The surface of the state is mostly uneven, and in some places rough and mountain ous. Two separate mnges of the Green mountains, the Taghkanic and the Hoosic, enter the western part of the state from the n., and, with their outlying hills, present some of the most picttuesque scenery to be found in New England. The Taghkanic is the _highest and most westerly of these ranges, its principal elevations being Saddle moun tain, or Greylock, 3,505 ft., and Mt. Everett, 2,624ft. in height. The Hoosic range, in its highest part, does not rise above 1600 feet. Near the western bank of Connecticut river are several isolated peaks, Mt. Tom and Sugarloaf being the most prominent, while on the eastern side of the river, near South Hadley, stands Mt. Holyoke, in solitary beauty, .commanding an extensive and lovely prospect. Another isolated recuntam :s the Wachusett, in Princeton, near the center of the state, which has an elevation of 2,018 feet. That portion of the Connecticut valley vvhich lies within the boundaries of the state is remarkable for beauty of scenery and fertility of soil. The eastern portion of the state is less broken; some of it, including cape Cod, is level and sandy. The Connecti ,cut river runs through the state from n. to s. for more than 50 miles. About one-third of the state lies westward of this river. The Housatonic, still further w., rises in the Green mountains on the n. border, and flows s. through Connecticut to Long Island sound. The Hoosic, one of the tributaries of the Hudson, rises in the n.w. corner of the state, but soon passes beyond its limits. The principal western tributaries of the Connecticut are the Westfield and Deerfield rivers, which are of considerable size; while the tributaries of the same streams from the e. are Miller's and Chicopee rivers. The Merrimac, which rises in New Hampshire, flows 35 m. to its mouth through the u.e. corner of the state, receiving on the way the Nashua and Concord rivers, and furnishing Immense water-power for the great manufacturing towns, Lowell, Lawrence, Haver hill, etc. The rivers at the e. portion of the state are the Charles, on whose hanks are _.Newton, Cambridge, and other large towns, and at whose mouth lies the city of Boston; the Blackstone, with almost unlimited water-power, and whose charming valley is lined with a cordon of manufacturing villages; and the Taunton, with its numerous branches. 'There are in the state many lakes and ponds, some of which are of unrivaled beauty. anit none of them large enough to be useful for navigation. The coast is indented with -numerous bays, large and small, and dotted with islands, some of which are of consid .erable size. The principal bays or sounds are Buzzard's, with many inlets and harbors, 1Tineyard, Edgartown, Nantucket, Cape Cod, Wellfieet, Duxbury, Massachusetts, Lynn, INahant, Marblehead, Salem, Beverly, Gloucester, and Annisquam. The harbor of New _Bedford, on Buzzard's bay, is, next to that of Boston, the best in the state. The prin •cipal islands are Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and the Elizabeth group of 16 off cape Cod.
The minerals of the state have not thus far been a source of much profit. In Bristol and Plymouth counties are deposits of anthracite, but of a very poor quality. In some places in the Connecticut valley are veins of lead, copper, and zinc, but not in quanti ties to justify working. Beds of iron ore in the Housatonic valley have been worked for many years, and the disintegrated quartz beds yield glass-sand of the finest quality. In 1874 deposits of silver, lead, and gold were discovered in Essex county, near New buryport, the working of which has not thus far proved profitable. In some portions of the Connecticut valley are found extensive fossil footprints of birds and other animals, -some of which must have been of p;igantic size. The valleys of the principal streams :ire productive, but the other portions of the state can be made so only by enrichment.
Wild animala have been nearly exterminated. Bears, wolves, panthers, wildeatr., - Ind deer, formerly plentiful, are now almost never seen. Squirrels, rabbits, and game -birds are nurnerous. Owls, hawks, gulls, wild-ducks, and'a great variety of song-birds are common, Reptiles exist in considerable variety, but few of them are venomous.
The edible fish on the coast are abundant, embracing cod, halibut, mackerel, haddock, bass, and many other species.
The climate on the coast is variable, with prevailing e. winds, especially in the spring and early summer. In the interior it is more equable, and in the mountainous regions the winters are very cold. The mean annual temperature is about 48°.
Of the whole area of the state less than one-half is improved. In 1870 the number of farms WAS 26,500, embracing 1.736,221 acres of improved laud, 706,714 acres of wood land, and 287,348 acres of -otlierland nnbnproved. The casli value of larms was $116, 432,784; of farming implements and matfunery, $5,000,879; wages paid during the year, 45,821,032; total estimated value of all farm products, $32,192,378; of orchard products, 4939,854; of produce of market-gardens, $1,980,321; of forest products, $1,616,818; of lilme manufactures, $79,378; of animals; slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $4,324,638; of all live stock on farms, $17,049,228. The chief productions were: Wheat, 34,648 bush., about oue-half of which was spring and the other half winter; rye, 239,227 bush. ; corn, 1,397,807 bush.; oats, 797,1364 bush.; barley, 133,071 bush.; buckwheat, 58,049 bush.; peas and beans, 24,690 bush. • potatoes, 3,026,363 bush.; hay, 597,455 tons; tobacco, 7,312,885 lbs.; wool, 306,6'59 l'bs.; buttter, 6,559,161 lbs. ; cheese, 2,245,873 lbs.; hops, 69,910 lbs.; maple sugar, 399,800 lbs.; honey, 25,299 lbs, ; milk sold, 15,284,057 gallons. Horses on farms, 41,039; horses not on farms, 45,227; milch cows, 114,'771; working oxen, 24,430; other cattle on farms, 78,851; neat cattle not on farms, 52,263; sheep, 78,560; swine, 49,178.
In proportion to the population the mechanical industries of Massachusetts exceed ,those of any other state. The latest statistics now accessible (Jan., 1881) are those of the state census of 1875. Whole number of manufacturing establishments, 10,915; total value of buildings, $80,997,503; value of average stock on hand, $89,061,506; value of machinery, $73,434,914; total capital invested, $267,074,802; number of persons ,oecupled in manufacturing and mechanical employments, 316,459, of whom 233,252, were males and 83,207 were females. Of the males, 228,469, and of the females, 77, 238, were above 15 years of age. The average yearly 'an-es of both sexes and all ages was $475.76. Total arnount of wages for the year, $126,711,583. The leading industries of the state, aside from agriculture and commerce, with the amount of their products respectively, as reported by the census of 1870, were as follows: Agricultural imple ments, $1,033,590; bleaching and dyeing, $22,230,429; boots and shoes, $88,399,583; car pentering and building, $12,429,739; clothing, $21,724,020; cotton goods, $56,257,580; cotton thread, twine, aud yarn, $3,009,543; cutlery, *6,215,325; drugs and chemicals, $1,617,904 ; fisheries (exclusive of whale), $1,800,399; flouring and grist-mill products, $9, 720,374; furniture, $11,369,148; glass, including cut and window, $2,552,000; hardware, $2,515,429; bats and caps, $3,4113,191; hosiery, $3,213,481; india rubber and elastic goods, $3,183,218; iron, forged and rolled, $6,699,907; iron nails and spikes, $5,986,144; wrought iron pipe, $1,407,000; iron castings, including stoves and hollow ware, $7,046,702; tanned leather, $9,984,497; leather curried, $19,211,330; morocco, tanned and curried, $3,158,020; lumber, planed and sawed, $6,651,670; machinery of all kinds, $16,426,742; marble and stone work, $2,178,450; molasses and sugar refined, $7,1365,485; musical instnnnents, $3,906,179; oil (fish and linseed), $3,381,786; paper of all kinds, $12,687,481; printing cotton and woolen goods, $17,325,150; printing and publishing -of all kinds, $8,390,976; ship-building and repairing, $2,070,201; shovels and spades, *1,820,526; stone, $1,294,148; straw goods, $4,869,514; tin, copper, and iron ware, -$2,785,674; upholsteu, $2,424,457; watches, $1,281,160; wire, $2,854,672; woolen goods, $39,489,242; worsted goods, $8,280,541; mining and quarrying, $1,493,522; fish .eries, $6,215,325.