Massachusetts

Farming has long been a depressed industry but is gradually recovering. Every effort is being made to improve conditions. The New England Council has been especially active in this direction and in 1926 organized a New England marketing con ference, as a result of which a law was enacted establishing grades and standards for produce. The agricultural census of 1935 showed a decided increase over that of 1930 in the number of farms and of acres operated by full or partial owners.

Manufactures.

There was little manufacturing in Massachu setts before the American Revolution. The State has always been the leader in the textile industry as well as others of importance. The first cotton mill was established at Beverly in 1788 and the first woollen mill at Byfield 1794. The first power loom was set up in 1814 at Waltham. With the improvement in machinery and the development of water power, the great centres of Lowell, Law rence and Fall River arose in the 183os.

During the last two decades vast changes have occurred in the industry of the State as a result of the transfer of much of the textile business to the South. For a time a spirit of pessimism prevailed ; but this was unwarranted ; for while manu factures fell off sharply in the depression, the decline both in number of establishments and in value of products, from 1925 to 1933, was proportionately less than in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, and Michigan.

The two principal groups of industries are textiles and shoes. In 1935 the value of the State's leather and rubber products, especially boots and shoes, was about $258,041,304. Textiles amounted to $373,006,460 of which $200,410,955 were wool and woollens; $109,508,920, cottons; $26,661,041, knit goods; and silk and rayon. In addition to these the dyeing and finishing of fabrics produced a gross value of $28,396,259. Other important manufactures were: printing and publishing; bakery and confectionery products; paper and paper goods; elec trical machinery; clothing; foundry and machine shop products; meat packing; textile machinery and parts.

Minerals.

Granite and basalt or trap rock are by far the chief products of the quarries. The principal granite quarries were in Worcester, Essex, Norfolk and Berkshire counties. The best known is the "Quincy granite" which is found about um. south

east of Boston.

Commerce.

The cod-fisheries have always been of prime im portance in the economics of the State and formed one of the bases of the earliest commerce to Europe. Until 1785, when trade was opened with China, and 1788 when trading began with the Ameri can north-west coast, trade was mainly with Europe, Africa and the West Indies and American coast ports. Ship-building was al ways an important industry and with the rise of the clipper ships and the rich trade to the Orient, merchants of Salem and Boston grew rapidly in wealth. Owing to great changes in the United States and in transportation facilities to the interior, Massachu setts has fallen behind many other States in foreign commerce. In it handled 2,732,237 tons (2,24olb.) as compared with 15,977,216 in New York, 4,003,622 in Maryland, and 4,557,089 in Louisiana.

In some respects, as in the wool trade, Boston has never lost its primacy and is still the leading market in America and one of the principal markets of the world. Wool receipts at this centre have fluctuated considerably during the past quarter century without showing any consistent trend either upward or downward. In a comparatively low year, they totalled 200.800,000 pounds (183, 581,00o pounds domestic and 17,219,000 pounds imported). The total for 1935 was 272,970.000 pounds. of which 226,715,000 pounds were domestic and 46,255,000 pounds were foreign.

The following table gives the total value of all commodities in foreign trade passing through the ports of the State.

General Imports Exports 1901 $ 61,452.00o $143,708.000 1925 321,567,000 1930 176,199.000 33,633.000 1932 72,561.000 I5,731 ,000 1935 110,335,000 (for consumption only) 24,575,000 The total sea-borne commerce of the several ports of Massachu setts, in short tons, for 1935 was: Beverly, 624,125; Boston, 16,384.958; Fall River, 1,887.130; Lynn, 384.551 ; New Bedford, 642,030 ; Salem, 411,817.

Transportation.—The State in 1934 was served by 1,992 miles of steam railway as compared with 2,131 miles in 1915. The elec tric railway mileage also decreased from 3,056 in 1915 to 1,3o5 in 1932. The road mileage in the State highway system on Decem ber 31, 1934 was 1,833, all of which was surfaced. There were 785,090 motor vehicles registered in 1935.