ABSTRACT
In all countries where serfdom is established, the peasant is subject to harsh treatment if he does not show the zeal and activity his tormentors demand of him, and which, after all, can hardly be expected of him. The limitless plains that extend in all directions north of the Black Sea seem, among all the countries of the world, the most suited for the cultivation of grains. A rich loam, partly laid down by the great rivers that flow through them, partly created by the remains of centuries of grasslands which cover them, constitute the soil to a great depth. The income of the lord consists entirely of the grain his peasants produce for him by their forty-eight days labor on the lands he has reserved for himself. All of this grain is destined for export, because the entire population is adequately fed from what the peasants grow on their lands.
