Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/246

 234: INDIANA There are as many as eight distinct seams of block coal in this zone, three of which are workable, having an average thickness of 4 ft. In some places this coal is mined by adits, but generally from shafts, 40 to 80 ft. deep. The seams are crossed by cleavage lines, and the coal is usually mined without powder, and may be taken out in blocks weighing a ton or more." In 1871 there were 24 block coal mines in operation, and about 1,500 tons were mined daily ; in 1873 the number of mines had in- creased to upward of 50, and the daily pro- duction to about 5,000 tons. In 1873 eight blast furnaces in Indiana were using the block coal for smelting ores. The quality of the coal, its vicinity to available iron ore beds, together with convenient railroad facilities, give to Indiana marked advantages for the manufacture of iron and steel. (For an anal- ysis of the coal of Indiana, see COAL.) A seam of superior cannel coal is worked in Da- viess co. ; the vein is 5 ft. thick, the upper 3 ft. being eannel coal and the remainder a beau- tiful jet-black caking coal. Peat or turf exists in considerable quantities in the northern part of the state, but, owing to the abundance of wood, is not much used. There are numerous deposits of bog iron ore in the northern part of the state, and clay ironstones and impure carbonates and brown oxides are scattered over the counties embraced in the coal measures. In some places the beds are quite thick, and, though inferior to the rich pure ores of Mis- souri, will prove valuable for mixing with the latter and aid in making special grades of iron. Indiana possesses some of the finest quarries of building stone in the west ; they include both limestone and sandstone. Ganister rock, used for furnace hearths and for lining Bessemer converters, and fire clays, are also found in great abundance. Salt springs exist on the eastern border of the coal formation. Per- haps the most remarkable natural curiosity in Indiana is the Wyandotte cave, 4 m. from Leavenworth, Crawford co., in the southern part of the state, which in many respects rivals the famous Mammoth cave of Kentucky. (See WYANDOTTE CAVE.) The climate, like that of all the states W. of the Ohio, is liable to fre- quent and sudden changes. The prevailing winds in winter are from the north and north- west, and in other seasons from the south and southwest, and from the general evenness of the country have a free passage and are in con- stant motion. The heats of summer are thus modified ; but in winter the cold is extreme, though less so than in Illinois. The mean tem- perature of the year is 52 ; that of winter 31, of spring 51, of summer 76, and of autumn 55. This is nearly the climate of Bordeaux, France, 5 further S. than Indianapolis and on the seabcfard. The rainfall is about 38 in. in the year, viz. : 4-97 in winter, 7'79 in spring, 16'92 in summer, and 7'87 in autumn. The earlier fruits blossom in March. The soil is generally good, and much of it remarkably fer- tile. The richest lands are found along the Wabash, White, and Whitewater rivers. Few states have so little unavailable land ; even its wet and marshy lands are brought under suc- cessful cultivation. About one eighth part of the state is prairie land, and about one third is covered with a fine forest. The forests con- tain all the trees natural to the climate of the middle zone of the Union, but oak and beech preponderate; next in order are the sugar maple, hickory, ash, black walnut, poplar, elm, sycamore, &c. ; and the principal under- growths are dogwood, pawpaw, plum, thorn, persimmon, and crabapple. In most parts oak and beech mast is found in such quanti- ties as to contribute largely to feeding and fattening hogs. Indiana ranks high as an agri- cultural state; in the production of wheat in 1870 it ranked next to Illinois and Iowa, and in Indian corn next to Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, and Missouri. The chief farm pro- ductions and live stock, as reported by the federal census in 1870 and the state authori- ties in 1873, were as follows : PRODUCTIONS. 1870. 1878. 27,747,222 22,149,527 51,094,688 81,185,485 Rye.. 457,463 883.158 Oats 8,590,409 11,434,628 366.262 522,948 80,281 85,526 Potatoes 5,549,749 8,412,159 78,545 187,747 Fruit 8,478,161 Flaxseed 409,931 889,179 87,771 22 18,794 Hay 1.076,768 825,477 9,325,892 12,877,182 Wool 5,029,028 2,228,487 68,884 29,729 Beef. 3.320,067 40,716,539 80,913,745 11,891,482 Butter 29,915,885 Cheese , 288,807 936988 1 882 882 802,041 Maple molasses, gallons 227.8SO 2,026 212 57,675 601,368 395,278 Wax 12,049 19,479 827,480 Cider 1,097.019 885,885 497.888 514,438 48259 54,307 898,786 14,088 Other cattle 618,860 1,612,680 1,235,874 Swine 1,872,230 2,999.189 Cattle 1,211,246 The returns of live stock for 1870 include only animals on farms, while in 1873 the entire num- ber in the state is returned. According to the census of 1 870, there were in the state 1 0, 1 04,2 79 acres of improved land, 7,189,334 of woodland, and 826,035 of other unimproved land. The total number of farms was 161,289, including 55.614 containing 20 and under 50 acres ; 52,- 614, 50 and under 100; 29,433, 100 and under