These two large branches of rural industry are followed by a number of lesser significance, such as the production of starch, molasses, butter, milk, tobacco, medicinal herbs, the group of fibre plants, etc. The Supreme Council of National Economy is now laying a solid foundation for the development of all these industries.
What then is the program of action of the Supreme Council of National Economy for the development of the rural industries? In the first place, to supply definite land areas for the cultivation of certain plants, the introduction of definite forms of agricultural labor, and of uniform management for the manufacturing and agricultural industries, the establishment of close connections between the industrial proletariat and the citizens engaged in the rural industries.
Among the problems enumerated above, foremost is that of uniting the industrial proletariat with the rural workers. The Supreme Council of National Economy has already begun to work on this task. Thus the industrial proletariat is now officially in possession of 90,000 dessiatins of land, on which communes have been organized. The crops from these estates go to satisfy the needs of the associations in whose name the estates are registered. At the same time, the industrial proletariat, through participation in agricultural labor, is introducing new ideas into the rural industries.
The Supreme Council of National Economy is mining the coal from the depths of the earth and exploiting the peat deposits. In order to utilize the resources completely, it is paying particular attention to the conversion of swampy areas and exhausted turf deposits into areable land, transforming the bottom of the exploited turf areas into vegetable gardens, the sections bordering upon the swamps into artificial meadows, and the uplands into fields. During last summer similar work was accomplished on a considerable scale on the lands of the central electric station, in the Government of Moscow, the Ilatur electric station, in the Government of Ryazan, Gus-Hrustalny, in the Government of Vladimir, and the Gomza estates in the Government of Nizhni-Novgorod. Thus, during last summer, the work was organized in four central provinces, abounding in large areas of land, which cannot be conveniently used for agricultural purposes.
Simultaneously the improvement of dwellings, and the building of garden-cities is being given careful and immediate consideration. This work is being carried on by the Supreme Council of National Economy at the electric station of Kashirsk, the Shatur station and the Central Electric station.
In order to unify rural industries the Supreme Council of National Economy has formed the central administration of agricultural estates and industrial enterprises, assigning to it the task of uniting and developing as far as possible, the work of the rural mills.
The Central Administration of Agriculture considers it one of its immediate problems to propagate widely the idea of nationalization of land for all rural industries and the opening of new districts for those industries.
In apportioning the land, especially valuable districts should be set apart, such as the meadows, flooded with water from the Don river, fully suitable for the cultivation of tobacco, fibre plants, and olives, on a large scale.
These lands, if distributed among the peasants will never yield such wealth as they could do were they nationalized for rational exploitation.
Next on the program of the Central Administration of Agriculture is the building up of new branches of rural industry, such as the working of sugar beets into molasses and into beet flour, in the northern districts, the production of ammonium sulphate out of the lower grades of peat, the preparation of fodder out of animal refuse, the production of turf litter material, the preparation of new sources of nitrate fertilizer out of peat, etc.