The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

AGRICULTURE. 459who are obliged to sell their produce in autumn to pay the taxes, and are thenwithout the means of purchasing fresh supplies in spring. The most generalcereal crops are rye and oats, and next to them wheat, which in the north isreplaced by rye and barley.For flax and hemp Russia takes the first place, her flax-fields exceeding inFig. 215. Limits of Cereals and the Vise in Russia.From a Hap published by the Minister of Crown Lands.EofGextent those of all the rest of Europe, and yielding about half as much as thewhole continent.* The governments of Pskov, Smolensk, and Viatka produceeach over 16,000 tons of fibre, and in the south large quantities are grown for the* Area and produce of flax, 1877:—Russia, 1,930,123 acres yield 211,071 tons; rest of Europe,1,590,000 acres yield 245,903 tons.