The water power generated by the rapid descent of the streams in the part of the state lying north of the Fall Line has long been utilized for manufacturing purposes, and mills are found along all the streams in this part of the state. The location of Paterson as a manufacturing center is due to the water power developed from the Passaic Falls. At Trenton, water power is secured from the rapids of the Delaware River. In the northern part of the state, several streams and lakes are used to provide electric power and light.
Closely connected with drainage systems and dependent largely upon them are the methods of supplying water to the people of towns and cities for domestic purposes. Formerly water for such purposes was obtained from near-by springs, wells, and streams. As population increased, the local sources of water supply became contaminated and dangerous to health. This danger and the larger quantity of water required by the increased population and by manufacturing interests have forced the larger cities to make provision for securing their water supply from sources, more or less remote, which are not subject to pollution. Their water-supply systems include pumping stations, reservoirs for storage, and long pipe lines. The drainage basins from which water is taken for municipal purposes are located in the thinly populated parts of the state. The northern mountainous section, which is not specially profitable for agriculture and other purposes, is particularly useful in furnishing sources of water supply. The many large cities in the northern part of the state draw their water from the upper parts of the Hackensack, Passaic, and Raritan basins. Formerly Newark and Jersey City drew their water from the Passaic River not far above the former city. This river was gradually so polluted by the sewage and the waste of factories discharged into it, that it had to be abandoned as a source of supply. These cities now bring their water long distances, Newark using the Pequannock basin, and Jersey City the Rockaway. In some cases water is obtained from artesian wells.
The pollution of streams by city sewers and drains from factories destroys fish in fresh-water streams. The damage extends even into tidal waters, and many oyster and clam fisheries in the bays have been abandoned. The state is alive to the necessity of protecting its streams against contamination of all kinds and has enacted legislation designed to maintain their purity by preventing the flow of sewage and other objectionable matter into them. It has provided for the construction of a trunk-line sewer along the valley of the Passaic from Paterson to the sea, into which the sewers of the cities along its course will be discharged. In cooperation with Pennsylvania the state has passed laws to prevent the pollution of the Delaware River.
PLANTS AND ANIMALS
Forests.—When the state was first settled it was covered with a vast primeval forest, consisting of pine, oak, maple, chestnut, hickory, ash, walnut, tulip, poplar, and cedar. For many years lumbering was an important industry, but it ceased a long time ago, after the best timber had been cut down. In the northern part of the state, where agriculture is difficult or impossible, the mountains are still covered with forests which promise to be of great value in the future. In the southern part, the section called "The Pines" is covered with stunted pines mingled with scrub oak. In all parts of the state are isolated forested areas of varied extent. About forty per cent of the total land surface of the state is covered with forest growth.
Until a very recent period no organized efforts were made to protect forest trees against forest fires or other destructive agencies, or to provide for reforestation. The state has, however, realized the commercial value of its forests and the importance of promoting their growth on lands that are not available for farming purposes. The state has also recognized the value of forests in preventing floods (Secs. 93, 136, 224). In recent years an additional reason for forest protection is the necessity of preserving the soils of the forested areas in the drainage basins from which the cities obtain their supply of water, so that by the storage of water in the soils and underlying rock strata the supply may at all times be constant and sufficient. The use of trees for shade and wind breaks and their natural beauty also justify their protection and care. For these reasons the state has adopted legislation which provides for the growth of trees and forests. It owns and maintains six forest reserves located in different parts of the state, containing nearly 14,000 acres, which are being devoted to forest culture. It has authorized the counties to create extensive parks and has provided for the diffusion of important information regarding the care of forests. It maintains lookout stations from which forest fires may be detected, and a force of firewardens to prevent or extinguish fires and to arrest those who cause them. This state and New York, acting together, have created the Palisades Interstate Park, which embraces thousands of acres of forest land in the latter state and the Palisades for a distance of twelve miles along the Hudson in New Jersey.
Shipping tomatoes, Swedesboro
Animals.—The larger wild animals have practically disappeared, although the red deer is still frequently found in the northern and southern parts of the state because of the protection afforded this animal by the laws. Here are, also, still many of the smaller animals, such as the rabbit and squirrel. In many parts of the state wild ducks and quail are numerous.
The fresh-water streams and lakes abound in bass, trout, pickerel, and perch. In the spring the shad fisheries along the Delaware are very profitable. The catch of sturgeon is also very large. All these waters are constantly restocked by means of the hatcheries near Hackettstown which the state maintains. The shad fisheries of the Hudson were formerly extensive, but owing chiefly to destructive methods of fishing and to the pollution of the river this industry has practically disappeared.