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See also:MASSACHUSETTS (an See also:Indian name, originally applied to a tribe of See also:Indians) , one of the See also:original thirteen states of the See also:American See also:Union, bounded on the N. by See also:Vermont and New See also:Hampshire, on the E. by the See also:Atlantic, on the S. by Rhode See also:Island and See also:Connecticut, and on the W. by New See also:York . It lies approximately between 41° 15' and 42° 50' N. See also:lat. and 69° 55' and 730 3o' W. See also:long . The bulk of its See also:area—which is about 8266 sq. m . (of which 227 are See also:water)-forms a parallelogram of 130 M . E. and W., 46 m . N. and S., the additional area lying in a See also:projection at the S.E. and a lesser one at the N.E., which give the mainland a breadth of 90 M. where it See also:borders upon the ocean, while the See also:general irregularity of the See also:coast-See also:line gives a See also:sea frontage of about 250 M . See also:Physical Features.—The See also:east and See also:south-east portions are in general undulating or level, the central hilly and broken, and the See also:west rugged and mountainous . (For See also:geological details see See also:UNITED STATES: See also:Geology, ad fin.) The Hoosac Hills (12oo–1600 ft. high), separating the valleys of the Housatonic and Connecticut, are a range of the Berkshires, a See also:part of the Appalachian See also:system, and a continuation of the See also:Green Mountains of Vermont, and with the Taconic range on the west See also:side of the Housatonic Valley—of which the highest peaks are Greylock, or " Saddleback " (3535 ft.), and Mt See also:Williams (3040 ft.)—in the extreme See also:north-west corner of the See also:state, See also:form the only considerable elevated See also:land.' Bordering on the lowlands of the Connecticut, Mt Tom (1214 ft.) and a few other hills (Mt See also:Holyoke, 954 ft.; Mt Toby, 1275) form conspicuous landmarks . East of this valley the See also:country continues more or less hilly and rocky, but the elevations eastward become increasingly slight and of little consequence . Mt See also:Lincoln (1246 ft.) and especially Mt Wachusett (2108 ft.), to the east in a level country, are very exceptional . The See also:Blue Hills in See also:Milton are the nearest elevations to the coast, and are conspicuous to navigators approaching See also:Boston . The south-east corner of the state is a sandy See also:lowland, generally level with a slightly elevated See also:ridge (Manomet) south of See also:Plymouth, and well watered by ponds . With the exception of this corner, See also:Massachusetts is a part of the slanting upland that includes all of See also:southern New See also:England . This upland is an uplifted peneplain of subaerial denudation,' now so far advanced in a " second " See also:cycle of weathering and so thoroughly dissected that to an untrained See also:eye it appears to be only a country of hills confusedly arranged . The general See also:contour of the upland, marked by a remarkably even See also:sky-line, is evident at almost every locality in the state . In the nature and position of the upland rocks—mainly crystalline See also:schists and gneisses, excessively complicated and disordered in See also:mass, and also internally deformed—there is found abundant See also:proof that the peneplain is a degraded See also:mountain region . The upland is interrupted by the See also:rivers, and on the coast by See also:great lowlands, and is everywhere marked by hills somewhat surmounting the generally even skyline . See also:Monadnock (in New Hampshire nearN.E.Massachusetts), the Blue Hills near Boston, Greylock, in the north-west, and Wachusett in the centre, are the most cornmanding remnant-summits (known.generically as "Monadnocks ") of the original mountain system . But in the derivant valley peneplains See also:developed in the See also:present cycle of denudation, and there are residual summits also; in the Connecticut Valley See also:trap ridges, of which Mt Tom and Mt Holyoke are the best examples; at Mt Holyoke, See also:lava necks; occasionally in the lowlands, ridges of resistant See also:sandstone, like See also:Deerfield Mountain near See also:Northampton; in the See also:Berkshire Valley, summits of resistant schists, like Greylock, the highest See also:summit in the state . The larger streams have cut their channels to very moderate gradients, but the smaller ones are steeper . The Housatonic and Millers (and the Connecticut also, but not in its course within Massachusetts alone) afford beautiful examples of the dependence of valley breadth upon the strike of soft or harder rocks across the stream . The Connecticut See also:low-land is cut from 5 to 18 m. wide in soft sandstones and shales . The glacial era has See also:left abundant evidences in the See also:topography of the state . The See also:ice covered even the Monadnocks .
Till drumlins, notably abundant on the lowland about Boston and the highland near See also:Spencer; morainic hills, extending, e.g. all along Cape See also:Cod; eskers, See also:kames and See also:river terraces afford the plainest evidences of the extent of the glacial See also:sheet
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The Berkshire country—Berkshire, See also:Hampden, Hampshire and See also:Franklin counties—is among the most beautiful regions of the United States
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It is a See also:rolling highland dominated by long, wooded See also: The Housatonic, in portions placid, in others See also:wild and rapid, winding along the deflecting barrier of the Hoosac Hills, is the most beautiful river of the state, despite the See also:mercantile use of its water-See also:power . The See also:Merrimac, the second stream of the state in See also:volume, runs in a charming valley through the extreme north-east corner, and affords immensely valuable water-power at See also:Lowell, See also:Lawrence and See also:Haverhill . South of Cohasset the See also:shore is sandy, with a few isolated rocky ledges and boulders . About Boston, and to the north of it, the shore is rocky and picturesque . Cape Cod, like a human See also:arm doubled at the See also:elbow, 40 M. from See also:shoulder to elbow and 30 from elbow to See also:hand, is nowhere more than a few See also:miles broad . It is a sandy ridge, dotted with summer resorts and cottages . Cape See also:Ann has a rugged interior and a ragged, rocky coast . It, too, is a summer recreation ground, with much beautiful scenery . Boston Harbor (originally known as Massachusetts See also:Bay, a name which now has a much broader signification) is the finest roadstead on the coast . The extreme See also:hook of the Cape Cod See also:Peninsula forms See also:Provincetown Harbor, which is an excellent and capacious See also:port of See also:refuge for vessels. approaching Boston . See also:Salem Harbor is the most considerable other haven on Massachusetts Bay; on See also:Buzzard's Bay New See also:Bedford has a See also:good See also:harbour, and on the Atlantic coast are the excellent harbours of See also:Gloucester and See also:Marblehead, both frequented by summer residents . Gloucester has the largest See also:fishery interests of any See also:place in the country, and is one of the See also:chief fishing ports of the See also:world . Buzzard's Bay is also a popular See also:yachting ground, and all about its shores are towns of summer See also:residence . See also:Wood's Hole is a station of the United States See also:Bureau of See also:Fisheries, and a marine biological laboratory is there . The See also:principal islands lie off the south coast . The largest is Martha's Vineyard, about 20 M. long, with an extreme breadth of about 91 m . It has in Vineyard Haven (See also:Holmes's Hole) a spacious harbour, much frequented by See also:wind-See also:bound vessels seeking a passage See also:round Cape Cod . The island is covered with stunted trees . Its See also:population was formerly dependent wholly upon the sea, but its See also:climate has made it a popular summer resort, See also:Oak Bluffs being one of the chief resorts of the Atlantic coast . Farther east, See also:Nantucket, a smaller island of triangular shape, is likewise the See also:home of a seafaring folk who still retain in some degree See also:primitive habits, though summer visitors are more and more affecting its See also:life . See also:Flora and See also:Fauna.—Massachusetts lies entirely in the humid area of the Transition life-See also:zone, with the exception of the extreme north-western corner of the state, which lies in the Boreal zone . Thus the original native trees and See also:plants were those See also:common to New England and See also:northern New York . The presence of a dense population has driven out some, and brought In others, including some noxious weeds . The larger wild animals have disappeared, excepting an occasional See also:black See also:bear or See also:deer .
Of the smaller See also:fur-bearing animals, the See also:beaver was long ago exterminated, the See also:otter is seen very rarely, and the See also:mink only in the most isolated districts; but foxes, skunks, weasels, See also:musk-rats, rabbits, and See also:grey and red squirrels are not uncommon
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Copperhead See also:snakes and rattlesnakes are occasionally seen, and there are several See also:species of harmless serpents
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Of See also:game birds the most characteristic is the See also:partridge (ruffed See also:grouse), exclusively a woodland See also:bird; the See also: The mean See also:average temperature of Boston is 48° F . In the interior it is slightly See also:lower . The mean summer temperature generally over the state is about 70° F . Changes are often sudden, and the passage from See also:winter to summer is through a rapid See also:spring . The ocean tempers the climate considerably on the seaboard . Boston Harbor has been frozen over in the past, but steamtugs plying constantly now prevent the occurrence of such obstruction . In the elevated region in the west the winters are decidedly severe, and the springs and summers often See also:late and See also:cold . See also:Williamstown has a winter mean of about 23° F . The yearly precipitation is about 39 to 45 in., decreasing inland, and is evenly distributed throughout the See also:year . Fogs are common on the coast, and east wind drizzles; the north-east winds being the See also:weather bane of spring and late autumn . In the summer and the autumn the weather is commonly See also:fine, and often most beautiful; and especially in the Berkshires a cool, pure and elastic See also:atmosphere prevails, relatively dry, and altogether delightful . See also:Agriculture.—The See also:soil, except in some of the valleys, is not naturally fertile; and sandy wastes are common in the south-east parts . High cultivation, however, has produced valuable See also:market-gardens about Boston and the larger towns; and See also:industry has made tillage remunerative in most other parts . The See also:gross value of agricultural products is not great compared with that of other See also:industries, but they are of great importance in the See also:economy of the state . The See also:total value of See also:farm See also:property in 1900 was $182,646,704, including livestock valued at $15,798,464 . Of the increase in the total value of farm property between 1856 and 1900 more than See also:half was in the See also:decade 189o—1900; this increase being due partly to the rising value of suburban realty, but also to a development of intensive farming that has been very marked since 1880 . The total value of farm products in 1899 was $42,298,274 (See also:expenditure for fertilizers $1,320,600); crops representing 54.7 and See also:animal products 45.3% of this total . The leading crops and their percentages of the total See also:crop value were See also:hay and See also:forage (39.1 %), vegetables (23.9%), fruits and nuts (11'7%), See also:forest products (8.4%), and See also:flowers and plants (7'1%) . Of the animal products 67'3% were See also:dairy products, and 2o.8% poultry and eggs . Cereals' have been for many years declining, although See also:Indian See also:corn is a valuable subsidiary to the dairy See also:interest, which is the most thriving farm industry . The value of farms on which dairying was the chief source of income in 1900 was 46% of the total farm value of the state; the corresponding percentages for livestock, vegetables, hay and See also:grain, flowers and plants, See also:fruit and See also:tobacco, being respectively 14.6, 10.2, 8•o, 4.2, 3.2, and 1.8% . The shrinkage of cereal crops has been mainly responsible for the See also:idea that Massachusetts is agriculturally decadent . Parallel to this shrinkage was the decrease in ranging See also:sheep (82.o% from 1850—I900; 34.2% from 1890-1900), and See also:cattle, once numerous in the hill counties of the west, and in the Connecticut Valley; Boston, then ranking after See also:London as the second See also:wool market of the world, and being at one See also:time the chief packing centre of the country . Dairy cows in-creased, however, from 185o to 1900 by 41.9% (1890-1900, 7.3%) . The amount of improved farmland decreased in the same See also:period 39.4%, decreasing even more since 188o than earlier, and amounting in 1900 to no more than 25'1% of the area of the state; but this decrease has been compensated by increased value of products, especially since the beginning of intensive agriculture . An unusual See also:density of See also:urban See also:settlement, furnishing excellent home markets and transportation facilities, are the See also:main props of this new interest . See also:Worcester and See also:Middlesex counties are agriculturally foremost . Tobacco, which has been cultivated since colonial times, especially since the See also:Civil See also:War, is grown exclusively in the Connecticut Valley or on its borders . In the swamps and bogs of the south-east coast See also:cranberry culture is practised, this district producing in 1900 three-fifths of the entire yield of the United States . " Abandoned farms " (aggregating, in 1890, 3.4% of the total farm area, and 6.85% in Hampshire See also:county) are common, especially in the west and south-east . Mines and See also:Mining.—See also:Granite is the chief See also:mineral, and granite See also:quarrying is the principal mineral industry of the state . In 1900 the value of manufactures based primarily upon the products of mines and quarries was $196,930,979, or 19% of the state's total manufactured product . In 1906 Massachusetts led all states in the value of its granite output, but in 1907 and 1908 it was second to Vermont . The value of the product (including a small output of igneous rocks) was in 1903, $2,351,027; 1904, $2,554,748; 1905, $2,251,319; 1906, $3,327,416; 1907, $2,328,777; 1908, $2,027,463 . Granite boulders were used for construction in Massachusetts as See also:early as 1650 . Systematic quarrying of siliceous crystalline rocks in New England began at See also:Quincy in about 1820 .
The Gloucester quarries, opened in 1824, were probably the next to be worked regularly
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The principal granite quarries are in See also:Milford,
' The yield of cereals and of such other crops in 1907 as are recorded in the Yearbook of the United States See also:Department of Agriculture was as follows: Indian corn, 1,584,000 bushels; oats, 245,000 bushels; See also:barley, 64,000 bushels; See also:buckwheat, 42,000 bushels; potatoes, 3,600,000 bushels; hay, 760,000 tons; tobacco, 7,167,500 Ib
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In the same year, according to the same authority, there were in the state 196,000 milch cows, 92,000 other neat cattle, 45,000 sheep and 70,000 See also:swine.(Worcester county), Quincy and Milton (See also:Norfolk county), See also:Rockport (See also:Essex county) and See also:Becket (Berkshire county)
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Of the fourteen quarries of " Milford granite," twelve are in the township of that name, and two in Hopkinton township, Middlesex county
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B
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See also:Emerson and J
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See also:Perry classify this granite as See also:post-See also:Cambrian
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They describe it' as " a compact, massive rock, somewhat above See also:medium grain, and of See also:light See also:colour
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The light flesh colour of the feldspar, and the blue of the See also:quartz give it in some places a slight pinkish tint, and it is now much used as a See also:building-See also:
The lightest of the monumental stone quarried at Quincy is called gold-See also:leaf ; it is bluish-green See also: There are many mineral springs in the state, more than half being in Essex and Middlesex counties . The total amount of mineral waters sold in 1908 was valued at $227,907 . In that year the total value of the minerals and mining products of the state was $5,925,949 . Gold has been found in small quantities in Middlesex, Norfolk and Plymouth counties . Manufactures.—Though only four states of the Union are smaller, only three exceeded Massachusetts in 1905 in the value of manufactured products (six exceeding it in population) ; and this despite very scant native resources of raw materials and a very limited home market . See also:Historical priority of development, exceptionally extensive and well utilized water-power, and good transportation facilities are largely responsible for the exceptional See also:rank of Massachusetts as a manufacturing state . Vast water-power is developed on the Merrimac at Lawrence and Lowell, and on the Connecticut at South See also:Hadley, and to a less extent at scores of other cities on many streams and artificial ponds; many of the See also:machines that have revolutionized See also:industrial conditions since the beginning of the factory system have been invented by Massachusetts men; and the state contains various technical See also: |