II. _Ploughland yearly under culture._ _Dessiatines._ _Per cent._ Total on the estates with large farming 52627 100 Cultivated by the owners 37183 71 ------ --- In small peasant tenure 15444 29 Small peasant tenure is a very ruinous management of large estates, inasmuch as the land allotted in tenure is, as a rule, never manured.[160] The above figures testify therefore to a certain progress of agriculture on the larger estates. Farming without fertilizing the soil is found only on the smallest estates, which do not reach even the average size of those exclusively in peasant tenure.[161] On larger estates application of manure goes hand in hand with the culture of more valuable crops. On peasant farms, as well as on the smaller estates approaching the standard of peasant agriculture, rye is found to be the only winter crop[162]; whereas on the larger estates it has been supplanted to a vast extent by winter wheat: +---------------+--------+------------------------------------+--------+ | | | Dessiatines. |Wheat to| | Estates | Number +-------+-------+--------------------+ total | | with large | of | Total |Average| Winter crops. | winter | | agriculture. |estates.|extent.|extent.+------+------+------+ crops | | | | | |Total.| Rye. |Wheat.| (per | | | | | | | | | cent.).| +---------------+--------+-------+-------+------+------+------+--------+ | | | | | | | | | |Wheat not grown| 96 | 34453 | 359 | 4444 | 4444 | .. | .. | |Wheat grown | 94 | 75162 | 800 |12744 | 8171 | 4573 | 36 | | +--------+-------+-------+------+------+------+--------+ | Total | 190 |109615 | 577 |17188 |12615 | 4573 | .. | +---------------+--------+-------+-------+------+------+------+--------+ Winter wheat is only exceptionally grown on unfertilized land; on the other hand, only a minor part of the fertilized land is never planted with wheat. As a rule a field is manured on an average for two seeds of winter wheat.[163] The need of manure necessitates the raising of live stock by the landlord. Then it becomes a matter of good economy with the largest farmer to apply his own live stock and implements to the tillage of his land.[164] This leads to the improvement of farming implements, and must consequently be considered as another proof of the progressive tendency of large farming.[165] Still all these improvements presuppose a corresponding investment of capital. Thus we are face to face with the beginnings of capitalistic agriculture in Russia.