PRODUCTION AND INDUSTRY 551
On September 30, 1920, the gross debt of the State amounted to 28,364,880 dollars, and the net debt to 18,343,876 dollars. In 1919 the assessed valuation of real and personal property amounted to 1,392,9a dollars.
The Militia or National Guard consists of infantry, cavalry, a signal c and a hospital corps. The naval militia has 21 officers and 188 enlisted men. The Federal authorities have a navy recruiting rendezvous and a navy j>ay office at Baltimore. The United States Naval Academy, for the edu of boys intended for the Federal naval service, is at Annapolis.
Production and Industry. — Agriculture is an important industry in the State, about 82 per cent, of the area being in farms mostly work their owners. In 1910 there were 48,923 farms with an area of 5,057,140 acres, of which 3,354,767 acres was improved land. The total value of farm property in 1910 was 286,1 67, 02S dollars. The chief crops are wheat (670,000 acres, producing 11,390,000 bushels in 1920). maize (25, 795. 000 bushels valued at 20,894,000 dollars), hav. potatoes (60.000 acres, 6,120,000 bushels, valued at 5,814,000 dollars in 1920), vegetables and fruit In 1920 the yield <>f i was 30,625,000 pounds, valued at 8,881,000 dollars. Maryland canned 36*4 per cent, of the tomatoes put up in the United States in 191T>. The dairv output in 1910 was worth 4$ million dollars ; the i>oultry pro.
•00 dollars. The flour nills in 1910 gave an output of* 1,015,866 barrels of wheat -flour, besides corn meal, feed, and offal. The farm animals in the State on January 1, 1921 were : horses, 158,000 ; mules, 25,000 ; milch cows, 180,000 ; other cattle, 136,000 ; sheep, 220,000 ; swine, 427,000. The wool clip in 1919 vielded 812,000 pounds of wool.
Of mining industries in the State the most important is coal mining, which, in 1919, gave an output of 3,716,559 short tons. Seco: importance is clay working. Quarrying is also of importance. Other products were sand, talc, slate, lime, and natural rock cement.
The fisheries of the State are valuable, especially the oyster fisheries, which yield more than any other State in the Union. Other fishery pro- ducts are shad, bass, perch, and various shell-fish.
According to the Census report of 1915, Maryland had 4, 799 manufactories, capital employed 295,934,000 dollars; persons engaged in manufactories 131,333 ; proprietors and firm members 5,014 ; salaried employees 14,801 : average number of wage-earners 111,518 ; salaries 18,008,000 dollars ; wages 53,821.000 dollars ; cost of material 238,982,000 dollars ; value of products 377,764.000 : an increase over lvlO of 19*7 per cent.
Maryland ranks 27th among the States iu population, 41st in land area, 8th in manufacturing. In canning and manufacturing of fertilizers it ranks 1st, in the production of tobacco 8th, in iron and shipbuilding 2nd, in the manufacturing of clothing 3rd, in iron and steel 10th, and in cotton goods 13th.
The State has ample facilities for traffic both by sea and land, having a network of roads nearly 1,000 miles in extent (1915\ railways with (1917) 1 4 - 2"> miles of line in the State and 693 miles of electric railway (1919), while 30 steamboat lines enter the port of Baltimore, which is one of the bestports on the Atlantic coast.
The construction of a Chesapeake and Delaware ship canal by the Federal Government is progressing. The Inter-coastal commission has recommended its purchase at a cost of 2,500,000 dollars (514,400/.), and that it be increased to a width of 250 feet on the surface and a depth of 25 feet. It further recommended that the canal be continued from Norfolk to North Carolina by the purchase of the existing Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal, linking the
