USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The New England colonies had rocky soil, which was not suited to plantation farming, so the New England colonies depended on fishing, lumbering, and subsistence farming. The Middle colonies also featured mixed economies, including farming and merchant shipping.

Detailed explanation-2: -The soil was rocky, which made farming difficult. The New England colonies had very harsh winters and mild summers. This made the growing season only about five months long. Because the soil was rocky and the climate was often harsh, colonists in New England only farmed enough to feed their families.

Detailed explanation-3: -As a result, farming in New England was limited to small farms on which families managed to grow enough to feed themselves and not much else. These subsistence farmers grew vegetables, apples, and possibly a field of grain crops (often oats that were fed to livestock).

Detailed explanation-4: -Since the soil in New England was poor and the growing season was too short to grow many crops, besides corn, beans and squash, the New England colonies had to rely on other ways to make money, primarily through fishing, whaling, shipbuilding and rum making.