MINERAL RESOURCES AND MINING. Massachu setts has been for ninny years the largest pro ducer of granite in the United States. In 1901 the output was valued at $2,610,255, which was about half a million more than the average for a number of years and over 14 per cent. of the total granite production of the country. Limestone is quarried. must of the product being burned into lime; the value of the output in 1901, $244,039, WAS also a decided increase over preceding years. Some marbles are found in the metamorphosed Paleozoic strata, and small hut increasing quan tities are quarried. The dikes and sills of trap found in the Conneetient Valley are the very finest road metal, and are used as suet' in consid erable quantities. The sandstones are almost wholly the brown-stones of Triassic age in the Connecticut Valley beds. The value of the pro duction decreased' continuously from $649.000 in 1890 to about one-fifth that amount in 1899, hut the two following years showed a revival of the industry. Glacial clays are widely distributed. Fire _clays are found in the coal measures, rich clay beds in the Cretaceous, and later de posits on the southeastern coast or islands. The clays art largely manufactured into brick, the product in 11100 being valued at $2.150.S22. Many minerals are found in the State, sonic of which figure largely in a commercial way. Iron pyrite, used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid, is extensively produced, the output in 1599 being 175,075 long tons, which was 23 per cent. of the entire production in the country. Slate is found, and is put on the market occasionally; tripoli is produced in a small way at Framingham, anti small quantities of corundum, iron, ganese. and tin are also met with in various localities.
ilSIIERIES. The Massachusetts Bay Colony early recognized the fisheries as one of the ing industries. in fact, only to farming. Special legislation was adopted whereby they were exempted from taxation. and ship ters and fishermen from military duty. Boston began to export fish in 1633. and soon fishing villages sprang up all along the mast for the shore fisheries, and Gloucester became, as it still continues to be, the most prominent port in the world in the cod and mackerel fisheries oil Nen'. foundland and Labrador. Whales were first caught off Nantucket in 1690. and New Bedford became famous in the whale fisheries, its whal ing vessels frequenting the remotest seas. This industry, however, has been declining steadily for several years. The United States Fish Com mission has extensive hatcheries. laboratory, and school at Woode Hole, and the State has hatch eries at Wilkinsonville and Winchester. In the items of investment and value of products the fishing industry of Massachusetts exceeds that of all the other Atlantic coast States. It has over two-thirds of the investment in, more than half of the quantity of, and nearly half of the value of the products of the coast fisheries of New Eng land. The products of the fisheries are derived ehielly from the numerous fishing banks extending along the coast from Nantucket Shoals, Mass., to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Only about 20 per that taken by boats and small vessels in the shore secured from Massachusetts waters. There were 6962 men engaged in 1898 in vessel fishing, 3365 in the in-shore or boat fisheries, and 4032 shore men. This is a less number of men than are ployed in the fisheries of Maine. or in one or two of the Middle Atlantic coast States. The capital in 1898 was estimated at the same as for 1889. The value of the product for the same year was $4,463,000. a decrease of over a million since 1589. This was due to the fall in price, as the amount of the catch increased during the same period.
AGRIN't.TURE. Only a small per cent. of the population of llas«aehuRells is engaged in culture, and but 61.2 per cent. of the land area is included in farms. During the last half of the nineteenth century the total acreage of farms diminished 6.2 per cent. For the same period 1he
improved acreage decreased 39.1 per cent.. and in 1900 only 41.1 per cent. of the farm land was improved. The average size of farms has creased from 103 acres in 1870 to 83.1 acres in 1900. There is an unusually small number of rented farms. constituting less than one-tenth of the total number. A considerable portion of the State is not well adapted to agricultural pur suits. The most extensive arable districts are in the central and northeastern parts of the State. The value of farm property and products, how ever. has greatly increased. This is the result of a very deeided change in the nature of the industry. Under the competition brought about by the development of the more fertile lands of the West and the increase of transportation cilities, the raising of cereals has been rendered unprofitable. At the same time the growth of a large city population has created a market for fruits and garden and dairy products. The pro duction of these has therefore largely taken the place of the crops formerly raised. From 1880 to 1900 the area devoted to cereals diminished from 104,631 to 53.385 acres. Of the latter area 39.131 acres were in corn. The western counties are best suited to cereals, and the decrease has been least in this section. The acreage devoted to hay and forage in 1900 was 610,023. and this crop contributed 39.1 per cent. of the total value of all crops for that year. There were 27.521 acres devoted to the cultivation of Irish potatoes, and a slightly greater amount to miscellaneous vegetables. the two together, including onions, contributing nearly 24 per cent, of the total value of all crops. A much less acreage (S346) was devoted to small fruits. hut the greater per acre value of the product ($175) gives them an im portant position among the crops of the State. Cranberries are the most important of the small fruits, the marshy lands of Barnstable and outh cooties being well adapted to the produc tion of this fruit. Of the orchard fruits the apple is the most important, the apple trees in 1900 numbering 1.852.046. or 78.2 per cent. of all fruit trees. From the earliest colonial days. tobacco has been raised in the valley of the Connecticut River. From 1890 to 1900 the acreage of this crop almost doubled, being 3827 in the latter year. But few States equal Massaelmsetts in the importance of its floricultural interests. In 1900 there were 734 establishments, the products amounting to $1.639,760. The following census figures show in acres the relative importance of the leading crops: also has suffered (rain the effects of Western competition. There was a loss in the number of sheep during the last half of the nineteenth century. However. the development of intensive farming has necessitated an increase in the number of horses. and the growth of the dairy industry has naturally resulted in a gain in the number of dairy cows. Nearly .10 per cent. of all farms derive their principal Meanie from the dairy. In 1900 the total value of the dairy products was $12,885.744, of which amount 89 per cent, was realized from sales. The pro duction of milk increased 27.9 per cent. during the )890-/900. and the sales of this product in the latter year amounted to 89.711, 380. In the same year the products of the poultry Ministry anumnted to $3.979,022.
The following census figures show the relative importanee of the leading varieties of farm stock: FouEsrs. According to the State census the forest area iu 1805 was 1,460.994 acres, which acreage, though somewhat greater than that in 1885, was estimated at a lower value, indica tive of a depreciating grade of timber. Prac tically all the primeval growth of commercial value has been removed. Forest fires are still frequent. Returns from 59 cities and towns in P300 showed that there had been 229 fires, ex tending over 51,808 acres of forest area.