76 EXTRACTS FROM DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR [June 1895. 



REPORTS. 



advances the peasants have largely availed themselves in the 

 present year. 



Whatever the severity of the agricultual depression, it has 

 not manifested itself in any sensible decrease of the area in cul- 

 tivation. During the past 12 j^ears the total grain-growing area 

 of the 50 governments of European Russia may be said to have 

 remained, with a temporary diminution following the disastrous 

 year 1891, at a standstill. It is now some 150,000,000 acres, 

 being a slight increase on the area returned for the period 1883-87 

 (during which no new data respecting area were collected), and 

 an insignificant decrease from the preceding year 1893. In the 

 course of these 12 years some cereals have gained ground at the 

 expense of others. The area under wheat shows a decided 

 tendency to spread In 1894, it was over 30,000,000 of acres, 

 which represents a slight improvement on 1893, and the large 

 increase of 3,800,000 acres on the period 1883-87. The area 

 under rye which fell considerably after the disaster of 1891, has 

 strongly rallied since then, and was in 1894 not far below that 

 shown for 1883-87. That under oats, on the other hand, has 

 somewhat largely fallen off. 



Stated in round numbers, the yield of the three chief Russian 

 cereals was in 1894 : 48,000,000 quarters of wheat, 97,500,000 

 quarters of rye, and 80,769,000 quarters of oats. The produc- 

 tion of wheat in the 12-year period under review has been 

 regularly and decidedly on the increase; the mean annual 

 yield for the period 1888-93 (omitting the famine year 1891) 

 iDeing considerably better than that of the previous 5-year 

 period, 1883-87 ; and the 1894 crop better than either. The 

 same may be said for the yield of oats. In the case of rye, 

 there is no such marked improvement ; the mean yield for the 

 second 5-year period falls slightly below that for the first ; but 

 with the return of the area sown to its fortiier proportions, the 

 years 1893 and 1894 both yielded larger crops than any of the 

 preceding 10 years. 



Mr. O'Beirne estimates that 13,200,000 quarters of wheat and 

 5,400,000 quarters of rye were exported from Russia in 1894. 

 The wheat export of 1894 was better, therefore, than in the years 

 1884-87, about equal to 1889, and decidedly less only than the 

 quite exceptional year 1888. On the whole, the tendency is to 

 increase; but the rate of increase is slow. The rye export, 

 which represented about the mean of the years 1884-87, and 

 much less than 1888 or 1889, certainly shows no signs of 

 growth, and must be considered as at best stationary. The 

 export of oats and barley both show a very large advance in the 

 past few years. 



For these three grains, wheat, oats, and barlej' , of which the 

 export is on the increase, Great Britain is Russia's largest cus- 

 tomer. 



As regards the competition which is to be expected from 

 Russian wheat, Mr. O'Beirne states that low prices not with- 



