LEATIIEK (i()iil)>. 93 



export for the three j'ears being- 841,575 ponds or 4.225.901 roubles; during- tlie next 

 half-decade it rose nearly l,300.0n() roubles above that of tlie previous Jive years, 

 and averaged 5,500,000 roubles and remained fairly constant during 1887, 1888 and 

 1890, only falling in 1889 to 4,250,000 roubles. This export nmy be divided into 

 small and large hides. The export of large hides varies greatly from year to year: 

 in 1887 it reached the lowest point of 706,203 roubles, but then rose tu 1,580,535 

 roubles in 1890, the mean export from 1887 to 1890 being 1,427,000 roubles. The 

 expo]-t of the small hides Avas a less important item, the 5'earh^ average for tlie same 

 period of 1887 to 1890 inclusive being 3,623,000 rouljles, witli very sliglit yearly 

 fluctuations. 



The increase or decrease of the export of raw hides does not seem to be the 

 result of a greater or less demand, but rather a matter of chance ami principally 

 depends upon the price of fodder. When fodder is scarce the export of raw liides 

 is very large, and the years 1869 and 1870 may be taken as an example to show 

 how greatly this export varies; in 1867 it amounted to 376,382 pouds, and in 1870 

 it fell to 163.026 pouds; in 1870 it further fell to 143,026 pouds, or only 38 per cent 

 of the preceding year. The greatest demand for the Russian leather expoits is in 

 Germany whilst Great Britain and Austro-Hungary import the same articles but onl} 

 to the amount of 25 per cent of what Germany consumes. 



Small, dry hides, principally calfskins, are sent abroad from the governments 

 in the interior, tlie Baltic region and the south of Eussia, through St-Petersburg. 

 Eiga and Odessa. Goatskins are exported from the government of Kazan and 

 other eastern governments; horse hides, from the governments along the Volga; and 

 light cow hides from the Nizhni-Novgorod fair. The hides are only sold by weight 

 in St-Petersburg and partly in other parts, in all other places they are sold by the 

 piece. At the Nizhni-Novgorod, Kretshensk, Troitsk and Menzelinsk fairs almost all 

 the goods are also sold by the piece. The export of dressed hides and wrought leather 

 is so small that it may be passed over entirely. 



The export of furs from 1880 to 1890 was subject to great fluctuations, but 

 is in general increasing, although not progressively. The average export during the 

 last four years amounted to 4,896,000 roubles, or 31 per cent of the mean total 

 leather export, and 90 per cent of this quantity, or 4,417,989 roubles, passed through 

 the European frontier, while 1 per cent, or 56,786 roubles, was exported through the 

 Finnish frontier, and 8 per cent or 421,271 roubles, through the Asiatic frontier. The 

 chief consumers were Germany, France and Great Britain, and small quantities were 

 exported to Austro-Hungary, Holland, Belgium, Italy and Eoumania. 



Varieties of leather dressed in Russia. 



All well known processes are used in the Eussian leather dressing trade, tanning, 

 tawing, stuffing, and consequently there is a great variety of different kinds of leathei 

 produced, the following being the most important : I. Tanned leather ; 11. Tawed 

 leather : III. Shamois leather. 



