NEW YORK, one of the thirteen original states of the American Union, and one of the middle states, situated between lat. 40° 29' 40" and 45° 0' 42" N., and lon. 71° 51' and 79° 45' 54" W.; extreme length E. and W., 412 m.; breadth varying from 8 or 10 m. on Long island, and 18¾ m. at the W. extremity of the state, to 3112⁄3 m. from the Canada boundary to the S. point of Staten island; area, 47,000 sq. m. It is bounded N. and N. W. by Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence river, and again N. by Canada along the parallel of 45° from the St. Lawrence to the head of Lake Champlain; E. by Vermont (separated in part by Lake Champlain), Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic ocean; S. by the Atlantic, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; and W. by Pennsylvania, Lake Erie, and the Niagara river.
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State Seal of New York.
It is divided into 60 counties, viz.: Albany, Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Dutchess, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Kings, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, New York, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Putnam, Queens, Rensselaer, Richmond, Rockland, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Suffolk, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Westchester, Wyoming, and Yates. Albany, the capital, is on the W. bank of the Hudson river, about 140 m. N. of New York city; pop. in 1870, within its present limits, 76,216. The population of New York city in 1870 was 942,292, but recent annexations have increased it, according to the census of that year, to 973,773; its total population in 1874 was about 1,050,000. The other cities of the state, with the number of inhabitants as reported by the federal census of 1870, are: Auburn, 17,225; Binghamton, 12,692; Brooklyn, 396,099; Buffalo, 117,714; Cohoes, 15,357; Elmira, 15,863; Hudson, 8,615; Kingston (1874), about 22,000; Lockport, 12,426; Long Island City (1874), about 16,000; Newburgh, 17,014; Ogdensburg, 10,076; Oswego, 20,910; Poughkeepsie, 20,080; Rochester, 62,386; Rome, 11,000; Schenectady, 11,026; Syracuse, 43,051; Troy, 46,465; Utica, 28,804; Watertown, 9,336; Yonkers (1874), about 16,000.—In population New York surpasses every other state in the Union. Under the colonial government, the number of inhabitants in 1698 was 18,067; 1703, 20,665; 1723, 40,564; 1731, 50,824; 1737, 60,437; 1746, 61,589; 1749, 73,348; 1756, 96,790; 1771, 163,337. The results of the United States decennial censuses have been as follows:
| YEARS. | White. | Free colored. |
Slave. | Total. | Rank. |
| 1790 | 314,142 | 4,654 | 21,324 | 340,120 | 5 |
| 1800 | 557,731 | 10,417 | 20,903 | 589,051 | 3 |
| 1810 | 918,699 | 25,333 | 15,017 | 959,049 | 2 |
| 1820 | 1,332,744 | 29,279 | 10,088 | 1,372,111 | 1 |
| 1830 | 1,873,663 | 44,870 | 75 | 1,918,608 | 1 |
| 1840 | 2,378,890 | 50,027 | 4 | 2,428,921 | 1 |
| 1850 | 3,048,325 | 49,069 | ...... | 3,097,394 | 1 |
| 1860 | 3,831,590 | 49,005 | ...... | 3,880,735 | 1 |
| 1870 | 4,330,210 | 52,081 | ...... | 4,382,759 | 1 |
Included in the total of 1860 were 140 Indians, and in that of 1870, 439 Indians and 29 Chinese. Censuses have also been taken by the state as follows: 1814 (total population), 1,035,910; 1825, 1,614,456; 1835, 2,174,517; 1845, 2,604,495; 1855, 3,466,212; 1865, 3,831,777. The population increased from 1698 to 1771, or during a colonial period of 73 years, 804.06 per cent., or at the rate of 11.014 per annum. The increase from 1790 to 1850, or during a period of 60 years, was 810.67 per cent., or 13.51 per annum; 1840 to 1850, 27.52 per cent., or 2.75 per annum; 1850 to 1855, 11.91 per cent., or 2.38 per annum; 1855 to 1860, 11.12 per cent., or 2.22 per annum; 1860 to 1865, 12.61 per cent., or 2.52 per annum; 1865 to 1870, 13 per cent., or 2.6 per annum. Of the total population in 1870, 2,163,229 were males and 2,219,530 females; 3,244,406 were native and 1,138,353 foreign born. Of the natives, 2,987,779 were born in the state, 38,851 in Connecticut, 5,985 in Maine, 41,355 in Massachusetts, 4,850 in Michigan, 9,211 in New Hampshire, 32,408 in New Jersey, 36,170 in Pennsylvania, 6,993 in Rhode Island, 36,307 in Vermont, and 7,070 in Virginia and West Virginia. Of the foreigners, 79,042 were born in British America, 110,071 in England, 528,806 in Ireland, 27,282 in Scotland, 7,857 in Wales, 22,302 in France, 316,902 in Germany, 6,426 in Holland, 5,522 in Sweden, 4,061 in Poland, 3,592 in Italy, 818 in Spain, 1,824 in Cuba, and 7,916 in Switzerland. The density of population was 93.25 persons to a square mile. There were 898,772 families, with an average of 4.88 persons to each, and 688,559 dwellings, with an average of 6.37 to each, the latter average being larger in New York than in any other state. The number of persons from 5 to 18 years of age was 1,220,988; from 18 to 45, 881,500; male citizens 21 years old and upward, 981,587. There were 163,501 persons 10 years old and over who could not read, and 239,271 unable to write, of whom 70,702 were native and 168,569 foreign born. Of persons 21 years of age and upward, 73,208 white males and 116,744 white females, and 3,912 colored males and 4,874 colored females, were illiterate. The number of paupers supported during the year ending June 1, 1870, was 26,152, at a cost of $2,661,385; of the total number receiving support at that date (14,100), 5,953 were native and 8,147 foreign born. During the year 5,473 persons were convicted of crime; of the total number (4,704) in prison June 1, 1870, 2,658 were natives and 2,046 foreigners. The state contained 2,213 blind, 1,783 deaf and dumb, 6,353 insane, and 2,486 idiotic. Of the total population 10 years old and over (3,378,959), there were engaged in all occupations 1,491,018, of whom 1,233,979 were males and 257,039 females; in agriculture, 374,323, of whom 134,562 were laborers and 232,649 farmers and planters; in professional and personal services, 405,339, including 5,678 clergymen, 155,150 domestic servants, 931 journalists, 139,309 laborers not specified, 5,913 lawyers, 6,810 physicians and surgeons, and 18,557 teachers not specified; in trade and transportation, 234,581; and in manufactures and mechanical and mining industries, 476,775, of whom 19,291 were blacksmiths, 24,309 boot and shoe makers, 53,046 carpenters and joiners, 11,413 machinists, 16,594 masons, 26,540 milliners and dress and mantua makers, 18,082 painters and varnishers, 10,193 printers, 3,431 ship carpenters, 41,627 tailors, tailoresses, and seamstresses, 11,368 curriers, tanners, and finishers of leather, and 6,869 woollen mill operatives. The total number of deaths during the year was 69,095, being 1.58 per cent. of the entire population. Chief among the causes of mortality were consumption, from which 11,578 persons died, pneumonia, 5,262, and cholera infantum, 3,577; there were 6 deaths from all causes to 1 from consumption, and 13.1 to 1 from pneumonia. There were 1,134 deaths from croup, 1,073 from measles, 582 from smallpox, 864 from diphtheria, 3,403 from scarlet fever, 2,029 from enteric fever, 2,243 from diarrhœa, 1,068 from dysentery, and 1,330 from enteritis. Not included in the census are 5,140 Indians of the Six Nations in New York, on eight reservations, mainly in the extreme S. W. part of the state, of whom 3,060 were Senecas, and the others Saint Regis, Onondagas, Tuscaroras, Oneidas, and Cayugas. They have adopted a civilized life, are intelligent and industrious, and are chiefly engaged in agriculture; 30 schools and an orphan asylum are maintained by the state for their benefit.—The outlines of the state are very irregular, only about one third of the entire boundaries consisting of straight lines. The river, lake, and ocean boundaries are all navigable waters, except 17¼ m. on Poultney river, and consist of 352 m. on Lakes Erie, Ontario, and Champlain, 281 m. on the St. Lawrence, Poultney, Hudson, Kill van Kull, Delaware, and Niagara rivers, and 246 m. on Long Island sound and the Atlantic ocean; total, 879. The land boundaries along Canada, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, all made up of straight lines, form a total of 541.28 m. The principal islands belonging to the state are the following: in Niagara river, Grand, Squaw, Strawberry, Rattlesnake, Tonawanda, Beaver, Buckhorn, Cayuga, and Goat; in the St. Lawrence, Carlton, Grenadier, Fox, Wells, Grindstone, a large number of the Thousand islands, and Gallup; in Lake Chainplain, Valcour, Crab, and Schuyler; in New York bay, the Atlantic ocean, and Long Island sound, Manhattan, Staten, Long, Gardiner's, Shelter, Plum, Fisher's, all the islands between Long island and Connecticut to within a few rods of the Connecticut shore, Hart's, Randall's, Ward's, Blackwell's, Governor's, Bedloe's, and Ellis. The last three are owned by the general government, and occupied as military posts. New York bay and harbor is deep and capacious enough to accommodate all the shipping belonging to and trading with the port of New York. The other principal harbors are Dunkirk and Buffalo, on Lake Erie; Tonawanda and Lewiston, on Niagara river; Genesee, Sodus, Oswego, Sackett's Harbor, and Cape Vincent, on Lake Ontario; Ogdensburg, on the St. Lawrence; Rouse's Point, Plattsburgh, Port Henry, and Whitehall, on Lake Champlain; and Sag Harbor, at the E. end of Long island. The principal river of the state is the Hudson, which is navigable to Troy, 151 m. from its mouth. The Mohawk, the principal affluent of the Hudson, rising in the interior, enters the Hudson at Waterford, descending about 500 ft. in its entire length of 135 m.; it affords extensive water power at Little Falls and Cohoes. Its principal branches are West and East Canada creeks from the north, and Schoharie creek from the south. Oswego river, which receives the waters of all the interior lakes, from Oneida and Cazenovia on the east to Keuka (formerly Crooked) and Canandaigua on the west, furnishes with its branches and tributaries good water power at Penn Yan, on Keuka lake outlet; at Waterloo, Seneca Falls, and Baldwinsville, on Seneca river; at Phelps, on Flint creek and Canandaigua outlet; at Auburn, on Owasco outlet; almost the entire length of Skaneateles outlet (the fall being 453 ft. in 9 m.); at Cazenovia and Chittenango, on Chittenango creek; and at Fulton and Oswego, on Oswego river. The Alleghany, Susquehanna, and Delaware, with numerous branches, drain the western, central, and eastern portions respectively of the S. part of the state, and furnish valuable water power at numerous points. Cattaraugus and Tonawanda creeks are also considerable streams in the west, the former furnishing important water power, and the latter affording slack-water navigation for the Erie canal for about 10 m. from its mouth. The other principal streams are Buffalo river (formerly creek), flowing into Lake Erie; Oak Orchard creek, Genesee, Salmon, and Black rivers, flowing into Lake Ontario; Oswegatchie, Grasse, and Raquette rivers, tributaries of the St. Lawrence; Chazy, Saranac, and Au Sable rivers, and Wood creek, rapid streams or mountain torrents flowing into Lake Champlain, and furnishing almost unlimited water power; Susquehanna river, which rises in Otsego lake, and in its course in the state receives the waters of Charlotte, Unadilla, and Chenango rivers; and Chemung river, which drains a portion of the state between the Alleghany and Susquehanna, and receives the waters of Canisteo, Conhocton, and Tioga rivers. The principal branches of the Delaware are Popacton and Nevisink rivers.—The state is noted for the great number of beautiful lakes in the interior and N. E. parts. The principal of these are Chautauqua and Cattaraugus, in the west; Hemlock, Honeoye, Canadice, and Conesus, in the Genesee basin, which discharge their waters into Genesee river; Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, Cayuga, Owasco, Skaneateles, Cross, Onondaga, Otisco, Cazenovia, and Oneida, in the central part of the state, all of which find an outlet for their waters through Oswego river; Otsego and Schuyler, which empty into the Susquehanna; and George, Schroon, Au Sable, Placid, Avalanche, Golden, Henderson, Sandford, Blue Mountain, the Fulton lakes (eight in number), Raquette, Beach's, Forked, Newcomb, Long, Cranberry, Upper Saranac, Lower Saranac, Tupper's, Chateaugay, Chazy, Rich, Pleasant, Peseco, Smith's, Moose, and numerous smaller lakes, in the N. E. part. Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, Cayuga, Owasco, Onondoga, Skaneateles, Chautauqua, Otsego, and Oneida lakes, and Lake George, are all navigable for boats and steamers, and on many of them considerable trade is carried on. Lakes Erie, Ontario, and Champlain are navigable for vessels of all sizes. Seneca lake never freezes, and steamers ply upon it throughout the year. The scenery of these lakes attracts thousands of pleasure seekers during the summer months.—The surface of the state is greatly diversified. The topographical features are clearly marked in the mountain ranges and great extent of certain outcrops forming escarpments which extend across the state E. and W. The range constituting the Highlands on the Hudson, entering the state from New Jersey, extends N. E. through Rockland, Orange, Putnam, and Dutchess cos. It is composed of compact gneissoid and granitic rocks. The highest points, varying from 1,100 to 1,700 ft., are Butter hill, Crow's Nest, and Bear mountain in Orange co.; Bull hill, Anthony's Nose, and Breakneck mountain in Putnam co.; and Beacon hill in Dutchess co. This range in its proper limitation gradually declines northeastward to Dover Plains, and passes in low hills into Litchfield co., Conn. It has been sometimes regarded as a continuation of the Blue Ridge of Virginia, but the connection is not proved, and its geological relation is distinct from the metamorphic formations on either side. The Adirondack range is of the same age as the Highlands, and of the same geological structure. This range begins in the Mohawk valley, and is seen on both sides of it at the Noses, rising on the south 100 ft. above the level of the river, and again at Little Falls, forming the rapids. It extends over the N. part of Montgomery and Herkimer cos., the N. E. part of Oneida, all of Lewis co. E. of the Black river, a considerable part of Saratoga, the most of Warren, Hamilton co. entire, nearly all of Essex, Clinton, and Franklin, the greater part of St. Lawrence, and much of Jefferson. The whole constitutes “that comparatively immense and beautifully circumscribed nucleus, which from a height [in Essex co.] of nearly 6,000 ft. descends with great irregularity, and disappears under the transition rocks which encircle it, and which border the St. Lawrence, the Ohamplain, the Mohawk, and the Black river.” Under the patronage of the state, Mr. Verplanck Colvin has been for several years engaged in a topographical and trigonometrical survey of some portions of this region, and his reports for 1873 and 1874 present many new facts. The position and altitude of many mountains and lakes have been determined by him, and the heights of well known peaks more accurately measured, giving to Mt. Marcy and Mt. McIntyre 5,402 and 5,201 ft. respectively. Gothic mountain and Basin mountain, nearly 5,000 ft. in height, are among those now for the first time determined. Mts. Dix, Seward, and Santanoni are reduced by Mr. Colvin's measurements to 4,916, 4,384, and 4,644 ft. respectively. He reports the existence in this region of the moose and beaver, though rare and nearly extinct. The bear, panther, and wolf are still common, and are trapped for their fur or for state bounty. The common deer are plentiful in some sections. A commission of state parks appointed by the legislature have reported in favor of setting apart as a state park from 600 to 3,000 sq. m. of the high mountain region of the Adirondacks, embracing Mt. Marcy and all the great peaks; the chief objects being to preserve the forests for their beneficial climatic effects, moderating the spring freshets in the Hudson by sheltering the snow from the heat of the sun, shielding the sources of this river from evaporation, and affording a healthful pleasure ground. The continuation of the Appalachian range proper in New York is seen in the Shawangunk and Catskill mountains; the former a continuation of the Kittatinny and Blue mountains of Pennsylvania, the latter of the Alleghany, Broad Top, Laurel Hill, and others. This range, entering the state from the southwest, extends northeasterly through Sullivan, Ulster, Delaware, and Greene cos., culminating in the Catskills about 8 m. from the Hudson river. Several minor ridges pass through the W. part of Delaware, Broome, Otsego, and Chenango cos., extending into the S. part of Schoharie, and forming a part of the Catskill mountain range. Along the eastern boundary of the state is a less defined but continuous low mountain range belonging to the same system, entering the state from New Jersey W. of the Highlands, there forming Skunemunk mountain, and extending thence through Dutchess, Columbia, Rensselaer, and Washington cos., known as the Taghkanic range. It is usually regarded as subordinate to the Green mountain range. Its highest points are Beacon hill and Mt. Washington in Dutchess co. The Helderberg mountains are a northern extension of the formations constituting the base of the Catskill mountains. These present a steep escarpment on the north and northeast, over the Helderberg limestones and Hudson river formation, while the higher rounded summits are of the Hamilton group. This escarpment continues more or less distinctly to the Niagara river. Spurs of the Alleghanies occupy the S. part of the western half of the state. The watershed separating the northern and southern drainage of western New York extends in an irregular line through the southerly counties. That portion of the state S. of this watershed, and embracing the greater part of the two southerly tiers of counties, is almost entirely hilly. The highest summits W. of the Susquehanna are in Allegany and Cattaraugus cos., and are 2,000 to 2,500 ft. above tide. N. of the watershed the face of the country descends in a series of rolling and smooth terraces toward Lake Ontario, the region between the hills of the south and the level lands of the north being a beautiful rolling country. S. of the Highlands the surface is generally level or broken by low hills. The river system consists of two general divisions, viz.: that part drained by the great lakes and the St. Lawrence, northerly; and that part drained by the Hudson and other rivers, southerly. The watershed between these two divisions extends in an irregular line from Lake Erie eastward through the southern tier of counties to near the N. E. corner of Chemung co., thence N. E. to the Adirondack mountains in Essex co., thence S. E. to the E. extremity of Lake George, and thence nearly due E. to the E. line of the state. The northern of these divisions consists of five subdivisions or basins, viz.: the basin drained by Lake Erie, Niagara river, and Lake Ontario W. of Genesee river; that of Genesee river and its tributaries; of Oswego river and its tributaries, and the small streams flowing into Lake Ontario between Genesee and Oswego rivers; of the St. Lawrence and the streams flowing into Lake Ontario E. of Oswego river; and that drained by Lakes George and Champlain. The southern division consists of four subdivisions, viz.: the Alleghany, the Susquehanna, the Delaware, and the Hudson river basins.—The geological series within the state of New York is very complete, from the oldest palæozoic rocks to the lower members of the carboniferous system inclusive. This series was described by the New York geologists as the New York system. The Adirondack region, N. of the Mohawk and E. of the Black river, comprises the most ancient highly crystalline rocks, known as the Laurentian system; the lower portions are gneissoid and granitic, and the higher consist of labradorite and hypersthene, forming a coarse granitic mass. Extensive beds of magnetite traverse the strata parallel to the bedding, yielding immense quantities of the ore. The hypersthene rock forms the great mountain centre of which Mts. Marcy and McIntyre are the culminations. In St. Lawrence and Jefferson cos. the prevailing rocks are coarse granite, crystalline limestone, and serpentine, containing vast beds of specular iron ore. These rocks are doubtfully of Laurentian age, but their relations to other formations have not been determined. The crystalline rocks of this entire area are regularly stratified, and were formed anterior to the Potsdam sandstone, which lies against and upon their upturned and eroded edges. The Highlands on the Hudson are of the same age as the Adirondacks, and also contain heavy beds of magnetite. The gneissoid and mica slate formation, which comes into the state from the south and passes eastward of the Highlands, is of more recent age, and contains no magnetite. In New York the Potsdam sandstone succeeds the Laurentian, and appears in a broad, continuous belt along the N. and N. W. slopes of the Adirondacks, and in interrupted outliers on the east, from Clinton to Saratoga co. Overlying the Potsdam, the calciferous sandstone is coextensive with it in the north, and extends further S. The Taghkanic range, including shales, sandstones, and limestones, often more or less metamorphic, with beds of hematite, white and variegated marbles, roofing slate, &c., must be considered of the same age as the Potsdam and calciferous sandstones and Chazy limestone of Lake Champlain. The Trenton group, including Birdseye, Black river, and Trenton limestones, occupies much of Jefferson co., and, continuing S. E. through Lewis and Oneida cos., is seen at Trenton falls and in the Mohawk valley; thence eastward and northward it encircles at least two thirds of the great Laurentian district. The Utica slate and Hudson river group, extending from near Rondout, form a belt on both sides of the Hudson to the bend at Sandy Hill; following the course of the Mohawk valley as far as Rome, it diverges N. W. through Lewis and Oswego cos. to Lake Ontario. The Shawangunk grit or conglomerate, containing lead and copper ores, extends from the Delaware river to Rondout, where it suddenly terminates, and is not again seen in situ, except in Oneida co., where it is known as the Oneida conglomerate. The gray sandstone of Oswego holds essentially the same position, and bowlders and pebbles of similar conglomerate have been there found upon the surface. Southward from the outcrop of the Hudson river group, the Medina sandstone and Clinton group come in; the thin edge of the latter, beginning in Schoharie co., trends westward, and extends on both sides of Oneida lake, and thence with the sandstone forms a broad belt along the S. shore of Lake Ontario. The beds of fossiliferous iron ore of the Clinton group are extensively worked in Oneida and Wayne cos., and extend as far W. as Monroe. The limestone of the Niagara group produces the falls of the Niagara and the great escarpment of Lewiston and Queenston, which, beginning as a terrace in Schoharie co., extends through the state and western Canada. Coextensive with this formation are the water-lime and salt groups; of small force in eastern New York, they expand in the central part of the state. The salt group is the source of all the productive brine springs and wells, and also of the gypsum. The waterlime group furnishes nearly all the hydraulic cement. Entering the state from the N. W. corner of New Jersey, and occupying the valley W. of the Shawangunk mountain, a series of strata of no great prominence reach the Hudson at Rondout, trend northward in a low terrace everywhere marked by a limestone crest, and extend into Albany co. Here thickening and expanding, they constitute the Helderberg formations, separated into upper and lower by the Oriskany sandstone; these, surmounted by the Hamilton rocks, form the Helderberg mountains. The Hamilton group enters the state from the south at Deer Park, approaches the Hudson at Kingston, and thence following the base of the Catskills turns westward, expanding to a width of several miles, and becoming a highly fossiliferous group. The higher beds furnish the flagstones which are extensively quarried and supplied to all the seaboard cities and towns of the north. The thicker beds are known as the Hudson river blue stone. The Portage and Chemung groups, the former marked by dark shales and flaggy sandstones, the latter by olive shales and heavy-bedded sandstones, form a broad belt, entering the state from Pennsylvania on the Delaware river; thence, skirting the base and forming a considerable portion of the lower part of the Catskill mountains, they sweep around them to the north and occupy the valleys between them. From the Chenango river west these formations cover almost the entire width of the two southern ranges of counties, and outcrop on Lake Erie from Eighteen-mile creek to the Pennsylvania line. The Catskill or old red sandstone formation enters the state on the south in several belts, trending N. E. The more westerly of these soon die out, but the three easterly ones continue into Greene co., and uniting form the Catskill mountains. These belts, which are synclinals, carry also outliers of the succeeding formation, the lowest sandstones of the carboniferous system, forming considerable areas on the higher summits of the Catskills and further south. Beyond these lower carboniferous beds the geological series in direct succession is not continued within the state of New York. The red sandstone of the middle secondary, or trias, extends from N. E. New Jersey over a part of Rockland co., terminating at the Palisades on the Hudson and at Haverstraw bay. The cretaceous formation is known on Long Island. The more recent formations are the post-pliocene of the Champlain valley, and the glacial or water-worn drift which to a great extent overspreads the older formations. The mineral springs of Saratoga and Ballston rise from a line of fault which brings the Hudson river slates against the calciferous sandstone and limestones above. The sulphur springs of Sharon, &c., rise from the upper part of the Onondaga salt group. In western New York the sandstones are bituminous, and in several of the counties petroleum issues with the water of springs; and carburetted hydrogen rises from fissures in the rocks, or through standing or running water. The rock formations from the Potsdam sandstone up, which have been named, with their various subdivisions, constitute what is called the New York system, and with the carboniferous group complete the Appalachian system. Though the whole series is found in Pennsylvania, the formations below the carboniferous are more fully developed in New York, and are especially richer in fossils. In this state therefore they have been studied to the best advantage, and when recognized in other parts of the country are generally known by the names given to them by the New York geologists. (See Geology, and Palæontology.) Many of the groups are in great part made up of limestones, and even among the shales and slates of the others calcareous strata are of frequent occurrence. The effect of this wide distribution of calcareous matter has been to insure a general fertility of soil, and to give to New York a high position among the agricultural states of the Union.—Somewhat more than half of the total area of the state is under cultivation. In the northern counties and the highland regions along the S. border and on the Hudson, stock and sheep raising and dairy farming are the almost exclusive agricultural pursuits; while the low lands that form the greater part of the surface of the W. portion of the state are best adapted to grain growing. Broom corn has long been the staple crop of the Mohawk valley intervales; tobacco is extensively raised in the Chemung valley, and parts of Onondaga and Wayne cos.; hops are a leading product of Madison, Oneida, Otsego, and Schoharie cos.; grapes are successfully cultivated in the valley of the Hudson below the Highlands, on the N. shore of Long island, and in all the lake valleys in the central part of the state. Maple sugar is an important product of the northern and central portions; and fruits, particularly apples, peaches, pears, and strawberries, are grown in the western counties N. of the watershed. Large tracts in the vicinity of New York city are devoted to market gardens and to furnishing the city with milk.—The climate possesses a wider range than that of any other state in the Union. Those portions affected by the winds from the ocean, sound, and lakes are more even in temperature and suffer less severely from late and early frosts than more inland districts in the same latitude. The mean temperature of the state, as determined from observations made at 58 meteorological stations, for periods ranging from 1 to 25 years, is 46.49°. The mean length of the season of vegetation, from the first blooming of apples to the first killing frost, is 174 days; while on Long island it is 12½ days longer, and in St. Lawrence co. 22 days shorter. The mean annual fall of rain and snow is about 40-93 inches.—The most noted waterfalls in the state are Niagara falls in Niagara river, 2,900 ft. wide and 164 ft. high; the falls of Genesee river (see Genesee River); Trenton falls, in West Canada creek, Herkimer co., consisting of five cascades with a total fall of 200 ft. in ¾ m.; Taghanic falls, Tompkins co., 230 ft.; Chittenango falls in Chittenango creek, Madison co., 136 ft.; Lyon's falls, in Black river, Lewis co., flowing down an inclined plane 63 ft. at an angle of 60°; Kaaterskill falls, Greene co., consisting of two falls, 180 and 80 ft.; Bash-bish falls, Columbia co. (partly in Massachusetts), a succession of falls in a deep ravine, the total fall in 1 m. being about 700 ft.; Baker's falls, Washington co., a succession of falls and rapids, having a total descent of 76 ft. in 60 rods; Cohoes fall in the Mohawk, near its mouth, with a total fall including rapids of 103 ft.; Glen's falls, Warren co., 50 ft.; High falls, in the Hudson, Warren co., 60 ft.; High falls, Ulster co., 50 ft.; the Au Sable falls, in Wilmington, Essex co., 100 ft.; Enfield falls, Tompkins co., consisting of a series of cascades with a total fall of 230 ft.; Buttermilk falls, Genesee co., 90 ft.; and the falls in Fall creek, Tompkins co., consisting of five cascades with a total descent of over 500 ft. in 1 m. Watkins glen, near the head of Seneca lake, is a deep and narrow ravine about 3 m. long, having perpendicular walls in some places 200 ft. high. Its annual visitors number more than 50,000. Havana glen, 3½ m. distant, is similar to it. Within a radius of 10 m. from Ithaca are numerous picturesque ravines and waterfalls. Upon Stone Bridge creek, Warren co., is a natural bridge 40 ft. high, 80 ft. broad, and 247 ft. long. The principal mineral and medicinal springs are the salt springs of Onondaga co.; Saratoga Springs; New Lebanon and Stockport, Columbia co.; Massena, St. Lawrence co.; Richfield, Otsego co.; Avon, Livingston co.; Clifton, Ontario co.; Sharon, Schoharie co.; Chittenango, Madison co.; and Alabama, Genesee co. The “Lake ridge,” the shore line of the ancient lake, is a beach-like ridge from 4 to 8 m. S. of Lake Ontario and rising from 5 to 20 ft. above the general surface, extending from near the Niagara river to Sodus, Wayne co.; thence with many interruptions its line may be traced to the St. Lawrence near its point of egress from the lake.—In many respects New York is the leading agricultural state of the Union. According to the census of 1870, the area of farm lands was greater than in any other state except Illinois; they were valued at upward of $118,000,000 more than those of any other state, and yielded during the year nearly $43,000,000 more. In several of the western and southern states the yield of wheat and Indian corn was greater, but New York produced more than a fifth of all the hay raised in the United States, more than a third of the buckwheat, and 17,558,681 lbs. of the entire growth (25,456,669 lbs.) of hops. The state ranked first in the production of peas, beans, and potatoes, as well as in the value of the produce of market gardens, orchards, and forests; next to Ohio in flax, Pennsylvania in rye, California in barley, Vermont in maple sugar, Illinois and Pennsylvania in oats, and Ohio and California in the amount of wool and the number of sheep. In dairy products the prominence of New York is specially marked. In 1870 there were on farms 8,935,332 milch cows in the United States, of which 1,350,661 were in New York. The dairy products of the whole country were 514,092,683 lbs. of butter, 53,492,153 of cheese, and 235,500,599 gallons of milk sold; of New York, 107,147,526 lbs. of butter, 22,769,964 of cheese, and 135,775,919 gallons of milk sold. The factories of the United States produced 109,435,229 lbs. of cheese, valued with other products at $16,771,665, of which 78,006,048 lbs., valued at $12,164,065, were the product of New York. The great dairy counties of the state are St. Lawrence, Delaware, Chenango, Chautauqua, Jefferson, and Orange. In 1870 there were on farms 15,627,206 acres of improved land, 5,679,870 of woodland, and 883,734 of other unimproved land. The number of farms was 216,253, averaging 103 acres; 13,006 contained from 3 to 10 acres each, 18,145 from 10 to 20, 54,881 from 20 to 50, 73,956 from 50 to 100, 55,948 from 100 to 500, 209 from 500 to 1,000, and 36 over 1,000. The cash value of farms was $1,272,857,776; farming implements and machinery, $45,997,712; total amount of wages paid during the year, including value of board, $34,451,362. The agricultural productions of New York in 1873, and the number and value of live stock on farms Jan. 1, 1874, as reported by the U. S. department of agriculture, were as follows:
| PRODUCTIONS AND LIVE STOCK. |
Quantity and number. |
Average yield per acre. |
Number of acres in crop. |
Total valuation. |
| Indian corn, bushels | 17,692,000 | 31 | 570,710 | $12,384,400 |
| Wheat, bushels | 7,047,000 | 13.5 | 522,000 | 11,275,200 |
| Rye, bushels | 1,853,000 | 14 | 132,357 | 1,593,580 |
| Oats, bushels | 27,548,000 | 31 | 888,645 | 11,845,640 |
| Barley, bushels | 5,876,000 | 21.2 | 277,170 | 6,463,600 |
| Buckwheat, bushels | 2,947,000 | 19.7 | 149,594 | 2,269,190 |
| Potatoes, bushels | 24,925,000 | 103 | 241,990 | 13,459,500 |
| Tobacco, pounds | 2,950,000 | 1,000 | 2,950 | 324,500 |
| Hay, tons | 4,199,800 | 1.02 | 4,117,451 | 75,596,400 |
| Horses, number | 659,300 | .... | ........ | 62,732,395 |
| Mules, number | 18,900 | .... | ........ | 2,328,102 |
| Oxen and other cattle, number | 683,600 | .... | ........ | 19,742,368 |
| Milch cows, number | 1,410,600 | .... | ........ | 43,023,300 |
| Sheep, number | 2,037,200 | .... | ........ | 6,844,992 |
| Hogs, number | 651,500 | .... | ........ | 5,036,095 |
In 1870 the total estimated value of all farm
productions, including betterments and additions to
stock, was $253,526,153; products of orchards,
$8,347,417; of market gardens, $3,432,354;
of forests, $6,689,179; of home manufactures,
$1,621,621; of animals slaughtered or sold for
slaughter, $28,225,720. The productions were
1,834,330 bushels of spring and 10,344,132 of
winter wheat, 2,478,125 of rye, 16,462,825 of
Indian corn, 35,293,625 of oats, 7,434,621 of
barley, 3,904,030 of buckwheat, 1,152,541 of
peas and beans, 28,547,593 of Irish and 10,656
of sweet potatoes, 98,837 of clover and 57,225
of grass seed, 92,519 of flax seed, 5,614,205
tons of hay, 2,349,798 lbs. of tobacco, 10,599,225
of wool, 3,670,818 of flax, 6,692,040 of
maple sugar, 896,286 of honey, 86,333 of wax,
82,607 gallons of wine, and 7,832 of sorghum
and 46,048 of maple molasses. There were on
farms 536,861 horses, 4,407 mules and asses,
1,350,661 milch cows, 64,141 working oxen,
630,522 other cattle, 2,181,578 sheep, and
518,251 swine. The value of live stock was
$175,882,712. There were 319,380 horses and
40,906 neat cattle not on farms.—According
to the census of 1870, more than a sixth of all
the capital invested in manufactures in the
United States was employed in New York,
and more than a sixth of the value of the
entire products of the country was the result
of New York industry. In the state ranking
next, Pennsylvania, nearly $40,000,000 more
capital was invested than in New York, but
the products of the latter state were valued at
upward of $72,000,000 more than those of
the former. The capital has increased from
$99,904,405 in 1850 to $172,895,652 in 1860
and $366,994,320 in 1870; and the total value
of products from $237,597,249 in 1850 to
$378,870,939 in 1860 and $785,194,651 in 1870.
In the last named year, the total number of
establishments was 36,206, using 4,664 steam
engines of 126,107 horse power, and 9,011
water wheels of 208,256 horse power, and
employing 351,800 hands, of whom 267,378 were
males above 16, 63,795 females above 15, and
20,627 youth. The materials used amounted
to $452,065,452; wages paid, $142,466,758.
Not included in the above results for 1870 are
the statistics of mining and quarrying, in
which industries 5,177 hands were employed,
$4,696,091 capital invested, and $4,324,651
worth of products obtained, including 525,493
tons of iron ore valued at $2,095,315, and
$1,832,976 worth of stone; and those of
fisheries, in which the products amounted to $235,750.
The most extensive iron mines are in
Essex, Dutchess, Clinton, and Orange cos. The
greater portion of the stone was quarried in
Ulster co., though a large amount of marble
was produced in Westchester co. In the
following table of the leading industries a
comparison is afforded between the values in
New York and in the United States of those
products in which the former ranks above all
other states. In several other important
industries, New York holds a very high but not
the first rank. Thus, taking the value of
products as a standard, the state ranks next to
Massachusetts in the production of boots and
shoes and paper, to Connecticut in hardware,
to Illinois in planed lumber, to Ohio in
agricultural implements, and to Pennsylvania in
brick, carpets other than rag, drugs and
chemciicals, iron manufactures, and machinery.
| INDUSTRIES. | No. of establishments. |
No. of hands employed. |
Capital. | Wages. | Value of materials. |
Value of products. |
Products of the United States. | ||
| Agricultural implements | 337 | 4,953 | $7,824,656 | $2,513,317 | $4,594,316 | $11,847,037 | .......... | ||
| Bags, other than paper | 8 | 408 | 353,000 | 149,766 | 1,482,303 | 2,002,288 | .......... | ||
| Blacksmithing | 3,146 | 6,643 | 2,378,453 | 1,331,846 | 1,575,728 | 5,373,671 | .......... | ||
| Bleaching and dyeing | 29 | 398 | 482,050 | 195,002 | 2,550,250 | 2,938,345 | .......... | ||
| Bookbinding | 94 | 2,261 | 1,685,078 | 968,648 | 2,961,396 | 4,557,119 | $14,077,309 | ||
| Boots and shoes | 3,024 | 17,501 | 6,855,657 | 6,215,068 | 10,692,075 | 22,679,874 | .......... | ||
| Boxes, packing | 107 | 1,121 | 764,950 | 530,312 | 978,778 | 2,127,953 | 8,222,433 | ||
| Boxes, paper | 78 | 1,691 | 437,950 | 532,222 | 671,463 | 1,709,907 | 3,917,159 | ||
| Bakery products | 710 | 3,457 | 2,673,142 | 1,448,312 | 5,616,322 | 9,566,153 | 36,907,704 | ||
| Brick | 320 | 6,728 | 3,416,280 | 1,886,424 | 1,265,299 | 4,483,202 | .......... | ||
| Brooms and wisp brushes | 133 | 3,026 | 1,084,345 | 670,238 | 1,651,991 | 3,135,723 | 6,622,285 | ||
| Carpentering and building | 1,868 | 8,806 | 3,765,690 | 4,441,118 | 8,026,184 | 17,306,232 | .......... | ||
| Carpets, other than rag | 13 | 3,425 | 4,251,750 | 1,423,784 | 3,046,863 | 4,976,835 | .......... | ||
| Carriages and wagons | 1,797 | 8,784 | 6,287,140 | 3,667,747 | 3,831,757 | 11,049,345 | 65,362,837 | ||
| Clothing, men's | 1,546 | 28,793 | 14,782,043 | 8,826,008 | 27,982,394 | 46,375,369 | 147,650,378 | ||
| Clothing, women's | 446 | 4,700 | 1,526,434 | 1,078,893 | 2,310,674 | 4,830,425 | 12,900,585 | ||
| Coal oil, rectified | 19 | 183 | 699,500 | 109,607 | 2,236,149 | 2,702,680 | .......... | ||
| Coffee and spices, roasted and ground | 29 | 309 | 1,513,600 | 211,095 | 3,105,260 | 4,706,200 | 11,266,423 | ||
| Confectionery | 157 | 1,398 | 1,377,700 | 489,514 | 1,820,988 | 3,942,391 | 15,922,643 | ||
| Cooperage | 870 | 4,332 | 2,223,366 | 1,359,083 | 2,558,920 | 4,945,434 | .......... | ||
| Cotton goods, not specified | 67 | 8,909 | 8,209,236 | 2,560,731 | 6,711,378 | 10,740,961 | .......... | ||
| Drugs and chemicals | 57 | 1,046 | 2,299,700 | 510,285 | 2,227,243 | 4,578,857 | .......... | ||
| Flouring and grist-mill products | 1,610 | 5,193 | 20,956,820 | 1,687,234 | 50,606,404 | 60,237,220 | 444,985,143 | ||
| Furniture, not specified | 804 | 7,970 | 7,523,825 | 4,002,548 | 5,206,179 | 13,715,137 | 57,926,547 | ||
| Furniture, chairs | 106 | 1,583 | 1,284,338 | 737,349 | 824,478 | 2,360,131 | .......... | ||
| Furs, dressed | 72 | 2,029 | 2,183,917 | 823,714 | 3,828,297 | 7,028,488 | 8,903,052 | ||
| Gas | 71 | 2,240 | 13,951,750 | 1,785,911 | 3,498,750 | 8,512,706 | 32,048,851 | ||
| Gloves and mittens | 144 | 3,112 | 2,071,350 | 848,484 | 1,668,993 | 3,507,795 | 3,998,521 | ||
| Grease and tallow | 16 | 110 | 201,800 | 47,320 | 2,863,055 | 3,316,207 | .......... | ||
| Hardware | 113 | 1,811 | 1,980,385 | 815,871 | 983,435 | 2,484,787 | .......... | ||
| Hats and caps | 135 | 5,267 | 2,363,083 | 2,188,110 | 4,213,353 | 8,708,723 | 24,848,167 | ||
| Hoop skirts and corsets | 46 | 2,480 | 1,079,000 | 615,334 | 1,349,367 | 2,866,619 | 4,758,290 | ||
| Hosiery | 60 | 3,741 | 3,318,700 | 1,122,890 | 3,391,840 | 5,528,742 | 18,411,564 | ||
| India-rubber and elastic goods | 10 | 1,008 | 1,777,000 | 489,500 | 1,316,803 | 3,076,720 | .......... | ||
| Instruments, professional and scientific | 48 | 480 | 480,528 | 268,779 | 149,539 | 617,388 | .......... | ||
| Iron, blooms | 22 | 1,020 | 1,614,883 | 358,135 | 1,626,264 | 2,171,166 | .......... | ||
| Iron, forged and rolled | 47 | 5,503 | 6,143,700 | 2,841,147 | 11,489,147 | 16,834,480 | .......... | ||
| Iron, pigs | 39 | 2,121 | 5,732,116 | 1,095,450 | 5,548,925 | 7,922,463 | .......... | ||
| Iron, castings, not specified | 422 | 8,769 | 9,372,118 | 5,024,413 | 8,205,735 | 17,252,226 | 76,453,553 | ||
| Iron, castings, stoves, heaters, and hollow ware | 63 | 3,753 | 5,749,383 | 2,400,716 | 2,244,394 | 6,741,210 | 23,389,667 | ||
| Jewelry not specified | 215 | 3,618 | 5,124,250 | 826,481 | 3,927,612 | 9,757,856 | 22,104,032 | ||
| Lead (bar and sheet, pig, pipe, and shot) | 12 | 103 | 1,073,000 | 83,178 | 8,938,740 | 12,189,300 | 18,327,196 | ||
| Leather, tanned | 624 | 6,064 | 13,286,940 | 2,609,052 | 19,118,186 | 26,988,320 |
| ||
| Leather, curried | 325 | 1,011 | 1,669,388 | 439,253 | 5,183,494 | 6,310,222 | |||
| Leather, morocco, tanned and curried | 22 | 552 | 605,900 | 293,865 | 792,724 | 1,371,419 | |||
| Leather, patent and enamelled | 2 | 40 | 31,000 | 8,000 | 22,050 | 62,000 | |||
| Leather, dressed skins | 29 | 442 | 584,150 | 210,685 | 1,454,347 | 1,837,839 | |||
| Liquors, distilled | 50 | 333 | 1,377,640 | 125,772 | 1,829,574 | 3,181,743 | .......... | ||
| Liquors, malt | 281 | 2,942 | 12,425,322 | 2,067,908 | 9,194,243 | 15,818,863 | 55,706,643 | ||
| Lumber, planed | 175 | 1,961 | 2,955,586 | 886,167 | 4,574,619 | 6,332,341 | .......... | ||
| Lumber, sawed | 3,510 | 15,409 | 15,110,981 | 3,438,601 | 11,228,613 | 21,238,228 | .......... | ||
| Machinery, not specified | 326 | 5,985 | 7,884,366 | 3,595,771 | 4,454,321 | 11,282,937 | .......... | ||
| Machinery, steam engines and boilers | 103 | 4,478 | 4,390,645 | 2,492,453 | 3,766,318 | 8,025,023 | .......... | ||
| Malt | 91 | 824 | 3,647,066 | 323,698 | 4,338,458 | 6,052,132 | .......... | ||
| Marble and stone work, not specified | 172 | 3,188 | 2,831,750 | 2,272,403 | 2,333,177 | 6,200,209 | .......... | ||
| Marble and stone work, monuments and tombstones | 161 | 967 | 1,125,910 | 449,467 | 684,382 | 1,625,154 | .......... | ||
| Masonry brick and stone | 222 | 2,097 | 1,247,689 | 1,014,561 | 1,797,982 | 3,577,287 | 14,587,185 | ||
| Molasses and sugar, refined | 18 | 864 | 6,375,000 | 1,229,956 | 37,247,730 | 42,837,184 | 108,941,911 | ||
| Musical instruments | 122 | 2,860 | 3,344,150 | 1,997,134 | 1,998,833 | 5,452,915 | 13,905,908 | ||
| Oil, linseed | 9 | 225 | 576,600 | 142,980 | 2,141,360 | 2,763,455 | 8,881,962 | ||
| Paints, lead and zinc | 12 | 342 | 1,057,500 | 202,342 | 1,685,280 | 2,312,500 | .......... | ||
| Paper, printing | 68 | 2,310 | 4,421,800 | 1,026,352 | 4,666,660 | 7,294,891 | 25,200,417 | ||
| Paper, wrapping | 78 | 963 | 1,841,800 | 382,356 | 1,053,194 | 1,964,336 | .......... | ||
| Patent medicines and compounds | 60 | 646 | 1,552,250 | 263,714 | 1,631,639 | 3,322,467 | .......... | ||
| Printing of cotton and woollen goods | 41 | 590 | 280,000 | 297,500 | 2,784,600 | 3,317,100 | .......... | ||
| Printing and publishing, total | 303 | 6,431 | 7,728,017 | 3,980,549 | 6,785,518 | 15,179,073 | 66,862,447 | ||
| Printing and publishing, not specified | 18 | 1,861 | 1,612,500 | 1,257,550 | 2,584,300 | 5,402,480 | .......... | ||
| Printing and publishing, books | 18 | 755 | 1,495,257 | 400,294 | 859,008 | 1,662,502 | 3,568,823 | ||
| Printing and publishing, newspapers | 159 | 2,557 | 3,020,350 | 1,700,970 | 2,679,488 | 5,969,734 | 25,393,029 | ||
| Saddlery and harness | 1,010 | 3,239 | 1,743,080 | 929,092 | 1,597,540 | 3,660,929 | .......... | ||
| Sash, doors, and blinds | 315 | 3,632 | 3,637,966 | 1,783,954 | 2,886,073 | 6,138,771 | 36,625,806 | ||
| Sewing machines | 12 | 3,131 | 2,727,576 | 2,189,640 | 888,066 | 6,920,140 | 14,097,446 | ||
| Ship building, repairing, and ship materials | 200 | 2,448 | 2,449,350 | 1,427,709 | 2,437,459 | 4,973,805 | 17,910,328 | ||
| Soap and candles | 97 | 1,019 | 2,360,575 | 506,982 | 3,913,419 | 6,125,018 | 22,535,337 | ||
| Starch | 72 | 1,348 | 1,895,375 | 776,855 | 2,929,018 | 4,678,413 | 5,994,422 | ||
| Tin, copper, and sheet-iron ware | 952 | 5,013 | 4,372,821 | 1,977,487 | 3,848,557 | 8,130,944 | 40,636,811 | ||
| Tobacco and cigars | 24 | 710 | 844,600 | 272,154 | 854,289 | 1,543,862 |
| ||
| Tobacco, chewing, smoking, and snuffing | 27 | 3,823 | 2,677,311 | 984,406 | 5,406,151 | 8,671,475 | |||
| Tobacco, cigars | 1,072 | 5,710 | 2,704,135 | 2,494,310 | 3,503,186 | 8,725,821 | |||
| Upholstery | 116 | 1,600 | 1,941,700 | 478,500 | 1,600,374 | 2,923,251 | 9,379,310 | ||
| Woollen goods | 188 | 8,679 | 9,972,857 | 2,824,344 | 8,348,693 | 14,152,645 | .......... | ||
In Onondaga co. are the most extensive salt works in the United States. They are owned and managed by the state, which derived from this source in 1873 a net revenue of $15,130. The works in operation have an annual productive capacity of 10,700,000 bushels; 7,450,257 bushels were inspected in 1873, and 6,594,191 in 1874. (See Salt.) For commercial purposes the state is divided into the following ten United States customs districts, of which the ports of entry bear the same name unless otherwise specified: Buffalo Creek, Cape Vincent, Champlain (port of entry Plattsburgh), Dunkirk, Genesee (Rochester), New York, Niagara (Suspension Bridge), Oswegatchie (Ogdensburg), Oswego, and Sag Harbor. In the district of New York, Albany, Esopus, Hudson, Kinderhook, Newburgh, New Windsor, Port Jefferson, Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck Landing, and Troy are ports of delivery. The imports and exports for the year ending June 30, 1874, were as follows:
| DISTRICTS. | Imports. | Domestic exports. |
Foreign exports. |
| Buffalo Creek | $2,916,406 | $460,473 | $53,949 |
| Cape Vincent | 524,480 | 113,110 | ........ |
| Champlain | 2,176,784 | 1,041,154 | 34,957 |
| Dunkirk | 8,623 | ......... | ........ |
| Genesee | 429,472 | 367,527 | 38 |
| New York | 395,133,622 | 340,360,269 | 14,633,463 |
| Niagara | 4,579,846 | 351,078 | 65,731 |
| Oswegatchie | 1,977,751 | 605,233 | 136,264 |
| Oswego | 7,200,952 | 1,724,651 | 187 |
| Sag Harbor | ......... | ........ | ........ |
The movement of foreign shipping in the various districts, and the number of vessels registered, enrolled, and licensed, were as follows:
| DISTRICTS. | ENTERED. | CLEARED. | REGIST'D, &C. | |||
| Vessels. | Tons. | Vessels. | Tons. | Vessels. | Tons. | |
| Buffalo Cr'k | 780 | 241,456 | 704 | 224,130 | 805 | 163,829.08 |
| Cape Vinc't | 753 | 106,217 | 736 | 102,886 | 34 | 3,996.28 |
| Champlain | 1,707 | 136,870 | 1,798 | 145,612 | 849 | 58,268.09 |
| Dunkirk | 18 | 1,258 | 15 | 957 | 3 | 896.55 |
| Genesee | 614 | 67,945 | 580 | 91,577 | 240 | 30,429.51 |
| New York | 6,723 | 5,049,618 | 6,103 | 4,837,218 | 6,630 | 1,318,523.34 |
| Niagara | 219 | 45,220 | 215 | 44,827 | 39 | 6,527.01 |
| Osweg'tchie | 434 | 88,380 | 434 | 88,856 | 35 | 3,635.65 |
| Oswego | 2,613 | 438,855 | 2,463 | 373,015 | 952 | 112,159.38 |
| Sag Harbor | .... | ........ | .... | ........ | 231 | 13,236.22 |
The entrances and clearances in the coastwise trade, and the vessels built in the various districts, were as follows:
| DISTRICTS. | COASTWISE TRADE. | Vessels built. | ||||
| ENTERED. | CLEARED. | |||||
| Vessels. | Tons. | Vessels. | Tons. | No. | Tons. | |
| Buffalo Creek | 4,011 | 2,068,486 | 4,155 | 2,082,163 | 53 | 6,374 |
| Cape Vincent | 180 | 23,268 | 207 | 28,070 | 4 | 1,129 |
| Champlain | 2 | 140 | 993 | 68,089 | 47 | 4,704 |
| Dunkirk | 71 | 13,306 | 76 | 13,581 | .. | .... |
| Genesee | 197 | 20,984 | 202 | 22,504 | 41 | 4,987 |
| New York | 2,742 | 1,774,181 | 4,081 | 2,175,412 | 396 | 64,001 |
| Niagara | 138 | 42,750 | 139 | 42,991 | 14 | 1,900 |
| Oswegatchie | 620 | 176,957 | 620 | 177,897 | 8 | 876 |
| Oswego | 744 | 132,049 | 1,279 | 228,168 | 57 | 8,217 |
| Sag Harbor | 24 | 5,334 | 25 | 5,452 | 7 | 385 |
Details of the commerce of the port of New York are given in the article on that city. The only district in which vessels were reported to be engaged in the fisheries was that of Sag Harbor, where in 1873 128 were employed in the cod and mackerel fisheries and 1 in the whale fishery; 7 vessels entered and 9 cleared in the general fisheries. Within the past few years the state commissioners of fisheries have taken measures to stock the internal waters of the state with varieties of edible fish. A state hatching house is maintained at Caledonia, Livingston co., and there is an extensive shad nursery in the Hudson, about 10 m. below Albany.—The first railroad in New York, the Mohawk and Hudson (from Albany to Schenectady), 17 m. long, was opened in 1831. In the following year the Saratoga and Schenectady, 21 m., and one mile of the New York and Harlem, were opened. The mileage of the state had increased to 719 m. in 1845, 2,444 in 1855, 2,769 in 1865, 3,829 in 1870, 4,927 in 1873, and 5,178 in 1874. There are stringent laws concerning the formation and continuance of railroad corporations, and strict regulations as to the protection of passengers. Each corporation is required to make an annual report under oath to the state engineer and surveyor, giving details as to the condition and transactions of the company; and this officer reports annually to the legislature. The chief items relating to all the corporations in the state in 1874 are shown in the following statement, in which the figures, except the mileage specified for New York, are not limited to the state, but apply to the entire corporations:
| Miles of entire main line and branches | 8,552 |
| Miles of double track and sidings | 3,956 |
| Total track mileage | 12,508 |
| Miles main line and branches[1] completed in New York | 5,178 |
| Capital stock authorized | $611,298,870 |
| Capital stock paid in | $202,365,070 |
| Funded debt | $291,681,017 |
| Floating debt | $30,801,657 |
| Total stock and debt | $724,847,745 |
| Cost of construction and equipment | $598,543,930 |
| Total annual expenses | $66,087,974 |
| Total annual earnings | $97,951,073 |
| Net annual earnings | $31,863,099 |
- ↑ Exclusive of second tracks and sidings
The two most extensive railroad corporations of the state are the Erie and the New York Central and Hudson River. The former, chartered in 1832, was opened from Piermont to Goshen in 1841, to Binghamton in 1848, to Elmira in 1849, to Corning in 1850, and to Dunkirk in 1861. The eastern terminus was subsequently extended to Jersey City. More than 1,000 m. of railroad are operated by this company, whose earnings in 1873 exceeded $20,000,000. The New York Central and Hudson River railroad is a consolidation of numerous lines. It was completed from Albany to Buffalo in 1841, and from New York to Albany in 1851. About 860 m. of road are owned and leased by the company; the total earnings in 1873 were about $29,000,000. The following table exhibits the names of the lines lying wholly or partly within the state, together with the termini, the number of miles in operation within the state Jan. 1, 1875, and the paid-in capital stock and cost of construction and equipment for the entire lines:
| NAMES OF CORPORATIONS. | TERMINI. | Miles completed in the state in 1874. |
Total length between termini when different from preceding. |
Capital stock paid in. |
Cost of construction and equipment. | |||
| From | To | |||||||
| Adirondack | Saratoga Springs | Ogdensburg | 60 | 185 | .......... | $2,728,692 | ||
| Albany and Susquehanna | Albany | Binghamton | 142 | ... | $5,000,000 | 10,635,221 | ||
| Branches: | ||||||||
| Cherry Valley Sharon and Albany | Cobleskill | Cherry Valley | 21 | ... | 281,350 | 600,000 | ||
| Lackawanna and Susquehanna | Nineveh | Jefferson Junction | 21 | ... | .......... | 1,012,792 | ||
| Schenectady and Duanesburgh | Schenectady | Quaker Street Junction | 15 | ... | 91,300 | 600,000 | ||
| Atlantic and Great Western | Salamanca | Dayton, O. | 48 | 387 | 34,671,548 | 81,245,071 | ||
| Black River and St. Lawrence | Carthage | Edwards | 12 | 38 | 144,988 | 144,422 | ||
| Boston and Albany | Boston, Mass. | Albany | 39 | 201 | 19,864,100 | 27,738,686 | ||
| Branch: Hudson and Boston | Chatham | Hudson | 17 | ... | .......... | 245,048 | ||
| Brooklyn, Bath, and Coney Island | Brooklyn | Coney Island | 7 | ... | .......... | .......... | ||
| Buffalo, Corry, and Pittsburgh | Brocton | Corry, Pa. | 37 | 43 | .......... | 1,546,930 | ||
| Buffalo and Jamestown | Buffalo | Jamestown | 30 | 87 | 555,880 | 253,886 | ||
| Buffalo, New York, and Philadelphia | Buffalo | Emporium, Pa. | 78 | 121 | 1,691,150 | 5,690,747 | ||
| Cayuga | Ithaca | Cayuga | 38 | ... | 300,000 | 1,442,495 | ||
| Cayuga and Susquehanna | Owego | Cayuga Lake | 35 | ... | 589,110 | 1,183,012 | ||
| Cazenovia, Canastota, and De Ruyter | Canastota | De Ruyter | 15 | 29 | 614,033 | 743,884 | ||
| Chemung and Elmira, Jefferson, and Canandaigua | Elmira | Canandaigua | 69 | ... | 880,000 | 2,177,384 | ||
| Cooperstown and Susquehanna Valley | Cooperstown | Cooperstown Junction | 16 | ... | 308,405 | 459,283 | ||
| Corning, Cowanesque, and Antrim | Corning | Antrim, Pa. | 16 | 53 | 1,900,000 | 1,900,000 | ||
| Elmira and Williamsport | Erie Junction | Williamsport, Pa. | 6 | 76 | .......... | .......... | ||
| Erie | Jersey City, N. J. | Dunkirk | 386 | 459 | 86,536 910 | 115,075,900 | ||
| Branches and lines leased: | ||||||||
| Avon, Genesee, and Mount Morris | Avon | Mount Morris | 15 | ... | 194,250 | 217,812 | ||
| Buffalo, Bradford, and Pittsburgh | Carrollton | Gilesville, Pa. | 8 | 26 | .......... | .......... | ||
| Buffalo, New York, and Erie | Corning | Buffalo | 141 | ... | 950,000 | 3,330,000 | ||
| Buffalo Branch | Hornellsville | Attica | 60 | ... | .......... | .......... | ||
| Erie and Genesee Valley | Mount Morris | Dansville | 14 | 21 | 144,900 | 191,302 | ||
| Goshen and Deckertown | Goshen | Pine Island | 12 | ... | 105,800 | 291,700 | ||
| Middleburg and Schoharie | Middleburg | Schoharie | 6 | ... | 85,800 | 105,000 | ||
| Montgomery and Erie | Goshen | Montgomery | 10 | ... | 150,065 | 288,930 | ||
| Monticello and Port Jervis | Monticello | Port Jervis | 24 | ... | 420,207 | 1,080,853 | ||
| Newburgh Branch | Greycourt | Newburgh | 19 | ... | .......... | .......... | ||
| Newburgh and New York | Newburgh Junction | Vail's Gate | 13 | ... | .......... | .......... | ||
| Northern Railroad of New Jersey | Bergen N. J. | Nyack | 6 | 26 | 1,000,000 | 527,451 | ||
| Piermont Branch | Piermont | Sufferns | 18 | ... | .......... | .......... | ||
| Rochester and Genesee Valley | Rochester | Avon | 18 | ... | 557,560 | 671,303 | ||
| Suspension Bridge and Erie Junction | East Buffalo | Suspension Bridge | 23 | ... | 500,000 | .......... | ||
| Flushing, North Side, and Central | Long Island City | Northport | 55 | 76 | 893,000 | .......... | ||
| Fonda, Johnstown, and Gloversville | Fonda | Gloversville | 10 | ... | 300,000 | 511,988 | ||
| Geneva, Ithaca, and Athens | Geneva | Pa. state line | 75 | ... | 980,600 | 2,465,314 | ||
| Glen's Falls | Fort Edward | Glen's Falls | 6 | ... | 96,639 | .......... | ||
| Greene | Chenango Forks | Greene | 8 | ... | 200,000 | 394,913 | ||
| Greenwich and Johnsonville | Greenwich | Johnsonville | 14 | ... | 130,845 | 310,792 | ||
| Lake Champlain and Moriah | Port Henry | Mineville | 7 | ... | 200,000 | 442,637 | ||
| Lake Ontario Shore | Oswego | Lewiston | 51 | 148 | 1,873,502 | 4,002,917 | ||
| Lake Shore and Michigan Southern | Buffalo | Chicago, Ill. | 69 | 540 | 50,000,000 | 79,682,758 | ||
| Long Island | Hunter's Point | Greenport | 94 | ... | 3,300,000 | 5,281,902 | ||
| Leased: New York and Rockaway | Jamaica | Far Rockaway | 10 | ... | .......... | 350,000 | ||
| Smithtown and Port Jefferson | Northport | Port Jefferson | 19 | ... | 96,227 | 565,456 | ||
|
East New York | Jamaica | 5 | ... | .......... | .......... | ||
| Mineola | Roslyn | 9 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Hicksville | Northport | 15 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Manor Junction | Sag Harbor | 35 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| New York and Canada | Whitehall | Canada line | 114 | ... | .......... | 2,011,201 | ||
| New York and Oswego Midland | Oswego | Middletown | 149 | ... | 6,800,522 | 26,043,892 | ||
| Western Division | Norwich | Buffalo | 283 | 185 | .......... | .......... | ||
|
Guilford | New Berlin | 22 | ... | .......... | .......... | ||
| Walton | Delhi | 17 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Summitville | Ellenville | 7 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Leased: Middletown and Crawford | Middletown | Crawford | 10 | ... | 124,137 | 192,000 | ||
| Middletown, Unionville, and Water Gap | Middletown | N. J. state line | 13 | ... | 123,200 | 350,476 | ||
| Rome and Clinton | Rome | Clinton | 13 | 273,700 | 360,000 | |||
| Utia, Clinton, and Binghamton | Utica | Smith's Valley | 31 | ... | .......... | .......... | ||
| New York, Boston, and Montreal | New York | Rutland, Vt. | 146 | 244 | 8,800,000 | 17,286,474 | ||
|
New York | Albany | 144 | ... | 89,428,300 | 92,506,503 | ||
| Albany | Buffalo | 298 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
|
Schenectady Junction | Athens | 40 | ... | .......... | .......... | ||
| Troy | Schenectady | 21 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Syracuse | Rochester | 104 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Batavia | Attica | 11 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Rochester | Niagara Falls | 75 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Rochester Junction | Charlotte | 7 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Buffalo | Lewiston | 28 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Lockport Junction | Tonawanda | 12 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Leased: Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris | Mott Haven Junction | Spuyten Duyvil | 6 | ... | $989,000 | $980,549 | ||
| New York and Mahopac | Golden's Bridge | Lake Mahopac | 7 | ... | 265,000 | 265,448 | ||
| Troy and Greenbush | Troy | Greenbush | 6 | ... | 274,400 | 294,900 | ||
| Niagara Bridge and Canandaigua | Canandaigua | Suspension Bridge | 98 | ... | 1,000,000 | 3,495,832 | ||
| Junction | East Buffalo | International Bridge | 8 | ... | 214,600 | 214,600 | ||
| Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley, and Pittsburgh | Dunkirk | Oil City, Pa. | 42 | 106 | 1,300,000 | 4,782,843 | ||
| New York and Harlem | New York | Chatham Four Corners | 131 | ... | 9,000,000 | 20,451,999 | ||
| New York, Kingston, and Syracuse | Rondout | Stamford | 75 | ... | .......... | 3,245,921 | ||
| New York, New Haven, and Hartford | Harlem Junction | Springfield, Mass. | 15 | 123 | 15,500,000 | 15,493,184 | ||
| Leased: Harlem River and Portchester | Harlem River | New Rochelle | 11 | ... | 41,860 | 2,512,087 | ||
| Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain | Rouse's Point | Ogdensburg | 118 | ... | 5,077,000 | 5,796,920 | ||
| Oswego and Syracuse | Oswego | Syracuse | 35 | ... | 1,820,400 | 1,574,734 | ||
| Poughkeepsie and Eastern | Poughkeepsie | Conn. state line | 47 | ... | 524,463 | 1,475,430 | ||
| Rensselaer and Saratoga | Troy | Rutland, Vt. | 79 | 95 | 6,000,000 | 8,749,755 | ||
|
Eagle Bridge | Castleton, Vt. | 44 | 61 | .......... | .......... | ||
| Ballston | Schenectady | 21 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Fort Edward | Glen's Falls | 6 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Waterford Junction | Albany | 12 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Rhinebeck and Connecticut | Rhinebeck | Boston Corners | 28 | 33 | 118,795 | 610,585 | ||
| Rochester, Nunda, and Pennsylvania | Rochester | Bishop Summit, Pa. | 20 | 150 | 625,000 | 863,900 | ||
| Rochester and Pine Creek | Gainesville | Caledonia | 6 | 26 | 120,127 | 136,477 | ||
| Rochester and State line | Rochester | Salamanca | 24 | 107 | 27,034 | 1,248,896 | ||
| Rome, Watertown, and Ogdensburg | Rome | Ogdensburg | 141 | ... | 3,147,500 | 4,810,648 | ||
|
Watertown | Cape Vincent | 24 | ... | .......... | .......... | ||
| De Kalb Junction | Potsdam Junction | 24 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Leased: Oswego and Rome | Richland | Oswego | 29 | ... | 300,000 | 950,952 | ||
| Schoharie Valley | Schoharie C.H. | Central Bridge | 5 | ... | 300,000 | 950,952 | ||
| Skaneateles | Skaneateles | Junction | 5 | ... | 100,000 | 125,611 | ||
| Sodus Point and Southern | Sodus Point | Stanley | 33 | ... | 715,966 | 1,588,799 | ||
| Southern Central | Fair Haven | Pa. state line | 116 | ... | 1,784,771 | 4,211,770 | ||
| South Side | Williamsburgh | Patchogue | 54 | ... | 1,000,000 | 4,531,783 | ||
|
Valley Stream | Rockaway Beach | 6 | ... | .......... | .......... | ||
| Valley Stream | Hempstead | 9 | ... | .......... | .......... | |||
| Staten Island | Vanderbilt Landing | Tottenville | 13 | ... | 210,000 | 400,000 | ||
| Sterling Mountain | Sterling Junction | Lakeville | 7 | ... | 80,000 | 500,190 | ||
| Syracuse, Binghamton, and New York | Geddes | Binghamton | 81 | ... | 2,004,000 | 4,044,029 | ||
| Syracuse and Chenango | Syracuse | Earlville | 43 | ... | 699,700 | 1,247,035 | ||
| Syracuse Northern | Syracuse | Sandy Creek Junction | 45 | ... | 1,005,043 | 1,985,658 | ||
| Troy and Boston | Troy | Vt. state line | 35 | ... | 1,609,010 | 2,447,043 | ||
| Leased: Troy and Bennington | Hoosack Junction | Vt. state line | 5 | ... | 75,400 | 236,952 | ||
| Utica and Black River | Utica | Philadelphia | 87 | ... | 1,769,620 | 2,662,838 | ||
| Leased: Carthage, Watertown, and Sackett's Harbor | Watertown | Sackett's Harbor | 30 | ... | 480,054 | 770,883 | ||
| Clayton and Theresa | Clayton | Theresa Junction | 15 | ... | 202,730 | 290,125 | ||
| Black River and Morristown | Philadelphia | Morristown | 36 | ... | 277,462 | 436,180 | ||
| Utica, Chenango, and Susquehanna Valley | Utica | Greene | 76 | ... | 3,793,700 | 4,047,433 | ||
| Branch | Richfield Junction | Richfield Springs | 22 | ... | .......... | .......... | ||
| Utica, Ithaca and Elmira | Utica | Corning | 50 | 118 | 925,360 | 1,440,123 | ||
| Valley | Binghamton | Pa. state line | 11 | ... | 750,000 | 818,796 | ||
| Wallkill Valley | Montgomery | Albany | 33 | 85 | 754,747 | 1,900,231 | ||
| Warwick Valley | Warwick | Greycourt | 10 | ... | 225,000 | 199,161 | ||
The canals of New York are a highly important feature in its commercial facilities. (See Canal, vol. iii., p. 685.) The Erie canal, connecting Lake Erie with the Hudson river, affords a continuous water channel through which the produce of the western states and Canada may reach the port of New York; while the several canals traversing the state from north to south supply transportation facilities to the interior of New York and Pennsylvania. The canals and navigable feeders owned hy the state aggregate 857 m. in length, and the river and other improvements exclusive of lakes which have been completed increase the length of the artificial system of navigable waters to 907 m. The general superintendence of the canals is vested in three commissioners elected for three years, who have charge of the construction of new and the repairs of old canals. The state engineer and surveyor inspects the canals and performs other duties, while the canal board, composed of the lieutenant governor, comptroller, secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general, state engineer and surveyor, and the canal commissioners, fix the rates of toll with the concurrence of the legislature, appoint officers, &c. The amount of freight transported on all the state canals during 1874 was 5,804,588 tons, valued at $196,674,322, including products of the forest valued at $17,840,356; agricultural products, $64,344,898; manufactures, $7,094,531; merchandise, $64,477,540; and other articles, $42,916,997. The total quantity of freight carried by the canals was nearly half as great as that transported by the Erie and New York Central railroads. The amount of freight brought to the Hudson river by the Erie and Ohamplain canals was 3,223,112 tons, valued at $107,976,476; 1,709,816 tons of freight, worth $71,294,867, were brought by canal boats directly to New York. The number of boats arrived at and cleared from New York, Albany, and Troy was 30,806. Until 1874 the legislature was prohibited by the constitution from selling or leasing any of the state canals; but in that year an amendment was adopted removing the restriction except in the case of the Erie, Oswego, Champlain, and Cayuga and Seneca canals. Besides the state canals there are belonging to corporations the Delaware and Hudson canal, extending from Honesdale, Pa., to Eddyville near Rondout, 108 m., of which 83 are in New York, and affording communication between the Delaware and Hudson rivers; and the Junction canal, which extends from Elmira to the Pennsylvania state line, 18 m. The details of the state canals are as follows:
| NAME OF CANAL. | TERMINI. | Length in miles. |
Total cost of construction to Sept. 30, 1872. |
Financial result of operating (including ordinary repairs) from 1846 to 1872. |
Income from tolls and total expense for three years ending Sept 30, 1874. | |||
| From | To | Profit. | Loss. | Income. | Expenditures. | |||
| Black River | Rome | Lyon's Falls | 35 | $3,417,880 | ......... | $850,148 | $32,418 | $294,716 |
| Feeder | Boonville | Head of reservoir | 12 | ......... | ......... | ......... | ........ | ........ |
| Cayuga and Seneca | Montezuma | Geneva | 21 | 1,702,675 | $49,690 | ......... | 59,675 | 156,102 |
| Cayuga inlet | Cayuga lake | Ithaca | 2 | 2,968 | 2,375 | ......... | 1,192 | 418 |
| Champlain | West Troy | Whitehall | 66 | [1]......... | [1]......... | ......... | 427,765 | 1,730,898 |
| Glen's Falls feeder | .. | .. | 12 | ......... | ......... | ......... | ........ | ........ |
| Pond above Troy dam | .. | .. | 3 | ......... | ......... | ......... | ........ | ........ |
| Chenango | Utica | Binghamton | 97 | 4,542,107 | ......... | 1,182,292 | 14,416 | 588,911 |
| Chemung | Watkins | Elmira | 23 | 1,643,141 | ......... | 1,200,795 | 10,699 | 212,908 |
| Feeder | Horseheads | Knoxville | 16 | ......... | ......... | ......... | ........ | ........ |
| Crooked Lake | Dresden | Penn Yan | 8 | 403,698 | ......... | 297,091 | 747 | 36,858 |
| Erie, including 4½ m. navigable feeders | Buffalo | Albany | 355 | [2]50,412,710 | [2]65,118,933 | ......... | 8,143,536 | 5,079,063 |
| Genesee Valley | Rochester | Mill Grove | 113 | 6,433,842 | ......... | 1,566,016 | 61,583 | 464,315 |
| Dansville branch | Shakers | Dansville | 11 | ......... | ......... | ......... | ........ | ........ |
| Oneida Lake | Higgins | Oneida lake | 7 | 441,239 | ......... | 43,581 | ........ | 34,425 |
| Oswego | Syracuse | Oswego | 38 | 4,172,503 | 692,994 | ......... | 249,844 | 669,787 |
| Baldwinsville canal and improvement | .. | Jack's reefs | 12 | 29,489 | ......... | 17,243 | ........ | 214 |
| Oneida river improvement | Oswego canal | Oneida lake | 20 | 237,151 | 167,338 | ......... | 1,756 | ........ |
| Seneca river towing path | Baldwinsville | Mud Lock | 6 | 1,488 | 6,469 | ......... | 445 | ........ |
| Total | 857 | $73,440,894 | $66,037,801 | $5,157,168 | $9,003,578 | $9,268,610 | ||
The above statement shows that the profits of operating the canals from 1846 to 1872 exceeded $60,000,000, after crediting each canal with the tolls properly belonging to it and deducting the cost of collection, superintendence, and ordinary repairs, but not the taxes levied for enlargement, extraordinary repairs, payment of damages, &c., amounting to about $25,000,000 which is placed with the construction and enlargement account. The total tolls and miscellaneous receipts of all the canals from 1836 to the close of 1874 amounted to $115,318,504, and the expenses of collection and repairs to $38,791,685, leaving a surplus revenue for that period of $76,526,819. In 1874 the tolls amounted to $2,921,721, and the disbursements to $2,696,357, including $1,297,716 for ordinary repairs and $1,398,640 for extraordinary repairs and new work. The total canal revenue from all sources other than taxation was $2,947,972.—For 30 years following 1818 the laws of New York restricted the banking business to companies or institutions chartered by special law. This was followed by the “free banking” system, which was based on the deposit of securities with redemption at a fixed rate of discount. State and savings banks are required to report to the superintendent of the banking department, the former quarterly and the latter semi-annually. Three examiners are constantly passing through the state inspecting banks. The superintendent reports annually to the legislature. In October, 1874, 81 banks were doing business under the laws of the state. The amount of circulation outstanding, including that of the 41 incorporated banks and of banking associations and individual bankers, was $1,105,189, of which $367,438 was secured. The number of national banks on Nov. 1, 1874, was 276, with a paid-in capital of $108,339,691; bonds on deposit, $64,963,050; outstanding circulation, $59,299,049. The circulation per capita was $13 53; ratio of circulation to the wealth of the state, 9 per cent.; to bank capital, 54.7. The total number of savings banks on Jan. 1, 1874, was 155, with 822,642 depositors and deposits aggregating $285,520,085; average to each depositor, $340 12; resources, $307,589,730; liabilities, $285,140,778; surplus assets, $21,448,952. Insurance companies are subject to rigid inspection by the superintendent of the insurance department, who reports annually to the legislature. At the beginning of 1875 the insurance corporations of New York held more than $500,000,000 assets, while their risks exceeded $8,000,000,000. The assets of the fire and marine and of the marine companies doing business in the state were returned at $160,133,455, and of life and casualty companies at $327,281,896; the amount insured by the former was $6,313,967,008, and by the latter $1,997,236,230. There were 218 fire and marine and 50 life and casualty insurance companies doing business in the state; 119 of the former and 23 of the latter were New York companies.—The constitution of New York gives the right of suffrage to every male citizen of the age of 21 years who shall have been a citizen 10 days and an inhabitant of the state one year next preceding the election, a resident of the county four months, and of the election district 30 days. The general state election is held annually on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The legislature consists of a senate of 32 members elected for two years, and an assembly of 128 members chosen for one year. An apportionment of assembly and senate districts is made decennially immediately after the state census, the latest being in 1865. Under the constitutional amendments of 1874 each member of the legislature receives $1,500 a year (previously $3 a day for a session limited to 100 days) and 10 cents a mile for travel once to and from the capital. No one is eligible as a member who at the time of his election, or within 100 days next preceding it, was a member of congress, a civil or military officer under the United States, or an officer under any city government. The legislature meets annually on the first Tuesday in January. Special legislation is restricted by the constitution. The governor (annual salary, $10,000 and residence) and lieutenant governor ($5,000) are to be elected from 1876 for three years (the term having been previously, since 1821, two years). The secretary of state, comptroller, treasurer, attorney general, and state engineer and surveyor are chosen (in even years) for two years. The treasurer may be suspended from office by the governor during the recess of the legislature. Members of the legislature and all elected officers, executive and judicial, except specified inferior officers, are required before entering upon their official duties to make oath or affirmation that they have not been guilty of bribery at the election at which they were chosen. A majority of the assembly may impeach. The court of impeachment is composed of the senate and the judges of the court of appeals. The highest judicial tribunal of the state is the court of appeals, which has only appellate jurisdiction in the case of judgments and certain orders from the general term of the supreme court, the superior courts of the cities of New York and Buffalo, the New York court of common pleas, and the city court of Brooklyn. It consists of a chief (salary $7,500 and $2,000 expenses) and six associate judges ($7,000 each and $2,000 expenses), and is in session in Albany the greater portion of the year. The commission of appeals, composed of five judges, was organized under a constitutional amendment of 1869 for the hearing of cases that had accumulated in the court of appeals; the former is subsidiary to the latter, and temporary. There are 33 justices of the supreme court, four in each of the eight judicial districts, except the first, comprising the city and county of New York, in which the number is five. The supreme court has general original jurisdiction. Special terms and circuits are held by one justice, the former without and the latter with a jury. General terms are held in each of the four departments into which the state is divided for this purpose, by a presiding and two associate justices designated by the governor, the concurrence of two being necessary to a decision. Its jurisdiction is appellate, appeals being made from the special term and circuits, from judgments entered by the court on referees' reports, from judgments of county courts and mayors' and recorders' courts, and from certain orders. A county court is held in each county, except that of New York. In some counties the people elect a surrogate, who has jurisdiction of probate matters; where such special courts have not been provided, the county judge performs surrogate duties. Criminal jurisdiction is exercised by courts of oyer and terminer, composed, except in the city of New York, of a justice of the supreme court, a county judge, and two justices of the peace; courts of sessions, comprising a county judge and two justices of the peace; courts of special sessions; and police courts held by a single justice. Besides the above there are mayors' and recorders' courts of cities and justices' courts, a city court in Brooklyn, and a superior court in Buffalo. The several courts peculiar to the city and county of New York are described in the article on that city. The judges of the various courts are elected by the people, those of the court of appeals and supreme court for fourteen, of county courts for six, and justices of the peace for four years. Sheriffs, county clerks, coroners, and district attorneys are chosen by the people. There are three districts, northern, eastern, and southern, for holding United States courts; sessions are held in New York city for the southern, in Brooklyn for the eastern, and in Albany, Utica, Canandaigua, Rochester, and Buffalo for the northern district. The organized state militia, called the national guard, comprises 23,360 men, classified into 8 divisions and 20 brigades, viz.: 1 regiment, 1 battalion, and 9 troops of cavalry, 12 batteries of artillery, and 31 regiments, 12 battalions, and 3 detached companies of infantry. The state exercises a strict supervision over corporations, especially those which are fiduciary or involve extensive financial interests. Corporations, except municipal, must be formed under general laws. Railroad, banking, and insurance corporations are subject to the inspection of special departments, to which sworn reports must be made, and by which reports are annually made to the legislature and published. A married woman may hold to her separate use real and personal property, if acquired from any other person than her husband, and may convey and devise it; she may also carry on business on her own account, and sue and be sued. Neither license, magistrate, nor minister is necessary to a valid marriage contract; it has even been held that the agreement of the parties constitutes legal marriage. The sole ground of divorce occurring after marriage is adultery; at the time of marriage, impotence, idiocy, or lunacy, and consent obtained by force or fraud. The legal rate of interest is 7 per cent.; usurious contracts are void; taking of usury is a misdemeanor; and corporations cannot interpose the defence of usury. New York is represented in congress by two senators and 33 representatives, and has therefore 35 votes in the electoral college.—The state debt, with the unapplied balances of the sinking funds, Sept. 30, 1874, was as follows:
| CHARACTER OF DEBT. |
Debt. | Balance of sinking funds. |
Balance of debt after applying sinking funds. |
| General fund | $3,988,526 | $4,142,694 | .......... |
| Contingent | 68,000 | 32,823 | $35,176 |
| Canal | 10,230,430 | 1,561,019 | 8,787,222 |
| Bounty | 15,912,500 | 7,125,288 | 8,787,222 |
| Total | $30,199,456 | $12,861,814 | $17,491,809 |
The only contingent debt of the state is $68,000 incurred for the Long Island railroad, the interest of which is paid and the payment of the principal provided for by that company. The condition of the several trust funds on Sept. 30, 1874, is shown in the following statement:
| FUNDS. | Capital Sept. 30, 1874. |
REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. | ||
| Receipts during the year, including balances Oct. 1, 1873. |
Payments during the year. |
Balance Sept. 30, 1874. | ||
| School fund | $3,054,772 10 | $392,372 45 | $391,903 96 | $463 49 |
| Literature fund | 271,980 76 | 50,157 13 | 45,834 20 | 4,322 93 |
| United States deposit fund | 4,014,520 71 | 276,310 96 | 238,862 24 | 37,448 72 |
| College land scrip fund | 473,402 87 | 24,284 54 | 22,342 47 | 1,942 07 |
| Cornell endowment fund | 128,596 61 | 12,508 91 | 11,135 00 | 1,373 91 |
| Elmira female college educational fund | 50,000 00 | 3,500 00 | 3,500 00 | .......... |
| Long Island railroad company sinking fund | 32,823 49 | 17,786 30 | 14,250 63 | 3,535 67 |
| Trust fund for payment of bounties | 20,830 00 | ............ | .......... | .......... |
The total receipts into the treasury on account of all the funds except the canal and the free school funds (the latter arising from the state tax), for the year ending Sept. 30, 1874, were $26,465,370, and the payments $19,636,308. Among the ordinary public expenditures were: executive department, $31,255; legislative, $289,991; judiciary, $400,578; public offices, salaries, clerk hire, and expenses, $301,734; printing for the state, $181,131; military, $356,159; educational, including common, normal, and Indian schools, academies, &c., $3,278,858; state prisons, including transportation of convicts, $967,930; support of deaf and dumb, blind, insane, and idiotic, $338,852; quarantine, $215,483. The statute requires real and personal estate to be assessed for taxation “at the full and true value thereof,” but it is maintained by high authority that not more than one third in value of the property liable to taxation is placed upon the assessment rolls. The aggregate taxation of 1874 included state tax $13,015,847, school $2,711,634, county $32,119,578, and town $9,964,321. The rate of the state tax was 7¼ mills, viz.: schools, 1¼; general purposes, 1½; general purposes (deficiency), 69⁄160; bounty debt, 2; new capitol, ½; asylums and reformatories, 6⁄16; canal floating debt, 1⁄10; new work on canals and extra repairs, 7⁄8; for payment of awards by canal appraisers and commissioners, and certain certificates of indebtedness, 7⁄32. The total amount produced by this rate (state and school taxes) was $15,727,481. The valuation of property and taxation for a series of years are shown in the following exhibit:
| YEARS. | Real estate. | Personal. | Aggregate valuation. |
State taxes, exclusive of school taxes. |
Rate of total state tax, in mills, on each dollar of valuation. |
Town, county, and school taxes. |
Total taxes. | Rate of tax on $1; valuation in cents. |
| 1845 | ............ | .......... | $605,646,095 | $361,309 | 6-10 | $3,809,218 | $4,170,527 | 0.688 |
| 1855 | ............ | .......... | 1,402,849,304 | 1,751,717 | 1 1-4 | 9,924,454 | 11,676,172 | 0.832 |
| 1865 | $1,158,327,371 | $392,552,314 | 1,550,879,685 | 6,067,816 | 4 53-80 | 39,893,623 | 45,961,440 | 2.963 |
| 1866 | 1,196,403,416 | 334,826,220 | 1,531,229,636 | 7,369,042 | 5 9-16 | 33,199,202 | 40,568,244 | 2.649 |
| 1867 | 1,237,703,092 | 426,404,633 | 1,664,107,725 | 10,567,084 | 7 3-5 | 35,951,837 | 46,518,921 | 2.795 |
| 1868 | 1,327,403,886 | 438,685,254 | 1,766,089,140 | 8,035,705 | 5 4-5 | 36,262,730 | 44,298,435 | 2.508 |
| 1869 | 1,418,132,855 | 441,987,915 | 1,860,120,770 | 8,138,028 | 5 5-8 | 38,023,503 | 46,161,531 | 2.482 |
| 1870 | 1,532,720,907 | 434,280,278 | 1,967,001,185 | 11,827,225 | 7 41-156 | 38,501,459 | 50,328,684 | 2.558 |
| 1871 | 1,599,930,166 | 452,607,732 | 2,052,537,898 | 9,048,271 | 5 79-120 | 36,626,215 | 45,674,486 | 2.225 |
| 1872 | 1,644,379,410 | 447,248,035 | 2,088,627,445 | 16,970,097 | 9 3-8 | 46,541,838 | 63,511,936 | 3.041 |
| 1873 | 1,692,523,071 | 437,102,315 | 2,129,626,386 | 12,138,870 | 6 95-100 | 39,305,665 | 51,444,536 | 2.416 |
| 1874 | 1,750,698,918 | 418,608,955 | 2,169,307,873 | 13,015,847 | 7 1-4 | 44,795,534 | 57,811,381 | 2.664 |
—All the charitable, eleemosynary, correctional, and reformatory institutions of the state, except prisons, whether receiving state aid or maintained by municipalities or otherwise, are subject to the inspection of the state board of charities, composed of 11 members appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate, besides the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, comptroller, attorney general, and state commissioners in lunacy, all of whom serve without pay. The board reports annually to the legislature concerning the various institutions visited by them, which embrace the state, local, incorporated, and private charities for the insane, blind, deaf and dumb, idiots, inebriates, juvenile delinquents, orphans, paupers, &c. The number of insane in New York on Jan. 1, 1872, was reported at 6,775, of whom 1,093 were in state and 312 in private institutions, 2,233 in city asylums and alms-houses, 1,319 in county asylums and poor-houses, 75 in the Auburn asylum for insane criminals, 161 in the institutions of other states, and 1,582 in the custody of friends. In 1874 $102,234 was paid by the state for the maintenance of insane persons, besides large appropriations for buildings, &c. There are five state institutions for the treatment of this class, of which the oldest is the lunatic asylum in Utica, opened in 1843 and having accommodations for about 600. Acute cases are chiefly treated here, while the chronic insane are received in the Willard asylum, opened at Ovid, Seneca co., in 1869, which, with projected improvements, will accommodate 1,000. The Hudson river hospital for the insane in Poughkeepsie, the state asylum in Buffalo, and the homœopathic asylum in Middletown are state institutions not yet (1875) completed. The estimated cost of each of the two former is $3,000,000; when completed each will accommodate about 600 patients. The institution at Middletown is smaller. On Sept. 30, 1874, there were 1,719 inmates, 590 being in the Utica asylum, 879 in the Willard, 212 in that at Poughkeepsie, and 38 in that at Middletown. There is also a state institution on Ward's island, New York city, for insane immigrants. In addition to these there are two city institutions in New York city, Brigham hall at Canandaigua, Marshall infirmary in Troy, the Providence lunatic asylum (Roman Catholic) in Buffalo, and the asylum at Bloomingdale, all of which are incorporated; and Sanford hall, Flushing, the home for nervous diseases at Fishkill, and the home for insane and nervous invalids at Pleasantville, which are private. The Bloomingdale asylum is one of the oldest institutions of the kind in the United States, having been opened in 1821, and has a wide reputation for the excellence of its management. Any person or association is prohibited by law from establishing or keeping an institution of any kind for the reception of persons of unsound mind, without license from the board of state charities. The whole number treated in the incorporated and private asylums of the state in 1873, not including the two New York city institutions, was 732, of whom 449 remained on Jan. 1, 1874. The state asylum for idiots in Syracuse was established in 1851 as an educational and not a custodial institution. It has accommodations for 225 pupils; the indigent are received free of charge. The daily average number of pupils in 1873 was 178, of whom 154 were supported by the state at a cost of $43,000. The blind are instructed at the state asylum in Batavia, opened in 1867, and the New York institution for the blind (incorporated) in New York city, founded in 1831; the former has accommodations for 150, and the latter for 225 pupils. The New York institution for the instruction of the deaf and dumb, in New York city, is maintained chiefly by the state. It is the largest of the kind in the world, having a capacity for 550 pupils, and, excepting the American asylum in Hartford, the oldest in the United States, having been opened in 1818. Its plan comprises an educational and an industrial department. All indigent deaf mutes between the ages of 6 and 25 years are received free of charge. At the close of 1874 there were 30 instructors and 584 pupils, of whom 355 were beneficiaries of the state, 162 of counties, and 47 of New Jersey, the remainder being maintained by friends. Articulation and lip reading were taught to about 100. Pupils are also maintained by the state at the institution for the improved instruction of deaf mutes in New York city, and at the Le Couteulx St. Mary's institution in Buffalo. The state asylum for inebriates at Binghamton was opened in 1864. The buildings cost $500,000, and will accommodate 200 patients. The state institutions for the reformation of juvenile delinquents are the house of refuge on Randall's island, New York city, opened in 1825, and having a capacity for 1,000, and the western house of refuge in Rochester, with accommodations for 600, opened in 1849. An industrial reformatory, with a capacity for 500, is in process of construction at Elmira. Besides these there are 11 incorporated and municipal reformatories in the state, which from time to time have received state aid, but are mainly supported by private gifts and municipal appropriations. The total number of inmates in all reformatories on Jan. 1, 1874, was 4,580. There are also many organizations in the state for the care of destitute children, such as the children's aid society of New York city and the various missions and industrial schools of that and other cities. The total property valuation of the state charitable institutions above named was $6,184,302. The receipts for the year were $1,621,132, of which $1,015,251 was from the state, and the expenditures $1,589,183, of which $711,805 was for buildings and improvements. State paupers are received at almshonses in Albany, Yaphank, Delhi, Canton, and Buffalo. The private and incorporated charities of the state comprise 128 orphan asylums and homes for the friendless, 46 hospitals, and 57 dispensaries.—The prison system of New York comprises three state prisons, six county penitentiaries, two state and eleven local reformatories, besides county jails, city prisons, &c. The general supervision of the prisons is vested by the constitution in three inspectors elected for three years. All prison officers are appointed by the inspectors. Cigars, shoes, harness and saddlery hardware, tools, machinery, and axles are made at Auburn and Sing Sing, while in the latter a large number of convicts are employed in the marble and lime works. In the Clinton prison, at Dannemora, the manufacture of iron, nails, &c., from ore mined on the premises, is the chief employment of the convicts. All the industries are managed by contract in Auburn, all but stone cutting in Sing Sing, and none in Clinton prison. No one of the prisons is self-sustaining. In all instruction is afforded to convicts, and all have libraries. The condition of these institutions for the year ending Sept. 30, 1874, was as follows:
| PARTICULARS. | Auburn. | Clinton. | Sing Sing. |
| Number of cells | 1,292 | 548 | 1,200 |
| Capacity for inmates | 1,300 | 540 | 2,508 |
| Number of prisoners Sept. 30, 1873 | 1,104 | 548 | 1,354 |
| Admitted during the year | 664 | 183 | 928 |
| Discharged | 548 | 164 | 976 |
| In prison Sept. 30, 1874 | 1,204 | 552 | 1,306 |
| Advances from state treasury | $233,167 | $337,678 | $360,054 |
| Earnings | $101,910 | $153,473 | $124,009 |
| Excess of expenditures | $131,257 | $184,205 | $236,045 |
Including $26,231 miscellaneous expenditures not distributed, the entire excess of expenditures was reported at $588,537. This, however, is reduced by stock on hand, permanent improvements, and unpaid accounts of the previous year, amounting to $68,358 in favor of Auburn, $225,748 of Clinton, and $163,370 of Sing Sing. With these deductions, the real excess of expenditures over earnings becomes $131,060. The expense of maintaining each convict is from $3 to $4 a week in excess of the income. The prisons are full, and a greater capacity is needed. The six penitentiaries are situated in Buffalo, Syracuse, Brooklyn, Rochester, Albany, and New York (Blackwell's island). In the three first named, trades are taught to the inmates and evening schools are held. The state has no share in the management of these institutions, which are under the control of the counties where situated; but state prisoners are confined in them. The total number of prisoners in the penitentiaries at the beginning of 1874 was 5,940. The prison association of New York is an organization for the repression of crime, the reformation of the criminal classes, the aid of discharged convicts, &c. It has agents in all parts of the state and at all the prisons, who visit persons detained under charge of crime, with a view of aiding them to obtain justice, and who look after the interests of discharged convicts. In 1873, 1,257 discharged prisoners were aided by the general agency in New York city, while 4,735 in prison accused of crime were visited and advised, of whom 204, being friendless, were defended. Annual reports are made to the legislature.—The common school system of New York may be traced to a law passed by the legislature in 1812, which provided for the division of the state into school districts, the distribution of the interest of the school fund in the ratio of the number of children from 5 to 15 years of age, and the annual levy by each town of a tax for school purposes. As early as 1795, however, an annual appropriation of $50,000 for five years was made by the legislature for public instruction. The acts relating to public instruction were revised and consolidated in the general law of 1864, which was several times amended until 1867, when the free school system of the state was fairly established. For school purposes the state is divided into general districts and city districts created by special acts. There is no state board of education. The general supervision of the common schools is vested in a state superintendent, who is elected for three years by a joint ballot of the legislature, receives an annual salary of $5,000, besides an allowance of $3,000 for a deputy and between $8,000 and $9,000 for clerk hire, and makes an annual report to the legislature. By virtue of his office he is a regent of the university, chairman of the executive committee of the state normal school at Albany, a trustee of the people's college and of the state asylum for idiots, and is required to provide for the education of all Indian children in the state. The office of county superintendent was abolished in 1847, and that of town superintendent in 1857. Their duties are performed by district commissioners elected for three years by the people. Each school district has also one or three trustees, who exercise authority in relation to school funds, property, &c., and report annually to the district commissioner. The common schools are free to all persons between 5 and 21 years of age. Separate schools are provided for the Indians, and any city or incorporated village may establish schools exclusively for colored children. The compulsory educational law of 1874, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 1875, requires all children not physically or mentally incapacitated, between the ages of 8 and 14 years, to attend some public or private day school not less than 14 weeks every year, 8 of which must be consecutive; or they must be taught at home for the same time in spelling, reading, writing, English grammar, geography, and arithmetic. Manufacturers and others are prohibited, under penalty of $50, from employing during school hours children under 14 years of age who have not received the instruction required by the act. Boards of trustees are directed to make provision for the instruction of habitual truants. Free district libraries constitute a feature of the educational system, for which the legislature annually appropriates $55,000, and for which each district is authorized to levy a small tax yearly. The following statement contains the comparative statistics of the common schools for the years ending Sept. 30, 1868 and 1874:
| PARTICULARS. | 1868. | 1874. | ||
| Total. | Cities. | Towns. | State. | |
| Number of school districts | 11,736 | ........ | 11,299 | 11,299 |
| Number of teachers employed at the same time for 28 weeks or more | 16,596 | 5,235 | 13,370 | 18,605 |
| Number of children between 5 and 21 years of age | 1,464,669 | 739,810 | 857,036 | 1,596,846 |
| Number of male teachers employed | 5,918 | 622 | 6,565 | 7,187 |
| Number of female teachers employed | 21,865 | 5,567 | 16,868 | 22,435 |
| Number of children attending school | 970,842 | 438,049 | 606,315 | 1,044,364 |
| Average daily attendance | 445,868 | 215,907 | 299,318 | 515,225 |
| Number of times schools have been visited by commissioners | 18,963 | ........ | 17,967 | 17,967 |
| Number of volumes in district libraries | 1,064,830 | 140,735 | 690,819 | 831,554 |
| Total number of school houses | 11,674 | 425 | 11,356 | 11,781 |
| Value of school houses and sites | $16,459,485 | $19,006,446 | $10,209,703 | $29,216,149 |
Indian schools were maintained in 28 districts at nine reservations, at a cost of $7,262, and were attended by 1,018 children, who were taught by 19 white and 12 Indian teachers. State moneys for the support of common schools are derived chiefly from the income of the common school fund, the principal of which in 1874 was $3,054,772; the United States deposit fund of $4,014,520, which is a nominal loan received on deposit from the surplus funds of the United States in 1836; and the state school tax of 1¼ mill. The amount derived from these sources in 1874 was: school fund, $178,813; United States deposit fund, $165,000; state tax, $2,664,631; total, $3,008,444. The total expenditures for the support of public schools amounted to $9,040,942 in 1868, and $11,088,981 in 1874. The receipts and expenditures for these two years were as follows:
| PARTICULARS. | 1868. | 1874. | ||
| Total. | Cities. | Towns. | State. | |
| RECEIPTS. | ||||
| Amount on hand at the beginning of the year | $1,199,547 58 | $814,304 65 | $238,388 60 | $1,052,693 25 |
| Apportionment of public moneys | 2,302,515 70 | 1,070,643 86 | 1,676,580 24 | 2,747,224 10 |
| Proceeds of the gospel and school lands | 23,134 62 | 44 59 | 36,553 68 | 36,598 27 |
| Raised by tax | 6,338,861 77 | 4,941,827 50 | 2,922,876 01 | 7,864,703 51 |
| Estimated value of teachers' board | 375,455 27 | .......... | 199,706 71 | 199,706 71 |
| From all other sources | 272,162 66 | 112,221 24 | 285,582 28 | 397,803 52 |
| Totals | $10,511,677 60 | $6,939,041 84 | $5,359,687 52 | $12,298,729 36 |
| EXPENDITURES. | ||||
| For teachers' wages | $5,597,506 94 | $3,880,536 24 | $3,720,982 49 | $7,601,518 73 |
| For libraries | 26,632 84 | 15,070 94 | 17,942 32 | 33,013 26 |
| For school apparatus | 234,528 09 | 188,219 32 | 36,595 96 | 224,815 28 |
| For colored schools | 64,807 59 | 58,458 18 | 7,668 37 | 66,126 55 |
| For school houses sites &c. | 2,184,064 95 | 1,146,008 79 | 816,189 21 | 1,962,198 00 |
| For all other incidental expenses | 933,187 60 | 705,804 95 | 495,325 60 | 1,201,130 55 |
| Forfeited in hands of supervisors | 214 51 | .......... | 179 33 | 179 33 |
| Amount on hand at the end of the year | 1,470,735 58 | 944,943 42 | 364,804 24 | 1,209,747 66 |
| Totals | $10,511,677 60 | $6,939,041 84 | $5,359,687 52 | $12,298,729 86 |
Much importance is attached to the training of teachers for the public schools. Teachers are required to have received a diploma from a state normal school, or a certificate from the superintendent of public instruction, the district commissioner, or city or village school officer. The state maintains, by an annual appropriation of about $150,000, eight normal schools, from which 3,028 students had graduated up to the summer of 1874, besides a large number who had received instruction without completing the course. The courses of instruction comprise an elementary English and an advanced English course of two years each, and a classical course of three years. The course of instruction and practice at the Albany school is two years. Special classes are also formed for the benefit of those desiring a few weeks' instruction each year. Each county is entitled to send to a state normal school, free of charge for tuition and text books, twice as many pupils as it has representatives in the assembly; to other pupils a charge is made for instruction. Applicants for admission must be at least 16 years of age and must pass examination. State pupils are appointed by the state superintendent of public instruction, subject to the required examination, on recommendation of the school commissioners or city superintendents. Teachers' institutes have been maintained by the state since 1847. These are held annually in the several counties, for a period of about two weeks, with special reference to the wants of teachers in the rural districts. During the year ending Jan. 1, 1875, institutes were held in 58 counties, at a cost to the state of $16,319, and were attended by 11,478 teachers. The most important facts concerning the state normal schools for 1873-'4 are as follows:
| WHERE SITUATED. |
When opened. |
Received from state annual appropriation. |
NORMAL DEPARTM'T. | |
| Number of instructors. |
Number of pupils | |||
| Albany | 1844 | $17,964 83 | 15 | 544 |
| Brockport | 1867 | 17,999 36 | 19 | 291 |
| Buffalo | 1871 | 17,869 82 | 12 | 303 |
| Cortland | 1869 | 17,952 94 | 14 | 399 |
| Fredonia | 1868 | 20,832 08 | 17 | 237 |
| Geneseo | 1871 | 18,270 10 | 16 | 307 |
| Oswego | 1863 | 17,861 14 | 14 | 429 |
| Potsdam | 1869 | 17,881 90 | 14 | 365 |
| Total | $146,632 17 | 121 | 2,875 | |
Teachers' classes, attended by 2,044 pupils ranging from 10 to 20 weeks, were also maintained in 92 academies designated by the board of regents.—The university of the state of New York is a corporate body created in 1784, with functions mainly of supervision and visitation, and not of instruction. The board of regents of the university, reorganized in 1787, comprises 19 members elected by joint ballot of the legislature, besides the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and superintendent of public instruction. The officers are a chancellor, vice chancellor, treasurer, secretary, and assistant secretary. The regents are empowered to incorporate and visit literary and medical colleges and academies, and to require from them annual reports as to their system of instruction, discipline, finances, pupils, &c. These reports or abstracts of them are embodied by the regents in their annual report to the legislature. They are also empowered to confer degrees above that of master of arts. They are ex officiis trustees of the state library and of the state museum of natural history; and many valuable papers showing the progress of science and the useful arts are contained in their reports on the museum. The colleges and academies are mainly dependent on private bounty and tuition fees. The state, however, has often made large contributions to their endowments, besides establishing the “literature fund,” the annual income of which is appropriated toward the salaries of teachers in the academies. Since 1853 an endowment fund of at least $100,000 paid in or secured has been a condition of the incorporation of a college by the regents. Most of the colleges incorporated since that date have received their charters directly from the legislature. The property and funds of these institutions are vested in trustees, and must be used only for public instruction. These trustees are amenable to the legislature and the courts. Since 1838 $40,000 derived from the literature and United States deposit funds has been annually distributed among the academies, according to the number of pupils holding the regents' certificate of academic scholarship. Besides this, about $18,000 is annually distributed to the academies for instruction of teachers, and $3,000 for the purchase of books and apparatus. Academic departments of union schools are admitted to the benefits of these appropriations on the same terms as academies. There are subject to the visitation of the regents 23 literary and 14 medical colleges, and about 250 academies and academical departments of union schools. This enumeration embraces only incorporated institutions. In order to raise the standard of education and to secure greater fidelity on the part of teachers in the academies, examinations in writing are held by the regents. Each pupil who satisfactorily answers the questions receives a certificate which entitles him to certain educational facilities. Since 1863 the university convocation, comprising the officers of colleges and academies, has been held annually under the direction of the board of regents, for the consideration of the interests of higher education. Besides the 1,044,364 pupils in the common and 6,515 in the normal schools in 1873-'4, there were 31,421 in academies, 2,675 in colleges, 137,840 in private, 582 in law, and 924 in medical schools; total, 1,224,321. The incorporated colleges and the professional institutions in the state in 1874-'5, excepting those in the city of New York, were as follows:
| NAME OF INSTITUTION. | Where situated. | Date of charter. |
Denomination. | Number of instructors. |
Number of students. |
| Alfred university | Alfred Centre | 1857 | Seventh-Day Baptist | 20 | 455 |
| Cornell university | Ithaca | 1865 | Not denominational | 50 | 521 |
| Elmira female college | Elmira | 1855 | Presbyterian | 13 | 167 |
| Hamilton college | Clinton | 1812 | Presbyterian | 13 | 145 |
| Hobart college | Geneva | 1824 | Protestant Episcopal | 7 | 52 |
| Ingham university (for women) | Le Roy | 1857 | Presbyterian | 17 | 150 |
| Madison university | Hamilton | 1846 | Baptist | 11 | 101 |
| St. Lawrence university | Canton | 1856 | Universalist | 8 | 54 |
| St. Stephen's college | Annandale | 1860 | Protestant Episcopal | 8 | 42 |
| Syracuse university | Syracuse | 1870 | Methodist Episcopal | 19 | 147 |
| Union college | Schenectady | 1795 | Union | 17 | 160 |
| University of Rochester | Rochester | 1846 | Baptist | 9 | 156 |
| Vassar college (for women) | Poughkeepsie | 1861 | Not denominational | 34 | 225 |
| Wells college | Aurora | 1870 | Not denominational | 13 | 89 |
| SCHOOLS OF LAW. | |||||
| Albany law school | Albany | 1851 | 5 | 106 | |
| Law school, Hamilton college | Clinton | 1 | 22 | ||
| SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE. | |||||
| Albany medical college | Albany | 1839 | Regular | 8 | 118 |
| College of physicians and surgeons, Syracuse university[1] | Syracuse | 1872 | Regular | 16 | 66 |
| Long Island hospital college | Brooklyn | 1858 | Regular | 30 | 125 |
| Medical department, university of Buffalo | Buffalo | Regular | 10 | 101 | |
| SCHOOLS OF SCIENCE. | |||||
| College of agriculture and mechanic arts, Cornell | Ithaca | 1865 | 66 | ||
| Engineering school, Union college | Schenectady | ||||
| Rensselaer polytechnic institute | Troy | 1826 | 13 | 170 | |
| SCHOOLS OF THEOLOGY. | |||||
| Auburn theological seminary | Auburn | 1820 | Presbyterian | 6 | 47 |
| De Lancey divinity school | Geneva | 1860 | Episcopalian | 2 | 4 |
| Hamilton theological seminary | Hamilton | 1819 | Baptist | 4 | 42 |
| Hartwick theological seminary | Hartwick Seminary | 1816 | Lutheran | 6 | 87 |
| Martin Luther college | Buffalo | 1853 | Lutheran | 4 | 9 |
| Newburgh theological seminary | Newburgh | 1835 | United Presbyterian | 3 | 17 |
| Rochester theological seminary | Rochester | 1850 | Baptist | 1 | 80 |
| St. Joseph's provincial seminary | Troy | Roman Catholic | 6 | 126 | |
| St. Lawrence theological school | Canton | 1856 | Universalist | 3 | 28 |
| Seminary of Our Lady of Angels | Niagara City | 1863 | Roman Catholic | 22 | 218 |
- ↑ Formerly Geneva medical college, founded in 1834.
Union university, comprising Union college in Schenectady, the Albany medical college, and Dudley observatory, was incorporated in 1873. For the United States military academy, see Military Schools. The state agricultural college is connected with Cornell university, and is described in the article on that institution. Full details of other colleges mentioned above are also given in special articles on the respective institutions.—The whole number of newspapers and periodicals reported by the census of 1870 was 835, having an aggregate circulation of 7,561,497, and issuing annually 471,741,744 copies. There were 87 daily, with a circulation of 780,470; 5 tri-weekly, 5,800; 22 semi-weekly, 114,500; 518 weekly, 3,388,497; 21 semi-monthly, 216,300; 163 monthly, 2,920,810; and 19 quarterly, 135,120. These were further classified as follows:
| PUBLICATIONS. | Number. | Copies annually issued. |
Circulation. |
| Advertising | 17 | 1,378,800 | 89,900 |
| Agricultural and horticultural | 10 | 7,621,800 | 307,150 |
| Benevolent and secret societies | 12 | 1,161,200 | 47,600 |
| Commercial and financial | 50 | 13,778,600 | 326,950 |
| Illustrated, literary, and miscellaneous | 103 | 72,448,180 | 2,047,865 |
| Devoted to nationality | 6 | 1,606,800 | 23,800 |
| Political | 487 | 323,171,724 | 2,268,532 |
| Religious | 90 | 40,798,240 | 2,095,120 |
| Sporting | 4 | 2,780,000 | 65,000 |
| Technical and professional | 56 | 6,996,400 | 289,580 |
In 1874 there were reported 98 daily, 5 tri-weekly, 20 semi-weekly, 681 weekly, 2 bi-weekly, 26 semi-monthly, 201 monthly, 4 bi-monthly, and 18 quarterly; total, 1,055. The total number of libraries of all classes reported by the federal census of 1870 was 20,929, containing 6,310,352 volumes; 7,158 with 2,785,483 volumes were private, and 13,771 with 3,524,869 were other than private. The latter were distributed as follows:
| CHARACTER. | Number. | Volumes. |
| State | 2 | 66,019 |
| Town, city, &c | 130 | 173,236 |
| Court and law | 26 | 77,535 |
| School, college, &c | 9,875 | 1,165,158 |
| Sabbath school | 3,105 | 994,627 |
| Church | 486 | 253,163 |
| Charitable and penal institutions | 1 | 5,000 |
| Circulating | 144 | 790,131 |
The largest public libraries of the state, with the number of volumes in 1874, are given in Library, vol. x., p. 405.—The whole number of religious organizations in 1870 was 5,627, having 5,474 edifices with 2,282,876 sittings, and property valued at $66,073,755. The leading denominations were represented as follows:
| DENOMINATIONS. | Organizations. | Edifices. | Sittings. | Property. |
| Baptist, regular | 817 | 795 | 309,311 | $7,439,350 |
| Baptist, other | 85 | 84 | 23,775 | 162,925 |
| Christian | 95 | 95 | 28,175 | 224,850 |
| Congregational | 268 | 256 | 111,785 | 2,732,500 |
| Episcopal, Protestant | 475 | 465 | 204,920 | 7,211,150 |
| Evangelical Association | 25 | 25 | 7,300 | 228,350 |
| Friends | 89 | 87 | 24,910 | 596,300 |
| Jewish | 47 | 33 | 21,400 | 1,831,950 |
| Lutheran | 190 | 182 | 70,133 | 1,560,500 |
| Methodist | 1,745 | 1,702 | 606,098 | 11,768,290 |
| Miscellaneous | 4 | 2 | 1,000 | 30,600 |
| Moravian (Unitas Fratrum) | 6 | 6 | 3,000 | 134,600 |
| New Jerusalem (Swedenborgian) | 4 | 3 | 1,950 | 175,000 |
| Presbyterian, regular | 672 | 656 | 325,780 | 12,786,900 |
| Presbyterian, other | 54 | 49 | 24,090 | 644,140 |
| Reformed church in America[1] | 304 | 300 | 147,033 | 7,076,250 |
| Reformed church in the United States[2] | 9 | 8 | 3,450 | 134,000 |
| Roman Catholic | 455 | 453 | 271,285 | 8,558,150 |
| Second Advent | 17 | 11 | 3,120 | 45,650 |
| Shaker | 3 | 3 | 2,300 | 23,000 |
| Spiritualist | 3 | 2 | 580 | 31,000 |
| Unitarian | 22 | 19 | 8,850 | 715,200 |
| United Brethren in Christ. | 7 | 6 | 1,850 | 10,200 |
| Universalist | 124 | 120 | 41,610 | 1,155,950 |
| Union (local missions) | 14 | 14 | 7,000 | 580,900 |
| Unknown | 93 | 98 | 32,801 | 216,050 |
—At the arrival of the whites the S. E. part of New York was inhabited by several subordinate tribes of Indians belonging to the Algonquin race, and the remaining part of the state by the celebrated Five Nations of Iroquois stock. The names of places bequeathed by the various tribes indicate to what race they belonged; the Algonquin words being harsh and full of gutturals, while the Iroquois names are usually smooth, soft, and musical. In July, 1609, Samuel Champlain, having ascended the St. Lawrence river, discovered the lake which bears his name. On Sept. 9, 1609, Henry Hudson, in the employ of the Dutch East India company, discovered the bay of New York, and three days later entered the river which bears his name. The land discovered by Hudson was claimed by Holland and named New Netherland. In 1614 the states general granted special privileges to any company which should open a trade with the natives of this region. In this year the first Dutch settlements were made on Manhattan island, and the name New Netherland was applied to the unoccupied regions of America lying between Virginia and Canada. In 1621 the Dutch West India company was incorporated, and in the following year by virtue of their charter took possession of New Netherland. The first permanent agricultural colonization of this country was made in 1623, when 18 families settled at Fort Orange (now Albany), and a company of Walloons on the W. shore of Long Island. In 1626 Peter Minuit, the director general, purchased Manhattan island of the natives for the value of $24. In 1629 the company passed an act enabling all who wished to obtain manorial possessions in the country, under which the most valuable part of the company's land soon passed into the hands of individuals, and an aristocratic element was introduced. The effort to establish feudal privileges failed; but the land monopolies granted at this time led, more than two centuries afterward, to serious disturbances known as the “anti-rent difficulties.” Wouter van Twiller, the successor of Minuit, appointed in 1633, was succeeded in 1638 by William Kieft. During the administration of the latter, some troubles having arisen with the natives, an attack was suddenly made by the whites upon the nearest Indian villages, and more than 100 unoffending men, women, and children were massacred. A bloody war ensued, which seriously endangered the existence of the colony. In 1647 Kieft was succeeded by Peter Stuyvesant, by whom the Indians were conciliated and the general affairs of the colony more systematically administered. The Dutch settlements, spreading to the east and west, came in collision with the English upon the Connecticut, and with the Swedes upon the Delaware. In 1655 Stuyvesant took forcible possession of the Swedish territory and annexed it to New Netherland. The border contests with the English continued as long as the Dutch held possession of the country. The English claimed New Netherland as part of Virginia, a claim founded upon the prior discovery of Cabot. In 1622 the English minister at the Hague demanded that the enterprise of planting a Dutch colony upon the Hudson should be abandoned. In 1627 Gov. Bradford of Plymouth gave notice to Peter Minuit that the patent of New England extended to lat. 40°, and that the Dutch had no right “to plant and trade” north of that line. In March, 1664, Charles II. granted a charter of all the lands lying between the Connecticut and the Delaware to his brother the duke of York. This included New Netherland and a portion of the territory which had been previously granted to Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. In August of the same year, without any declaration of war, Col. Nicolls at the head of an English force appeared before New Amsterdam, and demanded its surrender. Being in no condition to resist, Gov. Stuyvesant complied, and the whole country quietly passed into the hands of the English. New Amsterdam was named New York, and the name of New York was also applied to the whole province. New York was subsequently recaptured by the Dutch, but was soon after restored to the English. The Dutch engaged in the slave trade as early as 1627, and at the surrender in 1664 the colony contained more slaves in proportion to its inhabitants than Virginia. In August, 1688, New York was placed with New England under the administration of Andros, Francis Nicholson being appointed lieutenant governor of New York. In 1689 the people revolted from the tyranny of Nicholson, and, under the lead of Jacob Leisler, a merchant of New York, seized the government and administered it in the name of William and Mary. Although never officially recognized as governor, Leisler continued at the head of affairs for about two years, when he was superseded by Gov. Sloughter, bearing a commission direct from the English sovereigns. Offering some slight resistance to Sloughter upon his arrival, Leisler and his son-in-law Milborne were arrested, tried for treason, and executed. In 1684 Gov. Dongan concluded an offensive and defensive treaty with the Indians, and from that time the English became the recipients of that friendship which had been before bestowed upon the Dutch. In 1687 the Seneca country in western New York was invaded by a French army under De Nonville, governor of Canada; and in 1689 the Five Nations retaliated by invading Canada. In this last expedition more than 1,000 French settlers were slain, and the whole French province was threatened with destruction. On the night of Feb. 9, 1690, a party of French and Canadian Indians burned Schenectady, and massacred nearly all the inhabitants. In 1693 a French expedition against the Mohawks took one of the Indian forts and captured 300 prisoners, but the greater part of the invaders perished with cold before reaching Canada. The peace of Ryswick in 1697 concluded the hostilities between England and France, and Count Frontenac, then governor of Canada, turned his whole force against the Five Nations. His plans were frustrated by the earl of Bellamont, then royal governor of New York, who declared he would make common cause with the Indians in case any attack was made upon them. During the continuance of Queen Anne's war, from 1702 to 1713, hostilities in New York were confined to skirmishes upon the frontiers, and to the preparation for expeditions which failed for want of promised aid from England, but which involved the colony largely in debt. In 1731 the French built Fort Frederick at Crown Point on Lake Champlain, commanding the natural pass between the Hudson and the St. Lawrence. The final conflict between England and France to determine the sovereignty of North America began in 1754. Along the frontiers of New York the French had erected fortresses on Lake Champlain, at Frontenac (now Kingston) on the St. Lawrence, and at Niagara. The English advanced posts were at Fort Edward on the Hudson, and at Oswego on Lake Ontario. In 1755 a large force under Sir William Johnson marched against Crown Point. At the head of Lake George he was attacked by the French under Dieskau, but the victory was finally obtained by the English, and the French force was nearly annihilated. In 1756 Oswego was taken by the French and destroyed. In 1757 Fort William Henry, at the head of Lake George, was taken by the French, and the garrison, after capitulation, were nearly all massacred by the Indians. In 1758 Abercrombie at the head of 15,000 men, the largest and best appointed army ever raised in America, was defeated in an attack upon Ticonderoga; and during the same year Col. Bradstreet marched through the wilderness and took Fort Frontenac. In 1759 Niagara was taken by Gen. Prideaux and Sir William Johnson, and Ticonderoga and Crown Point were abandoned on the approach of an English army under Gen. Amherst, leaving no French force within the limits of the colony. During the last years of the war, under the administration of Pitt, the English pursued a liberal policy toward the colonies; but in 1760 they recommenced aggressions, which provoked opposition. New York entered zealously into the measures for common defence. In October, 1775, Tryon, the last royal governor, took refuge on board a British man-of-war. In May of that year Ticonderoga and Crown Point had been surprised and taken by a party of “Green Mountain Boys” under Ethan Allen. In February, 1776, an American force took possession of New York city; after the battle of Long Island (Aug. 27), the city and its environs fell into the hands of the British. In the summer of 1777 Burgoyne invaded the province from Canada, and a British force from New York passed up the Hudson to coöperate with him. Several fortresses on Lake Champlain and the Hudson were taken by the enemy, but, after a series of reverses, Burgoyne's army on Oct. 17 was obliged to surrender at Saratoga. In the winter of 1777-'8 West Point was fortified, and soon became the most important fortress in America. Under the lead of Sir John Johnson, the Six Nations espoused the English cause, and continually harassed the defenceless frontier settlements. In 1779 Gen. Sullivan marched through the Indian country in western New York, and destroyed their villages. During the next two years the Indians made frequent attacks upon the Schoharie and Mohawk settlements, until the whole of that flourishing region was laid waste. On Nov. 25, 1783, New York was evacuated by the British. The original grant of New York included all lands between the Delaware and Hudson rivers, conflicting with patents previously granted to Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. In 1664, soon after the date of the first patent, the proprietor sold the territory included in the present state of New Jersey. The Connecticut boundary was established in 1731. The claims of Massachusetts were finally settled in 1786, by a compromise which gave New York the sovereignty of the whole territory, but yielded to Massachusetts the right of soil to that portion of the state which lies west of a meridian line passing through the 82d milestone of the Pennsylvania boundary. This line, known as the “preëmption line,” begins at the S. E. corner of Steuben co., extends along the W. shore of Seneca lake, and terminates in Sodus bay on Lake Ontario. The conflicting claims of New York and New Hampshire led to violent collisions and almost to civil war. The threatened hostilities were averted in 1790 by the erection of the disputed territory into the state of Vermont, and the payment to New York of $30,000. The seat of government was originally in New York city. The first constitution, adopted in March, 1777, was published at Kingston. In October of that year the public records were removed to Rochester, Ulster co., soon after to Poughkeepsie, and in 1784 to New York city. In 1797 Albany was made the capital. The constitution was revised in 1801, 1821, and 1846. Slavery, which had been much restricted since the formation of the first constitution, was abolished in 1817, though under the provisions of the act a few aged persons continued in nominal slavery many years later. At the close of the revolution a treaty was concluded with the Six Nations, by which a large amount of the Indian lands was ceded to the state. Settlements rapidly spread in the fertile regions of central New York, and by subsequent treaties all the lands of the Indians except a few “reservations” passed into the hands of the whites. During the war of 1812 the frontier settlements were constantly exposed to attacks of the British, and several serious engagements took place along the borders. In 1796 the “Western Navigation Company” was incorporated, which built locks around the rapids on the Mohawk, and dug a canal across the portage at Rome, so that laden boats could pass from the ocean to Oneida lake, and thence by the outlet to Lake Ontario. In 1800 Gouverneur Morris conceived the plan of a canal directly through the state from east to west. In 1808 James Geddes made a partial survey of the proposed route, and reported favorably. De Witt Clinton investigated the matter, and from that time gave to the project the whole weight of his influence. The war of 1812 caused a suspension of the project, but in 1816 a law was passed authorizing the construction of the canal. Work was begun in 1817, and the canal was finished in 1825. It speedily became the great channel of trade and emigration. In 1853-'4 the constitution was amended in order to enable the state to borrow $9,000,000 to facilitate the completion of the canals. In 1865 an amendment providing for the appointment of five commissioners of appeals was rejected. In 1866 a convention was called by popular vote for the revision of the constitution, in pursuance of its provision for the submission of that question every 20 years. The members were elected in April, 1867, met on June 4, and continued their sessions till Feb. 28, 1868; but at the election of Nov. 2, 1869, the new constitution was rejected, as well as several amendments which were submitted separately, excepting one reorganizing the judiciary. An amendment providing for the appointment instead of the election of the principal judges was rejected at the election of 1873. In November, 1874, several amendments which had been proposed by the legislature were ratified by the people. These removed the property qualification of colored voters, restricted the power of the legislature to pass private or local bills, made changes in the executive department, prescribed an oath of office in relation to bribery, established safeguards against official corruption, and removed the restrictions imposed upon the legislature in regard to selling or leasing certain of the state canals. During the civil war New York furnished to the federal army 455,568 troops, or 380,980 reduced to a three years' standard. In 1869 the legislature ratified the 15th amendment to the federal constitution; in 1870 this action was annulled by a resolution, which was rescinded in 1872.—The history of New York from 1609 to 1691 is given in Brodhead's “History of the State of New York” (2 vols. 8vo, 1853 -'71). See also “History of New Netherland,” by E. B. O'Callaghan (2 vols., New York, 1845-'8), and “Documentary History of New York” (4 vols. 4to, Albany, 1849-'51), and “Documents relative to the Colony of New York” (11 vols., 1855-'61), both edited by him. The geological and natural history survey of the state was made in 1836-'42, the results of which have been published in elaborate reports, viz.: zoölogy, by De Kay, 5 vols.; botany, by J. Torrey, 2 vols.; mineralogy, by L. C. Beck, 1 vol.; geology, by W. W. Mather, E. Emmons, L. Vanuxem, and J. Hall, 4 vols.; agriculture, by E. Emmons, 5 vols.; palæontology, by J. Hall, 4 vols. (vol. v. in progress, 1875).