MAINE, the most eastern of the five .New England states in America, extends from lat. 42° 57' to 47° 32' n., and from long. 66° 52' to 71° 6' w., being 303 m. from n. to s., and 212, from e. to w., with an area of 85,000 sq.m., or 22,400,000 acres. Maine is bounded n. by Quebec, e. by New Brunswick, s. by the Atlantic ocean, and w. by New Hampshire and Canada. It lias, on the s., a coast-line of 278 m. in a line, but so indented with bays as to make 2,486 miles. The largest of these bays are the Penobscot, :Machias, Saco, Passamaquoddy, etc. Into these empty the rivers Penobscot Kennebec, Saco, Srldroscoggin, etc. Numerous islands stud the coast: the largest, Mount Desert, remarkable for its scenery, contains 60,000 acres. In the northern portions of the state are numerous lakes; the largest, Moosehead, being 35 m. long, and the source of The Kennebec river. The country is hilly, with a range of mountains stretching n.e. from. the White mountains of New Hampshire; Mount Katandin, near tbe center of the state, is 5,383 ft. On the coast are fine rrranite quarries; interior, metamorphic rocks and minerals, limestone and argillaceous 3lates. The climate ranges from 20° or 30'
below to 100° above zero. The forests are rich in pine, spruce, hemlock, maple, etc.; and the chief agricultural products are potatoes, maize, oats, hay, barley, and apples. The rivers and coast abound in fish. One of the chief exports is lumber, and one-third of all the ships of America are built on the rivers and harbors of this state. The falls of the rivers furnish immense water-power for saw-mills and factories. Maine has over 1000 m. of railway, 64, banks, 4,565 public schools, 5 colleges, a theolocrical hall, and 2 medical schools. The government consists of a governor, senate, anehouse of repre sentatives, elected by universal suffrage. Maine was settled in 1621, and was a part of 3Iassachusetts until 1820. In its early history it is said that. every 20th settler was killed by the Indians. A controversy respecting the north-eastern boundary of Maine, which threatened to produce war with England, was settled by a compromise of claims in 1842. The chief towns are Portland, Augusta (the capital), Bangor, Bath, Hallowell, etc. Pop. in '60, 628,276; in '70, 626,915.