20 MANUFACTURES OF RUSSIA. 



that if instead of Russian goods consumers should he supplied by those of English 

 make at the lowest possible rate of 25 roubles per poud. then the amount of Eussian 

 money sent abroad would be 250,000,000 roubles, exceeding two and a half times the 

 amount paid to foreigners for raw cotton. The influence of increased imports would 

 materially affect the exchange, as will be seen by statistics given in the Introduction to 

 this book. Moreover, the development of the cotton manufacturing industry in Russia 

 has created a special branch of production, namely, the cultivation of cotton, with a 

 \-iew to obtaining the necessary material for spinning, and this branch may be said 

 to have a splendid prospect in the future. 



In Turkestan at the present time there are 375,000 dessiatines of land prepared, 

 which are quite suitable for the planting of cotton, and capable of producing 

 7,000,000 pouds of fibre in the clean state. Thus in the near future probably the 

 greater part of the Russian cotton industry. will be supplied with native raw mate- 

 rial. Consequently the protective tariff on cotton goods has undoubtedly produced 

 visible fruits. Taking into consideration that the Eussian cotton manufacturing indus- 

 try grows with such amazing rapidity, and at the same time improves in the qual- 

 ity of its production, one must naturally suppose that in time, and probably at no 

 very distant date, this industry will become so firmly rooted that with the smallest 

 protective duty it will be able to freely withstand foreign rivalry. 



The competition with England forms a subject for serious consideration 

 to Eussia, as well as to the majority of European countries. As regards the extent 

 of the development of the cotton manufacturing industry, England unquestionably 

 occupies the first place among other nations, as she possesses more than half the 

 total number of spindles in the world, and notwithstanding the perfection at wliicli 

 she has arrived in the construction of machinery further improvements are constantly 

 made, as may be seen for instance in the improvements in carding engines and 

 ring frames, made since the Manchester Exliibition of 1887, the spindles of which 

 move at the tremendous speed of 11,000 to 12,000 revolutions per minute. Thus, 

 spinning in England from a technical point of view has the advantage of richer 

 surroundings than any other country on the continent of Europe. Besides this. 

 English cotton manufactories serve as model schools, organized by a body of expe- 

 rienced masters and workmen for producing new kinds of goods. The cheapness of 

 raw cotton, the abundance of splendid and cheap coal and cast iron, the possession 

 of one of the first cotton markets. Liverpool, all these combined factors form the 

 ruling stability of the English cotton industry. 



One of the essential causes which may retard the development of cotton manu- 

 facture in Russia is the insufficiency of works for the constiuction of cotton spinning 

 machinery. This inadequacy compels Eussia to use machinery of English make (Piatt 

 Brothers, Howard and Bullough, Dobson and Barlow^ Curtis and Sons, Samuel Brooks, 

 Hetherington, Crighton, Asa Lees and others) and this circumstance presents great 

 difficulties to the Russian spinner. The construction of machinery was first commenced 

 in England, and up to the present, that country has retained the priority. She not 

 only fully supplies her enormous home wants, having about 44,000,000 spindles at 

 work, but furnishes with her product the whole of the continent of Europe. 



The preparation of cotton spinning machinery belongs to a class of industry 

 which requires for its foundation an immense amount of capital. It is palpable that 



