12 



CATTLE-RAISING IN RUSSIA. 



[June 1896. 



therefore, paid to tins class of stock, and in the winter the 

 beasts receive, as a rule, a very scanty supply of fodder, chiefly 

 straw, as the small stock of hay is usually kept for the horses. 



Tn the southern and south-eastern steppe regions, on the other 

 hand, and particularly in the Caucasus, the conditions are such 

 as to favour cattle raising. The steppes afford a more nutritive 

 fodder than is to be found in the rough grazing lands of the 

 north, while in many districts there are immense areas of grass 

 land devoted entirely to pasturage, and abundant supplies of hay 

 and straw for winter-keep are available. 



In the western districts, in the governments of the Baltic 

 and Vistula, and partly in the south-western governments, stock 

 raising is said to form a profitable branch of industry. It 

 appears that in these regions the best breeds of milch cows are 

 raised, the feeding is systematic and rational, and the methods 

 of stock-raising generally approach nearer to those practised in 

 Western Europe. 



The classes of cattle bred in Russia vary greatly in size and 

 productiveness. In most of the northern and central govern- 

 ments the animals belong to what is known as the native 

 Russian breed, and are distinguished by their small size, narrow 

 chests, big heads, tapering hind-quarters, and small dewlaps. The 

 cows are said to have well-developed udders, and to yield 

 considerable quantities of milk when well fed. As producers of 

 beef, beasts of this race are naturally of little value. Apparently 

 very few attempts have as yet been made to improve this breed, 

 owing to the bad conditions in which the animals live, and it is 

 maintained that the introduction of fresh blood produces no 

 good results, probably because such efforts are not attended with 

 improved methods of feeding and rearing. 



In the governments of the south and south-west (particularly 

 in Bessarabia, Podolia, Kiev, Tchernigov, Poltava, Tcharkov, 

 Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, and the greater part of the Taurida) the 

 grey Ukraine cattle are found, while in the south-eastern 

 districts, on the right bank of the Volga, the popular breed is the 

 red Kalmuck. The former have for centuries been used as 

 draught animals not only in agriculture, but, before the intro- 

 duction of railways, also for the conveyance of produce over long 

 distances to and from the ports. Ukraine cattle are big beasts 

 with well-developed shoulders and strong muscular legs. The 

 live- weight of the oxen is ordinarily about 1,200 lbs. each, 

 but when well fattened they weigh about 1,800 lbs., and yield, 

 according to the statistics of the St. Petersburg abattoirs, about 

 1,400 lbs. of meat, hide, and tallow. The so-called Kuban cattle 

 are a branch of this race. Kalmuck cattle come to maturity 

 earlier than the Ukraine, and produce a superior quality of 

 meat. Their live-weight when fattened is stated to be about 

 1,450 lbs., and the dead-weight, including the hide and tallow, 

 about 1,200 lbs. 



