280 THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR 
from England. Although it produced nearly four millions of these 
needles a month, it was by no means able to satisfy the demand of 
the market. The factory also began the manufacture of percussion 
pins for hand grenades and of a special type of pins of which the 
linen mills were experiencing a great scarcity. 
The hosiery and knitting factory. This factory, likewise, had 
been requisitioned at Riga, evacuated to Moscow, and finally placed 
at the disposal of the Zemgor. Two carloads of its equipment were 
atterly lost on the way, so that it proved impossible to set it to work 
again until January, 1916. It produced socks, shirts, drawers, and 
similar articles for the army, turning out about 1,500,000 pieces a 
year, at prices 30 per cent lower than those ruling in the market. 
The spinning mill. This mill, which used to produce yarn for 
sacking material, was also reorganized after evacuation. Beginning 
at first with the manufacture of cotton yarn, the plant was very soon 
adapted to the production of linen thread. 
A far more active share in the supply of the army was taken by 
:hose factories and works which the Zemgor itself established. As it 
was almost impossible, however, to find in Russia the necessary ma- 
chinery and equipment, and it had to be ordered abroad, requiring 
many months for delivery, the construction of such works proceeded 
much more slowly. Thus, for instance, a large munition factory be- 
longing to the Zemgor, with an estimated daily capacity of 2,000 
three-inch and 2,000 six-inch shells, was unable to begin operations 
antil about Easter of 1916, and then only in part; it came into full 
operation only in the autumn, after all the necessary machinery had 
arrived from abroad. 
The field-telephone factory. Toward the end of July, 1915, the 
Zemgor received from the Ministry of War an order for the delivery 
of 21,000 field telephones, and was itself expected to manufacture 
them. Suitable premises, although with inadequate mechanical 
equipment, were found for this purpose, and in September, when 
the machinery that had been wanting had at last been installed, the 
factory was ready to begin operations. During 1916, thousands of 
telephones were produced and repaired at this factory, together with 
spare parts, such as microphones, commutators, condensators, dry 
batteries, etc.; and thousands of miles of telephone wire were sent 
to the front. The factory employed about two hundred men and its 
output was increased to fifty telephones a day.