1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Siedlce (government)

SIEDLCE (Russian Syedlets), a government of Russian Poland, between the Vistula and the Bug, having the governments of Warsaw on the W., Lomza on the N., Grodno and Volhynia on the E., Lublin on the S., and Radom on the S.W. Its area is 5533 sq. m. The surface is mostly flat, only a few hilly tracts appearing in the middle, around Biala, and in the east on the banks of the Bug. Extensive marshes occur in the north and in the south-east. Cretaceous, Jurassic and Tertiary strata cover the surface, and are overlain by widely spread Glacial deposits. The valley of the Vistula is mostly wide, with several terraces covered with sand-dunes or peat-bogs. Siedlce is drained by the Vistula, which borders it for 50 m. on the west; by the Bug, which is navigable from Opalin in Volhynia and flows for 170 m. on the east and north-east borders; by the Wieprz, a tributary of the Vistula, which is also navigable, and flows for 25 m. along the southern boundary; and by the Liwiec, a tributary of the Bug, which is navigable for some 30 m. below Wegrow. Of the total area only 5.2% is unproductive; 48.1% is under crops and 17.2 under meadows and pasture land. The estimated population in 1906 was 907,700. The inhabitants consist of Little Russians (40%), Poles (43%), Jews (15½%) and Germans (1½%). The government is divided into nine districts, the chief towns of which are the capital Siedlce, Biala, Konstantinow, Garwolin, Lukow, Radzyn, Sokolow, Wegrow, Wlodawa. The main occupation is agriculture, the principal crops being rye, wheat, oats, barley and potatoes. The area under forests amounts to 19.6% of the total. Live-stock breeding is second in importance to agriculture. Manufactures and trade are insignificant.