CEMENTS. 277 



produced 5,500,000 barrels, or !I26,000 tons; in 1890 over !t,000,000, and in ls92, 

 79 works produced almost 12,000,00n barrels of Portland cement, not counting Koinan 

 cement. With such a vast production in the adjacent countries, Russia cannot, natur- 

 ally, count upon an export trade in its cement, all the more so as the climatic condi- 

 tions, scarcity of capital and the feeble development of the home production of those 

 machines which are indispensable in the manufacture, place it for the present under 

 comparatively very unfavourable conditions for an external competition with the huge 

 production of other countries. 



The machine plant of the Russian cement works is for the greater part sup- 

 lied by Nagel and Kemp in ]{amburg, and Pallenberg in Mannheim. So long, how- 

 ever, as the production of the Russian cement works is only destined for the satis- 

 faction of the home demands, facts show that its present amount of 10 to 11 million 

 ponds of Portland cement, and about 3 million pouds of Roman cement, in all 13 to 14 

 million pouds per annum, very nearly approaches the limit which would satisfy the 

 home demand, and entirely correspond to the scale of the present development of the 

 building activity in Russia. The importation of foreign cement, wliich only lately 

 had so important an influence on the home industry, now only plays a secondary 

 role in the general supply of the country. The fall of the foreign importation, and 

 the increase of the Russian production, are connected with the protective system of 

 customs policy; but in this instance the connection is not so direct as in many other 

 cases, partly because the amount of the protective duties in force until 1H81 was in- 

 sufficient, owing to the great difference between the cost of the Russian and foreign 

 cements at the places of their manufacture. The lirst large Russian factory, besides 

 the Grozdetsk, which was placed under special conditions of sale, as well as the Riga 

 and Port Kunda works, were established at the time when foreign cement was still 

 imported into Russia free of duty. In 1873, a duty of 3 kopecks paper was placed 

 upon cement of all kinds, except that sent to the southern parts of the Black and 

 Azov seas. In fixing this duty the State Council pronounced the following opinion: 

 «That with the present competition of foreign cement manufacturers importing 

 their product free of duty, not only is the further development of the Russian in- 

 dustry impeded, but the existing Russian works might at any time be obliged to 

 close their doors, in the case of a temporary agreement between the foreign works 

 to lower their prices. And if the Russian works ever cease working, they would 

 scarcely be in a position to begin again, and tlie price of cement would increase irrev- 

 ocably*. (Imperially confirmed opinion of the State Council, 16th January, 1873). 



From 1877 the duty formed, counting the exchange upon gold, on the average 

 four and one-half kopecks paper per poud. In 1881 the duty upon cement, for all 

 ports, was raised to 7 kopecks gold, and in 1885, to 9 kopecks gold per poud; and 

 lastly, in the present tariff of 1891, the duty was placed at 10 kopecks per poud, 

 with a view of further protecting certain special cases, such as tlie Polish works. Under 

 the influence of the protective duty of 9 kopecks per poud, the output of the 

 Russian factories has indeed recently undergone a very rapid increase, and at the 

 present moment they are occupied in taking measures for further increasing their 

 production; for instance, the Port Kunda works are now erecting the necessary plant 

 for doubling their present yield of 150,000 barrels per year. They estimate their 

 output in 1893 at 150,000 barrels, as against 120,000 in 1891. According to 



