Geologg and Mineral Products.—A more intimate knowledge of the geological struc ture of Russia may be said to date from 1841,when the eminent geologist, sir R.I. Murchi son, undertook a scientific journey to Russia and the Ural mountains. His geological investigations, together with the paleontological researches of his colleagues, H. de Verneuil and count Kayserling, have served as a basis for further surveys. The oldest stratified rocks are the Silurian, on the southern shores of the gulf of Finland, sinking down below the Devonian strata, which run in two large branches—on the s.e. to Voronesh, and ou the u.w. to Archangel, both overlaid to the e. by a still more extensive deposit of carboniferous rocks. The immense triangle between those layers and the Ural is occupied by the Permian system (except the n.e. extremity, which is covered by Jurassic beds), named by sir R. I. Murchison from its development in the government of Perm. To the s. of the s.e. Devonian branch extend deposits of the cretaceous period, and detached patches of the carboniferous formation. The latter contains, in Russia, only the older members of the group up to the mountain limestone, which contains numerous but thin seams of coal, generally poor in quality. The field along the Dmieta forms an exception, and yields annually about 96,400 tons (1 of the total quantity raised in Russia) of good coal and anthracite. The remaining s.w. and s.e. parts of the empire are covered by tertiary beds, more or less recent. The Ural mountains present an outcrop of all the secondary and Paleozoic formations down to the stratified gneiss and granite, which latter composes nearly the whole province of Finland, and skirts the mid dle course of the Dnieper. The Ural mountains (q.v.), which contain almost all the mineral riches of the country, are the principal seat of mining and metallurgic industry. They produce gold, platinum, copper, and iron of excellent quality, especially the last, which is manufactured from magnetic ore. Emeralds and jaspers, etc., are also found, as well as diamonds of an inferior quality. Gold, silver, copper, plumbago, etc., are also obtained from the Altai and Nerchinsk mines in Siberia (q.v.). In 1863 the whole prod uce of the mines amounted to £12,000,000; and of this large amount the chief items were pure gold, 1460 puds (purl = 40 Russian pounds = 36 lbs. avoir.); silver, 968 puds; platinum, 31 puds; copper. 294,169 puds; lead, 150,000 puds; cast-iron, 18,404,500 puds —out of which were manufactured 11,998,500 puds of wrought-iron, and 145,000 puds of steel. Salt was obtained to the value of 14,000,000 rubles, chiefly from salt lakes in Bessarabia and the Crimea, from lake Elton in Astrakhan, and from the inexhaustible layers of rock-salt near Iletzk (q.v.). The total produce of coal from all the Russian mines in 1874 amounted to 83,575,000 puds. Excellent china-clay or kaolin is found near Glucliov, in the government of Tchernigov.
Agriculture and Products.—Russia is an eminently agricultural country, although only a comparatively small portion (271,000,000 acres) is under cultivation. In the central zone (see above, under Surface), the soil is almost entirely black mold, extremely fertile, and hardly ever requiring manure. The system of husbandry most extensively practiced is what is called the " three-field system," in the working of which, one-third of the land is always in fallow. In the s. and s.e., a system of agriculture peculiar to Russia is in operation: it is called the " fallow system," and consists in raising three or four consecutive crops from the same land, and afterward allowing it to lie fallow for five or six years, after which time it begins to grow feather-grass (stipa pennata), which is considered a token of returning fertility. Husbandry, in general, has undergone great changes since the emancipation of the serfs, to whom a considerable portion of the land has been transferred in freehold. The land-owners, deprived of their former right to the labor of their serfs, now find it more profitable to reduce the amount of their land in cultivation, or grant portions of it in lease to the peasants, often in return for the half of the produce of the crop. A great drawback to the development of agriculture is the
want of proper means of communication, and consequently the low price of corn in the locality in which it is grown. Fodder-grass is rarely cultivated, as a sufficient supply of fodder is afforded by the extensive natural meadows. The chief cereals are wheat, which is grown as far n. as lat. 62°; rye, barley, and oats. Buckwheat and millet are grown in the s., and from these, but especially from rye, the staple food of the inhabit ants is made. Hemp and flax are extensively cultivated; and the oil extracted from the seeds of the former is an indispensable article of the peasant's household, as it is used for food during the fasts, which, taken together, extend over about half the year. Of flax, 12,000,000 pads are annually produced; of hemp, 7,000,000 puds; and 3,000,000 puds of oil-seeds. After the famine of 1839, government introduced, and afterward did much to promote the cultivation of potatoes. The yearly produce of this crop amounts to 35,000,000 tehetrerts tchetvert = 5.77 imp. bushels). Tobacco crops cover 10,000 acres, and the amount produced is 2,500,000 pods. Beet-root and maize are also cultivated; and there are numerous vineyards in the Crimea, in Bessarabia, and along the Don. Gardening is an important branch of industry, the products being cucumbers, onions, cabbages, and other vegetables and fruits. An area of 480,000,000 acres is covered with woods, but the quantity of timber, from which material the peasant supplies almost all his wants, is at present suffering diminution. The Russian builds his cottage with tim ber, heats his room with it, lights his house with firewood, makes his household utensils from the same material, as well as his cart, etc.; he also wears shoes, and uses mats for coverings, which are made from the inner bark of the lime-tree. In the n., the forests occupy from 90 to 05 per cent of the whole surface; in the s., they are 2 per cent less than in England. Coniferous trees are the chief in the northern districts; hut in the central tracts, oaks, limes, maples, and ashes are the chief. Timber is the chief article of internal commerce, and is floated down the rivers from the well-wooded districts to those which are destitute of wood.
Animals and Animal Products.—In the northern and central provinces, cattle are kept chiefly for the purpose of obtaining manure; but in other parts, cattle-breeding is an important branch of industry. On an average, there are 30•000,000 head of cattle in Russia. Of horses, the best, chiefly trotters, are reared in breeding-stables in the south ern central governments; but the great bulk of the horses are obtained from the half wild studs of the Cossacks, Kalmucks, and Kirghiz. The horses of Viatka• Kazan, and Finland are strong and hardy. The total number of the horses in Russia it about 18,000,000. Sheep-breeding is carried on extensively on the southern steppes. The sheep number 10,000,000, of which upward of 1,000,000 are of the fine merino breed. Besides these animals, there• are camels in the s. of Russia, reindeer in the n., and hogs and poultry in great abundance everywhere. A breed of the urns (Qv.), a huge and rare animal, which does not occur in any other country, is preserved in a forest of the government of Grodno. Among the wild animals are (chiefly in the n.), the bear, wolf, elk, fox, and marten; on the northern coasts are found the sea] and walrus, and the eider-duck and other wild fowl. The more expensive kinds of furs are procured from Siberia, and from the Russian colonies in America, where the Russian American company has the exclusive privilege of the fur trade. The most important Russian fisheries are those of the Caspian and Black seas, and the sea of Azof, and their tribu taries. Herrings. codfish, and salmon are caught in abundance in the White sea. Bee culture is very general in Russia, and silk-worms are reared in the Caucasus.—See the statistical works of Sarauw (1873); Von Lengenfeldt (1875); Wilson (St. Petersburg, 1876); and Russia, by D. Mackenzie Wallace (1877).