The manufacture of textile fabric.s had its beginnings in a small woolen factory in Hart ford in 1788, and a small cotton mill in Vernon in 1804, but the growth of this industry to its present proportions did not begin in any marked degree till after the enactment of the Joint Stock Act, in 1837, allowing small sums to be capitalized and small proprietors to join their forces in manufacturing. This act, form ing a long step in the.evolution of the modern trust, since it was copied by nearly every State in the Union, and by Great Britain, thus changing the business of the world, was the work of a Connecticut man, Theodore Hins dale.
M.any cotton mills are on the. Shetauket, Yantic and Quinnebaug rivers. The Ponemah Company, at Taftville, has a mill, which, when it was built, was the largest cotton mill in the world. The Willimantic Linen Company is one of the greatest thread producers• in New England. More than seven-tenths of the cot ton spindles of the State are operated at Nor wich, Thompson, Plainfield, Killingly and Willimantic. The woolen . mills are more widely distributed throughout the State, at Vernon, Stafford, Broad Brook, New Britain, Nonvich and elsewhere. Among the textile manufactures that of silk is important, having had its small beginnings so early as 1732 and now placing the State third in the Union in that industry. In 1914 the silk products were valued at $30,592,000. The works of the Cheney Brothers, at South Manchester, estab lished in 1838, are among the largest in the country.
The manufacture of textiles, including silk, wool, worsted, cotton, felt, hosiery and knit goods, forms one of the leading manufacturing industries of the State. Recently manufactures gave employment to 226,264 wage-earners, re ceiving wages amounting to $126,210,000, with capital invested amounting to $620,194,000, and manufactured products valued at $545,240,000. Waterbury is prominent in making brass; Meri den in silver and plated ware; New Britain (which has the largest proportion of wage earners, 34.2 per cent, and the greatest number of nationalities represented in its population) in hardware, cutlery and knit goods; New Haven and Bridgeport in firearms, corsets and rubber goods; Hartford in hardware and fire arms. The variety of manufactured articles is noticeable, from blotting-paper to aircraft. Connecticut was the leading State in the value of firearms and munitions manufactured in 1910, two-fifths of the total for the United States having been reported; and that amount has been vastly increased since 1914 by the output of Winchester's, Marlin's and Maxim's in New Haven, of the Union Metallic Company and American-British Company in Bridge port, of Colt's in Hartford, besides other firms in Meriden, Norwich and elsewhere The prodigious activity of these establishments has added many thousands to the population of those cities. Connecticut ranks first in brass and bronze products, in clocks and watches, corsets and plated ware, producing two-thirds of the total amount of the last in the United States; is second in cutlery and rubber boots and shoes, the Candee Rubber Company in New Haven turning out 25,000 pairs of rubber shoes every day. The automobile and aircraft manufactures show great increase since 1900.
Agriculture.— Although the history of agri culture in Connecticut presents a contrast to that of manufacturing by showing a decline in proportion to the population, agriculture is still second in importance among industries. It
must be remembered that the little common wealth is the smallest but two of the States and Territories. Its area may be rather indefinitely divided into the central lowland, the coast, the eastern and western uplands. Of these, the central lowland, lying in the valley of the Con necticut River, is from Middletown to the northern boundary best adapted to cultivation; and here it was that, after spying out the land, the first colonists, whote sole industry was agriculture settled.
From Middletown to the coast, the river leaves the lowland and ctits a narrow valley through the eastern upland. The portion of the central lowland between Middletown and New Haven is less fertile. The eastern upland varies in fertility, but contains some rich farm ing land. It has also the advantage of a lower average elevation than the western upland, where the only mountains of the State are found. One of these, Bear Mountain, reaches an elevation of 2,000 feet or more.
Hay and fodder rank first in value, as crops; tobacco, second; market gardening, poultry raising and dairy farms stand high as profitable employments. The large proportion of con sumers, and, especially, the facility of market ing, generally, without middlemen, and often without even railroading, cause the profit from crops to be larger in Connecticut than in States more strictly agricultural. The whole output can be sold easily within the limits of the State; and the cities of New York and Boston offer good markets. Connecticut brings in $198.34 per acre for small fruits, more than any State except Florida; her apples bring in a return in bushels per tree surpassed by New York and Colorado only, and in value, by Massachusetts, New York, Colorado and Art zona only; and she raises more corn per acre than any other State, with an average yield annually of 53.2 and 48.5 bushels per acre. An acre of vegetables in Connecticut -brings more money than in any other State except Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Peach raising is important, with large crops and cor responding profits. Wallingford and Glaston bury leading the State in that industry. The cultivation of tobacco began in the Connecticut Valley, near Hartford, as early as 1680. Im proved methods of curing the harvested plant have added much to its value in late years, the tobacco being of the best quality for wrapperS. Three types are raised, the Havana seed-leaf, principally on the west bank of the Connecticut River, the broad leaf, on the east side, and the shade grown, mostly on the west side, the last having steadily increased in acreage, the ad vantage derived being still disputed. In all, 29,970,000 pounds were raised in 1915, valued at $5,095,003. Tobacco is worth more per acre as a crop than in any other State. In the other New England States, the number of dairy cattle has decreased since 1905, but Con necticut has maintained her dairy industry un impaired. The raising of cattle for food has decreased. In 1915 the average value per acre of farm land for the whole State was $33.03; in the southwestern part, it was from $75 to WO Tee acre. This average value of farm land increased 21.14 per cent between 1900 and 1910, or over one and three-fourths times as much as during the preceding half century. From 1912 to 1915, there was a gain in valtte per acre of farm land of $7 for improved and $5 for unimproved.