TENNESSEE

by J. B. Lippincott Company.

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Tennessee, one of the central southern states of the American Union, the twenty-ninth in area and thirteenth in population, is Copyright 1892 in U.S. situated in the Mississippi Valley in 35-36° 30′ N. lat. and 81° 37′---90 28′ W. long. On the N. are Virginia and Kentucky, on the E. is North Carolina, on the S. are Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and on the W. the Mississippi River separates it from Arkansas and Missouri. Its mean length is 385 miles, its mean width 109 miles; area, 42,050 sq. Politically the state is divided into East, Middle, and West Tennessee, and these sections may rudely serve as natural divisions in describing its surface and physical characteristics, though the variety presented in topography, geology, soil, climate, and the habits and occupations of the people represents the corresponding features of the states by which it is bordered. East Tennessee extends from the Unaka and Smoky Mountains, which form the eastern boundary of the state, to the crest of the Cumberland Plateau. It contains some 6. the greatest ridges of the Appalachians, and abounds in magnificent scenery. Between the eastern ridges and the plateau stretches a valley region about 100 miles in width, broken by minor elevations and depressions. This valley slopes gradually from the north toward the south, and has an average elevation of about 1000 feet. Along its western edge the plateau rises in a bold wall from 100 to 200 feet high. The tableland has a broad flat top covered in places, especially toward the north, with the superimposed ridges and peaks of the Cumberland Mountains. Its western edge has a ragged contour notched by numerous coves' and valleys. The southern end is divided into two arms by a deep gorge with perpendicular sides rising from 800 to 1000 feet above the valley. The Sequatchie River flows through this trough until, near the southern border of the state, it is absorbed by the Tennessee River, which, breaking through the eastern arm, follows the valley for a distance of 60 miles into Alabama. The river then turns, and breaking through the western arm re-enters the state after forming part of the boundary between Alabama and Mississippi. Between the Tennessee River in its northern course and the Cumberland Mountains is Middle Tennessee, presenting a varied landscape of mountains, plains, hills, and valleys. It may be described as an extensive elliptical basin surrounded by an elevated rim. Between the Tennessee and the Mississippi rivers lies the western division of the state. The narrow valley of the former river is skirted on the west by a ridge running north and south across the state. From this divide a rolling plain slopes towards the west, terminating in a steep bluff, beyond which are the alluvial bottom lands of the Mississippi.

Nearly all the geological periods are represented to a greater or a lesser degree, from the ancient metamorphic rocks of the mountains in the east to the recent alluvium of the Mississippi River bottom. Silurian deposits predominate in the mountain-region and in the valley of Middle Tennessee. Surrounding this valley are different groups of Carboniferous rocks, and in the Cumberland Plateau is a part of the great Appalachian coalfield. The coal-measures occupy an area of 5100 sq. m., and the seams are of exceptional thickness. It has been estimated that the available supply of bituminous coal is at least equal to that of Pennsylvania. West of the Tennessee River broad strips of Cretaceous and Tertiary deposits cross the state parallel to the alluvial bed of the Mississippi. The deposits of iron ore in different parts of the state are practically inexhaustible; copper and zinc are found, and the beautiful marbles

are widely celebrated. Several famous mineral springs are the resorts of invalids. The soils of the state are fertile, and the forests of hard-wood timber constitute a great natural source of wealth.

The climate is mild and delightful, but marked by variety, which is due to numerous causes arising from geographical position and topography. The average length of time between killing frosts is 200 days. Herbage is often green throughout the year, and cattle generally graze during the winter months. The rainfall is ample, amounting to an average of 54 inches. The drainage of the state is ultimately received by the Mississippi. The Cumberland River, which enters the state from Kentucky, flows about 150 miles through the northern central part and then re-enters Kentucky. The Tennessee (800 miles), the largest affluent of the Ohio, formed by the union of the Clinch and the Holston, leaves the state and returns to it as has already been described.

The pro

Agriculture has been and still is the leading industry, but the mining of coal and iron and manufacturing are rapidly growing interests. All the cereals and fruits of the temperate zone flourish in Tennessee. The staple crops are corn, cotton, hemp, tobacco, and pea-nuts. The principal cotton districts are in the south-western corner of the state and in the southern part of the central basin. Stock-raising is extensively carried on. duction of pig-iron has greatly increased, and the number of factories for employing the raw material in the manufacture of machinery, agricultural implements, &c. has been proportionately augmented. There are also many cotton, woollen, flour, and paper mills, besides tobacco-factories and potteries. Within the limits of the state there are about 2700 miles of railroad.

The

Tennessee contains ninety-six counties, and returns ten members to congress. The most important towns are Nashville, the capital and largest city, Memphis, Chattanooga, and Knoxville. The state has a good system of public schools, with normal school instruction afforded from the proceeds of the Peabody fund, and there are many excellent private schools. The Vanderbilt University is at Nashville, and there are over twenty collegiate institutions in the state. first permanent settlement was made on the Tennessee River, about 30 miles from the present site of Knoxville, in 1756. The early settlers asked and received the protection of North Carolina in 1776, and their territory was known as Washington county. In 1785 they organised the state of Franklin, and continued to dispute their rights with North Carolina till 1789, when the territory was ceded to the United States. In the following year territorial government was established, and in 1796 Tennessee became a state. It was the last of the southern states to secede in 1861, and the first to re-enter the Union in 1866. Pop. (1800) 105,602; (1850) 1,002,717; (1880) 1,542,359 (403,528 coloured); (1890) 1,767,518 (434,300 coloured).

See Histories by Ramsey (Phila. 1860), Carpenter (Phila. 1863), and Phelan (Boston, 1889); and Thruston's Antiquities of Tennessee (Cin. 1890).

Tenniel, JOHN, caricaturist, was born in London in 1820. A self-trained artist, he was selected in 1845 in competition to paint one of the frescoes-Dryden's 'St Cecilia'-in the Houses of Parliament. But to the public he is known not as painter, but as book-illustrator, and chiefly as the cartoonist of Punch. He joined its staff in 1851, and year after year since Leech's death produced the principal weekly political cartoons for Punch, which are notable not less for their pathos than for their wit, humour, and skilful draughtsmanship. His illustrations to Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-glass are