Peter Alexeivitch Kropotkin and John Thomas Bealby

“ Nearly one-fifth of all the copper ore extracted in Russia comes from Orenburg (about 16,000 tons annually) ; and every year 16,000 to 20,000 tons of cast iron and 11,500 tons of iron are obtained. Agriculture is carried on on a large scale, the principal crops being wheat, rye, oats, barley and potatoes. ”

“ Horses, cattle and sheep are kept in large numbers and camels are bred. Kitchen-gardening gives occupation to nearly 11,000 persons. Various kinds of animal produce are largely exported, and by knitting “Orenburg shawls” of goats wool the women earn £10,000 every year. The growth of the industries is slow, but trade, especially with the Kirghiz, is prosperous. The chief towns of the five districts into which the government is divided are Orenburg, Orsk, Chelyabinsk, Troitsk and Verkhne-Uralsk. ”

“ The extremely rich layers of rock salt at Iletsk yield about 24,000 tons every year. Very fertile “black earth” covers wide areas around the Urals. The government is traversed from north to south by the Ural river, which also forms its southern boundary ”