 There is one feature of their farming which is not often met 

 with and which is of particular interest to flax growers who 

 insist on the need of a change of seed every year. These two 

 men always carefully select sufficient of their best crops to 

 furnish seed for sowing in the following year. They have grown 

 flax and other crops from the same strain of seed in this manner 



