For a long time the dour and grist-milling industry made but little progress. About 1870 the method of reducing the grain to flour by a 1111111 ber of distinct tr•oeesses began to nplace the old method by which the flour was obtained by a single grinding, and marked a new epoch in the development the industry. The flour now produced was of the hest quality. and heavy ship 'Melds were made to home and foreign markets. The power afforded by the Falls of Saint An thony g:n•e the millers who utilized them a de cided advantage over those of other portions of tin• country and tended centralize t Ile industry at that point. 'However. from 1590 to I 900. inerease in the nimilwr of mills was greatest out side of The total increase in the value of products for that deeade was ;MA cent. The capital invested in the State mills in 1900 was II per cent, of the total for the rnitcd States. The value of the State products was 15 per cent. of tlw total for the country, and marl• IWiee great as that of Now York, the second State in rank.
The manufacturing industry has recently taken on a much broader scope than formerly, reflect ing the more diversified aspect which agriculture is now assuming in that section. The dairy in dustry—the manufacture of cheese. butter. and condensed milk has attained its present large proportions almost tvhollv since 1880. The hi crease in the value of the product from 1890 to 1900 was per cent. The slaughtering aml meat-packing industry and the manufacture of malt liquors and linseed oil :111` also of recent development. The rate of their increase is signifi cant of their future possibilities. These three in dustries are centred mainly in 'Minneapolis awl Saint Paul.
The extensive iron-mining in the north does mit benefit the State's manufacturing interests great ly, since there are no coal or limestone deposits in proximity to the one. The latter• can be ex ported more ec•ononmically than the former call be imported. The foundries and machine shops. however. are in a Ilourishing condition.
important industries are those required by the growing railroad interests of the State. the manu of hoots and shoes, and the printing and publishing of newspapers and periodicals. The table on the following page covers the eleven 1110St important industries for the decade 18!)0-1900.
1'0M:8T:4 .t\0 FintEsT PnonccTs. .11innesota is one of the richest Slates in forest resources. hav ing in 1900 a woodland area of about 52,200 square miles. stump-hands. The forest area extends well over the northern two-thirds of the State, excluding the Red River Valley. Ilard-wood forests border the prairies, while far ther north the white pine predominates, Nor way pine and spruce being also abundant.
S1 though the white pine has been heavily drawn upon, at the end of the nineteenth century it was estimated that there were over 1°_,000.000, 000 feet of this variety still standing. and the mer chantable forest pine was estimated to be greater than in any other State. The lumber industry of the State increased but slowly until 18s0. From 1S90 to 1900 the increase (see table below) in the value of the product was greater than in any other State. and it ranked third in impor tance. The unusual facilities for water transpor tation afforded by the large number of streams and lakes have been of advantage to the in dust ry. But recently railroads have been ex• tensively used for timber transportation, espe• chilly in the shipments to Nlinneapolis. where nearly half the 'wither of the State sawed, The State has displayed a greater interest in for est preservation than have other States. The three elected loan supervisors are fire wardens, and have the authority of impressing Men into service to pil' cut forest fires, The ,ysteni has worked so effectively that for a number of years the State has wholly escaped destructive tires. The State has encouraged treevaniing in the prairie region. and about tia100.000 in bounties ha: been expended for this puepose. There is a forest reserve of 200,000 acre- in Chippewa Reser vation.