Russian Agriculture in the 1880s
Author: William Bosch
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2016-12-03
Total Pages: 160
ISBN-13: 9781540466822
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book contains over 50 refurbished maps and diagrams which first appeared in a book published in St. Petersburg in 1893. The reworked maps in this book contain information about the crops grown in European Russia in the 1880s, the yields of various crops such as spring wheat and rye, the mix of animals on their farms and much more. Agriculture on the steppes of Russia and on the prairies of North and South America progressed in tandem in the late 1800s. The reasons are many. First, information about agriculture was exchanged through publications, exhibits and visitations. Second, machinery was traded, copied and improved. Third, tens of thousands of ethnic German individuals and families engaged in farming in Russia emigrated to the United States, Canada and South America where they brought their experience and expertise to bear on the development of agricultural industries. These people are commonly referred to as German-Russians. The book, The Industries of Russia: Agriculture and Forestry, Volume 3, mentioned in the first paragraph, was brought to the 1893 world's fair in Chicago. In addition to the Preface and Introduction, this book contains twenty-two chapters on the status of agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural industries in European Russia at that time. Much of the data is based on the years 1880-1892. The Russian and English versions of the book were published in 1893 in St. Petersburg. The Industries of Russia: Agriculture and Forestry, Volume 3 contains 37 maps and 10 diagrams of which all but one are in color and are loaded with interesting information about Russian agriculture in the 1880s. The original copies of this book, published in English and Russian, appear to be scarce, expensive and in poor shape. A digital reproduction and a couple of hard copy reproductions are available. These reproductions are scanned copies of the original. So the pages of each correspond exactly to the pages of the original. The text part of each looks good and is very readable. But the maps and diagrams are of poor quality or missing entirely. And the color of the maps in the original copies is fading and the maps contain a number of errors and problems that are easily correctable. The beauty of the maps and diagrams, the importance of the data displayed therein and the cultural and historical importance of the whole book demand that the maps and diagrams be preserved in a format that is as readable, attractive and error-free as possible. So in 2015 and early 2016, I reconstructed these maps and diagrams. A version of each one appears in my book Russian Agriculture in the 1880s. I broke some of them into two in order to adequately display all the information and I tried to eliminate all of the errors and defects. I added narrative to provide context and explanations for the maps and diagrams. This book is useful by itself or as a companion book to one of the reproductions mentioned earlier. Anyone with an interest in the history of agriculture in the plains of America and Russia will find much to like in this book.