Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 11.djvu/56

 NEW YORK

30

NEW YORK

The only sea-coiist of the State is formed by LoriR Island, and oxtends for i:50 miles from New York Harbour to Montauk Point, whioh is nearly opiiosite the boundary line between the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island. The waters lying between bong Island and the mainland form Long bland Sound, one of the most important waterways of the United States. From the head of navigation on the Hudson River at Troy, a distance of 1.51 miles from the .-^ea, there extends across the Slate to bake iM-ie one of its great possessions, the Krie Canal, completed in 1,S12."). It is 3S7 miles long. From Troy to Whitehall at the head of Lake Champlain extends another of the .Stale's great works, the Chamijlain Canal, establishing water connexion with the St. Law'rence valley on the north. Ample communication by water from the Lake States on the west and from Canada on the north to the Atlantic Ocean at New York Bay is provided by this canal system. There are also three other important interior canals owned by the State, the Oswego, the Ca\^lga and Seneca, and the Black River canals. In 1909 the goods carried free on these state canals valued nearly sixtj' million dollars. There is now un- der construction bv the State the Great Barge Canal, which it is estimated will cost more than $60,000,000. It is intended to [jrovide navigation for modern canal barges of 1000 tons from Lake Erie to New York City.

The physical geograjjhy of the State has been an important factor in its growth. The easy communi- cation afforded by its great rivers and its convenient waterways has made it the favoured liighway for do- mestic trade and commerce and emigration for more than a century, while its possession of the greatest seaport of the North Atlantic Ocean has made the State the principal gateway for the world's trade with North America. The ice-free and deep-channelled port of New York, lying at the mouth of the Hudson River, with its w-ide roadsteads and anchorages and vast transportation facilities is indeed the greatest property of the State of New York. The port has a total water front of 444 miles.

Me.\.vs of Communication. — The means of com- munication within the State are admirable.

Railroads. — In 1907 there were 8505 miles of railway and 3950 miles of electric railway tracks. The great railroad of the St ate is t he New York Central system be- tween New York and Buffalo which provides com- munication between New York City and the principal places in all parts of the United States by its own lines and their direct connexions. The great New England system, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, besides having its terminal in New York City, crosses the southern part of the State into the coal and iron country of Pennsylvania. It controls also the extensive New York, Ontario, and Western Railroad, extending diagonally across the State from Oswego on Lake Ontario to the Hudson River at Wee- hawken, opposite New York. The Erie system, in ad- dition to being one of the trunk lines to Chicago, is probably the greatest freight carrier in the Union. Its passenger traffic around New York City is also of great extent. Its terminal is in Jersey City opposite New York. The Delaware and Hudson Railroad ex- tends from its connexion with the Grand Trunk of Canada, at Rouse's Point on Lake Champlain, to Al- bany, where it forms a connexion with a network of roads extending into many of the important centres of central and western New York. The Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad runs parallel to the southern boundary of the State in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and has its eastern terminal at Ho- bokcn on the Hud.son River also opposite New York City. It extends also to the north a most important line from Binghamton to liuffalo, Utica, and Oswego. It is the greatest of the anthracite coal carriers. The Buffalo, Rochester, and Pitt.sburg Railroad connects the three large cities named in its title, and serves one

of the important agricultural, manufacturing, and - mining districts of the States of New York and I'enn- sylvania. The Pennsylvania Railroad, one of the great national trunk lines, with its Hudson tunnels and its new vast terminal in New York City, is one of the great institutions of New York. Its main lines centre about I'hil.ulelphia. It owns and operates in addition to ils oilier pniperties the entire railroad sys- tem of populdus Long Island, whose wonderful growth in populalidii and industry seems but a presage of still niiirc extensive develoiMuent. The Hudson Tun- nels imder the Huds(>n River connect the City of New York with the terminals of most of the railroads on the New Jersey side of the Hudson; recently opened (1910) tunnels under the East River bring the Long Island Railroad into direct connexion with the Penn- sylvania system, and thus with the rest of the conti- nent. These tunnels are a marvellous achievement in subaqueous construction. The development of the terminals of these trunk lines and of their accessories especially about the port of New York is a great ob- ject lesson in the astounding development of the West- ern Hemisphere in less than eighty years. The first railroad in the State, the Hudson and Mohawk, was built in 1831. It was 17 miles long and ran from Al- bany to Schenectady on the Mohawk. It was one of the earliest steam railroads in the world.

Water Routes. — The communication by water within New York State is not less wonderful. To the ocean navigation that fills the port of New York must be added the Iraflicon the rivers, lakes, and canals of the State and upon Long Islanil Sound. The prosper- ous cities and towns which are ranged along the banks of the Hudson River, across the State on the lines of the canals and lakes and rivers, and upon the shores of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River are sustained largely by it.

Wagon Roads. — The improved system of State high- ways, begun in late years, has given modern highways to many of the rural districts and laid out avenues be- tween the cities. It is based upon subventions of highway improvements by means of loans and aids from the State treasury to the various local authori- ties. The growth of vehicular traflnc by electric tram- ways and by automobiles has greatly promoted this work.

Climate. — The cUmate of the State is salubrious, and corresponds generally with that of the north tem- perate zone. In 1909 — which was somewhat abnor- mal, it is true — the extremes of temperature were 102° above zero maximum and 35° below zero minimum. For 1909 the mean annual temperature of the entire State was 45.8°. The average rainfall throughout the State for the same year was 36-03 inches. New York State is divided by the Department of Agriculture of the Unil<(l States into three climatological districts:

(1) the Hudson, Delaware, and Susquehanna basins,

(2) the Allegheny River, and (3) the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence. The great extent of the State causes very variable climatic conditions within its boundaries. In 1909 the mean annual temperature for one part of the Adirondack region was 39° and for the vicinity of New York City 52°. The rainfall dur- ing the year 1909 averaged from 18T0 inches in Liv- ingston County to 62-7 inches in Jefferson County. The winters in the Adirondack country, the St. Law- rence, and the Champlain valleys arc generally severe, while tlie Hud.son Valley, Long Island, and the vicin- ity of New York City have moderate winters and hot summers.

Population. — New York has been since 1820 the most populous state in the Union. The Federal Cen- sus returns of 1910 place the population at 9,113,- 279; the State Census of 1905 placed it at 8,067,308. The City of New York in 1910 comprised 4,766,883 souls, it is one of the centres of the population of the world. In a circle of 680 square miles area with its