Proceedings of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Conference: the peace ...

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19. MEMORANDUM.
TEEEITORY OF THE UKEAIITE REPUBLIC.
;By Ellen C. Semple, under the direction of Mark Jefferson.
1. Area and population.—The Governments or Provinces specific-
:ally included in the RepubUc by the Universal of the National
Council of November 20, 1917 (Ukraine Peace, p. 5), and Article II
of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty of February 9, 1918 (iiid, pp. 10-11),
comprise an area of approximately 178,750 square miles, with a
population of 28,300,000. If the whole linguistic or ethnic area of
.the Ukrainians on the north and east be included, the Republic will
gain a further 62,000 square miles in area and 5,500,000 in population.
II. Nationality.—^The Ukrainians or Little Russians base their
claim to nationality on the following facts: They differ from the
Great Russians in manners and customs. Their language is so
markedly differentiated both in sounds and forms from the Great
Russian that it is regarded by many Slav scholars as a distinct tongue.
Furthermore, there is a distinct Ukrainian literature. Ukrainians
are physically distinguished from the Great Russians by broader
skulls, taller stature, and more brunette coloriag.
III. Soil.—The rich black-earth belt of southern Russia covers
two-thirds of the Ukrainian ethnic area. The northwestern
third, including the major part of Volhynia and Chernigov Provinces,
together with the Cholm district of Poland and the neighboring
[districts of Grodno and Minsk, all belong to the forest region of less
fertile sandy soil. The black earth is a porous, friable soil with a
jlarge admixture of humus and extends to a great depth. The
jjUkraine RepubUc comprises the portion of this belt which has
jiadequate rainfall.
IV. Climate.—The rainfall in the middle zone of Ukraine averages
20 inches. This amount decUnes to 16 inches or less in the southeast
and increases to 24 inches in the forest district of the northwest.
The middle zone, including Podolia, Kief, Poltava, western Charkov,
and Kursk, has winters nuld enough and snow mantle thick enough
to insure extensive crops of winter wheat and rye. These crops are
excluded from the eastern section because the winters are too severe,
ind from the southern section along the coast because the snow covjring
is inadequate. The chief rainfall occurs in May and June, and
s therefore well timed for the growing crops.
V. Agriculture.—The Ukraine RepubUc embraces in its territory
he great grain district of southern Russia. The chief crops are
vinter and spring wheat, rye, barley, spelt, buckwheat, and oats,
yith wheat largely in the ascendency. Marked predominance of grain
Tops gives a one-sided economic character to the agriculture. Howsver,
in the favored middle zone, where population is relatively dense
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