38 .AIANUi ACTURES OF RUSSIA. 



CHAPTER III. 

 ^Voollen g-oods. 



OAVIXG to tlie severe climatic conditions of Eussia, where in many parts warm 

 clothing mnst be worn during- eight or nine months of the year, woolen goods 

 are an absolute necessity. Coarse woolen tissues for supplying the wants of the poorer 

 classes of inhabitants, have for years been made by hand, in the homes of the peas- 

 ants. Consequently sheep form a necessary part of the belongings of the poorest 

 peasants, as much so as a horse, a cow, or any other domestic animal. At the present 

 time in many governments the peasant classes use goods fabricated by themselves. 

 They make hand-spun yarn, which is woven into coarse grey cloth for clothing pur- 

 poses, on looms of the simplest construction. Besides this, wool is used in the peasant 

 household for making felt, felt boots and gloves. 



Comparatively speaking, it is not long since such an industry of coarse woollen 

 goods was universally spread throughout the villages, but with the lapse of time 

 and the spread of cheap woolen goods manufactured in mills, this trade gradually 

 sank, and in many parts there remain only the manufacture and rolling of felt 

 boots. The making of cloth and other woollen goods is at the present time sufficiently 

 developed, both as to quantity and qualitj^ The Russian woolen industry, besides cloth- 

 ing the army, fully satisfies the home demand for goods of low and medium quality. 

 Imported textures are principally fine cloths, and fashionable fancy goods. 



Historical e e v i e ^v or the industry. 



The foundation of the manufacture of woolen goods in Eussia was laid in the 

 last century, during the reign of Peter the Great. These goods were tii'st man- 

 ufactured solely to clothe the army, in consequence of which manufacturers had 

 special priviliges and patents granted to them. In the year of 1712 an order 

 was issued that the army should be clothed only with textures of Eussian make. 

 Peter the Great, considering the development of the woolen industr}' in Eussia of 



