organized. In 1811 the portion of M. below the 31st parallel, being a portion of the Louisiana purchase, was added to the territory. In 1817, Mar. 3, Alabama was set off from M., and the latter was admitted to the union as a state on Dec. 10 of that year. In 1832 a new constitution was adopted. In 1860 M. was one of the earliest states to consider the question of secession, deeming the step necessary to the preservation of slavery, if not of white supremacy, as the negroes outnumbered the whites at that time. In 1861, Jan. 7, a convention assembled; on Jan. 9 passed the ordinance of secession by a vote of 84 to 15, and on Mar. 30 ratified the confederate constitution by a vote of 78 to 7. In addition to the support given to the new government, M. furnished its first and only president, Jefferson Davis. In Dec., 1861, the federal troops captured Biloxi. In 1862, May 30, a force under gen. Halleck took possession of Corinth, abandoned by the confederates. Subsequent events were the battles of Iuka, Sept. 19; Corinth, Oct. 34; the various attacks on Vicksburg; the succession of battles ending in the siege, brave defense, and surrender of that city to gen. Grant, July 4, 1863; the capture of Jackson, and a number of destructive raids. In 1865 a provisional government was appointed, and on Aug. 22 a state convention repealed the ordinance of secession; but until 1869 M. formed, with Arkansas, the fourth military district under gen. Ord and others. In June, 1868, a new constitution was adopted; in 1870, Feb. 23, the state resumed its relations to the union, and on Mar. 10 the civil government was reinstated. Topography.-A broad, low ridge, running nearly n. and s. through the center of the state, divides the waters flowing into the Mississippi from those which find their way to the Atlantic through other channels. This ridge has a lateral extension westward to Vicksburg on the Mississippi, where it terminates in high bluffs. The country e. of this water-shed consists of broad, gently rolling prairies, which produce heavy crops of cotton and corn; while on the w. the land is broken into valleys and ridges, extending at right angles from the longitudinal ridge, and falling gradually off to the great basin of the Yazoo delta, a region embracing 4,000,000 acres of the very best cotton land in the state. The land in the central ridge, which is partly cultivated and partly covered by heavy forests, is rolling, and has a lighter but a productive surface soil on a clay foundation. The s.e. corner of the state, below the railroad from Meridian to Jackson, is a rolling, sparsely settled country of open pine woods, stretching down to the Mexican gulf, and valuable mainly for pasturage, timber, and turpentine. There is not a mountain in the state, and the highest ridge has no elevation of more than 800 ft. The Yazoo basin, with an exception of some 200,000 acres, is subject to overflow at times of extreme high water. The valley areas of the n. section are fertile, while those of other parts of the state are often of an inferior quality. The bottom-lands in some cases are clayey and wet, and portions of the prairies are not very fertile. The state is well watered. The Mississippi forms the whole of its w. boundary, and into it flow the Homochitto, Big Black, Yazoo, and its tributaries, the Sunflower and the Tallahatchee. The Yazoo is wholly navigable, and the Big Black partially so. On the e. side of the central water-shed are the Pearl, navigable by small boats for 100 m., and its branches, and the Pascagoula and Tombigbee, with their affluents, all of which flow at last into the gulf, on which the state has a coast line of about 90 m. The mouths of these streams are marshy, and the only good port is that of Ship harbor. A chain of low, sandy islands lies along the coast, separated from it by Mississippi sound. The largest of these are Petit Bois, Horse, Ship, and Cat islands. The principal ports on the Mississippi river are Vicksburg and Natchez. M. is sometimes called the Bayou state. In the extreme n.e. corner the boundary for 15 m. is the Tennessee river, into which flow several small streams. Geology and Mineralogy.-The carboniferous, cretaceous, tertiary, and post-tertiary periods are represented in the geology of M. To the first belong the massive limestone walls on the branches of the Tennessee river, the chert or hornstone, and the silicious sandstone found in the n.e. corner; w. and s. of this lies the cretaceous, consisting of 4 groups: the Eutaw, Tombigbee sand, Ripley, and rotten limestone; w. of this are 6 tertiary groups: the northern lignitic, silicious Claiborne, Jackson, Vicksburg, grand gulf, and coast pliocene. Lignite or brown coal is found in this section in small quantities, with mineral fertilizers of some value, fire-brick, potter's clays, limestone, etc. The orange sand, bluff, yellow loam, and alluvial formations are the 4 principal divisions of the post-tertiary period. To the alluvial or quaternary era belong the bottom-lands of the Mississippi, Sunflower, Yazoo and its tributaries, and the gulf coast for about 30 m. inland. The orange sand, which is a marked feature, is chiefly composed of rounded silicious sand, varying according to locality from a deep red to yellow, purple, rose color, or white, and hardened more or less by the hydrated peroxide of iron. Its average thickness is from 40 to 60 ft., but such is its tendency to concrete that in places hills and ridges 150 ft. high are seen, capped with ferrugineous sandstone affording good building material. Tubular conglomerations resembling iron castings are found as well. Pipe, potter's and crucible clays occur in this formation. Iron is found in some places, but nowhere in quantities to be of practical worth. The principal fossil found in the prairie region is a gigantic marine animal resembling the alligator. Mineral and medicinal springs are numerous, Cooper's wells being the most noted. Zoology. The wild animals include the deer, panther, wolf, bear, fox, wild-cat, raccoon, opossum, rabbit, hare, gopher, wood-rat, squirrel, etc. Wild turkeys, pigeons, quails, ducks, gulls, cormorants, etc., are numerous, as are hawks, vultures, mockingbirds, rice birds, and, in the southern part of the state, paroquets. Alligators frequent the bayous of the Mississippi, below the Arkansas, and lizards and water snakes the bottom-lands and swamps. There are more than 50 species of reptiles. Rattlesnakes and moccasin snakes abound, as well as horned toads, frogs, and a great variety of harmless reptiles. Oysters are found along the coast and Mississippi sound, and the various rivers contain pickerel, bass, buffalo fish, catfish, etc. Botany.-About 13,000,000 acres are covered with forest, largely long and short-leaved pine. The principal deciduous trees are 8 species of oak, 4 of hickory, the black walnut, butternut, black and sweet gum, dogwood, beech, sycamore, cottonwood, red maple, iron-wood, locust, pawpaw, black and white mulberry, magnolia (3 species), cinquassia, and alder. The principal evergreens are the pine (4 species), cypress, and live oak. Several species of grapes, among them the Muscadine, are indigenous. Climate and Soil. The summers are long and hot, but not unhealthful, save in the low bottom-lands. The winters, which are short, are somewhat damper and colder than on the coast. From Oct. to June the climate is delightful. The highest temperature of the summer is 90°; the lowest of winter, 18°. The mean annual temperature at Vicksburg is about 65.57°; at Columbus, 62.19°; the average annual rainfall at Natchez is 53.55 ins.; along the coast, 64 ins. The valley areas of the northern section and the uplands of the central portion are fertile, while those of other parts of the state are often of an inferior quality. The Mississippi bottom, extending from Vicksburg to the Tennessee line and including the Yazoo and Tallahatchee valleys, contains, together with land of great productiveness, not a little that is clayey and wet. Portions of the prairies, especially toward the s., are not very fertile. Agriculture.-Cotton and corn are the great agricultural staples, though wheat and oats do well in the upland regions. Excellent pasturage, with roots for swine, is found in the low-lands and in the river valleys. According to the census of 1880 there were 101,772 farms; acres in farms, 15,883,251, of which 5,216,937 acres were cultivated. The cash value of farms was $92,844,915; of farming implements, $4,855,636. The estimated value of all farm products for the year was $63,701,844. Among the products in 1880 were: potatoes, 303,821 bush.; tobacco, 414,663 lbs. ; rice, 1,718,951 lbs. ; molasses, 536,625 galls.; butter, 7,454,657 lbs. The leading products in 1886 were: corn, 25,507,000 bush.; wheat, 173,000 bush. ; rye, 10,000 bush.; oats, 3,368,000 bush.; potatoes, 573,000 bush.; hay, 28,350 tons. In 1884, 847,000 bales of cotton were produced. The farm animals, Jan. 1, 1888, comprised 134,065 horses, 159,548 mules, 285,904 milch cows, 428,909 oxen and other cattle, 247,830 sheep, 1,226,689 hogs; total value, $36,336,051. The production of cotton and of cotton manufactures was greatly stimulated by an act of the legislature in 1882, exempting from taxation for 10 years machinery used for the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods, yarns, or other fabrics composed of these or other materials, or for the making of all kinds of machinery or implements of husbandry, Wine-making is successfully engaged in, as well as the culture of jute. In 1880, 7317 acres of amber cane were planted, and the area has since been largely increased. The fruits most cultivated are apples (in the n.c.), grapes, peaches, pears, quinces, apricots, and plums; in the southern cos., figs, lemons, oranges, olives, and bananas. The raising of early fruit and vegetables for northern markets has become very profitable. One of the greatest impediments to agricultural prosperity was, formerly, the frequent inundation of the alluvial lands by the overflow of the Mississippi. Manufactures, etc.-M. is not, to any great extent, a manufacturing state, though its natural facilities therefor are great. In 1880 there were in the state 1479 manufacturing establishments, mostly small, employing 5827 persons, using $4,727,600 of capital, paying $1,192,643 in wages, and producing goods valued at $7,495,802. There were 295 sawmills producing lumber valued at $1,920,335; 6 planed lumber mills, with products valued at $71,350; and 525 flour and grist-mills, with products valued at $1,762,523. There were in 1883, 14 cotton and woolen factories. Many mills for the extraction of oil from cotton seed are in operation. The fisheries, 1880, employed a capital of $8800, 186 persons, and 58 boats; the value of products was $22,540. Commerce. The state has three customs districts-Natchez, Pearl river, and Vicksburg. The direct foreign trade and the coasting trade are carried on entirely in the Pearl river district, of which the only port is Shieldsborough. The value of imports, 1886-87, was $31,640; of domestic exports, $521,296. The shipping of the state, 1886-87, consisted of 120 sailing vessels and 44 steam-vessels; total ton., 9334. The exports are mainly cotton and lumber. Lines of steamers connect Vicksburg with New Orleans and St. Louis. The last-named city receives a large proportion of the fruit and vegetables raised. Railroads.-Among the principal railroads are the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas; Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific; Mobile and Ohio; Georgia Pacific; Illinois Central; Natchez, Jackson and Columbus; East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia. The total mileage, 1886, was 645 m.; operated, 343; capital stock, $10,131,977; funded debt, $,662,541; total investment, $21,119,673; total cost, $19,449,585; gross earnings, $1,111,815. Banks.-The national banks, Oct. 7, 1886, numbered 7; aggregate resources and |