24 ih et 
70,000 tons to the hectare. Admitting the ton only contains 150 kilograms of phos- — a; 
phoric acid, this calculation will give us a mean of 15,000 to 20,000 tons of phosphate — 
of lime per hectare, and this is based upon the contents of the principal beds only, 
without counting the thinner seams. I would not tell the whole truth, for fear I might 
be accused of exaggeration. 
The localities in the neighborhood of the towns of Roslawl, (government of Smo- 
lensk,) and of Briansk, (government of Orel,) present the most favorable conditions 
to obtain the phosphates which there appear on the surface; but the beds of the 
eastern zone, and of Spask-Tombof, are the richest and most abundant, while the 
central zone, extending from Koursk to Varoneje, represents a medium between the 
other two formations. 
All these regions are traversed by railways, of which the most important are the 
lines of Charkof-Koursk-Orel-Moscow ; of Voroneje-Moscow, and Voroneje to the sea 
of Azof; of Saratofi-Tambof-Koslofi-Moscow ; and that of Volga-Grias¢-Orel-Smolensk- 
Riga, to the frontier. 
Notwithstanding the enormous distances, transportation does not present much dif- 
ficulty, especially if those beds are worked which lie nearest the sea-ports, such as 
those recently found in Podolia and the government of Grodno, of which we possess 
specimens sufficient to establish their value, though they have net yet been closely 
examined. 
These great deposits were hardly discovered when their development commenced. 
At present there are three establishments, two in the government of Koursk, and one 
at Riga. This last receives the raw material from Smolensk, reduces it to powder, and 
in spite of the high price it charges (viz, 9 francs per 100 kilograms) sells a considera- 
ble quantity to the proprietors in the Baltic provinces. The factories in Koursk have 
received government aid to the extent of 40,000 francs, but owing to want of skill and 
credit one of them is already in process of liquidation; the other, which commenced 
about a year ago, has been managed to much better advantage, although it charges 
too much for its products, viz, 5 francs per 100 kilograms, bagged and delivered at the 
factory. The quality of the article is excellent, and if means can be found to reduce 
the price, not oniy will the sale be much more rapid, but the profits greater, as the 
phosphatic rock costs only about from 3 to 6 francs the ton at the quarry. 
It only remains to add, that notwithstanding the value of owr phosphates, and the 
importance of manure to the Russian farms, impoverished by exhausting culture, our 
agriculture has scarcely begun to profit by them. Our rural inhabitants are slow to 
adopt mineral manures, accustomed as they have been for ages to the use of farm-yard 
dung alone, which has now become too scarce and costly to re-establish the wasted 
fertility of our soil. Fortunately we possess sufficient phosphate to supply, not merely 
our own farmers, but all Europe besides, for an indefinite period. 
GRAPE-CULTURE AND WINEMAKING IN EL PASO 
DEL NORTE. 
The Department of Agricuiture has received, through the Depart- 
ment of State, the following communication from William M. Pierson, 
esq., United States vice-consul at El Paso del Norte, Mexico, describing 
the primitive method of manufacturing wine in that consular district: 
UNITED STATES CONSULATE, PASO DEL NORTE, 
Mexico, November 30, 1872. 
Referring to my dispatches of 15th and 26th instant, I have the honor to report that 
vineyards in this valley three years old produce a small quantity of grapes; the fourth 
year almost a half wine-crop is produced; the fifth year brings three-fourths of a crop, 
while the sixth year is ‘the attainment of full development, and a full wine-crop is 
realized. 
The common wine-yield of a healthy vineyard is two hundred and fifty gallons to the 
acre. The wine is manufactured in the most simple and primitive manner. It is the 
pure juice of the grape, receiving no doctoring or scientific manipulation. The manu- 
facturer first provides himself with a sufficient quantity of raw-hide sacks, formed by 
fastening the outer edge of a large green hide to a square frame made of round poles, 
the hide hanging down in a sack form, or apparently much like the hang-down bird’s 
nest of the North. The sack is then allowed to dry in the sun, when it acquires an iron- 
like solidity. Having acquired these sacks, a set of tramping-pans are also made from 
