191 1.] Notes on Agriculture Abroad, 



691 



Agricultural Machinery in Siberia. — The following information is from 

 the report by the British Vice-Consul at Omsk (Mr. S. Randrup) on 

 the trade of that district in 19 10. 



The imports into Siberia of harvesting machinery and agricultural 

 implements — mowers and rakes, reapers and binders — are chiefly of 

 American make, with some Canadian and Swedish ; the demand for 

 these increases yearly, owing to the large number of immigrants into 

 Siberia. 



The ploughs sold in Siberia are chiefly imported from Russia, but a 

 number are also made in Siberia especially for use there. German 

 ploughs are also on the market, but the home article is well able to 

 compete with them both as regards quality and price, and it is believed 

 that the importation of foreign ploughs will gradually decrease. 



Portable engines with threshers are chiefly of British and German 

 make, but the demand for them for the last two years has not been 

 large, owing to crop failures. Some Russian-made portable engines 

 are also being sold, but the turnover in this sort of engine is not a 

 large one. 



Agricultural Societies in Poland. — The following information is from 

 the report by H.M. Consul at Warsaw (Mr. C. Clive Bayley) on the 

 trade of Poland and Grodno in 19 10 : — 

 Notes on In 1898 the Russian Government promul- 



Agriculture Abroad. gated a law for the establishment of agricul- 

 tural societies, and, taking advantage of the 

 opportunity thus offered, societies were formed in each of the ten 

 governments of Poland. At the commencement of 19 10 there were some 

 twenty of these societies, with a membership of 2,497, and a capital of 

 ^55,000. This capital is the accumulation of the members' subscrip- 

 tions — in most cases £10 105. — to which sum the liability of each 

 member is limited. The area worked by each society varies from a 

 government to a district, except in the case of the Warsaw society, 

 which operates in all ten governments, and which has increased its 

 members' subscriptions and liability to ^105 each. 



The object of these societies is to purchase for and sell to farmers 

 and peasants agricultural machinery, manures, and other requisites. 



The capital, turnover, and profits of the various agricultural societies 

 of Poland and Grodno, as extracted from their balance sheets for 19 10, 

 may be seen from the following table : — 



Government. 



Share 

 Capital. 



Sale of — 





Manures. 



Agricultural 

 Machinery. 



Other 

 Products. 



Total. 



Warsaw 



Siedlce 



Lomza 



Ciechanow ... 



Piotrkoff 



Kalisz 



Kielce 



Radom 



£ 

 12,400 

 7,700 

 2,700 



800 

 4,000 

 7,000 

 3,800 

 4,400 



£ 



113,900 

 41,300 

 9,000 

 7,600 

 24,500 

 54,700 

 28, 100 

 18,400 



£ 

 30,800 

 16,700 

 3,600 

 3,800 

 5,800 

 8,000 

 15,100 

 8,700 



• £ 

 43,200 

 34,300 

 11,800 



4,200 

 10,600 



5,300 

 15,800 

 13,500 



£ 



187,900 

 92,300 

 24,400 

 15,600 



41, coo 

 68,000 

 59,000 



40,500 



