estates in five years to Russian subjects, or to become naturalised Russian subjects themselves.

In 1882 nearly four-fifths of the area of Russia proper-that is, 1,018,736,800 acres were registered, and their distribution appeared as follows:

It will be seen that about two-fifths of the cultivable land in Russia proper is held by the State, one-fourth by landed proprietors, and near to one-third by the peasantry. Thirty-six per cent. of the population are landed proprietors; 22,396,069 male peasants held in village communities 252,103,000 acres of land, of which communities had purchased 2,059,268 acres; moreover, there were 481,358 private land proprietors, holding altogether 252,102,000 acres of land, distributed as follows:-Nobility, 114,480 landholders, 197,156,500 acres; merchants 'and artisans, 70,634 landholders, 31,569,700 acres; peasants, 278,179 landholders, 15,195,100 acres ; various, 18,065 landholders, 3,377,900 acres; and various private companies, 4,792,800 acres. Poland 55 per cent. of the area is arable land. One-half of the total area is private property, two-fifths belong to peasants, and one-tenth to the State and various institutions.

In

The state of the redemption operation among the liberated serfs is seen from the following accounts up till January 1, 1889. The accounts are shown separately for Russia and the Western provinces, where the conditions of redemption were more liberal for the peasants, according to the laws of 1863.

In 1882, out of 1,098,507,000 acres registered in European Russia proper, the distribution of arable land, meadows, and forests appeared as follows, in percentage of the area under each description of land holdings:

Crops. In 1887 the cereal crops of Russia in Europe (exclusive of Finland) amounted to 33,700,000 quarters of wheat, 90,200,000 of rye, 13,100,000 of barley, 74,500,000 of oats, and 13,700,000 of various cereals. The crops of 1888, in European Russia alone (exclusive of Finland and Poland), were: 88,000,000 quarters of rye, 30,859,000 of wheat, 17,036,000 of barley, 66,411,000 of oats, 5,717,000 of millet, and 7,219,000 of sarrazin. In 1887 158,493 acres were under tobacco in Russia and Transcaucasia, yielding 1,624,020 cwt., as against 996,500 in 1885 and 1,298,240 in 1886. There were in 1887 no less than 362 tobacco factories, which worked 1,320,000 cwt. of tobacco (23,500 cwt. imported), and manufactured no less than 65,000 cwt. of cigars and cigarettes. No less than 104,116 cwt. of Russian tobacco was exported (43,110 cwt. to Finland), so also 29,689,500 cigarettes and 179,100 cigars. Under vineyards there were about 16,000,000 acres, but only 361,000 acres were under proper culture. The yield was 4,550,000 gallons, of which 150,000 produced in Crimea.

In 1883 Russia in Europe (without Poland) had 17,880,800 horses (20,015,660 according to the military census of 1882), 23,628,000 horned cattle, 46,724,740 sheep (9,374,879 of fine breeds), 9,361,980 swine, and 1,067,137 goats, showing thus a notable diminution against 1882: while it was estimated in 1887 that there was in the Empire about 28,000,000 horned cattle, 62,500,000 sheep, and 1,500,000 goats.

II. FORESTS.

Of the total area of European Russia, nearly one-third is under forest. It appears from recent investigation that the following areas are under forest in European Russia, Poland, Finland, and Caucasia (the two latter incomplete):-European Russia, 422,307,000 acres; Poland, 6,706,000; Finland, 50,498,000; Caucasia, 18,666,000: total, 498,177,000 acres.

The decrease of the area under forest since the beginning of the century is reckoned at about 23 per cent.

An important measure was taken in 1888 for the protection of forests, most of which have been placed under a special committee appointed in each province of European Russia. Some forest lands have been recognised as 'protective' for rivers, &c., and they can in no case be destroyed, felling of timber in these tracts being submitted to severe regulations.

III. MINING AND METALS.

The soil of Russia is rich in ores of all kinds, and mining industry is steadily increasing. The statistics during the years 1880 and 1883-86 are given in the following table :

Gold is obtained chiefly in Siberia and the Ural Mountains; silver from the following districts, with the amount obtained 1886: Altai, 22,145 lbs.; Semipalatinsk, 3,055 lbs.; Nertchinsk, 1,914 lbs.; Caucasus, 1,112 lbs. ; Finland, 1,036 lbs.: total, 29,262 lbs. Cobalt is found in the Elisabethpol government of Caucasia (4,190 lbs. in 1886); also manganese ore (74,400 tons of ore).

The province of Ekaterinoslav in South Russia is becoming an important centre of mining. It has now 6 ironworks, which employ 6,241 people, and has a yearly production of 5,606,500 roubles. There are also 19 machinery works, employing about 900 people.

The iron industry develops slowly, notwithstanding the high duties on imported iron which have reduced the imports of pig iron from 278,400 tons in 1884 to 129,000 tons in 1887. The production of pig iron in 1886

Of this, 444,640 tons were obtained by means of wood fuel. The production of iron (363,100 tons in 1886) was chiefly concentrated in the Urals (200,200 tons) and Poland (76,710). The production of steel is steadily increasing. It was distributed as follows in 1886: North Russia, 74,060 tons; Poland, 51,624 tons; South Russia, 46,120 tons; Urals, 37,945 tons; Moscow region, 29,130 tons; Finland and Siberia, 2,879 tons; total, 241,758 tons.

The manufacture of metal goods occupied 85,446 people in 1886, and the produce was valued at 86,486,000 roubles. This does not include the smelting works, which are very numerous.

The manufacture of agricultural machinery, which was valued at 21

million roubles in 1867, rose to nearly 10 million roubles in 1885, and has much increased since..

The coal mines on the Don are yearly extending; in 1884 they occupied 13,950 men and 135 engines, the produce reaching 1,624,720 tons, but it rose to 2,107,400 tons in 1886, and during the first nine months of 1889 the export of coal from that region reached 1,587,500 tons, as against 1,066,000 tons in the preceding year. The next important coal-fields are those of Kielce, in Poland (1,966,000 tons), and around Moscow (340,000 tons). The total extraction of coal in 1886 was:- -Coal, 3,971,900 tons; anthracite, 536,900 tons; brown coal, &c., 67,900 tons: total, 4,576,500 tons. The Caspian naphtha industry is also extending very rapidly, as seen from the above figures; its various produce is also better utilised. The production of naphtha, &c., during the year 1886 is seen from the following:Raw naphtha: Baku, 1,940,900 tons; Kuban, 17,509 tons; various, 15,000 tons; total, 1,972,400 tons. Benzine, 267 tons; oil for burning, 619,790 tons; heavy oils for greasing, 41,385 tons. New oil wells containing at least 9,000,000,000 lbs. of pure naphtha oil have been discovered at Penjakend, near Samarcand,

The number of persons engaged in the mining and working of minerals was 285,665 in 1885, and the number of water and steam engines in the Empire was 3,450, showing an aggregate of more than 100,000 horsepower.

IV. MANUFACTURES.

The number of all kinds of manufactories, mines, and industrial establishments in European Russia (without Poland and Finland) was 62,801 in 1885, employing 994,787 workpeople, and producing a value of 1,121.040,270 roubles. The 20,381 manufactories of Poland employed 139,650 workmen, and produced a value of 185,822,200 roubles. The Caucasus had in 1884 14,244 manufactories, mostly small, with 43.502 workmen, producing a value of 34,759,000 roubles, chiefly in silk; while the 389 manufactories of Finland yielded 1,674,6881. In European Russia only 545 manufactures have a yearly production above 500,000 roubles and 2,417 above 100,000 roubles.

According to another estimate, which takes no account of the mining industries, nor of those which pay excise duties (spirits, beer, sugar, and tobacco), the manufactories of the Empire having a yearly productivity of more than 1,000 roubles each appeared as follows:

The cotton industry is rapidly developing, as also that of wool in Southern Russia.

Of the people employed in 1887 there were 19,033 boys, 8,311 girls, 184,144 women, and 577,834 men. Besides, the small manufactories having a yearly production of less than 1,000 roubles numbered in 1887 54,486, with 91,681 people employed.

The larger manufactories were distributed as follows in 1887:

The production of spirit in 1887 was much in excess of all preceding years, 88,921,000 gallons of pure alcohol. The total amount of spirit in stock on January 1, 1887, was 117,910,000 gallons of pure alcohol (54,370,692 roubles worth), of which 17,606,000 gallons were exported. In the same year there were 409 distilleries engaged in the manufacture of spirits (refining brandies, liqueurs, &c.), and 167 manufactures of varnish, scents, &c. In the same year there were 1,365 beer breweries, and 559 meathe breweries. The former produced 78,044,000 gallons, while the production of the latter is quite insignificant.

There were 188 sugar works in Russia, and 41 in Poland. Their operation in 1886-87 is seen from the following:

They employed altogether 77,366 men, 9,675 women, and 2,109 children.

Commerce.

The following table gives the average yearly imports and exports of Russia for 1872-81, and for each of the years 1883 to 1888, in her trade with Europe, Asia, and Finland (bullion not included, nor the external trade of Finland) :—