Climate. The climate is varied. Those portions lying southeast of the mountain ranges are considerably warmer than the more elevated and western uplands. In Philadelphia the mean temperature for January is about 30 degrees, and for July 76.2 degrees. For Wilkes-Barre, among the mountains, the corresponding figures are 26 and 71 degrees; for Pittsburg 31 and 76 degrees; and for Erie 26 and 70 degrees. In some sections summer heat is prolonged into the autumn and at times reaches 107 degrees, while in the northern and more elevated regions the cold of winter reaches 35 degrees below zero. The average annual rainfall is 44.5 inches, which is very evenly distributed. The growing season for any section of country depends upon the earliest and latest killing frosts. In Pennsylvania these extremes vary from five or six months in the northern parts to six or seven months in the southern section.
Natural Resources. Pennsylvania easily leads all other states in value of mineral products. Fully half of all coal mined in the United States comes from the Keystone State, and (in money value) about one sixth of all the mineral products of the country is taken from within its borders. The entire Appalachian bituminous coal-fields embrace about 71,000 square miles. About 18,000 square miles belong to Pennsylvania. Its anthracite fields cover about 500 square miles additional. In the northern and western parts are large deposits of natural gas and petroleum. Iron, in the forms of magnetite and brown hematite, is found in great quantities. Other minerals include zinc, cobalt, nickel, lead, copper, tin, chrome, salt and soapstone. Besides these, excellent brick and fire clay, white marble, slate and many other varieties of building-stone are found in almost inexhaustible quantities. The plateau region, with the middle section of the state, was originally covered with dense pine and hemlock forests. Then, too, there was a great abundance of white oak, hickory, chestnut, walnut and cherry in the lower altitudes. Pitch-pine, maple, beech and black and yellow birch were found in the middle altitudes, while still higher up were large quantities of black and red spruce, balsam, fir and larch. About 23,000 square miles are still counted as forested, and in some limited areas one may still find considerable virgin forest. A state forestry commission is now operative, and active measures are being taken to restore and more carefully preserve the forests. Fully 600,000 acres have already been set aside for this purpose. About 1859 petroleum was first known to exist in subterranean reservoirs. In August, 1859, the first boring was begun and after 22 days, at a depth of 69 feet, oil was “struck.” In the 30 years between 1860 and 1890 fully 1,000,000,000 barrels of petroleum were taken from Pennsylvania's wells. The production averages 13,000,000 barrels a year, the third largest amount in the Union.
Manufactures. Pennsylvania has ranked second in the United States in manufacturing industries since 1850. The manufacture of iron and steel is the most important industry. Two factors contribute to this preëminence: First, the great wealth of raw materials within the state and; second, the state's advantageous conditions for marketing its products. The mills at Johnstown and at Steelton are the largest Bessemer steel mills in the world. The money value of Pennsylvania's annual production of iron and steel is estimated at $430,000,000. Besides the iron and steel industries, Pennsylvania has large interests in the manufacture of tin and tin-plate and ship-building. In the manufacture of textiles Pennsylvania ranks second. Carpets, hosiery and knit goods, cotton and woolen goods and silk and silk-goods are produced in large quantities. The introduction of natural gas as a fuel is partly responsible for the great industrial activity of the state. In the manufacture of glass, the puddling of iron and the roasting of ores this fuel far surpasses any other. In the manufacture of coke and its by-products Pennsylvania leads all the states. In 1910 about 26,000,000 tons were produced, fully three-fourths of which came from the Connellsville district. In 1909 the total value of the products turned out by all the industries of the state was upwards of $2,626,000,000. The state's rapid growth in population is also largely due to her constantly increasing industrial activity. In the last half-century the population has increased from about 2,500,000 to over 7,665,000. The increase in the number of wage-earners was in the ratio of about one to six.
History. Many dates are set down as being “the first” in point of settlements made in Pennsylvania. Grants of territory for certain portions of the area now comprised within her boundaries were made, some as early as 1584, by Queen Elizabeth to Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1606 James I issued a patent to the London Company for lands between 34° and 41° N. In 1626 a trading-station was built. Swedes and Finns settled next year. In 1641 the English made a settlement on Schuylkill River. In 1632 Charles I issued a patent to Cecilius, second Lord Baltimore, which included all of Delaware and a considerable portion of southern Pennsylvania, The first actual settlement seems to have been made by Johann Printz, who, with other colonists, in 1643 founded New Gothenburg on Tinicum Island. On March 4, 1681, William Penn (q. v.) secured a grant of land west of Delaware River, lying between 40° and 43° and extending five degrees west. In this grant Penn was given full rights both as to
