During the past few weeks reassuring statements have reached England
of the prospects of the Russian harvest. We are sorry to say, however, that the prospects are not so good as had been reported, though there is fortunately no danger of a recurrence of a catastrophe on the terrible scale of last year. The repre- sentative of the Save the Children Fund has telegraphed that the harvest in the whole of Russia will be below the average yield. With regard to the Saratov Province, where the British Relief organizations are working, he states that unless supplies are received from other sources the whole of the trans-Volga area, including Uralsk, will experience famine conditions from November onwards. In several districts on the western bank of the Volga the crop has proved much less than was anticipated, and he estimates that 400,000 children and adults will require assistance, especially from December onwards. It must be understood that this telegram refers to general famine conditions and that the problem of the continued succour of the orphans has in any case immediately to be faced.
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