Page:EB1911 - Volume 21.djvu/963

Rh soil—such are the general characters of the northern border region of the great plain of central Poland. The rivers flow across the plain in broad, level valleys, only a few hundred or even only a few dozen feet lower than the watersheds; they separate into many branches, enclosing islands, forming creeks, and drowning wide tracts of land during inundations. Their basins, especially in the west, interpenetrate one another in the most intricate way, the whole bearing unmistakable evidences of having been in recent geological, and partly in historical times the bottom of extensive lakes, whose alluvial deposits now yield heavy crops. The fertility of the soil and the facility of communication by land and by water have made this plain the cradle of the Polish nationality. The very name of Poland is derived from it—Wielkopolska and Wielkopolane being the Slav terms for the great plain and its inhabitants.

Population.—The population of Poland, 6,193,710 in 1871, reached 7,319,980 in 1881, and 10,500,000 in 1897. The estimated population in 1906 was 10,747,300 Details for 1897 are shown in the subjoined table.