render it peculiarly adapted to lumbering. In these forests are found pine, spruce, hemlock, fir, rock and white maple, oak, white, yellow and gray birch, beech, cedar, black larch, cherry, bass-wood, white and brown ash, poplar, elm and chestnut. Fruit-trees are abundant. Apples, pears and plums are extensively grown. Grapes, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries are plentiful.
Animals. There are many varieties of wild animals. The bear, moose, caribou, deer, wolf and wild-cat live in the dense forests, and the beaver, sable, mink, squirrel, fox, raccoon, porcupine and marten are trapped by the hunters.
Fisheries. In value and extent of sea-fisheries Maine stands second only to Massachusetts, while in importance of her freshwater fishing she has no equal. Bangor has one of the finest salmon-pools in the world. Large quantities of lobsters, clams and sardines are taken for canning purposes, while hundreds of vessels are engaged in cod and mackerel fishing. The state fish-commissioners have been engaged for years in restocking the lakes and rivers with choicest fish. During the open seasons sportsmen come from far and near to hunt in the forests and fish in the lakes and streams.
Agriculture. The land-surface comprises 19,132,800 acres, an area equal to all the other New England states. While Maine does not claim to be a great agricultural state, yet her broad acres furnish many home-farms, where her people live in comfort and prosperity. Not a few of our best men and women trace their strength of purpose and sturdiness of frame to the training received on “the old farm.” The most important agricultural products are hay, potatoes, oats, sweet corn, butter, cheese, apples and wool.
Surface. The surface is broken, there being several mountain-ranges in the north and west and some large peaks, as Mt. Katahdin, 5,385 feet high, Saddleback Mountain 4,004 feet and Mt. Baker 3,589 feet. The general slope of the land is from an extreme elevation of 2,000 feet on the west to 600 feet on the east. The beaches, marshes and low, grassy islands on the coast are rarely found east of Kennebec River. Beyond the mouth of this river the shore becomes bolder, rising in precipitous cliffs and rounded summits.
Drainage. Two drainage-slopes stretch north and south from a watershed which crosses the state in an easterly and westerly direction, making the general flow of the rivers south, southeast and north and northeast. The largest rivers are the Penobscot, Kennebec, Androscoggin and Saco of the southern slope and the St. John and St. Croix of the northern. The rivers are navigable only for a few miles, and therefore are of but little value in commerce. Their sources are at a high elevation, and consequently are great sources of water-power. More than 2,656,200 horse-power is available on the rivers. This force is equivalent to the working energy of 34,000,000 men, laboring 24 hours a day every day throughout the year.
The lakes among the hills and mountains number 1,570, with an aggregate area of 2,300 square miles, and are of great natural beauty. The most noted are Moosehead Lake, the Rangeley Lakes and Chesuncook Lake. The lakes are nearly all connected with the river-systems.
Manufactures. Manufactures are being rapidly developed. The largest paper-mills are located at Cumberland Mills, Rumford Falls and Millinocket. The chief center of the boot and shoe industry is in Auburn. Cotton-goods are extensively manufactured in Lewiston, Biddeford and Waterville. In many of the villages woolen mills and factories for the manufacture of household utensils and toys are found. Maine granite is known and valued throughout the country. It is used for almost every purpose, from the paving-block to the choicest statuary. Large quantities of lumber are produced. The manufacture of starch from potatoes is an important industry in Aroostook County. There are 50 of these factories, and 2,000,000 bushels of potatoes are used annually. The Kennebec is the center of the great ice-industry.
Education. Education of the youth has always been dear to the people, and there is a strong sentiment in favor of the public schools. The quality of blood which they received from their ancestors and the training they had in “the little red school-house” or its more pretentious companion developed a body of men and women of such character that they have not only reflected credit upon Maine, but have done a large share of the intellectual work of America. As early as 1794 a charter was obtained for the establishment of Bowdoin College at Brunswick. Colby, the second college established in the state, was opened in 1818. It was first incorporated as Maine Literary and Theological Institution, Waterville. Bates College at Lewiston grew out of Maine Seminary, which was chartered in 1855. The college was opened in 1863, and a charter was granted in 1864. It was the pioneer of co-education in New England. The Maine College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts was established in 1862, and in 1866 the college was located at Orono on a farm of 375 acres. By act of the legislature in 1897 the name of the institution became the University of Maine. There are six state normal schools which send out over 200 teachers yearly. These schools are at Farmington, Castine, Gorham, Presque Isle, Ft. Kent and Machias. There are about 60 academies, seminaries and institutes. The larger towns, villages and cities maintain about 178 free high-schools of
