12 MANUFACTURKS OF RUSSIA. 



From the above quotations a similar calculation would tind 5,561,962 spindles 

 and 128,273 looms. Thus for the last ten years the number of spindles has increased 

 approximately sixteen per cent and the number of looms, twentj^ per cent. At the 

 present time the number of spindles in Russia may be estimated at 6,000,000 and the 

 number of looms at 200,000, taking- 300 days per annum of ten working hours. 



Speaking of the technical means of production it will be interesting to become 

 acquainted with the number of workpeople engaged in the cotton manufacturing in- 

 dustry. According to statistics for 1889 there were employed in the spinning and 

 weaving mills 211,000 people; out of this number 110.000 hands were engaged in 

 weaving for 200,000 looms, and about 100,000 in spinning for 6,000,000 spindles. 

 In this manner it results tliat there are in Eussia about two looms and sixty spindles 

 per workman. In comparing the relative production with that of England it will be 

 seen that there is more labour spent in Russia than in England, but it would be 

 erroneous to explain this fact by attributing it to the comparative inca])ability of the 

 Russian workpeople, as on the contrary they must be credited with great ability 

 and enduiance. In fixing the relative amount of labour dependent on the number 

 of spindles and looms it is necessary to take into consideration the commercial 

 side of the question, the influence of which is the principal cause of the above men- 

 tioned difference. Although in both countries the same ends are aimed at. namely, to 

 attain the cheapest production, in consequence of the different conditions of labour, 

 ill England machinery being cheap and labour dear and in Russia vica versa, it is 

 attained by different means. This can be easily seen by examining the working of 

 spinning machines and looms. In England the carriages of self-acting mules make 

 fewer stretches per minute than those working in Russia, in consequence of which 

 the production of the machine is reduced, but at the same time there are fewer 

 broken ends, which reduces the amount of labour required. By this means the loss 

 in production is recompensed by the smaller amount paid for labour. In like manner 

 in Russian mills the number of picks made by the looms per minute is greater than 

 those in the English manufactories, calling for greater manual labour for piecing 

 broken ends in the warp and changing weft caps, so that an English workman can 

 be entrusted with four looms or more, while a Russian, in consequence of the higher 

 .speed, cannot be given more than two. 



Comparison of Russian and foreign industries. 



To be able to determine the position occupied by the Russian cotton industry 

 amongst foreign industries, a comparison should be made of the technical means pos- 

 sessed by the different nations and the quantity of raw cotton used. From statistics 

 given by Thomas Ellison, of recent years the number of spindles in the world may 

 be seen by the following figures: 



