_Russia._--Power-spinning was carried into Russia by Ludwig Knoop, who had learnt the trade in Manchester, and to his efforts its early success was due. The growth, largely the result of very heavy protectionism--according to the Board of Trade report, from 50 to more than 100% more severe than that of Germany,--has been rapid, as the following table bears witness:--
_Average yearly Importation of Cotton wool and Yarn into Russia._
+-----------+----------------+----------------+ | | Raw Cotton in | Cotton Yarn in | | | thousand tons. | thousand tons. | +-----------+----------------+----------------+ | 1824-1826 | .9 | 5.4 | | 1836-1838 | 4.6 | 10.1 | | 1842-1844 | 8.4 | 9.5 | | 1848-1850 | 21.4 | 4.5 | | 1889-1891 | 117.4 | 3.4 | | 1899-1903 | 180.0 | 2.9 | +-----------+----------------+----------------+
_Table showing approximately the Growth of Spindles and Looms in Russia._
+---------+---------------+----------------+ | | Spindles. | Looms. | +---------+---------------+----------------+ | 1857 | 1,000,000 | | | 1877 | | 55,000 | | 1887 | 4,000,000 | 85,000 | | 1900 | 6,000,000 | 146,000 | | 1909 | 7,800,000 | | +---------+---------------+----------------+
The chief districts were the following in 1900:--
+---------------+------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | Government. | Factories. | Spindles | Looms | | | | (in thousands). | (in thousands). | +---------------+------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | Moscow | 56 | 1295 | 33 | | Vladimir | 67 | 1224 | 42 | | Piotrkov | 25 | 745 | 20 | | St Petersburg | 24 | 1074 | 11 | | Jaroslaw | 4 | 347 | 2 | | Kostroma | 25 | 274 | 20 | | Tver | 6 | 348 | 9 | | Esthonia | 1 | 440 | 2 | | Ryazan | 4 | 146 | 3 | | Elsewhere | 15 | 198 | 4 | | +------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | Total | 227 | 6091 | 146 | +---------------+------------+-----------------+-----------------+
Fine spinning has been attempted only recently. Generally speaking 70's used to be the upper limit, but now counts up to 140's are tried, though the bulk of the output is coarse yarn. The inefficiency of the labour was made abundantly plain by Dr Schulze-Gaevernitz in his economic study of Russia, and conditions have not greatly altered for the better since. Roughly, 170,000 operatives worked 6,000,000 spindles in 1900, which means 35 spindles per head as compared with more than 100 in Saxony and more than 200 in England. In weaving the ratio of operatives to machinery worked out at about one loom to each weaver, which is comparatively much less unfavourable to Russia. The proportion in Saxony is about the same, but in England the average approaches two looms to a weaver. The speed of machinery cannot be compared, and we must remember that the above contrasts are rough only, and made without regard to differences of product. Russia is encouraging the growth of cotton at home. It is of very inferior quality, but 100,000 tons from the provinces of central Asia and Trans-Caucasia were used in 1900: her imports in the same year were about 170,000 tons.