BRASS AM> 1!KA> 



ALLOYS. 



i:r 



Other parts of machinery may be estimated at not h'ss than two million roubles per 

 annum. 



It has been noticed of late that, like mechanical fixtures, the manufacture of 

 articles required for gas and electric lighting-, until recently brought from abroad, 

 has developed greatly. Moreover, with the large manufacture of brass, bronze and 

 latten articles the smaller industries also should be mentioned, for instance, the 

 making of buttons, the yearly output of which amounts to 200,000 roubles, as 

 well as that of harness, carriages, stove fixtures, brass foil and the like. A great 

 part of these manufactures, however, are hand-made, so that it is not possible to 

 have exact information as to their amount and value. 



Finally, the articles of Avhite metal and of copper plated with silver sliould 

 be considered. The latter on account of the great competition of melchior, that 

 is, white metal articles, or German silver, are going more and more out of use, 

 plated silver being preferred except for church use. 



The manufacture of melchior in Russia dates from long ago; the principal 

 factories producing such articles, to the value of more than one millon roubles, are 

 concentrated in Warsaw, where this branch of trade was first established. ]\[echan- 

 ical contrivances are used for this w^ork, stamps and rollers being of first import- 

 ance. If St. Petersburg, Moscow and some other places be counted, the production 

 of melchior and articles of plated silver may then be estimated at not less than one 

 and a half million roubles yearly. Thus, the general output of bronze and brass 

 articles, the hand-making and trade establishments included, according to-the existing 

 data, amounts to about 16 million roubles yearly. 



The following table shows the import and export of brass and bronze articles 

 from 1886 to 1892. 



YEARS. 



Wares of brass and brass alloys. 



Simple waees. 



Wares with orna- 

 ments IN relief. 



Gold and silver 



PLATE. 



Thousands of roubles. 



Import. 



Export. 



Import. 



Export. I Import. | Export. 



1886, 

 1887, 

 1888, 

 1889 

 1890, 

 1891 

 1892 



2,177 

 1,215 

 1,053 

 1,517 

 1,432 

 1,314 

 1,313 



143 

 168 

 2G2 

 191 

 143 

 320 

 211 



-a a 



^ e 



