It often happens, therefore, that the strips are very narrow, and the portions belonging to each family very numerous.

Strips six feet wide are by no means rare.

In 124 villages of the province of Moscow, regarding which I have special information, they varied in width from 3 to 45 yards, with an average of 11 yards.

Of these narrow strips a household may possess as many as thirty in a single field! The complicated process of division and subdivision is accomplished by the peasants themselves, with the aid of simple measuring-rods, and the accuracy of the result is truly marvellous.
The meadow, which is reserved for the production of hay, is divided into the same number of shares as the arable land.

There, however, the division and distribution take place, not at irregular intervals, but annually.