Report by the Chief Gardener A.M. Fetisov. Document No. 11 (October 1890)
REPORT NOTE OF THE SCIENTIFIC GARDENER A.M. FETISOV TO THE MILITARY GOVERNOR OF THE SEMIRECHYE REGION ABOUT HIS ACTIVITIES AND A REQUEST TO ALLOW HIM TO LEASE LAND FOR EXPANSION
Bishkek, October 23, 1890
Wishing to expand my own business of cheese-making and agriculture, which I have been conducting in the Tokmak district for six years, I need to begin increasing the milk yield of the local breed of cattle that makes up the herd belonging to my cheese factory. Since it is difficult to achieve the desired results quickly and reliably through the crossbreeding of low-milk cattle with those of higher milk yield, I have already purchased 10 mixed-breed cattle from the miners of the Syr-Darya region, consisting of 3/4 Dutch and 1/4 local blood, as well as one young purebred Dutch bull. Currently, my herd consists of 235 head of cattle, which will increase every year.
Considering that it is impossible to raise the milk yield to an appropriate level solely through the crossbreeding of various breeds of cattle that are fed exclusively on natural pastures and sometimes insufficient dry hay, I would like to establish an agricultural farm that would not only provide a sufficient supply of hay for the winter and have pastures for the summer but also supply both grain and fodder root crops for the animals. For this purpose, I have working cattle and improved agricultural tools, but unfortunately, I do not have land on which I could freely and properly conduct agricultural activities. Until now, I have been using pastures and a small amount of hay, which have not sufficiently satisfied my herd, from the Kyrgyz, who allowed me to use them for a small fee over the past six years. This usage period is coming to an end, and I will have to remain with my farm without shelter.
Sincerely wishing to continue and improve the work I have started here as much as my strength allows, I take the liberty of asking Your Excellency, if you find it possible, to grant me the allocation of 300 desyatinas of land for use over 30 years under the same conditions as the allocation made to the former postmaster Dmitriev for horse breeding. Of these 300 desyatinas, I would like to receive 120 in the foothills between the rivers Alamedin and Alarcha, where I will establish an Agricultural Farm, and 180 desyatinas in the mountainous region of the Kegetin gorge for the placement of two cheese factories: one for making cheese in the spring and autumn, and another in the high zone gorge for making the latter, and where there will also be pastures for the cattle belonging to this cheese factory during these seasons.
In addition to fulfilling obligations equal to those of Dmitriev regarding the use of the land, I offer the opportunity for students from all Agricultural Schools in Semirechye to freely engage in practical studies of cheese-making and other branches of agriculture that I will conduct with the aim of increasing the milk yield of the local breed of cattle.
Gardener Alexey Mikhailovich Fetisov [signature]
October 23, 1890, Bishkek
Central State Archive of the Kyrgyz Republic. Fund 44. Inventory 1. Case 21416. Pages 12-13. Original.
Reports of the leather factory of the city of Bishkek. Document No. 10
