Russian Agriculture. 
409 
year, fallow. The ploughing was 5 inches deep ; the manure was 
covered by ploughing without a coulter, the field being subsoiled to a 
further depth of 5 inches. The rye was preceded by vetches and 
" spcrgules " (spurry or spm-ge), sown and fed. The land was broken 
up in July, sown to rye in August, and the amoimt of crop gi-own was 
21 bushels per acre. Tor potatoes, planted with from 7 to 8 tons of 
manm-e, about 46 bushels of seed were used per acre, and the crop was 
288 bushels per acre. After potatoes, oats were sown on the 5th of 
May ; and a week after, a layer, partly of clover and 'partly of laiches 
(CarezJ, was sown on the oats. Unless this Eussian Carex is a 
superior variety, it is a rough sedgy gi-ass, which in other coimtries 
would by no means be thought worthy of cultivation. The seed for 
oats (English) amounted to 5^ bushels per acre, and the crop yielded 
nearly 55 bushels per acre. Grass and clover layer followed, which 
was made into hay, and produced about 19 cwt. to the acre on an 
average. They used Nicholson's horse-rake and haymaking machine, 
and Wood and Dray's mower, in addition to the scythe. After having 
lain four years tmder green crops, the field was ploughed in the 
autumn, harrowed, and sown in the spring with 5 bushels of Eussian 
oats per acre, the produce of which was 30 bushels per acre, whilst the 
English oats had previously yielded 35 bushels per acre. In this 
experimental field they gi-ew again the Carex, also " spergules," and 
vetches. They had also a plot of potatoes, to be followed by rye ; and 
if the rye succeeds well after potatoes, that course -n-ill be considered 
remunerative. Turnips have been tried, but failed ; being partly 
destroyed by insects, and partly burnt up by the severe drought in the 
month of July. Pot-herbs also failed. Besides Wood's and Bm-gess 
and Key's reapers, Wood and Dray's mowers and locomotive thrash- 
ing machines have also been tried. 
From these, which are the chief points in this Eeport, we gather 
that the great difficulties the Eussian agricultm-ists have to contend 
with are, fii'st, a want of capital, implying also a want of borrowing 
power among the landed proprietors ; again, in its turn implying the 
want of a marketable title, which can only arise from a defective tenure 
of land, for which the most obvious remedy is that recently adopted 
in oui- Indian empii'e, of giving to the occupiers full and perfect 
ownership. The defects in the law and its administration and the 
practical working of the police system in Eussia are prominently 
brought imder notice. When we are annually reminded of om- large 
national expenditure for the administration of justice, and when in 
om- respective districts we are sometimes inclined to grumble a little 
at the demands made i:pon us for the maintenance of oiir rm-al police, 
it is well not to lose sight of the very intimate connection subsisting 
between a due administration of justice and the prosjierity of agri- 
cultm-e. The proposal to substitute livrets, or pass-books, for the old 
passports of the workmen, is worthy of our consideration. We know, 
in the case of domestic servants, how desirous we are that they should 
bring a good character from their last place. The object of these 
livrets is, that they should be a passport to the worlanau from one 
master to another, in the same way as the books whicli are fui'uished 
