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THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR
Purchase of Horses.

The department for the purchase of horses was appointed by the
Central Committee of the Union at the close of 1914, at the time
when the field detachments of the Zemstvo Union were being organized.
 It gradually developed into a very large organization,
operating not only in European Russia, but also in Siberia, Turkestan,
 and northern Caucasus. In the estimates of the department for
October, 1916, mention is made even of China and Persia as sources
of supply for horses. At first the Union’s demand for horses was
very small, and during the retreat of the army from the German
front it had dwindled to as little as 862, and in one instance to only
134 per month. Generally speaking, the monthly requirement during
 1915 never exceeded 1,500 horses; at the end of that year, however,
 it rose to the very impressive figure of 5,000 per month. The
total number of horses purchased by the department was about
50,000 representing a value of about 12,000,000 rubles.
The task of the department was by no means an easy one. Requisitions
 of horses by the Ministry of War went on almost without
interruption and it was necessary therefore to discover territories
where the Government was willing to permit private purchases.
With each succeeding month of the War the number of such territories
 dwindled and they became more and more remote from the
headquarters of the purchasing agents of the department, which had
been established at Moscow, Orel, and in northern Caucasus. Not
only had a general authorization to be obtained to buy horses in a
given district, but the consent of the local authorities was required
for the dispatch of the horses when purchased. Lastly, and this was
the most difficult part of the transaction, a sufficient quantity of
rolling stock had to be found for the transport of horses.
How much time had to be spent on these various steps may be
gathered from the example of several large purchases made in Siberia.
 In these instances it was found impossible to transport horses
that had been bought at the beginning of July, 1916, until the close
of September. In the meantime the animals had to be fed and cared
for, with the result that there was a considerable increase in their
total cost. The conveyance from such remote regions likewise involved
 heavy extra expense, but it proved nevertheless more profitable
 to buy horses at this distance than nearer the center. Thus, in