The total amount of marble, granite and slate sold is large and increasing. It is diffi ou cult to get exact fi res, but probably the sales are not less than ,500,000 for marble, $3,500, 000 for granite, $ ,000,000 for slate.
Fauna and Flora.— Most of the larger mammals, as elk, moose, beaver, panther, have long been extinct in Vermont, though formerly common, but the deer, mink, otter, fisher, racoon, black bear are still found more or less commonly, while the weasel, skunk, woodchuck, porcupine, squirrels, etc., are common in many parts of the State. Among birds, eagles (golden and white-beaded), owls, hawks and many ducks, waders and the common song-birds of New England are seen. In Lake Champlain and some of the smaller lalces many species of fish are taken and the supply is maintained by fre quent stocking by the game and fish commis sion. There are stringent game laws protect ing mammals, birds and fish. A not inconsid erable quantity of fish is shipped from Lalce Champlain to the large cities. These are mainly sturgeon, pike and pickerel.
The flora of Vermont is of great interest and beauty as it includes many species rarely found elsewhere, especially in the mountain lo calities. Nearly 1,700 botanical families and over 2,000 specie.s are growing wild in the State. The families most numerously represented are the ranunculus, saxifrage, rose, composite, heath, lily, grass, sedge, orchid and fem. Forests once covered a large part of the State, but ex cept on the mountains they have largely dis appeared. Originally the white pine on the lower land and spruce on the upper were the predominant species but there are now more hardwood trees where the second growth has sprung up. At present the forests outside of the higher slopes are mainly composed of 11 species of oak, 8 of birch, 22 of willow, be sides maple, beech, poplar, walnut, elm and others. The American elm grows to perfection in the river valleys and often in suc.h localities is a most attractive feature of the landscape. At least 125 species of trees and shrubs grow native in the State. The flora of the Champlain Valley presents a number of western species not seen elsewhere in New England and the floras of the region of Willoughby Lake and Mount Mansfield have long been well-lcnown to botan ists.
Soil and Agriculture.—Although so irreg ular and often mountainous over much of its surface, Vermont possesses considerable fertile land and many excellent farms and very valuable products are obtained by argricultural operations. As in most regions in which the
soil is the resultt directly or indirectlyt of glacial work there is great variety, often within small areas. Sand, clay, gravel, loam may all be found in the same not large field, but this is not always true. In some parts of the State there are wide stretches of heavy clay soil, elsewhere lighter and even sandy soil prevails, elsewhere loam. Large crops are raised on many of the farms, though there is, of course, in so mountainous a country, much barren or at least unproductive land. According to the latest figure, 1819, there are in the State 32,600 farms which range in size from 50 acres to over 1,000. Although there are more than 100 farms of over 1,000 acres, by far the larger number are small, the average size for the entire State being about 142 acres. The table below shows the main crops raised on the Vermont farms in normal years.
In 1918 the hay crop amounted to 1,291,000 tons; in 1918 the yield of oats was 4,223,000 bushels; corn 1,710,000 bushels; wheat 396, 000 bushels, and barley 496,000 bushels. The potato crop in the same year was 1,743.50 bushels; the tobacco crop, ; 165,000 pounds. Apples, maple sugar and maple syrup a-re also of importance.
The average crop per acre is much greater in Vermont than the average for the whole United States, notwithstanding the rocicy nature of many farms.
The above figures should be greatly in creased to be accurate in war times, for not only are many more acres of all crops planted, but the market value is much greater than be fore. The latest estimates available, however, are those given.
Formerly Vermont was noted for its Morgan horses and fine grades of sheep, but of late both of these have declined to small numbers, though there are still some fine sheep raised and exported and also some horse& An effort to revive the production of Morgan horses has been made and bids fair to be suc cessful. Many fine cattle are also raised and sold, especially Holsteins. The value of live stock was in 1917 as follows: Horses, $8,591, 000; cattle, $11,&28,892; sheep, $539,000; swine, $974,779. Other animals, 064,327. The total value of all agricultural products in 1917 was $38,943,301. The value of all farm property in 1910 was estimated at $145,399,728.