RURAL MAyUFACTURES 285 



has a distinctly lural aspect since a considerable part 

 is piece work done at home in farming districts. 



Of boots and slioes, the ^tate produces about 10 

 per cent of the country's product with the region 

 of Binghamton and the city of Rochester preeminent 

 in the business. 



There are fifteen fertilizer plants in the State, most 

 of which are based on the utilization of animal wastes 

 and they are closely allied with the meat-packing and 

 rendering estal)lishments. To these waste products 

 are added the phosphate and potash materials to 

 make a complete fertilizer. The larger plants are 

 equipped to treat the raw phosphate rock with acid. 

 These fifteen plants with a capital of a little over 

 $3,500,000 produced goods to tlie value of $4,250,- 

 000 in 1909. Tbe concentration in this business, as 

 in others, is illustrated by the fact that in 1899 there 

 were thirty-two plants with a capital of over $1,500,- 

 000, but with a product worth only $3,100,100 with- 

 out any decided change in the value of materials. 

 The bulk of the plants is in Buffalo and New York 

 but small ones are at Xewburg, Albany, Fulton, Utica, 

 Syracuse and Rochester, with minor plants at other 

 points concerned with special materials, such as wood- 

 ashes and wool waste. 



The prominence of New York in the lumber industry 

 has already been noted in the discussion of forest re- 

 sources. For several decades tlie State has been de- 

 creasing in the production of lumber. Tliis decrease 

 amounted to T2.4 per cent in the last ton-year census 

 period. At the same time, the leading varieties of 



