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.
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.
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.
