KUBAN

kuban, a river of southern russia, rising on the w. slope of the elbruz, in the caucasus, at an altitude of 13,930 ft., races down the n. face of the caucasus as a mountain-torrent, but upon getting down to the lower-lying steppe country s. of stavropol it turns, at 1075 ft. altitude, towards the n.w., and eventually, assuming a westerly course, enters the gulf of kyzyl-tash, on the black sea, in the vicinity of the straits of kerch. its lower course lies for some distance through marshes, where in times of overflow its breadth increases from the normal 700 ft. to over half a mile. its total length is 500 m., the area of its basin 21,480 sq. m. it is navigable for steamers for 73 m., as far as the confluence of its tributary, the laba (200 m. long). this, like its other affluents, the byelaya (155 m.), urup, and great and little zelenchuk, joins it from the left. the kuban is the ancient hypanis and vardanes and the pshishche of the circassians. kuban, a province of russian caucasia, having the sea of azov on the w., the territory of don cossacks on the n., the government of stavropol and the province of terek on the e., and the government of kutais and the black sea district on the s. and s.w. it thus contains the low and marshy lowlands on the sea of azov, the western portion of the fertile steppes of northern caucasia, and the northern slopes of the caucasus range from its north-west extremity to the elbruz. the area is 36,370 sq. m. on the south the province includes the parallel ranges of the black mountains (kara-dagh), 3000 to 6000 ft. high, which are intersected by gorges that grow deeper and wider as the main range is approached. owing to a relatively wet climate and numerous streams, these mountains are densely clothed with woods, under the shadow of which a thick undergrowth of rhododendrons, "caucasian palms" (_buxus sempervirens_), ivy, clematis, &c., develops, so as to render the forests almost impassable. these cover altogether nearly 20% of the aggregate area. wide, treeless plains, from 1000 to 2000 ft. high, stretch north of the kuban, and are profusely watered by that river and its many tributaries--the little and great zelenchuk, urup, laba, byelaya, pshish--mountain torrents that rush through narrow gorges from the caucasus range. in its lower course the kuban forms a wide, low delta, covered with rushes, haunted by wild boar, and very unhealthy. the same characteristics mark the low plains on the east of the sea of azov, dotted over with numerous semi-stagnant lakes. malaria is the enemy of these regions, and is especially deadly on the taman peninsula, as also along the left bank of the lower and middle kuban. there is considerable mineral wealth. coal is found on the kuban and its tributaries, but its extraction is still insignificant (less than 10,000 tons per annum). petroleum wells exist in the district of maikop, but the best are in the taman peninsula, where they range over 570 sq. m. iron ores, silver and zinc are found; alabaster is extracted, as also some salt, soda and epsom salts. the best mineral waters are at psekup and taman, where there are also numbers of mud volcanoes, ranging from small hillocks to hills 365 ft. high and more. the soil is very fertile in the plains, parts of which consist of black earth and are being rapidly populated. the population reached 1,928,419 in 1897, of whom 1,788,622 were russians, 13,926 armenians, 20,137 greeks and 20,778 germans. there were at the same date 945,873 women, and only 156,486 people lived in towns. the estimated population in 1906 was 2,275,400. the aborigines were represented by 100,000 circassians, 5000 nogai tatars and some ossetes. the circassians or adyghe, who formerly occupied the mountain valleys, were compelled, after the russian conquest in 1861, either to settle on the flat land or to emigrate; those who refused to move voluntarily were driven across the mountains to the black sea coast. most of them (nearly 200,000) emigrated to turkey, where they formed the bashi-bazouks. peasants from the interior provinces of russia occupied the plains of the kuban, and they now number over 1,000,000, while the kuban cossacks in 1897 numbered 804,372 (405,428 women). in point of religion 90% of the population were in 1897 members of the orthodox greek church, 4% raskolniks and other christians and 5.4% mahommedans, the rest being jews. wheat is by far the chief crop (nearly three-quarters of the total area under crops are under wheat); rye, oats, barley, millet, indian corn, some flax and potatoes, as also tobacco, are grown. agricultural machinery is largely employed, and the province is a reserve granary for russia. livestock, especially sheep, is kept in large numbers on the steppes. bee-keeping is general, and gardening and vine-growing are spreading rapidly. fishing in the black sea and sea of azov, as also in the kuban, is important. two main lines of railway intersect the province, one running n.w. to