Furthermore the land is none too fertile. Uncertainty therefore is today the common lot of many of the descendants of the old German settlers. Many prefer to engage in trade rather than in agriculture. The natural increase of the population has brought a certain amount of congestion which has resulted in emigration. Effort is made by German missionary societies to induce these Russian Germans to return to the land of their fathers. The Russian government on the other hand provides them with ample facilities and inducements to settle in Siberia. The region around Tomsk contains a number of villages built up by this emigration. Many however prefer to emigrate to the United States where they find a happier lot. Settlements composed entirely of Volga Germans exist in Wisconsin. The old German settlers had held steadfastly to their religion. Their descendants have also clung to the faith of their fathers, thus creating a totally separate community in the midst of Orthodox Russia. Their earliest schools had been founded as annexes of their churches and education had been a great factor in the maintenance of language and religion. In 1891 the use of Russian was rendered obligatory in all educational institutions of the Empire. Nevertheless this measure cannot be said to have contributed to weaken the German character of the communities. From Germany itself manifestations of interest towards these faraway centers of German custom have always been keen. Neither has support been lacking. According to recent statistics the Germans inhabiting the banks of the Volga number close to half a million, distributed equally on both banks of the great inland river. The ethnic type of these Germans has been maintained with remarkable purity and their language contains obsolete forms dating from the eighteenth century. The names of the largest communities and the number of their inhabitants are as follows: Saratoff 12,500 Norka 13,416 Frank 11,700 Grimm or Lesnoi Karamish 10,761 Baltzer Katharinenstadt or Baronsk 10,134 FOOTNOTES: [279] P. Clerget: Les Colonies Allemandes de la Volga, _La Géogr._, Feb. 1909. [280] H. Pokorny: Die Deutschen an der Volga, _Deutsche Erde_, 1908, No. 4, pp. 138-144. APPENDIX B THE BALKAN STATES BEFORE AND AFTER THE WARS OF 1912-13[281] _AREAS_ (_in square miles_)