The state is well watered, its streams being all affluents of the great rivers which bound it on the e. and west. The Des Moines, the Checaque or Skunk, and the Iowa and its effluents flow into the Mississippi. Those flowing into the Missouri are the Big Sioux (forming a part of the w. boundary), the Chariton, Grand, Platte, Nodaway-, and Nishnabatona. Iowa rises in Hancock co., in the northern part of the state, and joins the Mississippi 35 in. above Burlington. It is nearly 300 m. long, and is navigable 80 in. to Iowa city. The largest of the interior rivers is the Des Moines, which has a course of 300 in. within the state, draining upwards of 10,000 sq.m. of territory. Next to the Des Moines in size is the Red Cedar, which rises in Minnesota, and empties into the Iowa. In the northern portion of the state are ninny small but picturesque lakes, of the same kind as those so numerous in Minnesota. The largest of these is lake Okobojo, in Dickinson co., 15 in. long, and from one-fourth of a in. to 2 in. wide. The southern portion of the state is especially beautiful in ita undulations, which are intersected by the larger rivers with their fertile valleys. In the n.e. the surface is more elevated, and there are hills and mounds covered with oaks, while the rivers some times tumble over precipitous walls of rock. Lead ore and other metals are found in this section in abundance, while the land is of an excellent quality. The prairies of the state are of great extent, and unrivaled beauty and fertility. Coal is found in abuud- • ance in the s. and w. portions of the state, the measures extending over an an area of 20,000 sq. miles. Extensive beds of superior peat are found in the northern part of the state. The lead-mine tract is in a belt occupied by Galena limestone, which touches the Mississippi at Dubuque, and lies along the valley of the Turkey river iu a n.w. direction. The mines have been worked only in the immediate vicinity of Dubuque, where they are very pro ductive. From 4,000,000 to 6,000,000 lbs. of ore, yielding 70 per cent of lead, have been smelted there annually for some time past. Small 'deposits of iron ore are found in some parts of the state, and a deposit of gypsum of great purity exists upon a small area near Fort Dodge. Building-stone of excellent quality is abundant. The soils of the state are generally very good, and there is but little inferior land. The valleys of the Iowa, Red Cedar, and Des Moines, especially, are of unrivaled fertility. The climate is well adapted to agricultural operations. The winters, owing to the prevalence of n. and n.w. winds, to which nature offers no obstruction, are severe; but the winds of the summer, which are equally free, serve to temper the heat. The mean temperature of the year is 43'; spring, 44; summer, 701; autumn, 45; winter, 234. 'I here is probably no healthier country than 'Iowa in the world, a fact which may safely be attributed to the excellent drainage afforded by its streams anti its undulating surface. The southern part of the state, along the rivers, is well wooded. In the northern portion trees are compara tively scarce, though groves of pine and cedar are found in some places. The most common trees are ash, elm, sugar and white maple, hickory, walnut, oak, poplar, and basswood. Of fruit trees, the apple, pear, and cherry grow in perfection. The wild grape, plum, and gooseberry are indigenous.
The state, agriculturally considered, is in the foremost rank. For the cultivation of the cereals it is unsurpassed. Potatoes grow in great perfection, and the soil and climate are also favorable for flax, tobacco, and the castor-oil plant. In Crawford co., in the western part of the state, some experiments have been made in tea-culture, and 700 lbs. to the acre have been produced. In 1870 the state contained 0,396,467 acres of improved land, 2,524,796 of woodland, and 3,620,533 of other unimproved land. The number of farms was 116,292, of which 34,041 contained from 20 to 50 acres; 41,372 from 50 to 100; 30,142 from 100 to 500; 321 from 500 to 1000; and 38 over 1000. The cash value of these farms was $392,662,441; of farming machinery and implements, $20,509,582; wages paid during the year,- $9,377,878; estimated value of all farm productions, $114,386.441; value of orchard products, $1,075,169; of garden products, $244,963; of forest products, $1,200,468; of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $25,781,223; of live-stock, $82,987,133; of home manufactures, $521,404. The number of horses was 433,642; of mules and asses, 25,485; of .milch cows, 369,800; of other cattle, 614,366; of sheep, 855,493; of swine, 1,353,908. The number of live-stock assessed for valuation in 1878 was: cattle, 1,530;056; horses, 672,808; mules, 42,566; sheep, 301,743; swine, 2,324,116. The amount of agricultural productions in 1870 was: wheat, 29,435,692 bush. • corn.
21,005.142; rye; 505,807; oats, 21,005,142; barley, .1,960,779; buckwheat, 109,432; peas and beans, 42,313; potatoes. 591,462; sweet potatoes, 34,292; clover seed, 2,475; grass seed, 53,432; flax seed, 88,621; hay, 1,777,389 tons; tobacco, 71,792 lbs.; wool, 2,957, 043; butter, 27,512,179; cheese, 1,087,741: maple sugar, 146,490; hops, 171,113; flax, 695,518; honey, 853,213; wine, 37,518 gallons; sorghum molasses, 1,218,635. In 1872 the improved lands had increased to 9,987,788 acres. The production of wheat in that year was 32,437,835 bush.; of corn, 141,744,522; of oats, 22,113,013; of barley, 5,770,169; of wool, 2,348,884 lbs.
The statistics of manufactures in 1870 presented these figures: Number of establish ments, 6,566; capital invested, $22,420,183• wages paid, $6,893,292; persons employed, 25,032, of whom 23.395 were males above 16, and 951 females above 15 years of age; value of products, $46,534,322. The principal industries were: agricultural imple ments, blacksmithing, boots and shoes, carpentering and building, carriages and wag ons, fiouriug mills, furniture, malt liquors, lumber, pork packing, saddlery and harness, and woolen goods.
The state, while it has no direct foreign commerce, has sit extensive trade with Atlantic ports and with the interior. There are three United States ports of delivery— Burlington, Dubuque, and Keokuk. The tonnage in 1870 was 5,489, mostly at Dubuque, where there is some ship-building. In 1873 there were in the state 75 national banks, with a capital of $6,017,000, and a circulation amounting to $5,674,385. The number of savings banks in 1877 was 20, with assets amounting to $3.301,209; liabilities, includ ing capital stock, $3.104,614; undivided profits, 096,594. There were at the same Limo 31 banks of issue and deposit organized under state law, with assets amounting to $3,190.063.
Railways.—Iowa is in the direct line of trans-continental commerce. Five great railways traverse the state from e, to w. and connect directly or indirectly with the Union Pacific railroad. These are, beginning from the s., the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy, entering the state e. at Burlington and w. at Council Bluffs; the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific, entering e. at Davenport and w, at Council Bluffs; the Chicago and North-western, entering e. at Clinton and w. at Council Bluffs; the Illinois Central, entering e. at Dubuque and w. at Sioux City; and the Milwaukee and St. Paul, entering e. at McGregor and w. at Council Bluffs. Besides these e. and w. roads, other lines of roads, together with the ramifying branches of those already named, fcrm a system of connections southward and south-easterly towards the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and St. Louis. These arc: the Chicago, Clinton, and Dubuque, and the Dubuque and Minnesota, on the w. bank of the Mississippi from Clinton on the s. to the n.,rthern boundary of the state; the Davenport and St. Paul, the Burlington and Minnecs,ta, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Minnesota, the Central of Iowa, the Keokuk and Des Moines, and Des Moines and Fort Dodge, the Sioux City and St. Paul, and the Sioux City and Pembina. From the older of these roads there are many branches, so that there are few farming districts in the state more than 20 m. from a railway. In its early settlement the territory relied largely on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, which bound it e. and w., as outlets for its products. Now its network of railways convey most of its surplus eastward and distribute merchandise from older states almost at the producers' doors. The new territories and mining regions westward also consume a part of its surplus. The value of railroad property in the state in 1879 was $22,540,004, miles of track, 3,922; capital stock, $90,612,451; aggregate debt of all the roads, $70,243,705; earnings for the year ending June 30, 1879—passengers, mail, and express, $5,335,177; freight, etc., $16,005,534—total, $21,340,700; expenses, $12,904,420; net earnings, $8,436,288. The aggregate amount of taxes paid by the roads in 1878-79 was $584,169. There are in the state over 1200 m. of steel rail. The miles of track of some of the principal roads in the state are as follows: Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific, 310; Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Miuuesota, 248; Burlington, and Missouri River, 202; Central of Iowa, 189; Chicago and North-western, 272; Des Moines Valley, 249; Illinois Central, 403. All railroad property is taxable at the same rates and in the same manner as that of individuals, and the state exercises a thorough superviAon over the roads to prevent unjust discriminations in rates of fare and freight. The government canal, constructed around the Des Moines rapids at Keokuk, was opened in 1877. It is 7f in. long and 300 ft. wide, and has three locks, each 350 ft. long. It cost not far from $4,400,000.