THE METAL INDUSTRIES. 127 



which gave charcoal, especially suited to metallurgical purj)o.ses. Tlie most ajicient 

 factories were those of Neviansk and Kamensk, situated iu the district of the Urals, 

 government of Perm, the first being founded in 1699, and the second, iu 1701. 



Furthermore, for supplying the wants of the army, Peter the G-reat organized 

 similar works at the other extreme of Russia simultaneously with the founding of 

 St. Petersburg, and in the same vicinity; these manufactories were the Souoyarsk, 

 founded in 1704, in the government of Viborg, and the Konchozersk, in 1707, in the 

 government of Olont^ts. In 1719 iron works weie founded in Istia in central Russia, 

 namely, in the government of Ri;izan. It must be observed, however, that in the 

 central and northern parts of Russia, as for instance, near Tula and Veliki-Oustug. 

 already in the sixteenth century iron was fabricated from veins in the so-called 

 rJonshnitsi, by means of hot blast and mixing the vein with coal and flux. 



The Urals which, till the beginning of 1870. were the principal points of the 

 different metallurgical productions, have always been the chief source of metal supply 

 for the different trades, which were grouped in the localities, more or less in 

 the near vicinity. The rivers Kama and Volga served as natural routes to convey 

 the Ural metals to the central governments of Russia; therefore, many of the metal- 

 lurgical industries, chiefly of a household character, have taken root on their shores. 

 The fair of Makarievsk and later on, that of Nizhni-Novgorod, which were the 

 collective points and trade centres for the sale of Ural metals, had also a great in- 

 fluence on the development of many industries in localities adjoining them by con- 

 venient ways of transport. 



The present Russian metallurgical industry can be divided into two groups 

 which differ greatly one from the other: the first belongs to manufacturing and the 

 second to home industry. The latter occupies as to its production a very considerable 

 place, notwithstanding the fact that its technical work is generally by hand; it can. 

 however, compete with some of the products of the manufacturing industry, as some 

 of its articles designed for sale are of excellent quality and workmanship. 



The reason of the above fact lies in the conditions of the life of the Russian peasants. 

 Possessing land, which is the principal source of their sustenance, they and their families 

 give all the care possible to farming and their spare time only is devoted to some 

 trade. The long winters, especially iu central and northern Russia where the differ- 

 ent industries are mostly centralized, have a great influence on the development of 

 the home trades. After long and varied experience in working during the wintei' 

 season the peasant becomes very skillful at his trade and turns out various forms of 

 hand work very rapidly. When the peasant comes to fix the prices of his wares, he 

 takes into consideration principally the cost of the materials 'adding thereto the cost 

 of his living and a trifle only for his labour and time spent in their manufacture. 

 In the sale of his articles he earns somewhere from 1.50 to 2.50 roubles, and rarelj' 

 .3.50 per week. By making door and cupboard locks, the expenses for the material, of 

 a Tula locksmith, form a little more than half of what he earns, and one-tenth for 

 mending his instruments, so that his gross profits are only two-fifths of the value 

 of the article. Although such conditions cannot be considered as very favourable to 

 the producer they still not only uphold the domestic industries but also aid the manu- 

 factories by producing articles in a half-finished condition. 



The money which the peasant earns in this way improves the conditions of 



