=Animal Products.=--Dairy farming is successful in all parts of the
state, particularly in the sections in which pasture and hay are easily
obtained, and in which facilities for the prompt transportation of milk
to the cities are at hand. Milk is produced not only by the general
farmer but also by special dairy farms, which, by devoting special
attention to the care and feeding of cattle and to the handling of
the milk, produce milk of a superior quality. Poultry raising and the
production of eggs are profitable. The poultry industry is especially
extensive in Cumberland, Atlantic, and Ocean counties.
With the increase in the population of the cities the farm land of the
state is growing in extent and value, but it is clear that more rapid
growth is possible and desirable. The State Agricultural School at
Rutgers College, with Its Experiment Station and practical courses of
instruction, is doing much to improve agriculture in New Jersey.
[Illustration: A dairy farm in Middlesex County. Corn for silage is
growing in front of the buildings]
MINERALS
Iron ore is found in many parts of the state. The mines of Morris
County in the Highlands are the most productive. Iron ore was smelted
at Shrewsbury in the seventeenth century by Colonel Lewis Morris, and
in many places at the time of the Revolution. The iron industry of the
state was most extensive and successful during the third quarter of the
last century. The greater abundance and richness of western ores has
since made it impossible to operate most of the mines and furnaces
of Warren and Morris counties profitably. The industry has therefore
declined. A few mines are still worked, however, in these two counties.
Very rich zinc mines are located in Sussex County, in the neighborhood
of Franklin Furnace. In the production of zinc this state ranks fifth
among the states of the Union.
[Illustration: Portland cement factories near Phillipsburg]
Granite of good quality is found in the Appalachian and Highland
zones. The quarrying of this material is a rapidly growing industry.
Besides granite the sandstone of the Piedmont Plateau is widely used
for building purposes. Slate is quarried to some extent in Sussex and
Warren counties. Talc, or soapstone, which, ground into powder, is used
in making certain kinds of paper and for other purposes, is found in
Warren County. The production of cement from limestone and shale, found
in the western part of the Highlands near Phillipsburg, has grown to
be a very important industry. This industry and the quarrying of slate
are parts of the great cement and slate industries of the adjacent
section of Pennsylvania, across the Delaware, near Easton, which are
among the most important in the country. The trap rock of the Piedmont
Plateau is used for building purposes, road making, and railroad beds.
Its hardness makes it particularly valuable for macadam roads. In all
parts of the state are found deposits of sand and gravel necessary in
building operations.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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