RUSSIA. 



701 



gun to compete with the American. In 1882 

 the new industry suffered from a crisis through 

 overproduction. The quantity of naphtha pro- 

 duced in the Baku district during that year was 

 53,000,000 poods (1 pood = 36 pounds). There 

 were shipped by sea 12,663,645 poods of petro- 

 leum, and 500,000 poods went by rail to Tiflis 

 and Batoum. There were exported, besides 

 naphtha, residuum to the extent of 17,842,946 

 poods, 1,267,530 poods of crude naphtha, 483,- 

 027 poods of lubricating oil, and 7,242 poods 

 of benzine. In 1883 the yield of the wells 

 reached an unprecedented figure, and a great 

 quantity went to waste for lack of reservoirs. 

 The producers, crippled by speculation, place 

 their chief hope in the railroad recently begun 

 between Baku and Tiflis, although the heavy 

 grade rising to the Suram pass, 4,000 feet 

 above the sea, precludes extensive shipments 

 and low rates. The present mode of trans- 

 portation is tedious and costly. The oil is 

 loaded in vessels in the excellent harbor of 

 Baku ; but, within 120 miles of Astrakhan, it 

 is transshipped to lighters, and again reloaded 

 in the river-boats of the Volga at Astrakhan. 

 The town of Baku, which before 1872 was 

 only known as the place where the worshipers 

 of the "eternal fire" assembled, has grown 

 into an important place, although the country 

 around is absolutely sterile, the water is saline 

 and bitter, and the protracted heat of summer 

 and the rude storms of winter render it un- 

 wholesome and uncomfortable. 



Deposits of phosphorite, about a foot in 

 depth, extend over 20,000 square versts in 

 Smolensk, Orel, Kursk, Voroneje, Tambov, 

 Penza, Nijni - Novgorod, and Simbirsk. The 

 existence of this valuable manure has been 

 known for twenty years, but it has only re- 

 cently been exploited to satisfy a demand for 

 export to England and other countries. It 

 then came into use in Russia, and is found to 

 have valuable qualities, especially in the culti- 

 vation of the beet-root. 



Navigation. The number of vessels entered 

 at Russian ports in 1881 was 12,801, of which 

 7,859 were with cargoes; the total number 

 cleared was 12,313, of which 10,442 were with 

 cargoes. Among those entered there were 5,- 

 515 steamers, among those cleared 5,593. The 

 number entered at the ports of the Baltic was 

 6,209; at southern ports, 4,973; at the White 

 Sea ports, 763; at Caspian ports, 856. Of the 

 total number entered, 2,322 carried the Russian 

 flag, 2,509 the English, 1,883 the German, 1,- 

 483 the Swedish or Norwegian, 1,384 the 

 Turkish, 881 the Greek, 586 the Danish, 691 

 the Austrian, and 576 the Dutch. The entries 

 of coasting vessels numbered 46,604, of which 

 17,806 were of steamers. 



The mercantile marine consisted in 1878 of 

 3,643 sailing-vessels, of 308,230 tons, and 259 

 steamers, of about 74,324 tons. 



Railroads. The total length of railways on 

 the 1st of January, 1878, was reported as 20,- 

 417 versts, or 13,611 miles. The length on 



January 1, 1883, is reported as 21,457 versts, 

 or 14,304 miles. The aggregate capital of the 

 railroads amounted in 1878 to 1,450,288,196 

 rubles, about two thirds in bonds and one 

 third in stock. Over two thirds of the bonds 

 are held by the Government, representing near- 

 ly one half of the whole railroad property of 

 the country. 



The project of a great Siberian railroad was 

 declared most urgent by a special commission 

 which sat in 1870. Seven lines are projected 

 in the coal-fields of the Don to connect them 

 with the Black Sea, the Sea of Azof, and the 

 existing trunk lines. Their total length is 1.- 

 734 miles. 



In 1880-'81 a military railroad was built 

 from Michaelovsk, on the Caspian Sea, to Kizil- 

 Arvat, and a tramway from that point to 

 Beurma, near Bami, within 200 miles of As- 

 trabad and 260 of Sarakhs, on the northwest 

 frontier of Afghanistan. The Russian Govern- 

 ment has long entertained the scheme of build- 

 ing a railroad through Central Asia, to com- 

 pete with the sea-route for a part of the India 

 traffic, as well as to develop the commerce of 

 the countries it will traverse. The route from 

 Orenburg via Tashkend, Samarcand, and Cabul 

 to Peshawer, on the Indus, was given up, on 

 account of the unproductive nature of the 

 country, in favor of a line through the Cau- 

 casus. Gen. Anenkoffs project of a mixed 

 land and water line with a ferry for railroad- 

 trains across the Caspian, from Baku to Kizil- 

 Arvat, was preferred to the route from Tiflis 

 through Persia, passing through Tiflis, Ta- 

 breez, Teheran, and Candahar, and ending at 

 Thikarpur, on the Indus. The length of the 

 route chosen from Paris, via Warsaw, Mos- 

 cow, Vladikavkas, Baku, Kizil-Arvat, Herat, 

 and Candahar, to Shikarpnr, is 8,000 kilome- 

 tres ; the time required for the journey sixteen, 

 and eventually twelve days. The length of 

 railroad to be constructed to connect the Eu- 

 ropean with the Indian net- work by this route 

 is only 2,000 kilometres. The line already con- 

 structed from Michaelovsk to Kizil-Arvat 

 passes through the most difficult and inhos- 

 pitable portion of the region. To extend the 

 line to Astrabad, Sarakhs, and Cabnl, or to 

 Herat and Candahar, and join the Indian sys- 

 tem of railroads, involves no question but that 

 of the political susceptibilities of Great Britain. 



Posts and Telegraphs. The number of letters, 

 newspapers, and parcels forwarded through 

 the post-office in 1881 was 221,992,520 by the 

 internal service, and 25,016,496 by the inter- 

 national service. The number of post-offices 

 in 1881 was 4,521 ; of employes, 15,405. 



The length of the state telegraph lines in 

 1881 was 56,340 miles; length of wires, 168,- 

 8SO miles; the length of other lines, 4,855 

 miles ; the number of domestic paid dispatches 

 in 1881, 7,202,930; the number of internation- 

 al dispatches . sent, 534,133; the receipts in 

 1881, 33,513,218 francs; expenditures for ser- 

 vice, 15,059,333 francs; for maintenance and 



