DELAWARE 



1744 



DELAWARE 



Autumn is particularly pleasant, and frosts 

 seldom occur until about the middle of Octo- 

 ber, but they may occur in spring as late as 

 the end of April. The average yearly tempera- 

 ture is 55. 



There is ample rainfall to insure good crops, 

 and although occasional droughts cause dam- 



OUTLINE MAP OF DELAWARE 

 Showing boundaries, principal streams and 

 canal, chief cities and location of the greatest 

 elevation in the state. 



age, rainfall is usually quite evenly distributed 

 throughout the year. The average rainfall is 

 from forty to forty-five inches. 



Agriculture. The soils of Delaware are well 

 adapted to agriculture, and eighty-five per cent 

 of the land is under cultivation. The value 

 of Delaware crops each year is about $10,000,- 

 000. The state is well known as a market gar- 

 den and orchard, especially for the cities of 

 New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. The 

 leading crops are corn, wheat, hay and forage, 

 which are produced in the rolling country at 

 the north. Apples, potatoes, sweet potatoes 

 and yams also produce a considerable yield. 

 Over one-half the total value of crops of the 

 state is contributed by cereals, one-fifth by 



potatoes and other vegetables, and about one- 

 eighth by hay and forage. 



Although when the state of Delaware is 

 mentioned the peach crop is first in mind, 

 apples are now the most important orchard 

 fruit, and pears sometimes rank next in value. 

 After peaches, fruits of less importance are 

 grapes, cherries and quinces. Every year 

 large quantities of cantaloupes, over 350 car- 

 loads of watermelons, about 15,000,000 quarts 

 of strawberries and smaller quantities of other 

 berries reach the great markets from Central 

 and Southern Delaware. In market gardening, 

 the tomato is the principal crop, thousands of 

 acres being devoted to that vegetable alone. 



Domestic animals, poultry and bees kept on 

 Delaware farms are worth about $7,000,000. 

 Dairying interests are increasing, and the milk, 

 cream, butter and cheese sold or made each 

 year are valued at over $1,000,000. 



Most of the natural woods of the state have 

 been cut away, excepting the cypresses and 

 evergreens of the southern swamps, yet the 

 forest products on farms alone average nearly 

 $350,000 yearly. 



Minerals. The mineral resources of Dela- 

 ware are not extensive, yielding usually less 

 than $500,000 a year. This amount is repre- 

 sented by the output of its stone quarries, and 

 by its clay, sand, gravel and mineral waters. 



Manufactures and Industries. Manufactur- 

 ing is the chief industry of the state, the yearly 

 output of manufactured goods being valued 

 at about $55,000,000, an average of over $180,- 

 000 worth each woiking day. The most im- 

 portant industries are those relating to leather, 

 foundry and machine-shop products, paper and 

 wood pulp, canning and preserving, building of 

 cars for steam railroads, shipbuilding, iron and 

 steel, flour and grist and lumber and timber 

 products. Most of these industries are con- 

 fined to the city of Wilmington, over forty-five 

 per cent of the population of the state being 

 centered in that section. The canning and 

 preserving industries, however, are conducted 

 outside of Wilmington. 



It is interesting to note that the first iron 

 sailing vessel of America was built at Wil- 

 mington in 1854; that in Wilmington are 

 located some of the largest "morocco" leather 

 plants in the world; that near Wilmington are 

 located the great Du Pont powder works, the 

 oldest and largest of their kind in the United 

 States. 



The fisheries of Delaware are growing, al- 

 though they have not as yet reached especial 



