POSEN, n. A province of Prussia, bound ed by Pomerania and West Prussia on the north, Russian Poland on the east, Silesia on the south, and Brandenburg on the west (Map: Prussia, G 2). Its area is 11.184 square miles. The sur face is mostly flat. There are extensive tracts of wooded marshland, now partially converted into agricultural land. Posen is watered principally by the Warte and the Netzo, and to some extent by the Vistula. There are a large number of lakes and some important canals. Posen is chiefly an agricultural country. Over 60 per cent. of its area is under tillage and in gardens. In the dis tribution of land large holdings prevail, about 58 per cent. of the productive land being divided into estates of 250 acres and over. Rye, wheat, oats, barley, and potatoes are produced exten sively and partly exported. Large quantities of sugar beets are raised for local sugar mills. Cattle-raising is very important, and the census of 1897 shows a large increase in the live stock of the province.
The manufacturing industries are only slightly developed and employ (including all other indus tries outside of agriculture) only 20 per cent. of the total population. The principal manufactures are spirits (of which Posen is one of the chief producers in Germany), beet sugar, machinery.
bricks, and wooden wares. The exports include grain, cattle, wood. and wool. The railway lines hare a total length of over 1200 miles, almost ex clusively controlled by the State. Posen is divided administratively into the two districts of Posen and Bromberg, with the town of Posen as the capital. In the Prussian Landtag the province is represented by 19 members in the upper and 29 delegates in the lower chamber. It returns to the German Reichstag, 15 members. The population, in 1900, was 1,888,055, of whom about 70 per cent. were Roman Catholics. The Polish language and its dialects are spoken by the majority of the in habitants. Posen formed a part of Poland till the first partition of that country in 1772, when Prussia acquired the districts north of the Netze. The other portion was taken by Prussia at the second partition in 1793. In 1S07 it was annexed to the Duchy of Warsaw, but was restored to Prussia in 1815, receiving the title of a grand duchy. Posen has been the scene of bitter strife between the Polish and German elements, and the Prussian Government has resorted to arbi trary measures in its efforts to Germanize the region.