The Bulletin 7 



the Piedmont Northern traverse Gaston County. No farm in the county 

 is more than 8 miles from a railroad. Macadam and good dirt roads 

 are distributed over the county. Electricity generated on the edge of 

 the South Carolina line is transmitted to all parts for use in running 

 cotton mills and other manufactories. 



There is a larger number of towns and cotton mills in Gaston County 

 than in any other county in North Carolina. Gastonia, the commercial 

 center and county-seat, is the largest town. Dallas, Cherryville, Kings 

 Mountain, Mount Holly, Stanley, Bessemer City, Lowell, and McAden- 

 ville are thrifty towns, while High Shoals, Hardins, Tuckaseigee, 

 Philipsburg, Mayesworth, and Spencer Mountain each have one or more 

 cotton mills. All of the towns furnish excellent markets for the pro- 

 ducts of the county at fairly good prices. 



AGRICULTUKAL STATISTICS 



The value of farm property in Gaston County at the last census period 

 was over 8,600,000. This was an increase of 165 per cent over the 

 previous census. Of the farm property values of the county, it is dis- 

 tributed as follows: 



Per Gent. 



Land 66.7 



Buildings 21.5 



Implements and machinery 2.9 



Domestic animals 90 



Eighty-four and two tenths per cent of the land area is in farms. 

 Fifty and nine tenths per cent of the farm land is improved. The aver- 

 age size of the farms of the county is 69.9 acres. The population of the 

 county in 1910 was 37,063. 



CLIMATE 



There is no. established Weather Bureau Station in Gaston County, 

 but the accompanying table, compiled from the records of the station 

 located at Charlotte, will represent fairly well the local conditions. 



This table shows a mean annual rainfall of 49 inches and a mean 

 annual temperature of 60° F., which gives a mild and equable climate 

 for this region. The average annual snowfall is slightly al)ove 7 inches. 

 The rainfall is well distributed throughout the year. During the fall 

 months the precipitation is usually slightly less, giving a favorable sea- 

 son for the ripening and opening of cotton, and also for harvesting both 

 cotton and corn. 



In such a climate considerable farm work can be carried on during 

 much of the winter. There is a comparatively long growing season be- 

 tween the last killing frost in the spring and the first in the fall. 



Occasionally the seasons are somewhat uncertain and full crops are 

 not always secured, but there is never a crop failure. 



