States, and is the third State in the Union in population, and among the firs in manufacturing and mining. The climate is extreme, but the soil is fertile, and the State ranks high in the production of cereals fruit, butter, and cheese, with flax and wool. Grapes are successfully cultivated and made into wine on the shores and islands of Lake Erie. Much coal and iron is also mined. COLUMBUS (126) is the capital, but the commercial and industrial centre of the State is CINCINNATI (326), the "Queen City of the West," a great manufacturing and pork packing place on the Ohio River. The suburbs of this utilitarian town are beautiful, and the German element in its population has made it no mean rival of Boston and New York in musical culture and literature. TOLEDO (132) and CLEVELAND (382) are the two chief lake-ports of Ohio. Both do a large trade-Toledo in lumber and grain, and Cleveland in coal, iron, petroleum, &c.—and have considerable manufactures.

INDIANA, the "Hoosier State," has wide and fertile river valleys, wellgrassed prairies, and extensive forests. Much wheat and corn is grown, and great numbers of cattle and swine are reared. INDIANAPOLIS (170) the capital, laid out in the virgin forest in 1820, is now a great centre of railways and of trade. The river-port of EVANSVILLE (60), on the Ohio, is a great mart for corn, wheat, pork, and tobacco.

ILLINOIS is nearly as large as all New England, and is most advanta geously situated for trade, while the agricultural resources of the "Prairie State" are boundless, the deep and fertile soil producing immense crops of corn and wheat, and the rich pastures supporting great numbers of farm animals. Lead, coal, and other minerals are largely mined, and the State ranks fourth in the value of its manufactures. Within this State, on the shores of Lake Michigan, is CHICAGO (1,698), the largest primary grain, live-stock, and lumber market in the country, and surpassed only by New York in the extent and value of its commerce. The rise and growth of the "Garden City" has been phenomenal From a dozen houses in 1830, it had expanded into a city of a quarter of a million of inhabitants in 1870. In the following year, a disastrous fire almost obliterated the business part of the town, but it soon recovered, and now it is nearing two million inhabitants. In 1893 a gigantic "World's Fair" attracted millions of visitors to this great city of the Lakes. PEORIA (56), on the Illinois River, is the second city in the State. SPRINGFIELD (23), on a small tributary of that river, is the capital. GALENA, in the northwestern part of the State, is a lead-mining centre.

THE WEST CENTRAL STATES.1

Another group of four States to the west of the Mississippi corresponds to the four States already described to the east of that river. These are Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas.

MISSOURI, the "Iron State," extends westwards from the Mississippi, and is traversed by its greatest tributary, the Missouri River, which also forms the north-western boundary of the State. Prairies extend north of the Missouri; to the south of it, the land rises to the Ozark Mountains, or rather hills, which are remarkable as being the only considerable elevation between the Rocky Mountains and the Alleghanics. Here iron is abundant-Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob, in the eastern part of the range, are simply masses of fine iron ore, Lead and zinc also abound to the south of the river. But Missouri is also an

1. The areas and population of the West-Central States are as follows:-

Missouri

Area in sq. m.

low1
Pop. 1900. Nebraska
2,106,665 Kansas

Arca in sq. m
$6,025

Fep, 1900.

2,201.553

77.510

1.0.6200

8.,080

1.479.495

agricultural, as well as a mining, State and already has large manufactures. JEFFERSON CITY, on the Missouri, is the capital, but far more important are KANSAS CITY (164), the "Chicago" of the West, on the western border of the State at the junction of the Kansas River with the Missouri, and, above all, the great city of ST. LOUIS (575), the "Queen of the Mississippi Valley" and the seat of an enormous trade by rail and river, with vast manufacturing industries. More flour is milled here than in any other city in the States, and it is also a great tobacco and pork-packing centre. The Mississippi is here 500 yards wide, and is crossed by a magnificent bridge. ST. JOSEPH (103), on the Missouri River, is an important railway centre.

IOWA, the "Hawk-eye State," lies north of Missouri, and includes the fertile undulating prairies between the Mississippi and the Missouri, which form its eastern and western frontiers respectively. The rich prairie soil is admirably adapted for the cultivation of wheat. Flax and potatoes are also largely grown, and large quantities of lead ore are mined near DUBUQUE (30), on the Mississippi, nearly opposite another lead-mining centre, Galena, in Illinois, on the other side of the river. The capital, DES MOINES (62) is in the centre of the State, on a river of the same name, a tributary of the Mississippi. Besides Dubuque there are two or three other large towns on the Mississippi. On the Missouri, the principal places are COUNCIL BLUFFS (21), opposite Omaha, in Nebraska, and SIOUX CITY (38), at the junction of the Missouri and the Big Sioux River, on the north-western border.

NEBRASKA, the "Blackwater State," extends westwards from the Missouri across the Great Sand Hills" which occupy the central part of the State, to the Mauvaises Terres or Bad Lands in the west, where one of the numerous 'buttes' or isolated peaks is 8,000 feet in height.' The fertile wheat lands in the east and the rich prairie pastures in the west are the chief sources of Nebraska's prosperity. The Platte River, one of the longest tributaries of the Missouri, flows through its entire extent, but is totally unnavigable. About 10 miles north of its junction with the Missouri is the important river-port and trade centre of OMAHA (103) Here are the engine works of the Union Pacific Railway, which passes through the town. LINCOLN (55), another large trade centre in the south-east, is the capital.

KANSAS, the "Garden of the West," is an immense rectangle of prairie (larger than Great Britain) with, as in Nebraska, cultivable soil in the east, and pasture lands in the west. Corn and wheat are thus the staple products of the eastern half, while cattle-rearing is the one important industry in the western plains. TOPEKA (31), on the Kansas River, a tributary of the Missouri, is the capital, and with ATCHISON (14), on the Missouri, and Santa Fé, the capital of New Mexico, gives its name to an important line of railway-the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé R. R. On the extreme eastern border, at the confluence of the Kansas River and the Missouri, is KANSAS CITY (38); on the opposite side of the river stands the Kansas City in the State of Missouri.

THE NORTHERN STATES."

The NORTHERN STATES, or more accurately, the North-Central States, form a group of 5 States, two of them-Michigan and Wis1. These "Bad Lands" occupy a basin 30 by 90! 2. The areas and population of the Northern miles in extent and one to two hundred feet below S.ates are as flows:the prairie, set with thousands of columnar masses of rick and compacted clay, sometimes two hundre feet high, separated by a maze of tortuous passages, and thick with bones of the hyena, thuoceres, and other animals long vanished from the continent.-Onésime Reclus.

Michigan

W

Manesota
North Dakota
South Dakota

Area in sq. m.

58.015

56,040

84.365

7--795

77.650

Pep. 1900.

2,420,982

2,066,042

1755394

319.146

401,570

consin-to the west, and the other three-Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota-to the east, of the Upper Mississippi. The Great Lakes in the east moderate an extreme climate, yet the winters are long and severe, while the summers are short and hot. The rainfall is, on the whole, ample for the farmer's needs. There are dense pine woods in the north-east, but the western section is treeless, except along the rivers. In all the States, the fertile prairie lands yield immense crops of wheat and other grains. Many valu able minerals abound, and lumbering and fishing are important in dustries within the Lake region.

MICHIGAN is well named the "Lake State." It consists of two peninsulas separated by Lake Michigan and the Strait of Mackinaw. The southern or Lower Peninsula is enclosed by Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan; the Northern, or Upper Peninsula, by Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior. The Lower Peninsula has fertile prairie lands and dense forests, the Upper Penin sula contains the richest copper mines in the world, as well as great forests of white pine and other valuable trees. LANSING (13), on the Grand River, in the Lower Peninsula, is the capital. DETROIT (286), on the Detroit River, which connects Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie, is one of the seven Great Lake ports. GRAND RAPIDS (88) is an important railway centre.

WISCONSIN, the "Badger State," lies between the Upper Mississippi and its tributary the St. Croix River and Lake Michigan, while Lake Superior and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan bound it on the north. The climate is extreme, but the iong cold winters are dry and healthy. There are dense forests in the north and east, and both soil and climate of the open country are favourable to grain and stock, hence lumbering, wheat-growing, and cattle-rearing are the chief industries. Lead and zinc are mined in the south-west, between the Mississippi and the river which flows through and gives its name to the State, and which is connected by a canal at Portage with the Fox River, a stream flowing north into Green Bay and forming with it a navigable channel between the Mississippi and Lake Michigan. The commercial centre of the State is the great lake port of MILWAUKEE (286), famous for its beer, and one of the greatest wheat and lumber ports in the world. MADISON, the capital, lies about midway between Milwaukee and the Mississippi, on which there is only one town of any considerable size-LA CROSSE (25).

MINNESOTA, the "North Star State," lies between Iowa and Manitoba. It contains the sources of the Mississippi (in Elk Lake), the Red River of the North, and the St. Louis River, the last of which may be regarded as the head stream of the St. Lawrence. The "Height of Land," which marks the threefold slope and diverts the drainage south towards the Gulf of Mexico, north towards Hudson Bay, and east into Lake Superior, is an imperceptible plateau, nowhere over 1,700 feet above the sea. Many of the rivers are little more than chains of lakes, of which the State contains over 10,000. Immense 'pineries' and rich deposits of iron ore in the north, a fertile soil, producing the very best wheat in the country, and unsurpassed capabilities for dairy farming and stockbreeding, have attracted a large population, and thriving farms and busy cities now cover a region which, thirty years ago, was a wilderness and where, so late as 1862, 700 white settlers were massacred by the Sioux Indians. Vast num

1. The seven Great Like ports of the United | waukee, Grand Haven, Cleveland, and Buffalo. States are:-Chicago, l'ort Huron. Detroit, Mil- 2. Also called the "Gopher State."

bers of emigrants from Northern Europe-Swedes, Norse, Danes, Russians, and even Finns, Lapps, and Icelanders-have settled here and are vigorously developing the rich resources of the State. In the production of wheat and flour, Minnesota surpasses every other State in the Union, and the extraordinary development of this industry has caused ST. PAUL (164), on the Mississippi, at the head of navigation for large steamers, and MINNEAPOLIS (203), 8 miles higher up the same river at the Falls of St. Anthony, to expand from mere villages into large cities with an immense trade and important manufactures. St. Paul is also the capital of the State. DULUTH (33), at the head of Lake Superior, and WINONA (18), on the Mississippi, are also important wheat and lumber ports.

NORTH DAKOTA-SOUTH DAKOTA: The immense Territory of Dakota, which extended from the 43rd parallel to the International Boundary at the 49th, was, in 1889, divided into two parts near the 46th parallel, and both sections were admitted into the Union as States. The Missouri flows through both States and forms part of the southern boundary of South Dakota, while the Red River of the north forms the entire eastern boundary of North Dakota. Agriculture and stock raising are the chief occupations, but the Black Hill region in South Dakota is noted for its mineral wealth. Here gold, silver, iron, coal, lead, salt and petroleum are found. PIERRE, on the Missouri, is the capital of South Dakota, and BISMARCK, on the same river, the capital of North Dakota. YANKTON, near the junction of the Dakota River with the Missouri, SIOUX FALLS, on the Big Sioux River, and DEADWOOD, in the Black Hills, in South Dakota; and FARGO, on the Red River, in North Dakota, are also important places.

THE WESTERN STATES.1

The Western grand division of the United States embraces the whole of the Pacific Highlands and a part of the Great Plains to the east of the Rocky Mountains. It is the most thinly-peopled section of the country, and, east of the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada, the rains are so scanty that nothing can be grown without irrigation. But the entire region is unsurpassed in the value and variety of its minerals. So rich are the silver mines of Colorado and Montana that they yield annually about one-third of the entire silver production of the world, and more gold has been obtained from California alone, than from any other country in the world except Australia. Coal, iron, copper, and other minerals abound, but these sources of wealth are almost untouched. The cultivation of the soil is limited to the Pacific Coast, and to the irrigated lands on the Great Plateau. Stock-rearing is an important industry in all the fairly grassed districts, but mining, principally for the precious metals, is the leading pursuit.

These Western States may be arranged in three divisions: (1) the Rocky Mountain Division, (2) the Great Plateau Division, and (3) the Pacific Division.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN DIVISION.

The ROCKY MOUNTAIN DIVISION includes the four States traversed by the ranges of that gigantic system. These are the States of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, The Rocky Mountains cover the greater part of this division, but it also includes a part of the Great Plains to the east of the mountains. The only great rivers are the Missouri and its chief tributary the Yellowstone, in Montana. The latter rises in Wyoming, and the wonderful region around its head waters was set apart by Congress as a National Park. The four "parks" of Colorado are gigantic treeless uplands enclosed by lofty moun tains. The climate in the mountain region is naturally one of great extremes, but the winter on the eastern slope of the Rockies is singularly mild, and cattle can live unhoused all the year round. Sheep-farming and cattle-rearing are rapidly becoming important industries, and wherever water can be obtained, there grain and fruit can be produced; but mining is, as yet, the principal occupation.

MONTANA, the "Mountain State," extends from the confluence of the Missouri and its chief tributary the Yellowstone River-both of them navigable within the State for hundreds of miles-across the Great Plains through which they flow to the main ranges of the Rocky Mountains, and beyond them to the parallel ridge of the Bitter Root Mountains. Over 40,000 square miles of land are 'reserved' for about 20,000 Indians; of the remaining 100,000 square miles but little has been occupied, although the valleys have a fertile soil, and could be easily irrigated. The few towns are nearly all in the mining region in the south-west. Here are BUTTE CITY, the centre of the gold-mining district, HELENA (14), the capital of the State, VIRGINIA CITY, ARGENTA, and other mining places.

WYOMING is, next to Colorado, the most elevated part of the Union. The Wind River Mountains, the highest inge in the State, contain the sources of the Snake, the Missouri, the Yellowstone, the Platte, and the Colorado rivers. There are rich mines of gold and silver, and coal of good quality is obtained at EVANSTON and other places along the Union Pacific Railway, which passes CHEYENNE (12), the capital, and through the southern part of the State.

LARAMIE CITY, the two largest of the few towns, are in the south-east. The Yellowstone National Park, a rectangular area of some 3,600 square miles in the north-west, has been set apart as "a perpetual reservation for the benefit and instruction of mankind." The deep cañons, lofty falls, geysers, and lakes of this district, combine to make it the most wonderful portion of the continent, and, in some respects, of the world.

COLORADO, the "Centennial State," is the loftiest State in the Union and is as famous for its healthy climate as for its rich silver mines-the richest in the country. DENVER (149), the capital, on the South Platte River, is an important railway centre, as also is PUEBLO (25), on the Arkansas River. LEAD VILLE (11) and SILVER CLIFF are silver-mining centres.