Russian Live Stock Industry. 



333 



summary for the 7 1 governments gives these details as fol- 

 lows : — 





Cattle. 



Sheep and GoaU 



Swine. 



Horses. 



On estates of 

 private owners 



On peasants' . 

 holdings 



Total - - 



7,483>729 

 36,103,168 



15,348,301 

 55,299,021 



2,313,633 

 1 1,610,821 



3,692,244 

 22,269,462 



43,586,897 



70,647,322 



13,924,454 



25,961,706 



It will be seen from this classifi ;ation that the propor- 

 tion on peasants' holdings constitutes 83 per cent, of the cattle,, 

 78 of the sheep, 83 of the swine, and 86 of the horses. 



The general features of the live stock industry of Russia 

 differ little in the western half of the Empire from those of 

 the neighbouring countries. Dairying and the fattening of 

 cattle are carried on largely in the north-western govern- 

 ments, in the Baltic provinces, and in Finland, while in 

 Poland and the western governments dairying and pig- 

 breeding are extensively practised. In the less fertile 

 north-eastern governments fattening of stock is less profitable, 

 though the peasants, who own the greater part of the land 

 in this region, breed large numbers of cattle known as 

 Great Russian cattle, and in some districts of this region 

 dairying is a prominent industry. The most important stock- 

 raising districts lie, however, in the southern and south- 

 eastern steppe governments, and also in the Don territory. 

 Here the industry is assisted by extensive pastures, and 

 an abundance of winter keep. It is in this region also that 

 horse-breeding has found its greatest development. In 



may now be divided into holdings belonging to the State, to the Crown, to private 

 owners and to peasants. 



Of the grand total of peasant lands in the fifty governments of European Russia 

 (the lands belonging to the Cossacks being excepted, as also lands belonging to 

 semi-barb \rous tribes in the east of Russia, which enter into the general total of 

 peasants' lands), 216,430,342 acres belonged to communes, and 60,102,830 to 

 villages conducted on the homestead principle, the proportions being as 8 to 1. The 

 communal lands were distributed among 6,387,289 families, each averaging 3*6 males ; 

 every family had thus, on the average, 12-5 dessiatines or 33*8 acres; the homestead 

 lands were divided among 1,874,840 families, averaging each 37 males, and every 

 family possessing on the average about 11 "9 dessiatines or 32*1 acres. 



