Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/720

NORTH CAROLINA. 196.7 per cent., amounting in 1900 to 29.9 per cent. of the total value of the products of the State. The cotton manufactures employed 42.9 per cent. of the wage-earners, the rank of North Carolina during that period rising from tenth to third in the value of this product, Massachusetts and South Carolina alone exceeding it. North Carolina was exceeded by Massachusetts alone in the number of wage-earners in this branch of industry. The spindles now running annually consume an amount of cotton almost equal to the crop grown in the State. The industry is carried on for the most part by small mills scattered over the Commonwealth. The value of cottonseed oil and cake increased over 400 per cent. in the decade 1890-1900.

A number of other important industries are included in the group dependent upon agricultural products, the manufactures of tobacco being of greatest importance. This is one of the earliest established industries in the State. North Carolina has a wide reputation for certain brands of smoking tobacco and cigarettes. The value of the product increased 184.7 per cent. from 1890 to 1900. The manufacture of flour and grist-mill products is another large and flourishing industry. The tanning and currying of leather developed from comparative insignificance into an industry of some prominence during 1890-1900. The following table of the leading industries explains itself:

. The total wooded area in 1900 was 35,300 square miles, or 73 per cent. of the State's area. Over a portion of this the best timber, particularly the oak and poplar, has been removed. Extensive areas of yellow pine have been cut, and the bulk of the lumber product consists of this variety. The cypress forests have contributed but little to the lumber supply. In 1901 an examination in the mountain regions was made, and the report estimated the stand of timber at 10,650,000,000 feet, of which 41.41 per cent. was oak, 17.20 chestnut, and 5.30 hemlock. The value of the lumber product increased from less than $1,000,000 in 1850 to $5,898,742 in 1890, and $14,862,593 in 1900. The dependent industries—the manufactures of planing-mill products, etc.—made large gains in the decade 1890-1900, as is shown in the above table. The turpentine and resin product was valued at over $1,000,000 in 1900.

. The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad Company was the first to begin construction, in 1836. This and the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad were completed in 1840. The most active decade in railroad construction was 1880-90, when the mileage increased from 1846 to 3128 miles. In 1900 there were 3732 miles in operation. The major part of the mileage belongs to the three principal systems, namely: The Seaboard Air Line (614 miles), the Atlantic Coast Line (949 miles), and the Southern (1226 miles). A number of the rivers are navigable through the coast plain region, and together with the coast waters are of considerable importance in the local commerce. There are two customs districts—Wilmington and Pamlico. The former ranks eighth among the Atlantic districts in the value of its foreign trade, the greater part of which consists of exports.

. There were no banks in North Carolina until 1804, when two were chartered. The State subscribed for shares in both. The State Bank of North Carolina was organized in 1810 in Raleigh, with branches in six towns. In this bank also the State was heavily interested, as its notes were the main currency in the Commonwealth. There were 31 banks in 1861, but the