Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/505

NORTH CAROLINA 491 climate of the state is as varied as its surface and products. In the low country the atmos- phere is warm and humid, and in the moun- tainous region it is cool and dry. In the inte- rior it partakes somewhat of each extreme, ac- cording to locality. The mean annual temper- ature at Raleigh, lat. 35 47', is 60. At Asheville, Buncombe co., lat. 35 35', Ion. 82 30', the mean temperature of spring is 53'1, summer 71 '7, autumn 54-8, winter 38-2, year 54*45 ; the rainfall in spring is 14-05 inches, summer 16*7, autumn 6*5, winter 8*4, year 45-65. The soil of North Carolina differs greatly in different parts of the state. In the coast region the swamp lands when drained and the river bottoms are fertile, and rice grows well. The pine region is barren for the most part, while further inland the soil im- proves, and is well adapted to wheat, rye, bar- ley, oats, and flax. Cotton is chiefly raised in the counties along the S. border. The western and mountainous portion of the state is best adapted to grazing. Among the chief pro- ducts are sweet potatoes (of which North Caro- lina produced more in 1870 than any other state), tobacco, and Indian corn. The forest trees of the upland are oak, hickory, ash, wal- nut, and lime ; in the low country, pine ; and in the swamps, cedar, cypress, maple, oak, poplar, with an undergrowth of vines. Among the fruits are apples, pears, peaches, plums, cher- ries, grapes, and strawberries. Grapes are abundant in the coast region. The scupper- nong, which is a native of and peculiar to North Carolina, has attracted attention for its large size, luscious flavor, and excellent wine-making qualities. Cranberries are produced in abun- dance, and are exported. The ginseng, wild ginger, snakeroot, hellebore, spikenard, and other medicinal herbs are exported to the value of about $250,000 annually. In Albemarle and Pamlico sounds immense quantities of herring and shad in season are taken. The estuaries and bays are favorite resorts of wild fowl of every species. In the forest country in the eastern part of the state, quail, partridges, and other game birds abound ; while in the moun- tainous region of the western portion deer are plenty, and bears and other wild animals are found. In 1870 the state contained 5,258,742 acres of improved land, 12,026,894 of wood- land, and 2.549,774 of other unimproved land. The total number of farms was 93,565 ; aver- age size, 212 acres. There were 6,744 con- taining from 3 to 10 acres, 14,257 from 10 to 20, 35,280 from 20 to 50, 22,167 from 50 to 100, 13,819 from 100 to 500, 889 from 500 to 1,000, and 116 of 1,000 and over. The cash value of farms was $78,211,083 ; of farming implements and machinery, $4,082,111; total amount of wages paid during the year, inclu- ding value of board, $8,342,856; total (esti- mated) value of all farm productions, inclu- ding betterments and additions to stock, $57,- 845,940; orchard products, $394,749 ; produce of market gardens, $48,499 ; forest products, $1,089,145; home manufactures, $1,603,513; value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaugh- ter, $7,983,132 ; of all live stock, $21,993,967. There were 102,763 horses, 50,684 mules and asses, 196,731 milch cows, 45,408 working oxen, 279,023 other cattle, 463,435 sheep, and 1,075,- 215 swine. The productions were 405,238 bushels of spring and 2,454,641 of winter wheat, 352,006 of rye, 18,454,215 of Indian corn, 3,220,105 of oats, 3,186 of barley, 20,109 of buck- wheat, 532,749 of peas and beans, 738,803 of Irish and 3,071,840 of sweet potatoes, 83,540 tons of hay, 144,935 bales of cotton, 2,059,281 Ibs. of rice, 11,150,087 of tobacco, 799,667 of wool, 4,297,834 of butter, 75J185 of cheese, 59,552 of flax, 21,257 of maple sugar, 1,404,040 of honey, 109,054 of wax, 35 hogsheads of cane sugar, 62,348 gallons of wine, and 33,888 of cane, 621,855 of sorghum, and 418 of maple molasses. The most important branch of manu- facturing is that of spirits of turpentine, which is produced by distillation from crude turpen- tine, or the sap of a long-leaved pine (pinus palustris). There is an immense extent of territory in North Carolina covered by this species of pine, extending from a point near the line of Virginia across the entire state, and indeed beyond the state to the gulf of Mexico, and varying in width from 30 to 80 m. This belt of land is between the swampy country along the coast and the hilly region of the in- terior, and consists mainly of a level, sandy barren. Although the " piney woods," as the natives call the turpentine forests, have been settled by Anglo-Saxons about as long as any portion of the United States, yet the roads are very poor, being the merest openings through the woods, and generally without bridges across the streams.. The pine trees which cover this tract are from 8 to 18 in. in diameter, with straight trunks which run up 25 to 30 ft. without a limb, at which height their evergreen foliage forms a canopy so dense as to nearly shut out the light of the sky. (See TUKPENTINE.) According to the census of 1870, there were 147 establishments engaged in the production of tar and turpentine, with a capi- tal of $472,100. The products of that year were valued at $2,338,309, and included 456,- 131 barrels of rosin, valued at $861,222 ; 300 of tar, worth $820; and 3,799,449 of turpentine, valued at $1,428,567. North Carolina is the great seat of this industry in the United States. The entire products of the latter in 1870 were valued at $3,585,225. Of the 6,784,173 gal- lons of spirits of turpentine, valued at $2,- 753,933, exported from the United States du- ring the year ending June 30, 1874, 4,532,388 gallons, worth $1,793,244, were exported di- rectly from North Carolina. A large portion of the rosin and turpentine exported from the United States is also from North Carolina ports, chiefly "Wilmington. During the same year the shipments of rosin and turpentine amount- ed to 426,395 barrels, valued at $1,159,022; tar and pitch, 17,660 barrels, worth $42,824.