This section is from "The American Cyclopaedia", by George Ripley And Charles A. Dana. Also available from Amazon: The New American Cyclopędia. 16 volumes complete..
I. A S. Government Of Russia, bordering on the governments of Orel, Voronezh, Kharkov, Poltava, and Tchernigov; area, 18,-890 sq. m.; pop. in 1867, 1,866,859. The surface is in general undulating, the climate mild and dry, and the soil fertile. The principal rivers are the Seim, Vorskla, and Oskol. The most valuable minerals are iron, limestone, and nitre. The manufactures consist of coarse cloths, leather, soap, spirits, and earthenware. The most important cities are Kursk, Rylsk, Belgorod, Stary-Oskol, Mikhailovka, and Miro-polie.
II. A City, capital of the government, on the Tuskar, a tributary of the Seim, 280 m. S. by W. of Moscow; pop. in 1867, 28,921. It is a large town, with narrow, ill-paved streets, numerous churches, and a magnificent edifice occupied by the government. It carries on a considerable trade with St. Petersburg and Moscow, and is the seat of the civil and military governors of the province, and of the archbishop of Kursk and Belgorod.
 
Continue to: