Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/634

INDIANA. temperature of 28° for January, and 76° for July. The mean rainfall for the year over the whole State is about forty-three inches. With the exception of sandy areas around Lake Michigan, the soil is generally fertile, and some of it remarkably so. In the northern and central parts the soil is composed of drift materials, more or less assorted by water action into beds of sand and clay. Without the drift region in the southern tier of counties, the soil has been derived by weathering of sandstones and limestones, and is generally less fertile than that of the prairies. The richest soils are found in the river valleys, particularly in those of the Wabash and the White Water.

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The geological relations are greatly obscured by the heavy covering of glacial materials. North of the Wabash the prevailing strata are of Devonian age and mostly limestones. The eastern part of the State between the Ohio and the Wabash is underlain by Silurian and the western by Carboniferous rocks.

The coal-fields of Indiana cover an area of 6500 square miles in the western and southwestern counties. They are of Carboniferous age and yield bituminous coal suitable for heating. The chief producing counties are Clay and Vigo, each with an annual output of more than 1,000,000 tons, and Sullivan, Vermilion, Greene, and Parke counties. The total output in 1901 was 6,918,225 short tons, valued at $7,017,143. Petroleum, one of the most valuable products of the State, is found in the Lima district of Adams, Wells, Jay, Blackford, and Grant counties. From 1889 to 1901 inclusive, the output was 38,355,000 barrels; in the last year it amounted to 5,757,086 barrels, valued at $4,822,826. Natural gas is obtained in many of the central counties, including Hancock, Henry, Hamilton, Tipton, Madison, Grant, and Delaware, the area of the field being about 5000 square miles. In 1901 there were 4600 wells in operation, and the output was valued at $6,954,566. A large quantity of gas is transported to Chicago. Indiana has a valuable quarry industry, producing sandstones and limestones suited for building and ornamental purposes. The Bedford oölitic limestone, which comes from southern Indiana, is one of the best-known building-stones in the country. Brick-clays are widely distributed, and marls adapted to the manufacture of hydraulic cement are found along the Ohio River.

According to the census of 1900, 94.1 per cent. of the land area of the State was included in farms. The farm area increased in every decade but one—1880 to 1890—of the last half of the nineteenth century, making a total gain in the half-century of 69 per cent. In the same period the improved land increased more than twofold, amounting, in 1900, to 77.2 per cent. of the total farm area. The most extensive non-arable lands are in the hilly region of the south-central section, and in the swamp lands of the northern part. Formerly the land that was too wet for successful cultivation constituted in the aggregate a very considerable portion of the total area, but by an extensive system of drainage the greater part of it has been reclaimed, and now constitutes the most productive land in the State. The average size of farms

had decreased from 136.3 acres in 1850 to 97.4 acres in 1900, every decade of that period having witnessed a decrease. The rented farms amount to 28.0 per cent. of the total number, over four-fifths of which are rented according to the share system.

Agriculture has the advantage of a very superior system of railroad transportation, and of numerous city markets within the State. Besides, proximity to such great centres in adjoining States as Chicago, Cincinnati, and Louisville opens up a wider field. Indiana is not divided into crop belts, nor does any one crop have a monopoly. The three-crop rotation system is commonly in vogue, and for a long time the State was one of the leaders in the production of corn, wheat, and hay (timothy and clover). Recently, with the great development of some of the Western States, that place has been lost, though a high rank is still held. The census for 1900 showed a larger acreage for corn, wheat, and hay than was reported at any previous census. Potatoes and oats are grown everywhere, but in somewhat larger quantities in the northern part of the State. Barley, buckwheat, and rye are raised, but not in large quantities. All kinds of fruits and vegetables common to the temperate zone are raised. Much attention is being given to the production of tomatoes for canning, and no other State west of the Alleghany Mountains equals Indiana in this respect. Of the total number of orchard trees, apple-trees (8,624,593) constitute 61.1 per cent. Large quantities of peaches are grown in some of the southeastern counties. The number of peach, pear, and plum trees each more than trebled during the decade ending with 1900.

Stock-raising is important, attention being evenly divided between horses, cattle, and swine. Every decade since 1870 has witnessed an increase in the number of all varieties of farm animals except sheep, which suffered a corresponding decrease. (The decrease shown in the table in the number of dairy cows is due to a change in the method of enumeration, and is, therefore, only apparent.) Sheep-raising is largely confined to the northeastern part of the State. In 1899, $8,027,370 was realized from the sale of dairy products, about half of which was from sales of butter and the remainder principally from sales of milk. The receipts from poultry products are also very large. The following tables, taken from the census returns of 1890 and 1900, show the relative importance of the different crops and varieties of farm animals and the changes which have occurred during the decade: