250 
Modern Business Geography 
Middle-West, district. In these districts manufacturing is carried on 
intensively, that is, the cities are closely grouped and manufacturing 
is the chief business. 
The North Atlantic Manufacturing District 
The North Atlantic manufacturing district extends from Portland, 
Maine, to Baltimore. Although its area is small, as shown by the 
heaviest shading in Figure 165, it contains more than a third of the 
cities of the United States that have more than 75,000 inhabitants. 
The type of manufacturing. In addition to the universal indus- 
tries, the chief manufactures are such goods as shoes, watches, and 
cloth; that is, goods that are expensive in proportion to their size 
and weight and that require skilled labor and complicated machinery. 
The making of such goods is called complex manufacturing. Goods 
like these are rarely manufactured where their raw materials are pro- 
duced, since the raw materials are not heavy enough to make the cost 
of transportation a main factor. Skilled labor and cheap power, 
however, are absolutely necessary, and of both these the North At- 
lantic district has an abundance. 
Manufacturing industries of the North Atlantic ports. The impor- 
tant ports of the North Atlantic manufacturing district have many 
factories that use raw materials brought from distant points by 
water. Thus Boston, Providence, New York, Jersey City, Newark, 
Philadelphia, and Baltimore prepare such products as spices, coffee, 
cocoa, and chocolate. They also refine sugar and oil, make confec- 
tionery, cut cork, manufacture rattan ware, and spin and weave cotton. 
Most of them, too, tan irhported hides, weave imported wool, and 
make the cloth into clothing or carpets. 
New York and Philadelphia, being the greatest manufacturing 
centers, require special mention. 
New York as a manufacturing city. New York is the leading 
manufacturing center of North America. Its varied and abundant 
soods are sold not only in the city and its vicinity, but in nearly all 
parts of the country. Wherever you live, it is probable that most of 
the women’s suits and dresses, artificial flowers and feathers, milli- 
nery, lace goods, and furs used in your town were made in New York. 
The same is true of the clothing for men and the pipes they smoke. 
Probably the ink used in printing your books and newspapers, and the 
pens you write with, were made in New York. The nearer we live 
to this metropolitan city the more we use the articles that it manu- 
factures; but some of its goods go all over the country.