Iowa
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Iowa. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
i o-wa, a north central state of the American Union. It lies on the west bank of the Mississippi, between Missouri and Minnesota. The western boundary is formed by the Big Sioux and the Missouri which separate Iowa from South Dakota and Nebraska. The general shape of the state is rectangular, measuring 310 miles from east to west and 210 from north to south. The area is 56,025 square miles. TOPOGRAPHY. Save where cut by streams into valleys the general surface is an undulating plain. The bluffs along some of the valleys, particularly that of the Mississippi, are bold and picturesque. The drainage is entirely into the Mississippi and the Missouri. The dividing line is hardly noticeable. There are natural forests of the common American hardwoods and softwoods and cedar, but they are confined to the valleys and bluffs. It is claimed, however, that the supply of second growth timber is increasing. There are a few lakes, near the Minnesota border. The swamps have been drained. FERTILITY. Save bluffs and streams, there is scarce a square foot of unproductive land in the state. The soil is chiefly a deep, black, prairie loam of wondrous fertility, resting on a clay subsoil or disintegrating limestone. The valley of the Missouri and the deeper valleys of the central part of the state have a deep soil--a rich yellow clay. As might be expected Iowa is one of the great agricultural states of the Union. According to the last census 86 1/2 per cent of the entire area is improved farmland. There were 228,662 farms; 148,886 were owned and tilled by the occupants. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. Iowa divides honors with Illinois in the production of oats, and ranks second to that state in corn raising. It is exceeded by New York and Pennsylvania only in the production of hay and forage, and is the ninth state in wheat raising. Though dwarfed in importance by a crop of corn reported at 260,000,000 bushels a year, the yield of rye, barley, flax, and buckwheat runs into a total of millions of bushels. All the garden and field vegetables of the north temperate zone, including sweet potatoes, do well. The watermelons of Muscatine, from islands in the river and vicinity, have a wide reputation. The average rainfall is a trifle over twenty inches, well distributed through the growing season. The thermometer drops occasionally as low as 40 deg. below zero, but sleighing is not to be relied on. A range from--20 deg. F. to 95 deg. F. is to be expected. The extremes are of short duration. FRUIT. Iowa is coming forward rapidly as a fruit-producing state. There are nearly 7,000,000 bearing apple trees, with an average yield of half a bushel a year. Plum, apricot, cherry, peach, and pear orchards bring up the fruit production, not counting small fruits and berries, to a value estimated in the orchard at $2,000,000 a year. Grapes do well. The annual yield is over 7,000,000 pounds. The farms of Iowa lead the Union with $57,960,660 worth of machinery and implements. LIVE STOCK. About one-third of the agricultural products is fed to live stock. The wealth of such a state mounts up into figures so large that they mean little. The live stock, for instance, was valued by the census taker at $278,830,096. Poultry and eggs alone yield $20,000,000 a year. Dairy products amount to as much more. POPULATION. There are no very large cities. At the beginning of the decade Des Moines , the capital, had a population of 62,162. Sioux City, at the mouth of the Big Sioux, is a close second. There are a score of cities with a population of from 10,000 to 40,000. INDUSTRIES. Iowa is primarily a food-producing state. Even the manufactures are related to the production and preparation of food. The output of agricultural implements is large. Iron is taking the place of wood for frames. Carriages and wagons are turned out to the value of $4,000,000 annually. Milling is an important industry. Cedar Rapids claims the largest oatmeal mill in the world. Canning establishments, both for fruit and vegetables, operate on a large scale. Iowa ranks third in canned corn. In 1900 the output of the meat packing houses was valued at $25,000,000. Starch factories, creameries, and cheese factories, and factories for condensed milk are multiplying. Of manufacturing interests not connected with the production of food, the manufacture of typewriters at Des Moines and the making of boots and shoes and of clothing should be mentioned. Muscatine has the largest pearl button factory in the United States . River boats are built at Dubuque. MINERALS. As to mineral wealth it is estimated that nearly a third of the state is underlaid by measures of soft coal. There are quarries of excellent building stone at Marshalltown, Anamosa, and elsewhere. Gypsum beds are worked near Fort Dodge. They yield a valuable material for hard plaster and cement. Brick, tiles, pottery, and terra-cotta products are made. TRANSPORTATION. Aside from the Mississippi and the Missouri, the rivers of the state are too small for boats of size. The state is supplied unusually well with railroads. Through lines from east to west and from north to south, with branches in numerable, cover the state with a network of railroads. Some ingenious mathematician has stated that there are but six spots in the state over ten miles from a railway. HISTORY. The first white men to visit Iowa were Marquette and Joliet. The first settlement was made by Julien Dubuque in 1788 on the site of the city that bears his name. The original Indian tribes were the Illinois, the Sacs and Foxes, and the Iowas. A small band of Sacs and Foxes still live on a reservation in Iowa County at government expense. Miserable remnants of the other tribes were removed to Kansas and to Oklahoma. Iowa was a part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. It was included in Louisiana' territory in 1805; Missouri in 1812; Michigan, 1834; and Wisconsin, 1836. In 1838 it was organized as an independent territory, extending northward, however, to the British boundary. It was admitted to the Union with its present boundaries in 1846. The capital was removed from Iowa City to Des Moines in 1857. EDUCATION. The system of common schools is excellent. In proportion to the population the number of people unable to read and write is smaller than in any other state of the Union, Massachusetts excepted. Higher education is divided up among forty or fifty small colleges. The cities maintain high schools. The state maintains a normal school at Cedar Falls, an agricultural college at Ames, and a university at Iowa City. It would be difficult to lay out an equal district in the world having more uniform prosperity and less pauperism. The population in 1900 was reported at 2,231,853. In 1905 the state census reported 2,210,384. STATISTICS. The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources: Land area, square miles 55,475 Population 2,205,690 Des Moines 78,323 Dubuque 43,070 Sioux City 42,520 Davenport 40,706 Council Bluffs 25,117 Cedar Rapids 29,380 Burlington 25,741 Clinton 22,768 Ottumwa 20,548 Waterloo 18,849 Number counties 99 Members of state senate 50 Representatives 108 Salary of governor $5,000 U.S. representatives 11 Presidential electors 13 Assessed valuation of property $47,100,000 Bonded indebtedness $31,888 Acres under plow 29,000,000 Agricultural Products- Corn, bushels 269,812,000 Winter wheat, bushels 2,739,050 Spring wheat 3,608,910 Oats, bushels 116,557,830 Rye, bushels 805,780 Barley, bushels 10,629,300 Flax, bushels 255,205 Potatoes, bushels 11,209,950 Hay (tame), tons 5,828,580 Hay (wild), tons 1,219,630 Pastures and grazing, estimated value $95,000,000 Buckwheat, estimated value 145,000 Sweet potatoes, estimated value 130,000 Sorghum and broom corn, estimated value 180,000 Timothy and clover seed, estimated value 1,500,000 Alfalfa and millet, estimated value 535,000 Sweet corn, estimated value 675,000 Fruit crops, estimated value 4,000,000 Garden truck, estimated value 9,000,000 Total value Iowa crops, 1909 $357,419,615 Butter, pounds 145,000,000 Honey, pounds 2,500,000 Wool, pounds 5,100,000 Domestic Animals- Horses 1,419,000 Mules 46,000 Milk cows 1,555,000 Other cattle 3,881,000 Sheep 718,000 Swine 8,413,000 Goats 41,000 Output of meat products $30,074,000 Grist output $12,000,000 Lumber products $11,000,000 Coal mined (1907), tons 7,500,000 Clay products $3,700,000 Quarry products $500,000 Foundry and shop products $5,488,086 Teachers in public schools 28,508 Pupils enrolled 532,000 Percentage of male teachers 10.9 Average monthly salary of men teachers $64.56 Average monthly salary of women teachers $44.11 Average annual expenditure per pupil $28.24
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a State in the North Central Division of the North American Union; bounded by Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota; admitted to the Union, Dec. 28, 1846; number of counties, 99; capital, Des Moines; area, 56,025 square miles; pop. (1890) 1,911,896; (1900) 2,231,853; (1910) 2,224,771; (1920) 2,404,021. Topography. The surface of the State is generally level, with a gentle rise toward the N. The highest elevation is near Spirit Lake, in Dickinson co., 1,694 feet. The center of the State forms a watershed between the Mississippi and the Missouri. There are no hills of consequence, the entire surface being a plateau, and whenever irregularities occur, they are depressions below the general level. There are steep bluffs along the river banks, caused by the wearing away of the drift and rocks by the water. The State is covered with prairie land, with no swamps or natural forests. The water system is divided into two parts, those rivers flowing into the Mississippi in the E., and those flowing into the Missouri in the W. Among the former are the Upper Iowa, Turkey, Maquoketa, Wapsipinicon, Cedar, Iowa, Skunk, Des Moines, and Boone, while the Missouri system includes the Chariton, Grand Platte, Nodaway, Nishnabotna, Boyer, Maple, Sioux, Rock, and rivers. The Big Sioux river forms most of the W. boundary. There are many small and beautiful lakes, the largest being Spirit Lake, and the Okoboji Lakes, in Dickinson co. Geology. The State presents 20 distinct geological formations. The N. part belongs to the drift deposits of Minnesota. Lower down the Lower Silurian is prominent, with Potsdam ver magnesium limestone, sandstone, lower and St. Peter's sandstone. The Upper Silurian is represented by the Niagara and Le Clair limestone, and the Devonian by the Hamilton and Chemung carboniferous limestones. Mineralogy. The Illinois coal field extends over an area of 20,000 square miles in this State, and lead is found in Galena limestone near Dubuque. The coal production of the State in 1918 was 8,240,000 tons, which was 725,000 tons less than the production of 1917. The other mineral products are mineral waters, cement, gypsum, sand and gravel. The value of the cement produced in 1916 was $6,870,863. The total value of the mineral production in that year was $39,336,372. Soil. The soil generally is a soft black loam, formed directly through deposits of the Quaternary age, and varies from 1 to 100 feet in depth. The soil is easily worked, free from stones and stumps, and of almost inexhaustible fertility. The soil of the prairies is a diluvial drift, while the river beds furnish a light alluvial deposit. The principal natural trees are several varieties of oak, hickory, elm, black walnut, linden, cottonwood, maple, cedar, slippery elm, butternut, sycamore, ash, pine, and box-elder. Agriculture. The fertility of the soil and the ease with which it may be worked present special advantages for agricultural pursuits. Among native fruits are the plum, crabapple, grape, cherry, blackberry, gooseberry, strawberry, and raspberry, while the wild prairie grass is used for pasturage and for hay. The production and value of the principal crops in 1919 was as follows: corn, 416,000,000 bushels, valued at $499,200,- 000; oats, 196,182,000 bushels, valued at $125,556,000; wheat, 23,675,000 bushels, valued at $47,350,000; hay, 5,181,000 tons, valued at $90,149,000; $90,149,000; potatoes, 4,945,000 bushels, valued at $9,494,000. Manufactures. - There were in 1914 5,614 manufacturing establishments in the State, with 63,113 wage earners. The capital invested amounted to $233,- 127,000; and the wages paid to $39,816,- 000. The value of the materials used amounted to $205,451,000, and the value of the finished product to $310,750,000. The principal manufacturing places are Sioux City, noted for its flour mills; Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Dubuque, and Des Moines. The chief articles of manufacture include dairy products, agricultural implements, confectionery, clothing, flour and grist, lumber, saddlery and harness, packed meat, and tobacco. Banking. On Oct. 31, 1919, there were 354 National banks in operation, having $25,115,000 in capital, $20,413,200 in outstanding circulation, and $19,532,000 in United States bonds. There were also 371 State banks, with $16,634,000 capital, and $6,140,000 surplus; 23 trust and loan companies, with $4,046,000 capital and $908,000 surplus. In the year ending Sept. 30, 1919, the exchanges at the United States clearing house at Des Moines aggregated $528,019,000, an increase over the previous year of $38,325,- 000. Education. The school population of the State is about 680,000, with an average daily attendance of about 400,000. There were about 30,000 teachers with an average monthly salary for male teachers of about $90.00 and for female teachers of $80.00. Among the colleges are the State University of Iowa, at Iowa City, Cornell College, at Mount Vernon, Drake University, at Des Moines, Iowa College, at Grinnell, Luther College, at Decorah, and the Iowa Wesleyan University, at Mount Pleasant. Churches. The strongest denominations in the State are the Roman Catholic, Methodist Episcopal, Disciples of Christ, Regular Baptist, Presbyterian, North Lutheran, Congregational, United Brethren and Friends. Railroads. The total railway mileage for the State in 1919 was 9,935. This includes single track line only. There 4 has been very little construction in recent years. Finances. The total receipts for the biennal period 1916-18 amounted to $20,- 806,476, and the disbursements to $19,- 398,657. There was a balance on hand at the end of the year of $2,125,644. There was no bonded debt, but a net debt of about $1,300,000. State Government. -The governor is elected for a term of two years, and receives a salary of $5,000 per annum. Legislative sessions are held biennially and are unlimited in length. The Legislature has 50 members in the Senate, and 108 in the House. There are 11 repre sentatives in Congress. The government in 1920 was Republican. History. Iowa was first visited by Marquette and Joliet, the French explorers, in 1673, and the first settlement was made by Julien Dubuque and a party of 10 to work the lead mines near the present city of Dubuque. The territory including Iowa was ceded to Spain Spain in 1763, and receded to France in 1801, and became the property of the United States by the "Louisiana Purchase" in 1803. It became a separate territory in 1838, and was admitted to the Union as a State in 1846. In 1857 occurred the Spirit Lake massacre, an Indian raid, in which about 40 settlers were killed and their homes destroyed. The State capital was formerly at Iowa City, but in 1857 was removed to Des Moines. Charities and Corrections. The principal charitable and correctional institutions are as follows: five state hospitals, a Soldiers' Home, a training school for boys and girls, an institution for feeble minded children and a tuberculosis sanatorium.