84 RESOURCES OF SOUTHERN ALABAMA. 



MANUFACTURING. 



In recent censuses there are returns of manufactur- 

 ing for each state, and for cities of 25,000 inhabitants 

 or more, but not for counties. Mobile is the only city of 

 that class in southern Alabama, and Table 17 indicates 

 the condition of its manufactures in 1909, as far as can be 

 ascertained from the census. Of course some of these in- 

 dustries, such as printing and baking, are not manufactur- 

 ing in the proper sense of the word, but necessary adjuncts 

 of every city; but the census is here taken literally. The 

 shipbuilding industry has grown considerably in recent 

 years, as stated previously. 



6. The Mobile Delta 



From the confluence of the Alabama and Tombigbee 

 Rivers to the head of Mobile Bay, a distance of about 40 

 miles in a straight line, extends a swampy region covering 

 some 200 square miles, which is essentially a delta, though 

 by no means a typical one in shape, being hemmed in on 

 both sides by high land. It is almost entirely surrounded 

 by the pine hills just described, and if it was a little smaller 

 it might be regarded merely as a river-swamp within that 

 region. But it has some peculiarities that are due more to 

 its proximity to the coast than to the nature of the adjacent 

 country, so that it seems best to treat it separately. 



The whole areas of course lies close to sea-level, but the 

 banks of the channels, which are the highest points, may 

 be 15 or 20 feet above sea-level at the upper end of the 

 delta. The Mobile River on the west side and the Tensaw 

 on the east are both navigable (the former is preferred by 

 river steamboats to and from the interior of the State), and 

 they are connected by a labyrinth of smaller channels. The 

 water is always muddy, but it cannot fluctuate much with 

 the seasons, on account of the nearness of the Gulf of Mex- 

 ico. The influence of the daily tide is perceptible the whole 

 length of the delta, except perhaps in very rainy seasons. 



The soil is all alluvial in origin, and very fertile in the 

 upper part of the delta, but toward the bay, where the water- 

 level varies little and the soil or muck is perpetually sat- 

 urated, there is a considerable proportion of evergreens in 

 the forest, indicating unfavorable soil conditions, such as 



