The state of animal husbandry in the Siberian Cossack army at the end of the XIX century

Abstract

At the end of the XIX century, the development of livestock farming in the territory of the Siberian Cossack army was at a fairly high level. In terms of both the number of crops and the number of livestock, the Cossacks equaled the Siberian peasants. The military population on the Irtysh, Biysk, Bukhtarma and Ishim defensive lines, as well as in the Kyrgyz steppe, were engaged in livestock breeding and arable farming. Animal husbandry did not require such labor costs as working on arable land, and was not rigidly connected with the cycles of agricultural work. Therefore, Cossack farms often had 20 or more heads of cattle. With the construction of the Great Siberian Railway in the nineties of the XIX century, the life of the Cossacks changed markedly. Cattle breeding, horse breeding, and sheep breeding started to develop. Animal husbandry played a secondary role in the economy of the Siberian Cossack army at the end of the XIX century. The size of the herds was determined by a sufficient amount of arable land, pastures and hayfields. Among the poultry they bred were chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys. During this period, the Cossack economy transitioned from livestock-breeding and semi-subsistence to agricultural-livestock-breeding and small-scale commodity production. The Cossacks bred horses, cattle, small cattle, and, less frequently, pigs and poultry, not only for domestic consumption but also for sale. The article, based on available statistical data, examines a number of issues reflecting the state of animal husbandry in the territory of the Siberian Cossack аrmy: the total number of farm animals in the subsidiary farms of the military population (1898); the ratio of the number of farm animals to the population (1899); comparative analytical data on infectious diseases of animals (1894–1898); the loss of farm animals in the military departments of the Siberian Cossack аrmy (1898).