limiting factor on the steeper mountain slopes. About one- 

 fourth ot the land used for agriculture is on slopes of more 

 than 20 percent and one-tenth on slopes of more than 40 

 percent. Timber growing is the only logical use for a large 

 portion of the mountain soils. Throughout the State, 

 forests now occupy abandoned fields, steep mountain slopes, 

 eroded lands, poorly drained soils, and some good farm 

 land. Present trends indicate that more of the soil resource 

 will be used for timber production, but adjustments are 

 needed to convert some of the fertile forest soils to crop- 

 land and to retire depleted cropland to forests. 



North Carolina contains a large variety of minerals, but 

 few occur in deposits of great commercial importance. The 

 value of all minerals produced in 1937 was only ?1 1,200,000, 

 according to the Bureau ot Mines. Crushed granite for 

 road construction is the most valuable product, but heavy 

 clays used in brick and tile manufacture are a close second. 

 These two items accounted for two-thirds of the value of 

 all minerals in 1937 and bromine extracted from sea water 

 by a chemical company near Wilmington accounts for a 

 large part of the rest. North Carolina is the leading domes- 

 tic source of feldspar and mica and also produces small 

 quantities ot talc, pvrophvllite, gold, silver, and several 

 other minerals. Industries dependent upon North Caro- 

 lina minerals are of local importance. 



Water is one of North Carolina's most important natural 

 resources and has contributed markedly to the rapid devel- 

 opment ot the State in supplying transportation and 

 power and aiding industrial processes. In the piedmont 

 and mountain regions the first settlements were often made 

 where water power was available to turn mill wheels. At 

 present there are over 100 commercial hydroelectric instal- 

 lations in the State. The locations of Washington, New 

 Bern, and Wilmington were determined by their accessibil- 

 ity to both ocean and inland waterways. The abundant 

 supply of surface and underground water, made possible by 

 the many forest-clad slopes and verdure-protected stream 

 banks, contributed to the development of many widely 

 scattered smaller towns and cities. 



In 1937 the North Carolina State Planning Board listed 

 275 communities having public water-supply systems. Ot 

 these, 128 obtained water from wells, 98 from filtered 

 surface supplies, 31 from unfiltered surface supplies, and 18 

 from springs. Unfiltered surface water trom the high 

 forested mountain slopes is used by many of the mountain 

 towns, but pollution by sewage, industrial wastes, and 

 soil erosion has forced most of the piedmont and Coastal 

 Plain towns to filter and treat their surface water or use 

 deep wells. 



The quality and amount of water available for specialized 

 industrial processing plants has not been accurately deter- 



mined, but the presence ot rayon, pulp, cigarette paper, and 

 textile-processing mills in the State indicates that the 

 supply is satisfactory in certain localities. 



In effect, full use ot the water resource depends upon 

 wise land use on the many watersheds of the State, in order 

 to prevent soil erosion and excessive runoff, the fore- 

 runners of silting and floods. This implies a suitable 

 balance between forest, cultivated, and pasture lands, and 

 industry, as well as conservative forest and farm manage- 

 ment. 



Social and Industrial Conditions 



North Carolina has many of the elements of a well- 

 balanced economy. Agriculture is extensive and reason- 

 ably diversified, yielding both cash and subsistence crops. 

 Industrially, the State ranks first in the Nation in the 

 manufacture of cotton and tobacco and is among the 

 leaders in the production of lumber, veneers, and wooden 

 household furniture. Hydroelectric power resources are 

 abundant and still not fully developed. Transportation 

 facilities are generally adequate and enable the State to 

 benefit from its proximity to large consuming centers ot 

 the East. Population growth is rapid and the available 

 manpower is divided rather equally between rural and 

 urban activity. The State is developing rapidly but there 

 are still many adjustments to be made. 



Population and Employment 



In the half century from 1890 to 1940 North Carolina 

 more than doubled in population, and now contains 3}i 

 million people, nearly all native-born and nearly three- 

 fourths of them white. About 46 percent live on farms, 27 

 percent in cities and large towns, and 27 percent in small 

 villages and rural-nonfarm locations. Between 1930 and 

 1940 the urban population increased 20 percent, the rural 

 nonfarm (outside towns of 2,500 or more) increasing 23 per- 

 cent, and the farm population 4 percent. The growth ot 

 the more industrialized counties has usually been at the 

 expense of rural counties, several of these decreasing, in 

 population since 1930 (fig. 5). The migration ot rural 

 people to manufacturing centers has partially reduced the 

 pressure ot population upon marginal agricultural land and 

 has afforded many workers a needed opportunity to achieve 

 a decent standard ot living. 



In March 1940 the total labor force in North Carolina 

 was about l}i million people. As defined by the Bureau ot 

 the Census these are the people 14 years ot age and over 

 who were working or were seeking work. An additional 

 million of working age were not in the labor force because 

 of home housework, school attendance, disability, or other 



