MASSACHUSETTS, a State in the North Atlantic Division of the North American Union; bounded by Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and the Atlantic Ocean; one of the original 13 States; number of counties, 14; area, 8,040 square miles; pop. (1890) 2,238,943; (1900) 2,805,346; (1910) 3,366,416; (1920) 3,852,356; capital, Boston.
Topography.—The surface of the State is mostly rough and rugged, with irregu lar mountain systems. The coast counties are, however, mostly level, with low, rounded hills, and rocky eminences on the coast. Cape Cod is a low, sandy arm of land extending in a semicircle around Cape Cod Bay. There are numerous salt marshes in the E. part of the State. The W. part of Massachusetts is traversed by two mountain chains, the Taconic and the Hoosac, the latter a continuation of the Green Mountains of Vermont. Between these ranges is the Hoosac valley, which at its N. end is 1,100 feet above the sea. Mount Greylock and Mount Washington are the highest points of the State; the former has an altitude of 3,505 feet and the latter 2,624 feet. A rugged tableland 1,000 feet high extends E. from the Hoo sac range to the Connecticut river valley, with a series of trap ridges reaching their highest elevations in Mount Tom (1,200 feet) and Mount Holyoke (1,120 feet). The valleys of the Connecticut and Housatonic are noted for their beautiful scenery. The coast line is very irregular, being indented by numerous bays, the largest of these being Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and Buzzards, all of these af fording excellent harbors. The Connecti tut, with its tributaries, the Westfield, Deerfield, Millers, and Chicopee rivers, forms the principal river system of the State. The Blackstone, Hoosac, Housa tonic, Charles, Nashua, Taunton, and the Merrimac are large and navigable streams.
Geology.—The rocks of Massachusetts are largely of metamorphic nature. The sands of the E. portion and Cape Cod are of glacial deposit. The rocks in the E. are of the Laurentian, Cambrian, and Carboniferous periods, and the Connecti cut valley is largely Triassic. The moun tains in the W. are chiefly of Silurian origin. The sandstones of the Connecti cut valley are rich in fossil footprints.
Mineral Production.—The most impor tant mineral product is stone, especially granite. The value of the stone produc tion is about $4,000,000 annually. Clay
products are valued at about $2,000,000. The total value of mineral products is about $7,000,000 per year. The State ranks first in the production of granite.
Soil.—Most of the soil is too rocky for cultivation and is suited only for pastur age. In the central counties and in the river valleys the soil is more fertile, and agriculture is carried on to a small ex tent, the principal crops being garden vegetables, dairy products, hay, maple sugar, and cranberries. Of the latter, the sandy coast plains produce over 300, 000 bushels annually.
Agriculture.—The State is not an im portant producer of agricultural prod ucts, as its chief importance is industry. The production and value of the princi pal crops in 1919 was as follows: corn, 2,640,000 bushels, valued at $4,541,000; tobacco, 15,400,000 pounds, valued at $7, 130,000; hay, 656,000 tons, valued at $17,712,000; potatoes, 2,970,000 bushels, valued at $5,643,000. The statistics of live stock are as follows: horses, about 65,000, valued at about $10,000,000; milch cows, about 160,000, valued at $10,500,000; cattle, about 85,000, valued at about $2,200,000; sheep, about 30,000, valued at about $175,000; swine, about 110,000, valued at about $1,700,000. The production of wool is about 130,000 pounds yearly.
Manufactures.—Massachusetts is pre eminently a manufacturing State. The abundant water supply and transporta tion facilities give the State opportuni ties for the most varied manufactures. Lowell is noted as the largest carpet mill ing city in the United States. Worcester has the largest steel wire works in the world, and Holyoke ranks first in paper manufacturing, North Easton in shovels, and Lynn in electrical instruments. Law rence is noted for its cotton and woolen mills; Haverhill, for shoe factories; Dal ton, for note paper; Taunton, for cotton and silverware; Chicopee, for bronzes, automobiles and cotton; Roxbury, for rubber goods; Wakefield, for rattan; and many other cities and towns have indi vidual industries. In 1914 there were in the State 12,013 manufacturing estab lishments. The wage earners numbered 606,698. The capital invested amounted to $1,548,961,000. There were paid in wages $341,310,000, and the value of the materials used amounted to $931,384,000, and the value of the completed products amounted to $1,641,373,000.