FERTILE LANDS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 August 1941, Page 6

FERTILE LANDS

SOVIET WEST COAST. REMARKABLE PROGRESS. The Soviet Maritime Territory occupying the western coast of the Sea of Japan borders in the south-west on Manchuria and- Korea. This is one of the most picturesque territories in the Soviet Union. From the Ussuri River up to the coast of the Sea of Japan it is intersected by the Sikhote-Alin mountain ridge. The rest of the -territory is occupied by the broad Ussuri plains, extremely suitable for agriculture. Among crops grown here one finds wheat, barley, oats and other cereals, as well as sugar beet, rice, flax, tobacco, apricots, plums, tomatoes and soya beans. The valleys of the Suchan and Suifun Rivers yield good crops of watermelons and gourds. The vast meadows offer unlimited opportunities for agriculture. Rich pasture lands provide grazing grounds for livestock. The population of the territory is engaged also in trapping, fishing, and in the lumber industry. The fertile lands and rich hunting and fishing grounds draw large numbers of settlers from the collective farms of the central regions. All travelling expenses, including the cost of transportation of the luggage and the food bills are footed by the Government. The Government also provides each family with a loan for building a farm. Of these expenses, 50 per cent are contributed by the Government without any recompense in the future, while the rest is paid back in instalments in the course of 15 years. Each family is given a loan for the acquisition of livestock and agricultural implements as well as loans in kind. They are exempted from all taxes and from grain deliveries to the State for a period of ten years, and from delivery of other produce for a period of five to ten years.