Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/628

MINNESOTA. value of poultry products for the census year 1900 amounted to $7,364,865.

The following tables show the relative importance of the leading varieties of crops and farm animals for the census years 1890 and 1900:

. Minnesota has won much renown by virtue of its manufacturing enterprises. The success of these is mainly attributable to the abundance of its grain and forest products, and the excellence of its water power and transportation facilities. Lake Superior, touching the State on the northeast, gives access to the whole system of lake transportation, while the Mississippi River and the railroad development in the south give superior advantages to that section. In but few, if any, States has the industrial development been so rapid. The value of the manufactured product in 1900—$262,655,000—was eleven times as large as in 1870. The absolute gain was greatest between 1880 and 1890. In 1900 the industry employed 77,200 wage-earners, or 4.4 per cent. of the population. This was a higher absolute figure than for 1890, but a smaller per cent. of the population than in 1890. The beginning of the manufacturing industry in the State was prophetic of the course of its development. In 1822 a saw-mill was erected at the Falls of Saint Anthony, and two years later was fitted up for the grinding of flour. In 1900 the value of the products of these and certain allied industries was over one-half of the total for the State, and around the Falls of Saint Anthony had grown up the twin city of Minneapolis-Saint Paul—one of the three large industrial centres located on the Mississippi River.

For a long time the flour and grist-milling industry made but little progress. About 1870 the method of reducing the grain to flour by a number of distinct processes began to replace the old method by which the flour was obtained by a single grinding, and marked a new epoch in the development of the industry. The flour now produced was of the best quality, and heavy shipments were made to home and foreign markets. The power afforded by the Falls of Saint Anthony gave the millers who utilized them a decided advantage over those of other portions of the country and tended to centralize the industry at that point. However, from 1890 to 1900, the increase in the number of mills was greatest outside of Minneapolis. The total increase in the value of products for that decade was 39.4 per cent. The capital invested in the State mills in 1900 was 11 per cent. of the total for the United

States. The value of the State products was 15 per cent. of the total for the country, and nearly twice as great as that of New York, the second State in rank.

The manufacturing industry has recently taken on a much broader scope than formerly, reflecting the more diversified aspect which agriculture is now assuming in that section. The dairy industry—the manufacture of cheese, butter, and condensed milk—has attained its present large proportions almost wholly since 1880. The increase in the value of the product from 1890 to 1900 was 186.6 per cent. The slaughtering and meat-packing industry and the manufacture of malt liquors and linseed oil are also of recent development. The rate of their increase is significant of their future possibilities. These three industries are centred mainly in Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

The extensive iron-mining in the north does not benefit the State's manufacturing interests greatly, since there are no coal or limestone deposits in proximity to the ore. The latter can be exported more economically than the former can be imported. The foundries and machine shops, however, are in a flourishing condition. Other important industries are those required by the growing railroad interests of the State, the manufacture of boots and shoes, and the printing and publishing of newspapers and periodicals. The table on the following page covers the eleven most important industries for the decade 1890-1900.

Minnesota is one of the richest States in forest resources, having in 1900 a woodland area of about 52,200 square miles, including stump-lands. The forest area extends well over the northern two-thirds of the State, excluding the Red River Valley. Hard-wood forests border the prairies, while farther north the white pine predominates, Norway pine and spruce being also abundant. Although the white pine has been heavily drawn upon, at the end of the nineteenth century it was estimated that there were over 12,000,000,000 feet of this variety still standing, and the merchantable forest pine was estimated to be greater than in any other State. The lumber industry of the State increased but slowly until 1880. From 1890 to 1900 the increase (see table below) in the value of the product was greater than in any other State, and it ranked third in importance. The unusual facilities for water transportation afforded by the large number of streams and lakes have been of advantage to the industry. But recently railroads have been extensively used for timber transportation, especially in the shipments to Minneapolis, where nearly half the lumber of the State is sawed. The State has displayed a greater interest in forest preservation than have most other States. The three elected town supervisors are fire wardens, and have the authority of impressing men into service to prevent forest fires. The system has worked so effectively that for a number of years the State has wholly escaped destructive fires. The State has encouraged tree-planting in the prairie region, and about $600,000 in bounties has been expended for this purpose. There is a forest reserve of 200,000 acres in Chippewa Reservation.

. Minnesota is favored with the advantages of both the Saint Lawrence and the Mississippi systems of navigation. The