MAINE 



3602 



MAINE 



nearest competitor, Weld County, Colorado, 

 and exceeded the crop of all but six entire 

 states. Aroostook County furnishes over half 

 the potatoes of Maine, which is always one of 

 the leading states in the production of this 

 vegetable, yet Penobscot County, with a yield 

 of 3,000,000 bushels, was found by the Census 

 to be fifth among all the counties of the Union. 



Fertile sections border the rivers, and although 

 the cultivated farm land has decreased since 

 1880, there are nearly two and a half million 

 acres of improved land in the state. The chief 

 crop is hay, of which over 1,000,000 tons are 

 produced annually. Potatoes constitute the 

 only other field crop of importance. Apples 

 abound throughout the state, and other fruits 

 are grown, though not extensively. In the 

 counties of York, Oxford, Cumberland, Andros- 

 coggin, Kennebec and Penobscot there are 

 many dairy farms, and dairying is the most 

 important branch of the stock-raising industry, 

 though many cattle and horses are marketed. 



The state is encouraging agriculture, and in 

 1914, at the cost of $23,000, acquired an experi- 

 ment station farm in Aroostook County. 



Forests. Although Maine is not among the 

 leading states of the Union in the extent of 

 timber land and the value of forest productions, 

 the soil, unsuitable for agriculture, and the 

 even rainfall have made forestry a very impor- 

 tant industry, especially in connection with 

 paper making. Forests, chiefly of pine and 

 spruce, cover seventy-nine per cent of the total 

 area of the state. The virgin growth of pine 

 was long ago exhausted, but the land reforests 

 rapidly, and the second growth is now being 

 used. The spruce forests are the most exten- 

 sive, and at present furnish the largest part of 

 the timber production. The best spruce is 

 found in the Penobscot valley, and large quan- 

 tities grow in the northern section drained by 

 the Saint John River. A belt of white birch 

 stretches across the state and furnishes an 

 enormous production of spool timber, much of 

 which is shipped to Scotland, the value of the 

 output per year being over $1,000,000. Poplar 

 forests border the Kennebec, cedar grows in 

 the Saint John and Penobscot valleys, and 

 maple is also found in large quantities. The 

 annnal income from forest products in Maine 

 is over $50,000,000. 



To avoid the rapid deforestation of the land, 

 Maine makes a yearly appropriation of $73,000 

 for the maintenance of state forests. This ap- 

 propriation is surpassed in only five states of 

 the Union. Advice concerning forest manage- 



ment is given by the state, which also, with 

 the cooperation of the Federal government, 

 protects forests against fire. A timber-land tax 

 supports forest fire service in the unorganized 

 townships. 



Fisheries. The deep-sea fisheries were the 

 earliest industries of Maine, which now ranks 

 second among the New England states in the 

 value of its fisheries, being exceeded only by 

 Massachusetts. Seventeen thousand, or over 

 three-fourths of the total number of people in 

 New England engaged in fishing, live in Maine, 

 but the value of Maine's fishing products is 

 only about one-seventh of the total output of 

 New England. The clam, lobster and scallop 

 fisheries are most important. In recent years 

 the lobster supply has been protected by the 

 state, and many hatcheries have been estab- 

 lished. Salmon are caught in the Penobscot 

 River, and herring, mackerel, cod, halibut, had- 

 dock and smelts are taken in the deep sea and 

 prepared for the market. 



Minerals. Owing to the fact that much of 

 Maine is formed by worn-down mountains, 

 granite of all varieties is quarried in great, 

 though decreasing, quantities. With an annual 

 product valued at about $2,000,000, the state 

 has usually ranked with Vermont and Massa- 

 chusetts as a leading source of granite, but in 

 1914 it was exceeded by California. It supplies 

 more than one-third of the feldspar of the 

 United States, a mineral used in the manufac- 

 ture of porcelain, enamel tile, glazed earthen- 

 ware, emery wheels, sandpaper and opalescent 

 glass. 



In the output of slate, Maine stands third 

 among the states. Large quantities of lime are 

 made from the streaked limestone found in 

 Maine. Nowhere else in the world are such 

 large and beautiful tourmaline crystals found. 

 Although the state does not produce a great 

 quantity of minerals, because of their high 

 price it is among the leading states in their 

 value. The total income from mineral products 

 is about $4,000,000 a year. 



Manufactures. The great natural resources 

 of Maine, in furnishing water power and cheap 

 transportation, have made manufacturing an 

 important industry. During the last half of 

 the nineteenth century there was an increase of 

 6.2 per cent in the manufactures of the state, 

 and Maine now ranks twenty-sixth among the 

 manufacturing states of the Union. The prin- 

 cipal industries are the manufacture of paper 

 and wood pulp, lumber milling, the making of 

 cottons and woolens, the manufacture of boots 



