CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF FOOD-FISHES. 
765 
Let ns first select for our calculation those more important species of fish about 
which Mr. Grimm’s pamphlet gives definite data, and for which we also have analysis: 
Puds. 
1. Pike-perch, amount sent out from Astrakhan, not less than 2, 000, 000 
2. Salmon caught in various places, not less than 60, 000 
3. Smelt and spirling 1,000,000 
4. Salt-dried “v6bla” 3,000,000 
5. Bream, shield-fish, etc 3,500,000 
6. Astrakhan herring 7, 000, 000 
7. Sturgeon, sturgeon caviar, and halyk 1, 500, 000 
It will he seen from Mr. Grimm’s figures that this whole amount of fish (which is 
mostly in a preserved condition) corresponds to 25,000,000 puds of fresh fish. Con- 
sequently, the quantity of all other hinds of fish caught every year amounts to not 
less than 15,000,000 puds. 
Assuming that in the fishes mentioned above two-thirds of the weight is flesh and 
one-third makes up the weight of bones, skin, etc., it will be found with the aid of 
the analyses given before that the amount of dry albumen obtained from these fishes 
is not less than 2,330,000 puds. 
Assuming, further, that in the remaining 15,000,000 puds of fish the skin, scales, 
bones, etc., amount to one-third and the' flesh to two-thirds of the total weight, and 
supposing all these fishes to be such as contain the least amount, 10 per cent., of albu- 
minous matter, the amount of dry albumen obtained will be at least 1,000,000 puds. 
We thus find that we annually derive from our fisheries 3,330,000 puds of albu- 
minous matter. This estimate is certainly below the actual amount : first, because 
mauy fishes contain more than two-thirds of flesh ; second, because the annual yield 
of the fisheries in Russia is no doubt greater than 40,000,000 puds. 
At first sight this figure of 3,330,000 puds of albuminous matter may not appear 
very great. To better realize its true signification, let us try to calculate what re- 
sources would be required to obtain the same amount of animal albuminous sub- 
stance from cattle. Let us suppose that, to replace fish as food, we keep black 
cattle of such kind that on an average every head when fully grown weighs 20 puds. 
Such an animal will contain 45.9 per cent, of flesh without bones, or 9.18 puds ; and 
this flesh will contain 1.61 puds of albuminous matter. Now, to obtain from such 
black cattle 3,330,000 puds of albuminous matter annually, it will be necessary to 
kill not less than 2,000,000 head of cattle a year. Let us further assume that our 
cattle will be ready for slaughter when four years old ; it will be seen that the sup- 
ply of cattle in Russia would have to be increased by 8,000,000 head of cattle for 
slaughter and not less than 2,500,000 cows for breeding. Consequently, even under the 
most fortunate but impossible circumstances, such as the absence of special cattle 
diseases, sterility of cows, etc., the number of black cattle in Russia would have to 
be increased by at least 10,500,000 in order to supply these 3,500,000 puds of albumen. 
It would require not less than 25,000,000 desiatin* of meadows and pastures of good 
quality to keep and feed these cattle. Hqw enormous these figures are will be seen 
from the fact that the number of milch cows in European Russia (not including 
Poland and Finland) is estimated by various authors at from 5,000,000 to 10,000,000, 
and the area of pasturage at 55,000,000 desiatin. 
We havo however, neglected in our calculation to take into account the milk 
provided by the cows. Supposing that, on an average, every cow gives 60 pails or 
180 pounds of milk, this milk represents 1.44 puds of albuminous matter (the aver- 
age proportion of albumen in milk being 3.2 per cent.). Every cow thus furnishes 
nearly as much albuminous matter per year as is contained in the flesh of the full- 
grown animal. Taking the milk into account, our figures will therefore have to 
be reduced by one-half. But even then they are exceedingly high, amounting to 
6,000,000 head of cattle that would require over 12,000,000 desiatin of meadows and 
pastures. Approximately, we may adopt as our final result that, in order to substi- 
One desiatm== about 2.7 acres. 
