163 



(!>) rich I 1B80, 18*7, mat 

 1900 lu ibe V. 8. by J. B. 

 Llpplocott Company 



years; the foreign trade i> virtually that of tin- 

 C..|<.M\. Si-i- CriAN \ iKumsii). 1'uji illation (1881) 



47,17"); (i.siH) .">:<, i7<i, including many oooliw, ana 



scarcely ~>IMM) \\ Int.- 



4.'Ori;iH, Otie of tin- nm-l .nt.-i|Mi-in- of lli.' 

 -.nit IIIMII Mates ( ,f the Ameriean I'uion, is l>oundi-.l 

 on ihc Y liy tin- -latesof Ten- 

 nessee, North Carolina, an. I 

 South Carolina: K. by the Sa- 

 vannah Hiver, which separates it from South Caro- 

 lina, and by the Atlantic Ocean ; S. by the St 

 M.IIN Kiver and Florida; and \V. by the Chatta- 

 linochee Kiver and Alabama. It lies lietweeri 30 

 31' :<<' and :i.V N. hit., and in 81 86 5.T 3S" 

 W. I.IIIL:. . ai;.l han a ma \iiiniiii length and breadth 

 .ii :>-'() ami '2M miles, and an area of 59,475 sq. m. 

 a little more than the area of England and Wales. 

 I II.MI i he Atlantic Ocean it fronts for a distance 

 of 128 miles; hut the coast, low-lying and sandy, 

 is bordered with islands, between which and the 

 mainland are a number of sounds and creeks; so 

 that the total coast-line is said to be about 480 

 miles. 



The territory of Georgia presents five physical 

 divisions: (1) The Sea Islands, famous for their 

 cotton ( see COTTON ), and covered with a growth of 

 oak, palmetto, magnolia, cedar, pine, and myrtle ; 



(2) the Swamp Region, consisting of rich alluvial 

 lands and deltas, formed by the fresh-water rivers, 

 verdant with a dense and semi-tropical vegetation, 

 and admirably adapted to the production of rice ; 



(3) the Pine Barrens, with a thin soil, lying between 

 these marsh grounds and the undulating red-clay 

 lands of the interior, sheltered by vast forests of 

 pitch-pine, which are highly prized as lumber and 

 lor naval purposes, but lonely and monotonous ; 



(4) Middle Georgia, fertile, salubrious, hilly, 

 crowned with forests of oak and hickory, the 

 home of the short-staple cotton-plant, a fine fruit 

 region, and yielding Indian corn, oats, wheat, and 

 other cereals; and lastly (5) Cherokee Georgia, 

 abounding in mountains, with fertile valleys, 

 streams, and waterfalls. Cereals, grasses, and 

 cotton are profitably grown among the valleys 

 and upon the hillsides of Upper Georgia ; and 

 increasing attention is being tJestowed upon the 

 breeding of stock. In the central area of the last- 

 mentipned division occurs the watershed, giving 

 direction to the streams which flow respectively 

 into the Gulf of Mexico on the one hand, and 

 into the Atlantic Ocean on the other. The entire 

 state is well watered. Of the rivers emptying into 

 the Atlantic Ocean the most noteworthy are the 

 Savannah, navigable as far as Augusta ; the Great 

 Ogeechee ; the Altamaha, through its tributaries 

 the Oconee and the Ocmulgee navigable as high 

 as Milledgeville and Macon ; the Satilla ; and the 

 St Mary. The streams belonging to the Gulf 

 system are the upper waters of the Coosa; the 

 Chattahoochee, navigable as far as Columbus ; the 

 Flint, navigable up to Albany ; and the Alapaha. 



With the exception of the swamp-region in the 

 south and south-east of the state, the climate is 

 salubrious and agreeable. The mean temperature 

 is 78 in summer and 47 in winter; the annual 

 rainfall nearly 50 inches. In the lowlands oranges 

 and other semi-tropical fruits readily mature, 

 whilst in the uplands peaches, apples, pears, &c. 

 flourish ; and fruits and market vegetables gen- 

 erally, being earlier than in the North, are 

 exported in considerable quantities. The forests 

 contain numerous species of oak, including the 

 evergreen live-oak, which has been styled the 

 king, as the Mugnoliu ijriui(li flora has been styled 

 the queen of the southern woods. Of great value 

 is the long-leaf pine, furnishing both choice timber 

 and naval stores. The list of useful native woods 

 includes also the red, the white, and the post oak, 



the water-oak, the black walnut, the red cedar, 

 the cyiireHH, the poplar, and the locuiit. Among 

 the indigenous Mora are found valuable medicinal 

 In-ill-- and dye-plants; and the Howera often are of 

 great beauty. Game is still abundant, in Hpite of 

 the injury resulting from the failure to enact and 

 enforce stringent laws for it* preservation. Sea- 

 foul throng the coast and estuaries, alligators are 

 iiiiini-roiis in the rivers, and food- fishes, oysters. 

 clams, turtle, &c. are abundant. By reason of 

 the denudation of their banks, rendering their 

 waters turbid and causing unruly current**, the 

 fresh-water streams have suffered material diminu- 

 tion in their animal life. From them food-fishes, 

 once so abundant, have largely disappeared, and 

 the pearl -bearing unio is now seldom seen ; but the 

 Tinted States Fish Commission has l>een success- 

 Mi I in the introduction of some varieties of fishes 

 better suited to the changed condition. 



The mineral wealth of Georgia is apparent in 

 the gold-bearing strata of the Cherokee region, 

 which for the past fifty years have been success- 

 fully worked, in extensive deposits of coal, in iron, 

 copper, silver, and lead ores, in marbles of attrac- 

 tive varieties, in vast fields of granite and slate, 

 and in the presence of gypsum, limestone, syenite, 

 marl, buhrstone, soapstone, asbestos, shales, 

 tripoli, fluor-spar, kaolin, clays, porcelain, aragon- 

 ite, tourmaline, emerald, carnelian, ruby, opal, 

 chalcedony, agate, amethyst, jasper, garnets, rose- 

 quartz, beryl, and occasional diamonds. In 1837- 

 64 the United States branch mint at Dahlonega 

 coined gold bullion to the value of over eix million 

 dollars, mostly from metals extracted from the 

 auriferous rocks of the adjacent territory. To the 

 development of these mineral resources of the state 

 much attention is being paid, and with profitable 

 results. Prior to the civil war the inhabitants of 

 Georgia were almost exclusively engaged in agri- 

 culture and commerce ; but more recent industries 

 are the lumber trade, and extensive cotton, 

 woollen, and other manufactures. The most 

 important mills are at Augusta, Columbus, 

 Atlanta, Athens, and Roswell. Recent statistics 

 show that there are now within the state 54 cotton 

 and woollen mills, with 350,000 spindles and 8000 

 looms ; while the lumber, flour, grist, and pulp 

 mills, &c. are being multiplied, and the iron and 

 steel trade in the north-western part of the state 

 is overtaking the cotton manufacture in import- 

 ance. 



Although, since the civil war, the production of 

 black -seed cotton on the sea islands and along the 

 coast has materially diminished, the yield of short- 

 staple cotton has greatly increased. The average 

 crop of this variety will now approximate 1,000,000 

 bales, worth at the point or consumption or of 

 export over $40,000,000. Of the other yearly 

 agricultural products of Georgia the rice crop 

 (25,000,000 pounds), the Indian corn (25,000,000 

 bushels), wheat, oats, sweet potatoes, and tobacco 

 are important ; and there is a yearly yield of 

 600,000 gallons of syrup, 650 hogsheads of cane- 

 sugar, 5,000,000 pounds of butter, and 700,000 

 pounds of honey. From the ports of Savannah, 

 Darien, Brunswick, and St Mary shipments* of 

 lumber and naval stores are annually increasing. 

 Navigable rivers and an admiralili- system of rafl- 

 ways (over 3000 miles), besides three' short canals, 

 furnish convenient trans|>ortation from the inte- 

 rior. Notably at Savannah, coastwise and foreign 

 bound steamers and sailing-vessels convey the 

 products of the region to the desirable markets of 

 the world. 



The state Is divided into 137 counties, 11 con- 

 gressional districts. -2 districts of the I'. S. cir- 

 cuit courts, and numerous militia districts. At- 

 lanta is the capital, and Savannah the commercial 



