waters discharging into Mobile Bay by the Mobile and Tensas
rivers. The Black Warrior is a considerable stream which joins
the Tombigbee from the E. The valleys in the N. and N.E. are
usually deep and narrow, but in the Coastal Plain they are broad
and in most cases rise in three successive terraces above the
stream. The harbour of Mobile was formed by the drowning
of the lower part of the valley of the Alabama and Tombigbee
rivers as a result of the sinking of the land here, such
sinking having occurred on other parts of the Gulf coast.
The fauna and flora of Alabama are similar to those of the
Gulf states in general and have no distinctive characteristics.
Climate and Soil.---The climate of Alabama is temperate and
fairly uniform. The heat of summer is tempered in the S. by the
winds from the Gulf of Mexico, and in the N. by the elevation
above the sea. The average annual temperature is highest in
the S.W. along the coast, and lowest in the N.E. among the
highlands. Thus at Mobile the annual mean is 67 deg. F., the mean
for the summer 81 deg. , and for the winter 52 deg. ; and at Valley
Head, in De Kalb county, the annual mean is 59 deg. , the mean
for the summer 75 deg. , and for the winter 41 deg. . At Montgomery,
in the central region, the average annual temperature is
66 deg. , with a winter average of 49 deg. , and a summer average of
81 deg. . The average winter minimum for the entire state is 35 deg. ,
and there is an average of 35 days in each year in which the
thermometer falls below the freezing-point. At extremely rare
intervals the thermometer has fallen below zero, as was the
case in the remarkable cold wave of the 12th-13th of February
1899, when an absolute minimum of 17 deg. was registered at Valley
Head. The highesl temperature ever recorded was 109 deg. in
Talladega county in 1902. The amount of precipitation is
greatest along the coast (62 in.) and evenly distributed
through the rest of the state (about 52 in.). During each
winter there is usually one fall of snow in the S. and two
in the N.; but the snow quickly disappears, and sometimes,
during' an entire winter, the ground is not covered with
snow. Hail-storms occur in the spring and summer, but are seldom
destructive. Heavy fogs are rare, and are confined chiefly
to the coast. Thunderstorms occur throughout the year, but
are most common in the summer. The prevailing winds are from
the S. As regards its soil, Alabama may be divided into four
regions. Extending from the Gulf northward for one hundred
and fifty miles is the outer belt of the Coastal Plain,
also called the ``Timber Belt,'' whose soil is sandy and
poor, but responds well to fertilization. North of this
is the inner lowland of the Coastal Plain, or the ``Black
Prairie,'' which includes some 13,000 sq. m. and seventeen
counties. It receives its name from its soil (weathered from
the weak underlying limestone), which is black in colour,
almost destitute of sand and loam, and rich in limestone
and marl formations, especially adapted to the production
of cotton; hence the region is also called the ``Cotton
Belt.'' Between the ``Cotton Belt'' and the Tennessee Valley
is the mineral region, the ``Old Land'' area---``a region of
resistant rocks''--whose soils, also derived from weathering
in silu, are of varied fertility, the best coming from the
granites, sandstones and limestones, the poorest from the
gneisses, schists and slates. North of the mineral region
is the ``Cereal Belt,'' embracing the Tennessee Valley and
the counties beyond, whose richest soils are the red clays
and dark loams of the river valley; north of which are less
fertile soils, produced by siliceous and sandstone formations.
Agriculture.---Agriculture is the principal occupation in
Alabama, giving employment to 64.5% of the population. The
farm acreage in 1900 was 20,685,427 acres (62% of the entire
surface of the state), of which 8,654,991 acres (41.8%) were
improved. Under the system of slave labour which existed
before 1860, the average size of the plantations tended to
increase, but since 1860 the reverse has been true, the
average plantation in 1860 being 346 acres, and in 190092.7
acres. The average value per acre of farm land was $11.86
in 1860 and $8,67 in 1900. As to method of cultivation,
36.3 per cent of the farms were in 1900 managed by the
owners, 33.3% by cash renters, 24.4(R by share tenants, and
the remaining 6% by other methods. The chief product is
cotton, cultivated extensively in the ``Black Belt'' and
less extensively in the other portions of the state. Cotton
has always been the principal source of wealth, the amount
of its exports at Mobile increasing from 7000 bales in 1818
to 25,000 bales in 1821, and the total product of the state
in 1840 being double that of 1830. This was accompanied
by an extensive employment of slave labour, and from 1820
until 1860 the rate of increase of the blacks was greater
than that of the whites. The success of the economic system
was such that in 1860 the cotton crop of Alabama was nearly
1,000,o00 bales (989,955 bales), being 18.4% of the entire
cotton product of the United States. The disorganization of
labour resulting from the Civil War and the emancipation of
slaves, was the cause of a temporary decline in the cotton
crop. In 1889 the crop again approximated to 1,000,000 bales
(915,210 bales, being 12.2% of the entire crop of the United
States), and in 1899 it exceeded that amount, Alabama being
fourth among the states of the entire country. The total value
of the farm products of Alabama in 1899 was $91,387,409; in
1889, $66,240,190; and in 1879, $56,872,994. The average
yield per acre has also increased under the system of free
labour. In recent years there has been a tendency to diversify
crops Indian corn, wheat and oats being mised extensively in
the ``Cereal Belt.'' In 1906, according to the Year-Book
of the Department of Agriculture, the following were the
acreages, yields and values of Alabama's more important
crops (excepting cotton):---Indian corn, 2,990,387 acres,
47,849,392 bushels, $30,623,611; wheat, 98,639 acres, 1,085,029
bushels, $1,019,927; oats, 184,179 acres, 3,167,879 bushels,
$1,615,618; hay, 56,350 acres, 109,882 tons, $1,461,431 .
Minerals.--The chief feature of Alabama's industrial life
since 1880 has been the exploitation of her iron and coal
resources. The iron ore (found chiefly in the region of
which Birmingham is the centre) is primarily red haematite
and (much less important) brown haematite; though as regards
the latter Alabama ranked first among the states of the
Union in 1905 (with 781,561 tons). The total production of
all classes of iron ores was 3,782,831 tons in 1905, Alabama
ranking third in the Union in this respect. The production
of bituminous coal has also increased very rapidly. Coal
was first discovered in the state in 1834, and in 1840 the
total production was 946 tons; in 1870 it was 13,200 short
tons. The real development of the mines began in 1881 and
1882, and the product increased from 420,000 tons in 1881
to 1,568,000 in 1883. By 1890 it had increased to 4,090,409
tons, by 1900 to 8,394,275 tons, and by 1905 to 11,866,069
tons, valued at $14,387,721, making Alabama sixth of the
coal-producing states. Nearly 85% of the coal is produced
in three counties (Jefferson, Walker and Bibb), though the
coalbearing formations cover about 40% of the northern half
of the state. Gold, silver, lead, copper, tin and bauxite
have also been discovered, but the greater richness of the
iron and coal deposits has prevented their development.
Manufactures.---The growth of manufactures in Alabama
has been as remarkable as the revelation of mineral
wealth. In 1880 the capital invested in manufactures was
$9,668,008, little more than that ($9,098,181) in 1860;
by 1890 it had increased to $46,122,571, or 377.1%; and
in 1900 it amounted to $70,370,081, or 52.6% more than in
1890. On account of the proximity of coal, iron and
limestone, the manufactures of iron and steel are the most
extensive. In 1895 it was demonstrated that Alabama pig-iron
could be sent to Liverpool and sold cheaper than the English
product, and Birmingham (Alabama) came consequently to rank
next to Middlesborough and Glasgow among the world centres
of the pig-iron trade. The pig-iron produced in the state
in 1860 was valued at $64,590, in 1870 at $210,258, in
1880 at $1,405,356, in 1900 at $13,487,769, and in 1905 at
$16,614,577. In the production of foundry pig-iron Alabama
held first rank both in 1900 and in 1905. The manufacture of
steel, though in its infancy, gave promise of equalling that
of iron, and the coke industry is also Of growing importance,
the product of Alabama during the five years from 1896 to 1901
showing a greater increase, relatively, than that of the other
states. In 1900 the state ranked sixth and in 1905 fifth
among the states of the United States in the manufactures
of iron and steel. In 1905 the value of the product was
2.7% of the value of the total iron and steel product of the
country, and 22.6% of the value of all the state's factory
products. In 1900 and in 1905 Alabama ranked second among
the states of the Union in the production of coke, its product
being more than one-tenth of that for the whole country, and
more than one-twentieth (5.2% in 1000; 5.7% in 1905) of all
the factory products of the state. The demand for coke is
due to the rapidly growing iron and steel industry. Great
possibilities were also shown for the production of lumber and
naval stores. Approximately three-fourths of the total area
of the state is woodland. In the ``Timber Belt'' the forests
of long leaf pine have an estimated stand of 21,192 million
ft.; and in 1905 the product of sawed lumber was valued at
$13,563,815. Of this, yellow pine represented $11,320,909,
oak $886,746, and poplar $627,686. In the decade 1890-1900
the number of turpentine factories increased from 7 to
152, and their product in 1900 and in 1905 ranked Alabama
third among the states in that industry. The value of the
turpentine and rosin products in 1905 was $ 2,434,365 .
The manufacture of cotton goods has also developed rapidly.
As late as 1890 there were only 13 cotton mills in Alabama,
one more than the number in 1850; in 19-0 there were 31,
representing a capital of $11,638,757 and an annual product
valued at $8,153,136, an increase of 272. 2% Over the product
($2,190,771) of 1890; in 1905 there wers 46 establishments,
representing a capital of $24,758,049 (an increase of
112`7% over that of 1900), and having a product (for the
year) of $16,760,332, an increase of 105.6% over that for
1900. To encourage the establishment of cotton mills the
legislature of 1896-1897 exempted from taxation during the
succeeding ten years all capital that should be invested in
the manufacture of cotton, provided that $50,000 or more be
invested in buildings and machinery. Other industries of
less importance are flour, fertilizers and tanned leather.
Communications.---The navigable mileage of the Alabama
rivers is 2000 m., but obstructions often prevent the formation
of a continuous route, notably the ``Muscle Shoals'' of the
Tennessee, extending from a point 10 m. below Decatur to
Florence, a distance of 38 m. To remove or circumvent these
impediments, and to improve the Mobile harbour, the United
States government spent, between 1870 and 1904, approximately
$12,000,000: As the streams in the mineral region are not
navigable, the railways are the carriers of its products.2
