1 1 72 RURAL ECOXOAIICS 



ing the percentage of each of the elements of the cost of production there has 

 also been taken into account the cost of renting of the soil, in \-iew of the 

 great importance of this factor in production. The table modified in this 

 way is reproduced here. It contains the total of all the expenses of culti- 

 vation for each cereal. This total comprises : i) the expenses for all 

 the labour connected with production, tillage of the soil, sowing, after 

 management, crop, carting away from the field, threshing and cleaning the 

 grain ; 2) the cost of the grain required for sowing ; 3) the cost of the 

 manure, including the expenses of its carriage ; 4) general expenses, and 5) 

 the cost of renting of the soil. In addition, the table also indicates the 

 cost of production of one bushel of each cereal ; this cost also comprises the 

 rent of the groimd. In order, however, to determine this cost price, the value 

 of the straw was deducted from the total expenses of production, that is to 

 sa}-, the cost of production of the grain alone is given, which, according to 

 the writer, corresponds better to the actual conditions of agricultural eco- 

 nomic life. Finally, in the table there is shown the percentage of each class 

 of expenses relatively to the total of such expen.ses. 



On comparing the particulars of the table, it is seen that the principal 

 cereals grown in Russia arranged according to the cost of production fall into 

 the following order; i) winter wheat, 4s. 10 d. per cwt; 2) spring wheat, 4 s. 7 rf. ; 

 3) winter r\'e, 4 s. 6d. ; 4) barley 3 .s. 5 d. and 5) oats 3 s. 6 d. The writer 

 attributes great value to the figures collected inasmuch as they allow of 

 ascertaining the value of each of the elements of production and the relations 

 between these elements for each cereal and for each of the regions and go- 

 vernments ; consequently some comparisons aremade. 



Winter Rye. — The cost of production of winter r\-e is higher outside 

 the zone of " tchernoziom " that in that zone, both in respect of expenses 

 per acre (£ 2.15.2 against £ 2.6.3) ^^^^ in the cost of one cwt. of grain pro- 

 duced (4 s. gd. against 4 s. 4^.). Thus between the different regions of 

 these two zones verv* great fluctuations are seen. The importance of each 

 of the elements of rj-e production presents itself as follows : the highest 

 value is that of the labour expenses; on the average throughout all European 

 Russia they represent more than one third of all the expenses of production 

 of cereals ; in the " tchernoziom " zone the amount of labour expenses is 

 greater than outside this zone. The two other classes of expenses — soil rent 

 and manure — in European Russia are about the same in amount, each re 

 presenting 1/5 of the total expenses (20.6 and 20 %) ; but in the tchernoziom 

 zone, the soil rent is the greater while in the other zone it is the manure. The 

 sum of these two expenses gives similar values both for the tchernoziom 

 zone and for the other, namely 39.3 %, in the former case and 41.7 % in 

 the latter. The total of these expenses is said to determine the cost of pro- 

 duction of the rye. The next class of expenses is represented for the non- 

 tchernoziom zone b}' sowing expenses, and for the tchernoziom zone by 

 general expenses ; this difference is explained by the higher cost of produc- 

 tion of the cereals, and consequently of seeds, and by the closer sowing in 

 the former zone ; in the tchernoziom zone, by the slight amount of cultiva- 



