THE DAIRY INDUSTRY 63 



another being the unfortunate three years' famine, 

 which occurred at a time when peasant immigra- 

 tion was at its highest, viz., over 200,000 a year. 

 iThe peasant will soon learn the commercial value 

 of his milk and the advantages of the separator. 

 Immigration will increase. Between 1893, the year 

 in which the making of butter was first recognised 

 in Siberia as a money-making industry, and 

 1 90 1, the railway committee distributed 1,318,000 

 emigrants. In 1899 the annual figure had risen to 

 225,000, an average which will be exceeded as soon 

 as the bad impression produced by the three years' 

 famine has worn off. It is a matter of general 

 knowledge that Russia's natural wealth lies waiting 

 to be tapped in Siberia. With this knowledge to 

 guide them the authorities are sparing no pains to 

 induce the peasantry of European Russia to emigrate 

 east, assisting them to establish co-operative dairies, 

 in the proportion of one to each village, by advancing 

 loans of about £300 at 4 per cent, for five years to 

 those village councils who own a sufficient number 

 of cows to guarantee the amount. Each peasant is, 

 therefore, his own butter producer, and shares in 

 the profits of the dairy in proportion to the quantity 

 of milk he supplies. 



There are over 250 of these co-operative dairies 

 and they are largely on the increase. In course of 

 time they will spread over the whole of Siberia, until 

 every peasant will benefit by them and all iwho possess 

 cattle will be butter producers and dairy owners. 

 It is estimated that the village councils, the members 

 of which are usually the largest cattle -owners, will 

 be able to pay back the Government loan, with 

 interest, in five years. 



To facilitate this the Government should brand 

 the name of the dairy on each cask, and appoint a 

 sole agent for Great Britain, who should be qualified 



