there were approximately ninety million acres in this forest, comprising redwood, Douglas fir, and other conifers.

The above-mentioned forests have liberally been drawn upon in the material development of the country. They were so vast in extent that they were recklessly handled, there being little or no realization of the fact that unless scientifically treated they would in time be exhausted. Not long ago it was estimated by forestry experts that over two thirds of the original forest area of the United States had been culled, cut over, or burned; and that three fifths of the timber which this country originally had was gone. But we are learning more economical methods of handling the forests, and it is to be hoped that the great industries of the country which are based upon the forests always will have the necessary raw materials available from our own forests.

The people. Abundance of land of good quality and vast natural resources, such as the United States possessed, will not suffice to make a nation strong, industrially and commercially. Granting both of these conditions, one fundamental factor is still lacking to insure success, viz., the human element. No matter how excellent the quality and location of the land nor how abundant it may be in nature's riches, the application of human labor is necessary for its development. Similarly, a high-grade aggressive population will be seriously handicapped in the industrial struggle in a small country with a poor soil and sparse resources. The unit of production is land plus man; both factors are equally essential, and the winning combination exists when both are of excellent quality. As some one has remarked: only when the gifts of nature are bountiful and are intelligently utilized by man can a nation attain to the highest degree of strength and prosperity.

Under the Indian occupation, the soil, of course, was as rich as it was after the coming of the white man. The abundant natural resources in forests, minerals, water powers, etc., were

also at hand and at the disposal of the Indian. Little use, however, was made of nature's riches excepting to supply the needs of existence on a relatively low plane. The race seemed to lack those qualities which are essential for the development of steady industry and commerce. Consequently, it did not build up an elaborate and complicated industrial system and its imprint upon the economic development of the country was comparatively slight.

Earlier immigration. It was indeed fortunate for this country that the earlier settlers came, almost exclusively, from the states of northwestern Europe that were the leaders in the industrial arts and in civilization in general: England, Scotland, Holland, France, and Germany. But, added to this, the early immigrants, as a class, were the best stock of these leading countries; they represented high-grade man-power to apply its energy in the economic development of the richest part of the richest continent. that our marvelous material expansion in three centuries of colonial and national development has been the envy and admiration of the civilized world. What this expansion would have been had the earlier immigration been of the character of the later immigration cannot be stated; but, that it would have been different and less brilliant is certain.

There is little wonder, therefore,

Later immigration. Until after the Revolution, the immigrants were, almost uniformly, of the high type. The small stream of immigration and the natural increase of population combined to afford the labor supply necessary to lay the foundations of the industrial structure of society. With the growth of population and the settlement of the West a greater demand for labor arose, especially for building the country's transportation systems, first the canals, then the railroads. Consequently, beginning in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, a large stream of immigration began whose character was decidedly different from the earlier and thinner stream. Northern Europeans at first, then Eastern and Southern

Europeans, began to pour into this country and furnished the brawn, then later the brains, for the upbuilding of America's economic life. Coming, in many cases, in poverty from their home country where standards of living were low, they soon rose, in the new and more favorable environment, to places of responsibility and prominence. They were the type most needed in the great material expansion of the country in the nineteenth century when the demand for unskilled workers was strong. The general type was not as high industrially as was the type of original settlers, but each has contributed, in abundance, its own peculiar share in the upbuilding of American industries of which a brief survey now will be given.

CHAPTER III

AMERICAN INDUSTRIES - AGRICULTURAL,

ANIMAL, MINERAL

AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES

Agriculture a fundamental pursuit. In undertaking now to summarize American industrial life as the basis of her commercial activities, agriculture will be the first pursuit to receive attention. In the evolution of national life, agriculture is always the starting point; it precedes manufacturing and commerce, but never can be supplanted by them. It is a line of human activity that must be carried on forever, unless the human race is to become extinct. From colonial times until the present, it has been of fundamental importance, the primary source of our wealth. Not until 1880 was the annual value of the products of our farms exceeded by the combined value of all the manufacturing industries. At the present time, there are more of our working population engaged in farming than in manufacturing; so that agriculture still remains the prime factor in our national economy. Furthermore, it is a good barometer of prosperity; for the general conditions of all other industries rise or fall according as to whether the farmer enjoys prosperity or adversity.

Discussions and writings upon the general subject of American industry and trade have been centered largely upon the expansion of manufactures, their increased output, and the remarkable growth in recent years of our exports of manufactured and semi-manufactured goods. It should not be overlooked, however, that the United States leads all other

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countries in the annual value of farm crops produced; she is the greatest agricultural nation in the world. Furthermore, the United States occupies the first place among the nations in the exportation of agricultural products, although the agricultural exports are only a small fraction of the total yield of the farms. This position is due in part to nature's bountiful gifts, in part to man's efforts. A diversity of fertile soils and of favorable climatic conditions, as already pointed out, were a part of our rich heritage. These have enabled us to grow successfully a great variety of useful crops, each in its own specified area without the necessity of competing with other crops for the same space. Thus we have a wheat belt, a corn belt, a cotton belt, a tobacco belt, and so on. Full advantage has been taken of the opportunities afforded by nature by a resourceful and energetic population in the development of scientific agriculture, and in building transportation works to facilitate the marketing of the crops both at home and abroad.

Our most characteristic farming region. Agriculture is carried on to a greater or less extent in practically all parts of the country, but the most characteristic farming region lies east of the 100th meridian. A large variety of crops is produced in abundance. The greatest concentration of arable, that is," improved " land, according to the terminology used in the Census publications, is a triangular-shaped area bounded by a line reaching from the southwestern section of Pennsylvania across Kentucky and Missouri to central Oklahoma, thence in a northerly direction to the north central part of North Dakota, thence southeasterly across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan to the point of beginning. The area of the triangle is about one fifth that of the whole country but, under normal conditions, it produces about 80 per cent of the corn, 75 per cent of the wheat and oats, and 60 per cent of the hay crop of the United States.1 There is such

1 Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture, 1918, p. 433.