Pennsylvania

one of the thirteen original states of the Union. From its position at the center of the arch formed by the original states, it is known popularly as the Keystone State. The state is rectangular in area, lying between the parallels of 39 deg. 43' and 42 deg. north latitude. A small projection at the northwest gives the state a frontage of forty miles on Lake Erie. A small area is lost to Delaware at the southeast, where the line is the circumference of a circle having a radius of twelve miles described about Newcastle courthouse as a center. The Delaware River forms the eastern boundary. The boundary on the west is the meridian of 80 deg. 36' west longitude. The area is 45,215 square miles, water included.

TOPOGRAPHY. The surface of the state is divided into three areas, the Atlantic coast, the mountain area, and the northwestern region. The mountain area itself consists of a series of parallel ranges of the Appalachians running from the northeast to the southwest. It is about fifty miles in width and comprises perhaps a fourth of the state. It is cut crosswise by a number of channels known as water gaps. They were formed, no doubt, by the rivers themselves. They followed their present courses before the mountains began to rise. As the ranges wrinkled upward, the rivers kept their courses cut down to the present level. The waters of the state lie in three general basins of drainage. They run direct to the Atlantic and empty into the headwaters of the Ohio, or else they drain into Lake Erie. The principal river is the Susquehanna. The "Blue Juniata" enters the Susquehanna from the west.

FORESTS. Originally, the state was covered with forests of hemlock, white pine, spruce, oak, poplar, elm, basswood, etc. It was at one time the leading lumber-producing state of the Union, but the wasteful methods pursued by lumbermen and the ravages of forest fires have reduced the output greatly. It is estimated, however, that about one-third of the state is still covered by forests of greater or less value. There is still a good supply of hemlock. In 1900 the total value of forest products for the state was somewhat over $35,000,000. Of late, efforts have been made to reforest some of the rougher portions of the state. Over half a million acres have been set aside as reserves. It is hoped that they may also serve to prevent the recurrence of the disastrous floods for which western Pennsylvania has become noted since the great forests were cut away.

AGRICULTURE. The soil of the state is essentially the product of disintegrated limestone. Where level enough for the purpose of cultivation it is exceedingly fertile. The southeastern part of the state is practically a vast garden. The interlocking ranges of mountains inclose valleys not only of great beauty, but exceedingly productive as well. The northwestern part of the state is well adapted to general farming. Named in order, the chief field crops are corn, oats, wheat, buckwheat, rye, and barley. One-third of the buckwheat raised in the Union is produced in Pennsylvania.

The southeastern part of the state is noted for the production of garden seeds. Some of the largest seed houses in the country have developed at Philadelphia. About 6,000 acres are devoted to seed raising. A still greater area is used for nurseries. The annual sales of fruit trees, park trees, and ornamental shrubs exceed $3,000,000. There are between 6,000,000 and 7,000,000 square feet under glass. The state takes high rank in the production of early vegetables and cut flowers. A tract in Chester County near Philadelphia is known as the Carnation Belt. Orchard fruits do well throughout the state. Two sheltered sections in the mountains are known respectively as the South Mountain and the Juniata peach belts. Grapes are raised most extensively in the northwest in a limited region belonging to the famous Chautauqua grape section. The state claims the honor of having originated the Seckel and the Kieffer pears. Apples do well everywhere. Small fruits are grown extensively. The state ranks second in the Union in the production of milk, butter, and cheese. The annual production of poultry and eggs is valued at $16,000,000. Cattle, horses, swine, and sheep are named in order of value.

MINERALS. Pennsylvania abounds in mineral wealth. It contains the greatest known coal deposits in the world. In 1900 the production of hard coal was nearly 60,000,000 tons. Hard coal costs about two dollars a ton at the mouth of the mines; soft coal, half that sum. The state ranks high also as a producer of petroleum oil and natural gas. The first oil wells in the United States were drilled near the present city of Titusville. Pennsylvania led the Union for decades in the production of iron, but now ranks below Minnesota, Michigan, and Alabama. The principal building stones are limestone, sandstone, blue stone, marble, trap, and granite. Portland cement is made in Northampton County and elsewhere.

MANUFACTURES. The presence of coal and iron in practically unlimited quantities has given Pennsylvania high rank as a manufacturing state. According to the last census reports the annual value of the steel and iron produce of the state is $434,445,200. The industry is centered largely in the vicinity of Pittsburg. The largest steel works in the world are at Homestead. Pennsylvania ranks first in the Union not only in the production of iron and steel goods but in glass making, tanning, and in the weaving of carpets. The state ranks second in knit goods, worsteds, and woolen goods. Over half the locomotives built in this country come from Pennsylvania. It also ranks second in the manufacture of pumps. The banks of the Delaware rank second only to those of the Clyde, Scotland, in shipbuilding. It would be difficult to name an article manufactured anywhere in the United States that is not made in Pennsylvania, as well. The total value of manufactured products of Pennsylvania for the year 1900 was reported at the tremendous sum of $1,834,790,860, not counting small shops in which work is done by hand. The various manufacturing establishments paid wages in that year to the total amount of $332,072,670.

HISTORICAL. The first white settlement in Pennsylvania was made by the Swedes on the west bank of the Delaware River about 1637. In 1675, when the region passed under English control, there were about 200 families in Pennsylvania. In 1681 King Charles granted the present territory of the state to William Penn. He suggested the name Sylvania, or forest country. The king prefixed Penn in honor of the grantee's father who had been his friend. Penn proceeded to organize the colony on Quaker principles. Although principles of peace seemed somewhat out of place in a country inhabited by savages and bordered by jealous rival colonies, the experiment seems to have succeeded well. Colonists poured in from Wales, England, Germany, and Switzerland. The Scotch-Irish, subsequent supporters of Princeton College, were an influential and radically democratic element. The dissatisfied and the persecuted in other colonies migrated to Pennsylvania. Within less than twenty years it contained 25,000 white settlers. The Moravians of southern Germany, adherents of John Huss, formed a large settlement in the vicinity of Bethlehem. They proved industrious and thrifty citizens and contributed not a little to the prosperity of the colony. Germans from the Rhine came in large numbers. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War there were about 300,000 people in the colony, one-third of whom were Germans. The remainder were pretty equally divided between Quakers and other minor elements. The Moravians have, until late, clung persistently to their own language and peculiar religious tenets, forming an element known as the Pennsylvania Dutch. Although they have been in this country for several generations, there are families, even yet, that speak broken English.

Though a Quaker state Pennsylvania bore an honorable part in the War of the American Revolution. The Continental Congress held most of its sessions, it may be remembered, in Pennsylvania cities.

POPULATION. The population of Pennsylvania in 1900 was 6,302,115. Of this number 1,639 were Indians, 1,927 Chinese, and 156,845 negroes. About one-eighth of the people live on farms. Philadelphia is the largest city. Harrisburg on the Susquehanna is the capital. The legislation of the state divides the cities into three classes. Philadelphia stands alone in the first class; Allegheny, Pittsburgh, and Scranton form the second class; the third class cities of the state have a population of over 25,000; named in order of size they are Reading, Erie, Wilkesbarre, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Altoona, Johnstown, Allentown, McKeesport, Chester, York, Williamsport, and Newcastle.

EDUCATION. A system of public education went into effect in 1834. The state does not have the public school fund enjoyed by Northwestern States. The constitution requires the General Assembly to appropriate at least $1,000,000 a year for the use of common schools. The amount actually appropriated is several times this sum. There are thirteen state normal schools. An agricultural college is maintained in Center County. The State University of Pennsylvania is located at Philadelphia. It owes its origin to the efforts, largely, of Benjamin Franklin. It is heavily endowed. Its medical department is the oldest medical school in the United States.

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

See Penn; Franklin; Braddock; Philadelphia; Pittsburg; Coal; Oil; Iron, etc.