Fruit and Veggies

Again, Grieb doesn't say that the colonists are tending gardens or orchards that yield the vegetables and fruits he mentions in the next few sentences, though the Alt Posttal 1848 chronicle indicates that each colonist family initially received potatoes for sowing. In any event there was so much fruit in Bessarabia that one could buy an oka's worth for "7 Polish Groschen." Again, the implication is that this is cheap. It is noteworthy that Grieb is using an equivalent in Polish currency to describe the cost of fruit. Of course, this would only be logical so his readers in Poland could understand and presumably be impressed.

But what is a "Polish Groschen"? According to Wikipedia, groschen may be the German term for the local Polish monetary term "grosz." The Partitions of Poland and the Duchy of Warsaw issued coins in grosz denominations. Several chronicles of German colonies in South Prussia Poland, from which some of my Bessarabian ancestors emigrated, mention Groschen. In Groembach (called Laznowska Wola, in Polish), the early settlers around 1800 received 2 Groschen per head/per mile travel money to get to their destination.

Once they arrived they received initial living expense money from the Prussian administrators: two, one (plus 6 Pfennige), and one Groschen(s) for each man, woman and a child under 12, respectively. Of course, making comparisons between what the Prussians gave the initial Polish ancestors and what one paid for fruit in Bessarabia 18 years allotted to the colonists "appears good to us" and is "extremely fruitful." In hindsight, the 1848 chronicle explains that the land situation was a little more complicated in Arzis. The quality of the soil varied, with "many desjatines" of land being useless because of its layers of saltpeter and clay.

Still, the writer maintains that Arzis' pasture land was so excellent that even an original poor colonist now possessed 30-40 cattle. To drive his point home further, he emphasizes that the surrounding Bulgarians in Bessarabia had thousands of head of livestock each. He stresses that this is far better than the "poor Polish farmer" his letter recipients see around them. Or perhaps he is calling them "poor Polish farmer[s]"l

travelers such as the diplomats. Catherine and her troupe mixed business and pleasure during the long stay. Banquets and balls and fireworks and concerts filled their evenings. Heads of state and gentry traveled from very long distances to pay homage and talk with her. They came from Byzantium, Persia, the Caucasus, Poland, and as far away as China. Catherine greeted Tatars, Kalmuks, Khirghiz, and Georgians. They brought her gifts, but the Russian purse paid their expenses.