Maine

man, the most northeasterly state of the American Union. The name was used by writers to distinguish the mainland from the islands along the coast. The area, including fresh waters, is 33,040 square miles. It comprises nearly one-half of New England. The irregularity of the northern boundary is due to the Ashburton Treaty negotiated by Daniel Webster in 1842. Maine neighbors with New Brunswick and Quebec. The only state of the Union with which it borders is New Hampshire. The Atlantic coast is 225 miles in length, measured from headland to headland; but the numerous estuaries and indentations of the sea have a tide water line of 2,500 miles in length and give rise to the poetical expression "Hundred-harbored Maine."

CHARACTERISTICS. Maine is preeminently a granite state. Enormous masses of granite heave their bald heads up into the air. The most noteworthy is Mount Katahdin, whose summit is 5,385 feet above sea level. The state is remarkable for a large number of lakes. Their aggregate surface is equivalent to about one-thirteenth of the area of the state. The largest is Moosehead, thirty-five miles long by ten wide. These lakes are crystal clear and are stocked with fish. Although the state comes within fifty miles of the St. Lawrence River, the drainage is entirely into the Atlantic Ocean. The largest rivers are the Kennebec and the Penobscot. The northern portion of the state is drained by the headwaters of the St. John. The various rivers furnish an immense water power, estimated in the aggregate at 3,000,000 horse power, a large part of which is not utilized. Granite and limestone are quarried for building purposes. Slate of excellent quality is found in the central part of the state. It is used for roofing, blackboards, table tops, mantels, and the like. There are beds of porcelain clay and of sand suitable for glass. There are small deposits of iron, zinc, and tin, with traces of silver and gold.

ANIMALS. The interior of the state is too rocky for agricultural purposes, and is still the home of the lumberman, the hunter, and the trapper. Moose, caribou, and deer are still found in the forests. Many fur-bearing animals, as the bear, catamount, wolverine, wildcat, wolf, beaver, raccoon, marten, and sable, are taken by the trapper. Fur dealers claim to get 70,000 fox skins from Maine yearly. Porcupines, woodchucks, rabbits, and squirrels are numerous. The song birds of New England, the owls, hawks, kingfishers, gulls, and eagles find nesting places around the lakes or in the vast forests. Among game birds are the woodcock, partridge, pigeon, quail, and various kinds of waterfowl. The shore fisheries of the clam, mussel, and the lobster employ many fishermen. Fresh water and sea fish of all sorts abound. About 17,000 persons are engaged in this industry.

FORESTS. The forests of Maine were noted at an early date as affording the best of ship timber. Giant pines were brought down to the coast and taken to England for masts. Shipbuilding became an important industry. The forests of white pine, for which the state was noted, gave it the name of the "Pine Tree State." Lumbering was reduced to a science first in Maine. The details of cutting, hauling, driving, and sawing were worked out in Maine and have spread westward through the evergreen belt of the northern United States. The methods now followed on the Pacific coast had their origin in Maine. The lumber industry of the state is not at an end, but it has undergone change. The material now cut is almost entirely second growth. White birch is cut largely to supply the thread factories of the United States and Great Britain with spools. Pulp and paper mills have sprung up at various points. American makers of toothpicks depend on Maine for birch wood. In 1904 225,000,000 feet of logs were cut along the Penobscot. Half of it was spruce for the paper mills.

AGRICULTURE. The agricultural areas of the state are confined chiefly to the river valleys. The principal crops, taken in order of importance, are hay, potatoes, oats, buckwheat, corn, barley, wheat, and rye. Next in importance come dairying and the raising of horses. Maine is an excellent orchard state. Apples are the chief fruit. Plums, cherries, and pears do well. Peaches are raised in the southwest corner. Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries thrive. Large tracts are devoted to the blueberry industry. The valley of the Aroostook is celebrated for potatoes.

HISTORICAL. The first settlement in Maine was made by George Popham in 1607, but it did not prove permanent. In 1613 the Jesuits established a mission on Mount Desert Island, but this was broken up. English fishermen settled here and there along the coast as early as 1614, Maine was a part of the territory claimed under the charter of Massachusetts. An earlier grant to Sir Ferdinando Gorges gave rise, however, to a dispute of long standing. In 1677 Massachusetts bought out the heirs of Gorges. At the close of the Revolutionary War Massachusetts retained possession, calling it the district of Maine. Opinion was divided for a long time. Some of the inhabitants took pride in being considered a part of the old Bay State; others desired separate statehood. March 15, 1820, Maine was admitted to the Union as a separate state. In 1851 a state prohibitory law was enacted. A clause in the state constitution adopted in 1884 forbids the manufacture or sale of intoxicating liquors.

EDUCATION. The public school system is well supported. A law passed in 1821 compels the levying of a school tax of not less than forty cents per person. Two hundred towns and townships report free high schools. There are five public normal schools. There are several colleges in the state, including Bowdoin at Brunswick, Bates at Lewiston, and Colby at Waterville. The University of Maine is situated at Orono. The percentage of illiteracy, excluding persons of foreign birth, is very small. The population in 1905 was 694,-466. The Indians who formerly inhabited the state are now few in number. They are gathered on small reservations, where an effort is made to educate and civilize them. They farm in a small way, hunt, fish, trap, and act as guides.

STATISTICS. The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources: