and flow south-east into the Atlantic Ocean. In the middle section the Santee river is formed by the confluence of the Wateree, which is known in North Carolina as the Catawba, and the Congaree, which is in turn formed by the Broad and the Saluda, and the basin of this system embraces about one-half the area of the state. In the north-east the Great Pedee and its tributaries—the Little Pedee, Waccamaw and Lynches—are wholly within the Coastal Plain, but the main stream is a continuation below the Fall Line of the Yadkin river, which rises in the mountains of North Carolina. On the Georgia border the Chattooga river, rising in the Blue Ridge, becomes tributary to the Tugaloo, which in turn becomes tributary to the Savannah. The Combahee and the Edisto, in the south-east, and the Black, north of the Santee, are, the principal rivers that rise within the Coastal Plain and flow direct to the ocean. In the Piedmont Plateau region the current of the rivers is usually swift, and not infrequently there are falls or rapids; but in the Coastal Plain region the current becomes sluggish, and in times of high water the rivers spread over wide areas.
Fauna.—The principal animals and birds in South Carolina are deer, rabbits, squirrels, opossums, musk-rats, raccoons, minks, geese, ducks, wild turkeys, “partridge” (quail or bobwhite), woodcock and snipe. Foxes, bears, wolves, lynx (wild cats) and otters are very rare, and pumas (panthers) and beavers long ago disappeared. Common among birds of prey are owls, hawks and kites, and there are many turkey buzzards. Song birds are numerous and of many varieties; among them are thrushes, mocking birds, blue birds, robins, wrens, chickadees, warblers, vireos, sparrows, bobolinks (reed birds or rice birds), meadow larks and orioles. In the bays and lower courses of the rivers are porpoises, whiting, sea bass, channel bass, shad, sturgeon, mullet, drum, bluefish, snappers, sheepshead, weakfish or squeteague, groupers, and several other kinds of fish. Oysters, crabs, shrimp and terrapins are also abundant here, and in the inland streams are some pike, perch, trout and catfish.
Flora.—From the number of palmettoes along the coast South Carolina has become popularly known as the Palmetto state. Scarcely less conspicuous for some distance from the ocean are the magnolias, the live oaks draped with long gray moss, and the reed covered marshes. In the swamps there are cypresses and some gum and bay trees. In most of the uplands of the Coastal Plain region the long-leaf pine is predominant, but large water-oaks and under growths of several other oaks and of hickories are not uncommon. On the Piedmont Plateau and in some of the more hilly and heavy-soil sections below the Fall Line there is some short-leaf pine, but most of the trees in these sections are of the hardwood varieties: deciduous oaks are most common, but beech, birch, ash, maple, black walnut, chestnut, sycamore and tulip trees also abound. On the mountains are the cucumber tree, laurel, white pine and hemlock. Among indigenous trees, shrubs and vines that bear edible fruits or nuts the state has the blackberry, grape, pawpaw, persimmon, plum, crab apple, hickory, chestnut and hazel nut. The English walnut, pecan, apple, apricot, pear and cherry are also cultivated. Both medicinal and flowering plants are exceptionally abundant; a few of the former are ginseng, snake root, blood root, hore-hound, thorough wort, redroot (Ceanothus Americanus), horse mint and wild flax, and prominent among the latter are jessamines, azaleas, lilies, roses, violets, honey-suckle and golden-rod. Venus's fiytrap is found along the coast.
Climate.—Along the coast the climate is comparatively mild and equable. At Charleston, for example, the mean winter temperature is 51° F., the mean summer temperature 81° F., the mean annual temperature 66° F., and the range of extremes from 104° F. to 7° F. or 97° F. Toward the north-west the mean winter temperature decreases to 47° F. at Columbia and to 40° F. at Greenville; the mean summer temperature decreases only to 80° F. as far as Columbia, but from there to Greenville decreases to 75° F.; and the mean annual temperature decreases to 62° F., at Columbia and to 58° F. at Greenville. The range of extremes increases to 108° F. (106° to -2°) at Columbia, and then decreases to 102°F. (97° to -5°) at Greenville. The greatest range of extremes in the state is from 11° F. at Santuck, Union county, in February 1899, to 106° F. at Columbia in August 1900. For the whole state the mean annual temperature is about 63° F., the mean summer temperature 79° F., and the mean winter temperature 44° F. In nearly all sections January is the coldest month and July the warmest. The mean annual rainfall for the state is about 49 in., and its distribution is excellent. Extremes for the various sections range only from 53.4 in. at Charleston to 44.4 in. at Stateburg, in Sumter county. Seventeen inches, or more than one-third, falls during the summer, and for the other seasons the range is only from 10.1 in. for autumn to 11.6 in. for winter. Snow is uncommon in the south-east of the state, and whenever there is a snow-storm the snow usually melts as it falls; but in the centre and north-west occasionally covers the ground to a depth of several inches. The prevailing winds are from the south-west along the coast, from the north-east in the north-central section, and from the west in the west section. Tornado winds sometimes occur in the west section, and the east section occasionally suffers from West Indian hurricanes.
Soils.—In general the soils of the Piedmont Plateau region are such as have been formed by the disintegration of the underlying rocks. These consist mostly of granite and gneiss, but in the north-central section there is trap-rock, and in the south-east section some slate. On the more level areas of the Piedmont Plateau the granitic soil is a grey mixture of sand and clay, but on the hillsides of the river basins it is a heavy clay of reddish colour, the sand having been washed down to form the soils of the Coastal Plain. In all sections of the Piedmont Plateau the subsoil is a reddish or yellowish clay. In the upper section of the Coastal Plain region the soil is for the most part a loose sand, but lower down it becomes finer, more tenacious, and consequently more fertile.
Agriculture.—The number of farms in South Carolina was 93,864 in 1880, 115,008 in 1890 and 154,166 in 1900—the number for the two last named years not including farms of less than 3 acres and of relatively small productivity. The total acreage in farms in 1880 was 13,457,613 acres, of which 4132 acres were improved; in 1890, 13,184,652 acres, of which 5,255,237 acres were improved; and in 1900, 13,985,014 acres, of which 5,755,741 acres were improved. The total value of farm property, with improvements, machinery and livestock, was $84,079,702 in 1880; $119,849,272 (average value per farm, $1042) in 1890; and $153,591,159 (average value, $989) in 1900; while the average value per acre of farm-land increased from $9.09 in 1890, to $10.98 in 1900. Of farms of 1000 acres and more there were 1635 in 1880 and 1010 in 1900; of between 500 acres and 1000 acres there were 3693 in 1880 and 2314 in 1900; of 50 acres and less than 100 acres there were 13,612 in 1880 and 29,944 in 1900; of 20 acres and less than 50 acres there were 3688 in 1880 and 5261 in 1900. Farms worked by owners numbered 46,645 in 1880 and 60,471 in 1900; by cash tenants, 21,974 in 1880 and 57,046 in 1900; by share tenants, 25,245 in 1880 and 37,838 in 1900. Of the 155,355 farms in the state in 1900, 85,381 were worked by negroes of whom 22.2% were owners of their farms, 49.7% cash tenants and 27.9% share tenants.
The state long out-ranked all other states in the growing of rice, but this industry has declined, and South Carolina is now surpassed by both Louisiana and Texas. Cotton is the state's most valuable crop. The cotton product of the state in 1889 was 747,190 bales, in 1899 it was 881,422 bales, and in 1909, 1,095,000 bales. The principal cereals, with the amounts and values of the crops in 1899 and 1909 are: Indian corn, 17,429,610 bush. ($9,149,808) in 1899 and 37,041,000 bush. ($33,337,000) in 1909; wheat, 1,017,319 bush. ($958,158) in 1899 and 3,810,000 bush. ($5,563,000) in 1909. Oats, 2,661,670 bush. ($1,226,575) in 1899 and 4,431,000 bush. ($3,190,000) in 1909. Rice, 47,360,128 ℔ ($1,366,528) in 1899, on 23,726 farms, nearly half of the total number (48,155) of rice farms in the United States, which, however, decreased to 476,000 bush. ($433,000) in 1909. The rye crop was 19,372 bush. ($18,405) in 1899, and 39,000 bush. ($55,000) in 1909. Other important crops are: tobacco 19,895,970 ℔ ($1,297,293) in 1899, and 32,000,000 ℔ ($2,336,000) in 1909; hay and forage, 213,249 tons ($2,304,734) in 1899, and of hay alone 81,000 tons ($1,256,000) in 1909; potatoes, 3,369,957 bush. ($1,538,205) in 1899 and 765,000 bush. ($880,000) in 1909.
Mining.—The value of the mineral product of the state was $1,834,134 in 1902, $2,305,203 in 1907 and $2,081,001 in 1908. The total value of the products of manufacturing industries based on mining was $18,565,682 in 1900, or 17.2% of the total value of the product of all manufacturing industries. The most valuable single mineral is phosphate rock, which is found in a belt 70 m. long by 30 m. wide, extending from the mouth of the Broad river near Port Royal in the south-east to the headwaters of the Wando river in the north-east. The chief deposits are found in Berkeley, Dorchester, Charleston, Colleton and Beaufort counties, at the bottom of rivers, 20 to 30 ft. in depth, and on land at an elevation but little above mean tide. Its commercial value for the manufacture of fertilizer was established in 1867, and the mining of it began soon afterwards in the Ashley River region. The amount mined in 1868 was 12,262 long tons; in 1902, 313,365 long tons; and in 1908, 225,495 long tons, valued at $989,881. The value of other minerals produced in 1908 was as follows: Granite, $297,874; clay, $110,636; and monazite, $13,494. The product and value of mineral waters was 786,754 gals. ($195,182) in 1907 and 271,572 gals. ($70,937) in 1908. Minerals which were not mined commercially in 1902 include asbestos, which occurs in Spartanburg and Pickens counties; fullers'-earth; graphite in Spartanburg and Greenville counties; iron ores in the north and north-west portions of the state; iron pyrites in Spartanburg and York counties; talc, bismuth, ochre, pyrites, galena, brown coal, malachite, phosphate of lead and barytes.
Manufactures.—The number of factories in South Carolina in 1900 was 1369, in 1905, 1399[1]; the amount of capital invested in such establishments was $62,750,027 in 1900, and in 1905 $113,422,224; the value of products in 1900 was $53,335,811; in 1905, $79,376,262; and the average number of wage earners in
- ↑ The special census of 1905 was confined to manufactures under the factory system, and the statistics above for 1900 have been reduced to the same standard to make them comparable with the statistics for 1905.
