Топик: Alabama state
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 Montgomery.
Airlines . Several airlines provide commercial flights to cities in different parts of the state. Frequent daily schedules are available from major centers. Most of the interstate traffic uses the airports at Birmingham, Huntsville, and Mobile. Alabama's system of local airfields, with paved and lighted runways for smaller planes, is considered to be among the best in the nation.
Newspapers, Radio, and Television. Almost every city has its own local newspaper. More than 100 newspapers are published in the state, but only about 20 are dailies. Among the more influential daily newspapers are the Alabama Journal and the Montgomery Advertiser, both published at Montgomery, and the Birmingham News. The Mobile Press-Register, originally the Gazette, is one of the oldest newspapers in the state. It was founded in 1815.
Birmingham had the state's first licensed radio station, WBRC, in 1925, and the first television stations, WABT and WBRC-TV, both in 1949. In 1955 Alabama began operating one of the first state-owned educational television networks (ETV) in the nation. Stations of this network are capable of reaching almost all the people in the state.
EDUCATION
Alabama is proud of its natural resources and its industrial development in recent years. State and community leaders also recognize the importance of developing its educational and cultural institutions.
Schools and Colleges
The first teachers in Alabama were probably French and Spanish priests who gave instruction to the Indians. In 1799 a New England cotton merchant, John Pierce, opened a school for the children of wealthy settlers in the Mobile Bay area. It was the kind of pioneer school known as a blab .school because the pupils studied by repeating their lessons aloud.
When Alabama became a state in 1819, an attempt was made to establish a system of public schools. The attempt failed, as did others in later years, largely because of a lack of money. Private schools sprang up to educate the children of parents who could afford to pay. It was not until after the Civil War that the state was able to make progress toward establishing its present system of public elementary schools, high schools, and colleges.
Alabama has more than 50 institutions of higher education. About half of these are 2-year institutions, mainly state-supported junior or community colleges. The others are universities and senior colleges.
The University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa (post office address, University) is Alabama's oldest college. It was established by the legislature in 1820. Other state-supported universities are located at Auburn, Birmingham, Florence, Huntsville, Jacksonville, Livingston, Mobile, Montcvallo, Montgomery, Normal, and Troy. Tuskegcc Institute, the famous school established by Booker T. Washington in 1881, is partly supported by the state.
Libraries
Throughout the state there are many pub lic and private libraries. The largest public libraries are in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile. The Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library, on the campus of the University of Alabama, is one of the largest libraries in the entire South.
Fine Arts and Museums
Most high schools and junior high schools in the state have bands or orchestras. The Birmingham Civic Symphony gives annual concerts in the city. It also tours the state.
Before the Civil War, architecture was one of the most important fine arts. Some of the beautiful homes that were built before the war may be seen in the older cities, such as Selma, Huntsville, Eufaula, Greensboro, Mobile, Tuscaloosa, and Montgomery.
The Art Museum at Birmingham and the Museum of Fine Arts at Montgomery have large collections of paintings. The following arc among the other noted museums:
The Alabama Museum of Natural History, at
the University of Alabama, has an excellent display of rocks and minerals.
Mound State Monument, a state park and museum at Moundville, near Tuscaloosa, preserves ancient mounds that Indians built for their temples, council" houses, and burial places. Relics from the grounds in the park, such as skeletons, tools, ornaments, and pottery, are displayed in the museum.
The Regar Museum of Natural History, at Anniston, contains an unusual display of 900 specimens of birds, with nests and eggs.
PLACES OF INTEREST