THE MARKETING OF WHEAT 229 



doubtless be the great factor in the future development of the 

 country. The construction of the trans-Siberian railroad has 

 been considered as the initial step in the opening of extensive 

 grain fields. This railway is about 6,600 miles long in its direct 

 line. Earth was broken for its construction in 1891. The road 

 has been completed, but "what this country can do in the way 

 of wheat production is yet to be demonstrated. ' ' On account 

 of high freights, wheat cannot be shipped to the frontier by 

 rail, and' the surplus of Western Siberia does not get beyond 

 the rural districts. Much of the grain from the western wheat 

 lands of Siberia is carried by boat down the Irtish and up the 

 Tura to Tinmen, from which place it is forwarded by rail to 

 Russia. Some is also shipped east and west on the trans- 

 Siberian railroad. 



In Russia, grain was formerly handled in sacks. There were 

 no elevators at the country stations and the grain was much 

 damaged from exposure to the elements. The same state of 

 affairs existed at the seaports, where the grain was further 

 damaged. Here an attempt was made to classify the grain 

 according to its quality, but there was no machinery for clean- 

 ing it. Screenings were bought from the farmers and again 

 mixed with the wheat. Various other extraneous matters were 

 also introduced, such as manure, sand, and a species of grass, 

 Kukal. The latter was in such demand at times as to bring a 

 higher price at Odessa than rye. 



In 1888 the first warehouse with elevators was erected in 

 Russia, and it did not pay expenses. Subsequently the Russian 

 government assisted in erecting grain elevators on the Ameri- 

 can plan. These were mainly along the lines of the southern 

 railway, and at Odessa and other southern ports. In 1895 there 

 were 55 warehouses with elevators, having a capacity of about 

 8,905,000 bushels, and 221 warehouses without elevators, having 

 a capacity of about 9,082,000 bushels. In 1898 over 50 per cent 

 of the Russian wheat contained 2 per cent of foreign matter, 

 and some of it contained as high as 12 per cent. No attempt 

 at grading and inspecting the wheat has thus far been success- 

 ful. It is mostly sold on sample in Great Britain, and there 

 are frequent complaints of fraud. Some fruitless efforts have 

 been made to get Russian wheat sold on a 5 per cent extraneous 



