i 9 2 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



female stems are packed so as to occupy only the central portion 

 of the pit, leaving a free water space surrounding the hemp. A 

 little straw is scattered over the top and clods of earth are stacked 

 on the straw, so as to sink the hemp below the surface of the 

 water. When properly retted the bundles are withdrawn and 

 the stems spread out on the land to dry, the separation of the 

 fibre from the retted stems being carried on during the winter. 



Besides hemp and the usual crops of grain, there is quite a 

 large quantity of tobacco grown on the rich dark soil of this 

 district, especially in the provinces of Tamboff, Poltava and 

 Tchernigoff, over 25,000 tons being produced annually in the last 

 named province. The quality of this tobacco crop is held to be 

 very superior to that grown in the neighbourhood of Samara. 

 Further north, at Orel, a busy little town about a night's journey 

 south of Moscow, the Government have started an establishment 

 where the cultivation of hemp may be studied. They have also 

 installed quite an instructive exhibit of all types of machinery 

 required in hemp cleaning and the manufacture of rope and twine. 

 The exhibit comprises both simple and complicated machines 

 and they are fitted up so that anybody can receive instruction in 

 working them. Every inducement is being used to encourage 

 people to work up the raw fibre instead of exporting it and to 

 improve the methods of cultivation ; but as the poorest class of 

 peasantry is concerned with hemp cultivation it is difficult to 

 effect any improvement. Those in charge of this station are 

 certainly firm believers in the use of machinery for everything 

 and enthusiastically point out the superiority of the British- 

 made goods. They would like to have more of the smaller 

 machines of the same high-class workmanship but find that the 

 British firms expect to have a large order placed with them at 

 once and are not willing to invite new business by supplying 

 small items. 



The district known as the " Pale " comprises most of the 

 south-western provinces extending from the Baltic Province of 

 Courland to the west shore of the Sea of Azov. Nearly 95 per 

 cent, of the Russian Jewish population live within this area but 

 only few occupy themselves with agriculture. The Jews are bad 

 farmers and generally lack inclination to take part in agriculture 

 except by dealing with the produce. It is a significant fact that 

 nearly all Russian dealers are Jews ; in fact nearly 97 per cent, 

 of the grain dealers in the south-west provinces are of that race. 



