Geography Of New England (1951)

[Music] these are the birkshire hills in Massachusetts part of the rugged beautiful country that is New England what is New England it is the most northeasterly portion of the United States the region is made up of Six States Maine New Hampshire Vermont Massachusetts Connecticut and Road Island several mountain ranges called the Northeast Highlands give most of this region a rugged kind of terrain much of New England is a region of hills and forests and much of New England is covered with a shallow rocky soil but how did the region get its rocky soil in rough Highlands for the answer we must go back thousands of years to the period called The Ice Age much of North America including the New England region became came covered by a great sheet of ice the ice sheet moved over the continent grinding off high points and piling up ridges and Hills then much later the ice slowly melted leaving its marks on many regions including New England some of the Rocks were Ground by the ice into pebbles and sand these were left as deposits of gravel gravel which is not good for farming but the glaciers also carried soil from the highlands and pushed it into the valleys the result was that much of the best Farmland in New England is found in the river valleys and lowlands there was another important effect of the glaciers on New England as the ice tumbled the land and rocks about it changed the courses of rivers and streams creating Rapids and waterfalls here was a source of energy energy that could be used to run Mills of different kinds from these early Mills many industries were developed today New England is still a region of many manufacturing cities That Grew From the mil towns on the rivers in addition to the effects of the glaciers New England has been greatly affected by the sea the sea made possible the development of shipping and fishing which led to the growth of Sea Coast towns and so New England is a region of many sea port cities and fishing towns it is a region of industrial centers originally built near water power and it is a region of many small farms which sell their products to the cities what do the Farms Produce on Rocky irregular land the crops that can be grown most easily are feed crops such as hay the land is also suitable for pasturage hay and pasture land support cows and so Dairy farming is the most common type of farming in New England on this dairy farm in New Hampshire we can meet a couple of New England Farmers Ralph Pike and his father they're getting in their main crop which is hay Jed Pike is used to hard work for farming has never been an easy job the growing of hay for dairy cattle is so common here that New England is often called the hay and dairy region of the Eastern United States at milking time on the Pike Farm the two youngest children help out Bob and Betty get the herd into the barn Ralph and his father do the milking using a milking machine milk and other dairy foods are among the most important products of New England Farms the areas devoted to Dairy farming are scattered throughout the Six States but there are other kinds of farms too in Connecticut in the Connecticut River Valley tobacco is grown in the shade of muslin covering tobacco is one of Connecticut's most valuable crops cranberries are another valuable New England crop most of the cranberries grow in Massachusetts along the coast the berries are harvested in the marshes near the sea one of New England's most important crops is potatoes they are grown in the fertile Valley of Northern New England one County in the Northeast portion of Maine is devoted almost entirely to the growing of potatoes some of us may not think of Timber as a crop but trees are another product of New England soil in the forests of northern Maine for instance Timber is cut to be made into paper in the Mills of Southern New England although it is not a crop the Bedrock that lies under New England's soil is a useful resource of the Land There are many quaries in Northern New England especially in Vermont the quaries of Vermont produce granite marble and slate some of the stone is sent to cities all over the United States some is used for building material in New England cities many of the largest New England cities are concentrated in the southern part of the region the area which has the densest population this population depends not only on the products of the land but also on the products and commerce of the sea Harbors such as Gloucester Massachusetts are centers of the fishing industry for 300 years fishermen of New England have made a living from the sea there are many kinds of fishing in the shallow Coastal Waters the boats come into Port when they have a full catch the seafood includes maceral hering Lobster and codfish the sea has made possible not only the fishing industry but it has also helped the development of the tourist industry visitors come to see the beauty of old old Harbors such as Gloucester and they're attracted also to the historic Treasures of New England the State House of Massachusetts for instance and the Bunker Hill Monument to Heroes of the Revolution are some of the famous landmarks of the history of America for historic cities such as Boston the tourist industry is an important source of Revenue but Boston is even more important because it is a great business center and the leading Port of New England Boston is also a leading port for overseas trade articles manufactured in New England such as paper machinery and Hardware are exported among the Articles imported are bales of hides and Tanning materials the hides are tanned and made into leather leather such as this is used in the manufact Ure of shoes the city of Boston has been making shoes since colonial times and it is one of the important shoe cities in the United States other cities of New England developed Specialties too textiles such as cotton and silk electrical equipment and appliances aircraft engines rifles and other other small arms and clocks and watches thousands of city workers Supply labor for New England's various Industries the workers include immigrants from many lands men such as Dominic rato Dominic is a lens grinder in the watch Factory he is one of the more recent immigrants who have found in Southern New England a land of opportunity in many ways his life is typical of New England industrial workers those who have skilled jobs in cities that specialize in light manufacturers rather than heavy industry from the factory he drives to his modest home on the outskirts of the Town yes Dominic and his family are another part of our story of New England he is one of the many kinds of people who make up New England's life the people who work in the big factories those who work in the quaries and in the forests those who make their living from the sea and those who farm the land the lives these people lead and the different kinds of work they do are closely related to the kind of region in which they live a region of Rocky rugged land bounded by the Sea the region of New England [Music]