MICHIGAN 



3784 



MICHIGAN 



els. The state ranks second in the production 

 of rye, coming after Wisconsin; it ranks third 

 in the production of buckwheat, following New 

 York and Pennsylvania. On the drained swamp 

 lands along the shores of lakes and rivers are 

 many acres suitable for growing onions, cab- 

 bage, celery and other vegetables. Sugar beets 

 is one of the leading crops; Michigan is third 

 in beet production, coming after Colorado 

 and California. The area under. sugar beets is 

 over 102,000 acres, and the product amounts 

 to about 900,000 tons a year. Michigan raises 

 nearly seventy per cent of the total production 

 of beans in the United States, its output being 

 nearly five million bushels. It also leads in 

 the production of peas, with over 1,100,000 

 bushels a year, as well as in that of celery, chic- 

 ory and peppermint. The state produces the 

 bulk of the peppermint crop of the United 

 States, in a small district in the southwest cor- 

 ner of the state ; the largest peppermint farm in 

 the world is in Allegan County. 



As regards its climate and its soil, no state 

 except California seems to be more favorably 

 suited for the raising of fruit. The southwest 

 corner of the state is generally known as the 

 fruit belt, and here largfe quantities of apples, 

 pears, peaches, plums and grapes are raised. 

 Michigan is now the third state in the Union 

 in apple growing, being surpassed only by New 

 York and Pennsylvania; its yearly output is 

 over seventeen and one-half million bushels. 

 Over one and one-half million, bushels of, 

 peaches and nearly one million bushels of pears 

 are grown yearly. In small fruits, strawberries, 

 blackberries and raspberries, Michigan ranks 

 second among the states. 



Forests. The region now included in the 

 state was formerly covered with dense forests. 

 The upper peninsula and the northern part of 

 the lower peninsula are to-day quite heavily 

 timbered, although lumbering operations have 

 for years been on a very extensive scale. These 

 primeval forests have long been among the 

 most important sources of the wealth and pros- 

 perity of the state. In past years the cutting of 

 the forests was done in a very wasteful way, 

 but now scientific methods of forestry are fol- 

 lowed, and there is a state commission for the 

 better protection of the forests. It is estimated 

 that nearly two-thirds of the total area of the 

 state is still woodland. White pine was for- 

 merly the most abundant variety, but a great 

 portion of the forests containing this timber 

 has been cut. Hemlock forms now the greatest 

 proportion of the softwood cut; other varieties 



are spruce, cedar and balsam fir. Maple, beech, 

 birch, elm, and ash are the chief hardwoods. 

 In 1914 the state ranked first in the cut of 

 maple and beech. From 1870 to 1900 Michi- 

 gan was the leading lumber state in the Union ; 

 it still ranks third, being surpassed only by 

 Washington and Louisiana. The abundance of 

 timber has been of great importance in devel- 

 oping other industries for which timber serves 

 as raw material. 



Fisheries. In the value of its fishing prod- 

 ucts Michigan ranks first among the Great 

 Lakes states. Herring forms nearly one-third 

 of the catch, while trout, whitefish and various 

 pike perches are in the order named the other 

 more important kinds of fish. It is estimated 

 that the catch amounts to over fifty million 

 pounds a year. 



Live Stock. The raising of live stock and the 

 dairying industry are growing steadily in im- 

 portance. The value of live stock was nearly 

 $185,000,000 on July 1, 1916. At that time there 

 were in the state 814,000 milch cows, and 707,- 

 000 other cattle; 673,000 horses, 4,000 mules, 

 1,392,000 swine and 2,033,000 sheep. In the 

 production of milk, butter, cheese and eggs 

 the state ranks high. In the number of sheep 

 and the clip of wool, which amounts to over 

 8,100,000 pounds of raw wool and over 4,050,000 

 pounds of scoured wool yearly, Michigan is 

 only surpassed by Ohio among the states east 

 of the Mississippi. 



Minerals. Michigan ranks sixth among the 

 states of the Union as regards the value of its 

 mineral products, which averages over $72,- 

 000,000 a year. The great bulk of this wealth 

 is furnished by copper and iron. Here are situ- 

 ated some of the most famous and the richest 

 copper mines in the world the Calumet and 

 Hecla. Until 1887 it was the leading state in 

 the production of copper, and even to-day it 

 furnishes nearly one-quarter of the total' output 

 of the United States. With an average yearly 

 production of over 230,000,000 pounds, Michi- 

 gan now fanks third, following Arizona and 

 Montana. The state has furnished nearly thirty 

 per cent of the total output of copper in the 

 United States since 1845. The copper mines are 

 situated almost exclusively in the northwestern 

 corner of the upper peninsula, known as the 

 Keweenaw Peninsula, on the shores of Lake 

 Superior. 



The same region also contains very rich iron 

 deposits; in fact, the Lake Superior region, 

 extending in Michigan, Minnesota and Wis- 

 consin, is the greatest iron ore region in the 



