184 
THE BREEDING OF HORSES, CATTLE, &c. IN 
RUSSIA AND POLAND. 
In the two countries in which these avocations constitute 
the principal profit and income of the great proprietors a vast court 
is always attached to their houses, divided into four parts, and 
surrounded by stables. The horses are classed in these buildings 
in the order of their worth or destination. At each of the an¬ 
gles of this court is a passage leading to beautiful and extensive 
pasture grounds, divided into equal compartments, and all of 
them having convenient sheds under which the horses may shelter 
themselves from the rain or the sun. These are the seignorial 
studs, whence are derived the remounts of the principal houses 
in Germany, and by which the great fairs in the different states 
of the German Empire are supplied. 
The breeding of cattle is also zealously and profitably pur¬ 
sued. The cow-houses form the greater portion of the other 
buildings attached to the mansion. The largest of these is des¬ 
tined for the milch-cows, and a capacious square building serves 
for the milking-house. These dairies are disposed and fitted up 
like those in Switzerland. In the middle is a jet of water ; slabs 
or tables of marble occupy every side, and a slight inclination of 
the floor permits the observance of the greatest possible cleanli¬ 
ness. An upper story serves for the manufacture of different 
kinds of cheese, that are made in imitation of, and sometimes 
equal, those which are most esteemed in Europe. 
There is a third space or court, enclosed with walls, and with 
little buildings protected by iron bars. This is destined to be a 
menagerie for bears of the rarest and the most beautiful colours 
and yielding the choicest furs. This speculation is a very profit¬ 
able one. A cub of six months old, with black hair pointed 
with silver-white, yields a very light skin and fur, and which will 
obtain a considerable price, especially if there are others of the 
same variegated colour and fineness sufficient to make a pelisse. 
A garment of this kind will sometimes be sold for j£600 or £1000. 
The skins of the old bears are employed for the carpets or linings 
of carriages, or the most supple of them form the clothing of 
the coachmen. 
Some of the courts are well filled with poultry divided agree¬ 
ably to their respective breeds. 
In the habitations of the peasants one half of the cabin serves 
for the family, and the other the cattle, which ordinarily consist 
of a cow and a small horse. 
\ 
Journal des Haras. 
