248 St. Petersburg Poultry Exhibition. 



which have been taken in the last eig"ht years to relieve the 

 distressed condition of agriculture. It cites as instances the 

 spirit and sugar bounties, and the accompanying legislation 

 as well as the changes introduced into the imposition of local 

 taxes. The credit of the State has been deeply engaged in 

 the interests of agriculture, e.g., by the employment of the 

 State agricultural banks (Rentenbanken) in assisting the sale 

 and purchase of real property, the transactions of this nature 

 having increased in six years from £6^^000 to ;^42 5,000. 



Progress has been made in the assistance afforded by the 

 State to agricultural improvements, planting, draining, and 

 the like. The number of officials employed for this purpose 

 by the State increased from 28 to 108 in the past seven years. 

 In this period a sum of ;£2 80,000 has been granted for 

 extraordinary expenditure in agricultural improvements, 

 rechnical agricultural education, dairy schools, horse- 

 breeding, model farms, fish-breeding, and the starch industry 

 have received the increased attention and support of the 

 State, as is shown by the money freely granted for these 

 purposes. The grant for horse-breeding alone rose from 

 ;^i02,ooo in 1880-81 to ^155,000 in 1890-91, and £177,000 

 in 1898-99. ■ ' 



[Foreign Office Report ^ Anmial Series, No. 2,1^7. Price id7\ 



International Poultry Exhibition at St. Petersburg. 



The Board have now received a copy of the rules and 

 regulations of the International Poultry Exhibition at St. 

 Petersburg, which was referred to in the last number of this 

 Journal. This exhibition, which is intended to promote 

 poultry-keeping in Russia by the exhibition of varieties of 

 birds and appliances, both of home production and from 

 abroad, will be held at St. Petersburg from the 13th to 28th 

 May, 1899. The exhibition will include all descriptions of 

 poultry and game, pigeons, singing and other birds, dead 

 poultry and game, poultry products, apparatus and appliances, 

 foods, and works of ornithological science and art. All 



