Kherson

Kherson, or CHERSON, capital of the Russian government of that name, stands on the Dnieper, 19 miles from its mouth and 81 NE. of Odessa. The town was laid out by Prince Potemkin in 1778 as a port for the construction of ships of war; but in a few years, owing to the unfavourable character of the river, it was supplanted by Odessa and Nikolaïeff, both as a dock-yard and a commercial outlet. It has a large trade in timber, and manufactures soap, tallow, beer, and tobacco. Wool-cleansing is an important industry. At Kherson Potemkin is buried, and John Howard, the prison reformer, died. Pop. (1871) 46,320; (1898) 67,811.—The government borders on the Black Sea, having the Dnieper for its eastern boundary and the Dniester for its western, while the interior is watered by the Bug, Ingul, &c., which form shallow, salt lagoons next the sea. The soil towards the south is steppe-land; in the north, where it touches the 'black earth' region, it is more fertile. Area, 27,515 sq. m.; pop. (1897) 2,728,523. There are seventy German (Swabian) colonies, with about 50,000 inhabitants. Agriculture, gardening, and cattle-breeding are the chief occupations; and there are iron-foundries, corn-mills, machine-factories, tanneries, carriage-works, and brandy-distilleries. The government embraces several large towns, as Kherson, Odessa, Nikolaïeff, Otchakoff, Yelisavetgrad, Voznesensk, and Tiraspol.