An American State on the right bank of the Mississippi, between Iowa and Arkansas, is half the size of the British Isles, and is traversed by the Missouri River; N. of that river the country is level, S. of it there rise the Ozark tablelands; the soil is very fertile, and the State principally agricultural; immense crops of maize, oats, potatoes, cotton, and tobacco are raised; there are large cattle ranches, and dressed beef and pork are largely exported; the climate is subject to extremes; coal, iron, lead, zinc, and other minerals abound, while marble, granite, and limestone are quarried; the rivers afford excellent transport facilities; the educational system is very complete; admitted to the Union in 1821, Missouri was divided in the Civil War, and suffered terribly, but since then has been very prosperous; the capital, St. Louis, is one of the greatest commercial and manufacturing towns in the Union, does a vast trade in grain and cotton, and has hardware, leather goods, and tobacco factories; Kansas City, has great pork-packing establishments and railroad iron-works.