Export of Butter from Russia. 85 



the attention of certain Riga merchants, and, after prolonged 

 negotiations, a well-known firm of shipowners, who are also 

 agents at that port for a large English steamship 

 company, have entered into an engagement with the 

 Russian Government to run a weekly line of fast steamers 

 between Riga and London via the Kiel Canal. This will 

 enable producers in Siberia to send their butter direct to con- 

 sumers in England, instead of negotiating through Danish 

 intermediaries, and shipping their produce via Copenhagen, 

 as has been the practice hitherto. The Russian Government 

 on their part have undertaken to run special quick trains 

 from the Siberian butter centres to Riga. 



In order to carry out the engagement thus entered into, 

 the agents at the port have acquired three steamers 

 of recent build, each of which has a speed of 12 \ knots, and 

 is fitted with patent refrigerating machinery sufficiently 

 powerful to refrigerate all the holds of the steamers. 

 For present requirements, however, four different holds, 

 representing more than half of the carrying capacity of the 

 vessels, are being insulated for the conveyance of butter, 

 frozen game, poultry, meat, or other similar perishable 

 articles. The steamers are timed to leave Riga every Satur- 

 day throughout the year at 4 p.m., arriving in London, 

 Millwall Docks, in time to discharge their cargoes on the 

 Wednesday morning. Whenever the navigation of Riga is 

 closed by ice, they will run from Windau. 



The special fast trains to run in connection with these 

 steamers are to be composed of refrigerator waggons 

 expressly built for the service, and ice stores have been 

 established along the entire route from the Siberian stations 

 to Riga for the purpose of supplying the ice required during 

 the transit. The time-table of these special trains has been 

 arranged as follows : — 



To leave Ob every Thursday at 5 p.m. 

 ,, ,, KainskeveryFridayat4.40p.nl. 

 ,, ,, Tatarskaia every Saturday at 2.55 a.m. 



Omsk every Saturday at 2.15 p.m. 

 ,, ,, Petropavlovsk every Sunday at 11. 5 p.m. 

 ,, Kourgan every Monday at 5.16 a.m. 



