Manufactures and Trade
with a general industrial map by the Department of Trade and Manufactures Ministry of Finance
For the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago
Editor of the English Translation John Martin Crawford
U. S. Consul general to Russia
Vol. I
St. Petersburg 1893
Väriä koskevia osia tekstistä.
Cotton goods.
s. 1-2
The manufacture of cotton according to its state of development should occupy the first place among other branches of Russian industry. Forming a subject of constant and special consideration by the Government, this industry has developed in magnitude and quality very rapidly, and at the present time has acquired such dimensions that it not only suffices for home consumption, but exports its products to foreign markets in annually increasing quantities.
HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE INDUSTRY.
The origin of the cotton manufacturing industry in Russia, although on a very small scale, must be dated back to the sixteenth century. The import of Eastern productions, namely, fustian, cotton flannel, domestic, shirting, turkey red, damask, figured counterpanes and tablecloths commenced much earlier. These textures pleased the Russians very much and their aim was to establish the industry in their own country.
Cotton manufacture on an enlarged scale commenced by using foreign imported yarns for textures in the first half of the eighteenth century. The yarn was distributed in the villages to the peasants to be worked up on hand looms into textures in general use among the people, namely, into nankeen, tricot, camlet, Chinese cotton cloth, coarse muslin sailcloth, domestic, shirting, calico, fustian and others. In a short time they began to establish small weaving mills, in appearance like roomy huts with large windows, where they erected from twenty to thirty looms and produced, by hired and piece work, cotton and linen textures. In the middle of the eighteenth century, in the Moscow and Vladimir governments, there was a considerable number of these establishments, and the manufacture of cotton goods began quickly to spread among the villages, displacing the weaving of linen cloths. At this period dyeing and calico printing made its appearance. The foundation of the industry was laid in the village of Ivanova in the government of Vladimir. The inhabitants of Ivanova in the middle of the eighteenth century, besides agriculture occupied themselves with wool-cleaning and covering linen with oil paints. The first dyeing and calico printing mill was built about the years 1745 to 1750. This mill laid the foundation of printing, at the present time so widely spread in the manufacturing districts of the Vladimir government. At the end of the last century there were already several mills in Ivanova engaged in calico printing on a large scale, while at the same time the manufacture of Turkey red was commenced, which was destined to occupy a prominent position among other manufactures in dyed cotton textures. Turkey red was brought into Russia long ago from Bokhara and Persia, where it was first manufactured. The red textures were very much liked by the inhabitants and the demand became so great that the Bokharans and Persians founded in Russia, in the governments of Astrakhan, Kazan and Viatka several mills. Examining the produce of these mills in the present age a contemporary, a Saxon by birth, named John Voutich, found that in reference to the principles on which Russian tissues were dyed, they should occupy a place immeasurably above those of Western Europe.
From the commencement of the present century the manufacture of calico from English spun yarns began to spread from the Moscow and Vladimir governments into neighbouring parts, although the greater part remained in the Moscow districts, due to their proximity to the Moscow market. The demand for yarns increased so much that attempts were made to build their own spinning mills. The first cotton spinning mill was erected in Moscow in the year 1808 by a merchant, named Panteleyev. It is interesting to note that the machinery for this first Russian cotton mill was of Russian construction. In the same year was started the first power looms at the Alexandrovsk Manufactory in St. Petersburg. Up to the year 1812 the number of cotton spinning mills reached a total of eleven with 780 spinning machines. The military events of 1812 told heavily on the newly established industry and Russian finances. and for some time retarded the further progress of cotton manufacturing, but from the year 1820 it developed rapidly. In 1824 two large cotton spinning mills were opened, one in St. Petersburg and the other in Moscow; and in the third decade the manufacture of cotton tissues increased considerably, attracting a large number of persons and capital. The first cotton spinning mills had to battle with great difficulties in acquiring the necessary machinery, as it is well known that in England, where the construction of such machinery was first commenced, up to the year 1842 there existed a law prohibiting the export of such machinery to foreign countries, the infringment of which law was punishable by death. Notwithstanding these severe measures the machines were smuggled to foreign parts, and thus although with great difficulty, made their way into Russia. In the year 1842 the English Government sanctioned the free export of machinery, and the cotton spinning mills in Russia, as a natural consequence, developed still more rapidly. In 1843 there were 40 mills in Russia with a total of 350,000 spindles. The production of each spindle per year equalled about one poud of cotton yarn. In ten years there were 1,000,000 spindles at work; the product per spindle increased to an average of 48 pounds. The art of weaving, dyeing and calico printing grew simultaneously with that of cotton spinning.
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Cost of production of cotton manufactures.
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s.18
To be able to estimate te cost of bleached, dyed and printed goods, the cost of bleaching, dyeing and printing must be added to the price of the goods in the raw state, and the loss of weight and waste during the above-named processes must be taken into consideration. The cost of bleaching, dyeing and printing cotton goods of medium quality in general use is shown in the following figures. In all the under-mentioned calculations a piece of calico is taken, 14 vershocks wide (24.4 inches) of 850 dents to the reed, 60 arshines long and 7 pounds in weight. Bleaching costs from 18 to 25 kopecks per piece.
The cost of dyeing in different colours depends upon the class of dyes used. reckoning per arshine of tissue: dark indigo, about 5 to 6 kopecks; medium indigo. 2.75 kopecks; light indigo, 2 kopecks; smooth red alizarine, 3 kopecks; smooth cardinal alizarine, 2.5 kopecks; bordeaux or garnet alizarine, 2.5 kopecks; bistre, dark shade. 1.7 kopecks; aniline black corrodent, 2 kopecks; red congo and benzo-pourpourine. 2 kopecks; naphthol of different shades and colours, 1.5 kopecks; garnet or bordeaux, dyed with fuchsin, grenadine, or Bismack, 2.5 kopecks; lilac and violet, 2.75 kopecks: azure and dark blue, 2 to 2.75 kopecks; green, 2.25 kopecks. For printed goods it is difficult to give any general or average figures as the fluctuation in the cost of manufacture is very great and depends, firstly, on the amount of printing colours used, which in turn depends on the character of the design and the depth to which the printing rollers are engraved; secondly, on the price of the colours used; thirdly. on the number of times the printed matter passes through the machine, and the number of different processes it undergoes before it reaches a finished state. It can be stated, but approximately, that the cost of printing at the majority of Russian print works is from 1.75 to 6 kopecks per arshine, and for the more predominant kinds, from 2.5 to 3 kopecks per arshine.
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