90 PRODUCTION 



precautions are taken against its becoming frozen, may be move 

 at leisure after the harvest during the winter months, whereas 

 butter and eggs are produced most heavily during the spring and 

 early summer months, and must be transported without delay 

 to prevent deterioration ; these facts, taken by themselves, may 

 be regarded as favouring grain-growing rather than dairying in 

 Siberia. 



These limitations upon the availability of Siberian lands explain 

 the situation that whereas, " for the present at any rate, the re- 

 sources of new land are practically inexhaustible," * in Western 

 Siberia, " the supply of free and easily-accessible land which is 

 more or less ready for cultivation, is greatly diminished," 2 and 

 that there has been a decline in immigration more recently into 

 that region, " which already has a fairly large population, and 

 where most of the good land is already occupied." 3 To what 

 extent and for how long the productive capacity of Siberia will 

 continue to be limited by these circumstances are vital questions 

 in considering the possible surplus of foodstuffs of different kinds, 

 but they cannot be more than touched upon here. 



The occupied lands in Siberia are devoted either to cereal culti- 

 vation 01 to pastoral industries leading to dairying. These two 

 branches of agriculture compete to some extent with each other. 

 The country has apparently natural advantages in parts for cattle- 

 rearing, which is a considerable industry 4 " on account of the 

 abundance of rich pasture land and a plentiful supply of fodder 

 for the winter months." 5 Cattle diseases seem to be compara- 

 tively rare owing to the winter cold. 6 In addition, however, to 

 these natural advantages, dairying in Siberia has received great 

 impetus, first, from the fact that the production of buttei has be- 

 come increasingly more profitable than the production of grain; 

 second, from the use of refrigerated cars on the railway to Baltic 

 ports ; third, from the direct encouragement given by the Govern- 

 ment to the industry in the form of financial assistance to peasants 

 and of instruction by experts ; fourth, from the introduction of 

 the hand separator, which has made dairying for the export of 

 butter possible in districts remote from the lines of transport ; 

 and finally, from the relatively rapid spread of co-operation on 

 the Danish model among dairy-farmers. 



As in other newly-settled prairie lands with naturally accumu- 

 lated soil fertility, grain-growing has been found to be the readiest 

 means of obtaining the quick return which the settler requires. 

 Transport difficulties, however, have been much more severely 



1 F. Nansen, Through Siberia, p. 301. 



2 Ibid., p. 286. 



3 Ibid., p. 302. 



4 In 1912 Siberia exported to Russia and elsewhere over 160 million Ibs. 

 of butter (more than f of the Danish exports) and about 45,000 tons of meat. 



5 S. Turner, Siberia, 1905. 

 Ibid., p. 37. 



