UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



5952 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



assume the predominance which they now hold. 

 The remarkable growth of state universities. 

 -cultural and technical colleges, of free 

 high schools and primary schools in short, 

 free education from the lowest to the highest 

 schools has been the evidence of changing 



ideals in American education. Endowed schools 

 and colleges are still numerous, but the mass 

 of the people receive their education at the 

 hands of the state. The educational work 

 which the states are now doing is described in 

 the article on each state, 



Natural Resources 



Furs and Fish. In surveying the resources 

 of the United States, the several classes of in- 

 dustries will be taken up by sections, following 

 somewhat the historical order of their develop- 

 ment. In such a survey furs and fish claim 

 first attention. 



Furs. It was fish that first brought the 

 French to Canada, and furs that drew not only 

 the French but also many of the English fron- 

 tiersmen into the interior of the continent. 

 Furs, being largely the product of cold, for- 

 ested regions, have declined in importance as 

 the forests have been cleared for farming pur- 

 poses. Some of the most valuable fur-bearing 

 animals, such as the beaver, have, indeed, al- 

 most disappeared from the United States, al- 

 though furs are still obtained in the forested 

 mountains and in the northern swamp districts. 

 Some animals, however, such as the muskrat, 

 mink and skunk, seem able to maintain them- 

 selves in settled districts, and they now furnish 

 a large part of the furs marketed in the United 

 States. 



Since 1867 Alaska has been the greatest fur- 

 producing region under the control of the 

 United States, yielding not only the ordinary 

 land furs but also the very valuable sealskin 

 and sea-otter furs (see SEAL). In recent years 

 both of these have become scarce, but fur 

 farms have been established on some of the 

 Alaskan islands, where the rare black and 

 silver fox are reared in captivity. Canadians 

 have the advantage of the United States cli- 

 matically in the development of this industry; 

 on Prince Edward Island, in particular, are 

 large and very profitable fox farms. 



Fish. More valuable by far than furs ;u< 

 fish, which form the only considerable food 

 supply still furnished freely by nature. Fish 

 abound in nearly all shallow waters, but are 

 firmer fleshed in the colder regions, where they 

 can also be more readily marketed without 

 spoiling. The most important fishing banks 

 are consequently located in high latitudes, 

 either near the continents or in fresh-water 

 lakes, where the fish feed and spawn at cer- 

 tain seasons. By means of refrigeration fresh 



fish from the sea coast are now easily shipped 

 to the interior of the United States, while cured 

 fish are largely shipped to the tropics. Some 

 varieties, such as salmon, are usually canned 

 for market. 



Along the North Atlantic coast the broad 

 continental shelf, or fringe of land, but slightly 

 submerged beneath the sea and washed by the 

 cold Labrador Current, affords excellent fish- 

 ing grounds. Fishing consequently became an 

 important industry in New England at a very 

 early date. The deep-sea fishery off the New 

 England coast yields chiefly cod and haddock; 

 the inshore fishery, herring and mackerel. All 

 these are usually salted or smoked for market, 

 although on the Maine coast young herring are 

 canned in oil, like sardines, and are sold as 

 such. In the Middle Atlantic states shad are 

 also taken in large numbers as they ascend the 

 rivers. In addition, menhaden are extensively 

 caught for use as fertilizers on worn-out soils. 

 Other important products are lobsters, crabs, 

 clams and, in sheltered waters from Cape Cod 

 south, oysters. The most productive oyster 

 beds are in Long Island Sound and in Chesa- 

 peake Bay. By far the most important fishery 

 products along the North and Middle Atlantic 

 coast are the cod and oyster. The fishing in- 

 dustry of New England is largely centered at 

 Gloucester and Boston, while the most impor- 

 tant oyster port is Baltimore. 



Along the Southern coast there are many 

 varieties of fish which are more or less taken 

 for market, though none is as important com- 

 mercially as the cod in the North. Shrimps, 

 oysters and the huge green sea turtles of 

 Florida, however, are of considerable commer- 

 cial importance. Still more valuable is the 

 Florida sponge fishery around Key West, 

 though the production fails to meet the Ameri- 

 can demand. 



In the interior of the continent the fisheries 

 of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River 

 support a considerable population. The most 

 important lake species are whitefish, salmon, 

 trout and sturgeon. In the rivers the German 

 carp, although considered a nuisance by sports- 



