106 



HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part I. 



to his slaves at certain rates of labour, com, personal services, and sometimes a little money. 

 These slaves, it is to be observed, are as much his property as the soil ; and in seasons of 

 scarcity, or in the event of any disaster, the lord is bound to provide for them, and indeed 

 deeply interested in doing so, in order at least to maintain the population, and, if pos- 

 sible, to obtain a surplus for sale or for letting out to the towns. As in Poland, the lands 

 are every where unenclosed. 



672. Thefarmenes attached to the houses of noblemen, and the cottages of the peasants, 

 resemble those of Poland. They are almost every where constructed of timber ; the 

 stove and its chimney being the only part built of brick or of mud and stones. The 

 noblemen generally reside on their estates, and their houses are surrounded by the village 

 which contains their peasants. These villages (Jig. 76.) are in general dull and miserable 



assemblages of log-houses all of one size and shape, with a small wooden church. 

 The mansions of the poorer nobles are merely cottages on a larger scale, with two apart- 

 ments ; one used for the purposes of the kitchen and other domestic offices, and the 

 other for all the purposes of the family living-rooms : the more wealthy have wooden 

 or brick houses stuccoed, or mudded, and whitewashed. One nobleman in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Moscow has a British steward, who has drained, enclosed, and greatly 

 improved his estate, and has built some farmeries {Jig. 77.) which might be mistaken 

 for those of another country. 



77 



673. The agricultural products of Russia may be known from its climates. The 

 vegetables of the most northerly region are limited to lichens, some coarse grass, and 

 some birch, abele, and wild pine forests. The animals there are the reindeer, bear, fox, 

 and other beasts of the chase, or in esteem for their furs or skins. Some cows and sheep 

 are also pastured in the northern parts of that region during the summer months. 



674. The farming crops of the more southern regions are the same as in similar climates 

 and countries. Winter and summer rye and oats are cultivated in every part of the 

 empire south of latitude 60 ; winter wheat only in Russia as far as the Kama ; summer 

 wheat both in Russia and Siberia ; barley and spelt plentifully in Russia. Peas, vetches, 

 and beans are not cultivated in great quantities : but buckwheat is extensively grown, 

 jnd there is a large variety, called the Tartarian millet ; Pdnicum gennanicum and maize 



ire grown in Taurida. Rice is cultivated in some parts of Taurida, and what is called 

 nanna ( Festuca fluitans) grows wild in most places that are occasionally overflown with 

 water, particularly in the governments of Novogorod, Twer, Polotsk, and Smolensk. 

 But the grain the most universally cultivated in Russia is rye, which is the bread corn 

 of the country ; next oats, which furnish the spirit in common use : and then wheat and 

 barley. 



675. The culture of herbage plants, of grasses, clover, turnips, &c., is rare in Russia. 

 Hay is made from the banks of rivers or lakes ; and pasture obtained from tlie steppes, 

 forests, grass lands in common, or arable lands at rest. 



