30 



Russian Poultry Industry. 



of poultry begins with the cold weather, the great mass 

 being destined for the Christmas market. In the absence of 

 facilicies for carriage, it can only be transported during the 

 cold weather, and consignments are often lost through thaws 

 at the commencement of winter. 



Down and feathers are exported to the amount of thirty to 

 forty-five thousand cwts., a gradual increase being shown in 

 the last ten years. Nearly the whole quantity goes to 

 Germany and Austria. It is stated that there is no proper 

 machinery for cleaning the feathers in Russia ; indeed, 

 all the cleaning and sorting that is done in the country 

 is performed at St. Petersburg, and there only by 

 hand. Machinery for the purpose exists in Germany, 

 and a certain proportion of the feathers are exported 

 thither to be cleaned and then re-imported. The feathers 

 are often carelessly plucked and dirty ; the best come 

 from Volhynia, where the business is chiefly in the hands of 

 the Jews, who, when slaughtering the fowls, are careful not 

 to spoil the feathers. The Jewish goods consequently fetch 

 about 24s. to 27s per cwt., whereas the ordinary feathers are 

 only worth 18s. to 2 is., and, if very dirty, may go as low as 12 s. 

 or 9s. per cwt. Down is much dearer, and costs £6 and more 

 per cwt. The cost of railway transport is the same for down 

 and feathers, and is considered to be almost prohibitive in 

 the case of the latter cheap commodity. Large feathers — 

 goose and swan — are nearly all exported, and most of them 

 find their way to England, where there is a demand for quill 

 pens. They are bought, chiefly at the Nijni Novgorod fair, 

 for about 5d. to yd. per lb. 



From 1 5,000 to 30,000 cwts. of yolks and whites of eggs 

 are also exported in the course of the year; Germany, 

 Austria, and England, in the order named, taking the 

 principal share. 



Domestic fowls in Russia, according to M. Houdekow, who 

 contributed a paper on this subject, are for the most part 

 small and not very productive ; and in most cases it is im- 

 possible to determine the breed of the birds. There are, 

 however, certain purely Russian breeds, and prominent 

 among these is the Orlow. Good examples of these 



