St. Louis' importance, however, is mainly due to the city's favorable location at the heart of one of the world's richest river valleys. The vast natural resources of the Middle West are at her command. Raw materials of every kind abound almost at her door. Missouri ranks high as an agricultural and mining state. Its position in the great corn belt makes hog raising a highly profitable industry. The prairies to the north furnish extensive grazing areas for cattle. The Ozark Mountains to the southwest afford excellent pasturage for sheep and yield lumber as well as great quantities of lead, zinc, and other minerals. In addition, the state has large deposits of soft coal, while only the Mississippi separates St. Louis from the unlimited supply of the Illinois coal fields. As a result, the cost of manufacturing is low and the city's many and varied industries thrive. Chief among these is the manufacture of boots and shoes. Though this business is comparatively young in the West, St. Louis already ranks among the three leading footwear-producing cities of the country, turning out over $50,000,000 worth of boots and shoes yearly. Most of these are of the heavier type made for country trade, but the output of finer footwear is steadily increasing. [Illustration: MAKING SHOES] Next in importance are the tobacco, meat-packing, and malt-liquor industries. St. Louis is one of the leading cities in the country in the manufacture of tobacco. The meat-packing establishments, including those in East St. Louis, hold fourth place among America's great packing centers. Its mammoth breweries lead the country in the output of beer. Flour mills, foundries, and sugar refineries also do an immense business. Street and railroad cars, stoves of all kinds, paints, oils, and white lead are made in scores of factories, while hundreds of other industries flourish in the city, making it one of the greatest workshops in the United States. [Illustration: MULES IN A STOCKYARD] Important as St. Louis is as a manufacturing city, it is even more noted as a distributing center, its location making it the natural commercial metropolis of the Mississippi valley. It markets not only its own manufactures but products which represent every section of the country. The vast territory to the west and southwest depends almost entirely on St. Louis for its supply of dry goods and groceries. Other staples are boots and shoes, tobacco, hardware, timber, cotton, breadstuffs, cattle, and hogs. In the handling of furs St. Louis leads the cities of the world. She also holds a high place among the great grain markets. In this country her annual receipts of corn, wheat, and oats are exceeded only by those of Chicago and Minneapolis. Shipments of grain and breadstuffs to Central and South America, Cuba, Great Britain, and Germany constitute the city's leading exports.