The climate was completely different in New England than the Southern colonies. New England has cold winters and poor soil which makes farming difficult. Therefore New England couldn't rely on plantations to produce large amounts of crops. The major crops in the South were cotton, rice, tobacco, and indigo. In the South, the climate is warm with good soil so the economy revolved around farming. Also in New England, their industries revolved around their geography, such as many rivers which meant the colonists used water power in mills. Mills were used for grinding grain into flower and well as for textiles (clothing). Ship building was also common because there was an ample amount of wood.