Alabama state

Many of the chemical industries make use of coal tar, a tar that is left from the process of making coke. Some of the by-products of coal tar are medicines, explosives, dyes, and plastics. The salt deposits near Mobile provide raw material for the making of chlorine products, such as bleaches, disinfectants, and water purifiers. At Muscle Shoals in northwestern

Alabama there is a federal plant where fertilizers and munitions are developed for the benefit of agriculture and industry.

Alabama ranks among the first five timber producers in the nation. The forests supply lumber for furniture and other wood products as well as wood pulp for the paper industries. The first pulp and paper plant in the state was built at Tuscaloosa in 1929. Other cities that now have large pulp mills are Mobile and Brewton, in southern Alabama, and De-mopolis, in the western part of the state. Most of the pulp is made into finished products such as newsprint, stationery, corrugated boxes, and kraft paper. Kraft paper is the strong brown paper used in grocery bags.

Agriculture. In Enterprise, Alabama, there is a monument to the boll weevil. It is perhaps the only monument in the world to an insect pest. The monument was erected in 1919 after the boll weevil destroyed the cotton crops. It reminds Alabama's farmers of the part that the boll weevil played in teaching them not to depend on cotton alone for their living.For a long time cotton ranked first among Alabama's crops, but today cotton brings only a fraction of the total income from crops. Alabama also produces substantial amounts of soybeans, peanuts, corn, hay, sweet potatoes and other garden vegetables, and fruits and pecans. Some crops are identified with particular areas. Soybeans are grown extensively in the

Black Belt and around Mobile Bay. Peanuts are a main crop in the Wire Grass area. Strawberries are grown commercially around Cullman in Cullman County,

Clanton in Chilton County, and Georgiana in Butler County. Clanton is also known for peaches. Truck farming is carried on in many areas.

An interesting fact about Alabama's agriculture is that since 1958 livestock sales have brought more income than crops. Cattle are raised chiefly in the Black Belt and hogs in the Wire Grass area. Poultry raising is concentrated north of Birmingham. Dairying is carried on throughout the state.

Mining. Alabama is well-known for its production of coal, cement, and limestone. A number of other' minerals are produced in varying quantities including petroleum, iron ore, clays and shale, mica, sand and gravel, bauxite, gold, silver, and manganese. Marble from Alabama's quarries is sold throughout the United States.

The first producing oil well began operating near Gilbertown, in Choctaw

County, in 1944. Later, oil was found in Escambia County and near

Citronelle, in Mobile County. There arc more than 200 producing wells in southwestern Alabama. In the northwest a large natural gas field is being developed.

Transportation and Communication

Waterways, railroads, highways, and airways connect Alabama to other parts of tlic nation. The port of Mobile connects the state to the seaports of the world.

Waterways. Alabama has the finest river system in the nation. The U.S.

Corps of Engineers classifies large portions of its rivers as suitable for navigation. Millions of dollars have been spent to develop the harbor and build docks at Mobile, to widen and deepen the channels of the rivers, and to build public docks along the waterways.

The Black Warrior and Tombigbee waterway extends all the way from the port of Mobile to Jefferson and Walker counties. This waterway carries great quantities of limestone as well as millions of tons of cargo for the industries of Birmingham and other cities along the rivers. The Alabama

River provides water transportation between Mobile and the capital city,

Montgomery. The Tennessee River is the main water route of northern

Alabama. The Chattahoochee waterway, on the east border of the state, serves the cities of Columbia, Eufaula, and Phenix City.

Railroads and Highways. Alabama was among the pioneers in railroad building. Its first railway, between Decatur and Muscle Shoals, was completed in 1832. Today Alabama's railroads are used largely for freight.

Hubs of state, federal, and interstate highway systems are Birmingham and