+---------------+-----------------------------------+ | | Land in peasants’ possession. | | +------------+----------------------+ | Districts. | Total. | Pure black soil. | | +------------+------------+---------+ | |Dessiatines.|Dessiatines.|Per cent.| +---------------+------------+------------+---------+ |Ranenburg | 164361 | 113681 | 69 | |Dankoff | 130082 | 89376 | 69 | +---------------+------------+------------+---------+ 1 dessiatine = 2.7 acres. A word as to the way in which quotations are made from the Statistical Reports. Pages are cited whenever the data are found in the Tables or Appendices in such a shape as to be immediately available for the purposes of the discussion. Where, however, the raw material would have to be re-arranged, the pages of this essay would be needlessly encumbered with references to hundreds of paragraphs. No citations are given in such instances, but a general reference is made to the Reports in question. [17] The term is derived from “quarter,” an old Muscovite measure in usage for estates granted in fee. The numerical relation between these two forms is given in the following table: HEREDITARY POSSESSION. +------------+-----------------+-----------------+----------------------+ | | Communities of | | | | | former State | Households. | Land. | | Districts. | peasants. | | | | +-------+---------+-------+---------+------------+---------+ | |Number.|Per cent.|Number.|Per cent.|Dessiatines.|Per cent.| +------------+-------+---------+-------+---------+------------+---------+ |Ranenburg | 25 | 48 | 1,639 | 21 | 21,236 | 24 | |Dankoff | 21 | 54 | 2,180 | 41 | 32,539 | 50 | +------------+-------+---------+-------+---------+------------+---------+ Cf. _Quarterly Possession_, by Mr. K. Pankeyeff, in the Moscow review _Russkaya Mysl_, 1886, book 2, p. 50. The paper quoted was to have been published as a part of the _Reports of the Ryazañ Statistical Bureau_, but after the work was stopped (see above page 16) it appeared in one of our liberal magazines. [18] _Op. cit._, book III., page 28. [19] _Op. cit._, book III., page 33. [20] _Op. cit._, page 27. The figures show the number of population in villages where the land is owned quarterly. The population of 1849 is given according to the ninth revision (of 1846), and the population of 1882 according to the tenth revision (of 1858). The extent of private property would be exaggerated were the comparison made with the census of 1882. By overlooking the increase of the population between the ninth and the tenth revisions, the results of the comparison are but emphasized.