Franztal 19

Only three sentences remain in the 1848 Franztal Gemeindebericht, covering the years 1845 through early 1848.

Because of the late sowing, only a little millet was harvested in the first year. The following two summers yielded harvests of only three- to fourfold at high grain prices: 1 chetvert [?] rye cost 20 and wheat 24 paper rubles. In the three years that followed, the locusts destroyed blessed crops. The harsh winter of 1825 and the year 1833 with its famine and cattle epidemic are still fresh in the memory of the settlers. As a result of the earthquake on 11 January 1838, at half past ten in the evening, the water in the well has risen significantly. In 1838 the four-field system and fallow land were introduced. In 1845 there was no hay, only sowing of grain. The years 1846 and 1847 were blessed crops, but on 17 June of last year a hailstorm destroyed the whole crop. The storm of 25 December 1847 to 16 January 1848 caused many houses to collapse, whereby the affected families came into great need.

no hay, only sowing of grain. Several of the other community reports mention 1845 as a significant year, but they do so because Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, the second son of Tsar Nicholas I (reigned 1825–1855) toured the colony. Only Halbstadt, which was located in the opposite corner of Molotschna, references a possible problem with the crops: “In June 1845 heavy hailstorms … caused some damage in the fields, but at the beginning of July a second hailstorm smashed the almost ripe barley and rye fields. The watermelon fields, which were also destroyed, recovered again.” Does the Franztal report reflect the same reality? Perhaps, but all we can say with certainty is that the Franztal farmers did not put up any hay that year and refer only to sowing grain but not harvest of the same. Whatever the details may have been, the outcome seems clear enough: there was no harvest of any kind that year.

blessed crops. We have seen this term earlier in the paragraph, in the context of locusts destroying what was apparently a promising crop. Here again the term is applied to a lost crop for at least 1847 (see next), which may imply that the term is used in the Gemeindebericht to refer to promising crops that for one reason or another do not result in a bountiful harvest.

hailstorm destroyed the whole crop. The promising crop of 1847 was lost to a hailstorm on 17 June of that year. The event was no doubt fresh in the memories of the village, having happened only ten months before the report was written.

storm of 25 December 1847 to 16 January 1848. Only Ladekopp mentions this snowstorm, but it confirms what Franztal reports: “The dreadful blizzard that lasted for several weeks from 1847 to 1848 covered several houses almost with snow.”

caused many houses to collapse. Although it is possible that some house walls collapsed, it seems more likely that the roofs collapsed into the houses, due to the weight of the snow. As the Ladekopp Gemeindebericht notes, the snow was so deep that it nearly covered some houses; that amount of snow would easily cause roofs to collapse.

So ends the 1848 Franztal report proper. All that remains is to identify the individuals who authored the report, which we will do in the following post.