438 A K Y A L A AKYAB, TOWN and POET, situated at the point of con vergence of the three large rivers Myu, Koladyne, and Lemyu, 20 9 N. lat., and 92 5G E. long., is the chief town of the district of the same name, and the most flourish ing city of the Ardkun division. The town is regularly built, with broad streets running at right angles to each other. The port is commodious, is the seat of a large export trade in rice, and possesses steam communication direct with Calcutta once a fortnight, except during the south-west monsoon. The population in 1871-72 numbered 15,281. Akyab monopolises almost the whole sea-borne trade of the province of Arakan, amounting in 1871-72 to 1,345,417; to which the export of rice contributed 105,894. During 1871-72, 256 vessels, of a total burden of 129,061 tons, entered the port; and 262 vessels, of a burden of 130,203 tons, cleared. ALABAMA, one of the Southern States of the North American Union, lies between 30 13 and 35 N. lat., and between 85 and 88 35 W. long. It is bounded by Florida and the Gulf of Mexico on the S., Mississippi on the W., Tennessee on the N., and Georgia on the E. Its length is 330 miles, average breadth 154, and area 50,722 square miles. The Alleghany range stretches into the northern portion of the state, but the elevation is nowhere great ; the centre is also hilly and broken ; on the south, however, for nearly 60 miles inland, the country is very flat, and raised but little above the sea-level. The Alabama is the chief river of the state. It is formed by the junction of the Coosa and the Talapoosa, which unite about 10 miles above the city of Mont gomery. Forty-five miles above Mobile the Alabama is joined by the Tombigbee, and from that point is known as the Mobile River. It is navigable from Mobile to Wetumpka, on the Coosa, some 460 miles. The Tombig bee is navigable to Columbus, and the Black Warrior, one of its chief tributaries, to Tuscaloosa. The Tennessee flows through the northern portion of the state, and the Chattahoochee forms part of its eastern boundary. The climate of Alabama is semi-tropical. The temperature ranges from 82 to 18 Fahr. in winter, and in summer from 105 to 60; the mean temperature for the year being a little over 60. The average severity of the winter months is considered to have increased a result due, it is said, mainly to the felling of the forests, which gives more unrestricted scope to the cold north-west winds from the Rocky Mountains. The uplands are healthy, but the in habitants of the low-lying lauds are subject to attacks of intermittent, bilious, and congestive fevers. The stratified rocks of the state belong to the Silurian, carboniferous, cretaceous, and tertiary systems. The silurian strata throw up numerous mineral springs along the line of the anti clinal axes, some of which, such as Blount Springs and the St Clair Springs, are much resorted to for their health- giving properties. There are also several noted springs arising from the tertiary beds, such as those of Tallahatta and Bladon. Alabama possesses extensive coal deposits. Mr Tait, the state commissioner for the industrial resources of Alabama, considers that the area of the coal-lands in the state amounts to 5500 square miles, of which 5000 belong to the Warrior, and the remaining 500 to the Cahawba and Coosa fields. Assuming that only one-half of this area can be worked to advantage, Mr Tait further esti mates the aggregate possible yield at 52,250,000,000 tons. At present, however, the annual output probably does not exceed 12,000 tons. In regard to iron, the natural wealth of Alabama is also very great. Mr Tait asserts that a ridge of iron, of an average thickness of 15 feet, runs parallel to one of the principal railway lines for a distance of 100 miles; and in other parts of the country there are large deposits of ore, both red hematite and blackband. The ores of Alabama are said to yield from 10 to 20 per cent, more iron than those of Britain. Granite, marble, flagstones, roofing-slate, lime, and porcelain clay, are among the other mineral products. A little gold has also been found in the state. The soil of Alabama varies greatly in character, but is for the most part productive to a greater or lesser extent, except in the south, where there are considerable tracts of sandy, barren, and almost worthless soil The forests are mainly in the central and northern parts of the state, and embrace oaks, poplars, cedars, chestnuts, pines, hickories, nralberries, elms, and cypresses. The following table exhibits the chief agricultural statistics of Alabama for 1870, as compared with 1860, the year before the war: 1870. 1860. Land in Improved, . . . acres 5,002,204 6,385,724 Farms. Unimproved, . . ,, 9,898,974 12,718,821 ! Horses, 80,770 127,063 Live Stock Mules and Asses, . 76,675 111,687 on Cattle, 487,163 773,396 Farms. Sheep, 241,934 370,156 Swine, 719,757 1,748,321 /Indian Corn, . bushels 16,977,948 33,226,282 Wheat, . . . 1,055,068 1,218,444 Rye, .... 18,977 72,457 Oats, .... 770,866 682,179 Potatoes, . . 2,033,872 5,931,563 Chief / Pease and Beans, 156,574 1,482,036 Products. Butter, . . R> 3,213,753 6,028,478 Cotton, . . bales 429,482 989,955 Wool, ... 381,253 775,117 Eice, .... lt> 222,945 493,465 Tobacco, . . ,, 152,742 232,914 ^Molasses, . . gallons 433,281 140.768 Alabama possesses comparatively few manufactures. It is estimated that in 1870 the capital invested amounted to 1,140,806, and the total products in the same year were valued at 2,608,124. There were in 1870 thirteen establishments for the manufacture of cotton goods, whose products amounted in all to 2,843,000 Ib, including
4,518,403 yards of sheetings and shirtings, and 1,039,321
