GLOLOGY AND .Thxy.n.xt.ociv. The entire State falls within the All•ntie )11,tal region, and is therefore underlain by strata of recent geolog teal age I Nlap: special \lap). Cretneetats strata appear in the northern part of New Castle l'outi ty. while southward Tertiary and Post-Tertiary Reds predominate. Clays suitable for the manu facture of brie]: and terra-cotta, and kaolin, are found in the vicinity of \l'ilmington. .1 small area of granite occurs near this city. from v. hien building-stone and road-material are quarried, and stone feldspar has been extracted. Chiss. sand, marls. and hog-iron ore are known to form extensi‘e deposits. The output of granite in 1900 was valued at :-..-:60s.028.
.\totttcuL'roitt:. .\grietilture iv the leading in dustry, farms constituting 85 per cent. the total land surface. The figures in this collnee tioll have not changed materially in three de cades, The fact that the soil is best in the north ern part; the State is reflected in the values If 'Mill. average per acre in the northern section, i.410 in the middle, and $/2 in the southern. During the last half-century there has been a continuous and marked increase in the number of farms. and a corresponding de. crease in the average size. Ill 1s50 the average farm was of I5s; acres; in Ilnal, III) acres. Twenty•seven per cent. of the farms in 1900 were Iwtween 311 and 75 in extent, while :30 per cant Were between WO and 175 acres. Compared with other States, a large per cent. of the farms are rented. and the per scut. has increased front 42 in Iss0 to 511 in Dant. Share-renting is the prevailing method.
In no State have fertilizers become so generally used, the average amount per farm being three times that for the North .1tlatitie States. There has been a marked increase dur ing the decade in the two principal crops—corn and Wheat. The increased interest in the latter is most remarkable it) view of the opposite tendency in most Eastern States. The wheat acretwe is several times that for all the New England States. The other cereals are relative ly unimportant. The oats ern') has deereased to one-third the acreage of 1-0.0• hay ranks
third in acreage. Orchard and small fruits have long constituted Otte of the main sources of in. come. In late years, lmwever, the greater num ber of pcach-trees—w 'licit greatly excelled all other trees in number and imptolance—have been destroyed or injured by frosts, and in creased attention has been turned to market. and farm gardening. tomatoes being the leading crop, to which alone nearly 16,0011 aeres were devoted in I Sf19. The proximity of the large coast cities, particularly Philadelphia. is greatly in favor of garden farming. Stoek-raising is of secondary importance, Dud has been about stationary for a 11111oher of years. The 19m) census returns -.Lo• :32,n00 dairy cows. 21.W0 Other cattle. 46.700 and .2.n.7110 horses.
The manufacturing industry employs over 22.000 people. and rivals agrieni titre in The location faVorable, ill:I-Mitch as the coal :11111 iron of the neighbor• in 'States can hr put down at ‘Vilmingtou as cheaply as at Phibolelphin: while the position on the alTorils 1111 1141Vatlta2e ill shipping and in ship building. The falls near the mouth of the litar.lvxvilie have been, from an early (I:11e• extensively utilized for manufacturing purposes, The manufaeture of iron and steel produets leads in importance. This industry includes steel and rolling mills, ear-shops, foundry and machine shops, and ship-building yards—in all 53 estab lishments, aggregating a capital of 815,000,000, or 30 per cent. of the total for the State. The leather industry ranks next, and is the most prosperous of any of the manufacturing enter prises. The 20 establishments have trebled their capital and have almost doubled their product during the last decade. The increased produc tion of fruits and vegetables has resulted in a corresponding increase in the canning industry, the number of establishments having increased from 28 to 51 during the decade. Prosperity has not been shared, however, by the textile in dustries, the establishments having decreased from 10 to 5. There has been some decline also in the manufacture of carriages and wagons.