Full text of "Commercial geography : a book for high schools commercial courses, and business colleges"

See other formats

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

COMMERCIAL
GEOGRAPHY

A BOOK FOR HIGH SCHOOLS

COMMERCIAL COURSES, AND

BUSINESS COLLEGES

JACQUES W. REDWAY, F.R.G.S.

Author of "A Series of Geographies." 'An Elementary
Physical Geography." "The New Basis of Geography"

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
NEW YORK::::::::::::::::::i9io

PREFACE

THE quiet industrial struggle through which the United
States passed during the last decade of the nineteenth
century cannot fail to impress the student of political
economy with the fact that commercial revolution is a
normal result of industrial evolution. Within a period of
twenty-five years the transportation of commodities has
grown to be not only a science, but a power in the better-
ment of civil and political life as well ; and the world,
which in the time of M. Jules Verne was eighty days
wide, is now scarcely forty.

The invention of the Bessemer process for making steel
was intended primarily to give the railway-operator a
track that should be free from the defects of the soft,
wrought-iron rail ; in fact, however, it created new indus-
trial centres all over the world and brought Asia and
Africa under commercial conquest. The possibilities of
increased trade between the Atlantic seaboard and the
Pacific Coast States led to the building of the Northern
Pacific and Great Northern Railways. But when these
were thoroughly organized, there unexpectedly resulted a
new trade-route that already is drawing traffic away from
the Suez Canal and landing it at Asian shores by way of
the ports of Puget Sound. It is a repetition of the ad-
justment that occurred when the opening of the Cape
route to India transferred the trade that had gathered
about Venice and Genoa to the shores of the North and
Baltic Seas.

In other words, a new order of things has come about,

2056780

V PREFACE

and the world aiid the people therein are readjusting
themselves to the requirements made upon them by com-
merce. And so at the beginning of a new century, civil-
ized man is drawing upon all the rest of the world to
satisfy his wants, and giving to all the world in return; he
is civilized because of this interchange and not in spite
of it.

The necessity for instruction in a subject that pertains
so closely to the welfare of a people is apparent, and an
apology for presenting this manual is needless. More-
over, it should not interfere in any way with the regular
course in geography; indeed, more comprehensive work
in the latter is becoming imperative, and it should be
enriched rather than curtailed.

In the preparation of the work, I wish to express my
appreciation of the great assistance of Principal Myron T.
Pritchard, Edward Everett School, Boston, Mass. I am
also much indebted to the map-engraving department of
Messrs. The Matthews-Northrup Company, Buffalo, N. Y.

J. W. K

[

""tea,

~~ —

(FALKLAND 18.

fin

a.AreniT •
4

".'•

ANT A

RCTIC

O CEA

A p

.V /

RINCIPAL

TRANSPC
AND

_AW _

REGIONS OF LiARGI

60° Longitude 90° East from 12(T Greenwich 150°

ANTARCTIC OCEAN

NATION LINES
1 COMMERCE.

Exl.tlng TrannporUIUm I.tnet thui :

Nrw Koutr rrrnlcd li} ronolrurllun of I' 111.1111:1 Caniil thus : •

Krgloni of l.»rgc»t fuiniuvrre thu> : O^u.

«0° longitude 90° East from 120° Greenwich ISO1

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES „ 1

II. How COMMERCE CIVILIZED MANKIND .... 7

III. TOPOGRAPHIC CONTROL OF COMMERCE .... 17

IV. CLIMATIC CONTROL OF COMMERCE . 29
V. TRANSPORTATION— OCEAN AND INLAND NAVIGATION . 40

VI. TRANSPORTATION— RAILWAYS AND RAILWAY ORGANIZA-
TION : PUBLIC HIGHWAYS .62

VII. FACTORS IN THE LOCATION OF CITIES AND TOWNS . 81
VIII. THE CEREALS AND GRASSES. .... .88

IX. TEXTILE FIBRES 105

X. PLANT PRODUCTS OF ECONOMIC USE — BEVERAGES AND

MEDICINAL SUBSTANCES 127

XI. GUMS AND RESINS USED IN THE ARTS .... 141

XII. COAL AND PETROLEUM 147

XIII. METALS OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES .... 159

XIV. SUGAR AND ITS COMMERCE 185

XV. FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS ..... 193

XVI. SEA PRODUCTS AND FURS 203

XVII. THE UNITED STATES— THE SEAPORTS AND THE ATLAN-
TIC COAST-PLAIN 211

XVIII. THE UNITED STATES— THE NEW ENGLAND PLATEAU

AND THE APPALACHIAN REGION .... 219

XIX. THE UNITED STATES — THE BASIN OF THE GREAT LAKES

AND THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY 227

vii

Viii CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

XX THE UNITED STATES — THE WESTEKN HIGHLANDS AND

TERRITORIAL POSSESSIONS 247

XXI. CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 261

XXII. MEXICO — CENTRAL AMERICA — WEST INDIES . . 267

XXIII. SOUTH AMERICA — THE ANDEAN STATES . . . 275

XXIV. SOUTH AMERICA — THE LOWLAND STATES . . . 285
XXV. EUROPE— GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY . . . 295

XXVI. EUROPE — THE BALTIC AND NORTH SEA STATES . 310

XXVII. EUROPE— THE MEDITERRANEAN STATES AND SWITZER-
LAND 320

XXVIII. EUROPE — THE DANUBE AND BALKAN STATES . . 335

XXIX. EUROPE-ASIA — THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE . . . 343

XXX. THE IRAN PLATEAU AND ARABIA .... 349

XXXI. BRITISH INDIA AND THE EAST INDIES . . . 358

XXXII. CHINA AND JAPAN 367

XXXIII. AFRICA 381

XXXIV. OCEANIA . 391

APPENDIX 398

INDEX ... 399

COLORED MAPS

PAGE

PRINCIPAL TRANSPORTATION LINES AND REGIONS OP LARGEST

COMMERCE x, xi

MEAN ANNUAL RAINFALL 28

CITY OF NEW YORK AND VICINITY, WITH HARBOR APPROACHES . 49

THE ROUTE OF THE PANAMA CANAL 58

DISTRIBUTION OF VEGETATION 80

NORTH AMERICA 210

PUGET SOUND 253

MEXICO 268

SOUTH AMERICA 274

BRITISH ISLES 299

GERMANY AND SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES 304

HOLLAND AND BELGIUM 314

FRANCS 321

ITALY 326

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL 329

TURKEY AND GREECE 338

RUSSIAN EMPIRE 342

THE IRAN PLATEAU AND ARABIA 349

EASTERN CHINA 369

JAPAN AND KOREA 375

AFRICA 382

THE COMMERCE OF THE PACIFIC 393

To THE TEACHER : — The contents of this book are so topicalized
and arranged that, if the time for the study is limited, a short course may
be selected. Under no circumstances, however, should Chapters V, VI,
VIII, IX, XII, and XIII be omitted. A casual inspection of the questions
at the end of each chapter will serve to show that they cannot be answered
from the pages of the book, and they have been selected with this idea in
view. They are intended first of all to stimulate individual thought, and
secondly to encourage the pupil to investigate the topics by consulting
original sources. The practice of corresponding with pupils in other parts
of the world cannot be too highly commended.

The following list represents a minimum rather than a maximum
reference library. It may be enlarged at the judgment of the teacher.
A. good atlas and a cyclopaedia are also necessary.

Industrial Evolution of the United States. WRIGHT. Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons.

History of Commerce in Europe. GIBBINS. The Macmillan Company

Discovery of America. FISKE. Houghton, Mifflin & Co.

The New Empire. ADAMS. The Macmillan Company.

Statesman's Year-Book. KELTIE. The Macmillan Company.

Outlines of Political Science. GUNTON and BOBBINS. D. Appleton & Co.

The Wheat Problem. CROOKES. G. P. Putnam's Sons.

South America. CARPENTER. American Book Company.

From the Bureau of Statistics, Department of Commerce, Washington,
D. C., the following monographs may be procured : *

Commercial China. American Commerce. Commercial Australia.
Commercial Japan. Commercial Africa. Commercial India.
Statistical Abstract. Great Canals of the World. World's Sugar
Production and Consumption.

The following from the Department of Agriculture is necessary :

Check List of Forest Trees of the United States.

Lantern slides illustrating the subjects treated in this book may be
procured from T. H. McAllister, 49 Nassau Street, New York. Stereo-
scopic views may be obtained from Underwood & Underwood, Fifth Ave-
nue and Nineteenth Street, New York.

* If the edition for free distribution is exhausted, these may be purchased from the
Superintendent of Documents, Public Printer, Washington, D. C.

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

CHAPTEE I
GENERAL PRINCIPLES

COMMERCE and modern civilization go hand in hand, and
the history of the one is the history of the other ; and
whatever may be the basis of civilization, commerce has
been the chief agent by which it has been spread through-
out the world. Peoples who receive nothing from their
fellow-men, and who give nothing in return, are usually
but little above a savage state. Civilized man draws upon
all the rest of the world for what he requires, and gives to
the rest of the world in return. He is civilized because of
this fact and not in spite of it.

There is scarcely a country in the world that does not
yield something or other to civilized peoples. There
is scarcely a household whose furnishings and contents
do not represent an aggregate journey of several times
around the earth. A family in New York at breakfast
occupy chairs from Grand Rapids, Mich.; they partake
of bread made of wheat from Minnesota, and meat from
Texas prepared in a range made in St. Louis; coffee
grown in Sumatra or Java, or tea from China is served in
cups made in Japan, sweetened with sugar from Cuba,
stirred with spoons of silver from Nevada. Spices from
Africa, South America, and Asia season the food, which
is served on a table of New Hampshire oak, covered with

2 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

a linen spread made from flax grown in Ireland or in
Russia. Rugs from Bokhara, or from Baluchistan, cover
the floors ; portieres made in Constantinople hang at the
doors ; and the room is heated with coal from Pennsylvania
that burns in a furnace made in Rhode Island.

Now all these things may be, and usually are, found in
the great majority of families in the United States or
Europe, and most of them will be found in nearly all
households. Certain it is that peoples do exist who, from
the immediate vicinity in which they live, procure all the
things they use or consume. In the main, however, such
peoples are savages.

A moment's thought will make it clear that before an
ordinary meal can be served there must be railways,
steamships, great manufacturing establishments, iron quar-
ries, and coal mines, aggregating many thousand millions
of dollars, and employing many million people. A casual
inspection, too, reveals the fact that all of the substances
and things required by mankind come from the earth, and,
a very few excepted, every one requires a certain amount
of manufacture or preliminary treatment before it is
usable. The grains and nearly all the other food-stuffs
require various processes of preparation before they are
ready for consumption by civilized peoples. Iron and
the various other ores used in the arts must undergo elab-
orate processes of manufacture ; coal must be mined,
broken, cleaned, and transported ; the soil in which food-
stuffs are grown must be fertilized and mechanically pre-
pared ; and even the water required for domestic purposes
in many instances must be transported long distances.

A little thought will suffice to show that not only are
all food-stuffs derived from the earth, but that also every
usable resource which constitutes wealth is also drawn
from the same source. The same is also pretty nearly

4 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

true of the various forms of energy, for although the sun
is the real source of light and heat, and probably of elec-
tricity, these agents are usable only when they have been
transformed into earth energies. Thus, the physical en-
ergy generated by falling water is merely a transformed
portion of solar heat ; so also the coal-beds contain both
the chemical and physical energy of solar heat and light
converted into potential energy — that is, into force that
can be used at the will of intelligence. Indeed, the
physical being of mankind is an organism born of the
earth, and adapted to the earth ; and when that physical
form dies, it merely is transformed again to ordinary earth
substances.

The chief activities of living beings are those relat
ing to the maintenance of life. In other words, animals
must feed, and they must also protect themselves against
extermination. In the case of all other animals this is a
very simple matter, they simply live in immediate contact
with their food, migrating or perishing if the supply gives
out. In the case of mankind the conditions are different
and vastly more elaborate. Savage peoples excepted, man
does not live within close touch of the things he requires ;
indeed, he cannot, for he depends upon all the world for
what he uses. In a less enlightened state many of these
commodities were luxuries ; in a civilized state they have
become necessities. Moreover, nearly everything civilized
man employs has been prepared by processes in which
heat is employed.

Therefore one may specify several classes of human ac-
tivities and employments :

(a) The production of food-stuffs and other commodities
by the cultivation of the soil — Agriculture.

(fc) The preparation of food-stuffs and things used for
shelter, protection, or ornament — Manufacture.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES 5

(c) The production of minerals for the generation of
power, such as coal, or those such as iron, copper,
stone, etc., required in the arts and sciences — Min-
ing.

(d) The exchange of food stuffs and commodities — Com*
merce.

(e) The transfer of commodities — Transportation.

It is evident that the prosperity and happiness of a
people depend very largely on the condition of their sur-
roundings— that is, their environment. If a country or an
inhabited area produces all the food-stuffs and commodities
required by its people, the conditions are very fortunate.
A very few nations, notably China and the United States,
have such diverse conditions of climate, topography, and
mineral resources, that they ~an, if necessary, produce
within their national borders everything needed by their
peoples.

The prosecution of such a policy, however, is rarely
economical ; in the history of the past it has always re-
sulted in weakness and disintegration. China is to-day
helpless because of a policy of self-seclusion ; and the
marvellous growth of Japan began when her trade was
thrown open to the world.

For the greater part the environment of a people is
deficient — that is, the locality of a people does not yield
all that is required for the necessities of life. For in-
stance, the New England plateau requires an enormous
amount of fuel for its manufacturing enterprises; but
practically no coal is found within its borders ; hence the
manufacturers must either command the coal to be shipped
from other regions or give up their employment. The
people of Canada require a certain amount of cotton cloth ;
but the cotton plant will not grow in a cold climate, so
they must either exchange some of their own commodities

6 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

for cotton, or else go without it. The inhabitants of Great
Britain produce only a small part of the food-stuffs they
consume ; therefore they are constantly exchanging their
manufactured products for the food-stuffs that of necessity
must be produced in other parts of the world.

The dwellers of the New England plateau might grow
the bread-stuffs they require, and in times past they did
BO. At that time, however, a barrel of flour was worth
twelve dollars. But the wheat of the prairie regions can
be grown, manufactured into flour, transported a thousand
miles, and sold at a profit for less than five dollars a barrel.
Therefore it is evidently more economical to buy flour in
Minnesota than to grow the wheat and make it into flour
in Massachusetts.

All these problems, and they exist without number,
show that man may overcome most of the obstacles that
surround him. So we find civilized man living in almost
every part of the world. Tropical regions are not too
scorching, nor are arctic fastnesses too cold for him. In
other words, because of commerce and transportation, he
can and usually does master the conditions of his environ-
ment ; his intelligence enables him to do so, and his ability
to do so is the result of the intelligent use of experience
and education.

CHAPTER H

THE history of western civilization is so closely con-
nected with the development of the great routes of travel
and the growth of commerce that one cannot possibly
separate them,. Commerce cannot exist without the inter-
course of peoples, and peoples cannot be in mutual com-
munication unless each learns from the other.

Feudalism. — When the Roman Empire fell civilization
in western Europe was not on a high plane ; indeed,
the feudalism that followed was not much above barbar-
ism. The people were living in a manner that was not
very much unlike the communal system under which the
serfs of Russia lived only a few years ago. Each centre
of population was a sort of military camp governed by
a feudal lord. The followers and retainers were scarcely
better off than slaves ; indeed, many of them were slaves.
There was no ownership of the land except by the feudal
lords, and the latter were responsible for their acts to
the king only.

But very few people cared to be absolutely free, because
they had but little chance to protect themselves ; so it was
ihe common custom to attach one's self to a feudal lord in
order to have his protection ; even a sort of peonage or
slavery under him was better than no protection at all.
A few of the people were engaged in trade and manufact-
ure of some kind or other, and they were the only ones
through whom the feudal lord could supply himself with

8 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

the commodities needed for his retainers and the luxuries
necessary to himself.

Each feudal estate, therefore, became a sort of industrial
centre by itself, producing its own food-stuffs and much of
the coarser manufactures. It was not a very high condi-
tion of enlightenment, but it was much better than the
one which preceded it, for at least it offered protection.
It encouraged a certain amount of trade and commerce,
because the feudal lord had many wants, and he was
usually willing to protect the merchant who supplied
them.

The Crusades and Commerce. — The Crusades, or
wars by which the Christians sought to recover the Holy
Land from the Turk, resulted in a trade between Europe
and India that grew to wonderful proportions. Silk fab-
rics, cotton cloth, precious stones, ostrich plumes, ivory,
spices, and drugs — all of which were practically unknown
in Europe — were eagerly sought by the nobility and their
dependencies. In return, linen and woollen fabrics, leather
goods, glassware, blacklead, and steel implements were
carried to the far East.

Milan, Florence, Venice and Genoa, Constantinople and
a number of less important towns along the Mediterranean
basin became important trade centres, but Venice and
Genoa grew to be world powers in commerce. Not only
were they great receiving and distributing depots of trade,
but they were great manufacturing centres as well.

The routes over which this enormous commerce was car-
ried were few in number. For the greater part, the Vene-
tian trade went to Alexandria, and thence by the Ked Sea
to India. Genoese merchants sent their goods to Constan-
tinople and Trebizond, thence down the Tigris Kiver to
the Persian Gulf and to India. There was also another
route that had been used by the Phoenicians. It extended

HOW COMMERCE CIVILIZED MANKIND 9

from Tyre through Damascus and Palmyra * to the bead
of the Persian Gulf ; this gradually fell into disuse after
the founding of Alexandria.

The general effects of this trade were very far-reaching.
To the greater number of the people of Europe, the coun-
tries of India, China, and Japan were mythical. Accord-
ing to tradition they were infested with dragons and
gryphons, and peopled by dog-headed folk or by one-
eyed Arimaspians. About the first real information of
them to be spread over Europe was brought by Marco
Polo, whose father and uncle had travelled all through
these countries during the latter part of the thirteenth
century, t Marco Polo's writings were very widely read,
and influenced a great many people who could not be
reached through the ordinary channels of commerce. So
between the wars of the Crusades on the one hand, and
the growth of commerce on the other, a new and a better
civilization began to spread over Europe.

The Turkish Invasions. — But the magnificent trade
that had thus grown up was checked for a time by an un-
foreseen factor. The half-savage Turkomans living south-
east of Russia had become converted to the religion of
Islam, and in their zeal for the new belief, determined to
destroy the commerce which seemed to be connected with
Christianity. So they moved in upon the borderland be-
tween Europe and Asia, and one after another the trade
routes were tightly closed. Then they captured Constanti-
nople, and the routes between Genoa and the Orient were

* The greatness of Palmyra was due to the trade along this route, and its
"decay began when the route was abandoned. The present town of Tad-
nior is near the ruins of the former city.

fCosmas Indicopleustes — in early life a merchant, in later years a monk
— visited India and Ceylon during the first part of the sixth century. His
writings contain much valuable knowledge, but in the main they are theo-
logical arguments intended to disprove the Geography written by Ptolemy.

10 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

hermetically sealed. Moslem power also spread over Syria
and Egypt, and so, little by little, the trade of Venice was
throttled.

Now a commerce that involved not only many millions
of dollars, but the employment of thousands of people as

ROUTES TO INDIA—
THE TURK CHANGES THE COMMERCE OF THE WORLD

well, is not likely to be given up without a struggle. So
the energy that had been devoted to this great trade was
turned in a new direction, and there began a search for a
new route to India — one that the Turks could not blockade.
The Search for an All-Water Route to India.—
Overland routes were out of the question ; there were
none that could be made available, and so the search was

HOW COMMERCE CIVILIZED MANKIND 11

made for a sea-route. Bather singularly the Venetians and
Geuoose, who had hitherto controlled this trade, took no
part in the search ; it was conducted by the Spanish and
the Portuguese.

The Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella of
Castile, fitted out an expedition under Christopher Colum-
bus, a master-mariner and cartographer, the funds being
provided by Isabella, who pledged her private property
as security for the cost of the expedition. This expedi-
tion resulted in the discovery, October 10-21, 1492, of the
West India Islands. In a subsequent voyage, Columbus
discovered the mainland of South America.

Even before the voyage of Columbus, the Portuguese
had been trying to find a way around Africa to India, and
Pope Eugeuius IV. had conferred on Portugal " all heathen
lands from Cape Bojador eastward even to the Indies."
Little by little, therefore, Portuguese navigators were push-
ing southward until, in 1487, Bartholomew Dias sighted
the Cape of Good Hope, and got about as far as Algoa Bay.
Then he unwillingly turned back because of the threats of
his crew. It was a most remarkable voyage, and one of
the shipmates of Dias was Bartholomew Columbus, a
brother of the discoverer of the New World.

Ten years later, or five years after the voyage of Colum-
bus, Vasco da Gama sailed from Lisbon for the Cape of
Good Hope. As he passed the Cape he was terribly storm-
tossed, but the storms carried him in a fortunate direction.
And when at last he got his reckonings, he was off the
coast of India; he therefore kept along the coast until in
sight of a port. The port was the well-known city of Cal-
icut. Two years later he returned to Europe by the same
route, his ships laden with spices, precious stones, beauti-
ful tapestries and brocades, ivory and bronzes. The long-
sought sea-route to India hud been discovered.

HO\V COMMERCE CIVILIZED MANKIND 13

Commerce in Western Europe. — After the discov-
ery of the new route, Venice and Genoa were scarcely heard
of in relation to commerce ; they lost everything and
gained nothing. The great commerce with the Orient was
to have a new western torminus, and the latter was to be
on the shores of the North and Baltic Seas.

The commerce between Europe and India stimulated
trade in western Europe as well. As early as the twelfth
century the manufacture of linen and woollen cloth had
grown to be a very important industry that had resulted in
the rapid growth of population. The older cities grew
rapidly, and new ones sprang up wherever the commodities
of trade were gathered, manufactured, or distributed.

These centres of trade had two hostile elements against
them. The feudal lords used to pillage them legally by
extorting heavy taxes and forced loans whenever their
treasuries were empty. The portionless brothers and
relatives of the feudal lords, to whom no employments
save war, adventurej and piracy were open, pillaged them
illegally. Along the coasts especially, piracy was consid-
ered not only a legitimate, but a genteel, profession. So
in order to protect themselves, the cities began to join
themselves into leagues.

The Hanse League. — About the beginning of the
thirteenth century* Hamburg and Liibeck formed an alli-
ance afterward called a Jiansa; at the beginning of the
fourteenth century it embraced seventy cities, having the
capital at Liibeck. At the time of its greatest power the
League embraced all the principal cities of western Europe
nearly as far south as the Danube. Lai'ge agencies, called
" factories," were established in London, Bruges, Novgorod,
Bergen, and Wisby. The influence of the League practi-
cally controlled western Europe.

* The date Is variously given as 1169, 1200, and 1241.

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

The Hanse League performed a wonderful work. It
stopped piracy on the seas and robbery on the land. In-
dustrially, it encouraged self-government and obedience to
constitutional authority. Shipbuilding and navigation so
greatly improved that the ocean traffic resulting from the
discovery of the cape route to India quickly fell into the
hands of Hanse sailors and master-mariners. The League

HANSE ROUTES—
THE HANSE LEAGUE REORGANIZES THE TRADE OF THE WORLD

not only encouraged and protected all sorts of manufact-
ures, but its schools trained thousands of operatives. The
mines were worked and the idle land cultivated. It was
the greatest industrial movement that ever occurred.

Socially, the Hanse League brought the wealth that gave
those comforts and conveniences before unknown. The
standards of social life, education, art, and science were

HOW COMMERCE CIVILIZED MANKIND 15

raised from a condition scarcely better than barbarism to
a high plane of civilization. Indeed, the civilization of
western Europe was the most important result of it.

It forced the rights of individual freedom, as well as mu-
nicipal independence, from more than one monarch, and
punished severely the kings who sought to betray it. It
crushed the power of those who opposed it,* and rewarded
those who were faithful to it. Its most important mission,
however, was the overthrow of feudalism and the gradual
substitution of popular government in its place.

Having accomplished the regeneration of Europe, the
Hanse League died partly by its own hand, because of its
arrogance, but mainly from the fact that, having educated
western Europe to self-government and commercial inde-
pendence, there was no longer need for its existence. In-
dependent cities grew rapidly into importance, and these
got along very well without the protection of the League.
The great industrial progress was at times temporarily
checked by wars, but it never took a backward step. In-
deed the progress of commerce has always been a contest
between brains and brute force, and in such a struggle
there is never any doubt about the final outcome.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What were some of the effects of Csesar's invasion of Germanic
Europe so far as commerce is concerned ?

What were some of the effects on commerce of the breaking up
of the Roman Empire ?

How did the invasion of England by William of Normandy
affect the commerce of the English people ?

Who was Henry the Navigator, and what did he accomplish ?

How did the blockade of the routes between Europe and India
bring about the discovery of America ?

* To Waldomar III. of Denmark it dictated terms that made its powei
in Scandiuavia supreme.

16 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

What was the result of the great voyage of the Cabots ?

Was the overthrow of feudalism in Europe a gain or a loss to
commerce ?

Why are not commercial leagues, such as the Hanse, necessary
at the present time ?

Why did Spain's commerce decline as Portugal's thrived ?

COLLATERAL READING*

Gibbins's History of Commerce — Chapters IV -V.
Fiske's Discovery of America, Vol. I — Chapters IV- V.

* For a complete list of books for reference, see p. xii.

CHAPTER III
TOPOGRAPHIC CONTROL OF COMMERCE

THE great industry of commerce, which includes both
the trade in the commodities of life and the transportation
of them, is governed very largely by the character of the
earth's surface. But very few food-stuffs can be grown
economically in mountain-regions. Steep mountain-slopes
are apt to be destitute of soil ; moreover, even the mountain-
valleys are apt to be difficult of access, and in such cases
the cost of moving the crops may be greater than the mar-
ket value of the products. Mountainous countries, there-
fore, are apt to be sparsely peopled regions.

But although the great mountain-systems are unhabitable,
or at least sparsely peopled, they have a very definite place
in the economics of life. Thus, the great western highland
of the United States diverts the flow of moisture from the
Gulf of Mexico northward into the central plain, and gives
to the region most of its food-growing power. In a sim-
ilar manner, moisture intercepted by the Alps and the
Himalayas has not only created the plains of the Po and
the Ganges from the rock-waste carried from the slopes,
but has also made them exceedingly fertile.

Mountain-ranges are also valuable for their contents.
The broken condition of the rock-folds and the rapid
weathering to which they are subjected have exposed the
minerals and metals so useful in the arts of commerce and
civilization. Thus, the weathering of the Appalachian folds
has made accessible about the only available anthracite
coal measures yet worked ; and the worn folds about Lake

18 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Superior have yielded the ores that have made the United
States the foremost copper and steel manufacturing country
of the world. Gold, silver, tin, lead, zinc, platinum, gran-
ite, slate, and marble occur mainly in mountain-folds.

Mountains and Valleys. — Mountain-ranges are great
obstacles to commerce and intercommunication. The
Greek peoples found it much easier to scatter along the
Mediterranean coast than to cross the Balkan Mountains.
For twenty years after the settlement of California, it was
easier and less expensive to send traffic by way of Cape
Horn than to carry it across the Rocky Mountains.

The deep canons of mountainous regions are quite as
difficult to overcome as the high ranges. In modern meth-
ods of transportation a range that cannot be surmounted
may be tunnelled, and a tunnel five or six miles in length is
no uncommon feat of engineering. A canon, however, can-
not be tunnelled, and if too wide for cantilever or suspen-
sion bridges, a detour of many miles is necessary. In
crossing a deep chasm the route of transportation may
aggregate ten or fifteen times the distance spanned by a
straight line.

Excepting the mining regions, the population of moun-
tainous countries is apt to be found mainly in the inter-
montane valleys. A reason for this is not hard to find ;
the valleys are usually filled with rich soil brought from
the higher slopes and levelled by the water. The popu-
lation, therefore, is concentrated in the valley because of the
food-producing power of the land. For this reason the
Sound, Willamette, and San Joaquin-Sacramento Valleys
contain the chief part of the Pacific coast population. The
Shenandoah and the Great Valley of Virginia are similar
instances.

What is true of the larger intermontane valleys is true
also of the narrow stream valleys of mountain and plateau

TOPOGRAPHIC CONTROL OP COMMERCE 19

regions. Thus, in the New England plateau the chief
growth during the past forty years has been in the valley
lauds. In that time if the uplands have not suffered act-
ual loss, they certainly have made no material gains. Up-
land farming has not proved a remunerative venture, and
many of the farms have either been abandoned or con-
verted to other uses.

Passes. — Transverse valleys form very important topo-
graphic features of mountain-regions. Inasmuch as the
ranges themselves are obstacles to communication, it fol-
lows that the latter must be concentrated at such cross
~Talleys of gaps as may be traversed. Khaibar Pass, a
narrow defile in the Hindu Kush Mountains, between
Peshawur and Jelalabad, for many years was the chief
gateway between Europe and India. Even now the cost
of holding it is an enormous tax upon England.

Brenner, St. Gotthard, and the Mont Cenis Passes are
about the only land channels of commerce between Italy
and transalpine Europe, and mo.st of the communication
between northern Italy and the rest of Europe is carried
on by means of these passes. Every transcontinental rail-
way of the American continent crosses the various high-
lands by means of gaps and passes, and some of them
would never have been built were it not for the existence
of the passes. Fremont, South, and Marshall Passes have
been of historic importance for half a century.

The Hudson and Champlain Valley played an impor-
tant part in the history of the colonies a century before the
existence of the United States, and its importance as a
gateway to eastern Canada is not likely to be lessened.
The Mohawk gap was the first practical route to be main-
tained between the Atlantic seaboard and the food-produc-
ing region of the Great Central Plain. It is to-day the
most important one. It is so nearly level that the total

TOPOGRAPHIC CONTROL OF COMMERCE 21

lift of freight going from Buffalo to tide-water is less than
five hundred feet.

Rivers. — River-valleys are closely connected with the
economic development of a country. Navigable rivers are
free and open highways of communication. In newly
settled countries the river is always the least expensive
means of carriage, and often it is the only one available for
the transportation of heavy goods.

In late years, since the railway has become the chief
means for the transportation of commodities, river trans-
portation has greatly declined. The river-valley, however,
has lost none of its importance ; in most instances it is a
naturally levelled and graded route, highly suitable for the
tracks of the railway. As a result, outside of the level
lands of the Great Central Plain, not far from eighty per
cent, of the railway mileage of the United States is con-
structed along river- valleys.

Plateaus. — Plateaus are usually characterized by broken
and more or less rugged surface features. As a rule they
are deficient in the amount of rainfall necessary to pro-
duce an abundance of the grains and similar food-stuffs,
although this is by no means the case with all.

Most plateaus produce an abundance of grass, and cattle-
growing is therefore an important industry in such regions.
Thus, the plateaus of the Rocky Mountains are famous for
cattle, and the same is true of the Mexican and the South
American plateaus. The Iberian plateau, including Spain
and Portugal, is noted for the merino sheep, which furnish
the finest wool known. The plateau of Iran is also noted
for its wool, and the rugs from this region cannot be imi-
tated elsewhere in the world.

Plains.— Plains are of the highest importance to life and
its activities. Not only do tuoy present fewer obstacles to
intercommunication than any other topographic features,

22 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

but almost always they are deeply covered with the fine
rock-waste that forms the chief components of soil.
Plains, therefore, contain the elements of nutrition, and are
capable of supporting life to a greater extent than either
mountains or plateaus. About ninety per cent, of the
world's population dwell in the lowland plains.

The Great Central Plain of North America produces
more than one-quarter of the world's wheat, and about
four-fifths of the corn. The southern part of the great
Arctic plain, and its extension, the plains of the Baltic
also yield immense quantities of grain and cattle prod-
ucts. The coast-plains of the Atlantic Ocean, on both the
American and the European side, are highly productive.

River flood-plains are almost always densely peopled
because of their productivity. The bottom-lands of the
Mississippi and the Yangtze Rivers are among the chief
food-producing regions of the world. Lacustrine plains,
the beds of former lakes, are also highly productive re-
gions. The valley of the Red River of the North is an
example, and its wheat is of a very high quality.

Fertile coast-plains and lowlands that are adjacent to
good harbors, as a rule are the most thickly peopled re-
gions of the world. In many such regions the density of
population exceeds two hundred or more per square mile.
The reason is obvious. Life seeks that environment which
yields the greatest amount of nutrition with the least ex-
penditure of energy.

The study of a good relief map shows that, as a rule, the
Pacific Ocean is bordered by a rugged highland, which has
a more or less abrupt slope, and a narrow coast-plain. In-
deed, the latter is absent for the greater part. The slopes
of the Atlantic, on the other hand, are long and gentle —
being a thousand miles or more in width throughout the
greater part of their extent. The area of productive land

24 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

is correspondingly great, and the character of the surface
features is such that intercommunication is easy.

The result of these conditions is evident. The Atlantic
slopes, though not everywhere the most densely peopled
areas, contain the great centres of the world's activities
and economies. In the past 400 years they have not only
overtaken the Pacific coast races, but have far surpassed
them. They are now entering upon a commercial invasion
of the Pacific nations that is resulting in a reorganization
of the entire industrial world.

Topography and Trade Routes. — As the settlement
and commerce of a Country grow, roads succeed trails, and
trails are apt to follow the paths of migrating animals.
Until the time of the Civil War in the United States, most
of the great highwa}Ts of the country were the direct de-
scendants of " buffalo roads," as they were formerly called.

In the crossing of divides from one river-valley to
another, the mountain-sections of the railways for the
greater part follow the trails of the bison. This is espe-
cially marked in the Pennsylvania, the Baltimore and
Ohio, and the Chesapeake and Ohio railways ; in some in-
stances the tunnels through ranges have been constructed
directly under the trails. The reason is obvious ; the in-
stinct of the bison led him along routes having the mini-
mum of grade.

Throughout the Mississippi Valley and the great plains
the Indian trails usually avoided the bottom-lands of the
river-valleys, following the divides and portages instead.
This selection of routes was probably due to the fact that
the lowlands were swampy and subject to overflow ; the
portages and divides offered no steep grades, and were
therefore more easily traversed.

Harbors. — Coast outlines have much to do with the
commercial possibilities of a region. The " drowned val-

26 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

leys" and similar inlets along the North Atlantic coast,
both of Europe and America, form harbors in which vessels
ride at anchor in safety, no matter what the existing con-
ditions outside may be. As a result, the two greatest cen-
tres of commerce in the world are found at these harbors
— one on the American, the other on the European coast.

From New York Bay southward along the Atlantic sea-
board there are but few harbors, and this accounts for the
enormous development of commerce in the stretch of coast
between Portland and Baltimore. San Francisco Bay and
the harbors of Pnget Sound monopolize most of the com-
merce of the Pacific coast of the United States. South
America has several good harbors on the Atlantic sea-
board, and in consequence a large city has grown at the
site of each. On the Pacific coast the good harbors are
very few in number, and they are not situated near pro-
ductive regions.

Asiatic peoples, as a rule, are not promoters of foreign
commerce, and, those of Japan excepted, the only good
harbors are those that have been improved by European
governments. These are confined mainly to India and
China. The many possible harbors make certain a tre-
mendous commerce in the future. Africa has but very few
good harbors. There are excellent harbors in the islands
of the Pacific, and many of them are of great strategic value
as coaling stations and bases of supply to the various mari-
time powers.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

The Pennsylvania Railroad has found it more economical to
tunnel the mountain-range under Horseshoe Curve, near Altoona,
than to haul the trains over the mountains ; discuss the details
in which there will be a saving.

Why are rugged and mountainous regions apt to be sparsely
peopled?

TOPOGRAPHIC CONTROL OF COMMERCE 27

Mae first valuable discovery in the Rocky Mountains was goldj
what were the chief effects that resulted ?

Would the industries of the Pacific coast of the United Statoe
be benefited or impaired by the existence of a coast-plain ?

Which are more conducive to commerce — the large mediter-
raneans, such as the Gulf of Mexico, or the small estuaries, such
as New York Bay ? Discuss the merits or demerits of each.

What are the chief products of mountains, of plateaus, of low«
land plains ?

COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

Adams's New Empire — Chapter I.
Redway's Physical Geography — Chapter IV.
A topographic map of the United States.

CHAPTER IV
CLIMATIC CONTROL OP COMMERCE

IN its effect upon life and the various industries of peo-
ples, climate is a factor even more important than topog-
raphy. Of the 53,000,000 square miles of the land sur-
face of the earth, scarcely more than one-half is capable
of producing any great amount of food-stuffs, and only a
very small area can support a population of more than
one hundred people to each square mile.

Climate and Habitability. — In the main, regions that
are inhabited by human beings produce either food-stuffs
or something of value that may be exchanged for food-
stuffs ; and inasmuch as food and shelter are the chief
objects of human activity, regions that will not furnish
them are not habitable.

The growth and production of food-stuffs is governed
even more by conditions of climate than by those of topog-
raphy. Thus the great Russian plain is too cold to pro-
duce any great amount of food-stuffs, and it is, therefore,
sparsely peopled. The northern part of Africa and the
closed basins of North America and Asia lack the rainfall
necessary to insure productivity, and these regions are
also unhabitable. The basin of the Amazon has a rainfall
too great for cereals and grasses, and the larger part of it
is unfit for habitation.

All the food-stuffs are exceedingly sensitive to climate.
Rice will not grow where swampy conditions do not pre-
vail at least during part of the year. Turf-grass will not
live where there are repeated droughts of more than three

30 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

months' duration, and corn will not ripen in regions hav-
ing cool nights. Wheat does not produce a kernel fit for
flour anywhere except in the temperate zone ; and the
banana will not grow outside the torrid zone.

The two chief factors of climate are temperature and
moisture. No forms of life can withstand a temperature
constantly below the freezing-point of water, and but few,
if any, can endure a constant heat of one hundred and
twenty-five degrees, although most species can exist at
temperatures beyond these limits for a short time.

Zones of Climate. — The belt of earth upon which the
sun's rays are nearly or quite vertical is comparatively
narrow. But the inclination of the earth's axis and the
fact that it is parallel to itself at all times of the year
create zones of climate. These differ materially in the
character of the life, forms, and the activities of the people
who dwell in them.

In the torrid zone the temperature varies but little.
During the season of rains it rarely falls to 70° P., and in
the dry season it is seldom higher than 95° F. As a result,
all sorts of plants that are sensitive to low temperatures
thrive in the torrid zone. It is not a climate suitable for
heat-producing food-plants, and they are not required.

The constant heat and excessive moisture of the atmos-
phere in the torrid zone is apt to produce a feeling of lassi-
tude among the dwellers in such regions, moreover, and
great bodily activity is out of question. These conditions
seriously affect the lives of the people, and, with few excep-
tions, tropical peoples are rarely noted for energy or enter-
prise. Great commercial enterprises are the exception
rather than the rule, and they are usually carried on by
foreigners who must live a part of the time in cooler local-
ities.

Polar regions are deficient both in the heat and light

32 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

necessary for food-stuffs. Neither the grasses nor the grains
fructify. As a result, but few herbivora can live there,
and these are practically restricted to the musk-ox and the
reindeer, which subsist on mosses and lichens. The native
peop\e are stunted in growth ; their food consists mainly
of raw blubber, and they are scarcely above savagery.

The temperate zones are the regions of the great indus-
tries and activities of human life. The larger part of the
laud surface of the earth is situated in these zones ; more-
over, the people who dominate the world also live in them,
and their supremacy is due largely to conditions of climate.
The alternation of summer and winter causes a struggle
for existence that develops the intellectual faculties and
results in industrial supremacy.

Effects of Altitude. — There is a decrease of tempera-
ture of 1° F. for about every three hundred feet of ascent.
But few people live at an altitude of more than six thousand
feet above sea-level, and in many cases they depend on
other localities for the greater part of their food stuffs, be-
cause very few of such regions produce food-stuffs abun-
dantly.

The chief exceptions to this rule are found in tropical
regions. The highlands of Mexico, the plateau-regions of
Bolivia and Ecuador, and the highlands of southern Asia
are habitable, but they are not densely peopled. Because
of their altitude they are relieved of the enervating effects
of tropical climate at the sea-level.

Altitude likewise affects the amount of rainfall. Most
plateaus are arid. As a rule, they are arid because of their
altitude; and because of their aridity they are deficient
in their power to produce food-stuffs. They are therefore
sparsely peopled.

Effects of Rainfall. — Regions having considerably
more than one hundred inches of rain annually are very

CLIMATIC CONTROL OP COMMERCE 33

apt to be forest-covered, and therefore to be deficient in
food-producing plants. Such localities have usually a
sparse population, in spite of the profusion of vegetation.
In some parts of India, lands that have been left idle
for a few seasons produce such a dense jungle of wild
vegetation that to reclaim them for cultivation is well-
nigh impossible.

A deficiency of rainfall is even a greater factor in restrict-
ing the density of population than too much rain. With
less than fifteen or twenty inches a year few regions pro-
duce good crops of grains and grasses, and as a result they
are sparsely peopled. Some of the exceptions, however,
are important. If the rainfall is not quite enough to pro-
duce a normal overflow to the sea, the soil may be very
rich, because the nutrition is not leached out and earned
away.

Many small areas of this character produce enormous
crops when artificially watered, and many of them, such as
Persia, parts of Asia Minor, northern Utah, and large areas
of Australia and Chile have become regions of consider-
able commercial importance. The products of such re-
gions are apt to be unique in character and of unusual
value. Thus, the wool of Persia and Australia and the
fruit of the Iberian peninsula are important articles of
commerce. •

In Egypt one may see the results of irrigated lauds.
The area of geographical Egypt is somewhat less than half
a million square miles ; the habitable part of the country
is confined to a narrow strip, which, one or two places ex-
cepted, varies from three to six miles in width. In other
words, almost the whole population of the country is
massed in the flood-plain and delta of the Nile ; the re-
maining part is a desert producing practically nothing.

The water that makes these lands productive falls, not

34 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

in Egypt, but in the highlands of Abyssinia, 2,000 miles
away. The September overflow of the flood-plain is the
chief factor in the irrigation of these lands, but the area
has been greatly increased by the construction of barrages
and dams at Assiut and Assuan.

In the western highland region of the United States con-
siderable areas already have been made productive by irri-
gation, and it is estimated that about two million acres of
barren laud can be reclaimed by impounding the waters -of
the various streams now running to waste.

The distribution of rain with respect to the season in
which it falls is quite as important as its distribution with
respect to quantity. In tropical regions the ocean winds,
and therefore the rainfall, come from the east. The east-
ern slopes of such regions, therefore, have a season in
which rains may be expected daily, and another in which
no rain falls for several months. In the temperate zones
seasonal rains for a similar reason are on the western
coasts.

Thus on the Pacific coast of the United States the rain-
fall varies from about one hundred inches in southern
Alaska to about twelve in San Diego, Cal. Practically
all the rain falls between October and the following May ;
very little or none falls in the interval between May and
October, As a result, ordinary turf-grass, which will not
withstand long droughts, grows in only a few localities
of the Pacific slope. It is replaced by hardier grasses
whose roots, instead of forming turf, grow very deep in
the soil.

Common clover will not grow in this region unless irri-
gated ; it is replaced by burr-clover, a variety of the plant
that will not thrive in moist regions. Now the quality of
the merino wool clip of California depends in no slight
degree upon the burr-clover and other food-products that

- i

8 b

H D

5 Q

36 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

thrive in regions of seasonal rains; that is, a great com-
mercial industry exists because of this feature of rainfall^
and it could not long survive in spite of it.

The seasonal rainfall also affects other agricultural in-
dustries. The sacked wheat-crop may be left in the field
without cover or protection until the time is convenient
for shipping it. The absence of summer rains makes pos-
sible in California what would be out of question in the
Mississippi Valley, where a rainstorm may be expected
every few days.

The quality of certain fruits depends largely on the sea-
son during which the rainfall occurs. Apples, pears, and
grapes grown in regions having dry summers have usually
a very superior flavor. The raisin-making industry of
California also depends on the same condition, because, in
order to insure a good quality of the product, the bunches
of grapes, after picking, must be dried on the ground. To
a certain extent this is also true of other fruits, such as
dates, figs, and primes, which frequently are sun-dried.

The presence of large bodies of water, which both ab-
sorb and give out their heat very slowly, tempers the cli-
mate of the nearby land and to that extent modifies the
commerce of such districts. The grape-growing industry
of central New York is a great one and its product
is famous. Its existence depends almost wholly upon
the lake-tempered climate. Elsewhere in the State the
industry is on a precarious basis, and the product is
inferior.

Effects of Inclination of the Earth's Axis. — The in-
clination and self-parallelism of the earth's axis is un-
doubtedly a very important factor in climate. Practically
it more than doubles the width of the belts of ordinary
food-stuffs by lengthening the summer day in the temper-
ate zone. Beyond the tropics the obliquity of the sun's

CLIMATIC CONTROL OF COMMERCE 37

rays are more than balanced by the increased length of
time in which they fall.

Thus, in the latitude of St. Paul, the longest day is about
fifteen and one-half hours long ; at Liverpool it is nearly
seventeen hours long ; a greater number of heat units
therefore are received in these latitudes during summer
than are received in equatorial regions during the twelve-
hour day. Moreover, the summer temperature is higher
in these latitudes than in the torrid zone, because the sun
is shining upon them for a greater length of time.

The result of these various influences is far-reaching.
Because of the long summer days and short nights, wheat
can be cultivated to the sixtieth parallel. Corn, which
gets scarcely enough warmth and light in the torrid zone
to become a prolific crop, attains its greatest yield in the
latitude of fourteen -hour days.

These factors, it is evident, carry the grain and meat in-
dustries into regions that otherwise would not be habita-
ble. Because the long summer days produce these great
food-crops, commerce and its allied industries have reached
their maximum development in these regions. Human
activities are greatest in the zones bounded by the thirty-
fifth and fifty-fifth parallels, the zone that includes the
greater parts of the United States, Europe, China, Japan.
They are greatest, moreover, because of their geographical
position.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What would be the probable effect on the food-crops of the
United States were the main body of the country moved twenty
degrees north in latitude? Which would then be the wheat-
growing States, the cotton-producing States ?

Illustrate the connection between occupation and altitude
above sea-leveL

38 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

What difference would it make to the corn-crop were the days
and nights always twelve hours long?

What would be requisite to make Canada a centre of silk pro
duction?

Why is not cod-fishing an industry off the east coast of Flor-
ida?

Why is the greater part of the Russian Empire destined to b€
i3parsely peopled ?

FOR COLLATERAL REFERENCE

A rain chart of the world.
A chart of isothermal lines.

CHAPTER V
TRANSPORTATION— OCEAN AND INLAND NAVIGATION

OF all the adjustments which come into the lives of a
people none has been so far-reaching as the gradual local-
ization of industries each in the region best adapted to it.
For instance, manufacturing industries require power, but
not fertile soil; therefore the manufacturing industries
seek nearness to fuel or to water-power, and a position
available for quick transportation.

Fanning does not require any great amount of natural
power ; on the contrary, level land having a great depth of
fertile soil is the essential feature. The farmer must there-
fore look first of all to conditions of topography and cli-
mate, and secondly to the means of transporting his crop.

Mining cannot be an industry in regions destitute of
minerals ; the miner must therefore go whore the mineral
wealth is found, without regard to climate, soil, centres of
population, or topography. But two things are required —
the mineral products and the means of getting them to the
people — that is, ready means of transportation.

A century or more ago, each centre of population in the
United States was practically self-sustaining. Each grew
its own food-stuffs, and manufactured the articles used in
the household. But very little was required in the way
of transportation. The means of carriage were mainly
ox-carts, pack-horses, and rafts. There was a mutual in-
dependence among the various centres, it is true, but the
independence was at the expense of civilization and the
comforts of life.

OCEAN AND INLAND NAVIGATION 41

Beyond au independence that is more apparent than
real, such a plan of social and industrial organization has
but little in it to commend. Intercommunication increases
knowledge, and under the conditions that formerly pre-
vailed, there was alack of the breadth of knowledge that
comes with the mutual contact of peoples.

The utilization of national resources, such as the pro-
ductiveness of the land, the existence of iron ore, coal,
copper, and other economic minerals, finally brought
about the policy of a territorial division of industries.
This, in turn, made the prompt transportation and ex-
change of commodities essential ; indeed, without such a
plan, industrial centres could not long exist.

The man whose sole business is manufacture must look
to others for his supply of food-stuffs and raw materials,
and these are produced more economically at a distance
from the centre of manufacture. Thus England must look
to the United States for wheat and cotton, to the Austra-
lian Commonwealth for wool, and to New Zealand and the
United States for meat. Her chief wealth is in her coal
and iron, and these make the nation a great manufacturing
centre. So, also, the manufacturer of New York must go
to Pittsburg for steel, to Minneapolis for flour, and to
Chicago for beef.

The application of this principle is very broad ; it is the
foundation of all commerce, and it underlies modern civil-
i/ation. For this reason the question of transportation is
just as important to a community as the industries of agri-
culture, mining, and manufacture. Food-stuffs are of no
use unless they can be transported to the people who
want them ; nor can peoples remain in unproductive re-
gions unless the food-stuffs are brought to them.

The gross tonnage of goods is transported mainly in
one or another or all of three ways — namely, by animal

42 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

power, by railway, or by water. Thus, the cotton-crop of
the United States is usually transported by wagon from
the plantation to the nearest station or boat-landing ; by
rail or by barge to the nearest seaport ; and by ocean
steamship to the foreign seaport.

Water transportation is more economical than land car-
riage, for the reason that less power is required to move a
given tonnage through the water than on the most per-
fectly graded railway. Steamship freights, as a rule, are
lower than those of sailing-vessels, because a steamship
has more than twice the speed, and, being larger, can
carry a greater tonnage. Freight rates on the Great Lakes
are higher per ton-mile than on the ocean, because the
vessels are necessarily smaller than those built for ocean
traffic. For a similar reason, river and canal freights are
higher than lake freights. Railway transportation is eco-
nomical, partly because a single locomotive will draw an
enormous weight of goods, and partly because of the high
speed at which the goods move from point to point.
Animal transportation is more expensive than any other
means ordinarily employed.

Ocean Transportation. — In many respects, water-
routes form the most available and economical methods of
transportation. Intercontinental commerce must be car-
ried on by means of deep-water vessels. Therefore an ex-
traordinary development of ocean carriers has taken place
in the past century.

One important period of development began with the
rise of American commerce. Just after the close of the
War for Independence, it was found that deep-water
ships could be built of New England timber for thirty-five
dollars per ton, rated tonnage, while a vessel of the same
burden built in Europe cost about forty-five dollars per
unit of tonnage. Two types of vessels came into use —

44 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

one, the clipper ship with square sails, was used for long
ocean voyages; the other, the schooner, with fore-and-
aft rigging, was employed mainly in the coast-trade.

In speed and ease of management these vessels sur-
passed anything that had ever sailed. In time they became

Britannia Persia Paris Kaiser Wilhclm, II.

1840 1855 1889 1903

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODERN STEAMSHIP

the standards for the sailing-vessels of all the great com-
mercial nations. The types of the vessels are still standards.
The Development of the Steamship. — Another im-
portant era in ocean commerce began when steam was
used as a motive power for vessels. The first deep-water
vessel thus to be propelled was the Savannah. Her steam-
power was merely incidental, however, and her paddle-
wheels were unshipped and taken aboard when there was

OCEAN AND INLAND NAVIGATION 45

enough wind for sailing. Up to 1860 almost all the
ocean steamships were side-wheelers, propelled by low-
pressure beam-engines.

The next most important improvement was the screw-
blade propeller, placed astern. This means of propulsion
called for higher speed of the engines, and in a very short
time compactly built high-pressure engines took the place
of the low-pressure engine witli its heavy walking-beam.
The latter carried steam at a pressure varying from twenty
to thirty-two pounds; the modern boiler has steam at
260 pounds per square inch.

Ocean steamships have gradually evolved into two types.
The freighter, broad in beam and capacious, is built to
carry an enormous amount of freight at a moderate speed.
The White Star liner Celtic is a vessel of this class ; her
schedule time between New York and Liverpool is about
nine days. The Philadelphia of the American line, though
not the fastest stearn-ship, makes the same trip in an aver-
age time of five and one-half days.*

Twin-screws, instead of a single propeller, are employed
on nearly all the large liners. The gain in speed is not
greatly increased, but the vessel is far more manage-
able with two screws than with one ; moreover, if one
engine breaks down, the vessel can make excellent time
with the other.

Triple-expansion engines are almost universally used on
modern steamships, and a pound of coal now makes about
three times as much steam available as in the engines
formerly used. As a result a bushel of wheat is now car-
ried from Fargo, N. Dak., to Liverpool for about twenty-
one cents — less than one-half the freight tariff of 1876.

* The record time of the passage between Daunts Rock, Queenstown,
and Sandy Hook Light has been lowered in successive decades to a few
hours less than five days; the average speed of the fastest steamships
over the course of 2,800 nautical miles is very nearly 24.3 knots.

OCEAN AND INLAND NAVIGATION 47

The fastest liners consume from three hundred and fifty
to more than four hundred tons of coal a day, and for each
additional knot of speed the amount of coal burned must
be greatly increased. Freighters like the Celtic consume
scarcely more than half as much as those of the Kaiser
Wilhelin II. type.

Sailing-Craft.— In spite of the growth and development
of steam- navigation, a large amount of freight is still
carried by sailing-craft ; moreover, it is not unlikely that
the relative proportion of ocean freight carried by sailing-
vessels will increase rather than decrease, especially in the
case of imperishable freight.

The square-rigged ship, or bark, has been very largely
replaced by the fore-and-aft, or schooner-rigged vessel. A
large full-rigged ship requires a crew of thirty to thirty-
six men ; a schooner-rigged vessel needs from sixteen to
twenty. These vessels are commonly built with three and
four masts ; some of the largest have six or seven. They
carry as many as five thousand tons of freight at a speed
of about ten knots — only a trifle less than that of an ordi-
nary tramp freighter. Some of the larger vessels are pro-
vided with auxiliary engines and propelling apparatus,
which enables them to enter or to leave port Avithout the
assistance of a tug. Donkey-engines hoist and lower the
sails, and perform the work of loading and unloading.
They are admirable colliers and grain-carriers.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, about ninety
thousand sailing-craft and thirty-five thousand steam-
vessels were required to carry the world's commerce. Of
this number, Great Britain and her colonies register
nearly thirty-five thousand, and the United States over
twenty thousand.

HARBOR SAFEGUARDS. — Excepting the open anchorages
formed by angles in coast-lines, the greater number of harbors

48 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

consist of small coves and river-mouths. In these, although
there may be a considerable area of water, there is not apt to be
much sailing room ; it is therefore necessary to mark off the navi-
gable channels. For this purpose buoys of different shapes and
colors are used by day ; by night fixed and flashing lights are em-
ployed.

The buoys of permanent channels are usually hollow metal
cylinders or cones about two feet in diameter, anchored so that
the end of the cylinder projects about three feet above the
water. On entering a channel from the seaward, red buoys are
on the starboard, or right hand ; white buoys are kept on the
port, or left side. Buoys at the end of a channel are usually sur-
mounted each by some device or other fastened at the upper end
of a perch. Thus, at the outer entrance of Gedney Channel in
New York Harbor, a ball surmounts the perch ; at the inner en-
trance the buoy carries a double square. Sharp angles in a
channel are similarly marked. In many instances the buoy car-
ries, as a warning signal, a bell that rings as the buoy is rocked
by the waves ; in others, a whistle that sounds by the air which
the rocking motion compresses within the cylinder ; still others
carry electric or gas lights.

The color of a buoy is an index of its character. Thus, one
with black and red stripes indicates danger ; one with black and
white vertical stripes is a channel-marker. Temporary channels
are frequently marked by pieces of spar floating upright. In
some cases it is customary to set untrimmed tree-tops on the port,
and trimmed sticks on the starboard.

Light-houses are built at all exposed points of navigated
coast-waters, and beacons are set at all necessary points within a
harbor for use at night. All lights are kept burning from sunset
until sunrise. The color, the duration, and the intervals of
flashing indicate the position of the beacon. In revolving lights
the beams, concentrated by powerful lenses, sweep the horizon as
the lantern about the light revolves. Flashing lights are pro-
duced when the light is obscured at given intervals. Fixed
lights burn with a steady flame. In some instances a sector of
colored glass is set so as to cover a given part of a channel. Range
lights, set so tnat one shows directly above the other, are used as
channel-markers.

The use of lights may be seen as a vessel enters New York

City of
NEAV T

and Ylrinity,

with
Hurlxir Approaches

50 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Lower Bay. A steamship drawing not more than eighteen feet of
water may enter through Swash Channel (follow the course on
the chart). In this ease the pilot makes for Scotland light-
ship, and merely keeps New Dorp and Elmtree beacons in range,
giving Dry Roiner a wide berth to starboard, until Chapel Hill
and Conover beacons come into range on his port side. The
vessel is then held on a course between Coney Island and Fort
Tompkins lights until Robbins Reef light shows ahead.

For the liners that draw more than eighteen feet the task is
more difficult, inasmuch as the channel is tortuous. At Sandy
Hook lightship a course lying nearly west takes the vessel to
the outer entrance of Gedney Channel, marked by two buoy-
lights. In passing between the lights the vessel enters the chan-
nel, which is also covered by the red sector of Hook beacon. The
pilot continues between the buoy-lights until Waacaack and
Point Comfort beacons are in range, and steers to this range un-
til South Beacon and Sandy Hook light are in range astern. The
helm is then turned, keeping these lights in range astern until
Chapel Hill and Conover beacons are in range on the port bow.
Turning northward nearly eight points, the pilot holds the bow
of the vessel between Fort Tompkins and Coney Island lights,
keeping sharply to his range astern, until Robbins Reef light
comes into view through the narrows. From this point on, the
shore lights are the pilot's chief guide.

So difficult are harbor entrances, that in most cases the under-
writers will not insure a vessel unless the latter is taken from
the outer harbor to the dock by a licensed pilot, and the latter
must spend nearly half a lifetime as an apprentice before he re-
ceives a license. The charges for pilotage are usually regulated
by the number of feet the vessel draws. The charges differ in
various ports, but the devices for marking and lighting the chan-
nels are much the same in every part of the world. In the United
Siates all navigable channels are under the control of the gen-
eral Government.

Inland Waters. — Lakes, rivers, and canals furnish a
very important means of transportation. In Europe and
Canada an enormous amount of slow freight is transported
by their use ; in China they are the most important means
of internal traffic.

52 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

In the United States the Great Lakes with the Erie Canal
and Hudson River form the most important internal water,
way, and by them the continent is penetrated as far west
as Duluth, a distance of more than one thousand three
hundred miles. The traffic passing out of Lake Superior
alone is about one-third greater than that passing out of
the Mediterranean Sea at the Suez Canal. Much of this
traffic goes across the continent, and the route in question
is one of the great commercial highways of the world.

The Mississippi River and its branches afford not far
from ten thousand miles of navigable waters. Canals con-
nect tributaries of this river with the Great Lakes at Chi-
cago and at several points in Ohio. The development of
the navigation of this great waterway was checked by the
Civil War, and after the close of the war the great advance
in railway building kept its improvement in the background.
The general government, nevertheless, has done much to
encourage the use of the Mississippi as a commercial high-
way, and many millions of dollars have been spent in widen-
ing and deepening its channel.* On the upper river grain
and lumber form the chief traffic ; on the lower part a large
part of the world's cotton-crop starts on its journey to the
various markets.

On account of the soft-coal fields and the steel manu-
facture in western Pennsylvania, the commerce of the Ohio
Biver is very heavy, aggregating not far from fifteen
million tons yearly. Much of this traffic extends to ports
on the Mississippi.

The navigable parts of the Hudson and Delaware Rivers
are estuaries of the sea or " drowned valleys." In each
case navigation extends about to the limits of high tide.
Both rivers carry a heavy freight commerce ; the Hudson

* In Congress the River and HarDor Bill always receives a generoua
appropriation.

OCEAN AND INLAND NAVIGATION 63

has a passenger traffic of several million fares each year.
Nearly every river of the Atlantic coast is navigable to
the limit of high tide or a little beyond. Navigation ex-
tends to the point where the coast-plain joins the foothills.
Above this limit, called the " Fall Line," the streams are
swift and shallow ; below it they are deep and sluggish.
As a result, a chain of important river ports extends along
the Fall Line from Maine to Florida.

River-navigation in Europe in the main is inseparably
connected with the great canal systems. As a rule, the
lower parts of the rivers are navigable for steamboats of
light draught. Some of the smaller streams are made
navigable by means of a long steel chain, which is laid
along the bed of the stream ; the boat engages the chain
by means of heavy sprocket wheels driven by steam, and
thus wind the boat up and down the river.

Ocean steamers penetrate the Amazon Valley to a dis-
tance of one thousand miles from its mouth ; boats of light
draught ascend the main stream and some of its tributaries
a thousand miles farther. The Orinoco is navigable within
me hundred miles of Bogota. Light-draught boats ascend
ihe tributaries of La Plata River a distance of fifteen hun-
dred miles.

The Asian rivers that are important highways of com-
merce are few in number. The Amur, Yangtze, Indus, and
Cambodia have each considerable local commerce. The
Hugli, a channel in the delta of the Ganges, has a channel
deep enough for ocean steamships. The tributaries of the
Lena, Yenisei, and Ob have been of the greatest service in
the commercial development of northern Asia from the fact
that their valleys are both level and fertile.

Becaiise of a high interior and abrupt slopes, the rivers
of Africa are not suitable for navigation to any considerable
extent; the channels are uncertain and the rivers are inter-

54 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

rupted by rapids. The Nile has au occasional steamboat
service as far as the " First Cataract," but in high water the
service is sometimes extended farther. The Kongo has a
long stretch of navigable water, but is interrupted by rap-
ids below Stanley Pool. Similar conditions obtain in the
Zambezi. The lower part of the Senegal affords good
navigation. The Niger has in many respects greater com-
mercial possibilities than other rivers of Africa. It is navi-
gable to a distance of three hundred miles.

Canals. — Canals easily rank among the most important
means of traffic, as a rule, supplementing other navigable
waters. Thus, by means of an elaborate system of ca-
nals, goods are transferred by water, from one river-basin
to another, so that practically all the navigable streams
of western Europe are connected. Canals are extensively
used to avoid the falls or rapids that separate the various
reaches of rivers. The water itself by means of locks lifts
the boat to a higher level or transfers it to a lower reach,
thus saving the expense of unloading, transferring, and re-
loading a cargo.

The manner in which canals supplement the obstructed
navigation of a river is seen in the case of the St. Law-
rence. This river is obstructed in several places by rapids,
but by means of canals steamship service connects the
Great Lakes, not only with Quebec, but with ports of the
Mediterranean Sea as well ; indeed, it is possible to send a
cargo from Duluth, at the head of Lake Superior, to Odessa
or Batum, on the shores of the Black Sea.

The internal water-ways of Canada have been splendidly
developed. The Canadian St. Marys Canal furnishes an
outlet to Lake Superior for vessels drawing twenty-one
feet. The Welland Canal connects Lakes Erie and On-
tario. The Eideau Canal and River connect Kingston and
Lake Ontario with the Ottawa, and the latter with its ca-

OCEAN AND INLAND NAVIGATION 66

nals is navigable to the St. Lawrence. With a population
of less than six millions the Dominion Government has
spent nearly one hundred million dollars in the improve-
ment of internal water-ways.

In the United States the possible development of canals
has been neglected and, to a certain extent, stifled by rail-
way building. The Erie Canal, built before the advent of
the railway, connects Lake Erie with tide-water at Albany,

PROFILE OF ERIE CANAL

HORIZONTAL SCALE IOO MILES TO THE INCH, VERTICAL SCALE I,OOO FEET TO THE INCH

a distance of 387 miles. For many years it was the chief
means of traffic between the Mississippi Valley and the
Atlantic seaboard, and although paralleled by the six tracks
of a great railway system, it is still an important factor in
the carriage of grain and certain classes of slow freight.*
The level way that made the canal possible is largely
responsible for the decline of its importance, for the ab-
sence of steep grades enables a powerful locomotive to

* In many Instances goods designed for the spring trade In the Western
States are started via the canal in October, reaching their destination at
Chicago some time in April, the cargo having been frozen up in one or
another of the canal basins during the winter. The rate paid for this slow
transit is considerably less than the amount which otherwise would have
been paid for storage ; moreover, it is nearly all clear profit to the canal
boatmen.

66 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

haul so many cars that the quick transit more than over-
balances a very low ton rate by the canal.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, designed to connect
the Mississippi Valley with the Atlantic seaboard, fared
much worse than the Erie Canal. Less than two hundred
miles have been completed, and practically no work except
that of repair has been done since 1850 ; the heavy grades
between Cumberland and Pittsburg render its completion
improbable.

An excellent system of canals, the Ohio and Erie and
the Miami and Erie, connect the Ohio Biver with Lake
Erie. These canals are in the State of Ohio and aggregate
about six hundred miles in length. They are important
as coal and ore carriers. Several hundred miles of canals
were built along the river-valleys of eastern Pennsylvania
before 1840 for carrying coal to tide-water. Most of them
have been abandoned ; one, the Delaware & Hudson Ca-
nal Co., survives as a railway. Inasmuch as the coal went
on a down grade from the mines to the markets, it could be
carried more economically by railway than by canal.

Of far greater importance are the St. Marys Canal on
the Canadian side, and the St. Marys Falls Canal on the
American side, of St. Marys Kiver. These canals obviate
the falls in St. Marys Biver and form the commercial out-
let of Lake Superior. The tonnage of goods, mainly iron
ore and coal, is about one-half greater than that of the Suez
Canal. About twenty-five thousand vessels pass through
these canals yearly.

The Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal,* from Lake
Michigan to Lockport, on the Illinois Biver, was designed

'The minimum depth of the canal is 22 feet; its width at the bottom is
160 feet. It was begun September, 1892, and completed January 2, 1902,
at a cost of thirty-four million dollars. More than forty million cubic yards
of earth and rock were excavated. All the bridges crossing it are movable.

OCEAN AND INLAND NAVIGATION 67

mainly to carry the sewage of Chicago which, prior to the
construction of the canal, was poured into the lake through
the Chicago River. The completion of the canal turned
the course of the river and caused the water to flow out of
the lake, carrying the city's sewage. It is intended to
complete a navigable water-way from Chicago to St. Louis
deep enough for vessels drawing fourteen feet. Its value
is therefore strategic as well as industrial, for by means
of it gun-boats may readily pass from the Gulf of Mexico
to the Great Lakes.

Oceanic canals are designed both for naval strategic
purposes and for industrial uses. Thus, the Kaiser "Wil-
hehn Canal, from the mouth of the Elbe to Kiel Bay,
across the base of Jutland, saves two days between Ham-
burg and the Baltic ports. It also enables German war-
vessels to concentrate quickly in either the North or the
Baltic Sea. The Manchester Ship Canal makes Manches-
ter a seaport and saves the cost of trans-shipping freights
by rail from Liverpool. The Corinth Canal across the
isthmus that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of
Greece affords a much shorter route between Italian ports
and Odessa. The North Holland Ship Canal makes Am-
sterdam practically a seaport.

Probably no other highway of commerce since the dis-
covery of the Cape route around Africa has caused such a
great change and readjustment of trade between Europe
and Asia as the Suez Canal. Sailing-vessels still take the
Cape route, because the heavy towage tolls through the
canal more than offset the gain in time. Steamships have
their own power and generally take the canal route, thereby
saving about ten days in time and fuel, and about four
thousand eight hundred miles in distance. In spite of
the heavy tolls the saving is considerable. About three
thousand five hundred vessels pass through the canal yearly.

68 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

The Suez Canal, constructed by Ferdinand de Lesseps,
for some time was under the control of French capitalists.
Subsequently, by the purchase of stock partly in open mar-
ket and partly from the Khedive of Egypt, the control of
the canal passed into the hands of the English. The re-
strictions placed upon the passage of war-ships is such that
the canal would be of little use to nations at war.

THE ROUTE OF THE PANAMA CANAL

The necessity of an interoceauic canal across the Amer-
ican continent has become more imperative year by year
for fifty years. The discovery of gold in California caused
an emigration from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast which
resulted in a permanent settlement of the latter region. A
railway across the Isthmus of Panama and another across
the Isthmus of Tehuantepec have afforded very poor means
of communication between oceans.

In 1881 work on a tide level canal across the Isthmus of

OCEAN AND INLAND NAVIGATION 69

Panama was begun, but the plan was afterward changed
to a high-level canal. The change was thought necessary
partly on account of the great cost of the former, and
partly because of the difficulties of constructing so deep a
cut — about three hundred and forty feet — at the summit of
tlie Culebra ridge. The construction company, after spend-
ing the entire capital — about one hundred and twenty
million dollars — in accomplishing one-tenth of the work,
became bankrupt. The United States subsequently pur-
chased the franchise.

A canal by way of Lake Nicaragua has also been pro-
jected, and two treaties with Great Britain, whereby the
United States agreed to build no fortifications to guard it,
have been made. No work beyond the surveys has yet
been undertaken, however. The cost of each canal is esti-
mated between one hundred and fifty million and two
hundred million dollars. The Panama route will require
about twelve hours for the passage of a vessel ; the Nica-
ragua route about sixty hours.* (See map, p. 270.)

The completion of a canal by either route will cause a
readjustment of the world's commerce far greater than that
which followed the construction of the Suez Canal. By
such a route San Francisco is brought nearer to London
than Calcutta now is, and the all-water route between the
Atlantic ports of the United States and those of China and
Japan will be shortened by upward of eight thousand miles.
The importance of the Hawaiian Islands, already a great
ocean depot, will be greatly increased, and the latter is be-
coming one of the great commercial stations of the world.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What were some of the effects which resulted from the various
embargo and non-intercourse acts that preceded the war of 1812 ?

* This is on the supposition that night travel will be too dangerous a
risk. With a continuous travel the time would be about thirty-three hours.

60 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

What is the effect upon an industry when all means of getting
the products to market are cut off ?

In the early history of the country rivers were the most impor-
tant highways of commerce ; obtain an account of some instance
of this in detail.

Certain commodities have been carried about four-fifths of the
distance between Moscow and Vladivostok by water, across Si-
beria. Illustrate this, using the map of the Russian Empire,
plate, p. 342.

What has been the effect of cheap steel on ocean navigation ?

Discuss the difference between a screw-steamship and a side-
wheeler ; a ship and a schooner. How are vessels steered ?

How does a triple-expansion engine differ from an ordinary
steam-engine ?

Cargoes are carried by water across Europe from Havre to Mar-
seilles, and from The Hague to the mouth of the Danube ; illus-
trate the route on a map of Europe.

The following instruction occasionally is found in the pilot-
house of a vessel — what is its meaning?

" Green to green and red to red—
Perfect safety ; go ahead."

From the chart on p. 49 show how a pilot uses the range lights
in entering New York Harbor.

The new freighter Minnesota is designed to carry a load of
30,000 tons ; how many trains of fifty cars, each car holding 30,000
pounds, are required to furnish her cargo?

From the map on pp. x — xi describe the new ocean routes that
will be created by an interoceanic canal across the American
continent,

FOR COLLATERAL REFERENCE

Photographs or illustrations of various steam and sailing craft.
An Atlantic Coast Pilot Chart— any month.
A map showing the canals of the United States.
A map showing the canals of Europe.

CHAPTEE YI

TRANSPORTATION— RAILWAYS AND RAILWAY OR-
GANIZATION ; PUBLIC HIGHWAYS

IN the United States and western Europe, in spite of
the low cost of water transportation, the railways have al-
most wholly monopolized the transportation of commod-
ities. This is due in part to the saving of time in transit
— for under the demands of modern business, the only
economy is economy of time — and in part to prompt de-
livery at the specified time.

Into a large centre of population like New York, Lon-
don, or Berlin, many millions of pounds of perishable food-
stuffs must be brought daily for consumption. Now these
food-stuffs must be delivered with promptness, and no de-
lay can be tolerated. A shipper having half a million
pounds of meat or a hundred thousand pounds of flour
or a car-load of fruit to deliver can take no risks ; he
sends it by rail, not only because it is the quickest way,
but because experience has shown it to be the most prompt
way ; as a rule, it is delivered on the exact minute of
schedule time.

Cargoes of silks and teas from China and Japan might be
sent all the way to London by water, but experience has
shown a more profitable way. The consignments are sent
by swift steamships to Seattle ; thence by fast express
trains to New York ; there they are transferred to swift
liners that take them across the Atlantic to European ports.
And although this method of shipment is enormously ex-

RAILWAYS AND HIGHWAYS 63

pensive as compared with the all- water route, the saving of
time and certainty of prompt delivery more than offset the
extra cost of delivery.

In the last half of the nineteenth century the cost of
haulage in the United States by rail decreased so materi-
ally that in a few instances only — notably the Great
Lakes and the Hudson River — do inland waters com-
pete with the railways.* This is due in part to better
organization of the railways, but mainly to the substitu-
tion of Bessemer steel for iron rails and the great improve-
ments in locomotives and rolling stock.

The use of a steam-driven locomotive became possible
for the first time when Stephenson used the tubular
boiler and the forced draught,! thereby making steam
rapidly enough for a short, quick stroke. In 1865 a good
freight locomotive weighing thirty tons could haul about
forty box-cars, each loaded with ten tons. This was the
maximum load for a level track ; the average load for a
single locomotive was about twenty-five or thirty cars.
Heavier locomotives could not well be used because the
iron rails went to pieces under them.

The invention of Bessemer steel produced a rail that
was safe under the pounding of a locomotive three or four
times as heavy as those formerly crapped ; it produced
boilers that would carry steam at 250 instead of 60 pounds
pressure per square inch. As a result, with only a moder-
ate increase in the fuel burned, a single locomotive on a

* On one great trunk system the average ton-mile rate in 1870 was one
and one-seventh cents; in 1!)00 it was just one-half that sum-

f The modern steam-making hoiler has from thirty to one hundred or
more tubes passing through it from end to end. The heat from the fire-
box as a rule passes under the boiler and through the tubular flues; it
thus increases the heating surface very greatly. The forced draught is
made by allowing the exhaust steam to escape into the smokestack, there-
by increasing the draught through the fire box.

64 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

i'evel track will haul eighty or ninety box-cars, each car-
rying nearly seventy thousand pounds.*

The application of the double and the triple expansion
principle has been quite as successful with locomotive as
with marine engines in saving fuel and gaining power-
that is, it has decreased the cost per ton- mile of hauling
freight and likewise the cost of transporting passengers.
Enlarged "fire-boxes," or furnaces, f enable steam to be
made more rapidly and to give higher speed.^ Only a
few years ago forty-eight hours was the scheduled time
between New York and Chicago; now there are about
forty trains a day between these two cities, several of
which make the trip in twenty-four hours or less.

Railway Development. — The railway as a common
carrier, having its right by virtue of a government charter,
dates from 1801, when a tramway was built between Croy-
dou and AVaudsworth, two suburbs of London. The rails
were iron straps, nailed to wooden stringers. The charter
was carefully drawn in order to prevent the road from
competing with omuibus lines and public cabs.

* A single locomotive of the New York Central has hauled 4,000 tons
of freight at a speed of twenty-five miles an hour. A " eamel-back " of
the Philadelphia & Heading hauled 4,800 tons of coal from the mines to
tide-water without a helper.

f The Vanderhilt hoiler with cylindrical corrugated fire-box invented by
Cornelius Vanderbilt, great-grandson of the founder of the New York
Central, marks an important step in locomotive building. The cylindri-
cal form largely obviates the necessity of an array of stay-bolts to pre-
vent warping; the corrugated surface gives greater heating power.

J The Central-Atlantic type of locomotive illustrates a modern improve-
ment. The driving-wheels are placed a little forward of their usual po-
sition, while the fire-box, formerly set between the wheels, now overhangs
each side of a pair of low trailing-wheels. By this means the heating
surface of the fire-box is increased nearly one-half. A lever controlled
by the engineer enables the latter to transfer 5,000 pounds weight from
the trucks to the driving-wheels when a grade is to be surmounted. The
daily run of such a locomotive is greatly increased. (See cut, p. 62.)

KAxLWAYS AND HIGHWAYS 65

When the steam locomotive succeeded horse-power, how-
ever, there followed an era of railway development that in a
few years revolutionized the carrying trade in the thickly
settled parts of the United States and Europe. Short, in-
dependent lines were constructed without any reference
whatever to the natural movement of traffic. There seemed
but one idea, namely, to connect two cities or towns. In-
deed, the absence of a definite plan was much similar to
that of the interurban electric roads a century later ; local
traffic was the only consideration.

At first an opinion prevailed that the road-bed of the
railway ought to be a public highway upon which any in-
dividual or company might run its own conveyances, on
the payment of a fixed toll ; indeed, in both Europe and
the United States, public opinion could see no difference
between the railway and the canal. The employment of
a steam-driven locomotive engine, however, made such a
plan impossible, and demonstrated that the roads must
be thoroughly organized.

At the close of 1850 there were nearly four hundred
different railway companies in England ; in the United
States about a dozen companies were required to make the
connection of New York City and Buffalo. A few of these
paid dividends ; a large majority barely met their operating
expenses, defaulting the interest on their bonds ; a great
many were hopelessly bankrupt.

Consolidation of Connecting Lines. — Between 1850
and 1865 a new featiire entered into railway management,
namely, the union of connecting lines. This was a posi-
tive advantage, for the operating expenses of the sixteen
lines, now a part of the New York Central, between New
York and Buffalo were scarcely greater than the expenses
of one-third that number. The service was much quicker,
better, and cheaper. In England the several hundred

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

companies were reduced to twelve ; in France the thirty-
five or more companies were reduced to six in number.

The consolidation of connecting lines brought about an-
other desirable feature — the extension of the existing lines.*
The lines of continental Europe were extended eastward to
the Russian frontier, and to Constantinople ; then the Alps
were surmounted. In the United States railway extension
was equally great. The Union and Central Pacific railways

A TRUNK SYSTEM—

THE VARIOUS BRANCHES EXTEND INTO COAL, GRAIN, IRON. CATTLE,
TIMBER, AND TOBACCO REGIONS

were opened in 1869, giving the first all-rail route to the
Pacific coast. Other routes to the Pacific followed within
a few years, one of which, the Canadian Pacific, was built
from Quebec to Vancouver.

* A line from Vienna to Triest was opened about 1854 ; Germany was
joined to Italy across Brenner Pass in 1868 ; France was connected with
Italy through a tunnel near Mont Cenis in 1871 ; in 1882 the traffic of
Germany was opened to Mediterranean ports by a tunnel under St. Gottb-
ard. In this manner trunk systems have gradually developed.

RAILWAYS AND HIGHWAYS 67

The period from 1864 was one of extensive railway
building both in the United States and Europe. Some of
the roads, such as the transalpine railways of Europe and
the Pacific roads of the United States, were greatly
needed. Others that created new fields of industry by
opening to communication productive lands were also wise
and necessary ; the lauds would have been valueless with-
out them. Not a few lines that were to be needed in time
were built so far ahead of time that they did not even pay
their operating expenses for many years.

Another class of roads was intended for speculative pur-
poses. Thus, there were instances in which a line occu-
pying a given territory had antagonized its patrons by poor
service, and extortionate charges. Thereupon another
company would obtain a charter — which was then easily
done — and build a competing line in the same territory,
the former most likely having scarcely enougli business
for one road.* The results were almost always the same;
a war of rate-cutting followed ; the stockholders of both
roads lost heavily ; and one or both went into the hands
of receivers.

Competition and Pools. — In many instances the con>
solidation of roads, while cutting off disastrous competi-
tion in the territory jointly occupied by the two roads,
brought the consolidated road into fierce competition with
another adjacent system. If the roads had practically the
same territory but different terminals the competition was
confined mainly to local traffic. On the other hand, they
might have the same terminals but cover different local
territories; in this case the roads must compete for

* The building of the West Shore Railroad is an illustration. After
botli roads had suffered tremendous losses the New York Central settled
the matter by purchasing the West Shore. This was one of a great num-
ber of similar cases both iu the United States and Europe.

68 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

through traffic. Thus the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
is brought into competition with the Union Pacific in
Nebraska, but inasmuch as the roads have different
and widely distant terminals, their local traffic is easily
adjusted. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the
Northwestern have common terminals at Chicago, St.
Paul, Denver, Omaha, and Kansas City. They must
therefore compete with each other, and with half-a-doaen
other roads for their through traffic.

Competition between railways differs greatly from that
between two firms. If one of two firms cannot afford to
compete, the manager may discharge his help, and close
doors ; he then does not suffer actual loss. But a railway,
being a common carrier, cannot do this ; the road must
keep its trains moving or lose its charter. If it cannot
carry goods at a profit it must carry them at cost or at a
loss. Even the latter is better than not carrying them at
all, for the operating expenses of the road must go on.

So between 1870 and 1880 most of the railway manage-
ments were busy devising ways to stop a rate-cutting and
competition that was ruinous. In many instances great
trunk lines would have consolidated had not State laws
prevented. They could not maintain rates because one or
another of the weaker roads would be compelled to lower
their rates in order to meet their operating expenses.
Therefore they were compelled to do one of three things,
namely, to divide the territory, to divide traffic, or to
divide earnings. Either of the two latter plans is called a
pool.

Of these two forms of pooling the division of the traffic
is the easier, but it is often unsatisfactory to the patrons
of the road. The second plan, the division of the earn-
ings, is a more difficult matter to adjust because each road
is usually dissatisfied with its proportion. As a matter of

RAILWAYS AND HIGHWAYS 69

fact, however, the first plan of pooling is very apt to grow
into the second.

In several instances pools have been declared illegal by
the courts, but, in general, railway service has been more
satisfactory under the pool system than under any other.
They have always aroused popular suspicion, however,
from the fact that they increase power of the railway it-
self. In various instances important trunk lines have
formed a general company, each having its separate organ-
ization, because they could accomplish under a combined
organization what they could not as independent com-
panies. The restrictions against pooling have therefore
encouraged combination of competing lines.

Because the railway is an absolute necessity, and be-
cause it has power given neither to individuals nor to other
corporations, it is a settled policy that both the State and
general Government should have the power to regulate its
rates, and should in every way prevent unjust discrimina-
tion. Both problems are very difficult, however, and the
unintelligent adjustment of rates has frequently resulted
in in justice both to the roads and their patrons.

A rate per ton-mile for each class of freight is out of
question, because a large part of the cost to the company
consists in loading, handling, and storing the goods. Once
aboard the car, it costs but little more to carry a ton of
freight one hundred miles than to move it one mile. The
rates per mile, therefore, are necessarily greater for short
distances than for long runs. A mile-rate based on a ten-
mile haul would be prohibitive to the shipper if applied
to a run between Chicago and New York. On the other
hand, were the charges based on the long run, the local
rates would be far less than the cost of the service.*

*In Great Britain the ton-rate is about $2.30 per hundred miles; in
Germany, .«il.7">; in Russia, $1.30; in the United States, $0.70. The
difference is due as much to the length of distance hauled as to econom-
ical management.

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

As a result freight rates are based very largely on the
cost of the service, and this is particularly true of local
freights. This practice is also modified by charging what
the traffic will bear, and, on the whole, a combination of the
two ideas gives the most reasonable and the fairest method
of basing charges. Thus, a car filled with fine, crated fur-
niture, which is light and bulky, can afford a higher rate
than one filled with scrap-iron. Cars filled with grain,
lumber, coal, or ore are made up in train-loads, and form a
part of the daily haul ; they can afford to be taken at a
lower rate than the stuffs of which only an occasional car-
load is hauled. In order to adjust this problem it is cus-
tomary to divide freights into six general classes.

Montreal

Chicago

Buffalo

Pittsburg

THE PROBLEM OF FREIGHT RATES

In handling through freights the problems are many,
and, if two or more roads have the same terminal points, a
great deal of friction of necessity results. The longest
roads must either make their through rates lower than local
rates between distant points, or lose much of their through
. business. They cannot afford to do the latter and the stat-
utory laws may forbid the former. As a result the laws
most likely are evaded, or else openly disobeyed.*

*Thup, A, B, and C are roads whose chief terminal points are, Chicago
and New York City. The road C is the shortest of the three lines, but its
grades are very heavy. B is, say, one hundred miles longer, but has no

RAILWAYS AND HIGHWAYS 71

The difficulties in adjusting the matter of the long and
the short haul, as has been shown, have caused the forma-
tion of pools and various other traffic associations, the ob-
ject of which has been to prevent rate-wars. To this ex-
heavy grades. A is a very indirect route, and its New York traffic must be
trans-shipped at Boston, or perhaps at New London, and sent a part of the
way hy water. If now an absolute ton-mile rate is fixed for either road, it
is evident that neither of the others can carry through freight without al-
tering rates. If C fixes a rate, then A and B must either charge higher
rates between Chicago and Montreal, or Chicago and Albany, than be-
tween their terminals. And although this is illegal in most States, the
laws are evaded by " rebate," or repayment of a certain sum to the ship-
per. Of the three roads B, on account of easy grades, is in the best posi-
tion to fix rates. It therefore makes, not the lowest rate, but the one
that will yield the best returns. C conforms to this, and A takes what it
can get, hauling at a very small profit. But if A happens to be outside of
the limits of the United States, it may openly cut rates, because pretty
nearly all the through freight it gets is clear profit, and inasmuch as none
of the laws of a State apply to the Canadian portion of the road, it may
do what the others cannot. And while B is struggling with A, the three
roads X, Y, and Z are perhaps endeavoring to have some of the freight
sent from Buffalo eastward over their own lines. In instances similar to
the foregoing it is customary for B and C to divide the through business
and to allow a " differential" to A — that is, on account of its slower de-
livery of through freight, to carry it at a slightly lower rate B then ad-
justs its traffic with X, Y, and Z in a similar manner; and on the whole
this is the fairest way to all concerned.

The following, one of many instances, shows the difficulties in fixing
rates that will not be unjust to either party : Danville and Lynchburg com-
pete for a certain trade. The Southern Railway passes through both cities,
but the Chesapeake & Ohio makes Lynchburg by another route ; Danville,
therefore, is not a competing point, while Lynchburg is. As a result, the
Southern Railway charged $1.08 for a certain traffic from Chicago to Dan-
ville and only 72 cents to Lynchburg, some distance beyond, this being
the rate over the other road. The matter finally reached the Court of
Appeals, and the latter sustained the Southern Railway. The rate to Dan-
ville was shown to be not excessive, but if the railway were required to
muintain a rate to Lynchburg higher than 72 cents, it would lose all its
traffic to that point, amounting to $433,000 yearly. In a case of this kind
there can be no help except by a consolidation of the two roads; by virtue
of the consolidation all the Lynchburg freight will then go over the line
having the easiest haul.

72 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

tent they resulted in positive good, for a rate-war in the
end is apt to be as hurtful to the community as to the rail-
way company. The attempt to settle such questions has
also resulted in a great deal of legislation. Some of this
has been wise and good ; but not a little has been hurtful
both to the railroads and to the community. The general
result is seen in the great combination of competing lines
and, more recently, of competing systems.

Passenger Service. — Passenger traffic is more easily
managed than the movement of freight. For the greater
part the rates are fixed by law. On a few eastern roads
local rates are two cents per mile ; in the main, however,
a three-cent rate prevails, except that in sparsely peopled
regions the rates are four and five cents per mile. On
many roads 1,000-mile books are sold at the rate of twenty
dollars ; on some the rate is twenty-five dollars per book.

Long-distance rates involving passage over several roads
are somewhat less than the local rates. These rates are
determined by joint passenger-tariff associations. Each
individual road fixes its own excursion and commutation
rates ; one or another of the joint passenger associations
determines the rates where several roads divide the traffic.
The latter are usually one, or one and one-third fares for
the round trip.

Except on a few local roads in densely peopled regions
the passenger service is much less remunerative than
freight business, and not a few railways would abolish
passenger trains altogether were they permitted to do so.
Bate-cutting between competing roads has not been com-
mon since the existence of joint passenger associations.
It is sometimes done secretly, however, through the use
of ticket-brokers, or " scalpers," who are employed to sell
tickets at less than the usual rate ; it is also done by the il-
licit use of tickets authorized for given purposes, such as

RAILWAYS AND HIGHWAYS 73

" editors'," " clergymen's," aud " advertising " transpor-
tation.

in many instances, where several roads have the same
terminal points, it is customary for the road or roads having
the quickest service to allow a lower rate to the others.
Tims, of the seven or eight roads between New York and
Chicago, the two best equipped roads charge a fare of
twenty dollars on their ordinary, and a higher rate on their
limited, trains. Because of slower time the other roads
charge a sum less by two or three dollars for the same
service. This cut in the rate is called a " differential.'*

Railway Mileage. — The railways of the world in 1900
had an aggregate of nearly four hundred and eighty
thousand miles distributed as fo lows :

North America 216,000

Europe 178, 000

Asia, 86,000

South America and West Indies 88,000

Australasia 15,000

Alrica 12,000

In western Europe and the eastern United States there
is an average of one mile of railway to each six or eight
square miles of area. In these countries railway construc-
tion has reached probably its highest development, and the
proportion seems to represent the mileage necessary for
the commercial interests of the people.

The railways of the United States aggregate 193,000
miles — nearly one-half the total mileage of the world.
Over this enormous trackage 38,000 locomotives and
1,400,000 coaches and cars carry yearly 600,000,000 pas-
sengers and 1,000,000,000 tons of freight. They represent
an outlay of about $5,000,000,000. Owing to the absence
of the international problems that have greatly interfered
with the organization of European railways, the roads of

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

the United States have developed " trunk-system " features
to a higher degree than is found elsewhere.

In the United States and Canada the farms of the great
central plain, together with the coal-mines, are the great
centres of production, while the sea-ports of the two coasts
form great centres of distribution. Most of the trunk lines,
therefore, extend east and west ; of the north and south

THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE RAILWAYS OF THE UNITED STATES
THEIR POSITION DEPENDS ON THE PRODUCTION OF THE LAND

lines only two are important. The reason for the east-
west direction of the great trunk lines is obvious; the
great markets of North America, Europe, and Asia lie
respectively to the east and the west.

Railway Ownership. — The ownership of railways is
vested either in national governments or else in corporate
companies ; in only a few instances are roads held indi-
vidually by private owners, and these are mainly lumber
or plantation roads. Thus, the railways of Prussia are

RAILWAYS AND HIGHWAYS 75

owned by the state ; most of those of the smaller German
states are owned either by the state or by the empire;
still others are owned by corporate companies and man-
aged by the imperial government. In their management
military use is considered as first in importance.

In France governmental ownership and management
have been less successful. Plans for an elaborate system
of state railways failed, and the state now owns and oper-
ates only 1,700 miles, mainly, in the southwest. Belgium
controls and operates all her lines, but as the latter are
short and the area of the state small, there are no diffi-
culties in the way of excellent management. In Great
Britain all the railways are owned and controlled by cor-
porate companies. The great transcontinental line of the
Russian Empire was built by the government, but the lat-
ter does not own it.

In the United States the railways are now owned Dy
corporate companies. Some of the western roads were
built by Government subsidies;* other roads were built
by the aid of States, counties, or cities, which afterward
sold them to corporate companies. The first transconti-
nental railways required Government assistance, and could
not have been built without it ; nowadays, however, cor-
porate companies find no difficulty in providing the capital
for any railway that is needed.

Inasmuch as the railway is a positive necessity, upon
whose existence depends the transportation of the food

* That is, the Government pledged its credit for the money borrowed,
and in addition gave the companies alternate sections of public land on
both sides of the proposed line, the land-grants being designed partly to
encourage immigration and partly to Increase the building funds of the
various companies. In several instances both the land-granta and the
money subsidies were scandalously used. At least one road used its earn-
ings to build a competing line and, after disposing of the land-grant and
pocketing the proceeds, allowed the Government to foreclose the mortgage
*nd sell the original road.

76 OOMMEBOIAL GEOGRAPHY

daily required in the great centres of population, the char-
ter of the railway gives the company extraordinary powers.
Most steam railway companies are permitted by the State
to exercise the power of eminent domain — that is, they may
seize and hold the land on which to locate their tracks and
buildings, if it cannot be acquired by the consent of the
owners ; they may also seize coal and other materials con-
signed to them for shipment if such materials are neces-
sary to operate their lines.

Therefore, in consideration of the unusual powers pos-
sessed by the companies, the various States reserve the
right to regulate the freight and passenger tariffs. They
may also compel the companies to afford equal facilities to
all patrons, and take the measures necessary to prevent dis-
crimination.

The control of the railways by the government may be
absolute, as in the German state of Prussia ; or it may con-
sist of a general supervision, as in the case of the Canadian
railways. In almost every European state there is a di-
rector or else a commission to act as a representative be-
tween the railways and the people. In the United States
the various States have each a railway commission, while
the general Government is represented by the Interstate
Commerce Commission.

Electric Railways. — The use of electricity as a motive
power has not only revolutionized suburban traffic but it
has become a great factor in rural transportation as well.
The speed of the horse-car rarely exceeded five or six
miles per hour, while that of the electric car is about ten
miles per hour in city streets and about twice as great
over rural roads. As a result, the suburban limits of the
large centres of population have greatly extended, and the
population of the outlying districts has been increased
from four to ten fold.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY— ROCKY MOUNTAINS

ELECTRIC FRK1GHT LOCOMOTlVE-hKlb RAILROAD

78 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

From some of the larger cities the electric roads reach
out to distances of one hundred miles or more and have
become the carriers of perishable freight, such as fruit and
dairy products. These are not only delivered just as
promptly as though they were sent over the steam roads,
but the delivery is more frequent, Indeed, the marvel-
lous success of the electric interurban railway is due
mainly to the frequency of its service.

Public Roads and Highways. — Carriages propelled
by steam, electric, and gasoline motors have become an
important factor m the delivery of goods in nearly every
city of Europe and America. They are not only speedier
than the horse and wagon, but their keeping costs less.
They are economical only on good roads. The bicycle, no
longer a plaything, exerted a very decided effect on trans-
portation when <\he " pneumatic " or inflated rubber tire
came into use. Through the bicycle came the demand
for good roads; and several thousand miles of the best
surfaced roads are built in the United States each year.

The ordinary highways or roads, the paved streets of
the large cities excepted, are popularly known either as
" dirt " roads or " macadamized " roads, the latter name
being applied to about every sort of graded highway that
has been surfaced with broken rock. Most of the roads of
western Europe are of this character. They are laid out
with easy grades, and a thick foundation of heavy stone is
covered with smaller pieces of broken rock, the whole
being finished off with a top-dressing of fine material.
Once built, the expense of keeping them in good order
is less than that of keeping a dirt road in bad order.

Most of the country highways of the United States are
dirt roads that are deep with dust in dry weather and
almost impassable at the breaking of winter. Roads of
this character are such a detriment that grain farming

RAILWAYS AND HIGHWAYS 79

will not pay when the farm is distant twenty miles or
more from the nearest railway. Many a farmer pays more
to haul his grain to the nearest railway station than from
the railway station to London.

Since it has become apparent that the commercial de-
velopment of many agricultural regions depends quite as
much on good wagon roads as upon railways and expen-
sive farming machinery, there has been a disposition to
grade and rock-surface all roads that are important high-
ways. Intercommunication becomes vastly easier; the
cost of transportation is lessened by more than one-half ;
and the wear and destruction of vehicles is reduced to a
minimum. In every case the improvement of the road is
designed to increase traffic by making a given power do
more work in less time.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What have been the effects of Bessemer steel on the carrying
power of railways? —on cheapening freight rates ?

What would be some of the effects first apparent were a large
city like London or New York suddenly cut off from railway
communication ?

What is meant by a tubular boiler?— by a forced draught?— by
a switch ? — by an automatic coupler ?

Ascertain from a railway official the various danger-signals as
indicated by lights, Hags, and whistle-blasts.

Why should not crated furniture and coat have the same
freight rate?

What is meant by a pool ?— by long haul and short haul ?— by
rebate ?

If the rate on a given weight of merchandise is one dollar and
fifty cents for five miles, should it be three hundred dollars for
one thousand miles?

FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

Hadley's Railroad Transportation.
American Railways.

CHAPTEK VII
FACTORS IN THE LOCATION OF CITIES AND TOWNS

THE population of the world is very unevenly distributed.
Not far from nine-tenths live in lowland plains, below an
altitude of 1,200 feet, in regions where food-stuffs grow.
The remainder live mainly in the grass-producing regions
of the great plateaus, the mining regions or the flood-plains
and grassy slopes of the higher montane regions.

Communal Life. — In each of these regions, also, there
is a very unequal massing of population. In part, the
various families live isolated from one another; in part,
they gather into cities and villages. In other words the
population of a habitable region may be classed as rural
and urban. In the United States and western Europe,
agricultural pursuits encourage rural life, each family living
on its own estate. In Russia, the agricultural population
usually cluster in villages.

The farmer or freeholder who owns or controls his estate,
exemplifies the most advanced condition of personal and
political liberty. Only a few centuries have elapsed since
not only the land but also the life of a subject was the
property of the king or the feudal lord, and in those days
about the only people living in isolation were outlaws. In
most cases the communal system, best exemplified in Russia,
marks an intermediate stage between a low and a high
state of civilization ; in other instances it is necessary in
order to insure safety. German farmers in Siberia usually
adopt the village plan for this reason.

For the greater part, the non-agricultural population of

82 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

the civilized world is massed in villages and cities for
reasons that have nothing to do with either civilization or
self-defence. The causes that bring about the massing of
urban population are many and their operation is com-
plex. In general, however, it is to facilitate one or more
of several things, namely — the receiving, distribution, and
transportation of commodities, the manufacture of products,
the existence of good harbors, and the existence of minerals
and metals necessary in the various industries,

The Beginnings of Towns and Cities. — The "coun-
try town" of agricultural regions in many ways is the
best type of the centre of population engaged in receiving
and disbursing commodities. The farmers living in their
vicinity send their crops to it for transportation or final
disposition. The country store is a sort of clearing-house,
exchanging household and other commodities, such as
sugar, tea, coffee, spices, drugs, silks, woollens, cotton goods,
farming machinery, and furniture for farm products. A
railway station, grain elevator, and one or more banks
form the rest of its business equipment.

Usually the town has resulted from a position of easy
access. It may be the crossing of two highways, a good
landing-place on a river, the existence of a fording-place,
a bridge, a ferry, a toll gate, or a point that formed a
convenient resting place for a day's journey. The towns
and villages along the "buffalo" roads are examples
almost without number.

The "siding" or track where freight cars may be held
for unloading, has formed the beginning of many a town.
The siding was located at the convenience of the railway
company ; the village resulting could have grown equally
well almost anywhere else along the line.

In the early history of nearly every country, military
posts formed the beginnings of many centres that have

84 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

grown to be large cities. Thus, Eome, Paris, London, the
various "chesters"* of England, Milan, Turin, Paris,
Chicago, Pittsburg, and Albany were established first as
military outposts. The trading post was most conveniently
established under the protection of the military camp, and
the subsequent growth depended partly on an accessible
position, and partly on the intelligence of the men who
controlled the trade of the surrounding regions.

Harbors as Factors in the Growth of Cities. — A
good harbor draws trade from a great distance. Thus,
with a rate of 14£ cents on a bushel of wheat from Chicago,
New York City draws a trade from a region having a radius
of more than one thousand miles. In its trade with Chinese
ports, Seattle, the chief port of Puget Sound, reaches as far
eastward as London and Hamburg.

Water-Power as a Factor. — The presence of water-
power has brought about the establishment of many centres
that have grown into populous cities. The water-power of
the New England plateau had much to do with the rapid
growth of the New England States. At the time of the
various embargo and n on -intercourse acts preceding the
war of 1812, a great amount of capital was thrown into
idleness. The water-power was made available because,
during this time, the people were compelled to manufact-
ure for themselves the commodities that before had been
imported.

The manufacturing industry at first was prosecuted in
the southern Appalachians as well as in the New England
plateau. It survived in. the latter, partly because of the
capital available, and partly owing to the business experi-
ence of the people. In the meantime villages sprang up
in pretty nearly every locality in which there was avail*
able water-power.

* From the Latin " castra," a camp.

THE LOCATION OP CITIES AND TOWNS 85

Since the use of coal and the advent of cheap railway
transportation, steam has largely supplanted water-power,
unless the latter is unlimited in supply. As a result, there
is a marked growth of the smaller centres of population
along the various water-fronts. In such cases the advan-
tages of a water-front offset the loss of water-power.

The Effects of Metals on the Growth of Cities.—
The character of the industry of a region has much to do
with the character of its manufactures. Thus, coal is ab-
solutely essential to the manufacture of iron and steel ;
and, inasmuch as from two to eight tons of the former are
necessary to manufacture a ton of steel, it is cheaper to
ship the ore to a place to which coal can be cheaply brought.

The coal-fields are responsible for the greater part of
Pittsburgh population, and almost wholly for that of Scran-
ton, Wilkesbarre, and many other Pennsylvania towns.
Iron and coal are responsible, also, for many cities and
towns in the vicinity of the Great Lakes. Birmingham,
Salford, and Cardiff in Great Britain, Dortmund and Essen
in Germany, and St. Etienne in France have resulted from
the presence of coal and iron.

In many instances man is a great factor in the estab-
lishment of a centre of population. Chicago would have
been quite as well off in two or three other locations ; its
present location is the result of man's energy and is not
likely to be changed. St. Louis might have been built at
a dozen different places and would have fared just as well ;
the same is true of St. Paul, or of Indianapolis. ^

Leavenworth at one time was a more promising city
than Kansas City, but the building of an iron bridge over
the Missouri River at the latter place gave it a start, and
wide-awake HMMI k«>pt it in the lead. It has grown at the
expense of Leavenworth and St. Joseph, neither one of
which has become a commercial centre. Cairo, at the

86 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

junction of the Mississippi and Ohio Kivers, has the geo-
graphical position for a great city ; it waits for the man who
can concentrate the commerce there.

Adjustment to Environment. — San Francisco was
wisely located at first, but its grain trade was more eco-
nomically carried on at Karquinez Strait, while its oriental
trade is gradually concentrating at Seattle. Philadelphia
lost its commercial supremacy when the completion of the
Erie Canal gave return cargoes to foreign vessels dis-
charging at New York City. Oswego, N. Y., had the
advantage of both harbor facilities and water-power, but
Syracuse, with practically no advantages except those of
leadership, has far outstripped it.

Such instances of the readjustment of centres of popu-
lation have been common in the past ; they will also occur
in the future. In nearly every case the readjustment re-
sults from economic causes, the opening of new lines of
transportation, the lowering of the cost of the production
of a commodity, the discovery of new economic processes
— all these cause a disturbance of population, and the latter
must readjust itself to new and changed conditions.

Not all peoples have the necessary intelligence and train-
ing at first to adapt themselves to their environment. For
the greater part, the American Indians were unable to take
advantage of the wonderful resources of the continent in
which they lived. The Boers occupied about the richest
part of Africa, but made no use of the natural wealth of
the country beyond the grazing industry; in fact, their
nomadic life reduced them to a plane of civilization ma-
terially lower than that of their ancestors.

People of the highest state of civilization do not always
adjust themselves to their environment readily. The peo-
ple of the New England plateau were nearly a century in
learning that they possessed nearly all the best harbors of

THB LOCATION OF CITIES AND TOWNS 87

the Atlantic coast of North America. "When, however, the
great commerce of the country had been wiped out of ex-
istence, it did not take them long to readjust themselves to
the industry of manufacture, the water-power being tho
natural resource that made the industry profitable.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Were the middle Atlantic coast of the United States to undergo
an elevation of 100 feet, what would be the effect on New York
City?

Find the factors that led to the settlement of the city or town
in which or near which you live. What caused the settlement ot
the three or four largest towns in the same county t — of the fol-
lowing places • Minneapolis, Fall River, New Haven, New Bed-
ford, Cairo (111.), Cairo (Egypt), Marseille, Aix-la-Chapelle, Alex-
andria (Egypt), Washington (D. C.), Columbus (O.), Johannes-
burg (Africa), Kimberley (Africa), Albany (N. Y.)t Punta Arenas
(S. A.), Scranton (Pa,), Vancouver (B. C.), San Francisco, Cape
Nome ?

What circumstances connected with commerce led to the pass-
ing of the following-named places : Palmyra, Carthage, Babylon,
Genoa, Venice, Ancient Rome, Jerusalem ?

COLLATERAL REFERENCE
Any good cyclopaedia.

CHAPTEE YIEI

THE CEREALS AND GRASSES

OF all the plants connected with the economies of man-
kind the grasses hold easily the first place. Not only are
the seeds of certain species the chief food of nearly all
peoples, but the plants themselves are the food of most
animals whose flesh is used as meat. Wheat, maize, and
rice are used by all except a very few peoples ; and about
all the animals used for food, fish and mollusks excepted,
are grain eaters, or grass eaters, or both.

The grasses of the Plains in Texas, the Yeldt in South
Africa, and the hills of New Zealand by nature's processes
are converted into meat that feeds the great cities of western
Europe and the eastern United States. The corn of the
Mississippi valley becomes the pork which, yielded from
the carcasses of more than forty million swine, is exported
to half the countries of the world. Even the two and one-
half billion pounds of wool consumed yearly is converted
grass.

Wheat. — The wheat of commerce is the seed of several
species of cereal grass, one of which, Triticum sativum, is
the ordinary cultivated plant. Wild species are found in
the highlands of Kurdistan, in Greece, and in Mesopo-
tamia, that are identical with species cultivated to-day. It
is thought that the cultivation of the grain began in
Mesopotamia, but it is also certain that it was grown by
the Swiss lake-dwellers far back in prehistoric times. It
is the " corn " Joseph's brothers sought to buy when they

THE GRAIN CROP-
MODERN METHODS OF CULTIVATION AND HARVESTING

90 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

went to Egypt, and the records of its harvesting are scat-
tered all over the pages of written history.

Of the one and one-half billion people that constitute
the world's population, more than one-third, or about
eight times the population of the United States, are con-
sumers of wheat-bread ; and this number is yearly increas-
ing by twelve million. Moreover, each individual of this
aggregate consumes yearly very nearly one barrel of flour,
or about four and one -half bushels of wheat. In other
words, it requires somewhat more than two billion three
hundred million bushels of wheat each year to supply the
world's demand.* As a matter of fact the world's crop is
yearly consumed so nearly to the danger-line that very
often the "visible supply,'* or the amount known to be
in the market, is reduced to a few million bushels.

Wheat will grow under very wide ranges of climate, but
it thrives best between the parallels of 25° and 55°. In
a soil very rich in vegetable mould it is apt to " run to
stalk." A rather poor clay-loam produces the best seed,f
and a hard seed, rather than a heavy stalk, is required.

In the latitude of Kansas the seeds planted in the fall
will retain their vitality through the winter ; in the latitude
of Dakota they are " winter-killed," as a rule. Because of
this feature two broad classes or divisions of the crop are
recognized in commerce — the winter and the spring varie-
ties. In general, the spring wheats are regarded as the

* In 1897 the world's crop fell below the dangei line, aggregating
only 2,227,000,000 bushels. Since that time, however, it has increased
each year: from 1902 to 1908 it has not been less than 3,000,000,000
bushels.

flu order to yield a crop of twenty-five bushels per acre the soil must
supply 110 Ibs. of nitrogen, 45 Ibs. of phosphoric acid, 30.5 Ibs. of lime,
14.5 Ibs. of magnesia, and 142 Ibs. of potash; these are approximately the
mineral elements taken out of the soil with each crop, and it is needless to
•ay that they must be replaced or the grain will starve for want of nutrient
substances.

THE CEREALS AND GRASSES

better, and this is nearly always the case in localities too
cold for winter wheat. There are exceptions to this rule,
however. In the maiu, winter wheat ripens first, and
is therefore first in the market.*

In Europe the plain that faces the North and Baltic
Seas, and that part which extends through southern Russia,

* In the United States there are about seven wheat-districts, each char-
acterized by particular varieties that prow best in the given locality. In
the New England and most of the middle Atlantic division Early Genesee
Giant, Jones Winter Fife, and Fultz are chiefly grown. In the Southern
States Fnltz, Fnlcaster, Purple Straw, and May are foremost. In the north
central group of States Early Red Clawson, Poole, Dawson's Golden Chaff,
Hilda Pest, and Fnltz are common. In the Dakotas and Minnesota Scotch
Fife and Velvet Blue Stem (both spring wheats) are generally planted.
In Kansas and Texas and the adjacent locality the principal varieties are
Turkey, Fulcaster, and Mediterranean (all winter wheats). In California
and the southern plateau region Sonora, California Club, and Defiance
are the principal kinds (all winter wheats). In Washington and Oregon
Little Club, Red Chaff , and Blu Stem (which are either winter or spring;
are the main varieties.

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

yield the chief part of the crop, although the plains of the
Po, the Danube, and Bohemia furnish heavy crops. Russia,
France, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy are all wheat
states. (See Appendix; p. 400).

In a normal year all Europe produces not far from one-
half of the world's crop. Russia, France, and the Dan-
ube countries excepted, scarcely another state produces as
much as is consumed. Great Britain consumes her entire

crop in three months; Germany in about six months.
France sends a part of her crop to Great Britain and buys
of Russia to fill the deficiency. Russia consumes but very
little of her wheat-crop ; it is nearly all sold to the states
of western Europe. All Europe consumes about one bil-
lion seven hundred and ten million bushels, but produces
about one billion two hundred and fifty million ; the
remainder is supplied by the United States, India, Argen-
tina, Africa, and Australia.

In the United States the great bulk of the crop comes
from the upper Mississippi valley and Pacific coast States.

THE CEREALS AND GRASSES

About one-third is consumed where it is grown ; more than
oue-third is required for the populous centres of the east ;
a little less than one-third is exported, of which about ninety
per cent, goes to Europe.

Much of this, especially the Pacific coast product, is sold
uugrouud, but each year an increasing amount is made into

United Statet
Itu-la
France
India

.tiiitri:i-lliin!rrir»
Germany
Half
Other Countrle*

».

WHEAT

.Production in 1900
in Million Bushels.

flour. The flour manufacture of the United States aggre-
gates somewhat more than 100,000,000 barrels yearly —
the output of 1G,000 flour-mills; the Pillsbury mills of
Minneapolis alone have a capacity of 60,000 barrels a
week. In Europe the Hungarian mills and their output
of Bohemian flour are the chief competitors of the United
States.

The wheat-crop of the Pacific coast has usually been a
factor by itself. On account of the absence of summer
rains, the kernel is both plump
and hard. After the thresh-
ing process it is sacked and
stored in the fields in which it
has grown.* Heretofore much of the sacked wheat has

* Sometimes the owner sends it to the nearest elevator at tide-water
where the grain is stored, not in hulk, hut in the original packages, subject
to his demand. In the course of a month or nix weeks it absorbs so much
moisture that the gain in weight more than pays the storage charges.

u. s.

Rest of the World

WHEAT

04 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

been shipped to European markets by the Cape Horn
route, but in late years a yearly increasing amount is
made into flour and sold in China, Japan, and Siberia.
In 1900 nearly two million barrels were thus sent.

East of the Rocky Mountains, after the grain is har-
vested much of it is sold to dealers whose storage eleva-
tors * are scattered all over the wheat-growing region, and
at all great points of shipment, such as Dulutb, Minneap-
olis, Buffalo, and the eastern seaports. Before the grain is
transferred to the elevators it is inspected and graded, and
the cars which contain it are sealed. This wheat consti-
tutes the " visible supply." All the business concerning
it is transacted by means of " warehouse receipts," that
have almost the currency of ready money. Banks loan
money on them almost to their market value.

Under normal conditions, the cost of growing and har-
vesting a bushel of wheat — including interest on the land
and deterioration of the machinery, etc. — is between fifty
and fifty-five cents. The market price, when not affected
by " corners " and other gambling transactions, usually
varies between sixty-two and eighty-five cents. The differ-
ence between these figures is divided between the farmer
and the " middle-men," the share of the latter being in the
form of commissions and elevator charges.

In addition to bread-making wheat, certain varieties of

* The elevators are equipped with " legs " or long spouts, within which
belts with metal scoops transfer the grain from car to vessel or vice versa.
The elevators at Buffalo will fill a canal-boat in an hour's time, or load
six grain-cars in five minutes. A large whaleback steamship may be
relieved of its 200.000 bushels in about three hours. Most of the east-
bound wheat of the Middle West is transferred to the seaboard by rail, but
that of the northwest, which forms the chief part of the crop, is shipped
from Duluth through the St. Marys Falls Canal to Buffalo, where it is
transferred to cars or to canal-boats New York is the leading export
market, but Boston, New Orleans, Galveston, Baltimore, and Philadel-
phia are also important shipping ports.

STORING PACIFIC COAST WHEAT

96 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

grain known as macaroni wheat have a certain impor-
tance in the market. Several varieties are so hardy that
they easily resist extremely cold winters ; they will also
grow in regions too dry for ordinary varieties. In this
respect they are well adapted to the plains at the eastern
base of the Rocky Mountains. The only detriment is the
lack of a steady market. Macaroni wheat has a very hard
kernel and is rich in gluten. It is used mainly in the manu-
facture of macaroni paste, but in Europe, when mixed with
three times its weight of ordinary soft wheat, it is much
used in making flour. The small amount now grown in
the United States is shipped mainly to France.

The yield of wheat varies partly with the rainfall, but
the difference is due mainly to skill in cultivation. In
western Europe it is from two to three times as great as
in the United States ; in Russia and India it is much
less.*

The yearly consumption of wheat is increasing very
rapidly both in the United States and in Europe ; more-
over, China is becoming a wheat-consuming country. In
the United States the consumption is increasing so rapidly
that unless either the acreage of the crop, or else the yield
per acre, is materially increased, there will be no surplus
for export after the year 1931.

*The following is approximately the yield of the chief wheat-growing
countries in bushels per acre :

Denmark 42 France 19.5 Australia 10

England 29 Austria 16.3 India 9.2

NewZealand 26 Canada 15.5 Russia 8.6

Germany 23.2 United States. . .12.3 Algeria 7.5

Holland & Belgium 21.5 Argentina 12.2

Hungary 18 5 Italy 12. 1

riie low average In Australia. India, and Algeria is due mainly to lack
of rainfall ; in the United States and Russia, mainly to unskilful culti-
vation.

u
I 2

98 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

In the United States the acreage may be somewhat in«
creased by the irrigation of arid lands now uncultivated,
and by the reclamation of overflowed and swamp lands.
There are fur greater possibilities, however, in the employ-
ment of methods of cultivation which will double the rate
of present yield. It is doubtful if there can be much in-
crease of acreage in the States of the Mississippi Valley,
where the acreage will of necessity be lessened rather than
increased.

In western Europe there can be no material increase of
the acreage or the rate of yield ; in Russia both are pos-
sible. The plains of Argentina now yield a notable
quantity — about one hundred million bushels — and the
amount may be increased. Moreover, a large product may
be obtained from both Uruguay and Paraguay, and southern
Brazil, neither one of which produces a considerable quan-
tity. At the present rate of the increase in consumption,,
all of the available land, yielding its maximum, will not
produce a sufficient crop at the end of the twentieth century.

Corn.— Maize or Indian corn is the seed of a plant, Zea
mays, a member of the grass family. It is not known to
exist in a wild state. The species now cultivated are
undoubtedly derived from the American continent, but
evidence is not wanting to show that it was known in
China and the islands of Asia before the discovery of
America.* The commercial history of corn begins with
the discovery of America. Next to meat it was the chief
food of the native American ; next to wheat it is the chief
food-stuff in the American continent to-day.

Corn requires a rich soil and is not so hardy as wheat.
It thrives best in regions having long summers and warm

* It seems to have been introduced into Turkey from India about the
latter part of the fifteenth century, after which U was occasionally bean!
of in Europe as " Turkey corn."

THE CEREALS AND GRASSES

nights. The growing crop is easily injured by too much
rain. It is an abundant crop in the central Mississippi
Valley, but not near the coast ; it is very prolific in Ne-
braska, but not in Dakota ; it thrives in Italy, Austria,
and the Balkan Peninsula, but not in the British Isles and
Germany. It is a very important crop in Australia, and
is the staple grain of Mexico. It is the crop of fourteen-
hour days and warm nights.

The United States is the chief producer of corn, and

from an area of 80,000,000 acres — about that of Ohio,
Indiana, and Illinois combined — more than two billion
bushels, or four-fifths of the world's crop, are produced.
In the past few years the area planted with corn has not
materially increased, and it is likely to be lessened rather
than increased in the future. From the same acreage,
however, the annual yield, now about twenty-five or thirty
bushels per acre, can be more than doubled by the use of
more skilful methods of cultivation.

Corn contains more fatty substance, or natural oil, than

100

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

wheat, and therefore has a greater heating power. For
this reason it is better than wheat for out-of-door workers,
and it is almost the only cereal food-stuff consumed in
Spanish America. It is also a staple food-stuff in Egypt.
Corn has been used as a bread-stuff in the United States,
Italy, and Rumania* for a long time. In recent years,
however, its use has become very popular in Europe.

In the United States by far the greater part of the crop
is consumed where it is grown, being used to fatten swine

1
1 nil.-il State*
Austria-Hungary
Runanla
Italy

4 6 , 8 , ,0 12 , 14 , ,0 , 18 , 20 2

1 1 1

CORN

Production in 1898
in Hiiiiilrril Million Bushels.

Other Countries

and cattle. The market value of a pound of corn is about
one-third of a cent ; converted into pork or beef, however,
it is worth five or six times as much. By feeding the corn
to stock, therefore, a farmer may turn an unmarketable
product into one for which there is a steady demand.

Although corn is not so essential a staple as wheat, it
has a much wider range of usefulness. The starch made

from it is considered a delicacy
and is used very largely in
America and Europe as an article
of food. Glucose, a cheap but
wholesome substitute for sugar, is made from it ; from
the oil a substitute for rubber is prepared ; smokeless
powder and other explosives are made from the pith of

* The u tortilla," the national bread of the Mexican, consists of a thick
corn-meal paste pressed into thin wafers between the hands, and baked
on hot slabs of stone. The corn-meal " mush " of the American, the
"polenta" of the Italian, and the "mamaliga" of the Rumanian are all
practically corn-meal boiled to a thick paste iu water.

Rest

UNITED STATES

of
the

World

CORN

THE CEREALS AND GRASSES 101

the stalk ; while a very large part of the product is used
in the manufacture of liquor.

Rye. — Rye is the seed of a cereal grass, Secale cereale,
a plant closely resembling wheat in external appearance.
Rye will grow in soils that are too poor for wheat ; its
northern limit is in latitudes somewhat greater than that
of wheat, also. It is an ideal crop for the sandy plain
stretching from the Netherlands into central Russia, and
this locality produces almost the whole yield. The
world's crop is about one and a half billion bushels, of
which Russia produces nearly two-thirds. Germany, Aus-
tria-Hungary, and Japan grow nearly all the rest. It is
consumed where it is grown. In the United States the
yearly product is about twenty-five million bushels, about
one-tenth of which is exported to Europe. Rye-bread is
almost always sour, and this fact is its chief disadvantage.

Barley. — Barley is the seed of several species of cereal
grass, mainly Hordeum distichum and Hordeum vnlgare.
It is one of the oldest-used of bread-stuffs. It can be cul-
tivated farther north than wheat, and about as far within
the tropics as corn ; it has, therefore, very wide limits.
Formerly it was much used in northwestern Europe as a
bread-stuff, but in recent years it has been in part sup-
planted by wheat and corn. Barley is a most excellent
food for horses, and in California is grown mainly for this
purpose. Its chief use is for the manufacture of the malt
used in brewing.

The world's crop of barley is not far from one billion
bushels, of which the United States produces about 160,-
000.000 bushels. Most of the crop is grown in the Ger-
manic states of Europe, and in Russia.

Oats. — The oat is the seed of a cereal grass, Avena
sativa being the species almost always cultivated. It is
not known where the cultivated species originated, but the

102

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

earliest known locality is central Europe, where it wag
certainly a domestic plant during the Bronze Age. It
seems probable that the species now cultivated in Scot-
land at one time grew wild in western Europe ; certain it
is that wild species are found in North America.

200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

Russia

I'nlted State*
Germany
France
Great Britain
Austria-Hungary
Canada
Other Countries

OATS

Production
in Hundred .Million Bushels

The oat grows within rather wider limits of latitude,
and thrives in a greater variety of soils than does wheat.
Grown in a moist climate, however, the grain is at its best.
The oat-crop of the world aggregates more than three
billion bushels, surpassing that of wheat or corn in meas-
urement, but not in weight. A small portion of this is
used as a bread-stuff, but the greater part is used as horse-
food, for which it is remarkably adapted.

In Europe, Russia is the greatest producer, and its
yearly oat harvest is about one-quarter of the world's crop.
The states of northwestern Europe yield about half the
entire crop ; the wheat-growing area of the United States

produces the remaining one-
fourth. Russia and the United

States are both exporters, the
OATS . . '

grain going to western Eu-
rope. By far the greater part of the grain is consumed
where it is grown.

Rice. — Rice is the seed of a cereal grass, Oryza sativa.
It is claimed to be native to India, but it is known to have

u. s.

Rest of the World.

THE CEREALS AND ORA88K8 103

been cultivated in China for more than five thousand years.
It grows wild in Australia and Malaysia.

Rice requires plenty of warmth and moisture. It is cul-
tivated in the warmer parts of the teirperate zone, but it
thrives best in the tropical regions. In China a consider-
able upland rice is grown, but for the greater part it is
grown in level lowlands that may be flooded with water.
The preparation of the fields is a matter of great expense,
for they may require flooding and draining at a moment's
notice. The crop matures in from three to six months.
After threshing, the seed is still covered with a husk, and
in this form it is known as " paddy."

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Why is not wheat-growing a profitable industry in the New
England States? — in the plains at the eastern base of the Rocky
Mountains? — in the southern part of the United States?

What are meant by the following terms : No. 1 spring, a cor-
ner, a disk harrow, a cradle, a flail, a separator, futures, ware-
house certificates?

In 1855 the price of a barrel of flour in New York or Boston
was about twelve dollars; at the close of the century it was less
than live. Explain how the lessened price came about.

Prom a census or other report make a list of the ten leading
wheat-producing States ; the ten that produce the most corn.

Why are the foreign shipments of oats less than those of wheat ?

What are the prices current of wheat, corn, oats, and barley
to-day?

FOR STUDY AND REFERENCE

Obtain samples of the different kinds of wheat, oats, barley,
corn, millet, and rice. Put the grain in small, closely stoppered
vials ; attach the heads of the small grains to sheets of cardboard
of the proper size.

Read "The Wheat Problem "—Chapter L

PICKING COTTON,
ALABAMA

TRANSPORTING COTTON

FROM WHARF,
CHARLESTON. S. C.

CHAPTER IX
TEXTILE FIBRES

UNDER the terra " textile " are included the fibrous sub-
stances that caii be spuu into threads, and woveii or felted
into cloth. Some of these, like the covering of the sheep,
goat, and llama, or the cocoon of the silk-worm, are of ani-
mal origin ; others, like cotton furze, the husk of the cocoa-
nut, and the bast of the flax-plant are vegetable products.
Their use in the manufacture of cloth antedates the period
at which written history begins ; it probably begins with
the time when primitive man gradually ceased to have the
hairy covering necessary to protect him from the conditions
of climate and weather.

As body coverings all these substances are dependent
on a single principle, namely — they are poor conductors of
heat ; that is, they do not permit the natural heat of the
body to pass away quickly, nor do they allow sadden
changes of the temperature to reach the body quickly. In
other words, because of the artificial covering which man-
kind alone requires, bodily heat is not dissipated more
rapidly than it is created ; if it were, the covering would
be worthless. A suit of clothes made of steel wire, for in-
stance, because it conducts heat so rapidly, might chill, or
perhaps heat the body more quickly than the open air.

With respect to warming qualities wool surpasses all other
textiles. It is employed for clothing in every part of the
world and by nearly all peoples. Cotton is used mainly
also for body coverings, but it is inferior to wool for pro-
tection against cold. It is used by practically all peoples,

105

106

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

savage and civilized, outside of the frigid zones. Linen is
inferior both to cotton and wool for clothing; its use is
also restricted by its great cost. Silk is used mainly for
ornamental cloths. Hemp is used mainly for cordage, and
the use of ramie, jute, and sisal hemp is confined mainly
to the manufacture of very coarse cloths and rugs.

Cotton. — The cotton fibre of commerce is the lint sur-
rounding the seeds of several species of Gossypium, plants

COTTON-PRODUCING REGIONS.

belonging to the same natural order as the marshmallow
and the hollyhock. The cultivated species have been carried
from India to different parts of the world, but cotton-bear-
ing plants are also native to the American. A native tree-
cotton, known as Barbados cotton, occurs in the West
Indies ; a herbaceous cotton-plant is known to have been
cultivated in Peru long before the discovery of Columbus.
More than four hundred years before the Christian era
Herodotus describes it and mentions a gin for separating

TEXTILE FIBRES

107

the lint from the seed. Nearchus, an admiral serving
under Alexander the Great, brought to Europe specimens
of cotton cloth, and in the course of time it became an
article of commerce among Greek and Roman merchants.

The cotton-plant requires warmth, moisture, and a long
season. It also thrives best near the sea. It grows better,
on the whole, in subtropical rather than in tropical regions,
and the difference is due probably to the longer days and

higher temperature of the subtropical latitudes. In the
United States the northern limit is approximately the
thirty-eighth parallel. The seeds are planted, as a rule,
during the first three weeks of April and the first two of
May. The plants bloom about the middle of June ; the
boll or pod matures during July, and bursts about the first
of August. The picking begins in August.

The yield and the quality of the textile depend not only
on conditions of the soil, but on locality. In the river
flood-plains of the southern United States the yield is
about two bales per acre ; on the bluff lauds it is but little

108 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

more than one, unless unusual care is taken in the prepar-
ation of the laud. The islands off the Carolina coast pro-
duce a very fine long-staple variety, commercially known
as sea island cotton. A. district in China produces a good
fibre of brownish color known as nankeen, named for the
city of Nanking, whence formerly it was exported. The
valley of Piura River, Peru, produces varieties of long-
staple cotton that in quality closely resemble silk.

The fibre of ordinary American cotton is about seven-
eighths of an inch long ; it is made into the fabrics com-
mercially known as " domestics " and " prints," or calico.
If the fibre averages a little longer than the common
grades it is reserved for canvas. Ordinary Peruvian cotton
has a fibre nearly two inches long ; it is used in the manu-
facture of hosiery and balbriggan underwear, and also to
adulterate wool. The long-staple cotton of the Piura Val-
ley is bought by British manufacturers at a high price,
and used in the webbing of rubber tires and hose. Egyp-
tian cotton is very fine and is used mainly in the manu-
facture of thread and the finer grades of balbriggan under-
wear. Sea island fibre is nearly two inches long and is
used almost wholly in the making of thread and lace.

The introduction of cotton cultivation resulted in very
far-reaching consequences both from a political as well as
an economic stand-point. The invention of the steam-
engine by Watt gave England an enormous mechanical
power. To utilize this the cotton industry was wrested
from Hindustan; the mills were concentrated in Man-
chester and Lancashire ; the cotton-fields were transferred
to the United States.

As a result, the plains of Hindustan were strewn with
the bodies of starved weavers and spinners, but a great
industry grew into existence in England. The invention
of spinning machinery by Arkwright, Crompton, and

TEXTILE FIBRES 109

Hargreaves, and the gradual improvement of the power-
loom, greatly reduced the cost of making the cloth and, at
the same time, enormously increased the demand for it.

In the United States the consequences were far more
serious. The invention of the engine or " gin " for sepa-
rating the lint from the seed made cotton cultivation high-
ly profitable.* The negro slaves, who had been scattered

I M i l.'.l Mil.-

JndU
China

throughout the colonies and the States that succeeded
them, were soon drawn to the cotton-growing States to
supply the needed field-labor; and, indeed, white work-
men could not stand the hot, moist climate of the cotton-
fields.

The cotton-mills grew up in the Northern manufactur-
ing States. The Northern manufacturer needed a tariff
on imported goods to protect him from European competi-
tion ; the Southern cotton-planter who purchased much of
his supplies abroad was hurt by the tariff. After about
sixty years of strained relations between the two sections
there occurred the Civil "War which wiped out nearly one
million lives, and rolled up a debt, direct and indirect, of
nearly six billions of dollars.

The world's cotton-crop aggregates from twelve million

* The gin, invented by Eli Whitney In 1793, enabled one man to do
by machinery about the same amount of work as previously had re-
quired one hundred laborers. For want of the laws necessary to protect
his invention, Whitney was defrauded of the profits arising from it.
Neither Congress nor the courts gave him any relief from the numerout
Infringements, and he died a poo- man.

UNITED STATES

110 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

to fifteen million bales yearly, of which the United States
produces, as a rule, a little more than three-fourths. Egypt
is rapidly taking an important place among cotton-pro-
ducing countries, and, with the completion of the various
irrigating canals, will very soon rank next to the United
States. India ranks about third ; China and Korea pro-
duce about the same quantity.
There are a few cotton- cloth
mills in these states, but in

COTTON T . , . .

Japan the manufacture is in-
creasing, the mills being equipped with the best of mod-
ern machinery. Brazil has a small product, and Russia
in Asia needs transportation facilities only to increase
largely its growing output.

The cotton-crop of the United States is quite evenly
distributed ; one-third is manufactured at home ; one-third
is purchased by Great Britain ; and the remaining third
goes mainly to western Europe. In the past few years
China has become a constantly increasing purchaser of
American cotton. New Orleans, Galvestou, Savannah, and
New York are the chief ports of shipment. The imported
Egyptian and Peruvian cotton is landed mainly at New
York. Most of the cotton manufacture is carried on in
the New England States, but there is a very rapid exten-
sion of cotton manufacture in the South.

Wool. — The wool of commerce is a term applied to the
fleece of the common sheep, to that of certain species of
goat, and to that of the camel and its kind. There is no
hard-and-fast distinction between hair and wool,* but, in
general, wool fibres have rough edges, much resembling
overlapping scales which interlock with one another ; hair,
as a rule, has a hard, smooth surface. If a mass of loose

* The commercial distinction is a sensible one : hair is hard, crisp,
•traight, and does not felt ; wool is soft, curly, and felts readily.

TEXTILE FIBRES

111

wool be spread out and beaten, or if it be pressed between
rollers, the fibres interlock so closely that there results a
thick, strong cloth which has been made without either
spinning or weaving.

This property, known as " felting," gives to wool a great
part of its value, and is its chief distinction from hair.
Some kinds of hair, however, have a slight felting property,
and if sufficiently fine may be spun and woven. The hair
of the common goat is worthless for this purpose, but that

of the Cashmere and Angora species have the properties of
wool. The hair of the Bactrian camel, and also that of the
llama, alpaca, and vicuna is soft and fine, possessing felting
qualities that make it very superior as a textile.

The quality of wool varies greatly according to the con-
ditions of soil, climate, and the character of the food of the
animal. In commerce, however, the fleeces are commonly
graded as " long-staple," " short-staple," " merino," and
" coarse."

In long-staple wools the fibres are from four to eight

112 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

inches long ; they are more easily separated by a process
much like combing, and are therefore called " combing "
wools. The cotswold, cheviot, and most of the wools of
the British Isles are of this kind ; indeed, in fairly moist
lowland regions such as Canada and the United States,
there is a tendency toward the development of a long-sta-
ple product. The English long-staple wools are largely
made into worsted cloth, the Scotch cheviot into tweeds,
and the French into the best dress cloth.

If the fibres are materially less than four inches in
length, the product is classed as a short-staple or " card-
ing " wool. By far the greater part of the wool of the
United States, Canada, and Europe is of this class. It is
disposed of according to its fineness or fitness for special
purposes, the greater part being made into cloths for the
medium grades of men's clothing.

The finest and softest wool as a rule is grown in arid,
plateau regions, and of this kind of staple the merino is an
example. The fibres are fine as silk, and the goods made
from them are softer. The Mission wool of California is
the product of merino sheep, and, indeed, the conditions of
climate in southern California and Australia are such as
to produce the best merino wool. The famous Electoral
wool of Saxony is a merino, the sheep having been intro-
duced into that country from Spain about three hundred
years ago. The merino wools, as a rule, are used in the
most highly finished dress and fancy goods.

The coarse-staple wools are very largely used for Ameri-
can carpets, coarse blankets, and certain kinds of heavy
outer clothing. The Kussian Donskoi wool, some of the
Argentine fleeces, such as the Cordoban, and many of
those grown in wet lowlands are very coarse and harsh.
The quality is due more to climatic conditions and food
than to the species of sheep ; indeed, sheep that in other

SHEEP IN FEEDING YARD
THE WOOt-GKOWING INDUSTRY

114

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

regions produce a fine wool, when introduced to this local
ity, after a few generations produce coarse wool.

The rug wools grown in Persia, Turkestan, Turkey in
Asia, and the Caucasus Mountains are also characteristic.
They vary in fineness, and because they do not readily felt
they are the best in the world for rug stock. The " pile "
or surface of the rug remains elastic and stands upright
even after a hundred years of wear. This quality is due
mainly to conditions of climate and soil.

In some instances the wool is obtained by a daily comb-
ing of the half-grown lambs. This process, however, is

Australasia

Argentina anil Plate
Hirer, rrgloa
llusslan Empire

Cnltcd States and
Can ml u

States of Mediter-
ranean .basin

Asiatic Turkey,
India, Russia, etc.
(Jreat Britain and
Ireland

<;<-i in.-iii j and Austria

South Africa
Other Countries'

WOOL

Production in 1900
in Million Pounds.

employed in the rug-making districts only ; in general,
the fleeces are clipped either with shears or machine clip-
pers. In the United States the latter are generally em-
ployed, and but little attempt is made either to sort the
fleeces or to separate the various qualities of wool in the
same fleece.

The raw wool always contains foreign matter such {is
burs and dirt ; it is also saturated with a natural oil which
prevents felting. The oil, commonly called "grease," or
"yolk," is an important article of commerce; under the
name of "lanolin" (adcps lana?) it is used in medicine and
pharmacy as a basis for ointments.

TEXTILE FIBRES 116

The world's yearly clip is a little more than two and one-
halt billion pounds, of which the United States produces
about one-eighth. In Europe and the United States, ow-
ing to the increasing value of the laud, the area of pro-
duction is decreasing ; in Australia, South Africa, and Ar-
gentina, where land is cheap,

Rest of the World

it is increasing. From these
three regions wool is exported ;
most European countries and

the United States buy it. In the latter country the con-
sumption is about six pounds for each person.

The wools of the Mediterranean countries — France,
Spain, Italy, Algiers, Egypt, etc. — are the best for fine
cloths ; those of central Asia for rugs and shawls ; the
others are used mainly in medium and low grade textiles.

Other Wools. — The Angora goat, originally grown in
Anatolia (Asia Minor), and the Inn States (Persia, Af-
ghanistan, and Baluchistan), furnishes a beautiful white
wool, commercially known as "mohair." Smyrna is an
important market for it, and England is the chief buyer.
The Angora goat has been introduced into South Africa
and California, where it is successfully grown. From the
former country there is a large export of mohair.

Cashmere wool is a fine, downy undercovering, obtained
by combing the fleece of a goat native to the Kashmir Val-
ley in India. A single animal yields scarcely more than
an ounce or two, and the best product is worth about its
weight in gold. It is used in the manufacture of the fa-
mous Cashmere shawls, which are sold at prices varying
from five hundred to five thousand dollars. They are
made in Persia and India.

Llama and alpaca wool are fine textile obtained from
animals of the camel kind native to South America. The
wool is either black or brown in color. A considerable

116 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

part is used for native-made articles, such as saddle-blan-
kets, etc., but much of it is exported to England.

Most of the " camel's hair " of commerce was originally
worn by goats, being called by its commercial name be-
cause of a similarity in texture to that of the camel's hair.
The camel of Turkestan, however, furnishes a silky textile
that is much used. The brown wool often found in Ham-
adtm rugs is natural camel's hair, and a considerable amount
mixed with sheep's wool is used in certain textiles. The
camel's hair of China is made into artists' brushes.

Silk. — The silk of commerce is the fibre spun by the
larvae or caterpillars of a moth, Bombyx mori, as they
enter the chrysalis stage of existence. The silk-growing
industry includes the care and feeding of the insect in all
its stages. The leaves of the white mulberry-tree (mortis
alba) are the natural food of the insect, and silk-growing
cannot be carried on in regions where this tree does not
thrive. Not all areas that produce the mulberry-tree,
however, will also grow the silk-worm ; the latter cannot
exist in regions having very cold winters, and therefore the
industry is restricted by climate.

The moth, shortly after emerging from the chrysalis
stage, lays from two or three hundred to seven hundred
eggs. These are "hardy " — that is, they will remain fertile
for a long time if kept in a cool, dry place ; moisture will
cause them to putrify, and heat to germinate. If well pro-
tected, they may be transported for distances.

In rearing the silk-worm, as soon as the latter is hatched,
it is placed on mulberry-leaves, and for five weeks it does
nothing but eat, in that time consuming many times its
weight of food.* Then it begins to spin the material that

* An ounce of eggs produces about forty thousand worms, and these,
during the grub stage, require about fifteen hundred pounds of leaves.
&bput one-half of which is actually consumed

SILK INDUSTRY
l. Silkworm Eggs.
a. Fourth-stage Wo

a. Fourth-stage Worm.
J. Pupa In Cocoon.
4. Cocoon.

5. Male Moth.

6. Female Moth.

7. Unspun Silk.

8. Raw Manufactured Silk-
3, Manufactured Silk.

118

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

forms its chrysalis case or cocoon. The outer part of the
case consists of a tough envelope not unlike coarse tissue-
paper ; the inner part is a fine thread about one thousand
feet long that has been wound around the body of the
worm. This thread or filament is the basis of the silk
textile industry.

At the proper time the cocoons are gathered and, if
immediately to be used, are plunged into hot water. This

00 120 150

not only kills the chrysalids but softens the cocoons as
well, so that the outer cases may be removed. The cases
removed, the rest of the cocoon is soaked in warm water
until the gummy matter is softened and the fibres are free
enough to be reeled. In the latter process the ends of a
number of cocoons, varying from five to twenty, are caught
and loosely twisted into a single strand. The silk thus
prepared forms the " raw silk " of commerce. Sometimes
a number of strands of raw silk are twisted into a coarse
tliread, thereby forming "thrown silk." For convenience

TEXTILE FIBRES

119

in handling, both raw and thrown silk are made into large
skeins called hanks, and most of the silk product is ex-
ported in this form.

A given quantity of cocoons yields scarcely more than
one-tenth its weight in good raw silk. The remaining
part, consisting of broken fibres and cases, is shredded and
spun into silk thread of inferior quality. This material,
commonly called " husks " or " knubs," forms an impor-
tant item in silk manufacture, and much of it is exported
to Europe and America.

According to traditions, not wholly trustworthy, eggs of
the silk-worm were smuggled to India in the head-dress of
a Chinese princess. Thence sericulture slowly made its
way westward to Persia, Asia Minor, and the Mediterra-
nean countries. Wild silk, a coarse but strong product, is
grown in many of these countries, but mainly in China,
where it forms an important export. The Chinese prod-
uct is commercially known as " tussar " silk. Of the

Chin*
Japan

li.il;

I Mi-lNh Coart
Trance
Spalo
India

SILK

Production In 1900
in Millions. Pounds.

product of raw silk, about thirty-five million pounds, China
yields about two-fifths, Japan and Italy each one-fifth.
Tli<i remainder is grown in the Levant, Spain, and France.
Most of tho raw silk of China is exported from Shang-
hai and Canton ; that of Japan is shipped mainly from
Yokohama. Among European countries Italy is the first
producer of raw silk, and France the chief manufacturer.

120 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

By the operation of a heavy tariff a considerable manu-
facture of silk textiles has grown up in the United States.
New York City and Paterson, N. J., are the chief cen-
tres of the industry.

The southern part of the United States offers an ideal
locality for sericulture. Various attempts at silk-worm
breeding have failed from lack of training, but not on ac-
count of geographic conditions.

Flax. — The flax of commerce, the basis of linen cloth, is
the bast or inner bark-fibre of an annual plant (Linum usi-
tatissimurn, i.e., most useful fibre), native probably to the
Mediterranean basin. It ranks among the oldest known
textiles. Bundles of unwrought fibre have been found in
the lake dwellings of Switzerland, and linen cloth consti-
tuted a part of the sepulture wrappings of the ancient
Egyptian dead.

Flax has a very wide range, thriving in the colder parts
of Europe as well as in tropical Asia ; it does equally Avell
in the dry summers of California or the moist regions
of the Mississippi Valley. The chief requisite is a firm
soil that contains plent}*- of nutrition.

After the stalks have passed maturity they are pulled up
by hand ; " rippled," or deprived of their seeds and leaves ;
" retted," or moistened in soft water until the bast sepa-
rates ; " broken " and " scutched " by a machine which
gets rid of the woody fibres ; and finally the loosened bast
fibre is "hetcheled" or combed in order to separate the
long, or " line," threads from the " tow " or refuse.

Russia produces more .than one-half the world's crop,
but the finest and choicest is that known as Courtrai fibre,
which is grown in Belgium. This is thought to be due to
the quality of the water in the Lys River. A consider-
able amount of flax grown elsewhere in Europe is sent
to this part of Belgium to be retted. Ireland and Ger-

TEXTILE FIBRES 121

many produce considerable amounts, and a small quantity
is grown in the United States.

The prepared flax is used in the manufacture of linen
cloth, and the latter is almost exclusively used for table-
cloths, napkins, shirt-bosoms, collars, cuffs, and handker-
chiefs. France is noted for the manufacture of linen lawns
and cambrics, and Belfast, Ireland, for table-cloths and
napkins. Nearly the whole linen product is consumed in
the United States, Canada, and western Europe; indeed,
linen is a mark of western civilization. Great Britain
handles the greater part of the linen textiles.

Hemp. — The true hemp of commerce is the bast or
inner bark of a plant, Cannabis sativa, belonging to the
nettle order. It is an annual plant having a very wide
range ; it occurs in pretty nearly every country of North
America, Europe, and Asia. In Europe the chief countries
producing it for commercial uses are Russia, France, Italy,
and Hungary; in the United States it is grown in Califor-
nia and the central Mississippi Valley. Russia produces
the largest crop ; Italy the finest quality of fibre, the best
coming from the vicinity of Bologna.

The stalks grow three feet or more in height. "When
cultivated for the fibre they are pulled from the ground,
stripped of their leaves and soaked until the fibre is free.
They are then " retted," or beaten, and the fibre is removed.
After preparation the fibre is used mainly for the manu-
facture of wrapping-twine, cordage, and a coarse canvas.
Great Britain is the chief purchaser and manufacturer.

Manila Hemp. — Manila hemp is the name given to a
fibre obtained from the leaves of a plant, Musa text if is,
belonging to the banana family. The best fibres are from
six to nine feet in length, of light amber color, and very
strong. The leaves, torn into narrow strips by hand, are
afterward scraped by hand until the fibre is free of pulp.

122 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

The long and coarser fibres are made into rope; the
shorter fibres are beaten and hetcheled in the same manner
as flax, until fine enough to weave into mats, carpets, and
fine cloth. The fibres that have served their usefulness as
rope are pulped and manufactured into manila paper.

Practically all the mauila fibre of commerce — which is
not hemp at all — is grown in the Philippine Islands, and
since peace has prevailed, the growth and production is in-
creasing. The crude fibre is prepared by hand, by Filipino
or by Chinese labor. The manufacture of cordage and
paper is done mainly in the United States and Great
Britain. Fine hand-made textiles are made by a few Fili-
pino natives, but most of the goods of this character are
manufactured in France. Very fine fibre is sometimes used
as an adulterant of silk. Great Britain and the United
States are the chief purchasers.

Sisal Hemp. — Sisal hemp, or henequen, is a stout,
stringy fibre obtained from the thick leaves of several spe-
cies of agave, to which the maguey and century-plant be-
long. The cultivated species, from which most of the
commercial product is obtained, is the Agave sisalina, which
much resembles the ordinary century-plant.

The essential feature in the economic production of sisal
hemp is machinery for separating the fibre from the pulp
of the leaf. The fibre is whiter, cleaner, and lighter than
jute ; moreover, in strength it ranks next to the best quality
of manila hemp. It is used mainly in the manufacture of
grain-sacks, and the twine used on self-binding harvesters.
Nearly all the fibre of commerce is grown in the Mexican
state of Yucatan and consumed in the United States. The
cultivation of this material has made Yucatan one of the
most prosperous states of Mexico.

Jute. — Jute is a fibre obtained from the inner bark of a
tropical plant, Corchorus oliiorius, belonging to the same

TEXTILE FIBRES 123

order as the lindan-tree. The plant is an annual, growing
in various moist, tropical countries, but is extensively cul-
tivated in India and parts of China for commercial pur-
poses. The fibre is prepared for manufacture in much the
same manner as hemp and flax. In India it is used
mainly for the manufacture of a coarse textile known as
gunny cloth, used as bale-wrappers, and sacks for coffee
and rice. On the Pacific coast states it is used for wheat-
sacks. Calcutta is the chief centre of manufacture, but
jute-sacks are extensively manufactured by the Chinese
in California and China.

Ramie. — This fibre, also known as China grass, is the
best of two or more species of nettles, prepared in the
same manner as hemp fibre. It is finer and stronger than
jute, and will take dye-stuffs in a superior manner. "With
the introduction of machinery for separating and handling
the fibre, the cultivation of the ramie-plant lias spread from
China to India, Japan, and the United States. Fine tex-
tiles are now manufactured from it, the most important
being carpets, mattings, and American " Smyrna " rugs.
The last are generally sold as jnte-rugs, and they are
nearly as durable as woollen floor-covers.

Other Economic Fibres. — The fibre of cococmnf Jmnk is
largely employed in th<« manufacture of coarse matting. A
part of this is obtained from tropical America, but it is a
regular export of British India, where it is known as coir.

The midrib of the screw pine growing in the forests of
tropical America furnishes the material of which "Panama"
hats are made. The hats are made in various parts of
Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia, and were formerly
marketed in Panama. Hats made of a score of grasses and
fibres are also sold as Panamas.

A plant (Pliurniiinn t<',,n.r} having leaves somewhat like
those of the iris or common flag furnishes the material of

124 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

which New Zealand flax is prepared. It is used mainly in
the manufacture of cordage.

Plaiting straiv, used in the manufacture of hats and
bonnets, is grown extensively in northern Italy and in
Belgium. For this product spring wheat is very thickly
sown in a soil rich in lime. The thick sowing produces
a loug, slender stalk; the lime gives it whiteness and
strength. Plaiting straw is also exported from China and
Japan. British merchants handle most of the product.

Cuba bast, a fibre readily bleached to whiteness, is ex-
ported to the various establishments in which women's
hats are made.

Esparto grass, also called alfa, grows in Spain and the
northern part of Africa. It was formerly much used in
the manufacture of the cheaper grades of paper, but it has
been largely supplanted by wood-pulp for this purpose.
The decline of the esparto grass industry led to no little
unrest among some of the native tribes of northern Africa.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What fibres were used in cloth-making in Europe before cot-
ton was employed ?

What textiles are of necessity made of cotton ?

What is a spinning jenny?— a Jacquard loom?

What are the specific differences between cotswold and merino
wool?

Why were most of the cloth-making mills of the United States
built at first in the New England States?

How is the silk-making industry encouraged in the United
States?

What are the chief linen manufacturing countries ?

FOR STUDY AND REFERENCE

Obtain specimens of the cotton seed, boll, raw cotton (sea
island, Peruvian, and ordinary), cotton thread, calico, gingham,

TEXTILE FIBRES 125

domestic, canvas, and some of the fancy textiles such as organ-
die, lawn, etc.

Obtain specimens of the cocoons of the silk-worm, raw silk,
gros-grain cloth, pongee, and tussar silk cloth.

Obtain also specimens of merino cloth, cashmere, cheviot, and
other similar goods ; compare them and note the difference.

Examine the fibres of cotton, silk, and wool under a micro-
scope and note the difference.

BRANCH OF COFFEE TREE,
WEST BRAZIL

COFFEE PLANTATION NEAR JOLO,
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

COFFEE DRYING FIELD, BRAZIL

CHAPTER X

PLANT PKODUCTS OP ECONOMIC USE — BEVERAGES
AND MEDICINAL SUBSTANCES

IT may be assumed that practically all beverages derived
from plants owe their popularity to the stimulant effects
they produce. In coffee, tea, cocoa, and mate, the stimu-
lant principle is identical with cafein, the active principle
of coffee; in liquors it is a powerful narcotic alcohol; non-
potable substances, tobacco, opium, etc., owe their popu-
larity also to narcotic poisons.

Coffee. — The coffee "beans" of commerce are the seeds
of a tree (Cqffea arabica) probably native to Abyssinia, but
now cultivated in various parts of the world. It was in-
troduced into Aden from Africa late in the fifteenth cen-
tury, and from there its use spread to other cities. Rather
singularly its popularity resulted from the strong efforts
made to forbid its use.

It was regarded as a stimulant and therefore it was for-
bidden to followers of Islam.* But its power to prevent
drowsiness and sleep during the intolerably long religious
exercises was a winning feature, and so its use became gen-
eral in spite of the fulminations against it.

Coffee culture was confined to Arabia until the close of
the seventeenth century ; it was then introduced into the
Dutch East Indies, and for many years the island of Java

* Charles II. of England also forbade its use (Ifi75) and attempted to
close the coffee-houses that had sprung up in London, but in spite of the
ban and the prohibitive tar laid upon it, the use of coffee became general.
Similar efforts to close the coffee-houses in Constantinople failed.

127

128

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

became the main supply of the world. At the present time,
Java is second only to Brazil iu coffee production. In the
Old World it is now also cultivated along the Guinea coast
of Africa, in Madagascar, India, and Ceylon. In the New
World the chief areas are Brazil, Venezuela, the Central
American States, and the West Indies.

The coffee-tree may be cultivated in almost any soil
that is fertile ; it thrives best, however, in red soil. Old,
decomposed red lavas produce the choicest beans. Coffee

grows in any moist climate in which the temperature does
not range higher than 80° F. nor lower than 55° R An
occasional frost injures but does not necessarily kill the
trees, which grow better in the shade than in the sunlight.
For convenience in gathering the crop, the trees are pruned
until they are not higher than bushes.

The fruit of the coffee-tree is a deep-red berry not quite
so large as a cherry. A juicy pulp encloses a double mem-
brane, or endocarp, and within the latter are the seeds
which constitute the coffee of commerce. Normally there
are two seeds, but in some varieties there is a tendency for

PLANT PRODUCTS OF ECONOMIC USE ]29

one seed to mature, leaving the other undeveloped ; this
is the "peaberry" coffee of commerce. The so-called
Mocha coffee is a peaberry.

In their preparation the berries are picked when ripe
and deprived of their pulp. After pulping they are cured
in the sun for about a week and then hulled, or divested
of the eudocarp, a process requiring expensive machinery.
The coffee is then cleaned, and sacked.

The value of the product depends on two factors, age
and the care with which it is sorted. Formerly, in the
Dutch East Indies, coffee-growing, for the greater part,
was a government privilege, and the crop was kept for
several years in storage before it was permitted to be sold —
therefore the term " Old Government " Java. Other cof-
fee was designated as " Private Plantations." The quality
of coffee is greatly improved with age. Brazilian and other
American coffee-beans are rarely seasoned by storage.

American coffees are almost wholly sorted by machin-
ery. This process, however, merely collects beans of the
same size ; it still leaves the good and the bad beans to-
gether, though it is to be said that among the largest beans
there are fewer poor ones. In the coffees handled by the
Arab dealers all the sorting is done by hand, the very
choice grade selling in the large cities of Europe for the
equivalent of nearly three dollars per pound. All machine-
sorted coffee is greatly improved by a subsequent hand-
sorting to remove the imperfect br.-ms.

The naming of the different kinds of coffee is somewhat
arbitrary. Thus, Brazilian coffees are commercially known
as Rio because they are shipped from the port of Rio de
Janeiro ; the same name is applied to the product shipped
from Santos. Nearly all Venezuela coffees are called
Metrdocnbo although they differ much in kind and quality;
most Central American coffee is sold as Costa Rica ; most

130

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

peaberry varieties are known as Mocha ; and most of the
East India product is popularly called Java, no matter
^hence it comes.

Of the American coffees Kio constitutes about half the
world's product. After sorting, the larger beans are often
marketed as Java coffee, and when the beans have been
roasted it is exceedingly difficult to tell the difference. The
best Maracaibo is regarded as choice coffee, but its flavor is
not liked by all coffee-drinkers. The best Honduras and
Puerto Kico coffees take a high rank and command very
high prices, retailing in some instances at sixty cents per

0 100 200 300 400 500 COO 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200

Brazil

Cent. America

Venezuela

Dutch East Indies

Hcxlco

IlalU & S.Domlngo

Porto Rico

Other Countries

COFFEE

Production in 1809-1900
lu Hundred Million Pounds.

pound. A very choice peaberry is grown in the volcanic
soils of Mexico to which the name of Oaxaca is given ; most
of it is sold in the United States as a choice Mocha.

Mocha is the commercial name of a coffee at one time
marketed in the Arabian city of that name. Since the
completion of the Suez Canal, Hodeida has been the chief
centre of the Arabian coffee-trade. Formerly most of this
coffee was grown in the Province of Yemen, but now it is
brought to Hodeida, from Egypt, Ceylon, and India.

About all the product is hand-sorted. The choicest is
sold in Constantinople, Cairo, and other cities near by, in
some instances bringing five dollars per pound. Very little,
and only that of the most inferior quality, ever finds its

PLANT PRODUCTS OP ECONOMIC USE 131

way iiito western Europe or the United States. Even the
best Mocha is not superior to fine Oaxaca coffee.

Java coffee is renowned the world over for its fine flavor.
The best quality was formerly that which had been held in
storage to season for a few years. The government coffee
was generally the better, but some of the private planta-
tions crop is now equally good. Some of the Sumatra cof-
fees are equal to the best Java beans.

The Liberia coffees have never been favorites in the
United States on account of their flavor. In Europe they
are used for blending with other varieties.

Of the entire coffee-crop of the world, the United States
consumes more than three-quarters of a billion pounds — a
yearly average of very nearly eleven pounds for each in-
habitant. This is nearly three times as much per inhab-
itant as is consumed in Germany, and almost fifteen times
the average used in Great Britain. Nearly all the world's
crop is consumed in the United States and western Europe.

Chicory, parched grain, pease, and burnt parsnip are
sometimes added as adulterants to ground coffee. Of those,
chicory most nearly resembles coffee in flavor and taste.
It is harmless and usually improves the flavor of inferior
coffee. A tariff recently placed upon chicory has some-
what lessened the use of it.

Tea. — The tea of commerce consists of the dried and
prepared leaves of an evergreen shrub (T/ica c/iincnsiti)
belonging most probably to the camellia family. Tea has
been a commercial product of China for more than four-
teen hundred years, but seems to have been carried thither
from India about five hundred years before the Christian
era ; for its virtues were praised by (the probably mythi-
cal) Chiming, an emperor of that period.

The cultivated plants are scarcely higher than bushes,
but the wild plant found in India is a tree fifteen or

132 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

twenty feet in height. The cultivated plant is quite hardy ;
severe winters kill it but ordinary freezing weather merely
retards its growth. It thrives best in red, mouldy soils ;
the choicest varieties are grown in new soils. The leaves
are not picked until the plants are three or four years old.

Two general classes of tea are known in commerce — the
green and the black. Formerly these were grown on dif-
ferent varieties of the plant, but in the newer plantations
no distinction is made in the matter of variety ; the color
is due wholly to the manner of preparation.

The plants are watched carefully during the seasons of
picking, of which there are three or four each year. The
April picking yields the choicest crop of leaves, and only
the youngest leaves and buds are taken.* A single plant
rarely yields more than four or five ounces of tea yearly.
Each acre of a tea-garden yields about three hundred and
fifty pounds.

After picking, the leaves are partly crushed and allowed
to wilt until they begin to turn brown in color. They
are then rolled between the hands and either dried very
slowly in the sun, or else rapidly in pans over a charcoal
fire — a process known as " firing." The former method
produces black, the latter green, tea. The color of the
latter is sometimes heightened by the use of a mixture of
powdered gypsum and Prussian blue. In the black teas
the green coloring matter of the leaf is destroyed by fer-
mentation ; in the green teas it remains unchanged.

The greater part of the Chinese tea designed for export
is packed rather loosely in. wooden chests lined with sheet-
lead, the folds and joints of which are soldered in order to
make the cover both air-tight and moisture-tight. A full
chest contains seventy-five pounds of tea. The Japan

* The full-grown leaf attains a length of from fonr to nine inches ;
those picked rarely exceed one-and-a-half inches in length.

PLANT PRODUCTS OP ECONOMIC USE

133

product is also packed in moisture-tight wrappers, the
original parcels being usually ten-pound, five-pound, and
pound packages. Similar devices are used in preparing
the India and Formosa teas for ocean shipment.

The chief tea-producing countries are India (including
C'eylon) China, Japan (including Formosa), and Java. A
successful tea-garden is in operation near Charleston, S. C.
A small amount is grown in the Fiji and Samoan Islands.
The Ceylon and Formosa teas take a very high rank.

Great Britain and her colonies consume the bulk of the
tea-crop. The average yearly consumption per person is
eight pounds in Australia, six in Great Britain and Cape
of Good Hope, and more than four in Canada. In the
United States and Russia it is less than one pound per
person.

Before the opening of the Suez Canal, in 1869, most of
the crop for the English market was despatched by way of
Cape of Good Hope. So important was it to get the con-
signments to London without loss of time, that fast clipper
ships were built especially for carrying tea. Since the open-

134 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

ing of the caiial the crop has been shipped mainly by the
Suez route.

A part of the tea required for the United States reaches
New York by way of the Suez Canal, but the movement is
gradually changing since the building of the fast liners
that now ply between Asian and American ports. These
steamships carry it to Seattle, or to Vancouver, whence it
is distributed by rail. The increased cost of shipment by
this route is more than offset by a gain of from five to
seven days in time.

In some respects the Russian " caravan route " is the
most important channel of the tea-trade. The tea is col-
lected mainly at Tientsin, and sent by camel caravans
through Manchuria to the most convenient point on the
Siberian railway. Not only the shipments of brick tea *
for the Russian market, but the choicest products for
western Europe also are sent by this route. It is prob-
ably an economical way of shipping the brick tea, but a
more expensive method of shipment for the latter could
not be found easily ; it is preferred from the fact that, no
matter how carefully sealed, the flavor of tea is materially
injured by an ocean voyage.

It is evident, therefore, that for the tea product alone the
Siberian railway will soon become an important factor in
the commerce of Europe. Shipments of tea are also sent
from Canton to Odessa, Russia, but this route is not less
expensive in the long run than the Cape route, and the tea
suffers as much deterioration from the shorter as from the
longer voyage.

Cacao. — Cacao, the " cocoa " of commerce, consists of
the prepared seeds of several species of TJteobroma, the
greater part being obtained from the Tkeobroma cacao.

.* Brick tea consists of leaves moulded into bricks under heavy pressure.
Refuse and stems are also thus prepared for the cheaper grades.

PLANT PRODUCTS OF ECONOMIC USE 135

The name is unfortunately confused with that of the cocoa-
palm, but there is no relation whatever between the two.

The seeds of the cacao were used in ancient America
long before its discovery by Columbus, and the latter car-
ried the first knowledge of it to Europe. By the middle
of the seventeenth century it was much used in Spain,
and less than a hundred years later it had become the fash-
ionable drink of western Europe.

The cacao-tree, originally native to Mexico, is now culti-
vated throughout tropical America and the West Indies.
It is not cultivated to any extent in the Eastern continent.
The fruit consists of large, fleshy pods, which are cut
from the trees usually in June and December. The seeds
are then piled in heaps, or else packed in pits, and al-
lowed to undergo a rapid fermentation for a period of sev-
eral days, to which process their flavor is mainly due.
The roasted and broken seeds are the cocoa-nibs of com-
merce. The husks are known as cocoa-shells.

A very large part of the cacao product comes from Ecua-
dor, Guayaquil being perhaps the chief market of the
world. The Venezuelan and Brazilian products, however,
are the choicest; these are known in commerce respect-
ively as Caracas and Trinidad cacao. Spain, Portugal, and
France are the chief purchasers, and in the first-named
country the consumption per person is five or six times as
great as in other countries.

Cacao is not only a stimulant beverage, but a food as
well ; about one-half its weight is fat, and about one-third
consists of starch and flesh-making substances. The stim-
ulant principle is the same as that occurring in tea and
coffee, but the proportion is considerably less. In prepar-
ing the cocoa for the market, much of the fat is intention-
ally withdrawn. The fat, commercially known as " cocoa-
butter," and " oil of theobroma," does not turn rancid.

136 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Chocolate consists of cocoa ground to a paste with
sugar and flavoring matter, and then cast in moulds to
harden. It is used mainly in the manufacture of con-
fectionery. Most of the chocolate is made in France,
Spain, and the United States. More than forty million
pounds of cocoa are yearly consumed in the United States.

Mate. — Mate, yerba mate, or Paraguay tea, is the leaf of
a shrub, a spscies of holly, growing profusely in the forests
of Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay. In many
instances, the shrub is cultivated. The leaves are prepared
in much the same manner as tea-leaves are, but instead of
being rolled, they are broken by beating.

The mate of commerce has a stimulant principle identi-
cal with that of tea and coffee, which is the only reason for
its use. The consumption, about fifteen thousand tons a
year, is confined almost wholly to the countries named.

Tobacco. — The tobacco of commerce is the prepared
and manufactured leaf of several species of plant, be-
longing to the nightshade family. Most of the product is
derived from the species known as Virginia tobacco (Nico-
tiana tabacurn) and the Brazilian species (Nicotiana rus-
ticd). The former is cultivated in the United States,
"West Indies, the Philippine Islands, and Turkey ; the
latter has been transplanted to central Europe and the
East Indies.

The use of tobacco was prevalent in the New World at
the time of Columbus's first voyage, and was quickly intro-
duced into Europe. The prepared leaf contains a sub-
stance, nicotine, which is one of the most deadly of poisons
when swallowed, and an intense narcotic stimulant when
inhaled. On account of the evil effects arising from its
introduction, its use was forbidden by the Church and also
by sovereigns of several European states. The latter, how-
ever, finding that its use was becoming general, made it a

PLANT PRODUCTS OF ECONOMIC USE

137

Crown monopoly. In Great Britain its cultivation was
forbidden in order to encourage its cultivation in Virginia.

Tobacco does not thrive best in a poor soil, but the
latter produces a thin, half-developed leaf, which in other
plants would be called " sickly." It grows in almost any
kind of soil, but requires warm summer nights. In many
instances the tobacco of temperate latitudes yields a more
salable leaf when grown under cover. The flavor is due
partly to soil and climate, and partly to skill in curing.
The choicest prod-
uct is obtained in
only a few localities
of limited area. It
sometimes happens
that the products of
two plantations al-
most side by side,
and similarly situ-
ated, are very unlike
in character and qual-
ity.

The choicest cigar-
tobacco is grown on

the Yuelta Abajo district in the province of Pinar del
Rio, Cuba; another very choice Cuban leaf is known as
Partidos. Cuban-made cigars of fine quality are com-
mercially " Havana " cigars, although tobacco from Manila
and Porto Eico is apt to be largely used in their manu-
facture. In order to avoid the very heavy duty on cigars,
which is not far from six dollars per pound, a great deal of
the Havana tobacco is exported to points along the Florida
coast, mainly Key West and Tampa. The unmanufactured
tobacco pays a comparatively small duty, and the cigars
made from it are commercially knoww as " Key "West."

138 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

In some parts of Mexico a fine -flavored tobacco is
grown, but as the cigars are not uniform in quality they are
not popular. Some of the Brazilian tobacco is a high-
class product, but not much is exported. Porto Ricau
leaf has a fine flavor, but is not popular because of its dark
color. The demand for it in the United States is growing,
however. Of the leaf grown in the East, that from Suma-
tra and the Philippine Islands is by far the best, and the
exports are heavy. Cuban manufacturers purchase the
Manila leaf ; the Sumatra wrappers are purchased in the
United States.

The choicest cigarette-tobacco is grown in Asiatic Tur-
key, Transcaucasia, and Egypt. It is selected with great
care, and is " long-cut." The common grades are made of
chopped Virginia tobacco, or of chopped cigar-trimmings.
The cheapest grades consist of refuse leaf mixed with half-
smoked cigar-stumps. The United States leads in the
manufacture of cigarettes, and a large part of the product
is sold in China, India, and Japan. Most of the world's
product of "snuff is made in the United States, and nearly
all of it is sold abroad.

The United States produces yearly about seven hundred
million pounds. A large part of this is sold to European
countries. Great Britain purchases about four-fifths of the
tobacco there consumed from the United States. The latter
country purchases from Europe (mainly the Netherlands)
about half as much as it sells to Europe. Louisville, Ky.>
is probably the largest tobacco-market in the world. New
York, Baltimore, Richmond, Manila, and Havana are the
chief shipping-ports.

In almost every civilized country tobacco is heavily
taxed. In the United States there is not only a heavy im-
port duty, but an internal revenue in addition. In Aus-
tria, France, Italy, Japan, and Spain the manufacture and

PLANT PRODUCTS OF ECONOMIC USE 139

sale is in the hands of the government. The consumption
of tobacco varies greatly. In the Netherlands it averages
about seven pounds a year to each individual ; in the
United States it is more than four pounds ; in centra)
Europe, three pounds ; in Spain, Sweden, Great Britain,
and Italy, it is less than two pounds.

Opium.— The opium of commerce is the hardened juice
obtained from the seed capsules of several species of the
poppy-plant. A variety haviug a large capsule (Papaver
sontiiifenirri) is most commonly cultivated for the commer-
cial production of the substance. Half-a-dozen times dur-
ing the season the capsules are scratched or cut ; the juice
exuding when hard is picked or scraped off and pressed
into cakes.

Opium is not only a narcotic poison, but it has the prop-
erty of lessening the pain of disease, and this is its chief
use in medicine. In Mohammedan countries where the
use of alcoholic liquors is forbidden as a religious custom,
opium is used as a substitute. In Turkey, Persia, Arabia,
and Egypt the production of opium is an important indus-
try connected with social and religious life. In British
India it is a political factor, being extensively cultivated as
a government monopoly to be sold to the Chinese, who are
probably the chief consumers of it. The Indian Govern-
ment derives a revenue sometimes reaching twenty million
dollars from this source.

The best quality of opium is marketed at Smyrna, and
most of this is purchased by the United States. A con-
siderable amount of Chinese opium is imported for the use
of the Chinese, and a larger amount is probably smuggled
over the Canadian and Mexican borders. Laudanum is an
alcoholic tincture, and morphine an extractive of opium ;
both are used as medicine.

140 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Consult a good physiology and learn the effects of coffee, tea,
tobacco, and opium.

Where and what are the following : Mocha, Java, Maracaibo,
Yokohama, Amoy, Canton, Oaxaca, Hodeida, Rio Janeiro, San-
tos, Havana ; how is each connected commercially with this
chapter ?

From the map, Fig. 1, trace the route of a cargo of tea over-
land from China to Great Britain.

Consult an English history or a cyclopaedia and learn about
the opium war.

FOR STUDY AND REFERENCE

Obtain samples of the following, preserving them for study
and inspection in closely stoppered vials : Mocha, Java, Rio, and
Sumatra coffees; green, black, and gunpowder tea. Soak a tea-
leaf a few minutes in warm water ; unroll the leaf and attach it
to a white card, for study.

Obtain samples of gum opium, laudanum, and morphine ; note
the odor of the first two and the taste of the last. Remember
that they are poisonous.

Unroll a cheap cigarette and note the character of the tobacco
in it, using a magnifying glass.

CHAPTEK XI
GUMS AND RESINS USED IN THE ARTS

MOST vegetable juices exposed to the air harden into
firm substances, commonly caljed gum. Some of these
dissolve, or at least soften, in water ; these technically are
known as "gums," and usually are so designated in com-
merce. Others are insoluble in water, but dissolve readily
in alcohol, in naphtha, in turpentine, or in other essential
oils; these are designated as "gum-resins." Still others
yield oils or pitchy substances on distillation ; these are
known as " oleo-resins." There are many other dried vege-
table juices, however, that in commerce are not classified
among the gums and resins, and of these the most impor-
tant is the substance commonly known as india-rubber.

Rubber and Rubber Products. — " Caoutchouc " is
approximately the name given by Indians of the Amazon
forests to a substance that had also been found in India.
Some of it was brought to Europe from the Amazon region
as early as 1736, mid for nearly one hundred years no gen-
eral purpose was discovered for which it could be used,
except to erase lead-pencil marks — hence the name india-
rubber, which has held ever since.

Common rubber is the prepared juice of a dozen or
more shrubs and trees, all of which grow in tropical re-
gions.* The belt of rubber- producing plants extends around

* The following are the chief rubber-producing trees : Siphonia elaslica,
or Ifcveabrasiliensis, Amazon forests, yields Para rubber; Manihot Glaz-
totftt, also a tapioca-producing shrub, Ceara province, Brazil, furnishes
Ceara rubber; Castilloa efastica, Central American States, Nicaragua
rubber; Ficus elastica, British India, and Urceola elastica, Borneo, Indian
rubber. There are rubber-producing trees in Florida, but they have little
commercial value at the present time. African rubber is taken from a
variety of plants.

141

142 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

the world and includes such well-known species as the fig,
the manihot (or manioc), and the oleander; indeed, it is a
condition of sap rather than a definite species of plant that
produces rubber, and the latter is a manufactured rather
than a natural product. The process of preparing the juice
is practically the same in every part of the world.

The rubber-gatherer of the Amazon, who is practically a
slave, wades into the swamp, makes several incisions in the
bark of the tree, fashions a rough trough of clay under it,
and waits till the sap fills the clay vessel. When the sap
has been gathered he makes a fire of the nuts of the uru-
curi palm and places an inverted funnel over it to concen-
trate the smoke. He first dips the end of a wooden spindle
into the juice and then holds it in the smoke until the
juice coagulates ; this process is repeated until there has
formed a ball of rubber weighing from five to ten pounds.
The smoke of the palm-nuts is a chemical agent that con-
verts the juice into the crude rubber of commerce.

Crude gum, however, is lacking both in strength and
elasticity. The process that makes it a finished product is
known as vulcanization. The crude rubber, having been ex-
ported to the manufacturer in the United States or Europe,
is shredded, washed, and cleansed, and partly fused with
varying proportions of sulphur. For a very soft product,
such as the inner surface of tires, only a small proportion
is used ; where the wear is considerable, a larger proportion
is employed.* White clay is sometimes added to give body
to the product ; coloring matter is also sometimes added.

By far the greater part of the crude rubber comes from

* The process of vulcanizing was made practicable during the ten years
ending in 1850. It was invented and perfected by Goodyear in the United
States and by Hancock in England ; for ordinary purposes, where both
strength and elasticity are required, about five per cent, of sulphur is
added. The addition of about fifty per cent, changes the rubber to a
hard black substance known as " ebonite," or " hard rubber."

GUMS AND RESINS USED IN THE ARTS

143

the Amazon forests. Brazil produces about one-half, but
a considerable quantity is obtained in Acre, the territory
formed where the borders of Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru
meet, and now ceded to Brazil. Nearly all this product,
that of the Ceara region excepted, is marketed at Para
and is known as Para rubber. It is the best produced.
The African product, mainly from the forests of the Kon-
go, and Madagascar, and nearly all the East Indian prod-
uct is sent to Europe.

The world's product is about one hundred and thirty-

three million pounds of crude rubber. Of this product the
United States takes nearly one-half. The greater part is
used in the manufacture of pneumatic tires, hose, and
overshoes. A large part is used for making water-proof
cloth,* and considerable is made into the small elastic
bands for which there is a growing use.

*In 1823 a Scotchman, Mackintosh, applied the discovery, that rubber
gum was soluble in benzine, to the water-proofing of the cloth that bears
his name. This invention was about the first extensive commercial use to
which rubber had been put.

144 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Gutta-Percha. — Gutta-percha is obtained from the
juices of several plants (chiefly Dickopsis gutta and Sa-
TDota mulleri) both of which abound in the Malay penin-
sula and the East Indies. It is prepared in a manner some-
what similar to that employed in making crude rubber ; it
is also easily vulcanized by heating with sulphur. It is
used to a limited extent in the manufacture of golf-balls,
but mainly as the insulating cover of copper wires used
in ocean telegraph cables. For this purpose it has no
known substitute, and its essential merit is the fact that it
is not altered by salt water. Nearly all the product is
shipped from Singapore to England.

Pine-Tree Products. — The various members of the
pine and cone-bearing trees yield valuable essential oils
and oleo-resins that are very important in the arts and
sciences. These, in nearly every instance, are prepared
from the sap of the tree.

Oil of turpentine is known as an " essential oil," and in
chemical structure and properties it does not differ from
the various essential oils, such as lemon, orange, pepper-
mint, etc. Commercial turpentine is generally made from
the sap of the long-leafed pine of the Atlantic coast-plain.

The bark of the tree is cut near the foot, and the sap
that oozes from the scar quickly hardens into a gum.
The gum, generally known as " crude turpentine," is dis-
tilled and yields about one-fourth its weight of oil or
" spirit " of turpentine. It is a staple article of manufact-
ure in Europe, India, and the United States, and is used
chiefly to dilute the oil paints and varnishes used in in-
door work. The United States supplies about two thirds
of the world's product, a large part of which is shipped
from Savannah and Brunswick, Ga., to Great Britain.*

*From the fact that most of the dwellings in the United States are built
of wood, the United States is a very heavy consumer of turpentine.

GUMS AND RESINS USED IN THE ARTS 145

Resin is the substance remaining after the crude turpen-
tine has been distilled. It is used in the manufacture of
varnish, sealing-wax, and soap. Finely powdered resin is
also mixed with wood-pulp in the manufacture of wrapping-
paper. It gives the latter a glazed surface and renders it
almost water-proof. Most of the world's product of resin
comes from the turpentine district of the United States,
and about four-fifths of it is exported to Europe.

When resin is subjected to distillation at a still higher
temperature, resin oil, a very heavy turpentine, is given
off, and a viscous substance known as piicli remains. A
considerable amount of this is still made in the United
States, but. the greater part comes from the pine-forests
of Russia and Scandinavia. When pine-wood is distilled,
tar is the chief product. In Russia tar is generally
made by burning green logs covered with turf, over a pit.
Creosote, or wood preservative, is made from tar. The
various pine-tree products, creosote excepted, are com-
monly known as "naval stores," the tar being used
in water-proofing the rigging of vessels, the pitch in
calking the seams in between planks, in the decks and
hulls.

Other Resins and Gums Used in the Arts. — Most of
the gums and resins used in the arts and sciences are the
hardened sap of plants — in some cases exuding by natural
means from the bark, in others resulting from the puncture
of the bark.

The lac of commerce is due to the puncture of the young
branches of a tree, frequently a fig (Ficus religiosd) growing
in the tropical forests of India. The hardened sap in-
crusts twigs forming stick-lac; when crushed, washed,
and freed from the woody matter it is seed-lac; when
melted and cooled in flakes it is xhcll-lac, the form best
known in commerce. It is the chief ingredient in sealing-

146 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

wax, and is extensively used as a varnish. It is also used
in fireworks on account of its inflammability.

Dammar is the product of a tree growing in the East
Indies ; it is the basis of a very fine white varnish. Copal
is a term applied to oleo-resins soluble in turpentine, and
used almost universally as varnishes. They come from the
tropical regions of South America, Africa, and from the
East Indies. Kauri is the fossil gum of a cone-bearing
tree dug from the ground in northern New Zealand. Amber
is the fossil gum of extinct cone-bearing trees found mainly
along the Baltic coast of Prussia. It is used chiefly for
the mouth-pieces of tobacco-pipes and cigar-holders ; the
inferior product is made into varnish. It is sold wherever
tobacco is used. Sandarach, found on the north African
coast, is used principally in Europe, being employed as a
varnish. The United States and Great Britain consume
most of the foregoing products.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Name any elastic substance you know about that is in every
way a substitute for rubber.

What has been the relation between rubber and good roads ?

Describe the structure of a bicycle tire.

Why are tar, pitch, and turpentine called naval stores? — and
what determines the locality in which they are made ?

What is varnish, and for what purposes is it used ?

FOR STUDY AND REFERENCE

Obtain specimens of crude rubber, vulcanized rubber, and hard
rubber ; note carefully the characteristics of each.

Burn a very small piece of cheap white rubber-tubing in an
iron spoon or a fire-shovel ; note the character of the residue.

Obtain specimens of gutta-percha, resin, pitch, turpentine,
shellac, copal, dammar, and creosote for study and inspection.

CHAPTER XH
COAL AND PETROLEUM

THE economic history of nearly every country that has
achieved eminence in modern times dates from its use of
coal and iron ; and indeed the presence of these substances
in workable deposits means almost unlimited power. The
present era is sometimes called the Age of Steel, but the
possibilities of producing steel in enormous quantities, at
less than one-fifth its price at the beginning of the nine-
teenth century, depended mainly upon the use of mineral
coal instead of charcoal in its manufacture.

Coal consists of accumulations of vegetable matter that
were formed in prior geological ages. Under the action
of heat and moisture, and also the tremendous pressure of
the rock layers that afterward covered them, the vegetable
matter was converted to mineral coal.

The aggregate coal-fields of the United States are not
far from two hundred thousand square miles in extent, but
of this area not much more than one-half is workable. In
Europe there are estimated to be about one hundred thou-
sand square miles of coal-lands, of which about half are
productive at the present time. Of this Great Britain has
12,000 square miles, Spain 4,000, France 2,000, Germany
1,800, and Belgium 500. In Canada there are about 20,000
square miles of coal-land ; a part of this is included in the
Nanaimo field on the Pacific coast, but the most important
are the Nova Scotia beds, which form about the only sup-
ply for the British naval stations of America. China has
extensive coal-fields.

147

148 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

In character coal is broadly divided into two classes — an-
thracite or hard, and bituminous or soft, coal. Anthracite
coal occurs in folded and metamorphic rocks. It is hard
and glassy, and does not split into thin layers or leaves.
The beds have been subjected to intense heat and pressure,
and the coal has but a very small amount — rarely more
than five per cent. — of Volatile matter ; it burns, therefore,
with little or no smoke and soot, and on this account is very
desirable as a fuel in cities. Two areas in Colorado and
New Mexico produce small quantities of pure anthracite ;
practically all the commercial anthracite comes from three
small basins in Pennsylvania. In quality it is known as
"red ash" and "white ash," the former being the superior.

The yearly output of the anthracite mines is upward of
fifty-five million long tons a year, or somewhat less than five
million tons per month. In winter the rate of consump-
tion is somewhat greater than that of production. A short-
age in the summer production is therefore apt to be keenly
felt in the winter. Before shipment to the market the coal
is crushed at the breakers, sorted in different sizes, and
washed.

Most of the anthracite coal-mines are owned by the rail-
way companies centring at New York and Philadelphia, or
else are operated by companies controlled by the railways.
About one-fourth of the output is produced by indepen-
dent operators who, as a rule, sell their coal to the railway
companies. The Beading, Pennsylvania, Central of New
Jersey, Lackawanna, Lehigh Valley, Ontario & Western,
Erie, and Delaware & Hudson are popularly known as
" coalers " because the larger part of their eastern business
consists in carrying anthracite coal.

Formerly much of the coal was shipped by canals, but
the latter were not able to compete with the railways, and
most of the coal-canals have been abandoned. The price

150

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

of anthracite at tide-water (New York) varies from $3.20
to $4.50 per long ton. At Philadelphia the price is about
one-fourth less. Buffalo is the chief lake-port for anthra-
cite. Steam sizes are about two-thirds the price of house
fuel.

Bituminous, or soft coal furnishes the larger part of the
house fuel in the United States, and nearly all the house
coal used in other parts of the world. It contains from
fifteen to more than forty per cent, of volatile matter, burn-

ing with a long and smoky flame. The coal which con-
tains twenty per cent, or less of volatile matter is a free-
burning coal that may develop heat enough to partly fuse
the ash, forming "clinkers "; it is therefore called " caking "
coal, and is not only well adapted for use as fuel and steam-
making, but it is also a good smelting coal.

Coal which contains more than thirty per cent, of vola-
tile matter is known as " fat " coal and is generally used in
the manufacture of coke and illuminating gas. Western
Pennsylvania produces the largest amount of fat coal, but

COAL AND PETROLEUM

161

it is found here and there in nearly all soft-coal regions. A
so-called smokeless bituminous coal occurs in various local-
ities ; its low percentage of volatile matter makes it an ex-
cellent house fuel.

Bituminous coal is mined in twenty-five States of the
Union, Pennsylvania, Illinois, West Virginia, and Ohio
heading the list. In about half the mines the coal is cut from
the seam by means of machinery and is known as machine-
mined coal. A very large part of the product is consumed
within a short distance of the mines, and this is especially
true of the region about the upper Ohio River.

Most of the product is shipped to the large manu-

Tnlled SUt«»
I nilcil Kingdom
Germany
Au.trla-llungnrv
France
Belgium
Kimia
Oilier Countries

5 5

0 75 1

JO ( 200 2!

COAL

Production in 1899
in Million Metric Tons.
1 Metrk Ton = 2204.6 lb«.

facturing cities of the middle west, where it is used for
steam as well as fuel ; a very large amount also is sent
down the Ohio in barges to the lower Mississippi River.
The spot value of bituminous coal varies from $0.80 to $1.60
per ton ; the product of the Pacific coast mines, however,
is from $3 to $5.

The output of the mines of the United States aggregates
about two hundred and forty million long tons yearly, and
tins is about one-third of the world's product. For many
years there has been an export trade to Canada, the West
Indies, Central and South America, amounting in 1900 to
8,000,000 tons. Within a few years, however, the de-
creased cost of mining due to machinery, and the low rates

152 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

of transportation to the seaboard has developed an export
trade to Bussia, Germany, and France.

A small amount of coal is imported into the United
States. A superior quality of Australian coal finds a ready
market in Pacific coast points as far north as San Fran-

cisco, and large quantities of

Nanaimo, B. C.. coal are sold

Rest of the World /

in Oregon, Washington, and

COAL California. A small quantity

of the " slack " or waste of the Nova Scotia mines is im-
ported to Boston to be made into coke. The Canadian fields
supply a considerable part of the coal used in Montana.

Coke and Coal-Tar Products. — In the manufacture of
iron and steel a fuel having a high percentage of carbon
free from volatile matter is essential. The great cost of
wood charcoal forbids its use, and so a charcoal made from
soft coal is used. Fat coal is heated in closed chambers un-
til the volatile matter is driven off. The product is " coke ";
the closed chamber is an " oven." The ovens are built of
stone or fire-brick, in a long row. They are usually on an
abrupt slope, so that the coal can be dumped into the top,
while the coke can be withdrawn from the bottom, to be
loaded into cars.

About three thousand one hundred and forty pounds
of coal are required to make a short ton of coke; from
three thousand to five thousand cubic feet of illuminating
gas, together with varying amounts of coal-tar and am-
monia, are driven off and generally wasted. In a few in-
stances " scientific " ovens are in use for the purpose of
saving these products ; but in the coal-mining regions such
devices are the exception and not the rule. The great
waste of energy-products in the manufacture of coke is
partly offset by the employment of refuse and slack, which
could not be otherwise used.

COAL AND PETROLEUM 163

There are more than five hundred and eighteen thousand
coke-ovens in the United States, of Avhich eighty per cent,
are in use. Most of them are in the region about the upper
Ohio River, and nearly half the total number is in the
vicinity of Couuellsville. The region around Birmingham,
Ala., ranks next in number. The coke product of the United
States is more than twenty million short tons a year. This
is considerably less than the product of Great Britain,
which is upward of twenty-five million tons.

Most of the " scientific " ovens are near or in large
cities where the gas, after purification, is used for illumi-
nating purposes. In some instances the coke, and not the
gas, is a by-product. The coal-tar is used in part for fuel,
but a portion of it goes to the chemical laboratory, where
it is made to yield ammonia, benzine, carbolic acid, and
aniline dyes to the value of nearly seven million dollars.

Graphite. — Graphite, plumbago, or " black lead," as it is
popularly named, is found in many parts of the United
States, but only a few localities produce a good commercial
article ; these are Ticonderoga, N. Y., which yields from
six hundred to two thousand tons a year, and Chester
County, Pa., which yields a small but increasing amount ;
a good quality is mined near Ottawa, Canada. It is exten-
sively mined in Ceylon, and this island produces the chief
bulk of the world's ordinary product. The finest grade
comes from the Alibert mine in Siberia. A good article
is manufactured artificially at Niagara Falls.

Graphite is used as a stove polish and for crucibles ; in
the main, however, it is employed in the manufacture of
lead * pencils ; for this purpose only a very soft mineral,

* A slender strip of metallic lead was used instead of graphite in the
first pencils made. The use of graphite did not become general until
ahout 1850. The hardness of a pencil is regulated by mixing clay with the
powdered graphite.

154 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

absolutely free from grit, is employed, and the Siberian
output is used almost wholly. One German firm and two
American firms supply most of the pencils used.

Petroleum. — Petroleum is the name given to a natural
liquid mineral from which the well-known illuminating oil
" kerosene " is derived, and to obtain which it is mined.
Petroleum is a mixture of various compounds known as
hydrocarbons. Some of these compounds are gaseous,
some are liquid, and some are solid ; all of them are
articles of commercial value. The petroleum from dif-
ferent localities differs greatly in appearance and com-
position.

The pitch that coated Noah's ark, the slime of the build-
ers of the Tower of Babel, and the slime-pits of the Yale
of Siddim all refer to mineral products associated with
petroleum. Under the name of "naphtha" it has been
known in Persia for thirty centuries, and for more than
half as long a flowing oil spring has existed in the
Ionian Islands. The Seneca Indians knew of a petroleum
spring near the village of Cuba, N. Y., and used it as a
medicine long before the advent of the white man.

As early as 1850 illuminating oil, known as " coal " oil,
was made in the United States by distilling cannel coal,
but this product was supplanted within a few years by
the natural petroleum discovered in Pennsylvania. In
1859 Colonel Drake completed a well bored in solid rock
near Titusville, Pa. The venture proved successful, and
in a few years petroleum mining became one of the great
industries of the United States.

Petroleum is known to exist in a great many parts of the
world; the United States and Eussia, however, produce
practically all the commercial product ; a very small amount
is obtained from a horizon on the south slope of the Car-
pathian Mountains, situated in Eumania and Galicia,

COAL AND PETROLEUM

155

Austria-Hungary. There are also a few producing wells in
Peru, Germany, Italy, Burma, Argentina, and Sumatra.

In the United States the largest horizon is that of the
Appalachian region. Since 1859 it has produced more
than forty million gallons of crude oil. The Lima, Ind.,
horizon produces about twenty million barrels. The
California and Texas horizons have become very impor-
tant factors. The crude petroleum is transported partly
in tank cars, but mainly by means of long lines of pipe,

PETKOLLIM FIELDS V ^- \
ix TIII: \

VMTKI) STATES. \

• I'JIH: Li in- T.-i mliinln.

flowing from one pumping station to another by gravity.
There are pipe-line terminals on the Great Lakes and at
Pittsburg, but the principal are at the refining and export-
ing stations in New York, Philadelphia, and on the Dela-
ware River.

A considerable amount is exported to European coun-
tries to be there refined, but in the main the crude oil
is refined before exporting it. Some of the refined oil is
exported in barrels, and some in tin cases ; the greater part,
however, goes in tank steamers, and from these it is pumped

156 COMMEKCIAL GEOGRAPHY

into tank cars to be distributed. Most of the product is
controlled by the Standard Oil Company, and it reaches
nearly every country in the world. It is carried into Arctic
regions on sledges, and over the African deserts by caravans.
Great Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands are the chief
purchasers and distributors. The value of the entire prod-
uct is about one hundred and eighty-five million dollars.

The Russian oil-producing region is on and near the
Apsheron peninsula, a small area of Trans-Caucasia, that
extends into the Caspian Sea ; the region is commonly
known as the Baku field, and in 1900 the production of
crude oil surpassed that of the United States. The petro-
leum is conveyed by pipe lines to the refineries at Baku.
From this port it is shipped in tank cars by rail to Batum,
whence it is conveyed to the various European markets. A
considerable part of the product is sent by tank steamers
to Astrakhan, and thence up the Yolga to Russian markets.
Great Britain takes about one-third ; about the same amount,
is shipped to Port Sai'd for China, India, and other Asian
markets ; the rest is consumed in central Europe.

Petroleum Products. — The various constituents of
crude petroleum differ greatly in character, some being
much more volatile than others. They are separated by
distillation at different temperatures. By this process
naphtha, rhigoline, gasoline, benzine, and other highly in-
flammable products are obtained in separate receivers. By
a similar process the illuminating or refined oil and the
lubricating oils are also separated. The residuum consists
of a gummy mass from which paraffine and petroleum jelly
are extracted.

Naphtha usually contains several volatile compounds, in-
cluding benzine and gasoline. It is used as a solvent of
grease and also of crude india-rubber, but chiefly the man-
ufacture of illuminating gas.

COAL AND PETROLEUM

Kerosene is the name commonly given to the refined oil.
A good quality should have a tire test of not less than one
hundred and fifty degrees; that is, when heated to that
temperature, it should not give off any inflammable gas.
This test is now mandatory in most States.

Lubricating oil is used almost wholly for the lubrication
of heavy machinery. It varies greatly in composition and
quality.

Paraffine or petroleum wax has largely superseded bees-
wax; it is used mainly in the manufacture of candles and
as an insulator for electric wires. A native mineral paraf-
fine, known as ozocerite, is mined in Utah and Galicia ; it
is used as an insulating material.

"Vaseline" "co&noline" or petroleum "jelly" is very
largely used in pharmacy as the basis of ointments and
also as a lubricant for heavy machinery.

Asphalt is produced by the distillation of petroleum, but
the greater part of the world's product comes from two
" pitch lakes " — one in Bernmdez, Venezuela, the other in
the island of Trinidad, off the Venezuelan coast. The for-
mer is the larger and produces a superior quality. Small
deposits occur near Los Angeles, Cal., and in Utah. The
output of the Venezuelan asphalt is used almost wholly
for street pavement.

Probably no other mineral has had a wider influence
on both social and economic life, and the industrial arts,
than petroleum and its compounds. The kerosene lamp,
the aniline dye, the insulation of electric wires, the lubri-
cation of machinery, the cosmetic, the india-rubber solu-
tion, and the physician's sedative dose represent only a
few of the devices that are derived from petroleum.

Natural Gas.— A natural inflammable gas occurs in or
near several of the petroleum horizons. One important
extends through western Pennsylvania and New York,

158 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

and another through northwestern Ohio and northeastern
Indiana. Jt is conveyed through pipe-lines and used both
as fuel and for lighting. Natural gas occurs in a great
many localities, but is used commercially only in the re-
gions noted. It is better adapted for making glass than
any other fuel, and on this account extensive glass-making
establishments have concentrated in the natural-gas belt of
western Pennsylvania.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

The statement is sometimes made to the effect that coal is
" condensed sunlight " ; is it true, or untrue ; and why ?

Why are the coal areas of Europe and America also areas of
various manufactures ?

A recent cartoon had for its title — "John Bull and his coal
piles (i. e.f coaling stations) rule the world" ; show why this
state: uent contains a great deal of truth.

What are some of the advantages of steam-vessels over sailing-
vessels ?

Whale oil, crude turpentine, kerosene, and gas have been used
each in turn for illuminants; what is the advantage of each over
the preceding?

Describe the structure of "an ordinary kerosene lamp-burner, an
argand burner, a Welsbach burner.

For what are aniline, parafflne, naphtha, and carbolic acid
used ?

FOR STUDY AND REFERENCE

Obtain specimens of anthracite, bituminous, and cannel coal,
and coke for comparison and study.

Obtain specimens of crude petroleum, naphtha, refined oil,
aniline dye, parafflne, and carbolic acid ; note the properties of
each. Throw away the naphtha after using.

Read Mineral Resources of tht United States on Ihe foregoing
subjects.

CHAPTER
METALS OP THE ARTS AND SCIENCES

THE development of modern civilization is directly con-
nected with the mining and manufacture of the useful
metals. Their effect on the affairs of mankind can be
rightly understood only when they are studied in their re-
lations to one another, as well as to the people who used
them. Next to the discovery of the use of fire, an appre-
ciation of the use of metals has been the chief thing to
develop the intellect of mankind. When human beings dis-
carded natural caves for artificially constructed dwellings —
when they began to cook their food and clothe their bodies,
they required tools. These, in the main, consisted of the
spears and arrow heads used as weapons of the chase, and
the axes and knives used as constructive tools.

Rough stone gave place to flint because the latter would
take a better edge. For the same reason the people of
central Europe sent to the deserts of central Asia for jade
wherewith to make axes and knives. Again, for the same
reason, jade was discarded, because an alloy of copper and
tin produced a bronze that would not only take a sharper
edge than stone, but it was hard enough to cut and dress
the latter. Egypt rose to a commanding position because of
her control of the copper mines in the Siuaitic peninsula,
and subsequently of the gold products coming from the
upper Nile.

A meridian drawn through Cairo, Egypt, practically di-
vides the world into two kinds of civilization. East of this
meridian the population is almost wholly agricultural and,

159

160 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

excepting Japan and India, the character of the civiliza-
tion has changed but little in the past 2,000 years. AVest
of the line the population is essentially characterized as
metal-workers. It controls the world — not especially by
virtue of a high degree of intellectual development, but
because it has availed itself of the properties and charac-
teristics of metals and their applications to commerce.

The four metals that have had the greatest influence on
western civilization are gold, silver, iron, and copper. The
discovery of gold and silver has always resulted in a rapid
settlement of the regions in which the discoveries were
made, and usually in the building of great industrial
centres. Thus, the discovery of gold in California was the
first step in making the United States a world power. The
acquisition of so large an amount of gold caused an indus-
trial expansion that hurried the Civil War, and led to the
manufacture of iron and steel both for agricultural ma-
chinery and railroad transportation. This, in turn, brought
the country so closely in touch with the affairs of China
and Japan, that European and American diplomacy in
eastern Asia are a common concern. The commercial
position of Great Britain is very largely due to her iron
mines.

The production of Bessemer steel at a price far less than
that of iron at the beginning of the nineteenth century low-
ered the cost of transporting commodities to the extent
that large areas, once of necessity very moderately produc-
tive of food-stuffs, are now densely peopled because food-
stuffs can be transported to these regions more econom-
ically than they can be grown there. Thus, owing to the
improvements in iron and steel manufacture, the farmer
of Minnesota, the planter of Louisiana, the miner of Colo-
rado, and the factory operative of Massachusetts have each
the same comforts of living that are enjoyed by all the

162 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

others, and have them at scarcely more than half the cost
of fifty years ago.

The gradual decrease in the production of the silver
mines near the present site of Ergasteria proved a begin-
ning of the fall of Athens ; and when gold was discovered in
the Perim Mountains of Macedonia, the seat of Greek power
moved thither. Philip of Macedou hoarded the treasure
from the mines of Pangaeus, and with the capital thus ac-
quired his son, Alexander the Great, conquered the East, im-
planted Hellenic business methods there, and drew the vari-
ous trade routes between Europe and Asia under one control.

In the fifteenth century copper from the mines near
Budapest and silver from the Schwarz Mountains of Ger-
many were the resources that made Germanic Europe
pre-eminent. The wresting of the trade in these two met-
als from Venice caused the rise of Antwerp and brought
immense gains to Liibeck, London, Brussels, Augsburir,
and Nuremberg. In the latter part of the nineteenth
century copper again reached a high position of import-
ance from the fact that upon it largely depends electric
motive power and transportation.

Iron. — Iron is one of the most widely diffused of metals.
It is abundant in the sun ; meteorites contain from more
than ten to eighty or ninety per cent, of it ; all earths and
rocks contain at least traces of it ; and in various places
the deposits of ore in nearly pure form aggregate cubic
miles in extent.

In only a few localities is iron ore found in a metallic or
" native " form. Many meteorites consist of metallic iron
mixed with nickel and manganese, and in Greenland a
volcanic dyke or ledge of metallic iron is known to exist.
The iron of commerce is derived from " ores," or chemical
compounds of iron and oxygen, or iron and carbon. The
cheapness of the product depends upon the ease with

METALS OF THE A UTS AND KCIKNCK8

163

which the ore may be quarried, transported to coal, and
smelted. The following are the ores commonly employed
in the production of iron :

lied, liciiidti/c has a reddish metallic lustre and when pure
contains seventy per cent, of iron.* It is the most abundant
of the workable ores, and certainly the best for the manu-
facture of Bessemer steel. The ores of the Lake Superior
region are mainly red hematite, and the latter constitutes
aiore than four-fifths of the output of the United States.

Hi'inrn I/cniafitc, or liiuonite, has a chestnut brown color
and contains very nearly sixty per cent, of iron * ; it in-

<.Yrii,:,iiv

I ii i i.-l Kingdom

1 r.inri-
Ali-lri:.-1ll.n_-:,i.-

Brlglum
Other Cuuntrlm

12 14 16 18 20 22 24

IRON AM) STEEL

Production in 1'JOO

in Million Metric Tons.

1 Metric Ton = 2204.6 Ibs.

THE COMPARATIVE PRODUCTION OF IRON AND STEEL

eludes the " bog " ores, and is very abundant. Not far
from one-quarter of the Appalachian ores are brown
hematite ; it constitutes about one eighth of the output of
the United States.

Magnetic iron ore, or magnetite, of which loadstone,
a natural magnet, is an example, has a metallic, steel lustre
and contains 72.4 per cent, of iron.* Most of the ores
obtained in Pennsylvania and New York are magnetite.
The niMgnetites furnish about one-sixteenth of the output
of the United States.

Curbonale of Iron, or siderite, occurs in a few localities,
the ore produced in Ohio being almost wholly of this kind.
* Those percentages are on the supposition tliat tlie ores aro chemically
pure; the percentage of metal actually obtained is somewhat less.

164 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

It contains when pure about forty-eight per cent, of iron.*
It constitutes less than one per cent, of the output of the
United States.

Iron pyrites, or sulphide of iron, sometimes called
" fools' gold," is a very common mineral. It is used in
the manufacture of sulphuric acid, but is worthless for the
production of iron ; indeed, the presence of a very small
percentage of sulphur in iron renders the latter worthless
for many purposes.

Extensive deposits of iron are known to exist in very
nearly every country in the world, but those which can be
advantageously worked are few in number, In order to be
available, the deposits must be Avithin easy transporting
distance of the people who use it, and likewise within
a short distance of the coal used to manufacture it.

For these reasons most of the workable deposits of
ore are in or near the great centres of population in west-
ern Europe and the eastern part of the United States ; as
a matter of fact, practically all the iron and steel of the
latter country is produced in the populous centres of the
Atlantic slopes. In most great steel-making districts it is
essential to mix the native ores with special ores brought
from a distance, the latter being used to give strength and
hardness to the resulting metal. Ores from Sweden, and
from Juragua, Cuba, are employed for this purpose in
the steel-making establishments of the United States.

In the past few years the United States has jumped
from an insignificant position in the production of iron
and steel to the first rank among the iron-producing
countries. This great advance is due to the fortunate
geographic position of the iron ore and the coal, and also
to the discovery of the Bessemer process of making steel.

* These percentages are on the supposition that the ores are chemically
pure ; the percental of metal actually obtained is somewhat less.

METALS OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES 165

In general it is more economical to ship the ore to the
coal than vice versa. The position of the steel-making
plant is largely determined by the cost of moving the coke
and ore, together with that of getting the steel to the place
of use. Formerly, iron manufacture in the United States
was not profitable unless the coal, ore, and limestone*
were very near to one another.

These conditions still obtain in the southern Appala-
chian mineral fields ; the ore and the coal are at no great
distance apart, and a great iron-making industry, in which
Birmingham and Bessemer form the principal centre, has
grown into existence. For the greater part the coal is
coked ; and in this form less than a ton f is sufficient to
make a toil of pig-iron. The smelteries and rolling-mills
are built at places where the materials are most conven-
iently hauled.

In the past few years the iron and steel industry which
formerly centred about the navigable waters at the head
of the Ohio River, has undergone a readjustment. Roll-
ing-mills and smelteries exist at Pittsburg and vicinity, and
at YoimgstowiijNew Castle, and other near-by localities, but
greater steel-making plants have been built along the south
shores of Lakes Michigan and Erie, all of which have come
about because of reasons that are purely geographic.

Immense deposits of excellent hematite ore in the old
mountain-ranges near Lake Superior have recently become
available. For the greater part the ore is very easily quar-
ried. In many instances it is taken out of the quarry or
pit by steam-shovels which dump it into self-discharging

* The limestone has no essential part in the smelting of the ore except
to produce an easily-flowing, liquid slag; hence it is called a flux. Some
ores smelt and flow so easily that a flux is not required.

f Under ordinary circumstances about two tons of coal, or three-quarter*
of a too of cojje, are required to produce 9 ton of pig-iron.

166

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

hopper-cars. Thence the ore is carried on a down grade
to the nearest shipping-port on the lake. There it is
dumped into huge bunkers built at the docks, and from
these it slides down chutes into the holds of the steam-
barges. A 6,000-ton barge is loaded in less than two
hours ; a car is unloaded in a few seconds.

MOVEMENT OF IRON ORE

Water transportation is very cheap compared with rail-
way transportation, even when the road is built and
equipped as an ore-hauling road. The ore is therefore
carried a distance varying from one thousand to one thou-
sand five hundred miles for less than it could be loaded, on
cars hauled one-tenth that distance by rail, and unloaded.

At the south shore of Lake Erie, the ore meets the
coke from western Pennsylvania and .coal from the Ohio
coal-fields, and as a result new centres of iron and steel

168

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

manufacture have grown up along this line of " least resist-
ance." The ore is unloaded at the docks by means of
mechanical scoops and shovels. So cheaply and quickly
is it mined and transported that it is delivered to the
smelteries at a cost varying from $1.75 to $3.25 per ton.

There are three forms in which iron is used — cast iron,
wrought iron, and steel. Cast iron is crystalline and brit-
tle. The product as it comes from the blast furnace is
called pig-iron. In making such commodities as stoves,
and articles that do not require great strength, the pig-irop

is again melted and cast into moulds which give them the
required shape. Cast iron contains from one to five per
cent, of carbon.

Wrought iron is malleable, ductile, and very flexible ;
when pure it is also very soft. It is prepared by melting
pig-iron in furnaces having such a shape that the molten
metal can be stirred or " puddled " in contact with the air.
By this means the carbon is burnt out, and while still at a
white heat the pasty iron is kneaded or " wrought," in order
to expel other impurities.

Steel is a form of iron which is thought to contain a

METALS OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES 169

chemical compound of iron with carbon. It is stronger
than iron and finer in grain. Formerly, steel was made by
packing bars of pure iron in charcoal powder, the whole
being enclosed in clay retorts that were heated to white-
ness for about three days. The product obtained by this
method is known as cementation steel. It is still used in
the manufacture of cutlery, tools, and fine machinery ; it
is likewise very expensive. In smelting certain ores it is
easy to burn out the carbon in open furnaces, and " open-
hearth " steel is an important factor.

Just about the beginning of the Civil War, when the rail-
ways of the United States were taxed beyond their capacity
to carry the produce of the country, it became apparent
that something more durable than iron must be used for
rails. The locomotives, then weighing from twenty-five
to thirty-five tons each, were too light to haul the freight
offered the roads ; they were also too heavy for the rails,
which split at the ends and frayed at the edges.

The Bessemer process of making steel was the result of
the demand for a better and a cheaper method. By this
process, the iron is put into a
" converter " along with cer-
tain Swedish or Cuban ores
to give the product hardness. IRON AND STEEL

A hot blast is then forced into the converter which not
only melts the mass but burns out the excess of carbon
MS well. The color of the flame indicates the moment
when the conversion to steel is accomplished.

In I860, before the establishment of the Bessemer proc-
ess, steel commanded a p'rice of about one hundred and
twenty-five dollars per ton; at the beginning of the twen-
tieth century steel billets were about eighteen dollars per
ton. In western Europe and the United States there are
used about three hundred pounds of iron and steel per

UNITED

STATES Rest of the World

170 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

capita ; in South America the rate of consumption is about
fifteen pounds; in Asia (Japan excepted) it is probably
less than three pounds.

The economic results of low-priced steel are very
far-reaching. Steam boilers of steel carry a pressure of
more than two hundred and fifty pounds to each square
inch of surface — about four times as great as in the iron
boilers formerly used. Locomotives of eighty tons draw
the fast passenger trains at a speed of sixty miles an
hour. Ponderous compounding engines weighing one
hundred and twenty tons haul ninety or more steel freight
cars that carry each a load of 100,000 pounds. The iron
rails formerly in use weighed about forty pounds per
yard; now steel rails of one hundred pounds per yard are
employed on most trunk lines.

In the large commercial buildings steel girders have en-
tirely supplanted timber, while in nearly all modern build-
ings of more than six stories in height, the frame is con-
structed of Bessemer steel. Indeed, a steel-framed building
of twent}r-five stories has greater stability than a brick or
stone building of six. Such a structure as the " Flatiron
Building " in New York or the Masonic Temple in Chicago
would have been impossible without Bessemer steel.

In ocean commerce cheap steel has worked even a
greater revolution. In I860, a vessel of 4,000 tons dis-
placement was thought to be almost up to the limit. The
Oceanic of the White Star Line has a displacement of about
twenty-eight thousand five hundred tons. This is nearly
equalled by the measurement of half a dozen other liners, and
is exceeded by the freighters built by Mr. J. J. Hill for the
China trade.

HISTORICAL

1619.— Iron works established on Falling Creek, Va.
1643. — First foundry in Massachusetts, at Lynn.

i a copyngbua photograph by C. i. Rit^mam., A. V.

STEEL MANUFACTURE
THE PULLER (FLAT1RON) BUILDING. NEW YORK OTV

172 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

1658. — Blast furnace and forge at New Haven, Conn.

1679. — Father Hennepin discovers coal in Illinois.

1703. — Mordecai Lincoln, ancestor of Abraham Lincoln, estab

lishes iron works at Scituate, Mass.
1717. — First bar iron exported from American Colonies to West

Indies.

1728.— Steel made, Hebron, Ct.

1732. — Father of George Washington establishes furnace in Vir-
ginia.

1740. — First iron works in New York, near Hudson.
1750. — Bituminous coal mined in Virginia.
1766. — Anthracite coal discovered in Pennsylvania.
1770. — First rolling-mill in Colonies, Boonton, N. J.
1801-1803. — Lake Champlain iron district, New York, developed.
1812.— First rolling-mill at Pittsburg.
1828. — Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, first steam railway in the

United States, begun.
1829. — "Stourbridge Lion," first locomotive in America, used in

Delaware & Hudson Railway.
1830. —The T rail invented by Robert L. Stevens.
1830. — First American locomotive, "Tom Thumb," built by

Peter Cooper at Baltimore.

1830. — Twenty-three miles of railway in the United States.
1844. — Lake Superior iron ores discovered by William Burt.
1850. — First shipment of Lake Superior ore, ten tons.
1857. — Iron industry founded in Chicago.
1862. — Phoenix wrought iron column, or girder, first made.
1864. — Bessemer steel first made in the United States.
1865. — First Bessemer steel rails in the United States rolled at

Chicago.
1890. — First armor-plate made in the United States rolled at

Bethlehem, Pa.
1890. — The United States surpasses Great Britain in production

of pig-iron.
1900. — The United States leads in the production of open-heartL

steel.

Gold. — Gold is one of the metals earliest to be mined.
It is mentioned by the ancient profane as well as by sa-
cred writers. Pictorial representations of fusing and work-

LEACHING (CYANIDE) TANKS

DISSOLVING THE GOLD FROM

THE ROASTED ORE

STOP1NG OUT A TUNNti. INTERIOR OF MILL

GOLD MINING

174 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

ing the metal are sculptured on early Egyptian tombs,
and beautiful gold ornaments have been found that were
made by the prehistoric peoples who once occupied ancient
Etruria, in Italy. Columbus found gold ornaments in the
possession of the aboriginal Americans. The Incas of
Peru and the Aztecs of Mexico possessed large quantities
of gold.

Gold is one of the most widely diffused of metals.
Traces of it are found in practically all igneous and most
sedimentary rocks. It occurs in sea- water, and quite
frequently in beach-sands. Traces of it are also usually
to be found in alluvial deposits and in the soils of most
mountain-folds. In spite of its wide diffusion, however,
all the gold that has been mined could be stored readily
in the vaults of any large New York bank.

In all probability most of the gold now in use has been
deposited by solution in quartz veins, the latter usually
filling seams and crevices in granitic or volcanic rocks.
Quartz veins seldom yield very great returns, but they
furnish a steady supply of the metal. The rock must be
mined, hoisted to the surface, and crushed. The gold is
then dissolved by quicksilver (forming an amalgam from
which the quicksilver is removed by heat), by potassium
cyanide solution, or by chlorine solution.

In many instances the quartz veins have been broken
and weathered by natural forces. In sucl» cases the gold
is usually carried off by swiftly running water and de-
posited in the channel lower down. In this way "placer"
deposits of gold occur. Placer deposits are sometimes
very rich, but they ars quickly exhausted. The first gold
discovered in California was placer gold.

Nearly all the gold mined in the United States has
come from the western highlands. In 1900, Colorado,
California, South Dakota (Black Hills), Montana, and

METALS OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES 175

Alaska yielded about seven-eighths of the entire product.
The placer mines of Alaska are confined mainly to the
beach-sands and the tributaries of Yukon Iliver. Since
1849 the average annual yield of gold in the United States
is about forty-three million dollars.

The Guinea coast of Africa, Australia, California, the
Transvaal of South Africa, and Venezuela have each stood
at the front in the production of gold. The aggregate
annual production of the world has increased from one
hundred and sixty million dollars in 1853 to more than
three hundred million dollars in 1900.

A considerable part of the gold product is used in gild-
ing picture-frames, book titles, sign-letters, porcelain, and
ornamental brass work. Practically, all of this is lost, and
in the United States alone the loss aggregates about fifteen
million dollars yearly. The abrasion and unavoidable wear
of gold coin is another great source of loss.

An enormous amount is used in the manufacture of jew-
elry, most of which is used over and over again. By far the
greater part, however, is used as a commercial medium of
exchange — that is, as coin. For this purpose? its employ-
ment is wellnigh universal ; and indeed this has been its
chief use since the beginning of written history. Gold coin
of the United States is 900 fine, that is, 900 parts of every
thousand is pure gold ; gold coin of Great Britain is 916$
fine. In each case a small amount of silver, or silver and
copper, is added to give the coin the requisite hardness.
The coining of gold, and also other metals, is a govern-
ment monopoly in every civil i/ed country.

The fiat value of gold throughout the commercial world
is the equivalent of $20.0718 per troy ounce of fine metal ;
an eagle weighs, therefore, 258 grains. The real value,
however, is reckoned by a ('.ifl'erent and a more accurate
standard, namely, the labor of man, and this, the spo-

176 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

radio finds of placer gold excepted, has not changed much
in two thousand years or more. The increased production
has scarcely equalled the demand for the metal ; more-
over, the longer a mine is worked the greater becomes the
expense of its operation. Improved processes for the ex-
traction of gold have not created any surplus of gold ; in-
deed, the supply is not equal to the demand ; and this fact
keeps the metal practically at a fixed value.

Silver, — Silver is about as widely diffused as is gold,
but it is more plentiful. It is found sparingly in most of
the older rocks and also in sea- water. It was used by the
Greeks for coinage more than eight hundred years before
the Christian era, and was known to the Jewish people in
very early times. According to the writer of the Book of
Kings (1 Kings x. 21), "It was nothing accounted of
in the days of Solomon," but Tacitus declares that in
ancient Germany silver was even more valuable than gold.
The mines of Laureion (Laurium) gave the Greek state
of Attica its chief power, and the failure of the mines
marked the beginning of Athenian decline.

Silver is rarely found in a metallic state. For the
greater part it occurs combined with chlorine ("horn
silver"), or with sulphur ("silver glance"), or in combi-
nation with antimony and sulphur (" ruby ore "). The
ranges of the western highland region of the American
continent yield most of the present supply. The mines of
Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Idaho produce about six-
sevenths of the yield in the United States, which in 1900
was 74,500,000 ounces. In Europe the Hartz Mountains
have been famous for silver for several centuries.

About four-fifths of the silver bullion is used in the arts,
most of it being manufactured into ornaments or into table-
service called " plate." A considerable amount is used in
photography, certain silver salts, especially the chloride

METALS OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES 177

and the bromide, changing color by exposure to the light.
The remaining part of the silver output is made into coin.

The ratio of silver and gold has fluctuated much in the
history of civilization. In the United States the value of
an ounce of fine silver is fixed at $1.2929, thereby making
the ratio 16 to 1. The silver dollars, 900 fine, were coined
on this basis, weighing 412.5 grains. With the tremendous
output of the silver mines between 1870 and 1880 the price
of silver fell to such an extent that, in time, most countries
limited the amount of coinage or demonetized it altogether.
In the United States the purchase of silver bullion for
coinage has been practically suspended, and the silver pur-
chased is bought at the bullion value — about fifty cents per
troy ounce in 1900. In Japan the ratio has been officially
fixed at 32 to 1.

Copper. — Copper is probably the oldest metal known
that has been used in making tools. An alloy of cop-
per and tin, hard enough to cut and dress stone, suc-
ceeded the use of flint and jade, and its employment
became so general as to give the name " bronze " to the
age following that characterized by the use of stone
implements.

Copper is very widely distributed. It occurs in quanti-
ties that pay for mining in pretty nearly every country in
the world. The rise of Egypt as a commercial power was
due to the fact that the Egyptians controlled the world's
trade in that metal, and it is highly probable that the
conquests of Cyprus at various times were chiefly for the
possession of the copper mines of Mount Olympus.

At the present time there are several great centres of
production which yield most of the metal used. These are
the Ilocky Mountain region, including Mexico ; the Lake
Superior region of the United States ; the Andean region,
including Chile, Peru, Argentina, and Bolivia ; the Iberian

178 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

region, consisting of Spain and Portugal ; and the Hartz
Mountain region of Germany. In 1900 they produced about
four hundred and fifty thousand tons, of which two hundred
and eighty thousand were mined in the United States.

Montana, the Lake Superior mines, and Arizona are the
most productive regions of the United States, and the
mines of these three localities yield more than half the
world's product. Of these mines the Calumet and Hecla
of the Lake Superior region is the most famous. It was
discovered by Jesuit explorers about 1660, but was not
worked until 1845. It is one of the most productive
mines in the world, its yearly output averaging fifty
thousand tons.

The export trade in copper is very important, amounting
at the close of the past century to about one hundred and
seventy thousand short tons. Of this amount, half goes to
Germany (most of it through ports of the Netherlands), and
one-fifth each to France and Great Britain. The market
price to the consumer during the ten years closing the cen-
tury averaged about sixteen cents per pound. Most of the
product is exported from New York and Baltimore. The
head-quarters of the great copper-mining companies of
America are at Boston. The imports of raw ores and partly
reduced ores called "regulus," come mainly from Mexico
to New York and Baltimore, and from Mexico and Japan
to Puget Sound ports. The most important American
refineries are at New York and Baltimore.

A part of the copper is mixed with zinc to form brass,
an alloy much used in light machinery. A considerable
quantity is rolled into sheets to sheath building fronts and
the iron hulls of vessels. By far the greater part, however,
is drawn into wire for carrying electricity, and for this
purpose it is surpassed by silver alone. The decrease in
the prjce pf copper in the past few years is due, not to a

METALS OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES 179

falling off in the demand, but to methods of reducing the
ores and transporting the product more economically.

Aluminium. — Aluminium is the base of clay, this min-
eral being its oxide. It occurs in the various feldspars
and feldspathic rocks, and in mica. The expense of ex-
tracting the metal from these minerals has been so great
as to prohibit its commercial use. In 1870 there were
probably less than twenty pounds of the metal in exist-
ence, and it was to be found only as a curiosity in the
chemical laboratories. The discovery that the metal could
be extracted cheaply from cryolite, a mineral with an alu-
minium base, obtained from Ivigtut, Greenland, led to a
sparing use of the metal in the economic arts.

The chief step in the production of the metal dates from
the time that the mineral bauxite, a hydroxide of aluminium
and iron, was decomposed in the electric furnace. The
process has been repeatedly improved, and under the pat-
ents covered by the Hall process the crude metal is now
produced at a market price of about eighteen cents per
pound. The entire production of the United States is con-
trolled by the Pittsburg Reduction Company, which also
manufactures much of the commercial product of England.
The competitor of the Pittsburg Reduction Company is an
establishment in Germany, near Bremen.

Aluminium does not corrode; it is easily rolled,
drawn, or cast ; and, bulk for bulk, it is less than one-thin)
as heavy as copper. Because of these properties it has a
great and constantly growing economic value. Because of
its greater size, a pound of aluminium wire will carry a
greater electric current than a pound of copper wire of
the same length. It therefore has an increasing use as
a conductor of electricity.

Bauxite, the mineral from which the metal is now
chiefly extracted, is obtained in two localities. One

180 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

extends through Georgia and Alabama; the other is in
Arkansas.

Lead. — Lead is neither so abundant nor so widely dif-
fused as iron, copper, and the precious metals, but the
supply is fully equal to the demand. Lead ores, maiuly
galena or lead sulphide, occur abundantly in the Rock}
Mountains, Colorado, Idaho, and Utah, producing more
than half the total output of the United States. In these
localities, in Mexico, and in the Andean states of South
America it is used mainly in the smelting of silver ores.

Metallic lead is used largely in the manufacture of water-
pipes, and for this purpose it must be very nearly pure.
It is also rolled into sheets to be used as lining for water-
tanks. The fact that the edges of sheet-lead and the ends
of pipes may be readily joined with solder gives to lead a
great part of its economic value. Alloyed with arsenic it
is used in making shot ; alloyed with antimony it forms
type metal ; alloyed with tin it forms pewter and solder.

The greater part, however, is manufactured into the
carbonate or " white " lead that is used as a pigment, or
paint. Red lead, an oxide, is a pigment ; litharge, also an
oxide, is used for glazing the cheaper kinds of pottery.
About two hundred and thirty thousand tons of lead are
produced in the United States and one-half as much is
imported — mainly from Mexico and Canada. The lino-
type machines, now used in all large printing establish-
ments, have increased the demand for lead.

Other Metals. — Most of the remaining economic met-
als occur in small quantities as compared with iron, cop-
per, gold, and silver. Some of them, however, are highly
important from the fact that in various industrial proc-
esses no substitutes for them are known.

Quicksilver, or mercury, is the only industrial metal that
at ordinary temperatures is a liquid. It is the base of the

METALS OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES 181

substance calomel, a chloride, and corrosive sublimate, a
dichloride, both of which are employed as medicines. It
is essential in the manufacture of thermometers and bar-
ometers, but is used chiefly, however, as a solvent of gold,
which it separates from the finely powdered ore by solu-
tion or amalgamation. Quicksilver occurs in the mineral
cinnabar, a sulphide.

Nearly one-half the world's product comes from Califor-
nia. The New Almaden mines of Santa Clara County
produce over five thousand flasks (each seventy -six and
one-half pounds net) ; those of Napa County nearly nine
thousand flasks ; the mines of the whole State yield about
twenty-six thousand flasks, valued at $1,200,000. Alrna-
den, Spain, and Idria, Austria, produce nearly all the rest
of the output. An average of about fifteen thousand flasks
are exported from San Francisco, mainly to the mines of
Mexico, and Central and South America.

Tin is about the only metal of industrial value whose ores
are not found in paying quantities in the United States.
Small quantities occur in San Bernardino County, Cal.,
and in the vicinity of Bering Strait, Alaska, but it is
doubtful if either will ever pay for development. About
three-fifths of the world's product comes from the Straits
Settlements on the Malay Peninsula ; the near-by islands
of Banca and Billiton also yield a considerable quantity.

The mines of Cornwall, England, have been worked for
two thousand years and were probably the source of the tin
that made the " bronze age." The United States imports
yearly about twenty million dollars worth of tin, about half
of which comes from the Straits Settlements. This is used
almost wholly for the manufacture of tin plate* — that is,
sheet-iron coated with tin. Much of the block tin im-
ported from Great Britain is returned there in the form of
* Ternc plate is sheet-iron couted with an alloy of lead and tin.

182 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

tin plate, being manufactured in the United States much
more economically than in Europe.

Nickel occurs in New Caledonia, in Canada, and in the
State of Missouri. It is used in the manufacture of small
coins and for plating iron and steel. It is an essential
in the metal known as "nickel steel " which is now gener-
ally used in armor-plate and propeller-shafts, about four
per cent, of nickel being added to the steel. Most of the
product used in the United States is imported from
Canada.

Manganese, a metal resembling iron, occurs in Russia,
Brazil, and Cuba, Russia producing about half the total
output. It is used mainly to give hardness to steel. The
propeller-blades of large steamships are usually made of
manganese bronze. The building of war-ships in the United
States during the past few years has led to the extensive
use of manganese for armor-plate, and manganese ores to
the amount of more than two hundred and fifty thousand
tons were imported in 1900. More than one-half of this
came from Russia; most of the remaining half from Brazil.

Zinc is abundant in nearly every part of the world. In
the United States the best known mines are in the Galena-
Joplin District, in Missouri and Kansas, which produce
about two-thirds of the home product — mainly from the
ore blende, a sulphide. There are also extensive zinc-min-
ing operations in Illinois, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
The lower Rhine District, Great Britain, and Silesia are the
chief European sources. Sheet-zinc is found in nearly
every dwelling in the United States, and zinc-coated
or " galvanized " iron has become a domestic necessity.
Zinc-white is extensively used as a pigment. About two
hundred and fifty million pounds of crude zinc, or " spel-
ter," are produced in the United States ; forty-five million
pounds were exported in 1900, mainly to Great Britain.

METALS OF TIIK ARTS AND SCIENCES 183

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What are the qualities that make iron the most valuable of
metals ?

In what ways does commerce depend on iron arid steel ?

What substances are used for food, clothing, or domestic pur-
poses that are not manufactured by the aid of iron ?

Ingot or billet steel is rated at about one cent per pound ; the
hair-springs of watches are worth several thousand dollars per
pound ; what makes the difference in their value?

What are the qualities that give to gold its value?

Would all the gold mined in the United States pay the national
debt at the end of the Civil War?

What causes have led to the increasing price of copper during
the past few years ?

What is the market price each of copper, silver, steel rails, and
aluminium to-day ?

FOR STUDY AND REFERENCE

Obtain specimens of the following iron ores ; Hematite, brown
hematite, magnetite, carbonate, and pyrites. Note the color and
physical appearance of each; scratch the first four with a very
hard steel point and note ^;he color of the streak.

Obtain specimens of pig-iron, cast iron, wrought iron, and cast
steel ; note carefully the fracture or " break " of each ; how does
cast iron differ from wrought iron?

Obtain specimens of the following copper ores : Malachite,
azurite, chalcopyrite, and red oxide ; wet a very small fragment
with an acid and note the color when it is held in the flame of an
alcohol lamp or a Bunsen burner ; dissolve a crystal of blue vit-
riol (copper sulphate) in water and note what occurs if the end
of a bright iron wire be dipped in the solution.

Name the various uses to which nickel, tin, lead, and aluruin
him are put.

Consult the chapters on these subjects in any cyclopaedia.

CHAPTER XIV

THE term sugar is applied rather loosely to a large num-
ber of substances characterized by the quality of sweet-
ness. In a few instances the name is given to certain
mineral salts, such as sugar of lead, but in the main the
sugars are plant products very similar in chemical struct-
ure to the starches. They are very closely connected with
plant growth, and even in animal life, starchy substances
are changed to sugar in the process of digestion. Al-
though sugar does not sustain life, it is necessary as an
adjunct to other food-stuffs, and it is probably consumed
by a greater number of people than any other food-stuffs
except starch and water.

Three kinds of sugar are found in commerce, namely —
comc-sugar, (/rape-sugar, and ?m7&-sugar. Cane-sugar occurs
in the sap of the sugar-cane, sorghum-cane, certain of the
palms, and the juice of the beet. Grape-sugar is the
sweet principle of most fruits and of honey. Sugar of
milk occurs in milk, and in several kinds of nuts.

Sugar-Cane Sugar. — Cane-sugar is so called because
until recently it was derived almost wholly from the sup
of the sugar-cane (Sctccharvm officinarwn). The plant be-
longs to the grass family and much resembles maize be-
fore the latter has matured. It is thought to be nativr to
Asia, but it is now cultivated in nearly all tropical coun-
tries in the world.

Practically every moist tropical region in the world, the
basins of the Kongo and Amazon Rivers excepted, is a

185

186 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

cane-sugar-producing region. As a rule it is grown in the
states under native rule for home consumption, and in
European colonial possessions for commercial purposes.
India and China are probably the foremost in the pro-
duction of sugar-cane sugar, but the product is not ex-
ported. Cuba, Java, the Gulf coast of the United States,
Mauritius, the Philippine and the Hawaiian Islands pro-
duce the most of the supply that enters into commerce.

Beet-Sugar. — During the last quarter of the nineteenth
century the demands for sugar increased so greatly that it
became necessary either to raise the price of the commod-
ity, or else to utilize some plant other than the sugar-cane
as a source. After a few years of experimental work it
was found that sugar could be readily extracted from the
juice of the common beet (Beta vulyaris). Several varieties
of this plant have been improved and are now very largely
cultivated for the purpose. Beet-sugar and cane-sugar are
identical.

Almost all the beet-sugar of commerce comes from
northwestern Europe ; Germany leads with nearly one-
third the world's product ; France, Austria, and Russia
follow, each producing about one-sixth. A small amount
is produced in the United States — mainly in California
and Michigan. The area of production, however, is in-
creasing.

Other Cane-Sugars. — Maple-sugar is derived from
the sap of several species of maple-trees occurring mainly
in the northeastern United States and in Canada. The
sap is obtained by tapping the trees in early spring, a
single tree often yielding several gallons. The value of
maple-sugar lies mainly in its pleasant flavor. It is used
partly as a confection, but in the main as a sirup. A very
large part of the maple-sirup and not a little of the sugar
is artificial, consisting of ordinary sugar colored with

SUGAR AND ITS COMMFRCE 187

caramel and flavored with an extract prepared from the
maple-tree.

Sorghum-sugar is obtained from a cane known as Chi-
nese grass, or Chinese millet. It has been introduced into
the United States from southeastern Asia and Japan.
The sorghum-cane grows well in the temperate zone, and
its cultivation in the Mississippi Valley States has been
successful. The sugar is not easily cry stall izable, how-
ever, and it is usually made into table-sirup.

Maguey-sugar is derived from the sap of the maguey-
plant (Aijurr. Americana). It is much used in Mexico and
the Central American states. The method of manufacture
is very crude and the product is not exported. Palm-
sugar is obtained from the sap of several species of palm
growing in India and Africa.

Sugar Manufacture —Sugar manufacture includes three
processes — expressing the sap, evaporating, and refining.
The first two are carried on at or near the plantations;
the last is an affair requiring an immense capital and a
most elaborately organized plant. The refining is done
mainly in the great centres of population at places
most convenient for transportation. The raw sugar may
travel five or ten thousand miles to reach the refinery ;
the refined product rarely travels more than a thousand
miles.

After it has been cut and stripped of its leaves the sugar-
cane is crushed between powerful rollers in order to ex-
press the juice. The sugar-beet is rasped or ground to a
pulp and then subjected to great pressure. The expressed
juice contains about ten or twelve percent, of sugar. In
some factories the beet, or the cane, is cut into thin slices
and thrown into water, the juice being extracted by the
solvent properties of the latter. This is known as the
" diffusion " process.

188 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

The juice is first strained or filtered under pressure i?
order to remove all foreign matter and similar impurities.
It is then clarified by adding slacked lime, at the same
time heating the liquid nearly to the boiling point and
skimming off the impurities that rise to the surface. The
purified juice is then boiled rapidly in vacuum pans until
it is greatly concentrated.

When the proper degree of concentration is reached,
the liquid is quickly run off into shallow pans, in which
most of it immediately crystallizes. The crystalline por-
tion forms the raw sugar of commerce ; the remaining
part is molasses. The whole mass is then shovelled into
a centrifugal machine which in a few minutes separates
the two products.

In purchasing raw sugar, the refiner was formerly at a
loss to know just how much pure sugar could be made
from a given weight of the raw sugar. In order to aid in
making a correct determination, the Dutch government
formerly prepared sixteen samples put up in glass flasks
and sealed. These samples varied in color according to
the amount of pure sugar contained. The pure solution
was known in commerce as No. 16 Dutch standard, and
this was generally taken all over the world as the stand-
ard of pure sugar. Within recent 3rears the polariscope,
an optical instrument that determines the percentage of
sugar by means of polarized light, has largely replaced the
Dutch standard.

The refineries, as a rule, are built with reference to a
minimum handling and transportation of the raw product.
The cane-sugar refineries are mainly at the great seaports,
where the raw sugar does not pay railway transportation.
The beet-sugar refineries are in the midst of the beet-
growing districts. So nearly perfect and economically
managed are these processes, that raw sugar imported from

SUGAR AND ITS COMMERCE 189

Europe or from the West Indies, at a cost of from two and
a quarter to two and a half cents per pound, is refined and
sold at retail at about live cents.

The margin of profit is so very close, however, that in the
United States, as well as most European states, the sugar
industry is protected by government enactments. In the
United States imported raw sugar pays a tariff in order to
protect the cane-sugar industry of the Gulf coast and the
beet-sugar grower of the Western States. The duty at the
close of the nineteenth century was about 1.66 cents per
pound ; or, if the sugar came from a foreign country paying
a bounty on sugar exported, an additional countervailing
duty equal to the bounty was also charged.

In the various states of western Europe the beet-sugar
industry is governed by a cartel or agreement among the
states, which makes the whole business a gigantic combina-
tion arrayed against the tropical sugar interests. In gen-
eral, the government of each state pays a bounty on every
pound of beet-sugar exported. The real effect of the ex-
port bounty is about the same as the imposition of a tax on
the sugar purchased for consumption at home.

Two-thirds of the entire sugar product are made from
the beet, at an average cost of about 2.5 cents a pound. In
the tropical islands the yield of cane-sugar per acre is
about double that of beet-sugar and it is produced for
about five dollars less per ton. This difference is in part
offset by the fact that the raw cane-sugar must pay trans-
portation for a long distance to the place of consumption,
and in part by the government bounties paid on the beet
product.

Both the political and the economic effects of beet sugar-
making have been far-reaching. In Germany the agri-
cultural interests of the country have boon completely re-
organized. The uncertain profits of cereal food-stuffs have

190 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

given place to the sure profits of beet-sugar cultivation,
with the result that the income of the Germans has been
enormously increased. In the other lowland countries of
western Europe the venture has been equally successful.
Even the Netherlands has profited by it.

In the case of Spain, the result of beet-sugar cultivation
was disastrous. The price of cane-sugar in Cuba and the
Philippine Islands fell to such a low point that the islands
could not pay the taxes imposed by the mother country.
Instead of lowering the taxes and adjusting affairs to the
changed conditions, the Spaniards drove the islands into
rebellion, and the latter finally resulted in war with the
United States, and the loss of the colonies. Great Britain
wisely adjusted her colonial affairs to the changed condi-
tions, but the British colonies suffered greatly from beet-
sugar competition.

Production and Consumption. — The production and
consumption of sugar increased about sevenfold during
the latter half of the nineteenth century, the increase being
due very largely to the decreased price. Thus, in 1850,
white (loaf) sugar was a luxury, retailing at about twenty
cents per pound ; in 1870 the wholesale price of pure gran-
ulated sugar was fourteen cents ; in 1902 it was not quite
five cents.

Although the tropical countries are greatly handicapped
by the political legislation of the European states, they
cannot supply the amount of sugar required, unless the area
of production be greatly extended. It is also certain that
without governmental protection, sugar growing in the
temperate zone cannot compete with that of the tropical
countries.

Of the eight million tons of sugar yearly consumed, two-
thirds are beet-sugar. The annual consumption per capita
is about ninety pounds in Great Britain, seventy pounds

SUGAR AND 118 COMMERCE 191

in the United States, and not far from thirty-five pounds
in Germany and France. In Russia and the eastern Euro-
pean countries it is less than fifteen pounds.

Molasses. — The molasses of commerce is the uncrys-
tallizable sugar that is left in the vacuum pans at the
close of the process of evaporation. The molasses formerly
known as "sugar house" is a filthy product that nowadays
is scarcely used, except in the manufacture of rum. The
color of molasses is due mainly to the presence of " cara-
mel " or half-charred sugar ; it cannot be wholly removed
by any ordinary clarifying process.

Purified molasses is usually known as "sirup," and
much of it is made by boiling a solution of raw sugar to the
proper degree of concentration. A considerable part is
made from the sap of the sorghum-cane, and probably a
larger quantity consists of glucose solution colored with
caramel. Maple-si rup, formerly a solution of maple-sugar,
is now very largely made from raw cane-sugar clarified and
artificially flavored.

Glucose. — Glucose, or grape sugar, is the natural sugar
of the grape and most small fruits. Honey is a nearly
pure, concentrated solution of glucose. Grape-sugar
has, roughly, about three-fifths the sweetening power of
cane-sugar. Natural grape-sug;ir is too expensive for
ordinary commercial use ; fie commercial product, on the
other hand, is artificial, and is made mainly from corn-
starch.

Glucose is employed in the cheaper kinds of confec-
tionery in the United States ; most of it, however, is ex-
ported to Great Britain, the annual product being worth
about four million dollars. From the fact that it can be
made more economically from corn than from any other
grain, practically all the glucose is made in the United
States.

192 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

It frequently happens that the prices of sugar and tin-plate
rise and fall together ; show how the fruit-crop may cause this
fluctuation.

Which of the possessions of the United States are adaptable
for cane-sugar ? — for beet-sugar ?

In what ways has the manufacture of sugarbrought about in-
ternational complications ?

What is meant by " Dutch Standard " tests ? — by polariscope
tests ?

FOR REFERENCE AND STUDY

Obtain specimens of rock candy, granulated sugar, raw sugar,
and caramel ; observe each carefully with a magnifying glass and
note the difference.

World's Sugar Production.

CHAPTER XV
FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS

OUTSIDE the food-stuffs, probably no other material is
more generally used by human beings than the products
of the forests. More people are sheltered by wooden
dwellings than by those of brick or stone, and more peo-
ple are warmed by wood fires than by coal. Even in
steam-making a considerable power is still produced by
the use of wood for fuel.

Neither stone nor metal can wholly take the place of
wood as a building material ; indeed, for interior fittings,
finishings, and furniture, no artificial substitute has yet
been found that is acceptable. For such purposes it
is carried to the interior of continents and transported
across the oceans ; and although the cost has enormously
increased, the demand has scarcely fallen off.

Forest Areas.— The great belts of forests girdle the
land surface of the earth. A zone of tropical forest
forms a broad belt on each side of the eqiiator, but mainly
north of it. This forest includes most of the ornamental
woods, such as mahogany, ebony, rosewood, sandal- wood,
etc. It also includes the most useful teak as well as the
rubber-tree and the cinchona. Another forest belt in the
north temperate zone is situated mainly between the
thirty-fifth and fiftieth parallels. It traverses middle and
northern Europe and the northern United States.

This forest contains the various species of pine, cedar,
and other conifers, the oaks, maples, elms, birches, etc.

193

194 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Most of the forests of western Europe have been greatly
depleted, though those of Norway and Sweden are still
productive. The forests of the United States, extending
from Maine to Dakota, have been so welluigh exhausted
that by 1950 only a very little good lumber-making timber
will be left.

The destruction of forests has been most wasteful. When
a forest-covered region is settled, a large area is burnt off
in order to clear the land for cultivation. In many in-
stances the fires are never fully extinguished until the
forest disappears. The timber of the United States has
been depleted not only by frequent fires but in various
other ways. The lumbermen take the best trees and
these are cut into building-lumber. The railways follow
the lumbermen, cutting out everything suitable for ties.
The paper-makers vie with the tie-cutters, and what is left
is the plunder of the charcoal-burner.

Forestry.^-In most of Europe the care of the remain-
ing forests is usually a government charge. Only a cer-
tain number of mature trees may be removed each year,
and many are planted for each one removed — in the aggre-
gate, several million each year. In the United States,
where the value of the growing timber destroyed by fire
each year nearly equals the national debt, not very much
has been done to either check the ravage or to reforest the
denuded areas. Many of the States, however, encourage
tree -planting. In several, Arbor Day is a holiday provided
by law.

The general Government has established timber pre-
serves in several localities in the West. The State of
New York has converted the whole Adirondack region into
a great preserve. Forest wardens and guards are em-
ployed both to keep fires in check and to prevent the
.ravages of timber thieves,; excepting the State preserves

196 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

however, the means of prevention are inadequate for either
purpose.

To be valuable for lumber of the best quality, a forest
tree must be " clear " ; that is, it must be free from
knots at least fifteen feet from the ground. In the case
of pines and cedars, the clear part of the trunk must
have a greater length. To produce such conditions, the
trees must grow thickly together, in order that the lower
branches may not mature.

The growth of trees thus set is very slow. Isolated pine-
trees will reach the size large enough for cutting in about
fifty years, but the lumber will be practically worthless
because of the knots. On the other hand, pine forests
with the trees so thickly set as to make a clear, merchant-
able lumber require at least a century for maturity.* Oak
forests require a much greater period.

As a rule, the forest growths of the United States are
found in the areas characterized by sandy and gravelly
soils. Thus, the glaciated region of the United States and
Canada for the greater part is forest-covered. The sand
barrens along the Atlantic coast usually are forest areas.
The older bottom-lands of most rivers are often forest-
covered, especially when their soil is coarse and sandy.

There are large areas, however, in both the United
States and Europe, that are treeless. In some instances
this condition, without doubt, resulted from the fires that
anmially biirnt the grass. With the cessation of the prai-
rie fires, forest growths have steadily increased.

In other instances these areas are treeless because the
seeds of trees have never been planted there. The high
plains at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains are
an example. This region is deficient in the moisture re-

* Heredity is likewise a factor. The seeds of knotty, scraggly trees are
very apt to produce trees of their own kind and vice versa.

FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS 197

quired to give young trees the vigorous start that will
cany them to maturity. Moreover, the westerly winds
and the streams of this region come from localities also
deficient in forestry, and there are therefore no seeds to
be carried.

As a rule, the distribution of forests is effected by the
winds and by moving water. The prevailing westerly winds
of the temperate zones have carried many species east-
ward and have extended the forest areas in that direction.
Freshets, floods, and overflows have been even more active
in carrying seeds, sprouts, and even trees into new terri-
tories. Waves and currents have likewise played a similar
part. Wherever the soil of the region into which the
species have been carried is moist and nutritious, the forest
growth has usually extended.

The Pine Family. — The pine family includes the
various species of pine, tamarack, spruce, hemlock, fir,
juniper, larch, cypress, and cedar. A few members of the
family thrive in the warmer parts of the temperate zone,
but for the greater part they flourish between the for-
tieth and sixtieth parallels. Most of the species found in
low latitudes are mountain-trees. They constitute the
greater part of the American and Russian forests. The
American pine forest is thought to be the largest in the
world.

The white pine (Finns strobus) is the most valuable mem-
ber of the family. Its value is duo in part to the fact
that the wood is soft, clear, and easily worked, and in part
to the accessibility of the forests. Not much inroad has
yet been made upon the great Russian forest, owing to the
fact that the timber is too far awjiy from seaports and
water transportation. Rough lumber becomes too ex-
pensive for use when transported by land, but it will
stand the expense of shipment by water many miles.

198 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

The Georgia or long -leafed pine (Pinus palustris] is also
commonly called pilch pine, turpentine pine, and southern
pine; it grows chiefly along the south Atlantic coast and
in the northern counties of Georgia. It is harder than
white pine and makes excellent flooring.

The sugar pine (Pinus lambertiand) occurs mainly in
Oregon and California. The grain is fine and soft and the
trees reach a large girth.

The loblolly pine (Pinux tceda) has a considerably larger
area than the Georgia pine, extending into Indian Terri-
tory. The short-leaf pine (Pinus echinata] occurs in small
areas from New York to the Gulf of Mexico, and across
to Missouri ; it is the Chattahoochee pine of Florida. The
pitch pine (Pinus rigidd) occurs in various areas mainly
north of the Ohio River and west of the prairies. The
lumber cut annually from these pines aggregates about
thirty billion feet.

The common white cedar (Chamcecyparis thyoides) oc-
curs along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts nearly to the
Mississippi. On account of its fine grain it is much used
in cabinet work and as a finishing wood. Red cedar, prob-
ably a different species, occurs along the Atlantic coast.
It is largely used in the manufacture of lead-pencils, and
the forests are wellnigh exhausted.

The redwoods are confined to the California coast,
mainly in the coast ranges, near the ocean. Ordinary
redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) resembles red cedar, is
soft, and very fine in grain, and shrinks but little in season-
ing. It is a most valuable timber both for common and
for ornamental use. It very frequently attains a diam-
eter of five or six feet; the big tree sometimes exceeds
sixteen feet in diameter and reaches a height of nearly
four hundred feet.

Other Industrial Woods. — The oaks, like the pines,

FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS 199

form a nearly continuous belt across the northern conti-
nents, lying mainly south of the pines ; they do not extend
much south of the thirtieth parallel. The white oak of the
New England plateau and Canada commands a high price on
account of its strength ; a considerable quantity is exported.

The " quartering " of the lumber used in ornamental
work is produced by sawing the logs, which have been
split in quarters, so that the silver-grain shows on the
faces of the boards. The bark of the oak is rich in tannic
acid and it is much used in tanning leather. Cork oak
(Q lie re us suiter) grows mainly in Spain and Algeria.

Black walnut (Jmjlaits niyni) grows in the river-bottoms
of the Mississippi Valley and in Texas. The merchantable
supply is not great, and the wood is therefore growing
more valuable each year. Hickory is used where great
strength is required, and also for various tool-handles.
Maple is largely employed in making furniture. Ash is a
very common wood for tool-handles.

Shade-Trees and Ornamental Woods. — A large
number of trees are yearly transplanted, or else grown
from seed, to be used as ornamental shade-trees. For this
purpose the elm, maple, acacia (" locust "), linden (" lime "),
catalpa, ash, horse-chestnut (" buckeye "), poplar, and wil-
low are most common in ordinary temperate latitudes, both
in Europe and America. In warmer latitudes the Austra-
lian eucalyptus ("red gum" and " blue gum "), magnolia,
palmetto, laurel, arbutus, and tulip are common. The local
trade in ornamental trees is very heavy ; the trade is local
for the reason that the transportation of them is very ex-
pensive.

Tropical Woods and Tree Products. — Many of the
tropical woods are in demand on account of their beautiful
appearance, and in many species this quality is combined
with strength and hardness. Mahogany is obtained from

200 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Mexico and the Central American states, and also from
the West Indies. The former is classed as " Honduras " ;
the latter is generally known as San Domingo mahogany
and commands the highest price. Rosewood is obtained
from Brazil, and is used almost exclusively in piano-cases.
Both are cut into thin veneers, to be glued to a less ex-
pensive body.

Ebony is the heart of a species of persimmon obtained
mainly in Ceylon and the East Indies. Very little of the
so-called ebony is genuine, most of the ebony of commerce
consisting of fine-grained hardwood, stained black. Jar-
rah, an Australian wood, is now very generally used for
street-paving, and for this purpose it has no superior.
Teak probably has no equal for strength and durability.
It is not touched by the teredo and other marine worms.

Boxwood (Bwxus balearicd) is a high-growing tree, native
to India, but growing best in the islands of the Mediter-
ranean. The wood is very hard, of yellowish-brown color,
and so fine in grain that it finds a ready market in nearly
every part of the world. Probably the larger part is used
by engravers. A large amount of the wood is also used in
the manufacture of folding rules, and in inlaying. Con-
stantinople is the principal market, and nearly ten thou-
sand tons of the selected wood are sold yearly.

Lignum vitce, or guaiac wood (Guaiacum officinale), grows
profusely in the West Indies and along the Spanish Main.
It is used both in medicine and in the arts. Shavings of
the wood steeped in water were once considered a cure-all,
hence the name. The wood is very hard, heavy, and is
split with the greatest difficulty. It is therefore much em-
ployed in making mallet-heads, tool-handles, nine-pin balls,
and pulley-blocks. In tropical countries it is employed
for railway ties. West India ports are the chief markets,
and the United States is the chief consumer.

A LOG RAFT, W1NONA, MINN.

•

HAULING LOGS TO THE RIVER

THE LUMBER INDUSTRY— A LOGGING STREAM. MENOMINEE, MICH.

202 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Logwood is the wood of a tree (Hcematoxylon campechia-
num) growing in Central America and the West Indies.
The best quality comes from Campeche, and it is marketed
mainly from Central American ports. It is almost uni-
versally used for dyeing the black of woollen and cotton
textiles, and logwood blacks are the standard of color-
prints.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

In what structures has timber been supplanted by iron and
steel ?

In what manufactured article has timber supplanted the use
of rags?

When a pine forest is cut away, what kinds of timber are apt
to come up in place of the pines ?

In what manner does the railway draw upon the forests? — the
paper-maker?— the farmer?— the tanner? — the beaver? — the te-
redo, or ship-worm?

From what country or countries do the following come: box-
wood, rosewood, sandal-wood, cinchona, bog oak, jarrah?

FOR STUDY AND REFERENCE

Make a list of the forestry growing in the State in which you
live ; so far as possible, obtain a specimen of each wood, prepared
so as to show square, oblique, split, and polished sections; for
what purpose, if any, is each used?

Consult "Check-list of Forestry of the United States" (U.S.
Department of Agriculture).

CHAPTER XVI

SEA PRODUCTS AND FURS

THE world's fish-catch amounts probably to more than
one-quarter of a billion dollars in value and employs up-
ward of a million people ; in the United States 200,000
are employed. In some localities, such as the oceanic
islands, far distant from the grazing lands of the conti-
nents, the flesh of fish is about the only fresh meat obtain-
able. Even on the continents fish is more available and
cheaper than beef. The fish-producing areas pay no
taxes ; they require no cultivation ; moreover, they do not
require to be purchased. In general, fish supplements
beef as . an article of food ; it is not a substitute for the
latter.

The whale-catch excepted, fish are generally caught in
the shallow waters of the continental coasts. The fish, in
great schools, resort to such localities at certain seasons,
and the seasons in which they school is the fisherman's
opportunity. For the greater part, such shallows and banks
are spawning-places. Most of the fish, however, are caught
off the Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America, these
localities being nearest to the great centres of population.

Whales. — The whale is sought mainly in cold waters,
and at the present time the chief whaling-grounds are in
the vicinity of Point Barrow. In the first half of the nine-
teenth century whale-fishing was an industry involving
hundreds of vessels and a large aggregate capital. The
industry centred about New England seaports.

203

804 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

The train-oil obtained from the blubber of the animal
was used partly as a lubricant, but mainly for illuminating
purposes. For this purpose, however, it has been super-
seded by coal-oil, gas, and electricity. It is still in de-
mand as a lubricant, but the whale-oil of commerce is quite
as apt to come from the blubber of the porpoise or the sea-
cow as from the right whale. Whalebone is a horny sub-
stance taken from the animal's jaw, and is worth from three
dollars to eight dollars per pound. It is used chiefly in
the manufacture of whips. For other purposes, steel, hard
rubber, and celluloid have taken its place.

The substance called spermaceti is derived from the
sperm-whale, an inhabitant of warm ocean-waters. Sper-
maceti is identical in its physical properties with paraffine,
and the latter is now almost universally its substitute.

Ambergris, thought to be a morbid secretion or disease
of the sperm-whale, is found in the body cavity of the
animal and also in masses floating in the sea. It is used
chiefly to give intensity to the odor of perfumes, and the
best quality brings as much as five dollars per ounce.
Most of the ambergris of commerce is obtained from the
neighborhood of the Bahama Islands.

Cod. — In the amount of the product the cod-fisheries
are the most important. The meat of the fish is not strong
in flavor, and it is cured with little expense. So valuable
is the annual catch that the banks and shallows which the
schools frequent are governed by international treaties.

The cod is a cold-water fish, and the fishing-grounds
are confined to rather high latitudes. The coast-waters
of the Scandinavian peninsula and the shores of the Cana-
dian coast, especially the Banks of Newfoundland, are
the chief areas. The fishing- grounds of the Canadian
coast are closed to foreign vessels inside a three-mile limit ;
beyond the limit they are occupied mainly by Canadian,

SEA PRODUCTS AND FURS 205

French, and American fishermen. By the terms of trea-
ties foreign vessels may enter the three-mile limit under
restriction to purchase bait and food- supplies, and to cure
their fish.

A large part of the cod-catch is exported. Tropical
countries buy much of the product. In such countries it
is more wholesome than meat; it is cheaper; moreover,
the salted cod will keep for an indefinite length of time.
A large part of the catch is sold to the Catholic states of
Europe and America, where during certain times the eat-
ing of the flesh of animals is forbidden. Gloucester, Mass.,
London, England, and Trondhjem, Norway, are great
markets for salted fish. The oil from the liver of the cod
is much iised in medicine.

Herring, Alewives, and Sardine. — The herring is a
much smaller fish than the cod, and, commercially, is much
less important. They school in about the same waters as
the cod, but are caught at a different season, gill-nets being
usually employed. Practically no distinction is made be-
tween full-grown herring and alewives of the same size.
The fish are usually cured by smoking, pickling, or salting,
and in this form are either exported or sold in interior
markets.

The true sardine is found in latitudes a little farther
south than the schooling-grounds of the cod. The most im-
portant fisheries are along the coasts of the Latin states of
Europe. Sardine fishing is a great industry all along the
New England coast of the United States, but the " sar-
dines" marketed from this region are young herring. In-
deed, nearly all sorts of small fry are sold in boxes bear-
ing spurious French labels.

Salmon. — Most of the salmon are caught in the rivers
flowing into the North Pacific Ocean. The fish are caught
in traps and weirs at the time of the spring run, when they

206 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

ascend the river to spawn. The rivers are frequently so
congested with the salmon that thousands of tons are
caught in a single stream during the run.

The salmon canneries of the Columbia River are very
extensive establishments, but in the past few years they
have been surpassed by the Alaskan fisheries, which pro-
duce not far from fifty million pounds each year. The
dressed fish is cooked by steam, canned, and exported to
all parts of the world. The growth and development of the
industry has also made an enormous demand on the tin
mines of the wrorld. Canned salmon is the largest fish
export of the United States. There are extensive salmon-
fisheries in Norway, Japan, and Russia.

Other Fish. — Mackerel and haddock are caught near the
shores of the North Atlantic. Most of the mackerel-catch
is pickled in brine and sold in small kegs known as " kits."
The menhaden-catch of the North Atlantic is converted into
fertilizer. The halibut is a large fish that is rarely pre-
served. The area in which it is caught is about the same
as that of the cod. Shad are usually caught when as-
cending the rivers of the middle Atlantic coast. In the
United States, Chesapeake, Delaware, and New York
Bays yield the chief supply. The blwfish and barracuda
are warm-water fish. The market for fresh fish has been
greatly enlarged by the use of refrigerator-cars.

The sturgeon is captured mainly in the rivers and lakes
of the temperate zone. Those of the Black Sea some-
times attain a weight of 2,000 pounds. The flesh is of
less importance than the eggs, of which caviare is made.
Russian caviare is sold all over Europe and America,
and not a small part of the product is made in Maine.
The caviare made from the roe of the Delaware River
sturgeon is exported to Germany. The tunny is confined
to Mediterranean waters.

SEA PRODUCTS AND FURS 207

The anchovy is caught on the coast of Europe ; most of
the product is preserved, or made into the well-known
" anchovy sauce." The beche-de-merc, or " sea cucumber,"
is a product of Australasian and Malaysian waters. Al-
most the whole catch is purchased by the Chinese, and it is
exported to all countries having a Chinese population.

Oysters and Lobsters. — The oyster is among the
foremost sea products of the United States in value. The
oyster thrives best in moderately warm and sheltered
waters. The coves and estuaries along the middle Atlantic
coast produce the best in the world. Chesapeake Hay and
Long Island Sound yield the greater part of the output.
In the latter waters elaborate methods of propagation are
carried out, and the yearly crop is increasing both in qu.il
ity and quantity. The output of the Chesapeake beds
has decreased materially; that of the Long Island Sound
beds has increased.

Oysters are plentiful along the Pacific coast of the
United States and also in European coast-waters, but they
are inferior in size and quality. The use of refrigerator,
cars and vessels has extended the trade; to the extent that
fresh oysters are shipped to points 2,000 miles inland
they are also exported to Europe. Baltimore is the chiel
oyster market.

The consumption of the lobster has been so gre;it tliat
the catch of the New England const has d< rrease<l about
one-half in the past fifty years, and the United St.-ites i>
now an importer. Most of the import, amounting to about
one million dollars yearly, comes from Canada. Tin
called lobsters of the Pacific coast of the United States
are not lobsters, but crayfish.

Fish Hatcheries.— The demand for fish has grown so
great in past years that in many countries the waters, es-
pecially the lakes and rivers, are restocked. The eggs are

208 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

hatched and the young fry are fed until they are large
enough to take care of themselves. The chief hatchery
and laboratory of the United States Fish Commission is
at Woods Holl, Mass. As many as 860,000,000 eggs,
small fry, and adult fish have been distributed in a single
year. The State of New York has also a similar depart-
ment for restocking its waters.

Sponge. — This substance is practically the skeleton of
a low order of animal, growing at the bottom of the sea.
The sponge is cut from the place of attachment, and the
gelatinous matter is washed away after putrefaction. The
chief sponge-fisheries are in the neighborhood of Florida
and the Bahama Islands.

Seal. — The fur-seal is an amphibian, found only in cold
waters. A few pelts are obtained along the Greenland
coast, but the chief sealing-grounds of the world have been
at the Pribilof Islands, in Bering Sea. The pelts of the
young males only are taken. The rookeries of the Pri-
bilof Islands have been so nearly exhausted, that the kill-
ing season has been suspended for a term of years. Much
illicit seal-catching is still going on, however.

The skins are taken to London, via San Francisco, where
the fur is dyed a rich brown color; London is the chief
market for dyed pelts ; San Francisco for raw pelts ; and
New York, Paris, and St. Petersburg for garments. The
pelts of the sea-otter are obtained mainly in the North
Pacific Ocean.

Other Furs. — The furs employed in the finest garments
are in part the pelts of land animals living in polar regions.
The sable, stone-marten, otter, beaver, and red fox are the
most valuable. The Persian lamb, however, is not a polar
animal. The Russian Empire and Canada are the chief
sources of supply. The Hudson Bay Company, with head-
quarters at Fort Garry, near Winnipeg, controls most of the

SEA PRODUCTS AND FURS 209

fur-trade of North America ; the Russian furs are marketed
mainly at Lower Novgorod. Leipzig, Germany, is also an
important far-market.

Enormous quantities of rabbit-skins from Australia and
nutria from Argentina are imported into the United States
and Europe for the manufacture of the felt of which hats
are made. The amount of this substance may be realized
when one considers that not far from two hundred million
people In the two countries wear felt hats.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Note an instance in which the search for deep-sea fishing-
grounds has resulted in the discovery of unknown lands.

Why are not whale products as essential now as a century ago ?

What international complications have arisen between the
United States and Great Britain concerning the cod-fisheries?—
the seal-catch ?

CHAPTEE XVII

THE UNITED STATES— THE SEAPORTS AND THE
ATLANTIC COAST-PLAIN

THE United States of America together with the posses-
sions included within the domain of the Republic comprise
an area somewhat greater than that of Europe.

With respect to latitude, the position of the main body
of the United States is extremely fortunate. Practically
all its area is situated in the warmer half of the temperate
zone. Only a small part lies beyond the northern limit of
the corn belt ; wheat, oats, and barley are cultivated suc-
cessfully throughout foiir-fifths of its extent in latitude;
grass, and therefore cattle and sheep are grown in nearly
every part. Coal, iron, copper, gold, and silver, the min-
erals and metals which give to a nation its greatest mate-
rial power, exist in abundance, and the successful working
of these deposits have placed the country upon a very high
commercial plane.

Topographically the United States may be divided into
the following regions:

The Atlantic Coast-Plain,

The Appalachian Ranges and the New England Plateau

The Basin of the Great Lakes,

The Northern Mississippi Valley Region,

The Southern Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast,

The Arid Plains,

The Plateau Region,

The Pacific Coast Lowlands.

The topographic and climatic features of these various

211

UNITED STATES— THE SEAPORTS 213

regions have had a great influence not only on the political
history of the country, but their effect has been even
greater in determining its industrial development. They
have resulted in the establishment of the various indus-
tries, each in the locality best adapted to it, instead of
their diffusion without respect to the necessary conditions
of environment.

The foregoing regions are also approximately areas of
fundamental industries. Thus, the New England plateau
supplies the rest of the United States with light manufact-
ures, such as cotton textiles, woollen clothing, hats, shoes,
cutlery, books, writing-paper, household metal wares, etc.,
but sells the excess abroad. The middle and southern Ap-
palachians, with the coal which forms their chief resource,
supply the rest of the country with structural steel, from
ores obtained in the lake regions, and sell the excess to
foreign countries.

The northern Mississippi Valley grows nearly one-fourth
of the world's wheat-crop. The wheat of this region and the
Pacific coast lowlands supplies the country with bread-stuffs,
and exports the excess to western Europe. The Gulf states,
which produce three-fourths of the world's cotton-crop, sup-
ply the whole country and about one-half the rest of the
world besides with cotton textiles. The grazing regions
produce an excess of meat for export ; the western high-
lands furnish the gold and silver necessary to carry on
the enormous commerce.

In the last twenty years the imports of merchandise per
capita varied but little from $11.50 ; the exports per capita
varied from about $12 to more than $18.

The Atlantic Coast-Plain and the Seaports.—
Throughout most of its extent the Atlantic seaboard of the
United States is bordrivd by a low coast-plain. Along the
northeastern coast of the United States the coast-plain is

214 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

very narrow ; south of New York Bay it has a width in
some places of more than two hundred miles.

The existence of this plain has had a marked effect on
the commercial development of the country. The sinking
or " drowning " of the northern part of it has made an ex-
ceedingly indented coast. The drowned valleys, enclosed
by ridges and headlands, form the best of harbors, and
nearly all of them are northeast of New York Bay. South
of New York Bay good harbors are comparatively few.
For the greater part they occur only when old, buried
river-channels permit approach to the shore.

The most important port of entry in these harbors is
Neiv York, and it derives its importance from two factors.
It has a very capacious harbor, into which vessels drawing
as much as thirty-five feet may enter ; its situation at the
lower end of a series of valleys and passes makes it almost
a dead level route from the Mississippi to the Atlantic
seaboard. The importance of New York as the commercial
gateway between European ports and the food-producing
region of the American continent began when the Erie
Canal was opened between the Great Lakes and tide-water.
The completion of the canal for the first time opened the
rich farming lands of the interior to European markets.
Probably a greater tonnage of freight is carried yearly
over this route than over any other channel of trade in
the world.

Not far from two-thirds of the foreign commerce of the
country passes through the port of New York. The water-
front of the city has an aggregate length of about three
hundred miles, of which one-third is available for anchor-
age. The docks and piers, including those of Jersey City
and Hoboken, aggregate about ninety miles in frontage.

About sixteen thousand sea-going craft enter and clear
yearly, and an average of nearly twenty large passenger

UNITED STATES — THE SEAPORTS

215

and freight steamships arrive and clear daily, about one-
half of them being foreign. The latter receive their car-
goes from about three thousand freight-cars that are daily
switched into the various freight- yards, a large part of
which is through freight from the west.

The port of entry of New York is a centre of population
of about four million, and although there are the in-
dustries usually
found in great
communities,
the greater busi-
ness enterprises
practically re-
duce themselves
to export, im-
port, and ex-
change. For
this reason ]SY\v
York City is the
financial, as well
as the commer-
cial centre of the
continent. Most
of the great in-
dustrial corpor-
ations of the country have their head offices in the city.
These are financed by more than one hundred banks,
together with a clearing-house whose yearly business
amounted in 1902 to considerably more than seventy
billions of dollars.*

Boston has. been one of the leading ports of the United

* This sum represents more than ten times the amount of gold coin
now in existence. Less than five per cent, of the business of the LT. at
industrial centres is a cash business. Even if the money existed, the trans-

216 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

States for considerably more than a century. It ranks
second among the ports of the United States. Kegular
lines of transit connect it with the principal ports of Great
Britain and Canada. The coast trade is also very heavy.
Boston is the financial and commercial centre of New
England ; the cotton, woollen, and leather goods passing
through the port find their way to nearly every inhabited
part of the world. The city controls a considerable export
trade of food-stuffs from the upper Mississippi Valley. The
vessels entering and clearing at Boston indicate a move-
ment of about four million five hundred thousand tons,
about one-fourth that of New York. The clearing-house
exchanges average about six billion dollars yearly.

Philadelphia, on account of its distance inland, is not
fortunately situated for ocean commerce. Steamships of
deep draught reach their docks at the lower end of the city
under their own steam, but sailing-craft pay heavy towage
fees. There are regular lines to Liverpool, Antwerp, West
Indian ports, Baltimore, and Boston. Philadelphia is the
centre of the anthracite coal trade, and this is the chief
factor of its domestic trade. The imports of fruit from the
West Indies, carpet-wool from Europe, and raw sugar from
the West Indies, form the greater part of its foreign busi-
ness. The manufactures are mainly carpets and rugs, loco-
motives and iron steamships, and refined sugar. The car-
pet-weaving and the ship-building plants are among the

fer of such immense sums would greatly retard commerce. In order to
effect a speedy settlement of payments, clearing-houses are established.
At the clearing-house the representatives of the various banks meet daily
and liquidate the checks drawn against one another; and although the total
yearly volume of payment aggregates the sum mentioned above, the bal-
ances for a year are but little more than two billion dollars. Even this
does not always represent cash payment, for a bank that is a debtor to
another at the close of one day may be a creditor for an equal sum on the
nert.

UNITED STATES — THE SEAPORTS

217

largest in the world. The ocean movement of freight is
more than three million five hundred thousand tons yearly.
The business of the clearing-house in 1902 aggregated
nearly six billion dollars.

Baltimore is likewise handicapped by its distance inland.
Sailing-vessels, however, require only a short towage, the
docks being scarcely a dozen miles from Chesapeake
Bay. The harbor is deep and capacious. The Pennsyl-
vania and Baltimore & Ohio railway systems have made
Baltimore an importau trail way centre. The completion
of the Gould railway system to the Atlantic seaboard
has made the city second to New York only in the ex-
port of corn, wheat,
flour, and tobacco. The
most noteworthy local
industry is the oyster
product, which is the
greatest in the world.
Nearly ten thousand
people are employed,
and during the busy
season — from Septem-
ber to the end of April
—about thirty carloads
of oysters a day are
shipped.

The yearly movement of marine freight, entering and
clearing, aggregates about three million tons. In 1902 the
clearing-house exchanges aggregated about two and one-
quarter billion dollars.

Portland, Me., has good harbor facilities, but is distant
from the great lines of traffic. Steamship lines, which in
summer make Montreal a terminal point, occasionally make
Portland their winter harbor. Newport News, Savannah,

CHARLESTON HARBOR

218 COMMERCIAL GEOGEAPHY

Charleston, and Brunsioick are growing in importance as
clearing ports for the cotton and produce from the region
west of them. Norfolk obtains importance on account of
the United States Navy-Yard ; it is also the great peanut-
market of the world.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What are the requisites of a good seaport ?

What is meant by the draught of a vessel ?

For what purposes are pilots ?

How are navigable channels marked and designated ?

From the Statistical Abstract find six or more of the leading
exports from each of the following ports: New York, Boston,
Baltimore, Philadelphia, and the port nearest which you live.

FOR COLLATERAL REFERENCE

Statistical Abstract of the United States.

Statesman's Year- Book.

Industrial Evolution of the United States— Chapter II.

CHAPTER xvrn

THE UNITED STATES— THE NEW ENGLAND PLATEAU
AND THE APPALACHIAN REGION

THE manufacturing regions of the United States, which
connect the country with the rest of the world, include main-
ly the New England plateau and the Appalachian ranges.

The New England Plateau. — This region embraces
the New England States and practically includes all the
eastern part of New York and northern New Jersey. The
abruptly sloping surface affords a great wealth of water-
power, and the region is one of the most important centres
of light manufacture in the world. This industry resulted
very largely from the conditions imposed by the War of
1812 and its consequent non-intercourse acts.

The interruption of foreign commerce not only cut off
the importation of manufactured commodities, but also
made idle the capital employed. Manufacturing enter-
prises started in various parts of the United States, but
they prospered in this region for three reasons — an abun-
dance of power, plenty of capital, and business experience.
Steam-power is largely supplanting water-power in the
manufacturing enterprises, and in many instances the es-
tablishments have been moved to tide-water in order to
get their coal at the lowest rates of transportation.

Chief among the manufactures are cotton textiles, the
yearly output of which is about three hundred million
dollars. About nine-tenths of the cotton goods made are
consumed at home. Of the remainder, China purchases one-
half, Great Britain and Canada take one-fourth, the South

219

220 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

American and Central American states purchase most of the
remaining output. The great improvement of spinning and
weaving machinery has enabled the cotton manufacturer
to export his wares to about every country in the world.

Boots, shoes, and other leather goods are also important
manufactures. The invention of improved machinery for
making shoes has revolutionized the industry to the extent
that a pair of stylish shoes may be purchased anywhere
in the United States for about half the price charged in
1880. Another result is the enormous importation of
hides from South American countries and Mexico.

The New England plateau is also the centre of a large
number of manufactures that require a high degree of
mechanical skill and intellectual training, such as small
fire-arms, machinery, watches and clocks, jewelry, machine-
tools, etc. The location of such industries depends but
little upon climate, topography, or the cost of transporta-
tion ; it is wholly a question of an educated and trained
people. This region is likely to lose a considerable part
of its manufactures of cotton textiles, inasmuch as the in-
dustry is gradually moving to the cotton-growing region.
The manufactures requiring training and skill, however, are
likely to remain in the region where they have grown up.

Lawrence, Lowell, Manchester, and Nashua — all on the
Merrimac River; Lewisfon, Waterville, Augusta, Woon-
sockef, and Adams — each situated at falls or rapids — are
great centres of cotton manufacture. Fall River has an
abundance of water-power, and at the same time is situ-
ated on tide-water. Having the advantage of good power
and cheap transportation, it has probably the greatest out-
put of cotton textiles of any city in the world. Textile
establishments have also grown up in the cities and towns
of the MohaAvk Valley, being attracted by the excellent
facilities for transportation and also by the available water-

UNITED STATES— THE NEW ENGLAND PLATEAU 221

power. Lynn, Brockton, Haverhill, Marlboro, and Worcester
are centres of boot and shoe manufacture ; they turn out
about two-thirds of the product of the United States.

Bridgeport and New Haven have very large plants for
the manufacture of fire-arms and fixed ammunition ; ]\\il< /•-
bury and Ansonia for watches, clocks, and brass goods ;
J/i-ridenior silverware, and Walt ham for watches. Worces-
ter, Hartford, North Adams, Fitchburg, and Providence
have each a great variety of manufactures. The foreign
commerce of these manufacturing centres is carried on
mainly through Boston. Neio Haven, New Bedford, Provi-
dence, Salem, Gloucester, and New London control each a
very large local commerce.

South of New York Bay the Atlantic coast-plain attains
an average width of nearly two hundred miles. The pine
forests of this plain yield lumber, tar, pitch, and turpen-
tine. The productive lands are valuable chiefly for their
output of dairy stuffs, fruit, and "garden truck," which
find a ready market in the larger cities. In order to en-
courage this industry, the railways make special rates for
dairy products, fruit, and vegetables, and afford quick
transit for such freight.

Manufacturing industries are rapidly taking shape in
this part of the United States. Along the line where the
coast-plain proper joins the foot-hills of the Appalachian
ranges, the rivers reach the lower levels by rapids or falls.
The estuaries into which they flow are usually navigable
for river-craft. The manufacturer thus has the double
advantage of water-power and low transportation. The
opening of the southern Appalachian coal-mines has
also greatly encouraged manufacture in this region. Rich-
mond, Columbia., MUledgev'dlc, Augusta, and Columbus are
thus situated. Their manufactures are very largely con-
nected with the cotton-crop.

222 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

The domestic commerce of the Atlantic seaboard of the
United States is probably larger than that of any other
similar region in the world. It is considerably larger
than the " rouud-the-islaiid " trade of Great Britain.
Much of this trade is carried by steam-vessels, but the
three-masted schooner is everywhere in evidence, and
these craft carry a very large part of the coal that is
moved by water. This trade is restricted to vessels fly-
ing the American flag.

The Appalachian Region. — The middle and southern
Appalachian region has become the most important centre
of iron and steel manufacture in the world. This great
development has resulted from several causes, the chief
being the existence of coal and unlimited quantities of iron
ore on the one hand, and unusual facilities for cheap trans-
portation on the other. There are practically three areas
of steel manufacture — one along the Ohio River and its
tributaries in western Pennsylvania ; another is situated
along the south shores of Lake Erie and Lake Michigan ;
the third includes the Birmingham district in the southern
Appalachians.

The steel-making plants of the Ohio River are located
with reference to the transportation of their products, and
therefore are built usually alongside the river. The coal
or coke is commonly shipped in barges of light draught ;
the manufactured products are carried by rail. The greater
part of the ore is brought from the Lake Superior region.
It is shipped at a very small cost from the ore quarries to
the lake-shore, and by rail from the lake-shore to the manu-
facturing plant. In order to avoid heavy grades the ore
railways are also built along the river- valleys.

Some of the various steel-making plants are equipped
for the manufacture of building or " structural " steel,
others for rails and railway equipments, still others for tin-

224 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

plate, or for wire, or for tool steel. In a few mills armor-
plate and ordinary plate for steel vessels form the exclu-
sive product. The diversity of the product has led to the
organization of great corporations, each of which controls
half -a dozen or more plants, the transportation lines
necessary to carry the product, the ore quarries, and the
fuel-mines.

The wonderful development of the steel industry in the
United States is due to the use of labor-saving machinery,
and to the superb organization. The w^ages paid for labor
are higher than those paid in European steel-making
centres ; the cost of living is not materially greater. The
price of steel rails, which in 1880 was forty-eight dollars
per ton, in 1900 was about twenty dollars per ton.

Pittsburg, together with Homestead, Carnegie, McKees-
port, Duquesne,, and Braddock, is the chief steel-making
centre of the Ohio River Valley. There are also large
plants at Neiv Castle, Sharon, Scranton, Johnstown, Bellaire,
Youngstoivn, Mingo Junction, and Wheeling. The steel-
plant and rolling-mills at South Bethlehem are designed
especially for the manufacture of the heavy ordnance used
in the army and navy. Nearly all the cities and towns of
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and eastern Ohio carry on
manufacturing enterprises that depend on coal mining and
steel manufacture. The great and diversified manufactures
of Philadelphia are due to its fortunate situation at tide-
water, near the coal-mines. Cheap fuel and water trans-
portation have made it one of the great industrial centres
of the world.

The anthracite coal of this region is used wholly for fuel
and steam-making; it is shipped partly by water from
Philadelphia, but mainly in specially constructed cars to
the various points of consumption. The soft coal is used
also for fuel and steam-making, but a large part of the

UNITED STATES— THE NEW ENGLAND PLATEAU 225

product is converted into coke and used in the steel-
plauts.

The petroleum of this region is a leading export of the
country, the states of western Europe beiug the chief pur-
chasers. Of agricultural products, hay, dairy products,
and tobacco are the ouly ones of importance. Natural
gas is used both as a fuel and in manufactures.

The lake-shore centre of steel manufacture depend?
largely on the low cost of transporting the iron ore, which
in part is offset by the increased cost of coal. The low
cost of shipping the manufactured product over nearly
level trunk lines is a very substantial gain. South Chicago,
Toledo, S'tndusky, Lorain, Cleveland, Ashtabida, Conneaut,
Erie, and Buffalo are centres of steel manufacture or ore
shipment, because they are situated on this great trade-
route or line of least resistance.

The coal-mines and iron-making plants of the southern
Appalachians have a considerable area. The chief manu-
facturing centres are Birmingham, Richmond, Roanokc, and
Chattanooga. A considerable part of the Virginia ores find
their way to the Ohio River steel-mills. Open-hearth steel
is an important manufacture in Birmingham. A large
part of the ores smelted in the southern Appalachian re-
gion are made into foundry iron.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What are the advantages and the disadvantages of manu-
facturing cotton textiles in the New England States?

Why have the mining of ore and the manufacture of steel be-
come generally unprofitable in the New England States?

What causes have brought about the lowering of the prices of
cotton textiles during the past fifty years ?— of shoes?

What makes tlu- manufacture of artificial ice a precarious
business north of the latitude of Philadelphia?

226 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

What are the advantages and the disadvantages arising from
the location of a manufacturing industry at a seaport ?

What is the design of a protective tariff ? What are its ad-
vantages and disadvantages ?

Why are most of the great steel-making plants so remote from
bhe mines of iron ore used in making steel ?

FOR COLLATERAL READING

Industrial Evolution of the United States — Chapters III--V
Mineral Resources of the United States.
Outlines of Political Science — Chapters VIII-X.

CHAPTER XIX

THE UNITED STATES— THE BASIN OP THE GREAT
LAKES AND THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY

THE principal agricultural region of the United States
extends from the Appalachian ranges to the Rocky Moun-
tains. A certain amount of bread-staffs, meat, and dairy
products are grown in nearly every part of the country for
local use, but the grain, meat, and cotton of this region
are designed for export, and are therefore factors in the
world's commerce. The basin of the Great Lakes connects
the Mississippi Yalley with the Atlantic seaboard.

The Basin of the Great Lakes. — This region in-
cludes not only the Great Lakes and the area drained by
the streams flowing into them, but also a considerable region
surrounding that commercially is tributary to the traffic
passing over the lakes. This basin itself is a part of a
trade-route destined very shortly to become one of the
greatest highways of traffic in the world.

The lakes afford a navigable waterway which, measured
due east and west, aggregates nearly six hundred miles.
This route is interrupted at Niagara Falls and at St. Mary's
Falls, between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. On the
Canadian side, Welland Canal, Lake Ontario, and the St.
Lawrence connect Lake Erie with tide-water. In the
United States the Erie Canal connects the lake with the
Hudson 1 liver and New York Bay.

From the head of Lake Superior railway routes of mini-
mum grades — the Great Northern and the Northern Pa-
cific * — cross the continent to Puget Sound, the best harbor

* These rouds are financed by the Northern Securities Company and form
a link in the Hill-Morgan lines. Their intercontinental traffic is large.

227

228

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

approach to the Pacific coast of the American continent.
The harbors of Puget Sound, moreover, are materially
nearer the great Asian ports than any other port of the
United States. The level margins of these lakes are road-
beds for many miles of railway track; in many instances
the railways are built on the tops of terraces that once
were shores of the lakes.

Dulutli, at the head of Lake Superior, became commer-
cially important when the St. Mary's Falls Canal was com-
pleted. Much of the tremendous tonnage of freight passing

through the canal is assembled
at this place. The freight
shipped consists mainly of farm
products collected from an area
reaching as far west as the
Kocky Mountains. There is
also a considerable shipment
of iron ores obtained near by.
Buffalo, at the lower end of
Lake Erie, owes its activity to
the trade in lumber, grain, and

other farm products that come from Western lake-ports.
It is the eastern terminus of the lake-commerce and the
western terminus of the Erie Canal.

Chicago, at the head of Lake Michigan, has a very heavy
lake-trade. The mouth of Chicago River, the natural har-
bor of the city, has been improved by a system of basins
and breakwaters. The river itself has been converted into
a ship and drainage canal that is connected with the Illi-
nois and Mississippi Rivers. It is now an outlet instead
of a feeder to the lake, and the city built about old Fort
Dearborn has become the greatest railway centre in the
world.
Milwaukee has a situation in many ways resembling that

230 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

of Chicago, its harbor being the mouth of Milwaukee River.
Like Chicago, it owes its importance to its lake-trade. De-
troit (with Windsor , Ont.) owes its growth partly to its stra-
tegic position on the strait connecting Lake Huron and
Lake Erie, and partly for its position between the lakes.
It is an important collecting and distributing point for lake-
freights, and the chief centre of commerce with Canada.
Several east-and-west trunk lines and local lines of railway
have freight terminals in the city ; it is also the centre of
the most complete system of interurban electric railways in
the world. Port Huron (with Sarnia, Ont.) has a geographic
position similar to that of Detroit, and is also an important
lake-port. The St. Clair River is tunnelled at this point.
Cleveland, Toledo, Sandusky, and Erie contribute very
largely to the lake-trade. Grand Rapids is the business
centre of furniture manufacture of the United States.

The great iron-ore ranges about Lake Superior have had
much to do with the growth of the local lake-trade. This
has resulted in the establishment of a large number of
shipping-ports near the head of the lakes, and also a num-
ber of receiving ports on the south shores of Lake Erie
and Lake Michigan. Some of the latter have become also
great manufacturing centres of structural iron and steel.

Various centres of industry at a considerable distance
from the Great Lakes are contributors to their trade. Thus,
on account of the low rate for grain between Chicago and
Neiu York City — about 5 J cents per bushel — there are yearly
very heavy shipments of the grain designed for Liverpool.
St. Paul and Minneapolis are also collecting and distributing
centres of lake-freights. A considerable part of the busi-
ness of the lake-region is carried on by the Canadians, who
have improved their resources for production and trans-
portation to the utmost.

The Northern Mississippi Valley Region. — This

232 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

region extends from the Appalachian ranges to the western
limit of wheat and cotton growing. On the south it is
limited by the cotton-growing region. Its boundaries are
therefore climatic and commercial.

The surface is level ; there is a rich, deep soil and an abun-
dant rainfall. It has therefore become one of the foremost
regions of the world in the production of corn, wheat,
pork, dairy-stuffs, and general farm produce. The evolu-
tion of farming machinery is the direct result of topo-
graphic conditions. A level, fertile region naturally invites
grain-farming on a large scale. This, in turn, must depend
very largely on the ability of the farmer to plant and har-
vest his crops with the minimum of expense and time.

Hand-work in harvesting and planting has almost wholly
given way to machine-work. Farming carried on under
such conditions requires not only a considerable capital, but
close business management as well. Some of the results
have been very far-reaching. The machinery and other
equipments require capital, and this in late years has been
borrowed from Eastern capitalists. The prompt business
methods of the money-lender brought about no little friction,
and it is only within recent years that each adjusted him-
self to the requirements of the other.

The system of machine-farming to a great extent has
prevented the subdivision of farms. As a rule, quarter
and half sections represent the size of most of the farms,
but tracts varying from five thousand to ten thousand acres
are by no means uncommon. The chief drawback to this
method in the case of wheat-farming, however, is the low
yield per acre. The average yield per acre for the United
States, a little more than twelve bushels, is scarcely half
the average yield in Europe. Although the farmer has
done much to reorganize his business methods, he has done
but little to maintain the productivity of his laud.

234 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

The cities and towns of this region are mainly receiving
and collecting points for farm produce. Nearly every
village is equipped with elevators and grain-handling ma-
chinery ; the larger towns, as a rule, have stock-yards and
the necessary facilities for cattle shipment; the large cities
are usually centres of meat-packing. Most of the meat-
packing is a necessity ; for although cattle may be shipped
alive and beef may be transported in refrigerator ships
and cars, pork is not marketable unless pickled, salted, or
smoked. The pork thus exported, aggregating about six
hundred million pounds yearly, must be prepared, there-
fore, somewhere near the cornfields. Manufacturing enter-
prises are operated on a very large scale, but in the main
their products are farm-machinery and the commodities
required by a farming population.

Education in agriculture is provided for in nearly every
State in the Union. The agricultural colleges in the States
composing this group rank among the best in the world.
In addition to the ordinary courses in such institutions,
there are also many experiment stations for the study of
economic plants, cattle diseases, and insect pests.

Chicago is the largest food-market in the world. The
industries of the city are almost wholly connected with the
commerce of grain, pork, meat, and other food-stuffs. For
the transportation of these commodities about thirty great
trunk lines enter the city and about twelve hundred pas-
senger trains daily arrive and depart from its stations.

The freight terminals are connected by transfer and belt
lines, which receive and distribute the cars passing between
the eastern and the western roads. More than five hun-
dred freight trains, aggregating about twenty thousand
cars, arrive and depart daily.

St. Louis originally derived its importance as a river-port
of the Mississippi, having been the connecting commercial

AUTOMOTIVE POWER IN THE INDUSTRIES OH THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY

236 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

link between the upper and the lower river. In recent
years it has become the metropolis of the southern part of
the food-producing region. In addition to the river-trade,
still largely controlled at this point, it is the focus of more
than twenty trunk lines of railway. Some of these, like
the trunk lines of Chicago, handle freight exchanged be-
tween the East and West ; but a large proportion are re-
ceiving and distributing roads for Southern freight.

St. Paul and Minneapolis are the metropolis of the upper
Mississippi. The former grew from a trading-post at the
head of navigation ; the latter gained its commercial promi-
nence from the water-power at the falls of St. Anthony.
The former has become the chief railway and distributing
centre of the northern Mississippi Valley ; the latter has
the greatest flour-mills in the world, and an extensive
lumber-trade. Both are situated on the trade-route be-
tween the United States and Asian ports, and distribute
a part of the trade that comes from them.

The two Kansas Cities* Omaha, South Omaha, and
Sioux City are stock-markets and meat-packing centres.
The first two named are collecting and distributing points
not only for the Mississippi Valley, but also for a consid-
erable share of the Pacific Coast trade. Kansas City is
also a transfer station for the cotton destined for China.
From this place it is sent by way of Billings to Seattle, and
thence shipped to China.

Cincinnati is the metropolis of the Ohio Valley. Its sit-
uation on a bend of the river gives most excellent landing
facilities ; the easy grade from the bluff to the bottom-lands
along the flood-plain of Mill Creek makes it accessible to
the railways that enter the city. On account of low rates
of transportation by river-barges, about three million tons
of coal and one million tons of pig-iron and steel billets
* Their dividing line is the centre of a street.

UNITED STATES— BASIN OF THE GREAT LAKES 237

are floated to the city to be manufactured into other steel
products. Indianapolis is a great railway centre, where
much of the freight passing between Chicago, Louisville,
Cincinnati, and Pittsburg is exchanged. Columbus (O.) is
similarly situated as a railway and farming centre.

Louisville is a market of the tobacco region, and has
probably a larger business in this industry than any other
city in the world. Davenport, Rock Island, and Moline form
a single commercial centre, the last-named having the

CATTLE AND DAIRY
PRODUCTS.

Are* of Beef Cattle thui;

Area of Dairy Product* tbui:

Beef Puking Centrn thin: • N

An* of Mexico tending Cattle to U.S....

largest establishment for the manufacture of ploughs in the
world. Dubuque, Burlington, Quincy, and Muscat ine are
river-ports, all having a considerable trade in the lumber
that is carried down the river.

The Southern Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast.
—This region receives a generous warmth and rainfall.
Cotton is its staple product, and nearly all the industries
are connected with the growth, shipment, and manufacture
of the crop and its side products. The cotton, raw or
manufactured, is sold in about every country in the world.

238 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

The commercial part of handling the cotton -crop begins
within a very few weeks from the time of the first picking.
The baled cotton is hauled by team from the plantation to
the nearest market-town, an item sometimes greater than
the entire freightage from the nearest seaport to Liverpool.

The season for export lasts from September until the
middle of January, during which time brokers are visiting
the smaller markets in order to buy it on commission. It
is then shipped by rail or by river to the nearest general
market, where it is sold to the foreign buyers and domestic
manufacturers.

Neio Orleans, the metropolis of the South, has usually the
heaviest export of cotton, amounting to about one billion
pounds each year. Much of this is received by water from
the various river-ports. The city is not only a river-port,
but an important seaport as well, controlling a large part
of the foreign commerce of the Gulf. Several trunk lines of
railway enter the city, which is a receiving and distributing
depot for both Atlantic and Pacific freights. A consider-
able part of the former are sent by ocean steamships from
New York. An elaborate system of sewerage, well-paved
streets, and a good water-supply — all recently put into
operation — have made the city one of the most attractive
in the United States.

Galveston is destined to become a leading port for cot-
ton export. It has the advantage of a fine harbor on the
seaboard, and the disadvantage of a location so low that
very heavy south winds flood the streets with water from
the Gulf. The growth of the export trade is due chiefly to
the increasing crop of Texas. Shipments from Galveston
begin in September, the Texas crop being the first to
mature. Savannah and New York rank next in their ex-
ports. Pensacola and Brunsioick are also important points
of export. Memphis, Vicksburg, Shreveport, Houston, and

UNITED STATES — BASIN OP THE GREAT LAKES 239

Montgomery are important collecting stations for the
cotton.

About one-third of the crop is retained for manufacture
in the United States; one-third is purchased by Great
Britain, one-sixth by Germany, and most of the remainder
by France, Italy, Spain, and Japan. Of the manufactured
cotton goods, the Chinese are the heaviest buyers, taking
about half the entire export. Most of the Chinese pur-
chase is landed at Shanghai.

In the main, the manufactures of this region closely con-
cern the cotton industry. The increase in the manufacture
of textile goods has been very great, and a large part of the
cotton now manufactured in the New England States and
abroad, in time will "be made in the cities and towns of this
section. In addition to the textile goods, cottonseed-oil
is an important product. A part of this is used in the
mechanical arts, but the refined oil is used mainly for
domestic purposes. A considerable part of the latter is
used to adulterate olive-oil, and in some instances is
substituted for it. The refuse of the seed is made into
fertilizer.

Atlanta is one of the foremost cities in the South in the
manufacture of cotton textiles and products. Commercially
its situation resembles that of Indianapolis ; it is a focal
point of the chief trunk lines of railway in the South, and
L;is ill*! principal railway clearing-house. Like New Or-
leans, it is an educational centre and one of the foremost
in the South. Macoji, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio
are growing commercial centres.

The manufacture of cane-sugar has been an industry of
Louisiana for more than a century. Since the advent of
beet-sugar, however, it has been a somewhat precarious
venture, and has drprmltul. for existence very largely upon
tariff protection and bounties paid to the American sugar-

240 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

makers. Tobacco manufacture centres at Tampa and Key
West. Cuban leaf is there converted into cigars.

Fruit culture is a great industry. Millions of melons
and great quantities of pineapples, oranges, and small fruit
form the early crop that is shipped North. The orange
groves are mainly in Florida. The crop is exhausted about
the time that California oranges are shipped East. A great
deal of tropical fruit is brought from Mexican, Central
American, and South American ports. This trade is con-
trolled mainly at Mobile, which is also a lumber-market.

The Arid Plains and the Grazing Region.— This
region includes the high plains approximately west of the
2,000-foot contour of level, together with a part of the
plateaus of the western highland region. It is essentially
one of grazing. Formerly there was an attempt to make
wheat-growing the chief industry, but on account of the
limited rainfall not more than three crops out of five
reached maturity.

The earlier cattle-growing was carried on in a somewhat
primitive manner ; the cattle herded on open lands, wan-
dering from one range to another, wherever the grazing
might be good. The ownership of the cattle was deter-
mined by the brand the animal bore,* and the herds were
" rounded up " twice a year to be sorted ; at the round-up
the " mavericks," or unmarked calves and yearlings, were
branded. In time the ranges became greatly overstocked ;
the winter losses by starvation were so heavy that a better
system became imperative. " Rustling," or cattle-stealing,
also became a factor in improving the methods of cattle-
ranching. The cautious rustler would purchase a few head

*The brand consisted of any specific device, such as an initial, a
monogram, or a conventional form that might he easily recognized. The
device was registered and imprinted with a red-hot iron on the flank of
the animal. Ear-marks, such as notches or similar devices, also indicated
ownership.

242

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

of cattle and add to the number by capturing stray
mavericks.

Both the legitimate graziers and the rustlers at first were
bitterly opposed to fencing the land. In time, however,
the grazier was compelled to do this, and also to grow
alfalfa for winter foddering. The great open ranges have
therefore been broken up and fenced wholly or in part.
The fencing, moreover, has kept a dozen or more of the

OPEN GRAZING
WESTERN HIGHLANDS.

SCM.E OF MILES.

largest wire-mills in the world turning out a product that
is at once shipped West. As a rule, the top wire is set
on insulators and used for telephone connection.* This

* In many cases Government land, not owned by the rancher, has been
fenced in. No objection was made, however, until the sheep-grazier
came. He demanded the removal of the fences, claiming that he had an
equal right to graze his herds on public lands. But inasmuch as a range
once grazed by sheep is ruined for cattle-growing, the quarrel between the
grazier and the rustler has become one in which both the grazier and the
rustler turned upon the sheep-owner.

244 COMMERCIAL GEOGEAPHY

method of cattle-growing has improved the business in
every way. The cattle are better kept ; the loss by winter
killing is very small ; the " long-horn " cattle have given
place to the best breeds of " meaters," which are heavier,
and mature more quickly.

The success of stock-growing in this region is largely
a question of climate. The sparse rainfall permits the
growth of several species of grass that retain nutrition and
vitality after turning brown under the fierce summer heat.
Ordinary turf-grass will not live in this region, nor will it
retain its nutrition after turning brown if rain falls upon
it. The native grass is not materially affected by a shower
or two ; it is fairly good fodder even when buried under the
winter's snow. The existence of this industry, therefore,
turns on a very delicate climatic balance.

Of the beef grown in the United States the export prod-
uct is derived mainly from this region. Nearly four hun-
dred thousand animals are shipped alive ; about three
hundred million pounds of fresh beef are shipped to the
Atlantic seaboard in refrigerator-cars and then transferred
to refrigerator-steamships. Two-thirds of the cattle and
fresh beef exported are shipped from New York and Boston.

Upward of one hundred and fifty million pounds of
canned and pickled beef are also exported. All but a very
small part of this product is consumed in Great Britain,
France, and Germany. The cattle are collected for trans-
portation at various stations and sidings along the rail-
ways that traverse this region. Cheyenne is one of the
largest cattle-markets in the world.

Wool has become a very valuable product, and the
sheep grown in this region number about one-half the
total in the United States. The growing of macaroni-
wheat is extending to lands that fail to produce crops of
ordinary wheat.

UNITED STATES — BASIN OF THE GREAT LAKES 245
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

In what ways does the basin of the Great Lakes facilitate the
commerce of the United States?

How has the topography of the Mississippi Valley affected the
evolution of farming-machinery?

Why are shippers willing in many cases to pay an all-rail rate
on wheat sent to the Atlantic seaboard, nearly three times as
great as the lake and canal rates ?

The acre-product of wheat in the United States is about twelve
bushels ; in western Europe it varies from twenty-five to more
than forty bushels ; to what is the difference due?

What is meant by sea-island cotton ? — for what reasons is cot-
ton imported from Egypt and Peru into the United States?

In what manner is cotton used in the manufacture of pneumatic
tires, and why is it thus used?

What are refrigerator-cars? — refrigerator-steamships? Name
some of the regulations required in shipping cattle.

Why have American meats been debarred at times from Eu-
ropean markets?

Find the value of cotton and meat exported to the following-
named countries: Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, China

FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

The Wheat Problem — pp. 191 et seq.
Statistical Abstract.

S$gV£r> ¥W*J&

.'-•"*•-•*•.* -• T!S?^< ,vV *" ••-Vrr

w, ---~.-.~-..

. • -A « , ^T» ' -'^^^^

"« -.- - ,r ^~-.?±> v,

'DIFFICULT RAILROADING— LAS ANIMAS CANON

CHAPTER XX

THE UNITED STATES— THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS
AND TERRITORIAL POSSESSIONS

THE western part of the United States consists of a suc-
cession of high mountain-ranges extending nearly north
and south. The two highest ranges, each about two miles
high, enclose a basin-shaped plateau about one mile high.
This basin is commonly called the " plateau region." The
rim ranges are broken in a few places by passes that the
transcontinental railways thread. West of the Sierra
Nevada ranges are the fertile Pacific coast lowlands.

The Plateau Region. — This region is generally arid,
but on the higher plateaus there is sufficient rainfall to
produce a considerable forestry and grazing. The general
conditions of rainfall and topography forbid any great de-
velopment of agriculture. Farming is confined to the river-
flood-plains, the parks, and the old lake beds and margins.

A considerable area, estimated at more than two mill-
ion acres, may be made productive by irrigation, and the
United States Go vemmeut is undertaking the construction
of an elaborate and extensive system of reservoirs for the
impounding of stream and storm waters now running to
waste. The irrigated lands of this region, when their prod-
ucts are accessible to markets, are very valuable. The
river-bottom lands of New Mexico, and the old margins of
Great Salt Lake in Utah are examples. They produce
abundantly, and a single acre often yields as much as four
or five acres in regions of plentiful rainfall.

247

248 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Not much of the crop of this region, the fruit and wool
excepted, leaves the vicinity in which it is grown, on ac-
count of the expense of transportation. In the matter of
the transportation of their commodities, the dwellers of the
western highland are doubly handicapped. The build-
ing of railways is enormously expensive, and in a region
of sparse population there is comparatively little local
freight to be hauled. The difficulties of developing such
a region from a commercial stand point, therefore, are very
great.

Mining is the chief industry of this section, and silver,
gold, and copper are its most important products. Since
the discovery of precious metals in the United States, this
region has produced gold and silver bullion to the value of
about four billion dollars. This sum is about one-half the
value of the railways of the country,* and from 1865 to
1880 a large part of the capital invested in railway build-
ing represents the gold and silver of these mines. In the
last twenty years of the past century they produced an
average of about one hundred and twenty-five million
dollars per year, and this average is constantly increasing.

Coal-measures extend along the eastern escarpment of
the Rocky Mountains, and these are destined at no remote
day to create a centre of steel and other manufactures.
Several of the railways operate coal-mines in Colorado and
Wyoming for the fuel required. A limited supply of steel
is also made, the industry being protected by the great dis-
tance from the Eastern smelteries.

Denver is the chief active centre of finance of the min-
ing industry in the western highlands, although many of
the great enterprises derive the capital necessary to de-
velop them from New York and San Francisco. JLeadville,
Cripple Creek, Butte, Helena, and Deadtuood are regions of

* It is one-third of their capital stock plus the bonded indebtedness.

250 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

gold and silver production. Virginia City is the operating
centre of the famous Comstock mines. At Anaconda is the
chief copper-mine of this region. Salt Lake City and Oy-
den are the centre of the Mormon agricultural enterprises.
Santa fe, Las Vegas, and Albuquerque are centres of agri-
cultural interests and stock-growing.

Spokane and Walla Walla are commercial centres of the
plains of the Columbia River. The former is the focal
point of a network of local roads that collect the wheat and
other farm products of this region ; the latter is the col-
lecting point for much of the freight sent by steamboats
down the Columbia River from Wallula. Railway trans-
portation has largely superseded river-navigation for all
except local freights, however. Boise City is the financial
centre of considerable mining interests.

The Pacific Coast Lowlands. — Climatically this region
differs from the rest of the United States in having a rainy
and a dry season — that is, the rainfall is wholly seasonal.
In the northern part the rainfall is sixty inches or more,
and rain may be expected daily from the middle of Octo-
ber to May. In central California the precipitation is
about half as much, the rainy season beginning later and
ending earlier. In southern California there are occa-
sional showers during the winter months, aggregating ten
or twenty inches.

The level valley-lands have no superior for wheat-farm-
ing, and in but one or two places is the rainfall insufficient
to insure a good crop. In the San Joaquin and southern
valleys of California the harvest begins in May, in the
Sacramento Valley in June, and in the Willamette and
Sound Valleys of Oregon and Washington in July. The
wheat goes mainly to Great Britain by way of Cape Horn.
It cannot be safely shipped in bulk, and the manufacture
of jute grain-sacks has become an important industry in

HNITED STATES— THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS 251

consequence. The yearly wheat product of this region is
not far from eighty million bushels.

Fruit is a valuable product of the foot-hills of the
Sierras, and in southern California oranges, lemons, and
grapes are now the staple crop. In some cases the aver-
age yield per acre has reached a value of five hundred
dollars. Some of the largest vineyards in the world are in
this region. The Zinfandel claret wine and the raisins find
a market as far east as London, and considerable quantities
are sold in China and Japan. The navel orange, although
not native to California, reaches its finest development in
that State. A large part of the fruit-crop of California is
handled at Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, and New York.
It is transported in special cars attached to fast trains.

Wool is an important crop. In the northern part the
sheep thrive, best in the foot-hills. The valley of Umpqua
liiver, Ore., produces nearly seventeen million pounds of
wool yearly, the staple being an ordinary variety. Cali-
fornia produces nearly as much of the finest merino staple.
A considerable part is manufactured in the mills of the
Pacific coast. The Mission Mills blankets made in San
Francisco are without an equal elsewhere.

The discovery of gold by John Marshall in 1848 resulted
in a tremendous inflow of people to the gold-fields of Cali-
fornia. It also was a factor in the acquisition of the terri-
tory composing the Pacific coast States. The first mining
consisted merely in separating the metal deposited in the
bed-rock of streams by washing away the lighter matt-rial.
In time the quartz ledges which had produced the placer
gold became the chief factor in gold mining. California is
still one of the leading States in the production of gold.
Quicksilver mining is an important feature of the mining
interests of the Pacific coast, and the mines of the coast
ranges produce about half the world's output.

252

Lumber manufacture is an important industry. Douglas
spruce, commonly known as " Oregon pine," grows pro-
fusely on the western slopes of the high ranges, the belt
extending nearly to the Mexican border. It makes a
most excellent building-lumber, especially for bridge-tim-
ber and framework. Masts and spars of this material
are used in almost every maritime country. Sugar-pine
is less common, but is abundant. It is largely used for
interior work. Several species of redwood occur in central
California, confined to a limited area. The wood is fine-
grained and makes a most beautiful interior finish.

San Francisco is the metropolis of the Pacific coast of
the United States. It is the terminus of the Santa Fe and
Union Pacific railways, and the centre of a network of
local roads. Steamship lines connect the city with Panama,
the Hawaiian Islands, Japan, and Australian ports ; coast
steamships reach to the various ports of Alaska, Oregon,
and California. It is also the financial as well as the com-
mercial centre of the Pacific coast. Los Angeles is the
centre of the fruit-growing region ; its port is San Pedro.
Stockton, Port Costa, and Sacramento, all on navigable
waters, are wheat-markets. Portland (Ore.) is the metrop-
olis of the basin of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.
Navigation of the former is interrupted by falls or rapids
at Dalles and Cascades, but boats ascend as far as Wallula.
The lower Willamette is also made navigable by means
of a canal and locks at Oregon Falls.

Puget Sound is a " drowned valley," with an abundance
of deep water. The score or more of harbors are among
the best in the world. Seattle and Tacoma, the leading
ports, are terminals of great transcontinental railways,
and also of the most important trade-route across the
continent. Lines of steamships connect Seattle with
Japan and China, and the commerce passing through this

ONITED STATES — THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS 253

gateway is drawn from a territory that extends more
than half-way around the world. These ports are destined
to become the chief American ports in the Asian trade.

Alaska. — The most productive industry of the insular
part of the territory is the fisheries. For many years the
Pribilof Islands produced practically all the seal-pelts
used in the manufacture of seal-fur garments. So many
seals were killed, however, that the species seemed likely
to become extinct, and
seal-catching has been
forbidden for a term of
years.

The discovery of gold
along the Klondike
River and in the beach-
sands of Cape Nome
was f o 1 1 o we d by the
development of surface
mines that produced a
large amount of gold.
For the better transpor-
tation of products, a rail-
way has been completed
from Skayivay across
White Pass to While
Horse, the head of navi-
gation of the Yukon.
About twenty steamboats are engaged in the commerce of
the river. Skayivay and T)i/ca are collecting points for the
commerce of the Klondike mines. Juneau has probably
the largest quartz-mill in the world.

Porto Rico.— Porto Eico, formerly a Spanish colony,
is now a possession of the United States. The island is
about the size of Connecticut and has a population some-

PUGET SOUND

204 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

what greater. The industries are almost wholly agri-
cultural, and nearly the whole surface is under cultivation.
Sugar, coffee, and tobacco are grown for export, and these
constitute the chief source of income. The coffee-crop, about
sixty million pounds yearly, is the most valuable prod-
uct and commands a high price on account of its superior
quality. It is sold very largely to European coffee-mer-
chants, and is marketed as a "Mocha." Exports of fruit to
the United States are increasing. In 1900 the exports to
United States markets, mainly sugar and cattle products,
were about six million dollars. The imports from the
United States were chiefly of cotton-prints and rice, to the
amount of nearly nine million dollars. The total export and
import trade that year was about twenty million dollars.

The facilities for the transportation of products are not
good. The railway lines have a total mileage of about one
hundred and fifty miles. An excellent wagon-road, built
by the Spanish Government from San Juan to Ponce, has
been supplemented by several hundred miles of roads built
under the direction of the military authorities. San Juan
and Ponce are the leading seaports and centres of trade.

Hawaiian Islands. — These islands were discovered by
a Spanish sailor, Gaetano, in 1549, and again visited by
Captain Cook in 1778. Up to 1893 they formed a native
kingdom. In 1893 foreign influence was sufficient to over-
throw the native government, and in 1898 they were for-
mally annexed to the United States and about the same
time organized as a territory. From an early date the
geographic position of the islands has made them a con-
venient mid-ocean post-station, and they have therefore
become a most important commercial centre.

Of the various islands composing the group, Hawaii,
Maui, Oahu, Kaui, Molokai, Lanai, and Niihau are inhab-
ited. About one-fifth of the population consists of native

256 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Hawaiians ; a little more than one-fifth is white ; the re-
mainder is composed of Japanese, Chinese, and Porto
Ricans. The native population is decreasing. About
ninety-five per cent, of the property is owned by the white
people — Americans, English, and Germans.

The volcanic soils are the very best sugar-lands, and a
large amount of capital is invested in this industry. The
sugar-plantations employ more than forty thousand labor-
ers, all Japanese, Chinese, and Porto Ricans. The value
of the sugar export is nearly twenty-five million dollars
yearly ; that of fruit, rice, and hides is about two hun-
dred and fifty thousand dollars. Coffee is rapidly be-
coming a leading product. The bulk of the imports comes
from the United States, and consists of clothing, cotton
textiles, lumber, and machinery.

Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, is the capital and com-
mercial centre, and foreign steamships and sailing-craft are
scarcely ever absent from its harbor. Regular steamship
service connects this port with San Francisco, Seattle, Van-
couver, B. C., and the principal ports of China and Japan.
It is connected with the other islands by a system of wire-
less telegraphy. The city has the best of schools, business
organizations, hotels, and streets.

Pearl Harbor contains a large area of water, most of
which is deep enough for the largest vessels afloat. It is
intended to deepen the entrance and establish a United
States naval station at this place. The village of Hilo is
the chief port of the island qf Hawaii.

The Philippine Islands are an archipelago of about
two thousand islands, the two largest of which, Luzon and
Mindanao, are each nearly the size of New York State.
Luzon is by far the most important.

After their cession to the United States (December 10,
1898), they were held under military control, but this has

UNITED STATES — THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS 257

given place to local self-government as rapidly as the
circumstances permitted. A general school system has
been established and is extended wherever practicable. In
a considerable number of the islands civil organization
is still impossible.

The following are the principal islands and their mineral
resources :

NAME

CHIEF CITIES AND PORTS

MINERAL RESOURCES

Luzon .. . .

Manila, Lipa, Batangas

Coal, gold copiMT

Mindanao. . .

Z&mboAngn

Coal gold copper

Samar

Catbalogan

Coal, gold

N. egros

Bacolor

Coal

1 '; ( 1 1 ; | y

Iloilo

Coal, gold, petroleum

Leyte

Taclohan

Coal, petroleum

Mindoro

Calapan

Coal, gold

Cebu . .

Cebu

Coal, petroleum, gold

The native population is mainly of the Malay race, but
there are also many Negritos. Of the native element the
Tagals are the most advanced, and are the dominant pro-
pie. The foreign population includes nearly one hundred
thousand Chinese, who are the chief commercial factors of
the islands, and the leading industries are controlled by
them. There is a considerable population of Chinese and
T.'igal mixed blood, commonly known as "Chinese mes-
tizos"; they inherit, in the main, the Chinese character-
istics. The European and American population consists
mainly of officials, troops, and merchant-agents for Philip-
pine products.

The principal products for export are " Manila " hemp,
sugar, and tobacco. The hemp is used in the manufacture
of cordage and paper. On account of tUe great strength
of the fibre it has no equal among cordage fibres. The

258 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

imports from the United States consist mainly of ma,
chinery and cotton textiles. The total trade of the islands
amounted in 1901 to about fifty million dollars, most of
which was shared by Great Britain and the United States.

Coal is mined in the island of Cebu and is abundant in
most of the islands. Iron ore, copper, and sulphur occur,
but they have not been made commercially available to
any extent. Gold is mined in the island of Luzon. A
stable government only is needed to make these great re-
sources productive. An abundance of timber is found in
most of the islands. Cedar, ebony, and sapan-wood are
available for ornamental purposes; there is also a great
variety of economic woods.

Manila is the commercial centre. Manila Bay is one of
the finest harbors in the Pacific Ocean, but much work is
necessary to give the water-front a navigable depth for
large steamships. With an improved harbor the city is
bound to be a great emporium of Oriental trade. Steam-
ship lines connect the city with Hongkong, Australia,
Japan, Singapore, and Liverpool. There is also a mili-
tary transport service to Seattle. A railway to Dagupan
extends through the most important agricultural region.
The wagon-roads throughout the island are very poor.

Lipa, Batanzas, Bauan, and Cavite are cities of about
forty thousand population, all more or less connected with
the industries of Manila, lloilo is the second port of im-
portance of the islands, and is the centre of a considerable
export trade in tobacco, hemp, sugar, and sapan-wood.
Cebu is also a port having a considerable trade.

Tutuila, one of the Samoan Islands, was acquired by
treaty for use as a coal-depot and naval station. Pago
Pago is a port of call for steamships between San Fran-
cisco and Australia. Guam, one of the Ladrone Isl-
ands, is a naval station. These possessions are strategic

UNITED STATES — THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS 259

and are designed to secure the interests of the United
States in the Pacific. An ocean telegraphic cable con-
nects the Pacific Ocean possessions with the United
States and Asia.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Why are mountain-regions apt to be sparsely peopled ?

Why are arid regions sparsely peopled, as a rule ?

Why are not gold- mining settlements so apt to be permanent
as agricultural settlements?

From the Abstract of Statistics find the production of gold and
silver of this region for each ten years ending the last half of tha
century.

What causes the difference between the wool clip of southern
California and that of the Eastern States?

Follow the route of a grain-carrying ship from San Francisco
to Liverpool.

What are the advantages to the United States of the accession
of the Hawaiian Islands?— of the Philippine Islands?— of Alaska?
What are the disadvantages?

FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

Mineral Resources of the United States.

Abstract of Statistics.

U. S. Coast Survey Chart of Alaska.

Map of Hawaiian Islands.

Map of Philippine Islands.

NIAGARA POWER-HOUSE (EXTERIOR)

NIAGARA POWER-HOUSE (INTERIOR)

CHAPTER XXI
CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND

A VERY large part of Canada is so far north that the
ordinary food-stuffs cannot be grown there; the river-
valleys of British Columbia and the basin of the Sas-
katchewan excepted, there are but few marks of human
industry beyond the fiftieth parallel. The general condi-
tions of topography resemble those of the United States — •
a central plain between the high Rocky Mountain ranges
in the west and the lower Laurentian ranges in the east.

Canada is an agricultural country, and because of the
great skill with which its resources have been made com-
mercially available, it is the most important colony of
Great Britain. The basin of the Great Lakes and the St.
Lawrence River is the most populous part of the country.
This region is highly cultivated and produces dairy prod-
ucts, beef, and the ordinary farm-crops.

From Lake Winnipeg westward, nearly to the Rocky
Mountains, the land is a succession of prairies admirably
suited to wheat-growing.* The wheat is a hard, spring
variety, and the average yield per acre is about one-fourth
greater than the average yield in the United States.

The area of forestry includes the larger remaining part
of the great pine belt, together with a very heavy reserve

*Tlio high latitude of the wheat-region, which in most cases ia too
cold for the growing of food-stuffs, in this region is tempered by occa-
sional warm winds known as " Chinook winds." These winds are the
saving feature of wheat-growing. They prevail also in British Colura-
hia, Washington, and Oregon.

261

262 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

of merchantable oak-timber. The part of the forest area
in Canada aggregates one and one-quarter million square
miles, and yields an annual product of about eighty million
dollars; about one-third of the lumber is exported.

The northerly region of Canada produces furs and pelts.
As long ago as 1670, Charles II. granted to Prince Rupert
and a stock company the hinds comprising a very large
part of Canada around Hudson Bay, and secured to them
the sole right to trap the fur-bearing animals of the region.
In time the company, known as the Hudson Bay Company,
transferred all its lands to Canada, and out of the domain
thus annexed various provinces and unorganized districts
have been created.

The company now exists as a corporation for the mer-
chandise of furs. For the greater part, Indians are em-
ployed as hunters and trappers, and the pelts are collected
at the various trading-posts, known as "houses" and "fac-
tories," to be sent to the head-quarters of the company near
Winnipeg. Nearly every Arctic animal furnishes a mer-
chantable pelt. The cheaper skins are made into garments
in Canada and the United States; those commonly classed
as furs are sold in London. Several other fur companies
are also operating in Canada.

The fisheries of the coast-waters and the Great Lakes
are among the most productive in the world. Everything
within the three-mile limit of the shore is reserved for
Canadian fishermen. The smaller bays and coves are
reserved also within the three-mile limit. Beyond this
limit the waters are open to all, and a fleet of swift gun-
boats is necessary to prevent illicit fishing. Salmon, cod,
lobsters, and herring form most of the catch, amounting in
value to upward of twenty million dollars yearly.

The output of minerals varies from year to year ;
since 1900 it has averaged about sixty million dollars a

CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 263

year. The gold product constitutes nearly one-half and
the coal about one-sixth of the total amount. Nickel,
petroleum, silver, and lead form the rest of the output.
Iron ore is abundant, but it is not at present available for
production on account of the distance from transportation.

Commerce is facilitated by about eighteen thousand miles
of railway and nearly three thousand miles of canal and
improved river-navigation. One ocean-to-ocean railway,
the Canadian Pacific, is in operation ; another, an extension
of the Grand Trunk, is under way. The rapids and shoals
of the St. Lawrence and Richelieu Rivers are surmounted
by canals and locks. AVellaud Canal connects Lake Erie
and Lake Ontario, and the Canadian lock at St. Mary's
Falls joins Lake Superior to Lake Huron. By means of
the lakes and canals vessels drawing fourteen feet may
load at Canadian ports and discharge at Liverpool.

The harbors of the Atlantic coast have two great draw-
backs— ice and high tides. Some of the steamship lines
make Portland, Me., their winter terminus. The Pacific
coast harbors are not obstructed by ice. An attempt has
been made in the direction of using Hudson Bay and Strait
as a grain-route, but the difficulties of navigation are very
great and the route is open only two months of the year.

Practically all the foreign trade is carried on with Great
Britain and the United States. The trade with each
aggregates about one hundred and fifty million dollars
yearly. The exports are lumber and wood-pulp, cheese
and dairy products, wheat and flour, beef-cattle, hog prod-
ucts, fish, and gold-quartz. The chief imports are steel,
wool, sugar, and cotton manufactures.

Politically, Canada consists of a number of provinces,
each with the usual corps of elective officers. A governor-
general appointed by the Crown of Great Britain is the
chief executive officer.

264 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Nova Scotia. — This province is prominent on account of
its coal and iron, and also because of its geographic position.
The iron and coal are utilized in steel smelteries and rolling-
mills, glass-factories, sugar-refineries, and textile-mills. It
is one of the few localities in the eastern part of the conti-
nent yielding gold. Halifax, the capital, has one of the best
harbors of the Atlantic coast of North America ; it is not
often obstructed by ice, and is the chief winter port. Hali-
fax is the principal British naval station of North America,
and this fact adds much to its commercial activity.

Prince Edward Island. — The industries of this prov-
ince are mainly connected with the coast-fisheries. Dur-
ing the summer the island is visited by thousands of
fishing-vessels for the purpose of preparing the catch for
market. Fertilizer manufactured from the refuse is an
incidental product. Charlottetown is the capital.

New Brunswick. — Fisheries and forest products are
both resources of this province. Coal is mined at Grand
Lake, and an excellent lime for export to the United States
is made at St. John. Lumber, wood-pulp, wooden sailing-
vessels, cotton textiles, and structural steel for ship-build-
ing are manufactured. A ship railway, seventeen miles
long, across the isthmus that connects this province to
Nova Scotia, is under construction. St. John, the capital,
is the chief seat of trade.

Quebec. — This province was once a possession of
France, and in the greater part of it French customs are
yet about as prevalent as they were a century ago ; more-
over, the French population is increasing rapidly. The
English-speaking population lives mainly along the Ver-
mont border. As a rule the English are the manufact-
urers and traders ; the French people are the farmers.

Montreal is the head of navigation of the St. Lawrence
for ocean steamships. It is also the chief centre of rnanu-

CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 265

factures. These are mainly sugar, rubber goods, textiles,
light steel wares, and leather. The last-named goes almost
wholly to Great Britain ; the rest are consumed in Canada
and the border American States. Quebec is the most
strongly fortified city of the Dominion.

Ontario. — This province is a peninsula bordered by
Lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario. Farming is the chief
employment, and barley is an important product. Most
of it is used in the manufacture of rnalt, and " Canada
malt " is regarded as the best. Several of the trunk rail-
ways whose terminals are in the United States traverse
this peninsula. Toronto, the capital and commercial
centre, is one of the most rapidly growing cities of North
America. Hamilton owes its existence to its harbor and
position at the head of Lake Ontario. Ottmva is the capi-
tal of the Dominion. At Siuttmry are the nickel-mines that
are among the most productive in the world.

Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.— These prov-
inces include the level prairie lands of the Saskatche-
wan and the Red River of the North. They comprise
the great grain-field of Canada. A considerable part of
the wheat-growing lauds are yet unproductive owing to
the lack of railways. Much of the product is carried to
market by the Canadian Pacific and its feeders, but a con-
siderable part finds its way to the Northern Pacific and
Great Northern roads. The coal of Manitoba and Alberta
is an important fuel supply not only to the provinces ami
states surrounding, but to the railways above named. A
good quality of anthracite coal is als-> mined in Alberta.
Winnipeg, the metropolis of the region, is one of the great
railway centres of Canada.

British Columbia.— British Columbia, the Pacific coast
province, has several resources of great value. The gold
mines led to its settlement and commercial opening. The

266 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

salmon-fisheries are surpassed by those of the United
States only. The beds of lignite coal have produced a
very large part of the coal used in the Pacific coast States.
The forests produce lumber for shipment both to the
Atlantic coast of America and the Pacific coast of Asia.

Vancouver, the terminus of the Canadian Pacific Bail-
way, is connected with various Asian ports by fast steam-
ships. Nanaimo, Wellington, and Commox are the centres
of the coal-mining industry. The copper-mines at Ross-
land produce most of the copper mined in Canada.

Newfoundland. — Although a Crown possession, New-
foundland is not a member of the Dominion of Canada.
The extensive fisheries are its chief resource. The Labra-
dor coast, which is used as a resort for curing and preserv-
ing the catch, is attached to Newfoundland for the purpose
of government. St. Johns is the capital.

The islands of Miquelon and St. Pierre, south of New-
foundland, are a French possession. Fishing is the osten-
sible industry, but a great deal of smuggling is carried on.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What, if any, climatic or topographic boundaries separate
Canada and the United States ?

Which of the two countries is the more fortunately situated
for the production of food-stuffs?

Which will support the larger population? — why?

The harbors of the Labrador coast and of Cape Breton Island
are superior to those of the British Islands, situated in about the
same latitude ; why do the latter have a commerce far greater
than that of the former ?

Compare the industries of the eastern, middle, and western
regions of Canada with the corresponding regions of the United
States.

FOR COLLATERAL REFERENCE

Statesman's Year-Book.

Statistical Tear-Book of Canada (official government publica-
tion, Ottawa).

CHAPTEE XXII
MEXICO— CENTRAL AMERICA— WEST INDIES

MEXICO and the Central American states occupy the nar-
row, southerly part of North America. Structurally they
consist of a plateau about a mile high, bordered on each
side by a .low coast-plain. The table-land, or tierra tem-
plnda, has about the same climate as southern California ;
the low coast-plains, or tierra caliente, arc tropical.

Mexico. — The United States of Mexico is the most im-
portant part of this group. The people are of mixed Span-
ish and Indian blood, but there are many families of pure
Castilian descent. The latter, in general, are the landed
proprietors ; the former constitute the tradesmen, herders,
and peons. There is also a very large unproductive class,
mainly of Indians, who are living in a savage state. In
general, the manners a^d customs are those of Spain.

The agricultural pursuits are in a backward condition,
partly for the want of good system and an educated people,
but mainly for lack of the capital and engineering skill to
construct the irrigating canals that are needed to make the
land productive. Maize, rice, sugar (cane and panocha),
and wheat are grown for home consumption.

The agricultural products which connect Mexico with
the rest of the world are sisal-hemp (henequin), coffee,
logwood, and fruit. Sisal-hemp is grown in the state of
Yucatan, and has become one of its chief financial re-
sources. Oaxaca coffee is usually sold as a "Mocha"
berry. The logwood goes mainly to British textile makers;

267

268

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

and the fruit, chiefly oranges and bananas, finds a market
in the large cities of the United States, to which large con-
signments of vanilla and tropical woods are also sent.
Cattle are grown on more than twenty thousand ranches,
and the greater part are sent alive to the markets of the
United States. The native long-horn stock is giving place
to improved breeds.

Railroads :— Steamship Routes ;-----

i.-H,"ENfl. Ho* 105° Longitude West 100° from Greenwich" -<n,"^

Gold and silver are the products that have made Mexico
famous, and the mines have produced a total of more than
three billion dollars' worth of precious metal. The native
methods of mining have always been primitive, and low-
grade ores have been neglected. In recent years Amer-
ican and European capital has been invested in low-grade
mines, and the bullion production has been about doubled
in value; it is now about one hundred million dollars
yearly. Iron ore is abundant, and good coal exists.

MEXICO — CENTRAL AMERICA — WEST INDIKS 269

The manufactures, at present of little importance, are
growing rapidly. The cotton-mills consume the home
product and fill their deficiency from the Texas crop. All
the finer textiles, however, are imported. Most of the
commodities are supplied by the United States, Great
Britain, and Germany, the first-named having about half
the trade. Most of the hardware and machinery is pur-
chased in the United States.

Kailway systems, with American terminal points at El
Paso, Sun Antonio, and New Orleans, extend from the most
productive parts of the country. One of the most impor-
tant railways crosses the Isthmus of Tehuautepec, and, in
order to encourage commerce, the harbors at Coatzacoalcos
and Saliua Cruz have been deepened and improved. This
iuteroceauic route is destined to become a very important
factor in commerce. It shortens the route between Eu-
ropean ports and San Francisco by six thousand miles, and
between New York and San Francisco by twelve hundred
miles.*

Mexico, the capital, is the financial and commercial cen-
tre. Vera Cruz and Tampico are connected with the capital
by railway, but both have very poor port facilities. Steam-
ship lines connect the former with New York, New Orleans,
Havana, and French ports. It is the chief port of the
country. Malamoros on the American frontier has a con-
siderable cattle-trade. The crop of sisal-hemp is shipped
mainly from Progresso and Merida. Acapulco, Manzani/f<>,
and Mazatlan for want of railway connections have but
little trade. The first-named is one of the best harbors in
the world. Guadalajara has important textile and pottery
manufactures.

* Freight rates from Coatzacoalcos to San Francisco arc already fixed at
$6.50 per ton; by the transcontinental railways they vary from $12 to $15
per ton.

270

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

The Central American States. — The physical feat-
ures and climate of these states resemble those of Mexico.
The Spanish-speaking people live in the table-lands,
where the climate is healthful. The coast-plain of the
Atlantic is forest-covered and practically uninhabited save
by Indians. Guatemala is the most important state. A
railway from Puerto Barrios, its Atlantic port, through its
capital, Guatemala, to its Pacific port, San Jose, is nearly
completed. British Honduras is a British territory ac-

ISoute of Proponed
NICAKAGUA CANAL

SCALE OF MILES.

quired mainly for the mahogany product, which is shipped
from Belize. Honduras has great resources in mines, culti-
vable lands, and forests, but these are undeveloped. Sal-
vador is the smallest but most progressive state.

Nicaragua is politically of importance on account of
the possibilities of an interoceanic canal. A treaty for
this canal, involving both Nicaragua and Great Britain,
has already been signed by the powers interested. Many
engineers regard the Nicaragua as preferable to that of the
Panama canal. The shorter distance between New York
and the Pacific ports of the United States, a saving of

MEXICO — CENTRAL AMERICA — WEST INDIES 271

about four hundred miles, is in its favor. The longer dis-
tance of transit and the dangers of navigating Lake Nica-
ragua are against it. Costa liica is favorably situated for
commerce, but its resources are not developed. A railway
from Puerto Limon is nearly completed to Puenta Arenas,
an excellent harbor on the Pacific side.

Coffee, hides, mahogany, and fruit are the only products
of importance that connect these states with the rest of
the world. About half the trade goes to the United
States. The Germans and English supply a considerable
part of the textiles and manufactured articles. The coffee
of Costa Rica is a very superior product. Much of the
mahogany and forest products goes to Great Britain.
Fruit-steamers call at the Atlantic ports for bananas,
which are sold in New Orleans and the Atlantic cities.

The West Indies.— The climate and productions of
these islands are tropical in character. Sugar, fruit, coffee,
tobacco, and cacao are the leading products. From the
stand-point of the planter, the sugar industry has been a
history of misfortunes. The abolition of slavery ruined
the industry in many of the islands belonging to Great
Britain. The competition of the beet-sugar made in Eu-
rope drove the Cubans into insurrection on account of the
excessive taxes levied by the Spaniards, and ended in the
Spanish-American War.

The fruit- crop— mainly pineapples, oranges, and grape-
fruit— is shipped to the United States. New York, Phila-
delphia, and the Gulf ports are the destination of the
greater part of it.

Cuba, the largest island, is one of the most productive
regions of the world. The famous "Havana" tobacco
grows mainly in the western part, although practically all
Cuban tobacco is classed under this name. According to
popular opinion it is pre-eminently the best in flavor, and

272 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

the price is not affected by that of other tobaccos.* About
two-thirds of the raw leaf and cigars are purchased by the
tobacco manufacturers of the United States. Havana,
Santiago, and Cienfuegos are the shipping ports ; most of
the export is landed at New York, Key West, and Tampa.

From 1900 to 1903 the small fraction of the sugar in-
dustry that survived the war and the insurrection was
crippled by the high tariff on sugar imported into the
United States. The latter, which was designed to protect
the home sugar industry, was so high that the Cubans
could not afford to make sugar at the ruling prices in New
York. Hides, honey, and Spanish cedar for cigar-boxes
are also important exports.

The United States is the chief customer of Cuba, and in
turn supplies the Cubans with flour, textile goods, hard-
ware, and coal-oil. Smoked meat from Latin America
and preserved fish from Canada and Newfoundland are
the remaining imports. There are no manufactures of
importance. The railways are mainly for the purpose of
handling the sugar-crop.

Havana, the capital and financial centre, is connected
with New York, New Orleans, and Key West by steamship
lines. Santiago, Matanzas, and Cienfuegos are ports having
a considerable trade.

The British possessions in the West Indies are com-
mercially the most important of the European possessions.
The Bahamas are low-lying coral islands, producing but
little except sponges, fruit, and sisal-hemp. Nassau, the
only town of importance, is a winter resort. Fruit, sugar,
rum, coffee, and ginger are exported from Kingston, the
port of Jamaica. St. Lucia has probably the strongest
fortress in the Caribbean Sea.

* The entire Cuban crop is comparatively small, being but little more
than one-eighth that of the United States.

MKXICO — CENTRAL AMERICA — WEST INDIES 273

Barbados produces more sugar than any other British
possession iii the West Indies. The raw sugar, musco-
vado, is shipped to the United States. Bermuda, an out-
lying island, furnishes the Atlantic states with onions,
Easter lilies, and early potatoes. From Trinidad is ob-
tained the asphaltum, or natural tar, that is used for street
paving. Brea Lake, the source of the mineral, is leased to
a New York company. Sugar and cacao sire also exported
from Port of Spain. The products of St. Vinceut and
Dominica are similar to those of the other islands.

The French own Martinique (Fort de France) and Guade-
loupe (Basse, Terre). St. Thomas (Charlotte Amaliv\ St.
Croix, and St. John are Danish possessions. Various
attempts to transfer the Danish islands to the United
States have failed. They are admirably adapted for naval
stations. The island of Haiti consists of two negro repub-
lics, Haiti and San Domingo. The only important product
is coffee. Most of the product is shipped to the United
States, which supplies coal oil and textiles in return.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What part of the United States was formerly a possession of
Mexico, and how did it become a possession of the United States ?

From a cyclopedia learn the character of the political organ-
ization of Mexico and the Central American states.

Froni the report listed below nnd what commercial routes
gain, and what ones lose in distance by the Nicaragua, as com-
pared with the Panama canal.

From a good atlas make a list of the islands of tin- \\ • -r
Indies ; name, the country to which each belongs, and its ex-
ports to the United States.

FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

The Statesman's Year-Book.

Great Canals of the World- pp. 4058-4059.

7QJ LongltAde West eo.frqm Orcpnwirt 50'

of Capricorn'
" "Aulof

P A \ C I F I SI

CHAPTER XXIII

SOUTH AMERICA— THE ANDEAN STATES

IN its general surface features South America resemble
North America — that is, a central plaiu is bordered by lo\\
ranges on the east and by a high mountain system on the
west. In the southern part, midsummer is in January and
midwinter in July. The mineral-producing states are
traversed by the ranges of the Andes and all of them ex-
cept Chile are situated on both slopes of the mountains.

Colombia. — This republic borders both the Caribbean
Sea and the Pacific Ocean. One port excepted, however,
most of its commerce is confined to the shores of the Carib-
bean Sea. The lowlands east of the Andes are admirably
adapted for grazing, and such cattle products as Iiide8|
horns, and tallow are articles of export. This region, how-
ever, even with the present facilities for transportation,
produces only a small fraction of the products possible.

The intermontane valleys between the Andean ranges
have the climate of the temperate zone ; wheat and sheep
are produced. The chief industrial development, however,
is confined to the lands near the Caribbean coast. Coffee,
cacao, and tobacco are grown for export, the business of
cultivation being largely controlled by Americans and Eu-
ropeans. Rubber, copaiba, tolu, and vegetable ivory* are
gathered by Indians from the forests.

The montane region has long been famous for its mines
of gold and silver. The salt mines near Bogota are a gov-

* Vegetable ivory is the seed or nut of a species of palm ( Phylelephaa
macrocarpa). The kernel of the nut gradually acquires the hardness and
appearance of the best ivory, for which it is employed as a substitute.

275

SOUTH AMERICA — THE ANDEAN STATES 277

eminent monopoly and yield a considerable revenue. Near
the same city are the famous Muzo emerald mines.

The rivers are the chief channels of internal trade.
During the rainy season steamboats ascend the Orinoco to
Cabugaro, about two hundred miles from Bogota. About
fifty steamboats are in commission on the Magdalena and
its tributary, the Cauca. Mule trains traversing wretched
trails require from one to two weeks to transport the goods
from the river landings to the chief centres of population.
Improvements now under way in clearing and canalizing
these rivers will add about five hundred miles of additional
waterway. The railways consist of short lines mainly
used as portages around obstructions of the rivers.

An unstable government and an onerous system of ex-
port taxes hamper trade. Coftee, a leading product, goes
mainly to Europe. Cattle products, and balsam of tolu
are purchased mainly in the United States. Great Britain
purchases the gold and silver ores. The chief imports —
textiles, flour, and petroleum — are purchased in the United
States. Bogota and Medellin are the largest cities. The
isolation of the region in which they are situated shapes
the indifferent foreign policy of the government. Barran-
quiUa, Sdbfinilla, and Cartagena are the chief ports.

Panama. — This state, formerly a part of Colombia, in-
cludes the isthmus of Panama. Geographically it belongs
to North America, and practically it can be approached
from Colombia by water only. The secession of Panama
was brought about by the complications of the isthnii;iii
canal. A treaty with the United States gives the latter
sovereign control over the canal and the strip of fond ten
miles wide bordering it. Panama and Colon are the two
ports of the canal. The United States exercises police
and sanitary regulations in these cities, but it has no
sovereignty over them.

278 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Peru. — Peru lias great resources, both agricultural and
mineral. Cotton is one of the chief products. The ordi-
nary fibre is excelled only by the sea-island cotton of the
United States; the long-staple fibre of the Piura is the
best grown. The former is generally employed for mixing
with wool in the manufacture of underwear, and is sold in
the United States and Europe ; the latter, used in the man-
ufacture of thread and the web of pneumatic tires, goes
mainly to Great Britain.

Cane-sugar is a very large export crop, Great Britain,
the United States, and Chile being the principal customers.
The area of coffee production is growing rapidly. Coca-
growing has become an important industry, and the planta-
tions aggregate about three million trees ; * a large part
of the product is sent to the chemical laboratories of the
United States. A small crop of rice for export is grown
on the coast.

The Amazon forest products yield a considerable reve-
nue. Rubber and vegetable ivory are the most valuable.
Cinchona, or Peruvian bark, however, is the one for which
the state is best known ; and there is probably not a drug-
shop in the civilized world that does not carry it in stock. f

* The leaves of this shrub (Erythroxylon coca) contain a stimulant sub-
stance that in its effects is much like the active principle of coffee. They
are much used by the native laborers to ward off the feeling of lassitude
that comes with severe labor in a tropical climate. A native porter will
carry a load of one hundred pounds a distance of sixty miles with no food
or rest, but merely chewing a few coca-leaves. The plant yields the sub-
stance cocaine, now in demand all over the world as an anaesthetic in eye
and throat surgery.

f More than a score of species of the tree from which this bark is ob-
tained grow in the higher eastern slopes of the Andes, but a very large
part is obtained from the tree, Cinchona calisaya. The medicinal sub-
stance, quinine, is extracted from the bark, and in the past half-century it
Mas become the specific for malarial fevers. So great is the demand for
it, that the cinchona-tree is now cultivated in India, Java, and Mexico.

SOUTH AMERICA — THE ANDEAN STATES

Cattle are grown for their hides, and of these the United
States is the chief purchaser. The wool of the llama, al-
paca, and vicuna is used in manufacture of the cloth known
as alpaca, and the value of the shipments to Great Britain
usually exceeds one million dollars a year. In the mining
regions the llama is used as a pack-animal, and a large
part of the mine products reach the markets by this
means of transportation. The mines yield silver and cop-
per ; in the main the ores are exported to Great Britain
to be smelted.

The products already named are the chief exports ; the
imports are cotton textiles, machinery, steel wares, and
coal-oil. Great Britain has about one-half the foreign
trade ; the United States controls about one-fourth. Gal-
lito, the port of Lima, is the market through which most
of the foreign trade is carried on. Steamship lines connect
it with San Francisco and with British ports. Mollendo is
the outlet of Bolivian trade. The railways are short lines
extending from the coast.

Ecuador. — This state has but little commercial impor-
tance. The only cultivated products for export are cacao,
coffee, and sugar. The first-named constitutes three-fourths
of the exports, and most of it goes to France. The land
is held in large estates, and most of the laboring people are
in a condition of practical slavery. The bread-stuffs con-
sumed by the foreign population and the land proprietors
are imported. Animals are grown for their hides and
these are sold to the United States.

Another manufacture that connects Ecuador with the
rest of the world is the so-called "Panama " hat. The ma-
terial used is toquilla straw, the mid-rib of the screw-pine
(Carlodovica palmatd). The prepared straw can be plaited
only when the atmosphere is very moist, and much of the
work is done at night. The hats are made by Indians,

280 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

who are governed by their own ideas regarding style and
shape. They bring from twenty-five to fifty dollars apiece
in the American markets, where nearly all the product is
sold.*

Mule-paths are the only means of inland communication.
There is a considerable local traffic on the estuaries of the
rivers, but this is confined to the rainy seasons. A railway
built by an American company is in operation from Guaya-
quil, a short distance inland. This city is the chief market
for foreign goods, and it is the only foreign port of the Pa-
cific coast of South America in which the volume of trade
of the United States approximates that of Germany and
Great Britain.

Bolivia. — Bolivia lost much of its possible commercial
possible future when, after a disastrous war, its Pacific
coast frontage became a possession of Chile. The agricult-
ural lauds are unfortunately situated with reference to the
mining population ; as a result, a considerable amount of
food-stuffs must be imported from Argentina. Coffee, cacao,
and coca are the principal cultivated products. Eubber
from the Amazon forest is the most valuable vegetable
product, but a considerable amount of cinchona bark and
ivory nuts are also exported.

The mines, however, are the chief wealth of the state
and give it the only excuse for its political existence.
They produce silver, tin, copper, gold, and borate of lime.
Inasmuch as a large part of the ore and ore products must
be transported by llamas and mules, only the richest mines
can be profitably worked. With adequate means of trans-
portation, the mines should make Bolivia one of the most
powerful South American states.

* Only a very small proportion of the Panama hats in the market are
genuine. Many of the imitations, selling at retail for ten dollars or more,
are serviceable hats ; most of them, however, have but little worth.

SOUTH AMERICA— THE ANDEAN STATES 281

Railways already connect Oruro with the sea-coast.
A railway now under construction will connect La Paz
(the pass) with the Pacific coast, and also Buenos Aires.
Excellent roads to take the place of the pack-trains are
under construction.

Practically all the imports, consisting of cotton and
woollen textiles, machinery, and steel wares, are purchased
in Great Britain. The exports are more than double the
imports. Most of the goods pass through the Chilean
port Antofagasto, or Mollendo, Peru. La Paz, Oruro,
and Sucre are the chief cities.

The hypothetical state of Acre is situated in the angle
where Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil join. The rubber forests,
together with the absence of legal government, led to
its existence. The government is wholly insurrectionary,
but it at least uses its powers to encourage the rubber
trade.

Chile — This state comprises the narrow western slope
of the Andes, extending from the tropic of Capricorn
to Cape Horn, a distance of about three thousand
miles. The resources of the state have been so skilfully
handled, that with the drawback of a very small pro-
portion of cultivable land, Chile is the foremost Andean
state.

The cultivation of the ordinary crops is confined to the
flood-plains of the short rivers. These, as a rule, are from
twenty to fifty miles long and a mile or two in width.
They are densely peopled and cultivated to the limit. Be-
tween the river-valleys are long stretches of unproductive
land.

Within the valleys wheat, barley, fruit, and various food-
stuffs are grown. Of these there are not only enough for
home consumption, but considerable quantities are exported
to Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, Much of the cultivable laud

282 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

requires to be watered, and the system of irrigation has
been developed with extraordinary skill. The grazing
lands are extensive. In the northern part an excellent
quality of merino wool is produced ; the greater part of the
clip, however, is an ordinary fibre. The cattle furnish a
considerable amount of leather for export.

The conditions which have made the northern part a
desert have also given to the state its greatest resource —
nitre.* The nitrate occurs in the northern desert region.
The crude salt is crushed and partly refined at the mines,
and carried by rail to the nearest port. The working of
the nitrate beds is largely carried on by foreign companies.
Nearly all the product is used as a fertilizer in Germany,
France, and Great Britain. Nitrate constitutes about two-
thirds of the exports. Iodine and bromine are also ob-
tained from the nitrates, and the Chilean product yields
nearly all the world's supply.

Copper is extensively mined and, next to the nitrates, is
the most valuable product. Great Britain is the customer
for the greater part. Coal occurs in the southern part of
the state, and is mined for export to the various states of
the Pacific coast. It is not a good coal for iron smelting,
however, and about three times as much is imported as is
exported. A considerable part of the imported coal comes
from Australia, and with it structural steel is made from
pig-iron that is also imported.

Chile is well equipped with railways, a part of which
has been built and are operated by the state. The most
important line traverses the valley between the Andes and

* Nitre, or " nitrate," is a native nitrate of potash, or nitrate of soda.
The latter, commonly called cubic nitre or Chile saltpetre, is the kind
occurring in Chile. Inasmuch as it is very soluble, a plentiful rainfall
would soon leach it from the ground and carry it to the sea. The nitrate
is thought to be of vegetable origin.

SOUTH AMERICA — THE ANDEAN STATES 283

the coast ranges, from Concepcion to Valparaiso. In this
region are most of the manufacturing enterprises.

The imports are chiefly coal, machinery, textile goods,
and sugar. The British control about two-thirds of the
foreign trade ; the Germans and the French have most of
the remainder. The United States supplies the Chileans
with a part of the textiles, a considerable quantity of Oregon
pine, and practically all the coal-oil used.

Valparaiso is the chief business centre of the Pacific
coast of South America. Most of the forwarding business
is carried on by British and German merchants. The
transandine railway, now about com-
pleted, will make it one of the most
important ports of the world. Santi-
ago is the capital. Concepcion and
Talca are important centres of trade.
Chilian is the principal cattle-mar-
ket of the Pacific coast of South
America. Copiapo is the focal point
of the mining interests. Iqnique is the port from which
about all the nitrates are shipped. Punta Arenas, one
of the " end towns " of the world, is an ocean post-office
for vessels passing through the Straits of Magellan. It
is about as far south as Calgary, B. C., is north.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What will be the probable effect of an interoceanic canal on
the commerce of these states?

From the Abstract of Statistics make a list of the exports from
the United States to these countries.

From the statistics of trade in the Statesman's Year-Book com-
pare the trade of the United States with that of other countries
in these states.

How have race characteristics affected the commerce and devel-
opment of these states?

284 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

What is meant by peonage ?

What cities of the tropical part of these states are in the cli-
mate of the temperate zone ?

FOB COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

Carpenter's South America.

Vincent's Around and About South America.

Fiske's Discovery of America — Chapters IX-X.

Procure, if possible, specimens of the following : Cacao am1,
its products, ivory nuts, cinchona bark, crude nitrate, Panama
straw, iodine (in a sealed vial), llama wool, alpaca cloth, Peru-
vian cotton.

CHAPTER XXIV
SOUTH AMERICA— THE LOWLAND STATES

THE eastern countries of South America are mainly low-
land plains. The llanos of the Orinoco and the pampas of
Plate (La Plata) River are grazing lands. The silvas of
the Amazon are forest-covered. In tropical regions the
coast plain is usually very unhealthful ; the seaports ex-
cepted, most of the cities and towns are therefore built on
higher land beyond the coast-plain.

Venezuela. — The greater part of Venezuela is a region
of llanos, or grassy plains, shut off from the harbors of the
Caribbean Sea, by mountain -ranges. On account of their
pleasant climate the mountain-valleys constitute the chief
region of habitation. The plains are flooded in the rainy
season and sun-scorched during the period of drought;
they are therefore unfit for human habitation.

Coffee is cultivated in the montane region ; and cacao in
the lower coast lands. Almost every part of the coast low-
lands is fit for sugar cultivation, and in order to encourage
this industry, the importation of sugar is forbidden. As is
usual in similar cases, the domestic sugar is poor in quality
and high in price. Among the forest products rubber, fus-
tic, divi-divi,* and tonka beans, the last used as a perfume,
are the only ones of value. The cattle of the llanos, the
native long-horns, furnish a poor quality of hide, and pooivr
beef. A few thousand head are shipped yearly down the
Orinoco to be sent to Cuba and Porto Rico.

* The pod of a shrub (Caesalpina coriaria) ; it contains 8 considerable
proportion of tannin and is used for tanning leather.

286 COMMERCIAL, GEOGRAPHY

The placer gold-mines of the Yuruari country, a region
also claimed by Great Britain, Lave been very productive.
Coal, iron ore, and asphaltum are abundant. Concessions
for mining the two last-named have been granted to Amer-
ican companies. The pearl-fisheries around Margarita Isl-
and, also leased to a foreign company, have become pro-
ductive under the new management.

The means of intercommunication are as primitive as
those of Colombia. Short railways extend from several
seaports to the regions of production, and from these coffee
and cacao are the only exports of importance. The Orinoco
River is the natural outlet for the cattle-region, but the
commerce of this region is small. The lagoon of Mara-
caibo is becoming the centre of a rapidly growing commer-
cial region.

Caracas, the capital and largest city, receives the im-
ports of textiles, domestic wares, flour, and petroleum from
the United States and Great Britain. The railway to its
port, La Guaira, is a remarkable work of engineering.
Puerto Cabello, the most important port, receives the trade
of Valencia. From Maracaibo, the port on the lagoon of
the same name, is shipped the Venezuelan coffee. Ciudad
Bolivar is the river-port of the Orinoco and an important
rubber -market.

The Guianas. — The surface conditions and climate of
the Guianas resemble those of Venezuela. The native
products are also much the same, but good business organ-
ization has made the countries bearing the general name
highly productive. For the greater part, the coast-plain is
the region of cultivation. Sugar is still the most impor-
tant crop ; but on account of the fierce competition of beet-
sugar, on many of the plantations cane-sugar cultivation is
unprofitable and has been abandoned for that of rice,
cacao, and tobacco. Great Britain, Holland, and France

PREPARING THE BEANS FOR SHIPMENT

CACAO-TREE

MAKING CHOCOLATE

288 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

possess the country. The divisions are known respec-
tively as British Guiana, Surinam, and Cayenne, and the
trade of each accrues to the mother-country. British
Guiana is noted quite as much for its gold-fields on
the Venezuelan border (Cuyuni River) as for its vege-
table products. Georgetown, better known by the name
of the surrounding district, Dcmerara, is the focal point
of business. New Amsterdam is also a port of consid-
erable trade. The gold-mining interests centre at Bar-
tica.

Surinam, in addition to its export of vegetable products,
contains rich gold-mines, and these contribute a consider-
able revenue. Paramaribo is the port and centre of trade.
Phosphates and gold are among the important exports of
Cayenne, whose port bears the same name.

Brazil. — This state, nearly the size of the United States,
comprises about half the area of South America. Much of
it, including the greater part of the Amazon River basin,
is unfit for the growth of food-stuffs.

There are three regions of production. The Amazon
forests yield the greater part of the world's rubber sup-
ply. The middle coast region has various agricultural
products, of which cotton and cane-sugar are the most in?
portant. From the southern region comes two-thirds of
the world's coffee-crop. There are productive gold-mines
in the state of Minas Geraes, but this region is best known
for the " old mine " diamonds, tbe finest produced.

The Amazon rubber-crop includes not only the crude
gum obtained in Brazil, but a considerable part, if not the
most, of the crop from the surrounding states. The bifur-
cating Cassiquiare, which flows both into Amazonian and
Orinocan waters, drains a very large area of forest which
yields the best rubber known. The yield of 1901 aggre-
gated about one hundred and thirty million pounds, of

SOUTH AMERICA — THE LOWLAND STATES 289

which about one-half was sold in the United States, one-
third in Liverpool, and the rest mainly in Antwerp and
Le Havre. The price of rubber is fixed in New York and
London.

The cotton and cane-sugar are grown in the middle
coast region. The cotton industry bids fair to add materi-
ally to the prosperity of the state. A considerable part of
the raw cotton is exported, but the reserve is sufficient to
keep ten thousand looms busy. About three hundred aud
fifty million pounds of the raw sugar is purchased by the
refineries of the United States, and much of the remainder
by British dealers.

The seeds of a species of myrtle (Bertltolldia excel™ >)
furnish the Brazil nuts of commerce, large quantities of
which are shipped to Europe and the United States.*
Manganese ore is also an important export, and Great
Britain purchases nearly all of it.

The coffee-crop of the southern states is the largest in the
world ; and about eight hundred million pounds are landed
yearly at the ports of the United States. The coffee-crop,
more than any other factor, has made the great prosperity
ot the state ; for while the rubber yield employs compara-
tively few men and yields but little public revenue, the
coffee-crop has brought into Brazil an average of about
fifty million dollars a year for three-quarters of a century.

Cattle products also afford a considerable profit in the
vicinity of the coffee -region. The hides and tallow are
shipped to the United States. For want of refrigerating
facilities, most of the beef is "jerked " (or sun-dried), and
shipped in this form to Cuba.

The facilities for transportation, the rivers excepted, are
poor. The Amazon is navigable for ocean steamships
nearly to the junction of the Ucayale. The Paraguay af-

* The pericarp or pod contains about twenty-four prismatic-shaped nuts.

290 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

fords a navigable waterway to the mouth of Plate Eiver.
Rapids and falls obstruct most of the rivers at the
junction of the Brazilian plateau and the low plains, but
these streams afford several thousand miles of navigable
waters both above and below the falls.

Nearly all the railways are plantation roads, extending
from the various ports to regions of production a few
miles inland. The most important railway development
is that in the vicinity of Rio, where short local roads to the
suburban settlements and the coffee-plantations converge
at the harbor. About fourteen thousand miles of railway
are completed and under actual construction. A consider-
able part of the mileage is owned and operated by the
state, and it has become the policy of the latter to control
its roads and to encourage immigration. One result of
this policy is the increasing number of German and Italian
colonies, that establish settlements in every district pene-
trated by a new road.

In 1900 the total foreign trade aggregated upward of
two hundred and seventy-five million dollars. The imports
consist of cotton and woollen manufactures, structural steel
and machinery, preserved fish and meats, and coal-oil.
Great Britain, Germany, the United States, and France
have nearly all the trade. The United States sells to
Brazil textiles and coal-oil to the amount of over eleven
million dollars yearly, and buys of the country coffee and
rubber to the amount of six times as much.

Rio de Janeiro, commonly called " Eio," is the capital
and commercial centre. Its harbor is one of the best in
South America. Formerly all the coffee was shipped from
this port, but the greater part now goes from Santos. Porto
Alegre, the port of the German colonies, has also a grow-
ing export trade.

Bahia, Pet-nambuco (or Recife), Maceio, and Ceard are the

SOUTH AMERICA— THE LOWLAND STATES 291

markets for cotton, sugar, and tobacco, much of which is
shipped to other Brazilian ports for home consumption.
Para and Ceard monopolize nearly all the rubber trade.
The position of Manaos, at the confluence of several rivers,
makes it one of the most important markets of the Amazon
basin, and most of the crude rubber is first collected there
for shipment. Cuyaba is the commercial centre of the
mining region; its outlet is the Paraguay River, and
Buenos Aires profits by its trade.

Argentina and the Plate River Countries.— These
states are situated in a latitude corresponding to that of the
United States. The entire area from the coast to the slopes
of the Andes is a vast prairie- region. As a result of posi-
tion, climate, and surface the agricultural industries are the
same as in the United States — grazing and wheat-growing.

Cattle-growing is the chief employment, and the cost per
head of rearing stock is practically nothing. For want of
better means of transportation the shipments of live beef
are not very heavy ; the quality of the beef is poor, and
until recently there have been no adequate facilities for
getting it to market.* A small amount of refrigerator
beef and a large amount of jerked beef are exported, how-
ever. Near the markets, there are large plants in which the
hides, horns, tallow, and meat are utilized — the last being
converted to the famous "beef extract," which finds a
market all over the world.

The sheep industry is on a much better business basis.
Both the wool and the mutton have been improved by
cross-breeding with good stock. As a result the trade in

* The cattle for Cuba and Brazil must be shipped in open pjpns in cross-
ing the tropics. With the exports for Europe the case is different. If it
is summer at the one port it is winter at the other, but it is always SIIIIIIIHT
in the tropics, and cattle-ships fit for one zone are not fit for the other—
hence the great difficulties in shipment of live animals to Europe.

292 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

mutton and wool has increased by leaps and bounds ; and
nearly three million sheep carcasses are landed at the other
ports of Brazil, at Cuba, and at various European states.
The wool is bought mainly by Germany and France, but
the United States is a heavy purchaser. The quality of
the fibre, formerly very poor, year by year is improving.

Wheat, the staple product, is grown mainly within a ra-
dius of four hundred miles around the mouth of Plate Elver.
The area of cultivation is increasing as the facilities for
transportation are extended and, little by little, is encroach-
ing on the grazing lands. The wheat industry is carried on
very largely by German and Italian colonists. Flax, grown
for the seed, is a very large export crop. Maize, partly
for export and partly for home consumption, is also grown.

The timber resources, chiefly in Paraguay and the Gran
Chaco, are very great, but for want of means of transporta-
tion the timber-trade cannot successfully compete with that
of Central America and Mexico. Workable gold and sil-
ver ores are abundant along the Andean cordillera; gold,
silver, and copper are exported to Europe. A poor quality
of lignite occurs in several provinces, but there are no
available mines yielding coal suitable for making steam.
There are petroleum wells near Mendoza.

Most of the manufactures pertain to the preparation
of cattle products, although a considerable amount of
coarse textiles are made in the larger cities from the native
cotton and wool. Hats, paper (made from grass), and
leather goods are also made. In general, all manufactures
are hampered by the difficulties of getting good fuel at a
low price.

Transportation is carried on along Plate River and the
lower parts of its tributaries. The railway has become the
chief factor in the carriage of commodities, however, and
the railways of Argentina have been developed on the

SOUTH AMERICA — THE LOWLAND STATES

plans of North American roads. About twelve thousand
miles are in actual operation, one of which is a transcon-
tinental line, about completed between Buenos Aires and
Valparaiso. Electric railways have become very popular,
and the mileage is rapidly increasing.

The import trade, consisting of textile goods, machinery,
steel, and petroleum, is carried on with Great Britain,
France, Germany, Belgium (mainly transit trade), the
United States, and Italy. The competition between the
European states for this
trade is very strong, and
not a little has been ac-
quired at the expense of
the United States, whose
trade has not materially
increased.

Buenos Aires is the
financial centre of this
part of South America.
Among its industries is
the largest meat-refrig-
erating plant in the world.
The harbor at La Plata is
excellent and has drawn
a considerable part of the
foreign trade from Buenos

Aires. Romrio, Cordoba, Santa Fe, and Parana are the
markets of extensive farming regions. Mcndoza is the
focal point of the mining interests.

Paraguay has a large forest area, but for want of
means of transportation it is without value. Even the
railway companies find it cheaper to buy their ties in the
United States and Australia, rather than to procure them
in Paraguay. In spite of the extent of good laud, the

AREA OF I II I
PRODUCTION AND
CONSIBIT1OH OF

MATK.

294 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

wheat and much of the bread-stuffs are purchased from
Argentina. Tobacco and mate are the only export crops,
and they have but little value. The Parana and Paraguay
Rivers are the only commercial outlet of the state.

Uruguay. — Owing to its foreign population Uruguay is
becoming a rich country. The native cattle have been
improved by cross-breeding with European stock, and the
state has become one of the foremost cattle and sheep
ranges of the world. The value of animal products is not
far from forty million dollars yearly. These go mainly to
Europe, and so also does the wheat-crop.

France and Argentina purchase most of the exports and
Great Britain supplies most of the textiles and machinery
imported. The trade of the United States is about one-
fourth that of Great Britain. Montevideo is the chief mar-
ket and port. At Fray Bentos is one of the largest plants
in the world for the manufacture of cattle products.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What kind of commerce has led to the establishment of the
various ports along the Spanish Main ?

What advantages has the American fruit-shipper, trading at
South American ports, over his European competitor?

What is meant by "horse latitudes," and what was the origin
of the name ?

In what way may the opening of an interoceanic canal affect
the coffee-trade of Brazil ? — the nitrate trade of Chile?

FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE
From the Abstract of Statistics find the exports of the United

States to each of these countries.

From the Statesman's Year-Book compare the trade of the

United States in each of these countries with that of Great

Britain, France, Germany, and Italy.

If possible, obtain specimens of the following: Crude rubber,

pampas grass, Brazil nuts (in pod), and raw coffee of several

grades for comparison with Java and Mocha coffees.

CHAPTEK XXV

EUROPE— GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY

ALMOST all the commercial activity of Europe is south of
the parallel and west of the meridian of St. Petersburg.
Most of the great industries are controlled by Germanic
and Latin peoples, and among these Great Britain and
Germany stand first.

Great Britain and Ireland. — The United Kingdom, or
Great Britain and Ireland, are commonly known as the
British Isles. The British Empire consists of the United
Kingdom and its colonial possessions ; it includes also a
large number of islands occupied as coaling stations and
for strategic purposes. All told, the empire embraces about
one-seventh of the land area of the world and about one-
fourth its population.

The wonderful power and great commercial development
is due not only to conditions of geographic environment
but also to the intelligence of a people who have adjusted
themselves to those conditions. The insular position of
the United Kingdom has given it natural protection, and
for more than eight hundred years there has been no suc-
cessful invasion by a foreign power. Its commercial posi-
tion is both natural and artificial. It has utilized the mar-
kets to the east and south, and has founded great countries
which it supplies with manufactured products.

The position of the kingdom with respect to climate is
fortunate. The movement of the Gulf Stream on the Ameri-
can coast carries a large volume of water into the latitude

295

EUROPE — GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY 297

of the prevailing westerly winds, and these in turn carry
warm water to every part of the coast of the islands. As
a result, the harbors of the latter are never obstructed by
ice ; those of the Labrador coast, situated in the same lati-
tude, are blocked nearly half the year.

The high latitude of the islands is an advantage so far
as the production of food-stuffs is concerned. The sum-
mer days in the latitude of Liverpool are very nearly
eighteen hours in length, and this fact together with the
mild winters, adds very largely to the food-producing
power of the islands.

The highlands afford considerable grazing. Great care
is taken in improving the stock, both of cattle and sheep.
In the north the cattle are bred mainly as meat producers ;
in the south for dairy products. Durham, Alderney, and
Jersey stock are exported to both Americas for breeding
purposes. The sheep of the highlands produce the heavy,
coarse wool of which the well known "cheviot" and
"frieze" textiles are made. Elsewhere they are bred
for mutton, of which the "South Down" variety is an
example.

The lowland regions yield grain abundantly where culti-
vated. The average yield per acre is about double that of
the United States, and is surpassed by that of Denmark
only. Both Ireland and England are famous for fine dairy
products. These are becoming the chief resource of the
former country, which is practically without the coal nec-
essary for extensive manufacture. The fishing-grounds
form an important food resource.

The cultivated lands do not supply the food needed for
consumption. The grain-crop lasts scarcely three months;
the meat-crop but little longer. Bread-stuffs from the
United States and India, and meats from the United
States, Australia, and New Zealand make up the shortage.

298 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

The annual import of food-stuffs amounts to more than
fifty dollars per capita.

The growing of wool and flax for cloth-making became
an industry of great importance just after the accession of
Henry VII. With the advent of peace, it became possible
to manufacture into cloth the fibres that before had been
sent for that purpose to Flanders. The utilization of the
coal and the iron ore years afterward brought about an
economic revolution that was intensified by the invention
of the steam-engine and the power-loom.

These quickly brought the country into the foremost
rank as a manufacturing centre. Moreover, they also de-
manded the foreign markets that have made the country a
maritime power as well — for an insular country must also
have the ships with which to carry its merchandise to its
markets.

The development of the manufactures, therefore, is in-
separably connected with that of the mineral and metal
industries. From very early times the metal deposits of
the country have been a source of power. Copper and tin
were used by the aboriginal Britons long before Caesar's
reconnaissance of the islands, and it is not unlikely that
the Bronze Period was the natural development that re-
sulted from the discovery of these metals.

Coal occurs in various fields that extend from the
Kiver Clyde to the Eiver Severn. The animal output
of these mines at the close of the century was about
two hundred and twenty-five million tons. In the past
century the inroads upon the visible supply were so great
that the output in the near future will be considerably
lessened. Not far from one-sixth of the output is sold to
consumers in Russia and the Mediterranean countries, but
a growing sentiment to forbid any sale of coal to foreign
buyers is taking shape.

300 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Iron ores are fairly abundant, but the hematite required
for the best Bessemer steel is limited to the region about
Manchester and Birmingham. The shortage of this ore
has become so apparent within recent years that Great
Britain has become a heavy purchaser of ores in for-
eign markets. The coal in the Clyde basin is employed
mainly in the manufacture of railway iron, steamship
material, and rolling stock. The manufacture of Bes-
semer steel is gradually moving to the vicinity of South
Wales, at the ports of which foreign pig-iron can be most
cheaply landed. In west-central England the several coal-
fields form a single centre of manufacture, where are
located some of the largest woollen and cotton mills in
Europe. It also includes the plants for the manufacture of
machinery, cutlery, and pottery.

The import trade of Great Britain consists mainly of
food-stuffs and raw materials.* Of the latter, cotton is
by far the most important. Most of it comes from the
United States, but the Nile delta, Brazil, the Dekkan of
India, the Iran plateau, arid the Piura Valley of Peru send
portions, each region having fibre of specific qualities de-
signed for specific uses. The native wool clip forms only
a small part of the amount used in manufacture. The
remainder, more than three million pounds, comes from
Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

The supply of flax is small, and 100,000 tons are im-
ported to meet the wants of the mills. The greater part
is purchased in Russia, but the finer quality is imported
from Belgium. Jute is purchased from India and manu-
factured into burlap and rugs.

But little available standing timber remains, and lumber

* For this reason Great Britain is practically a free-trade country. A
protective tariff on imported food-stuffs and materials to be manufactured
would hurt rather than protect British industries.

EUROPE — GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY 301

must, therefore, be imported. The pine is purchased
mainly in Sweden, Norway, Canada, and the United States.
A considerable amount of wood-pulp is imported from Can-
ada for paper-making. Mahogany for ornamental manu-
factures is obtained from Africa and British Honduras.
Oak, and the woods for interior finish, are purchased
largely from Canada and the United States.

The export trade of Great Britain consists almost wholly
of the articles manufactured with British coal as the
power. These are made from the raw materials purchased
abroad, and the stamp of the British craftsman is a guar-
antee of excellence and honesty. Of the total export trade,
amounting yearly to about one billion, two hundred million
dollars, nearly one-third consists of cotton, woollen, linen,
and jute textiles; one-fifth consists of iron and steel manu-
factured stuffs made from British ores. About one-third
goes to the colonies of the mother-country, with whom she
keeps in close touch ; Germany, the United States, and
the South American states are the chief foreign buyers.

For the handling and carriage of these goods there is ai:
admirable system of railways reaching from every part of
the interior to the numerous ports. The rolling stock and
the locomotives are not nearly so heavy as those used in
the United States ; the railway beds and track equipment,
on the whole, are probably the best in the world. Freight
rates are considerably higher than on the corresponding
classes of merchandise in the United States. The public
highways are most excellent, but the means of street traffic
in the cities are very poor.

The harbor facilities at the various ports are of the best.
The docks and basins are usually arranged so that while
the import goods are being landed the export stuffs are
made ready to be loaded. The facilities for the rapid
transfer of freights have been improved by the recon-

302 COMMEKCIAL GEOGRAPHY '

struction of the various river estuaries so as to make them
ship-channels. The estuaries of the Clyde, Tyne, and
Mersey have been thus improved, while Manchester has
been made a seaport by an artificial canal. The British
merchant marine is the largest in the world, and about
ninety per cent, of the vessels are steamships.

London is the capital ; it is also one of the first commer-
cial and financial centres of the world. The Thames has
not a sufficient depth of water for the largest liners, and
these dock usually about twenty miles below the city.
The colonial commerce at London is very heavy, especially
the India traffic, and it is mainly for this trade that the
British acquired the control of the Suez Canal.

Liverpool is one of the most important ports of Europe,
and receives most of the American traffic. The White
Star and Cunard Lines have their terminals at this port.

Southampton is also a port which receives a large share
of American traffic. The American and several foreign
steamship lines discharge at that place. Hull and Shields
have a considerable part of the European traffic. Glasgoio
is one of the foremost centres of steel ship-building. Car-
diff and Swansea are ports connected with the coal and
iron trade. Queenstown is a calling point for transatlantic
liners.

Manchester is both a cotton port and a great market for
the cotton textiles made in the nearby towns of the Lanca-
shire coal-field. Leeds and Bradford and the towns about
them are the chief centres of woollen manufacture. Wil-
ton and Kidderminster are famous for carpets. Birming-
ham is the centre of the steel manufactures. Sheffield
has a world-wide reputation for cutlery. In and near the
Staffordshire district are the potteries that have made the
names of Worcester, Coalport, Doulton, Oopeland, and
Jackfield famous. Belfast is noted for its linen textiles,

EUROPE — GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY 303

and also for some of the largest steamships afloat that
have been built in its yards. Dundee is the chief centre
of jute manufacture.

The German Empire.— The German Empire consists
of the kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Wiir-
temburg, together with a number of small states. The
" free " cities of Hamburg, Bremen, and Lttbeck, whose in-
dependence was purchased in feudal times, are also incor-
porated within the empire. The present empire was
formed in 1871, at the close of the war between Germany
and France. The merging of the states into the empire
was designed as a political step, but it proved a great in-
dustrial revolution as well.

The plain of Europe which slopes to the north and the
Baltic Sea, the flood-plains of the rivers excepted, is feebly
productive of grain. It is a fine grazing region, however,
and the dairy products are of the best quality. Among

[European states Russia alone surpasses Germany in the
number of cattle grown. The province of Schleswig-Hol-
stein is famous the world over for its fine cattle. Cavalry
horses are a special feature of the lowland plain, and the
government is the chief buyer. The wool product has
hitherto been important, but the sheep ranges are being
turned into crop lands, on account of the increase of popu-
lation in the industrial regions.

The midland belt, however, between the coast-plain and
the mountains, is the chief food -producing part of Ger-
many. Rye and wheat are grown wherever possible, but
the entire grain-crop is consumed in about eight months.
The United States, Argentina, and Russia supply the
wheat and flour ; Russia supplies the rye.

The sugar-beet is by far the most important export crop,
and Germany produces yearly about one million, eight
hundred thousand tons, or nearly as much as Austria-

EUROPE — GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY 306

Hungary and France combined. This industry is encour-
aged by a bounty paid on all sugar exported.* A consid-
erable amount of raw beet-sugar is sold to the refineries of
the United States ; Great Britain also is a heavy buyer.
The home consumption is relatively small, being about
one-third per capita that of the United States. Silesia, the
Rhine Valley, and the lowlands of the Hartz Mountains
are the most important centres of the sugar industry.

Germany is rich in minerals. •}• Zinc occurs in abun-
dance, and the mines of Silesia furnish the world's chief
supply. Most of the lithographic stone in use is obtained
in Bavaria. Copper and silver are mined in the Erz and
Hartz Mountains. During the sixteenth century the mines
of the latter region brought the states then forming Ger-
many into commercial prominence and thereby diverted
the trade between the North and Mediterranean Seas to
the valleys of the Rhine and Elbe Rivers.

These two metal products made Germany a great
financial power. The Franco-Prussian War added to
Germany the food-producing lands of the Rhine and
Moselle, and the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. At
the same time it gave the Germans organization by weld-
ing the various German states into an empire. As a
result there has been an industrial development that has
placed Germany in the class with the United States and
Great Britain.

By unifying the various interstate systems of commerce
and transportation, the iron and steel industry has greatly
expanded. The chief centre of this industry is the valley
of the Ruhr River. Coal-measures underlie an area some-
what larger than the basin of the river. To the industrial

*This is equivalent to the imposition of a tax on all the sujrar consumed
at home.

f Most of the lithographic stoqe is obtained at Solnhofen

306 COMMEKCIAL GEOGRAPHY

centres of this valley iron ore is brought by the Rhine and
Moselle barges from Alsace-Lorraine and Luxemburg, and
also from the Hartz Mountains.

In the importance and extent of manufactures, Germany
ranks next to Great Britain among European states, and
because of the extent of their coal-fields the Germans seem
destined in time to surpass their rivals. The manufacture
of textiles is one of the leading industries, and, next to
Great Britain, Germany is the heaviest purchaser of raw
cotton from the United States. The Rhine district is the
chief centre of cotton textile manufacture. Raw cotton is
delivered to the mills by the Rhine boats, and these carry
the manufactured product to the seaboard. Central and
South America are the chief purchasers.

Woollen goods are also extensively manufactured, the
industry being in the region that produces Saxony wool.
In Silesia and the lower Rhine provinces there are also
extensive woollen textile manufactures, but the goods are
made mainly from imported wool. Argentina and the other
Plate River countries are the chief buyers of these goods.
There is a considerable linen manufacture from German-
grown flax, and silk-making, mainly from raw silk im-
ported from Italy.

The great expansion and financial success of the manu-
facturing enterprises is due very largely to the admirable
organization of the lines of transportation. The rivers,
with their connecting canals, supplement the railways in-
stead of competing with them. They are utilized mainly
for slow freights, while the railways carry the traffic that de-
mands speed. The possibilities of both inland water-ways
and railway transportation have been utilized by the Ger-
mans to the utmost, with the result of a very low rate both
for coal and ore, and for structural iron and steel. The
latter is carried from the various steel-making plants in

LUBECK

BREMEN

308 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

the Ruhr Yalley to the seaboard at a rate of eighty to
ninety cents per ton.*

All this has resulted in a wonderful commercial expan-
sion of the empire. In 1875 Germany was neither a
maritime nor a naval power. At the close of the century
it ranked about with the United States as a naval power,
and far surpassed that country in the tonnage of merchant
marine. The German steamship fleet includes the largest
and fastest vessels afloat.

German trade may be summed up as an export of manu-
factured goods and an import of food-stuffs and raw ma-
terials. At the close of the century the annual movement
of industrial products amounted to nearly two and one-half
billion dollars. About one-half the trade of the empire is
carried on with Great Britain, the United States, Austria-
Hungary, and Russia. A large part of the foreign trade
is carried on through the ports of Belgium and Holland.

Berlin, the capital, is one of the few cities having a
population of more than one million. It is not only a
great centre of trade, but it is one of the leading money-
markets of Europe ; it is also the chief railway centre.
Hamburg and Bremen are important ports of German-
American trade, the former being the largest seaport of
continental Europe. Breslau is an important market, into
which the raw materials of eastern Europe are received,
and from which they are sent to the manufacturing districts.
The art galleries of Dresden have had the effect of making
that city a centre of art manufactures which are famous
the world over. Ltibeck is one of the free cities that was
formerly in the Hanse League.

The twin cities, Barmen- Eberf eld, in the Ruhr coal-field,
form one of the principal centres of cotton manufacture in

* This is a little greater than the average ton-mile rate on the New York
Central Railroad between New Yorjc and Chicago.

EUROPE — GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY 309

the world. Dortmund is a coal-market. At Essen are the
steel-works founded by Herr Krupp. They are the largest
and oue of the most complete plants in the world. The
output includes arms, heavy and light ordnance, and about
every kind of structural iron and steel used. About forty
thousand men are employed. Chemnitz is an important
point, not only of cotton manufacture, but also of Saxony
wools, underwear and shawls being its most noteworthy
products. At Stettin, Danzig, and Kiel are built the
steamships that have given to Germany its great com-
mercial power.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

In what ways are Great Britain and Germany commercial
rivals?

What are the advantages of each with respect to position ?—
with respect to natural resources?

From the Statesman's Year-Book make a list of the leading ex-
ports of each ;— the leading imports of each. What exports have
they in common ?

From the Abstract of Statistics find what commodities the
United States sells to each.

FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

Adams's New Empire — Chapter III.

Gibbins's History of Commerce— Book III, Chapters II I- V.

CHAPTEE XXVI

EUROPE— THE BALTIC AND NORTH SEA STATES

THESE states, like Great Britain and Germany, belong
to Germanic Europe, and their situation around the North
and Baltic Seas makes their commercial interests much
the same. From the stand-point of commerce Holland
might be regarded as an integral part of Germany, inas-
much as a large part of the foreign commerce of Germany
must reach the sea by crossing that state.

Sweden and Norway. — Sweden and Norway occupy
the region best known as the Scandinavian peninsula.
The western side faces the warm, moist winds of the At-
lantic, but the surface is too rugged to be productive.
The lands suitable for farming, on the other hand, are on
the east side, where, owing to the high latitude, the winters
are extremely cold.

The plateau lands are in the latitude of the great pine-
forest belt that extends across the two continents. The
forests of the Scandinavian peninsula are near the most
densely peopled part of Europe, and they are also readily
accessible. Moreover, the rugged surface offers unlimited
water-power. As a result Norway and Sweden practically
control the lumber-market of Europe, and their lumber
products form one of the most important exports of the
kingdom. Norway pine competes with California red-
wood in Australia. The " naval stores," tar and pitch,
compete with those of Georgia and the Carolinas. The
wood-pulp from this region is the chief supply of the

310

EUROPE — THE BALTIC AND NORTH SKA STATES 311

paper-makers of Europe. Next to Russia, Sweden has
the largest lumber-trade iu Europe. The Mediterranean
states are the chief buyers.

The mineral products are a considerable source of in-
come. Building stone is shipped to the nearby lowland
countries. The famous Swedish manganese-iron ores,
essential in steel manufacture, are shipped to the United
States and Europe. For this purpose they compete with
the ores of Spain and Cuba. The mines of the Gellivare
iron district are probably the only iron-mines of conse-
quence within the frigid zone. The ore is sent to German
and British smelteries.

The fisheries are the most important of Europe, and
this fact has had a great influence on the history of the
people. Centuries ago the people living about the viys or
fjords of the west coast were compelled to depend almost
wholly on the fisheries for their food-supplies. As a result
they became the most famous sailors of the world. They
established settlements in Iceland and Greenland ; they
also planted a colony in North America 500 years before
the voyage of Columbus. Herring, salmon, and cod are
the principal catch of the fisheries, and about four-fifths of
the product is cured and exported to the Catholic European
states and to South America.

South of Kristiania farming is the principal industry.
Much of the land is suitable for wheat-growing, but the
productive area is so small that a considerable amount of
bread-stuffs must be imported from the United States.
On account of the high latitude the winters are too long
and severe for any but the hardiest grains. Dairy prod-
ucts are commercially the most important output of the
farms, and they find a ready market in the popular centres
of Europe — London, Hamburg, Paris, and Berlin.

The lumber, furniture, matches, fish, ores, and dairy

312 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

products sold abroad do not pay for the bread- stuffs, coal,
petroleum, clothing, and machinery. In part, this is made
up by the carrying trade of Norwegian vessels ; the rest
of the deficit is more than met by the money which the
throngs of tourists spend during the summer months.

The United States buys from these countries fish and
ores to the amount of about three million dollars a year ;
it sells them cotton, petroleum, bread-stuffs, and machinery
to the amount of about twelve million dollars.

Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, is the chief financial
and distributing centre of the Scandinavian trade. Its
railway system reaches about every area of production.
Although having a good harbor of its own, it must depend
on Trondhjem (Drontheim) for winter traffic, because the
Baltic ports are closed by ice three or four months of the
year. Kristiania, the capital of Norway, is the export
market of the fish and lumber products.

Goteborg, owing to recently completed railway and
canal connections, is becoming an important port of trade.
It is convenient to other European ports, and it is rarely
closed by ice. Bergen, Trondhjem, and Hammerfest derive
a heavy income from their fisheries and likewise from the
tourists who visit the coast during midsummer. The last-
named port, although farther north than any town in the
world, has an open harbor during the winter.

Denmark. — Denmark is essentially an agricultural state,
and almost every square mile of available land is under
cultivation. Even the sand-dunes have been reclaimed
and converted into pasturage. The yield of wheat is
greater per acre than in any other country, but as only
a small area is sown, wheat and flour are imported.

About half the area of the state is used in growing fod-
der for horses and cattle. The dairy products, especially
butter, are unrivalled elsewhere in Europe. The dairy

EUROPE — THE BALTIC AND NORTH SEA STATES 313

business is largely controlled by a cooperative association
of dairymen and farmers. Pastures, fodder, cattle, sheds,
creameries, and all the processes involved are subject to a
most rigid sanitary inspection.

Copenhagen, the capital, is the financial centre of the
kingdom. Commercially it is one of the most important
ports of Europe. Various shipments consigned to Baltic
ports are landed at this city ; here the cargoes break bulk
and are again transshipped to their destination. In order
to facilitate this forwarding business, the Crown has made
Copenhagen a free port. Steamship lines connect it with
New York, British ports, and the East Indies.

A great deal of farming and dairy machinery is manu-
factured ; coal, cotton goods, and structural machinery are
imported from the United States. Little, however, is ex-
ported to that country, almost all the dairy products being
sold to Great Britain and other populous centres of west-
ern Europe. Aalborg and Aarliuns are dairy-markets.

Greenland and Iceland are colonies of Denmark, and
the fishing industry of the kingdom is carried on mainly
along the shores of these islands. The furs, seal-skins,
seal-oil, and eider-down of Greenland are a government
monopoly. The mineral cryolite occurs at Ivigtut and is
mined by soda-making establishments in the United States.
Iceland produces sheep, cattle, and fish ; these are shipped
from Reikiavik. The Faroe Islands produce but . little
save wool, feathers, and birds' eggs.

Belgium. — Probably in no other country of Europe hat
nature done so little and man so much to make a great
state as in Belgium. The lowland region has been made
so fertile by artificial means that it yields more wheat per
acre than any other country except Denmark. The Ar-
dennes highland in the southeast is naturally unproduc-
tive, but it has become one of the great manufacturing

314

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

4° Longitude East fr.

HOLLAXD AND BELGIUM. f«"

centres of Europe. Less than one-twelfth oi the area of
the state is unproductive.

The coast, more than twoscore miles in extent, has not
a single harbor for large vessels, and the two navigable
rivers, the Scheldt and Meuse, flow into another state be-
fore reaching the sea.

The low sand-barrens next the coast have been reclaimed
by means of a grass that holds in place the sand that for-
merly shifted with each
movement of the wind.
This region is now cul-
tivated pasture-land that
produces the finest of
horses, cattle, and dairy
products. The dairy
products go mainly to
London. The Flemish
horses, like those of the
sand - barrens of Ger-
many and France, are
purchased in the large
cities, where heavy
draught-horses are re-
quired. Many of them
are sold to the express
companies of the United
States.

Bordering the sand barrens is a belt of land that pro-
duces grain and the sugar-beet. Flax is an important
product, and its cultivation has had much to do with both
the history and the political organization of the state. Be-
fore the advent of the cotton industry, woollen and linen
were practically the only fibres used in cloth-making. Bel-
gium was then the chief flax-growing and cloth-making

EUROPE — THE BALTIC AND NORTH SEA STATES 315

country, and all western Europe depended upon the Flem-
ish looms for cloth. This industry, therefore, gave the
country not only commercial prominence, but was largely
responsible for its political independence as well. Flax is
still an important product, and the linen textiles made in
the state are without a superior. Much of the flax is grown
in the valley of the River Lys.

One of the most productive coal-fields of Europe
stretches across Belgium, and a few miles south of it are
the iron-ore deposits that extend also into Luxemburg
and Germany. In addition to these, the zinc-mines
about Moresnet are among the richest in the world. Bel-
gium is, therefore, one of the great metal-working centres
of Europe. A small portion of the coal is exported to
France, but most of it is required in the manufactures.

Liege, Seraing, and Verviers are the great centres of the
metal industry. They were built at the eastern extremity
of the coal-field, within easy reach of the iron ores. Fire-
arms, railroad steel, and tool-making machinery are the
chief products of the region, and because of the favorable
situation, these products easily compete with the maim-
factures of Germany and France.

Glent is the chief focal point for the flax product, which
is converted into the finest of linen cloth and art fabrics.
Much of the weaving and spinning machinery employed
in Europe is made in this city. Mechlin and the villages
near by are famous the world over for hand-worked laces.

Expensive porcelains, art tiles, glassware, and cheap
crockery are made in the line of kilns that reaches almost
from one end of the coal-field to the other; these prod-
ucts, moreover, are extensively exported.

The railways are owned and operated by the state. Tli«-y
are managed so judiciously, moreover, that the rates of
carriage are lower than in most European states. The

316 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Scheldt is navigable for large ocean steamers to Antwerp^
and this city is the great Belgian port for ocean traffic.
The city owes its importance to its position. One branch
of the Scheldt leads toward the Rhine ; the other is con-
nected by a canal with the rivers of France ; the main stem
of the river points toward London. It is therefore the
meeting of three ways. It is the terminal of the steam-
ships of American, and of various other lines. It is also
the depot of the Kongo trade. Ship-canals deep enough
for coasters and freighters connect Ghent, Bruges, and
Brussels with tide-water. These are about to be converted
to deep-water ship-canals.

The foreign commerce of Belgium is much like that of
other European states. Wheat, meat, maize, cotton, and
petroleum are imported mainly from the United States ;
iron ore is purchased from Luxemburg and Germany, and
various raw materials are brought from France. In ex-
change there are exported fine machinery, linen fabrics,
porcelains, fire-arms, glassware, and beet-sugar. From the
Kongo state, at the head of which is the King of the Bel-
gians, are obtained rubber and ivory. The rubber is sold
mainly to the United States.

Brussels is the capital and financial centre. On account
of the state control of the railways, it is also the direc-
tive centre of all the industries pertaining to commerce
and transportation.

Holland. — The names Holland and Netherlands mean
" lowland," and the state itself has a lower surface than any
other country of Europe. Nearly half the area is at high-
tide level or else below it. A large part, mainly the region
about the Zuider* Sea, has been reclaimed from the sea.

In the reclamation of these lands stone dikes are built

, * The name Zuider, or Zuyder, means " south"; it was so named to
distinguish it from the North Sea.

EUROPE— THE BALTIC AND NORTH SEA STATES 317

to enclose a given area, and from the basin tbus constructed
the water is pumped. The reclaimed lands, or " polders,"
include not only the sea-bottom, but the coast marshes as
well ; even the rivers are bordered with levees in order to
prevent overflows. Windmills are the machinery by which
the water is pumped from the polders into the sea. In no
other part of the world is wind-power so extensively used.
Almost every acre of the polders is under cultivation, and
these lands grow a very large part of the vegetables and
flowers consumed in the great cities of England, France,
and Belgium.

The coast sand-barrens have been converted into pasture-
lands that produce draught-horses, beef cattle, and dairy
cattle. The horses find a ready market in the United
States and the large European cities ; the dairy cattle not
needed at home are exported, the United States being a
heavy purchaser. The beef cattle arc grown mainly for
the markets of London. Dutch butter is used far beyond
the boundaries of the state, and Edam cheese reaches
nearly every large city of Europe and America.

The sugar-beet is extensively cultivated, in spite of the
great trade resulting from the cane-sugar industry of the
East Indies. It is more profitable to import wheat from
the United States and rye from Russia in order to use
the land for the sugar-beet.

Practically no timber suitable for lumber manufacture
exists, and building material therefore must be imported.
Pine is purchased from Russia, Scandinavia, and the United
States. Stone is purchased wherever it may be obtained
as return freight, or as ballast. The coast fisheries yield
oysters, herrings, and " anchovies," which are not ancho-
vies, but sprats.

For want of coal and iron there are few manufactures,
and the garden and dairy products are about the only ex-

318 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

port articles. There is an abundance of clay, and of this
brick for road-making, tiles for building purposes, and por-
celains are made. But little of the raw sugar is refined;
most of it is sold to foreign refiners, and the United States
is one of the chief customers.

Holland is a great commercial country, and for more than
five hundred years the Dutch flag has been found in almost
every large port of the world. Much of the commerce is
derived from the tobacco, sugar, and coffee plantations of
the Dutch East Indies.

A very large part of the commerce, however, is neither
import or export trade, but a " transit " commerce. Thus,
American coal-oil is transferred from the great ocean
tank-steamers to smaller tank-boats, and is then carried
across the state into Germany, France, and Belgium,
through the numerous canals.

This trade applies also to many of the products of the
German industries which will not bear a heavy freight
tariff, such as coal, ores, etc. It reaches the Rhine and
Rhone river-basins and extends even to the Danube.
Both Switzerland and Austria-Hungary send much of
their exports through Holland. All trade at the various
ports and through the canals is free, it being the policy to
encourage and not to obstruct commerce.

Amsterdam, the constitutional capital, is one of the great
financial and banking centres of Europe. The completion
of the Nord Holland canal makes the docks and basins ac-
cessible to the largest steamships. Diamond-cutting is
one of the unique industries of the city. Since the dis-
covery of the African mines its former trade in diamonds
has been largely absorbed by London.

More than half the carrying trade of the state centres at
Rotterdam. .By the improvement of the river estuaries
and canals this city has become one of the best ports of

EUROPE— THE BALTIC AND NORTH SEA STATES 319

Europe, and the tonnage of goods handled at the docks
is enormously increasing. Vlissirujen (Flushing) and the
Hook are railway terminals that handle much ol the local
freights consigned to London. Ddft is famous the world
over for the beautiful porcelain made at its potteries.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

How has the topography of each of these states affected its
commerce?

How i.s their commerce affected by latitude and climate?

How has the cultivation of the sugar-beet affected the cane-
su^ar industry in the British West Indies?

From the Statesman's Year-Book make a list of the leading ex-
ports and imports of each country.

From the Abstract of Statistics find the trade of the United
States with each of these countries.

FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

Adams's New Empire— pp. 153-159.

Gibbins's History of Commerce— Book III, Chapters I and VIII

CHAPTER XXVII

EUROPE— THE MEDITERRANEAN STATES AND
SWITZERLAND

THE Mediterranean states are peopled mainly by races
whose social and economic development was moulded
largely by the Roman occupation of the Mediterranean
basin for a period of more than one thousand years. The
occupations of the people have been shaped to a great
extent by the slope of the land and by the mountain-ranges
that long isolated them from the Germanic peoples north
of the Alps.

France. — The position of France with respect to indus-
trial development is fortunate. The North Sea coast faces
the ports of Great Britain ; the Atlantic ports are easily
accessible to American centres of commerce ; the Mediter-
ranean ports command a very large part of the trade of
that sea.

The easily travelled overland routes between the Mediter-
ranean and North Seas in very early times gave the country
a commercial prominence that ever since has been retained.
Even before the time of Csesar it was a famous trading-
ground for Mediterranean merchants, and the conquest of
the country was not so much for the spoils of war as for
the extension of Roman commercial influence.

The greater part of France is an agricultural region, and
nowhere is the soil cultivated with greater skill. Although
the state is not quite as large as Texas, there are more
farms than in all the United States, their small size mak-
ing thorough cultivation a necessity. Much of the land is

320

EUROPE — THE MEDITERRANEAN STATES

321

too valuable for wheat-farming, aiid so the eastern manu-
facturing districts depend upon the Russian wheat-farms
for their supply. Northwestern France, however, has a
surplus of wheat, and this is sold to Great Britain.

The sugar-beet is the most profitable crop, and its culti-

vation is aided indirectly by the government, which gives
a bounty on all exported sugar. The area of sugar-beet
cultivation will probably increase to its limit for this
reason.

The French farmer is an artist in the cultivation of
small fruits, and the latter form an impoitant source of

322 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

revenue. Of the fruit- crop, the grape is by far the most im-
portant commercially. French wines, especially the cham-
pagnes, are exported to a greater extent than the wines of
any other country. Most of the wine is sold in Great
Britain and the countries north of the grape belt ; a con-
siderable part is sold in the United States and the east-
ern countries. Champagne, Bordeaux, the Loire, and the
Rhone Valleys are famous wine districts. Wine is also
imported, to be refined or to be made into brandy.

Cattle-breeding, both for meat and for dairy purposes,
is extensively carried on. The meat is consumed at home.
Butter is an important export, especially in the north-
west, where a large amount is made for London con-
sumers. This region produces Camembert and Neufchatel
cheese, both of which are largely exported ; Brie cheese is
made chiefly along the German border. The Roquefort
product, made of ewe's milk, is fermented in limestone
caves and cellars. All these varieties have a large sale, the
United States and Great Britain being heavy purchasers.

The Percheron draught-horse is raised for export as
well as for home use ; mules are extensively raised for the
army wagon -trains of Great Britain and Germany. Sheep
are grown for the finer grades of wool, but so much of the
sheep pasture has been given to the cultivation of the
sugar-beet, that a considerable part of the woollen textiles
are now made of wool imported from Argentina. A large
part of the eggs and table poultry consumed in London
are products of northwestern France.

* Some years ago many of the most valuable vineyards were destroyed
by an insect pest known as the phylloxera, introduced from California.
The trouble was overcome by replanting with American vines, the roots
of which were immune to the pest. On these roots were grafted the
choice French vines, the leaves and twigs of which were immune. In
this manner the vineyards were restored with vines that are proof against
attack, and the wine output has reached its normal amount.

EUROPE — THE MEDITKHKANKAN STATES 323

The coal-fields of the north produce nearly two-thirds of
the total amount consumed. Iron ores are found near the
German border ; they are sent to coal-fields in the neigh-
borhood of St. Etieune and Le Creuzot to be manufactured
Into steei. Both coal and iron ore are deficient. To meet
the requirements of consumption, the former is imported
from Great Britain, Germany, and Belgium ; the latter,
mainly from Germany and Spain.

The manufactures of France have a wide influence.
From the coal and iron are derived the intricate machinery
that has made the country famous, the railways, the pow-
erful navy, and the merchant marine that has made the
country a great commercial nation. Because of the great
creative skill and taste of the people, French textiles are
standards of good taste, and they find a ready market in
all parts of the world. In textile manufactures more than
one million people and upward of one hundred thousand
looms are employed.

The United States is a heavy buyer of the woollen cloths
and the finer qualities of dress goods. Inasmuch as these
goods have not been successfully imitated elsewhere, the
French trade does not suffer from competition. The best
goods are made from the fleeces of French merino sheep,
and are manufactured mainly in the northern towns. The
Gobelin tapestries of Paris are famous the world over.

The cotton manufactures depend mainly on American
cotton. About two-thirds of the cotton is purchased in
the United States, a part of which returns in the form of
fine goods that may be classed as muslins, tulles, and art
textiles. The market for such goods is also general. In
the manufacture of fine laces, such as the Point d'Alencon
fabrics, tho French have few equals and no superiors.
The flax is imported mainly from Belgium.

Silk culture is aided by the government, and is carried

324 COMMERCIAL GEOGKAPHY

on mainly in the south. The amount grown, however, Is
insufficient to keep the factories busy, and more than four-
fifths of the raw silk and cocoons are imported from Italy
and other southern countries.

The chief imports to France are coal, raw textile fibres,
wine, wheat, and lumber. The last two products excepted,
they are again exported in the form of manufactured prod-
ucts. The great bulk of the imports comes from Great
Britain, the United States, Germany, Belgium, Russia, and
Argentina. In 1900 the import trade from these countries
aggregated about five hundred million dollars. The total
export trade during the same year was about eight hun-
dred million dollars; it consisted mainly of high-priced
articles of luxury.

The foreign trade is supported by a navy, which ranks
second among the world's navies, and a merchant marine
of more than fifteen thousand vessels. Aside from the sub-
sidies given to mail steamships, government encourage-
ment is given for the construction and equipment of home-
built vessels. It is a settled policy that French vessels
shall carry French traffic.

Of the 24,000 miles of railway, about 2,000 miles are
owned by the state. The rivers are connected by canals,
and these furnish about 7,000 miles of navigable waters.
As in Germany, the water-routes supplement the railway
lines. Practically all lines of transportation converge at
Paris.

Paris, the capital, is a great centre of finance, art,
science, and literature, whose influence in these features
has been felt all over the world. The character of fine tex-
tiles, and also the fashions in the United States and Eu-
rope, are regulated largely in this city. Marseille is the
chief seaport, and practically all the trade between France
and the Mediterranean countries is lauded at this port ; it

EUROPE — THE MEDITERRANEAN STATES 325

is also the focal point of the trade between France and her
African colonies, and a landing-place for the cotton brought
from Egypt and Brazil.

Havre, the port receiving most of the trade from the
United States, is the port of Paris. Bouen is the chief seat
of cotton manufacture. Paris and Rheiius are noted for
shawls. Lille and Roitbaix are centres of woollen manu-
facture. Lyons is the great seat of silk manufacture.

Italy. — Italy is a spur of the Alps extending into the
Mediterranean Sea. From its earliest history it has been
an agricultural state, and, excepting the periods when it has
been rent by wars, it has been one of the most productive
countries in the world.

Wheat is extensively grown, but the crop is insufficient
for home consumption, and the deficit is imported from
Russia and Hungary. A large part of the wheat-crop is
grown in the valley of the Po River. Flax and hemp are
grown for export in this region ; and corn for home con-
sumption is a general product. Cotton is a good crop in
Sicily and the south, but the amount is insufficient for
use and must be made up by imports from the United
States and Egypt.

Silk, fruit, and vegetables are the staple products that
connect Italy commercially with the rest of the world.
About a million people are concerned in the silk industry,
and Italy is one of the foremost countries in the world in
the production of raw silk. Most of the crop is produced
in northern Italy ; western Europe and the United States
are the chief buyers. The silk of the Piedmont region is
the best in quality.

Fruit is the crop next in value to raw silk. Sicilian
oranges and lemons, from about twenty millions of trees,
find a ready market in Europe; the oranges come into
competition with the California and Florida oranges of the

326

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

United States, in spite of the tariff imposed against them
by the latter country. Olives are probably the most im-
portant fruit-crop. Both the preserved fruit and the oil
are exported to nearly every civilized people. Much of the

oil is consumed at home, very largely taking the place of
meat and butter. Lucca-oil is regarded as the best.

The grape-crop is enormous, and the fruit itself is ex-
ported. Some of the fruit sold as " Malaga " grapes
throughout the United States during winter months
comes from Italy. Chianti wine, from the vineyards around

EUROPE — THE MEDITERRANEAN STATES 327

Florence, has hitherto been regarded as an inferior prod-
uct, but the foreign demand for it is steadily increasing.
The Marsala wines of Sicily are largely exported.

Among mineral products the iron deposits in the island
of Elba are undoubtedly the most valuable, but they are
yet undeveloped to any great extent. The quarries at
Carrara produce a tine marble that has made Italy famous
in sculpture and architecture. Much of the boracic acid
used in the arts comes from Tuscany, and the world's chief
supply of sulphur conies from the neighborhood of Mount
Etna in Sicily. Of this Americans buy about one-third.

On account of the lack of coal, the manufactures are
restricted mainly to art wares, such as jewelry, silk textiles,
and fine glassware. The Venetian glassware, the Floren-
tine and mosaic jewelry, and the pink coral ornaments are
famous the world over. Within recent years, however, im-
ported coal, together with native lignite, have given steel
manufacture an impetus. Steel ships and rails made at
home are meeting the demands of commerce. Goods of
American cotton are made for export to Turkey and South
American countries.

Raw silk, wine, olive-oil, straw goods, sulphur, and art
goods are exported. Cotton, wheat, tobacco, and faun
machinery from the United States, and coal, woollen tex-
tiles, and steel goods from Great Britain are the chief im-
ports. Most of the foreign trade is with the nearby states.
The raw silk goes to France.

Since the unification of Italy the railways have been re-
adjusted to the needs of commerce. Before that time the
lines were wholly local in character; with the readjustment
they were organized into trunk lines. They enter France
through the Mont Conis tunnel; they reach Switzerland
and Germany by way of St. Gotthard Pass ; they cross the
Austrian border through Brenner Pass.

328 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Rome, the capital, is a political rather than an industrial
centre. Milan, the Chicago of the kingdom, is the chief
market for the crops of northern Italy and a great railway
centre. It is also the market for raw silk. Genoa, the
principal port, is the one at which most of the trade of the
United States is landed. Naples monopolizes most of the
marine traffic between Italy and Great Britain. Leghorn
is famous for its manufacture and trade in straw goods. A
considerable part of the grain harvested in the Po Yalley
is stored for shipment at Venice — not in elevators, but in
pits. Palermo is the trading centre of Sicily. Most of the
sulphur is shipped from Catania. Brindisi and Ancona
are shipping-points for the Suez Canal route.

Spain and Portugal. — The surface of these states is
too rugged and the climate too arid for any great agricult-
ural development. Less than half the area is under cul-
tivation ; nevertheless, they are famous for several agricult-
ural products — merino wool, wine, and fruit. The merino
wool of the Iberian peninsula has no equal for fine dress
goods; it is imported into almost every other country
having woollen manufactures. A considerable amount of
ordinary wool is grown, but not enough for home needs.

The fruit industry is an important source of income.
Oranges, limes, and lemons are extensively grown for ex-
ports ; among these products is the bitter orange, from
which the famous liqueur Curasao, a Dutch manufacture, is
made. The heavy, sweet port wine, now famous the world
over, was first made prominent in the vineyards of Spain
and Portugal. Malaga raisins are sold in nearly every part
of England and America. The olive is more extensively
cultivated than in any other state, but both the fruit and
the oil are mainly consumed at home — the latter taking the
place of butter. Raw silk is grown for export to France.

Although a larger part of the peninsula must depend on

EUROPE — THE MEDITERRANEAN STATES

329

the American and Scandinavian forests for lumber, there is
one tree product that is in demand wherever bottles are UM d
— namely, cork. The cork is prepared from the bark of a
tree (Qucrcus suber) commonly known as the cork oak,*
which grows freely in the Iberian peninsula and northern
Africa.

Metals and minerals of economic use are abundant.

Iron ore is sold to Great Britain, France, and Gc-rniMiiy.
Since the Spanisli-Ann-ricaii AVar, however, there ha\.- !•• -. u
extensive developments in utilixin^ the coal and the ore
which before that time had been sold to other countries.

* Tt is cultivated as an ornamental tree in the Southern States nnd in
California

330

The undeveloped coal and iron resources are very great,
and must figure in the payment of a national debt that is
near the limit of bankruptcy. The state, however, is en-
tering a period of industrial prosperity.

The most available metal resource is quicksilver. Of
this metal the mines in Almaden produce about one-half
the world's supply. The working of these mines is prac-
tically a government monopoly, and the income was mort-
gaged for many years ahead when Spain was at war with
her rebellious colonies.

Both Spain and Portugal are poorly equipped with
means for transportation. The railways lack organization,
and freight rates are excessive. Not a little of the trans-
portation still depends on the ox-cart and the pack-train.
The merchant marine has scarcely more than a name ; the
foreign commerce is carried almost wholly in British or
French bottoms. The imports are mainly cotton, coal,
lumber, and food-stuffs — these in spite of the fact that
every one save lumber might be produced at home.

Wine and fruit products, iron ore, and quicksilver are
leading exports. Of these the United States purchases
wine and raisins for home consumption and lace and fili-
gree work for the trade with Mexico. Spain has a consid-
erable trade in cotton goods with her colonies, the Canary
Islands, and the African provinces of Rio de Oro and Adrar.

Portugal likewise supplies her foreign possessions — Goa
(India), Macao (China), and the Cape Verde and Azores
Islands — with home products. The chief Portuguese trade,
however, is with Great Britain and Brazil.

Madrid is the capital of Spain. Barcelona is the chief
commercial centre. Valencia, Alicante, Cartagena, and
Malaga are all ports of fruit and wine trade. Oporto has
been made famous for the port wine that bears its name.
Probably not one per cent, of the port now used, how-

EUROPE — THE MEDITERRANEAN STATES 331

ever, comes from Oporto, and not many Malaga raisins
come from Malaga.

Switzerland.— This state is situated in the heart of the
highest Alps. The southeastern half is above the altitude
in which food-stuffs can be produced, and probably no
other inhabited country has a greater proportion of its
area above the limits of perpetual snow. A considerable
area of the mountain-slopes affords grazing. The valley-
lands of the lake-region produce a limited amount of food-
stuffs, but not enough for the sparse population.

Politically, Switzerland is a republic, having the position
of a "buffer" state between Germany, Italy, France, and
Austria-Hungary. Racially, the state is divided among
Italians, French, and Germans ; as a matter of fact, how-
ever, the old Helvetian spirit, which not even Caesar could
destroy, is still a great factor in dominating the people ;
this, with their montane environment, gives the Swiss a
very positive nationality.

The agricultural interests of the state are developed to
their utmost ; two-thirds of the bread-stuffs, however, are
purchased from the United States, the plains of Bohemia,
and Hussia. Cherries, apples, grapes, and other fruit are
cultivated in every possible place, and as these can be
delivered to any part of western and central Europe within
a day, the fruit industry is a profitable one.

Cattle are bred for dairy purposes, but those for l>eef
must be very largely imported, Austria-Hungary and Italy
selling the needed supply. Goats are raised for their
liitU'S, and the latter are converted into Morocco leatlu-r.
Of the dairy products, cheese is in many respects the most
important ; Gruyere cheese is exported to nearly every coun-
try. On account of the long distance from populous centres
milk cannot be transported ; much of it is, therefore, con-
densed, and in that form exported.

332 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

A peculiar feature of the dairy industry is the fact that
it is constantly moving. The dairy herds begin to pasture
in the lowlands as soon as the snow melts, and as fast as
the snow line recedes up the mountains the cattle follow.
The milk is converted into butter and cheese wherever the
herds may be, and the second crop of grass below them is
cut and cured for winter forage.

In spite of the fact that Switzerland has no available
coal,* manufacture is pre-eminently the industry of the
state. During the long winters the Alpine herdsman and
his family whittle out wooden toys from the stock of rough
lumber laid by for the purpose. Farther down in the
valley-lands the exquisite brocades and muslins are made
on hand-looms, or by the aid of the abundant water-power.
Each industrial district has its special line of manufacture,
so that there is scarcely an idle day in the year.

In the cities and towns of the lowland district- watches,
clocks, music-boxes, and fine machinery are manufactured.
For many years Swiss watches were about the only ones
used in the United States, but on account of the competi-
tion of American watches this trade has fallen off. The
mechanical music-player, operated by perforated paper, has
also interfered with the trade in music-boxes.

Switzerland is provided with excellent facilities for
transportation, and this has done about as much for the
commercial welfare of the state as all other industrial
enterprises. In proportion to its area, the railway mileage
is greater than that of the surrounding states. The roads
are well built and the rates of transportation are low.

In addition to the ordinary trip-tickets, monthly time-
tickets are issued to travellers, allowing the holders to
travel when and where they please within the limits of
the state on all roads and lake-steamers. These are sold

* A small vein of coal occurs near Freiburg.

EUROPE — THE MEDITERRANEAN STATES 333

to the traveller for about two-thirds the price of the 1,000-
mile book of the American railway. The carriage roads
have no superiors, and they penetrate about ever}' part of
the state below the snow line ; they also cross the main
passes of the Alps.

Through one or another of these passes most of the
foreign traffic of the state must be carried. To Genoa and
Milan it crosses the Alps via the St. Gotthard tunnel, or
the Simplon Pass ; * to Paris it goes by the Rhone Valley;
between Vienna and Switzerland, by the Arlberg tunnel ;
and to Germany or to Amsterdam through the valley of
the Main.

As a result of this most excellent system of transporta-
tion, Switzerland is thronged with visiting tourists at all
times of the year ; moreover, it has always been the policy
of the Swiss Government not only to provide for them, but
also to make the country attractive to them. The result
has shown the wisdom of the policy. Indeed, the foreign
tourist has become one of the chief sources of income of
the Swiss people, and the latter profit by the transaction
to the amount of about forty million dollars a year.

About all the raw material used in manufacture must
be imported. The cotton is purchased mainly from the
United States, and enters by way of Marseille. The raw
silk is purchased from Italy, China, and Japan. Coal,
sugar, food-stuffs, and steel are purchased from Germany,
and this state supplies about half the imports. From the
United States are purchased wheat, cotton, and coal-oil.

The manufactures are intended for export. The fine

* The St. Gotthard tunnel is almost nine and one-half miles long ; the
Arlberg tunnel is six and one-half miles in length. The tunnel now near-
ing completion under the Simplon Pass is more than twelve miles long.
Five railways cross the northern frontier into Germany, and <
commerce profits most by them.

334 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

cotton textiles sold to the United States are worth far
more than the raw cotton purchased therefrom. Silk tex-
tiles, straw wares, toys, watches, jewelry, and dairy prod-
ucts are leading exports. The surrounding states are the
chief buyers, and none of them competes with Switzerland
to any extent in the character of the exports.

Geneva, situated at the head of the Rhone Valley, is the
chief trade depot ; it is noted especially for the manufact-
ure of watches, of which many hundred thousand are made
yearly. Zurich is the centre of manufactures of textiles
and fine machinery. The silk-brocade industry is centred
chiefly in this city and Basel.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Why did not France prosper commercially prior to the time of
the revolution of 1793?

What are the chief natural advantages of the state in favor of
commercial development ?

In what ways have the natural disadvantages of Switzerland
been overcome ?

How has the loss of her colonies affected the industrial devel-
opment of Spain ?

Comparing Spain and Italy, which has the better situation with
reference to the Suez Canal traffic ?

From the Statesman's Year-Book find the amount of foreign
trade of each state.

From the Abstract of Statistics find the trade of each one with
the United States.

FOE COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

Adams's New Empire, pp. 160-168.
Fiske's Discovery of America, Vol. II, Chapter XI.
Procure for inspection specimens of raw silk and 'also of the
choice textile goods made in these states.

CHAPTEE XXVHI
EUROPE— THE DANUBE AND BALKAN STATES

THE Danube and Balkan states derive their commercial
importance partly from the large area in which bread-stuffs
may be produced, and also because the valley of the Dan-
ube has become an overland trade-route of growing im-
portance between the Suez Canal and the North Sea.

Austria-Hungary. — This empire is composed of the
two monarchies, Austria and Hungary, each practically
self-governed, but united under a single general govern-
ment. The greater part of the country is walled in by the
ranges of the Alps and the Carpathian Mountains.

The region known as the Tyrol is topographically con-
tinuous with Switzerland, and the people have Swiss char-
acteristics. Galicia, northeast of the Carpathian Moun-
tains, the fragment of Poland that fell to Austria at the
time of partition, is a part of the great Russian plain.
Bohemia, which derives its name from the Keltic peoples,
whom Ctesar called theBoii, comprises the upper part of the
Elbe river-basin. Its natural commercial outlet is Ger-
many, but the race-hatred which the Czechs have for the
Germans, retards commercial progress. Hungary is a
country of plains occupying the lower basin of tin- l>;iimb«\
The Huns are of Asian origin. Austria proper occuj>i« s
the upper valley of the Danube, adjoining Germany; the
country and the people are Germanic.

To the student of history it is a surprise that a country
of such diverse peoples, having but little in common save

835

836 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

mutual race-hatred, should hold together under the same
general government. The explanation, however, is found
in the topography of the region. The basin of the Danube
is a great food-producing region, and the upper valley of
the Elbe River forms the easiest passage from the Black
to the Baltic Sea. The topography therefore gives the
greater part of the country commercial unity.

The climate and surface of the low plains of Hungary
are much the same as those of AVisconsin and Minnesota.
Grain-growing and stock-raising are the chief employ-
ments. High freight rates, a long haul, and the competi-
tion of Russia and Roumauia have retarded the develop-
ment of these industries, however. Bohemia is likewise
a grain-growing country, and the easy route into Germany
through the Elbe Valley makes the industry a profitable
one. Bohemia is also in the sugar-beet area.

There is an abundance of coal in Austria, but most of it
is unfit for the manufacture of iron and steel. Steel manu-
facture, however, is carried on, the industry being protected
by the distance from the German steel-making centres.
The lead-mines about Bleiberg (or " Leadville ") are very
productive ; at Idria are the only quicksilver-mines in Eu-
rope that compete with those of Alrnaden, Spain. The
salt-mines near Krakow are in a mass of rock-salt twelve
hundred feet thick.

Most of the manufactured products are for home con-
sumption. American cotton and home-grown wool supply
the greater part of the textiles. The flour-mills are
equipped with the very best of machinery, and much of the
product is for export to Germany and the countries to the
south. The manufactures that have made the state famous,
however, are gloves and glassware, both of which are widely
exported. The sand, fluxes, and coloring minerals of Bo-
hemian glassware are all peculiar to the region, and the

EUROPE— THE DANUBE AND BALKAN STATK8 337

vrares, therefore, cannot be imitated elsewhere. The gloves
are made from the skins of Hungarian sheep and goats.

The railways are not well organized, and the mileage is
insufficient for the needs of the country. Ludwig Canal
(in Germany) connects the Danube with the Main, a navi-
gable tributary of the Ehine ; the Elbe is navigable from a
point above Prague to the Baltic ; the Moravian Gate opens
a passage from Vienna northward ; the Iron Gate, through
which the Danube flows, is the route to the Black Sea ;
Semmering Pass and its tunnel is the gateway to the ports
of the Adriatic. These great routes practically converge at
Vienna, which also is the great railway centre of the empiiv.

The foreign trade consists mainly of the export of food-
stuffs (of which sugar and eggs are heavy items), fine cabi-
net ware, woollen textiles (made from imported wool), barley
and malt, and fine glassware. Much of the German and
Italian wine is sent to market in casks made of Austrian
stock ; the coal goes mainly to Italy. The imports are raw
cotton from the United States and Egypt, wool, silk, ami
tobacco. Coal is both exported and imported. The United
States sells to Austria-Hungary cotton, pork, and corn —
buying porcelain ware, glassware, and gloves, amounting
to about one-fifth the value of the exports.

Vienna, the capital, is the financial centre and commer-
cial clearing-house of central Europe ; it has also extent v
manufactures. Budapest is the great focal point of Hun-
garian railways and commerce. Prague controls the coal,
textile, and glass trade of Bohemia, b'lnlx'ry is the me-
tropolis of Galicia. The states of Liechtenstein, Bosnia,
and Herzegovina are commercially under the control of
Austria.

The Lower Danube States.— Eouuiania and Bulgaria,
the plain of the lower Danube, are enclosed by the Carpa-
thian, and Balkan ranges. They constitute a great wheat-

338

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

field whose chief commercial outlets are the Iron Gate into
Germanic Europe, and the Suliua mouth of the Danube
into the Black Sea. The growing of maize for home con-
sumption and wheat for export form the only noteworthy
industries. Most of the grain is shipped up the Danube
and sold in Great Britain and Germany.

From the Iron Gate to the Black Sea the Danube is held
as an international highway, and the control of its naviga-
tion is directed by a commission of the various European
powers, having its head-quarters at Galatz, Roumania.

In the Balkan Mountains is the famous Vale of Hoses
which furnishes about half the world's supply of attar-of-
roses. The petals of the damask rose are pressed between
layers of cloth saturated with lard. The latter absorbs the
essential oil, from which it is easily removed. About half
a ton of roses are required to make a pound of the attar.
Kazanlik, noted also for rugs, is the great market for attar.
Galatz and Rustcliuk are grain-markets and river-ports ;
from the latter a railway extends to Varna, the chief port
of the Black Sea. From Sofia, near the Bulgarian frontier,

EUROPE— THE DANUBE AND BALKAN STATES 339

a trunk line of railway extends through Budapest to west-
ern Europe.

Turkey-in-Europe.— The European part of the Otto-
man Empire has long been politically known as the " Sick
Man " of Europe, and so far as the industries and com-
merce of the state are concerned, there is no excuse for its
separate existence as a state. Its political existence, how-
ever, is regarded as a necessity, in order to prevent the
Russians from obtaining military and naval control of the
Mediterranean and Black Seas, and thereby becoming a
menace to all western Europe. Less than one-half the
people are Turks ; the greater part of the population con-
sists of Armenians, Jews, Magyars, and Latins.

Most of the country is rugged and unfit for grain-grow-
ing. The internal government is bad, the taxes are so
ruinous that the agricultural resources are undeveloped,
and every sort of farming is primitive. In many instances
the taxes levied on the growing crops become practical
confiscation when they are collected. Much of the cul-
tivable land is idle because there are no means of getting
the crops to market.

Grapes and wine, silk, opium, mohair and wool, valonia
(acorn cups used in tanning leather), figs, hides, cigarettes,
and carpets are the leading exports, and these about half
pay for the American cotton textiles, woollen goods, coal-
oil, sugar, and other food-stuffs imported. Choice Mocha
coffee is imported for home use, and poorer grades are
exported. Most of the foreign commerce is in the hands
of English and French merchants. Armenians, Jews,
and Greeks are the native middlemen and traders.

The native population is subject to the Sultan, whose
rule is absolute ; most foreign merchants and residents nre
permitted by treaties to remain subject to the regulations
of the consuls.

340

COMMERCIAL GEOGEAPHY

Constantinople is the capital. Its situation on the Bos-
phorus is such that under any other European government

it would command a tremen-

HARBOR OF CONSTANTINOPLE

dous foreign commerce. It
is naturally the focal point
of the trade between Europe
and Asia. A trunk line
of railway connects the city
with Paris. Salonica is the
port of western Turkey, and
is likewise connected by rail
with western Europe. A
great deal of the foreign commerce of the state is now
landed at this port.

The chief possessions of the Ottoman Empire are Asia
Minor, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Arabia.

Greece. — Greece is a rugged peninsula, no part of which
is more than forty miles from the sea. The country is
without resources in the way of coal, timber, or available
capital. Its former commercial position, in ancient times,
was due largely to the silver-mines near Ergasfceria, and
subsequently to the gold-mines of eastern Macedonia ;
these, however, are no longer productive.

There is but little land suitable for farming, and not far
from one-half the bread-stuffs must be imported. Much of
the timber has been destroyed, and this has resulted in a
deterioration not only of the water-power, but of the culti-
vable lands as well. The railway lines are short and their
business is local ; there are practically no trunk line con-
nections with the great centres of commerce.

The harbors and the natural position of the country are
its best remaining resources. The Greeks are born sailors,
and the country is in the pathway of European and Asian
commerce. Most of the grain-trade between the Black and

EUROPE — THE DANUBE AND BALKAN STATES 341

Mediterranean Seas is controlled by Greek merchants,
and the Greeks are everywhere in evidence in the carry-
ing trade of the Mediterranean. The construction of the
Corinthian canal has also given Greek commerce a ma-
terial impetus.

The chief exports are Corinthian grapes— commonly
known as "currants " — fruit, and iron ore from Ergasteria.
Great Britain, France, and Belgium are the chief buyers
of the fruit-crop. The exports scarcely pay for the Amer-
ican cotton, Russian wheat, and the timber products that are
purchased abroad. There has been a material growth in
the manufacture of cotton, woollens, and silk in the past
few years, much of the work being done in households.
Athens is the capital and largest city. The Pirceus and
Patras are the chief ports.

Servia and Montenegro are stock-growing countries.
The former has suffered greatly from misgovernment and
the waste of its resources. Wine-cask stock and cattle are
sold to Austria, which has five-sixths of its trade. Jicfi/i-m/i-
is its metropolis. Tobacco and live-stock are exported
from Montenegro to Austria.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

On a good map of central Europe trace an all -water route
from the mouth of the Danube to the ports of the lower Rhine
and the North Sea ; what connection have the cities of Ratislxm
and Lemberg with this route?

How do the forests of these states affect the wine Industry of
Germany ?

From the Statesman's Year-Book find the amount and move-
ment of the exports and imports of tlu-s<> countries.

From the Abstract of Statistics find the volume of trade of
these countries with the United States.

FOR COLLATERAL REFERENCE

Great Canals of the World— p. 4080.
A good map of central Europe.

CHAPTEK XXIX
EUROPE-ASIA— THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE

THE great plain of Eurasia, which borders about half
the circuit of the Arctic Ocean, is undivided by topo-
graphic barriers or boundaries. It is physically a unit.

Russia. — Russia comprises more than one-half the area
of Europe ; the Russian Empire embraces about one-half
of Europe and Asia combined, and constitutes more than
one-seventh of the land surface of the earth. East and
west, from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok, the distance is
about six thousand miles. It has a similar position with
respect to southern Europe and China as has Canada to
the United States.

In latitude the country is unfortunately situated. North
of the latitude of St. Petersburg the climate is too cold to
grow bread-stuffs; a large part of the country is, therefore,
unproductive. The central belt is forest-covered ; the
southern part, or "black earth" belt, comprises the greater
part of the productive lands, and this region is tin- chief
granary of Europe.

Russia is an agricultural country. Maize and rye grown
for home consumption, and wheat for export, nre the chief
products. Flax is a leading export product, and the Rus-
sian crop constitutes about four-fifths of tlio world's supply.
Lands too remote from markets for grain-growing produce
cattle and sheep, which are grown mainly for their hides
and tallow. The wool of the Don is a very coarse textile
that is much used in the manufacture of American c

843

344 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

that of the arid plateaus of the southern country is a fine
rug wool.

Agriculture in Russia is on a much lower plane than in
western Europe. Most of the land is owned in large
estates. Individual farming is rare, laud tillage being usu-
ally a community affair. A village community rents or
purchases a tract of land, and the latter is allotted to the
families composing it, a part of the land being reserved
for pasturage. The business is transacted by " elders," or
trustees, who exercise a general management and super-
vision over the " mir," or community.

The methods of farming are not the best, and an acre
of land produces scarcely one-third as much as the same
area is made to yield in other states. The farming class, or
peasantry, was in a condition of serfdom until within a
few years. Poverty unfits them to compete with farm-
ers of western Europe; moreover, the laws of laud owner-
ship and tenure also serve to discourage fanning.

The metal and mineral resources are very great. Iron
ore is abundant, and the yearly output of both is greatly
increasing. There are extensive deposits in southern
Russia, in the Ural Mountains, and in Poland. Coal of
good quality is plentiful, and coal mining is encouraged by
a heavy tariff on the foreign coal that enters regions where
the home product is available. The most productive coal-
fields are those of the lower Don River and of Poland.

Gold is obtained in various parts of Siberia and in the
Ural Mountains, but scarcely enough is mined for the re-
quirements of coinage. Copper is also mined in the Ural
and Caucasus Mountains. More than nine-tenths of the
world's supply of platinum is also obtained in the Ural
Mountains. The petroleum fields of Transcaucasia have
a yearly output a little greater than those of the United
States.

EUROPE- ASIA —THE RUSSIAN EM PI KB 345

The forest area is surpassed only by tbe timber belt of
North America, both of which are in about the same lati-
tudes. This area, within a very few years, is destined to
be the chief lumber supply of all Europe. Moreover, the
forests, the grain-growing lauds, and the iron and coal con-
stitute national resources which are surpassed in no other
countries save the United States and China.

The Russian Government has done much to encourage
manufactures. Steel-making in the Ural district, in Po-
land, anil in the iron regions of the Don has progressed to
the extent that home-made railway material and rolling
stock are now generally used. Farming machinery is made
in the cities of the grain-growing region. The manufacture
of cotton, wroolleii, and linen fabrics has developed to the
extent that the state is becoming an exporter rather than
an importer of such goods.

Railway building has progressed under government
aid, and about two-thirds of the 37,000 miles of track
are owned by the state. The Traussiberiau Railway con-
necting Vladivostok with the trunk lines of Europe was
built by the state both for strategic and economic pur-
poses. Large bodies of emigrants are carried into Si-
beria at nominal rates and are settled on lands that
are practically free. The return cargoes consist of Chi.
nese products— mainly silk textiles and tea — destined for
western Europe.

A network of railways covers the grain-growing (list ricte ;
trunk lines, mainly for strategic purposes, extend through
Russian Turkestan to the Chinese border. For many
years Russia has endeavored to acquire the territory that
would afford commercial outlets to the Indian Ocean and
into China. In this the state has been thwarted by two
great powers— Great Britain and Japan. The construction
of canals and the improvements of river-navigation are un-

346 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

der government management, and the internal water- waya
aggregate about fifty thousand miles of navigation.

.The foreign commerce is changing in character as manu-
factures develop. Wheat, flour, timber products, flax,
and petroleum are the chief exports. Cotton, tea, wool*
and coal are the leading imports, the first-named coming
mainly from the United States. Germany, Great Britain,
France, Holland, and the United States are the chief Eu-
ropean countries utilizing Russian trade. The commerce
between Russia and China is growing rapidly. The Trans-
siberian railway is its chief northern outlet, and a branch
of this road, now under construction, extends through to
the leading commercial centres of Manchuria, to Port
Arthur. A considerable amount of manufactured goods
is sent to Asia Minor and the Iran countries.

The most available ports opening into the Atlantic are
on the Baltic Sea, but these are blocked by ice in winter ;
the best ports are on the Black Sea, but the Russians do
not control the navigable waters that connect them with
the Atlantic.

Much of the internal trade is carried on by means of
annual fairs. The most important of these are held at
Nijni, (lower) Novgorod, KharJcof, Kief, and other points.
At the first-named fair goods to the amount of $80,000,000
have changed hands during a single season, and the annual
fair is the recognized common ground on which the oriental
traders meet the buyers of European and American firms.

Unlike the schemes of colonization of other European
states, the various possessions of the Czar are practically
in a single area, the dependencies being contiguous. The
lines between them, with few exceptions, are political
rather than natural boundaries.

St. Petersburg, the capital, is the centre of finance and
trade. Riga is the pori from which most of the lumber is

EUROPE-ASIA— Til E RUSSIAN EMPIRE 347

exported ; it receives the coal purchased from Great Britain
for the factories of the Baltic coast. The harbor of Riga
is not greatly obstructed by ice. Archangel has an export
trade of lumber and flax during the few mouths when the
White Sea is free from ice. Odessa and Eostof are the
grain-markets of the empire. Astrakhan is the centre of
trade for the Iran countries, and Baku is the petroleum-
market. Moscow is the chief focal point of the railways ;
and in consequence has become a great centre of manu-
facture and trade. Warsaiv, next to Moscow, is the most
important city.

Siberia. — This great territory resembles Russia in sur-
face and climatic features. Like the former " west "of thr
United States, Siberia is the open "east" into which much
of the surplus population of Russia, Germany, and the
Scandinavian countries is moving, atti acted by fine fann-
ing lands. The European emigrant becomes a producer
when settled in Siberia, and, at the same time, a consumer
of Russian manufactures. In five years more than one
million people thus became occupants of the new country
in Siberia. Russian trade is encouraged by a heavy tariff
on foreign goods brought into Siberia.

Tobolsk, Tomsk, and Scmipalatinsk are collecting sta-
tions for Siberian products, and each is built on navigable
waters. Irkutsk receives the caravan trade that goes from
Peking through Urga and Kiakhta, the frontier post of
Chinese trade. Vladivostok is the great Pacific outlet and
the terminus of the Transsiberian Railway. It is ice-bound
in winter. Harbin, in Manchuria, China, is a Russian
trading post of great commercial importance.

Bokhara and Khiva are Russian vassal states. The
former was acquired chiefly as a trad* '-route. A railway
from Krtixiinruifxk on the Caspian Sea extends through
Merv, Bokhara, and Samarkand to Kashgar, where it meet*

348 COMMEECIAL GEOGRAPHY

the caravan trade from central China. The building of this
railway has caused a great development of cotton-grow-
ing in these countries, which furnish Europe and America
with the choice Afghan, Khiva, and Bokhara rugs.

Transcaucasia, now joined to Russia, is a part of the
plateau of Iran. A railway extends across the country
from Batum to Baku, connecting the Black and Caspian
Seas. Transcaucasia is the petroleum region of the East.
It is also noted for the Shirvan, Kabistau, Daghestan, and
Kazak rugs which are sold all over Europe and America.
The so-called " Cashmere " rugs are not a product of Kash-
mir, but are made in the town of Shemaka. Kabistan rugs
are made in Kuba. Kazak fabrics are usually the sleeping-
blankets of the Kazak (Cossack) rough-riders.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

How will the development of the coal, iron, and lumber re-
sources most likely affect the industrial future of Russia ?

Discuss the policy of Siberian immigration; — what are its ad-
vantages to German colonists ?

From the map accompanying this chapter show how the tribu-
tary streams of the great rivers have served to extend Russian
commerce through Siberia.

Note the situation of the cities and towns of Siberia with refer-
ence to the rivers.

What effect has the high latitude of Russia on its agricultural
industries ?

From the Statesman's Year-Book make a list of the leading
exports and imports of Russia by articles, and also the volume of
trade with other countries.

From the Abstract of Statistics find the statistics of trade be-
tween Russia and the United States.

FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

Commercial life in Russia — preferably from the article, " Rus-
sia," in the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

For a rug of the Caucasus type, see illustration, p. 851 ; compare
the Kabistan with the Persian piece — which has the floral and
which the geometric figures ?

CHAPTER XXX
THE IRAN PLATEAU AND ARABIA

THE countries of the Iran plateau extend from the Medi-
terranean Sea to the valley of the Indus River. The Ara-
bian Peninsula is not a part of it, but its climate and
general character are similar. The Iran countries are ex-
ceedingly rugged, and a great part of their surface is more

THE RUG-MAKING COUNTRIES

than a mile above sea-level. The climate is one of great
extremes; the summer hot-waves and the winter hurri-
canes are probably unknown elsewhere in severity. The
greater part of Arabia is an unhabitable desert.

The rigorous conditions of surface and climate havo
placed their stamp upon the population of the region.

340

350

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

They are full of the intelligent cunning and ferocity that
mark people living under such conditions of environment.
En many parts the sterile soil and arid climate force the
sparse population into nomadic habits of life and preda-
tory pursuits. For the greater part, the land hardly

AN ANTIOJJE TREE-OF-LIFE, KERMANSHAH (PERSIAN) RUG

yields enough food-stuffs for the population, and any great
development of agriculture is out of the question. The
flood-plain of the Tigris and Euphrates, and a few of the
river-valleys are highly productive.

Before the Christian era several trade-routes between
Europe and the Orient lay across this region, and along

THE IRAN PLATEAU AND ARABIA 351

the caravan routes there were the usual industries pertain-
ing to commercial peoples. The cities of Siuope, Trebi-
zond, Astrabad, Phasis, Mashad, and Bactra (now Balkh)
grew into existence along one of the northern routes.
Tyre, Nineveh, Tarsus, Palmyra, Babylon, and Persepolis
were founded along one or another of the southern routes.
Of these, Trebizond only retains its importance, being a
seaport with a considerable trade. The commerce that

A KABISTAN RUG-CAUCASUS DISTRICT

once passed over this route was crushed out of existence
during the invasions by Jenghis Khan.

Of the various industries of the Iran plateau, practically
but one extends beyond its borders, namely, the manufact-
ure of the textile fabrics known as Oriental rugs. These
are unique ; they are made of materials, colored with dyes,
and are ornamented with designs that cannot be success-
fully imitated anywhere else in the world. The filling of
the rugs consists of fine wool, selected not only fron. par-
ticular localities, but also from certain parts of the fleece.
The dye-stuffs are common to other pails of the world, and

352 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

their names — indigo, saffron, coccus, madder, and orchil —
are familiar. But both the wool and the dye-stuffs possess
qualities imparted to them by soil aud climate that are not
found elsewhere.

The absence of floors, and of the furniture found in
European dwellings, make the rugs essential household
articles rather than luxuries. The hearth-rug, the bath-
mat, the divan-cover, the sleeping-blanket, and the saddle-
mat must be regarded as necessities. Religion also has its
requirements, and the prayer rug, sometimes ornamented
With the hands of the Prophet, is a part of every household
equipment, whether of the nomadic Arab or the wealthy
merchant. Each district and people have their own de-
signs and methods of workmanship, and the rugs of each
are easily distinguished.*

For the greater part these are gathered by caravans and
conveyed to convenient shipping-points. Nearly all the
cottage-made product is obtained in this manner. As a
rule the rugs are named from the town or district in which
they are made. Smyrna and Constantinople are the chief
ports of shipment. Many of them find their way to
European dealers, but New York is probably the largest
rug-market in the world. The great majority are retailed

* Persian rugs are the finest. As a rule the designs are floral and
many of them contain legendary history worked in fantastic but beautiful
patterns. Among those of especial merit are the Kermanshah tree-of-life
fabrics, now somewhat rare. The rugs of Tabriz and Shiraz are also of
high value. In general, Persian fabrics are characterized by very fine
weaving, a short pile, and elaborate designs. Turkoman rugs are usually
a rich brown or maroon in color, and are apt to contain slightly elongated
octagonal figures. The Bokhara and Khiva-Bokhara, or Afghan rugs, are
the best examples. The Baluchistan rugs are usually very dark in color,
with bright red designs and striped ends of cotton warp. Turkish rugs are
made almost wholly in Asia Minor or Anatolia. Large carpets of Ameri-
can and European designs are made at Ushak and Smyrna. " Smyrna "
rugs are made in Philadelphia.

THE IRAN PLATEAU AND ARABIA 363

at from ten to fifty dollars each ; choice fabrics, however,
bring from three hundred to ten thousand dollars. Ori-
ental rugs are kind-woven, and a weaver frequently spends
several years on a single piece, earning perhaps less than
ten cents a day. The factory-made rugs are inferior to
the cottage-manufactured product.

Turkish Possessions.— Anatolia is the common name
of the Turkish possession formerly known as Asia Minor.
The name properly belongs, however, to only a small part
of the region. The Asiatic possessions of the Ottoman
Empire comprise Asia Minor, Armenia, Kurdistan, Syria,
Mesopotamia, and Arabia. The Armenians are the com-
mercial people of the greater part of this region, and al-
though thousands have been massacred because of Turk-
ish hatred of them, they practically wield the chief power
because of their business enterprise.

During the Roman occupation many miles of roads were
built from Constantinople and other coast-points to the
interior. One of these extended to Mesopotamia, and be-
came a much-travelled route of the trade which centred at
Constantinople. Within recent years German capitalists
have built railways along these roads, thereby creating a
considerable export trade in fruit, nigs, and mohair cloth.

Angora and Konicli (Icoirium) are important marts.
Trebizond is the chief port of the Black Sea, but it lacks
railway connections with the interior. Smyrna is the
chief port of the Mediterranean, and from it are shipi><><l
to European and American markets the fruit and textile
fabrics that have made its importance. In Syria, Dama*
cus, one of the oldest cities in the world, is the centre of a
considerable trade in textile manufactures. Bugs, dat»-.
figs, and damask fabrics are exported to Europe through
Beirut, its seaport, with which it is connected by rail
Much of the stuffs exported is gathered from Persia

354 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Tafa is the port of Jerusalem. Bagdad is the chief trade-
centre of Mesopotamia.

Arabia. — Arabia is nominally a Turkish possession, but
the coast-regions only are under the control of the Sultan.
The interior is peopled by nomadic tribes, who do not
acknowledge the sovereignty of Turkey. The province of
Yemen, on the Red Sea, is about the only noteworthy part
of the peninsula. Hides and Mocha coffee, gathered by
Arab traders, are shipped from the port of Hodeida.
Mecca is the yearly meeting-place of thousands of Moham-
medan pilgrims, who go thither as a religious duty ; it is
also the centre from which Asiatic cholera radiates. Aden,
the chief coaling-station of the British Empire in the
Indian Ocean, is also a free port, having a considerable
trade in American cotton and coal-oil.

Although Arabia itself is practically of no commercial
importance, the same cannot be said of the Arabic people.
They are keen, thrifty traders, and as brutal in their in-
stincts as they are keen. The commerce which connects
the western part of Asia with Europe is largely of their
makiug. They collect and transport the goods from the
interior, delivering them to Jewish and Armenian middle-
men, who turn them over to European and American mer-
chants. Arab traders also control the greater part of the
commerce of northern Africa. The slave-trade, which is
wholly in their hands, is very largely the key to the situa-
tion. A party of slave-dealers makes an attack upon
a village and, after massacring all who are not able-
bodied, load the rest with the goods to be transported to
the coast.

Persia. — Persia is the modernized name of the province
now called Ears, or Farsistan. Within its borders, how-
ever, the name Persia is almost unknown ; the native
people call the country Iran. In the times of Cyrus,

THE IRAN PLATEAU AND AIIABIA 355

Xerxes, and Darius, Persia was one of the great powers of
the world The cultivable lands produced an abtmdauce
of food-stuffs. The mines of copper, lead, silver, and iron
were worked to their utmost extent, and the chief trade-
routes between Europe and the Orient crossed the country
to the Indus River.

The conquest by Alexander the Great changed the
course of trade and diverted it to other routes, thus de-
priving the country of much of its revenue ; the invasions
of the Arabs left the empire a hopeless wreck. Iran blood
dominates the country at the present time, it is true, but
the religion of Islam does not encourage any material
development, and the industries are now purely local.
There is no organization of trade, nor any system of
transportation except by means of wretched wagom-roadl
with innumerable toll-gates. " Turkish " tobacco, opium,
and small fruits are grown for export ; silk and wool, how-
ever, are the most important crops. The former is manu-
factured into brocaded textiles ; the latter into rugs and
carpets. There are famous pearl-fisheries in the Persian
Gulf.

Talriz, situated in the midst of an agricultural region,
has important manufactures of shawls and silk fabrics of
world renown. The Tabriz rugs are regarded as among
the finest of the rug-maker's art. Shirnz, the former
capital, Kermanshali, * and Hammlan are noted for rug and
carpet manufactures. Mashad is the centre of the trade
with Russia. Jindiire and Bendcr-Mbas are seaports, but
have no great importance. Most of the trade with Russia
passes through the port of Trebizond.

Afghanistan.— The nomadic tribes that inhabit Afghan-

* The most valuable Kermanshnh rug, now no louder ina.lc there, la
the Iree-of-life prayer nit,', an illustration of which is shown on p. 350.
The design is emblematic of the story of the Garden of Eden.

356 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

istan have but little in common with the British civilization
that is slowly but surely closing in upon them, and driving
them from routes of commerce. A considerable local traffic
is carried on between Bokhara and Herat, and between
Bokhara and Kabul through Balkh, all being fairly pros-
perous centres of population in regions made productive
by irrigation.

By far the most important route lies between Kabul and
Peshawur, at the head of the Indus River. A railway, the
Sind-Pishin, extends along the valley of this river from
Karachi, a port of British India, to Peshawur, also in Brit-
ish India near the Afghan border, and the route lies thence
through Khaibar Pass to Jelalabad and Kabul. A branch
of this road is completed through Bolan Pass nearly to
Kandahar.

Kabul, the capital, is a military stronghold rather than
a business centre, although it is a collection depot for the
Khiva-Bokhara rugs and carpets that are marketed at Pe-
shawar. Kandahar has a growing trade resulting from the
railway of the Indus Yalley. Herat is the market of the
famous Herati rugs. There is no organized commercial
system; a small amount of British manufactures — mainly
stuffs for domestic use — are imported; rugs and dried fruit
are the only exports to Europe and America. The imports
enter mainly by way of Karachi, India; the exports are car-
ried to Europe, for the greater part, by the Russian railway.

The importance of Afghanistan is due to its position
as a buffer state between Russia and British India. The
various strategic points for years, therefore, have been
military strongholds. There is an old saying: "Whoso
would be master of India must first make himself lord of
Kabul." The meaning of this is seen in the history of
Khaibar Pass, which for many years has been a scene of
slaughter ; indeed, it has been the chief gate-way between

THE IRAN PLATEAU AND ARABIA 367

occidental and oriental civilizations for more than twcntv
centuries. Since the acquisition of India by Great Britain
Afghanistan has been under British protectoracy.

Baluchistan. — The general features of Baluchistan re-
semble those of the other parts of the Iran plateau. The
coast has no harbors in the proper sense, but the anchor-
age off Gwador has fair protection from storms and heavy
winds. The few valleys produce enough food-stuffs for the
half savage population. There is but little organization to
the government save that which is military in character.
The state is a protectorate of Great Britain.

Rug-making is the only industry that connects Baluchis-
tan with the rest of the world. Quetta, the largest town, is a
military station controlling Bolan Pass. Its outlet is the
Kandahar branch of the Sind-Pishiu llailway.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What climatic factors prevent these countries from being re-
gions of great production?

How do climate and soil affect the character of the wool clip ?

How do Arabian horses compare with American thorough-lm^l
stock with respect to usefulness?— how do they compare with the
mustang stock ?

Why is Khaibar Pass regarded as the key to India?

FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

From a cyclopaedia (or from McCarthy's History of Our Own
Times) read an account of the British disaster at Kabul.

Study, if possible, one or more rugs of the following kinds,
noting the colors, designs, and warp of each: Bokhara (antique
and modern), Anatolian, Kermanshah, and Baluchistan.

CHAPTEK XXXI

BRITISH INDIA AND THE EAST INDIES

THESE countries are iii tropical latitudes and in the
main are regions of great productivity. A few native
states that have resisted annexation and conquest excepted,
almost the entire area is divided among Great Britain,
Holland, and France.

British India. — The Empire of India comprises an area
half as large as the United States, situated on the southern:

"b C H A ....

- Longitude Baal 911' from Greenwich no'

slope of Asia. It covers the same latitude as the span be
tween the Venezuelan coast and the Ohio River ; from the
Indus to the Siam frontier the distance is about two thou-
sand miles. It includes also settlements in the Malay
peninsula.

Excepting the plateau of the Dekkan, and the slopes oi

358

BRITISH INDIA AND THE EAST INDIES 359

the Himalayan ranges, most of the surface consists of plains
and low, rolling land covered with a great depth of soil.
Through these rich lands flow four large rivers— the Indus,
Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Irawadi, which afford a great
deal of internal communication. The Himalaya Moun-
tains on the north and the Hindu Kush on the northwest
practically shut off communication from the northward,
so that all communication in this direction is concentrated
at Khaibar and Bolan Passes, the most important gate-
ways by land approach.

British India is one of the most populous regions of the
world; the average population per square mile is about
one hundred and eighty, a density considerably greater
than that of New York State. The entire population is
about three times that of the United States. Nearly all
the food- stuffs grown are required for home consumption ;
indeed, dry years are apt to be followed by a shortage of
food-stuffs. Years ago famines followed any considerable
deficiency of crops, but since the completion of the ad-
mirable railway systems the necessary food-stuffs are
quickly shipped to the district where the shortage occurs.

The Hindus constitute about three-fourths of the popu-
lation. Along the northern border there are many peoples
of Afghan and Turkic descent; in Burma there is a con-
siderable admixture of Mongol blood. An elaborate sys-
tem of social castes imposed by the teachings of Brahma-
nism has made the introduction of western method* of
education aud civilization somewhat difficult to carry out.
The educational system of the dominating Brahmanio
caste, although of a very high order, does not fit the
people to cope with the commercialism of western civil-
ization.

Five sevenths of the population are engnged in agricult-
ural labor. Kice, wheat, millet, meat, and sugar are the

360 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

chief food-crops. Of these, rice and wheat * only are ex-
ported ; the others are required for home consumption.

The articles grown for export are jute, cotton, opium,
oil-yielding seeds, tea, and opium. No meat is exported,
but hides form a large item of foreign trade.

The jute is used in the manufacture of rugs and grain-
sacks. It is cultivated mainly in the delta-lands of the
Ganges-Brahmaputra. A considerable part of the product
is now manufactured in India and in China ; some is also
shipped to California, to be made into wheat-sacks ; per-
haps the larger part is sent to Dundee, Scotland, where
it is woven into textile fabrics. The choicest product is
used to mix with silk fibre, or is employed in the manu-
facture of rugs and coverings.

Cotton cultivation is rapidly taking first rank among the
industries of India, for which the conditions of soil, cli-
mate, and market are admirably adapted. India stands
second in cotton-growing, and the area of production is
gradually increasing. Most of the crop is exported to
Europe for manufacture, although there is an increasing
amount sold to Japan. Great Britain is the largest pur-
chaser, and the cotton goods manufactured at Manchester
are reshipped in large quantities to India.

Owing to the low wages paid for labor both in the fields
and the mills, cotton manufacture is a rapidly growing in-
dustry in India. In many cases the yarn is manufactured
in India and then sent to China to be made into coarse
cloth. Some of the mills are equipped with machinery
made in the United States.

Tea has become one of the most important crops of
India. It is grown mainly in Ceylon and Assam, and is
said to have grown wild in the latter state. The quality

* In 1900 the aggregate value of the wheat exported to Great Britain was
only £2,200.

BRITISH INDIA AND THE EAST INDIES 361

of Indian tea is regarded as superior to the Chinese prod-
uct, and Indian teas have therefore very largely supplanted
those of China, in British consumption.

Silk cultivation and manufacture have been growing
rapidly in the past few years ; a considerable part of the
product is " tussar," or wild silk. The silk rugs of India
are not equalled anywhere else in the world. Wool is a
product of the mountain-regions, but is almost wholly used
in the manufacture of rugs and coverings.

The British occupation of India is commercial rather
than political. India furnishes a most valuable market for
British manufactures ; it supplies the British people with
a large amount of raw material for manufacture. The
general government is administrative only so far as the
construction of railways, irrigating canals, and harbors, and
the organization of financial affiiirs are concerned.

There are about two hundred and fifty native states in-
cluded within the territory of British India. In addition
to the native ruler, a British governor or magistrate car-
ries out the administrative features of the British Govern-
ment. For administrative purposes most of the native
states are grouped into eight provinces, or "presidencies."

Bengal. — The states of Bengal, mainly in the valley of
the Ganges Eiver, produce most of the rice and wheat.
Calcutta, the capital of the empire, is a comparatively
young city. The Hugli at this point is navigable both
for ocean and river craft. The situation of the city is
much like that of New York, and it is therefore fin.-ly
adapted for commerce. Kailways extending from the
various food-producing districts and from other centres
of commerce converge at Calcutta. The city is not only
the centre of administration, but the chief focus of com-
merce and finance as well.

Bombay.— Bombay includes a number of states bor-

362 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

dering on the Arabian Sea. The city of Bombay is built
on an island of the same name. Its situation on the west
coast makes it the most convenient port for the Euro-
pean trade that passes through the Suez Canal. The
. opening of the route gave Bombay a tremendous growth,
and it is destined to become a great commercial factor in
Indian Ocean trade. It is also a great manufacturing cen-
tre for cotton textiles. Alimedabad, an important military
station, is also an important centre of cotton manufacture
and wheat-trade.

Sind. — The native state Sind includes the greater part
of the basin of the Indus. Its importance is military and
strategic rather than commercial. The ability of Great
Britain to hold India depends very largely on British con-
trol of the Indus Valley and the passes leading from it. The
Sind-Pishin Kail way traverses the Indus Valley from Kara-
chi to Peshawur. Haidarabad, one of the largest cities of
India, is the centre of an agricultural district. Karachi,
the port near the mouth of the Indus, next to Khaibar
Pass, is the most important strategic point of India, and
one that the Russians for more than a century have been
trying to possess.

Punjab. — The states of the Punjab are mainly at the
upper part of the Indus. Amritsar is an important centre
for the manufacture of silk rugs and carpets. A large
number of these are sold in the United States at prices
varying from two hundred to six thousand dollars. The
designs for these textiles are often made in New York.
Peshawar is important chiefly as a military station.

Burma. — British Burma includes the basin of the Ira-
wadi River. The uplands are wheat-fields ; the low-
lands produce rice. Mandalay is a river-port and commer-
cial centre. Rangoon is the seaport, with a considerable
ship-building industry that results from the teak forests.

BRITISH INDIA AND THE EAST INDIK8 303

Although the Irawadi is navigable fqr light craft, rail-
ways along the valley have become a necessity ; these cen-
tre at Rangoon.

The province of Madras is one of the most densely
peopled parts of India. The chief commercial products
are cotton and teak- wood. Madras, its commercial centre,
Las a very heavy foreign trade in hides, spices, and cotton.
The cotton manufactures are extensive. A yarn-dyed
cotton cloth, now imitated both in Europe and the United
States, has made the name famous.

Kashmir. — The native state Kashmir, situated high on
the slopes of the Karakoruru Mountains, is known chirtly
for the " Cashmere " shawls made there. The shawls are
hand- woven and represent the highest style of the weaver's
art. The best require many years each in the making ;
they command prices varying from five hundred to five
thousand dollars. This industry centres at Srinagar.

Other British States. — The Straits Settlements are
so called because they face the Straits of Malacca. They
include several colonies, chief of which are Singapore,
Penang, and Malacca. The Straits ports are free from
export and import duties, a regulation designed to encour-
age the concentration of Malaysian products there — in
other words, to encourage a transit trade.

The policy has proved a wise one, and the trade at the
three ports— Singapore, Penang, and Malacca — aggregates
about six hundred million dollars yearly. About two-
thirds of this sum represents the business of Singapore.
Tin constitutes about half the exports, a large shaiv g«»inu
to the United States. Spices, rubber, gutta-perrha, tjipi-
oca, and rattan constitute the remaining trade. "Rice,
cotton cloth, and opium are the imports.

The Federated Malay States, sitnat.-d in the Malay
peninsula, and the northern part of Borneo are also British

364 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

possessions. Their trade and products are similar to the
rest of the Malaysian possessions.

Dutch East India. — The Dutch possessions include
nearly all the islands of the Malay Archipelago and the
western part of New Guinea. Of these, Java and Suma-
tra are the most important. They are divided into "resi-
dencies," and the administering officers exercise control
over the various plantations. In addition, there are
numerous private plantations. The colonial administra-
tion is admirable.

Cane-sugar, coffee, rice, indigo, pepper, tobacco, and
tea are the chief products. The sugar industry has been
somewhat crippled by the beet-sugar product of Europe.
Java and Sumatra coffees are in demand all over Europe
and the United States. Sumatra wrappers for cigars find
also a ready market wherever cigars are manufactured.
The cultivation of cinchona, or Peruvian bark, has proved
successful, and this substance is becoming an important
export. The islands of Bauka and Billiton (with Kiouw)
yield a very large part of the world's supply of tin, much
of which goes finally to the United States. The mother-
country profits by the trade of these islands in two ways :
the Dutch merchants are practically middlemen who create
and manage the commerce ; the Dutch Government receives
an import tax of six per cent., and a small export tax on
nearly all articles except sugar. Batavia is the focal point
of the commei'ce.

Siam. — This kingdom is chiefly important as a buffer
state between French and British India, and little by little
has been pared by these nations until practically nothing
but the basin of the Menam River remains. The adminis-
tration of the state is progressive, and much of the re-
sources have been developed in the last few years.

Bice aud teak are the leading products. The rice is

BRITISH INDIA AND THE EAST INDIES 366

cultivated by native laborers — much of it by enforced
labor — and is sold to Hongkong, British India, and the
more northerly states. It is collected by Chinese middle-
men, and by them sold to British and German exporters.
The teak wood business is managed by British firms. The
logs are cut by natives, hauled to the Menam Kiver, and
floated to Bangkok; there they are squared and sent t..
European markets. Pepper and preserved fish are also
exported. The Menam Kiver is the chief trade-route, and
Bangkok, at its mouth, is the focal point of trade.

French India. — The French control the region south of
China, called French Indo-China, together with various
areas in the peninsula of Hindustan ; of these Pondicheri
and Karical are the most important. Indo-China includes
the basin of Mekong Kiver, and rice is the staple product
The most productive rice-fields are the delta-lands of the
Mekong, formerly known as Cochin-China.

From these lands more than half a million tons of rice
are exported, the product being sold mainly at Hongkong
and Singapore. Pepper is also an export of considerable
value. France, China, and the Philippine Islands are the
final destination of the rice export. The imports are
mainly textiles, machinery, and coal-oil from the United
States. The machinery pertains chiefly to the manufact-
ures of cotton and silk textiles. On account of cheaply
mined coal, there is a considerable growth of this indush \
Saigon is the business centre and port at which the Chit
middlemen meet the European merchants and forwarders.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What have been the chief effects of the British occupation of
these countries, so far as the natives are concerned ?

What is the position of Khaibar Pass with respect to the com-
merce of India ?

366 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

How has the building of the Sind-Pishin Railway strengthened
British occupation of India ?

Singapore and Batavia are the two great focal points of trade
in the East India Islands. At the former all trade is absolutely
free ; at the latter there is both an import and an export tax.
What are the advantages of each policy ?

From the Abstract of Statistics find the trade of the United
States with these countries.

FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

From a cyclopaedia, preferably the Encyclopaedia Britannica,
read the following topics:

Caste Rattan

Lord Clive Pepper

CHAPTEK XXXII
CHINA AND JAPAN

THE relative position of China, Russia, and Japan is not
unlike that of continental Europe and Great Britain, and
the struggle for supremacy in the Japan aud Yellow Seas
is about the same as that which in times past took place
in the North Sea. In the latter case France and Holland
were the disturbing powers ; in the former, it is Russia.

The Chinese Empire. — A comparison of the Chinese
Empire with the United States shows that the two coun-
tries have about the same position and extent of latitude.
There is also about the same proportion of highlands, arid
lands, and fertile lowlands. The similarity of the two
countries in geographic conditions is very marked.

The fertile lowland in the east and southeast is one of
the most productive regions in the world, and forms the
chief resource of the country ; on account of its produc-
tivity it is densely peopled. The arid and mountain lands
are peopled mainly by cattle herders and nomadic tribes.

China is essentially an agricultural country, and the farms
are held in much the same way as in the United States, but
the holdings are so small that agricultural machinery ir> not
required for their cultivation.

Wheat, millet, and pease are grown throughout the low-
lands wherever they can be cultivated. The cultivation of
rice is confined mainly to the coast lowlands. The amount
of food-stuffs produced, however, is scarcely sufficient for
home consumption ; indeed, a considerable amount is im-

867

368 COMMEECIAL GEOGRAPHY

ported, and the imports year by year are increasing. This
is due not so much to the density of population as to want
of means of transportation of the soil products from inland
regions. It is often much cheaper to import food-stuffs
from abroad than to transport them, even from an adjoin-
ing province.

Tea is extensively cultivated, and China exports nearly
one-half of the world's product ; the total amount pro-
duced is considerably more than half. Most of this goes
to Great Britain and Canada. Haw silk is an important
product, and the mulberry-tree is extensively grown. Cot-
ton is one of the most general crops in the southern part
of the empire, especially along the lower Yangtze. It is
a garden-crop, however, and nearly all of it is consumed.

The mineral wealth is very great, and with proper man-
agement will make China one of the most productive and
powerful countries in the world. Coal is found in every
one of the provinces, and the city of Peking is supplied
with an excellent quality of anthracite from the Fang-shan
mines, only a few miles distant. It is thought that the
coal-fields are the most extensive in the world. Iron ore
of excellent quality is abundant, and in several localities,
notably in the province of Shansi, the two are near each
other.

Foreign capitalists are seeking to develop these resources
in several localities. The Germans have obtained mining
concessions in Shantung peninsula, and these involve the
iron ore and coal occurring there. The Peking syndicate, a
London company, has also obtained a coal-mining conces-
sion in Shansi.

For the greater part the manufactures are home indus-
tries.* Until recently most of the cotton cloth was made

* Since the treaty of 1901, which forbids the importation of fire-arms,
a number of large plants for the manufacture of fire-arms, smokeless pow-
der, and fixed ammunition have been established on the Ipwer Yangtze.

370 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

by means of cottage looms, and the beautiful silk brocades
which are not surpassed anywhere else in the world are still
made in this manner. Porcelain-making is one of the oldest
industries, and to this day the wares sold in Europe and
America are known as " china." Straw carpet, or matting,
and fans for export are also important exports.

The mill system of manufacture is rapidly gaining
ground, however, and foreign companies find it economical
to cany the yarn made in India from American cotton into
China to be made into cloth. In the vicinity of Shanghai
alone there are nearly three hundred thousand spindles.
This phase of the industry is due largely to the factor of
cheap labor ; the Chinese skilled laborer is intelligent ; he
does not object to a sixteen-hour working-day at wages
varying from five to twenty cents.

There is no great localization of industrial centres, as in
the United States and Europe. Each centre of population
is practically self-supporting and independent from an
economic stand-point. The introduction of western meth-
ods, however, is gradually changing this feature.

All industries of a general character are hampered for
want of good means of transportation. The empire is
traversed by a network of unpaved roads ; but although
these are always in a wretched condition, an enormous
traffic is carried over them by means of wheel-barrows,
pack-animals, and by equally primitive methods.

The numerous rivers form an important means of com-
munication. The Yangtze is now available to commerce
a distance of 2,000 miles, and the opening of the
Si Kiang (West River) adds a large area that is commer-
cially tributary to Canton and Hongkong. The most im-
portant water-way is the Grand Canal, extending from
Hang Chow to Tientsin. This canal is by no means a
good one as compared with American and European

A TEA-PLANTATION—PICKING THE LEAVES

PREPARING THE LEAVES FOB
ROASTING

TEA-BALES FOR EXPORT THROUGH
RUSSIA

372 . COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

standards. It was built not so much for the necessities
of traffic, as to avoid the numerous pirate vessels that in-
fest the coasts. Junks, row-boats, house-boats, and for-
eign steam craft are all employed for traffic. The inter-
nal water-ways aggregate about fifteen thousand miles in
length.

Of railways there were less than three hundred and fifty
miles at the close of the century, the most important being
the line from Tientsin to Peking. About five thousand
miles are projected and under construction by American
and European companies. A branch of the Transsiberian
railway is under construction to Port Arthur. Telegraph
and telephone lines have become popular and have been
extended to the interior a considerable distance. There
are upward of twenty thousand miles of wire communica-
tion, the most important, in many respects, being a direct
overland line between Peking and European cities. Inas-
much as there are no letters in the Chinese language, the
difficulties in using the Morse code of telegraphy are very
great. In some cases the messages are translated into a
foreign language before they are transmitted ; in others, a
thousand or more words in colloquial and commercial use
are numbered, and the number is telegraphed instead of
the word.

Most of the business between the natives and foreigners
is carried on by means of middlemen, or " compradors,"
and these include both the commission merchants and the
native bankers. They are intelligent, thrifty, and trust-
worthy. They are the most capable merchants in Asia,,
and have few if any superiors among the merchants of
western nations. A very large part of the retail trade of
the Philippine Islands is carried on by Chinese merchants.

The Chinese Empire consists of China and the five
dependencies, as shown in the following table :

CHINA AND JAPAN

373

STATE

POPULATION

CAPITAL OB Caiur
Town

China proper

380,000,000

Peking

Manchuria

7,500,000

Kirin

Tibet

6,000,000

l.:i-~;i

Mongolia

2,000,000

Urga

Jungaria

600,000

Kur-kara-UHU

Eastern Turkestan

600,000

Yarkand

The five dependencies are mainly arid, unproductive, and
sparsely peopled. Their chief importance consists in the
fact that they are "buffer states" between China pro] MI
and European states. They produce little except meat,
wool, and live-stock.

China proper is divided into provinces, each governed
by a viceroy appointed by the throne. All business with
foreign powers is transacted through a Foreign Office, the
Wai-wu-pu (formerly the Tsung-li-Yameu). The govern-
ment business is managed by
a Grand Council whose mem-
bers are advisers to the throne.
The government is controlled
mainly by Manchu officials.

Until within a few years
China nominally allowed no
foreign traders within her bor-
ders ; recently, however, about
forty cities, commonly known as "treaty ports," have 1>een
opened to the trade of foreign countries. Goods going
inland any distance are required to pay a "liken" or in-
ternal tariff at the border of each province.

Several concessions of territory within recent years b*TO
been forced from China by foreign powers: thus. Q|
Britain has Hongkong Island (with the peninsula of Kan-

374 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

lung) and Weihaiwei; Germany has Kiaochou on the bay
of the same name ; France has Kwang chau wan harbor.
These concessions carry with them the control of the port
and surrounding- territory. The German concession in-
cludes the right to mine coal and iron, and to build rail-
ways within a territory of much larger extent. At the
close of the war between Russia and Japan, the latter ac-
quired Port Arthur, the gateway to Manchuria.

Whatever may be the political significance of the open
ing of the treaty ports and the granting of the various con-
cessions, the effect has been to increase the trade of the
United States with China about twenty-fold. The imports
from the United States consist mainly of cotton and cotton
cloth, coal-oil, and flour. The chief exports to all countries
are tea, silk goods, and porcelain ware. Most of those sent
to the United States are landed at Seattle or San Francisco.
Great Britain, through the port of Hongkong, has a larger
trade than any other nation. Japan and the United States
have most of the remaining trade.

Peking, the capital, is politically, but not commercially,
important. The part occupied by the foreign legations is
modern and well kept. Tientsin, the port of Peking, is a
larger city, with much more business. Canton, the largest
city of the empire, and Hongkong, are the commercial cen-
tres of nearly all the British trade. Most of the American
and Japanese trade centres at Shanghai. Niuchwang, on
the Manchurian frontier, is important mainly as a strategic
point. Macao, a Portuguese possession, is the open door
of Portugal into China.

The inland divisions of the Chinese Empire have but
little commercial importance. Musk, wool, and skins are
obtained from Tibet, into whose capital, Lassa, scarcely
half-a-dozen Europeans have penetrated. The closed
condition is due to the opposition of the Lamas, an order

CHINA AND JAPAN

375

of Buddhist priests. Mongolia is a grazing region that
supplies the Chinese border country with goats, sheep, and
horses. It also supplies the camels required for the cara-
van tea-trade to the Russian frontiers. Eastern Turkes-
tan is mainly a desert. Kasligar, the metropolis of the
fertile portion, is the exchange market for Chinese and
llussiau products. Most of the mineral known as jade

is obtained there. Manchuria is a grazing and wheat-
growing country, exporting food stuffs and ginseng into
China. Harbin, a Ilussian trading post, is connected
with Peking and with European cities by railway.

Korea, formerly a vassal of China, became an inde-
pendent state after the war between China :md .l:ip:iii. tins
stop being forced by Russia. The country is a natural
market for Japanese manufactures, and in turn supplies

376 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Japan with a considerable amount of food-stuffs. Che-
mulpo is the chief centre of its commerce.

Japan. — Japan is an insular empire, the commercial part
of which has about the same latitude as the Atlantic coast
of the United States ; the empire extends from Formosa
to Kamchatka. It is sometimes called the " Great Brit-
ain of the East," and the people are also called the " Yan-
kees of the East." Structurally, the chain of islands con-
sists of ranges of volcanic mountains. The abundant raius,
however, have made many fertile river-valleys, and have
fringed most of the islands with coast-plains.

Since the opening of Japan to foreigners the Japanese
have so thoroughly adapted themselves to western com-
mercial methods that they have become the dominating
power in eastern Asia. Their influence has been greatly
strengthened by a treaty for defensive purposes with Great
Britain. A most excellent army and a modern navy make
the alliance a strong one. The Japanese are better adapted
to mould the commercial policy of China than any other
people.

With a population of more than half that of the United
States, occupying an area not larger than the State of Cali-
fornia, every square foot of available land must be culti-
vated. Yet the Japanese not only grow most of the food-
stuffs they consume, but are able to export rice. There is
scant facility for growing beef cattle, but fish very largely
takes the place of beef. The cattle grown are used as
draught-animals in farm labor. Ordinary dairy products
are but little used.

Rice, tea, and silk are the staple crops. Bice is grown
on the coast lowlands, the west or rainy side * producing
the larger crop. The Japanese crop is so superior that the

* The islands are mainly in the belt of prevailing westerly winds. Mor*
rain, therefpre. falls on the west than on the east coasts.

NATIVE PLOUGHING RICE-FIELDS

RICE-FIF.I OS

378 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

larger part is exported, while an inferior Chinese grain is
imported for home consumption. The quality of the Jap-
anese rice is due to skilful cultivation.

Tea has become the staple crop, and is cultivated from
Formosa to the forty-fifth parallel. Tea-farms occupy
nearly every acre of the cultivable hill-side areas in some
of the islands, and the soil is enriched with a fertilizer
made from fish and fish refuse, dried and broken. Most
of the tea product is made into green tea, and on account
of its quality it commands a high price. Formosa tea is
considered the best in the market.

Silk culture is confined almost wholly to the island of
Hondo. The faw silk is of superior quality, and the ex-
ported material is used mainly in the manufacture of rib-
bons and brocades. A limited amount of cotton is grown,
but the staple is short, and its cultivation is not profitable
except in a few localities.

Among the forestry there is comparatively little timber
suitable for building purposes, and a considerable amount
of timber is purchased from the mills of Pnget Sound.
Bamboo is largely employed for buildings. Camphor is
the product of a tree (Camphora officinarum} allied to the
cinnamon and the sassafras. It is cultivated in the island
of Kiushiu. The best gum, however, is now obtained from
Formosa, and this island now controls the world's supply.
The camphor product is a government monopoly leased to
a British company.

The lacquer-tree (Rlius vernicifera) grows mainly in the
island of Hondo. The sap, after preparation, forms the
most durable varnish known. Black lacquer is obtained
by treating the sap with nutgalls. Lacquered wooden-
ware is sold all over Europe and the United States. The
lacquered surface is exceedingly hard and waterproof ; it
is not affected by climate.

CHINA AND JAPAN 379

Gold, porcelain clay, silver, copper, and petroleum are
mined. The gold and silver are used both for coinage and
in the arts ; the clay has made Japanese porcelains famous.
The copper comes from the most productive mines of Asi;i ;
a considerable amount is exported, but much is used in the
manufacture of Japanese bronze goods. Coal is mined,
and this has given a great impetus to manufacture ; iron
ore is deficient, and steel must be imported. The quantity
of petroleum is increasing yearly, and is becoming an im-
portant factor in the world's product.

Manufacturing industries are giving shape to the indus-
trial future of the country. The cotton-mills alone employ
seventy thousand people and keep more than one million
spindles busy. More than one million operatives are en-
gaged in textile manufactures. Much of the cloth, both
cotton and silk, is still woven on cottage looms. The cot-
ton cloth is sold mainly in China and Korea ; the surplus
silk textiles find a ready market in the United States-
The best straw matting used as a floor-covering is now
made in Japan and constitutes a very important ex-
port.

Three thousand miles of railway aid the internal indus-
tries of the country ; several steamship lines to Hongkong
and Shanghai, and one or more each to Vladivostok, Bom-
bay, San Francisco, Seattle, Honolulu, Australia, and Van-
couver (B. C.) carry the tea, raw silk, and manufactured
products to Europe and America. Much, if not most, of
the steamship interests are owned by the Japanese, and
the lines are encouraged by government subsidies. Fiumv
and the United States buy most of the raw silk. Tin- lat-
ter country purchases most of the tea, sending coal-oil,
cotton, leather, and lumber in return. Great Britain and
Germany sell to the Japanese a large part of the textiles
and the machinery they use. The exports to the United

380 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

States are consigned mainly to San Francisco, New York
and Seattle.

Tokio is the capital ; Yokohama is the chief port for
American traffic, and the market for most of the foreign
trade. Most of the trade between China and Japan cen-
tres at Nagasaki, which is the Japanese naval station.
Osaka and Kioto are the chief centres of cotton and textile
manufactures.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

How has the policy of seclusion affected the commercial de-
velopment of China ?

What has been its effect on the social life of the people ?

How did the cultivation of opium in India become a factor in
the opening of China to foreign trade ?

What is meant by "treaty ports " ? Make a list of those shown
on the map of eastern China.

Name two Chinese statesmen who have been factors in the
relations between China and the United States.

Compare the position of Japan with that of the British Isles
with reference to commerce.

What advantages has Japan with reference to latitude ? — what
disadvantages with reference to cultivable lands?

Prom the Statesman's Year-Book find the leading exports and
imports and the volume of trade of these states.

From the Abstract of Statistics find the lead ing articles of trade
between these states and the United States.

FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE
From a cyclopaedia read the following topics : The opium war,
Commodoi'e Perry's expedition.

CHAPTER XXXIH
AFRICA

AFRICA is in a state of commercial transition. During
the last quarter of the nineteenth century the partition of
its area among European nations left but few of the names
that formerly were familiar. At the beginning of the
twentieth century the British, French, and Germans con-
trolled the greater part of the continent, although the
Portuguese, Belgians, Italians, and Spanish have various
possessions.

The partition of Africa was designed for the expansion
of European markets. The population of Africa is about
one hundred an.l seventy million, and the continent is prac-
tically without manufacturing enterprises. The people,
therefore, must be supplied with clothing and other com-
modities. In 1900 the total trade of Africa with the rest
of the world was about one and one-third billion dollar*,
of which the United States had a little more than two per
cent., mainly cotton cloth and coal-oil.

Egypt. — The Egypt of the maps is a region of indefinite
extent so far as its western and southern boundaries are
concerned ; the Egypt of history is the flood-plain of the
Nile. From the Mediterranean Sea to Cairo the cultivable
area is not far from one hundred miles in width ; from
Cairo to Khartum it varies from three to seven or eight
miles wide.

The food-producing power of Egypt depends on the
Nile. In lower Egypt a considerable area is made pro-

381

/> X\ y\ v

P---f<V$~HOfJ*0'*
Zti^fV nu*a

^f#, X\^enguel

AFRICA

Showing rolllital l)l»l>lo..-.. V

Cables & Telegraph Lines : ------- .

Caravan Routes :
Steamship Lines

AFRICA 383

ductive at the ordinary stage of water by means of irri-
gating canals, but in upper Egypt the crops must depend
upon the annual flood of the river, which occurs from June
until September. During this period the river varies from
twenty-five to forty feet above the low-water mark. In the
irrigated regions three crops a year may be produced ; in
the flooded lands only one is grown.

In order to add to the cultivable area two great engineer-
ing works have been constructed. A barrage and lock
control the flow of water at Assiut; a huge dam at Assuan
impounds the surplus of the flood season. These struct-
ures, it is thought, will increase the productive power of
the country about one-fourth, Rice, maize (an Egypt inn
variety), sugar, wheat, and beans are the staple crops.

Rice is the food of the native people, but the crop is
insufficient, and the deficit must be imported. The wheat,
maize, and beans are grown for export to Europe, the last
named being extensively used for horse-fodder. The sugar-
growing industry is protected by the heavy yield and the
cheap fellahin labor. The raw sugar is sent to the re-
fineries along the Mediterranean. Onions are exported to
the United States.

The cotton-crop is an important factor, and in spite of
its own crop the United States is a heavy purchaser of the
long-staple Egyptian cotton, which is used in the manu-
facture of thread and hosiery. The cultivation of tobacco
is forbidden by law, but Egyptian cigarettes are an itrm
of considerable importance. They are made of imported
Turkish tobacco by foreign workmen. There is a li.
export duty on native tobacco exported, and the ban
the inferior n;i five-grown article is intended to prevent i
admixture with th«- high-grade product from TurK
thereby to keep up the standard of the cigarettes.

Egypt is nominally a vassal of Turkey, paying to the

384 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Sultan a yearly tribute of $3,600,000. Great Britain's is
the real controlling hand, because the Suez Canal is Great
Britain's gate-way to India. By a purchase of the stock
held by a former Khedive, Great Britain secured financial
control of the canal, a necessary step from the fact that
more than half the trade carried through the canal is Brit-
ish commerce.

The country is deficient in the resources that make most
nations powerful. There is neither coal, iron, nor timber
available, and these must be imported. Great Britain
supplies the first, and Norway the last. Some traffic is
carried on the Nile, but railways have been built through
the crop-lands. One of these threads the Nile Valley and
will become a part of the " Cape to Cairo " route.

Alexandria, is the port at which most of the Egyptian
commerce lands. Cairo, the largest city of Africa, derives
its importance from its position at the head of the Nile
delta. It is a favorite winter-resort. Port Said and Suez
are the terminal ports of the Suez Canal ; their commerce
is mainly the transit trade of the canal.

Other Independent States.— Most of the independent
states of Africa are in a condition of barbarism and have
but little importance to the rest of the world. Abyssinia
has the natural advantages of gold, iron, pasture-lands, and
forestry, and the possibilities of cotton cultivation. Valu-
able mining concessions have been granted to foreign com-
panies. Ivory, coffee, and gold are shipped to India in
exchange for textiles. A railway from the coast is under
construction, but all the traffic is carried by mule-trains,
mainly to Harrar.

Morocco has an admirable strategic position at the en-
trance of the Strait of Gibraltar, and is most likely, in time,
to become a possession of Spain. There are exported,
mainly to Great Britain, beans, almonds, goat-skins, and

AFRICA 38")

wool. The goat-skins are sumac-tanned and are still used
in making the best book-binding leather. Only a small
part of the so-called Morocco leather of commerce is genu-
ine. There are no railways; caravan routes from the
Sahara cross the country. Tangier and one or two other
ports are open to foreign trade. Coal-oil is the only im-
port from the United States.

The state of Liberia was established for the benefit of
freed slaves from the United States. The products are
those of tropical Africa, including caoutchouc. Coffee cul-
tivation is extensively carried on, and coffee is the leading
export. Monrovia is the chief centre of trade.

North African Possessions. — French influence is para-
mount in northern Africa. Algeria and Tunis are both
French colonies, and the caravan trade of the Sahara is
generally tributary to French trade. The region known
as the Tell, a strip between the coast and the Atlas Moun-
tains, is the chief agricultural region, and the products are
similar to those on the other side of the Mediterranean
Sea. The ordinary grains are grown for home consump-
tion, but the macaroni wheat crop is manufactured into
macaroni paste for export. The fruit-crop, especially the
olive, date, and grape, and their products, is exported.

Esparto grass, for making paper, was formerly an im-
portant export, but the increasing use of wood-pulp for
this purpose has had the effect of increasing the grazing
area, and therefore the wool-crop. Date-palms grow in
great profusion, and the excess forms an important export,
going to nearly every part of Europe and tin- I'liitr,!
States. A large part of the crop, however, is consul. u-d by
the Arabs. Sumac-tanned goat-skins, for book-binding
leather, are also exported.

The colonies must import coal. Manufactures are there-
fore restricted to the preparation of the fruit and food

386 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

products. Sponges are an important product. Railways
provide the necessary transportation for the crops. Algiers,
the metropolis, is a finely built city and a favorite winter-
resort. Oran is the shipping-port for grain and esparto
grass. Biskra is the market for dates.

The caravan trade of northern Africa is considerable,
and the greater part converges at Tripoli, to which not far
from ten thousand camel-loads of merchandise are brought
annually. This trade is carried on mainly by the Arabs,
who cover the region from Timbuctu to Lake Chad. They
bring ivory, ostrich feathers, gold, goat-skins, and slaves.
In return they carry cloth, fire-arms, ammunition, and
various commodities to the negro villages of the Sudan.
The district is a possession of Turkey. Its chief exports
are esparto grass, sponges, and dye-stuffs.

Central Africa. — Central Africa is divided among the
chief European powers. Great Britain and Germany di-
vide the lake-region and the Zanzibar coast. On the Gui-
nea coast the French are an additional factor. The trade
of these regions consists of an exchange of tropical prod-
ucts— palm-oil, rubber, ebony, camwood, ivory, and hides —
for cloth, tobacco, fire-arms, beads and trinkets, and pre-
served foods. Most of this trade is carried on by com-
panies holding royal charters.

The Kongo State is a semi-official corporation of this
character, the King of the Belgians being its chief execu-
tive officer. The active administration is carried on by
agents of the company. The chief of each tribe or village
is required, under penalty, to furnish a certain quota of
crude rubber and other products ; and between the agent
and the Arab slave-driver the natives have little to choose.

The Kongo Eiver is the outlet of the state, and to facili-
tate the transportation of the products, railways have been
built, or are under construction, around the rapids. This

AFRICA 387

region is about the only remaining source of elephant
ivory, but most of the supply consists of the tusks of ani-
mals long since dead. A fleet of steamboats carries the
commercial products to the coast. Stanley Pool, at the
head of the rapids, is the chief depot for collection. Ocean
steamships ascend the river to a point above Boma, the
place of administration.

Nigeria and Ashanti are British possessions on the Gui-
nea coast,* having a trading company organization. Sierra
Leone is an organized colony, a product of which is the
kola-nut. British East Africa is important for strategic
purposes, inasmuch as it includes the upper Nile basin, a
territory sometimes known as the Egyptian Sudan. Akra
is the trading port of Nigeria, and Khartum of the upper
Nile Valley. Zanzibar is the metropolis of the east coast.

The French possessions include a large territory at
the mouth of the Kongo, the western part of the Sahara,
and the islands of Madagascar and Reunion. In Ger-
man East Africa the commercial development has been
substantial, and large plantations for the cultivation of
tropical products are in operation. A railway from the
coast to the lake-district is under construction. Mombasa
is its commercial outlet.

The Italians have nominal possession of a territory fac-
ing the Strait of Bab-el-Maudeb, and also of the peninsula
of Guardafui. Their actual possession, however, is re-
stricted to the island and trading-post of Massatoa. Their
attempts to conquer Abyssinia have been unsuccessful.

Cape of Good Hope and the South African Colonies.
—Up to the time of the Suez Canal, Cape of Good Hoi>e
was a sort of half-way house between British ports and

* This region is also known as tin- Gold Coast. Formerly it furnWivd
the chief British supply of jjoltl, and the gold coin known <u the •' guinea"
received its name from this circumstance.

388 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

India, and this position made it commercially important.
Even at the present time more than fifteen hundred ves-
sels, many of them in the Indian Ocean trade, call at the
chief port of the colony every year.

Agriculture is the chief industry of these colonies, though
not the one yielding the greatest returns. Enough wheat,
maize (or " mealies "), and fruit are grown for home con-
sumption, but the climate is too arid for any excess of
bread-stuffs. The aridity is a resource, however, in the
matter of wool, the superior quality of which is due largely
to the deficient rainfall. As a matter of fact the whole
country is a great grazing veldt ; wool, a very fine quality of
Angora mohair, hides, and cattle products are exports.

From December to March the fruits ripen, and these,
especially the grapes, are carried in cold-storage vessels to
British and other European ports. The wine is like-
wise of excellent quality and is becoming an export of
great value. Both the fruit and the wine are similar to
those of Australia and California.

The business of ostrich farming is in the hands of several
large companies, and, next to the wool-crop, ostrich plumes
are the leading product. There are about a quarter of a
million birds, and each produces about one pound of feath-
ers. The ordinary quality of plumes varies from five to
ten dollars a pound ; very choice plumes command as
much as two hundred dollars a pound. London is the
chief market for them, but most of them sooner or later
find their way to the milliners of the great cities.

The diamond -mines of Griqualand West furnish prac-
tically the whole of the world's supply. The mines are
operated on a most thorough business system, and the
output of rough stones is carefully regulated to meet the
demand. All wholesale dealers know the output from
year to year, and no more stones are put upon the market

AFRICA 38 t

than the number required to meet the demand. All the
Kimberley mines are now consolidated under one com-
pany. The yearly output does not vary much from
twenty million dollars' worth of stones. The stones are
marketed from Kimberley, but London dealers buy most
of them.

The mines that for several years produced more gold
than any others in existence are in the Transvaal.* Other
undeveloped mines in the territory of Ilhodesia are known
to be extremely rich in precious metals ; indeed, there is
much evidence that the famous mines of Ophir were in this
region. Copper ore is an important export.

The industries of Natal colony do not differ materially
from those of Cape of Good Hope. The rainfall is suffi-
cient for the growing of sugar-cane, and sugar is an im-
portant export to the mother-country. The colony has
productive coal-mines, and these are destined to become
an important resource.

The home government has encouraged railway building,
and a trunk line through Rhodesia affords an outlet to the
ports of the south coast. It is the policy of the mother-
country to extend this road along the lake-region and the
Nile Valley (known as the "Great Bift") to the Mediter-
ranean Sea. This plan when carried out will give Great
Britain a practical control of the trade of eastern Africa.
The imports are mainly textiles, machinery, and steel
wares.

Cape Toivn is the most important centre of trade in
South Africa. A considerable trade, however, is carried
on at Port Elizabeth and at DurJtan, the port of Natal.

* This region was formerly comprised in the Boer republic, Orange
Free State and South African Republic. In 1899 they dec-lured war
against Great Britain, with the result that they were defeated and an-
nexed to that country— the former aa Orange Colony, the Utter •?
Transvaal Colony.

390 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Kiniberley is the seat of the diamond-mining interests, and
Johannesberg of the gold-mines.

Germany and Portugal divide the southwest coast.
Waljiscli Bay is the outlet of the former. Portuguese
East Africa is an outlet for the trade of the Transvaal
region, with which it is connected by rail. The port
Lourenco Marquez has a fine harbor.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Has the partition of Africa been an advantage or a disadvan-
tage to the native races of the continent ?

What advantages will accrue to Great Britain from the Cape
to Cairo railway ?

Compare the basin of the Kongo with that of the Amazon with
respect to climate, products, and civilization.

From Commercial Africa prepare a list of the exports and
imports between the United States and the various African
countries.

FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

Statesman's Year-Book.
Commercial Africa— pp. 3679 and following.
From a cyclopaedia read the following topics: Ivory, Suez
Canal, Gibraltar, Livingstone, Diamonds, Canary Islands.

CHAPTER XXXIV
OCEANIA

OCEANIA, the island division of the world, includes Aus-
tralasia and the great groups of islands iu the Pucitic
Ocean. Some of the larger islands are regions of great
productivity ; others are important as coaling-stations ;
still others have positions of great strategic value.

When it is considered that more than half the people
in the world live on the slopes of the Pacific Ocean, ami
that they depend on the metal-working and manufactur-
ing people of the Atlantic slopes for clothing and com-
modities, it is apparent that the commerce of the Pacific
Ocean must reach enormous proportions.

For this reason the various island groups of Oceania
have been acquired by Europeans, and from the moment
of their occupation their commercial development began.
The great majority of these groups are within the limits of
the sago-palm, bread-fruit, cocoanut, and banana, nnd these
yield not only the food-stuffs of the native people, but the
export products as well. Copra, or dried cocoanut meat,
is the general export. It is marketed in Marseille, Lon-
don, and San Francisco. Sago is prepared from the pith
of a species of palm. Considerable quantities are also
exported, and it is used as a table delicacy. Tin' banana
is the food-stuff upon which many millions of people must
depend. In spite of their small aggregate area, the food-
producing power of these islands is very great*

* It is estimated that twenty-two aeres of land are necessary to »n*t«in
one adult on fresh meat The same area of wheat would feed forty -two
people; of oats about eighty-five people; of maize, potatoi-.i, ami m-e,
one hundred and seventy people. Hut twenty-two acres planted with
bread fruit or bananas will support about six thousand.

891

392 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

On account of its central position, Honolulu, the capital
and chief port of Hawaii, is the most important mid- ocean
station of the Pacific. It is almost in the direct line of
traffic between the Pacific ports of the United States and
Canada on the one hand, and those of Australia, Japan,
and China on the other. It is also in the route of vessels
that may hereafter use the American isthmian canal in
going between European and Asian ports.

In the cultivation of export products native Malay labor
is almost always employed, inasmuch as Europeans cannot
bear out-of-door labor in the tropics. The natives are
generally known as " Kanakas," and there is not a little
illicit traffic in their labor. Chinese and Japanese coolies
are also employed as laborers.

The Commonwealth of Australia. — The common-
wealth of Australia consists of the various states of Aus-
tralia together with Tasmania. Their position corresponds
very closely to that of Mexico and Central America, and
the climate and products are not unlike. A considerable
part of Australia is a desert, and a large area is too arid for
the production of bread-stuffs ; the eastern coast, however,
receives abundant rains.

Australia produces nearly one-third of the wool-clip of
the world. On account of the climate, the quality of the
wool, much of it merino, is excellent. More than half the
clip comes from New South Wales. Two-thirds of the
wool goes to Great Britain to be manufactured ; nearly all
the rest is purchased by France, Germany, and Belgium.
Less than two per cent, is sold to the United States.

Since the introduction of cold-storage plants in steam-
ships, Australia has become a heavy exporter of meat.
Areas long unproductive are now cattle-ranges; mutton
constitutes the heaviest shipment. Inasmuch as the trans-
portation is almost wholly by water, the cost is very light,

$WsjU

•• ! e»fc- I*-S3 *

: =

394

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

and the mutton can be sold to London dealers at less than
four cents per pound.

Wheat is grown mainly for home consumption. Grapes
for wine and for raisins are good-paying crops in Victoria
and New South Wales. Both products find a ready market
in Great Britain. Australian claret is a strong competi-
tor of California claret for public favor, and the two are

AUSTRALIA

Scale of Statute Miles.

similar in character. Cane-sugar is grown in the moist
regions of Queensland; it is the chief supply of the com-
monwealth and the neighboring islands. The forests pro-
duce an abundance of hard woods, but practically no build-
ing-timber. Jarrah wood paving-blocks are an important
export. British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon sup-
ply much of the building-timber.

Gold has been the chief mineral product since the settle-

OCEANIA

ment of the country. The mints convert the metal into
coin. As a rule the value of the exports exceeds that of
the imports, and the excess swells the amount of metal
exported. The most productive mines are in the district
of Ballarat. Coal is abundant on the east coast, and ;i
considerable part is sold to California, and more to Asian
ports. Tin is extensively mined in Tasmania.

More than fifteen thousand miles of railway have been
built to carry the traffic of the country. Most of them
were built by private corporations, but on account of finan-
cial difficulties and poor service they were acquired by the
government. The policy proved a wise one.

Great Britain encourages the trade of her colonies, and
gets about three-fourths of the traffic of the commonwealth,
the imports being manufactured goods. Of the foreign
trade the United States has about half, nearly all of which
is landed at San Francisco and Puget Sound. Wool, cat-
tle products, and coal are exported to the United States,
and the latter sends to Australia structural steel — mainly
rails — printing-paper, and coal-oil.

Melbourne is the largest city. Sydney is the port at
which most of the ocean trade is lauded. lirifitume, main-
ly a coal and a wool market, is connected with British
Columbia by an ocean cable. Steamships by \\ay of the
Suez Canal generally call at Perth and A>l<'l<n<l>'. //»•/•"/•/
and Launceslown are the markets of Tasmania.

New Zealand. — This colony is one of the most pros-
perous and best administered states in existence. The
cultivable lauds produce enough wheat for home use. and
an excess for export. Cattle and sheep are tin- ehief re-
source, however, and pretty nearly everything nn-at. hides,
wool, horn, and bones — is exported. Dairy products are
not forgotten, and under the management of an association,
these are of the best quality.

396 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY

New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax), a kind of marsli
hemp, yields a fibre used in making cordage. The kauri
pine furnishes the chief supply of lumber. A fossil kauri
gum is collected for export ; it makes a varnish almost
equal to Japanese lacquer. Gold is mined, and there being
no mint, all the bullion is exported. The only manufact-
ures are those which are connected with the meat export
and the dairy industry. The exports noted more than pay
for the manufactured goods. Most of the trade is carried
on with Great Britain. Wellington, the capital, and Auck-
land are the centres of trade.

New Guinea. — This island, one of the largest in the
world, is somewhat larger than the State of Texas, or about
one-third larger than Germany or France. The gold-mines
first led to the exploration and settlement of the island, but
it was soon apparent that the agricultural resources were
even more valuable, and it was divided among the British,
Germans, and Dutch.

The western part of the island is distinctly Asian in char-
acter ; the eastern and southern parts resemble Australia.
Coffee, rice, and tobacco plantations have been established
in the former ; grazing is the chief industry in the latter.
Ebony and bamboo are among the forest products.

British Possessions.— The Fiji Islands are among the
most important British possessions. They number about
eighty habitable and twice as many small islands. Sugar
is the chief export product, and it goes mainly to Australia
and New' Zealand. Cocoanuts are also a large item of ex-
port trade. Suva is the chief trading-port.

The Tonga Islands are nominally independent, but are
practically a British protectorate. Among other British
possessions are Cook, Gilbert, and Ellice archipelagoes, and
Pitcairn Island.

German Possessions.— The Samoa Islands are per-

OCEANIA 397

haps the most important German possession, and Ger-
man planters have made them highly productive. I
were formerly held under a coinmunity-of-iuterest plan by
Great Britain, Germany, and the United States. A joint
commission awarded the greater part of the territory t-»
Germany. In addition to the ordinary products, pineap-
ples and limes are exported. Most of the trade is earned
on by way of Australia. Apia is the trading-port.

Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon, Marshall, and
Caroline groups have also been acquired by ( in many. The
last named was purchased from Spain at the close of the
Spanish- American War.

French Possessions.— New Caledonia, together with
Loyalty Islands, Fortuna, and the New Hebrides group,
have great wealth in the matter of resources. New Cale-
donia, a penal colony, has productive mines of chrome iron
ore and copper. It is the source of a considerable supply
of nickel and cobalt. A railway to the coast has been built
for the carriage of these products.

Tahiti is the principal island of the Society group, and
under the missions long established there, the natives have
become civilized. In addition to the usual trade, sugar and
mother-of-pearl are important exports.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

How will the commerce of the Pacific be changed 1>\ the con-
struction of an isthmian canal?

What has been the effect of the Australian wool-clip on the
Cloth-making Industry Of Kn^land and (iennany?

How will the acquisition of Hawaii am I the Philippine Islands
affect the commerce of the United State*?

From Commercial Australia find the trmle of the United States
with the Commonwealth.

FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE
From a cyclopasdia read the history of Australia as a convict
colony.

Commercial Australia.

THE COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES, 1906

Value of exports $1,798,338,000*

Value of imports 1,126,554,000

Balance of trade in favor of U. S 767,225,000

Principal Articles of Export

Agricultural implements, value 24,554,427

Animals — cattle, hogs, horses, etc 49,139,568

Breadstuffs, flour, wheat, corn, etc 186,468,901

Chemicals, chiefly medicines 18,331,974

Coal and coke 30,652,080

Copper, ore and metal 83,1 78,635

Cotton, raw 401,005,921

Cotton, manufactured 52,944,033

Fruits and peanuts 15,274,158

Iron and steel, manufactured 160,984,985

Leather, hides and manufactured 40,642,858

Meat, meat products, and dairy products 210,990,065

Naval stores, rosin, pitch» turpentine, etc 20,075,585

Oils, vegetable 15,906,031

Petroleum oils, kerosene, naphtha, etc 77,025,196

Tobacco, leaf and manufactured 34,218,847

Wood, lumber and manufactured articles 69,080,394

Principal Articles of Import

Chemicals, drugs, medicines, etc 25,455,117

Coffee 71,606,736

Cotton goods 61,756,361

Earthen and china ware 12,805,946

Fibres, vegetable, manufactured (chiefly cotton) 49,775,371

Fruits and nuts " 15,811,603

Iron and steel goods 30,579,463

Leather and leather goods 14,873,930

Liquors 18,302,784

Silk and silk goods 32,591,910

Sugar, confectionary and molasses 86,128,570

Tobacco and products 22,917,352

Wood and manufactures of 27,336,206

Wool and manufactures of 63,265,115

* Including exports to dependencies, but exclusive of specie.

398

APPENDIX

THE WORLD'S TRADE IN 1905

COUNTRY

TOTAL
IMPORTS

TOTAL
EXPORTS

IMPORTS
FROM V. 8.

KXFORTB
TO U. 8.

Argentina

$19" 974 000

$31 1 544 000

Austral, and N. Zea .
Austria-Hungary .. .
Belgium

249,046,000
435,665,000
585 603 000

352,807,000
455,487,000
446 439 000

38,834.000
41,347,000

8.595.000
10.751,000

8959 000

13 O'M 000

Brazil

144 775 000

- It! 668 000

Canada

283 282 000

218 189 000

Cent. Amer. States:
Costa Rica. . .

5 239 000

8 138 000

*> 7nn nnn

Guatemala

6844 000

8 Q38 000

2 707 000

Honduras

2 293 000

5 564 000

1 690 000

J «•>'{ INK)

Nicaragua

3 202 000

3 9'*6 000

1 668 000

2 OKI) OOO

Salvador

4 346 000

5 640 000

1 355 000

1 ' '"> i »»>

Chile

71 868 000

103 ''"'S 000

7 l->9 000

1 5 69'i (MM)

339 439 000

167 7''6 000

56 611 000

19 Vi. "i (MM)

Columbia

14 453 000

I9 658 000

4 936 000

6,837 000

Cuba

94 807 000

110 168 000

4*' 98° 000

95 33 1 000

Denmark

166 837 000

14-> 991 000

•>g 8;^> (XK)

5 '>.".> OUO

Ecuador

7 657 000

9 035 000

2 'MO 000

o 40H INK)

Egypt

106,591,000

100641 000

2 411 000

6 21R 000

France

932 329 000

939 305 000

98 874 000

56,916 (MX)

German Empire. . . .
( ! reece

1,696,600,000
26441 000

1,364,131,000
17480000

236,082,000
293000

129.054.000
810000

British India . . .

338 750 000

513 563 000

4 992000

31 5O5000

Italy

369,351,000

308 263,000

46,106.000

36.853.000

Japan

243,292,000

158508,000

51,935,000

46.7JI I»NI

3 875 000

10 235 000

6000

15 916 000

3 43$ INN)

985000

Mexico

109 884 000

135 027,000

72.509,000

92,t,

Netherlands

1,030,918,000

799,694,000

96,747,000

32.7i

Norway

83,706,000

150,631,000

2,157.000

1.186.000

3 566 000

3 179000

125000

Kersia

29 943,000

19,093,000

118.000

0,000

Peru

20916,000-

19,790,000

3,761.000

1.841UIUI

Portugal ....

67006,000

33,169,000

4,779,000

643,000

63 145 000

88,221 000

Russia ....

335 472,000

518,288,000

32,407.000

17.000

Spain

175,740,000

171,962,000

19,704.000

5.307.000

Sweden

153.780,000

120,657,000

11,109.000

2.644.000

Switzerland

266,311,000

187,079,000

10.986.000

M,l

Turkey . .

104,903,000

65.582,000

.•• »'

1.808.000

United Kingdom...

2,749,669,000

1,605,053.000
1 717 953 000

; 16,000

110.387.000

Uruguay

21,938,000

39,793,000

t.OOO

(7.000

Venezuela

8,676,000

15,630.000

2.622.000

4.862.000

890

PRODUCTION OF STAPLE PRODUCTS, 1900

U. S.

WORLD

Gold, value ....

$95,373,800

$400,245,300

Silver, value . .

38,256,400

214,161,000*

Coal, bituminous (short tons)

341,629,113

990,000,000*

Coal, anthracite (short tons)

72,209,566

Petroleum (bbls. of 42 gals.)

134,717,600

195,000,000*

Steel (metric tons of 2,204 Ibs.)
Copper (metric tons)

23,738,000
416,226

49,902,000
689,277

Indian Corn (bushels)

2,927,417,000

Wheat (bushels) ...

735,261,000

3,423,134,000

Rye (bushels) .

33,375,000

1.440,000,000*

Oats (bushels)

964,904,000

3,547,300,000*

Barley (bushels)

178,916,484

1,282,000,000*

Cotton (bales of 500 Ibs.f)

13,550,766

16,998,000

Wool (Ibs.)

291,783,766

2,643,534,000

Cane Sugar (long tons)

440,000f

7,361,936|

Beet Sugar

433,000

7,150,010

Wine (gals.) . .

34,000,000

3,775,060,000

Tobacco (Ibs.)

682,428,560f

2,046,817,000*

Coffee: Brazil (Ibs.)

1,600,000,000

2,209,000,000

Tea: British India (Ibs.)

208,000,000

642,697,000*

Cocoa: Ecuador (Ibs.). . .

46,500,000

260,000,000

* Partly estimated.

t For the year ending June 30, 1907.

The spot value of the wheat crop of the United States is
about $490,000,000; that of the hay crop about $550,000,000;
that of the poultry industry, about $600,000,000.

The consumption of sugar per capita has increased from
9 Ibs. in 1822 to 76 Ibs. in 1906. In 1870 the wholesale price
of granulated sugar was 13.5 cents; in 1906, 4.52 cents. The
consumption per capita in foreign countries is as follows:
England, 92 Ibs.; United States, 76 Ibs.; Denmark, 71 Ibs.;
Switzerland, 53 Ibs.; Germany, 43 Ibs.; Netherlands, 39 Ibs.;
France, 36 Ibs.; Belgium, 33 Ibs.; Austria, 24 Ibs.; Russia,
20 Ibs.; Spain and Turkey, each 10 Ibs.

Owing to the high price, the world's wheat crop has in-
creased from about 2,750,000,000 bushels to about 3,500,000,-
000 bushels. In the United States the yield per acre in seven
years increased from 1 2/3 bushels per acre to about 15.5 bushels.

400

INDEX

Acaptilco, 269

Acre, 381

Activities classified, 4

Adams, 220

Aden, 354

Adjustment to environment, 86

Afghanistan, 355

Alaska, 254

Alberta, 2fi5

Alexandria, 384

Alfa, 124

Algeria, 385

Alpaca, 111, 115

Altitude, effects of, 33

Aluminium, 179

imazon River, 53

Vmber, 146

Ambergris, 204

American Indians, 86

Amritsar, 362

Amsterdam, 318

Anaconda, 250

Anchovy, 207

Angora wool, 115

Anthracite coal, 224

Appalachian region, 222

Arabia, 354

Argentina, 291

Arid region of U. S., 240

Arkwright, 108

Asian Rivers, navigation of, 53

Asphalt, 157

Assiniboia, 265

Astrakhan, 347

Athens, 341

Atlanta, 239

Atlantic coastplain, 213, 221

Attar-of-roses, 338

Australia, 392

Austria- Hungary, 335

Bagdad, 354

Baku, 347, 348

Baltimore, 217

Baluchistan, 357

Banca, 181, 864

Barbados, 273

Barley, 101

Barraen-Elberfeld, 306

Batavia, 364

Bauxite, 179

Beef, exports of U. 8., 244

Beet sugar, 186, 303, 321

Beginnings of cities, 83

Belgium, 313

Belgrade, 341

Bengal, 361

Benzine, 156

Bergen, 312

Berlin, 308

Bermuda, 273

Bessemer-steel boilers, 63

Big tree, 198

Billitun, 364

Birmingham. Ala., 165, 235

Birmingham, Eng., 802

Bismarck Archipelago, 397

Black walnut, 199

Blende, 183

Bluefish, 206

Boers. 86

Bogota, 277

Bohemian glass, 838

Boise City, 350

Bokhara. 347

Bolivia, 280

Bombay, 863

Bosnia, 887

Boston, 215

Boxwood. 200

BIUM, 17S

401

402

INDEX

Brazil, 288

nuts, 289

Breakfast, travels of a, 1
Bremen, 308
Brenner Pass, 66
Brick tea, 134
Bridgeport, 221
British Columbia, 265

India, 358
Bronze Age, 181
Brussels, 316
Budapest, 337
Buenos Aires, 293
Buffalo, 225
Bulgaria, 338
Burlington, 23?
Burma, British. 36^
Burr clover, 34
Butte, 248

Cacao, 134

Cairo, 384

Calcutta, 123

California fruits, 251

Callao, 279

Camel's hair, 116

Camphor, 378

Canada, 261

Canadian Pacific Railway, 263

Canal, Chesapeake & Ohio, 56

Chicago ship, 56

Erie, 55

Grand, 370

Kaiser Wilhelm, 57

Ludwig, 337

Manchester, 57

Nicaragua, 59, 270

Nord Holland, 57, 318

Panama, 58

Rideau, 54

St. Mary's Falls, 228, 263

Suez, 57

Welland, 54, 263
Canons, effects of. 18
Canton, 374
Caoutchouc, 141
Capacity of locomotives, 63, 64
Cape Nome, 254
Cape of Good Hope, 387
Cape Town, 389

Caravan tea, 134
Carpet wools, 112
Cashmere shawls, 363
Cattle-growing, 240
Cavite, 258
Cereals, 88
Charleston, 218
Cheviot, 112
Cheyenne, 244
Chicago, 84, 228, 230, 234
Chicago River, 228
Chicory, 131
Chile, 281

Chinook winds, 261
Chocolate, 136
Cigars, manufacture of, 137
Cincinnati, 236
Cities, growth of, 83
Clearing-houses, 215
Cleveland, 225, 230
Climate, 29
Clipper ship, 44
Cloth, antiquity of, 105
Coal, 148, 257, 258, 264, 265, 268, 298.
323, 333, 344, 365, 368, 379

areas of the world, 147

prices of, in U. S. , 149

tar products, 153
Coast commerce of U. S. , 222
Coastplains, 22
Coca, 278
Cocoa, 134
Cocoon silk, 119
Cod fisheries, 204
Coffee, 127, 271, 277, 290
Coke, 151
Colombia, 275
Columbus, voyages of, 11
Commerce in Western Europe, 13
Communal life, 81, 344
Competition and pools, 67
Constantinople, 340
Copal, 146
Copenhagen, 313
Copper, 159, 162, 177, 248, 266, 279, 344,

379

Cordage, 122
Corn, 98, 232
Corn, oil of, 100
Cotton, 106, 238, 269, 289, 302, 306, 336

INDEX

403

Cotton, Egyptian, 109, 383

gin, 109

Indian, 360

Peruvian, 108, 278

sea island, 108

Cotton crop, distribution of, 339
Creosote, 145
Cripple Creek, 248
Crompton, 108
Crusades, wars of, 8
Cuba, 271

bast, 124
Currant grapes, 341

Da Gama, voyage of, 11
Dammar, 146
Davenport, 237
Dead wood, 248
Demerara, 288
Denmark, 312
Denver, 248
Detroit, 230
Diamonds, 388
Dias, voyage of, 11
Differentials, 71, 73
Divi-divi, 285
Division of industries, 41
Dubuque, 237
Dutch East Indies, 364
standards, 188

Eastern Turkestan, 376

Ebony, 200

Economic regions of U. S. , 213

Ecuador, 279

Egypt, 381

Electric railways, 76

Eminent domain, 76

Esparto grass, 124, 385

Exchange of products, 5

Pairs, 346

Fall line, 53, 221

Fall River, 220

Felt hats, 209

Fertility of irrigated regions, 33

Feudalism. 7

Fiji Islands. 3%

Fisheries. 2W>

Fish hatcheries, 207

Flax, 120, 300, 314, iii

New Zealand. 124
Forced draught, 63
Forest areas, 1 U3, 261, 888, 299, 810
Fort Dearborn, 228
France, 320
Freight rates, 63, 69
French India, 365

Galveston, 238

Gasoline, 156

Geneva, 334

German Empire, 303

Ghent, 314, 316

Glucose, 100, 191

Gold, 1H6, 172, 248, 264, 268, 286. 344,

379, 3S«

Grain elevators, 94
Gra|>c industry in New York, 3d
Graphite. 153
Grasses, SS
Great Britain. 295
Great Central Plain, 23
Great Lakes, 227
Great Halt Lake, 247
Greece, 340
Griqualand West, 388
Guam, 258
Guatemala, 270
Guayaquil, 280
Guiana, 286
Gulf coast, 237
Gums, 141
Gutta-percha. 144

Halibut, 256
Halifax, Ml
Hamburg, 908
Hamilton, 265
Han AC League, 13
Harbors. 24. 47, 84
Hargreavea, 109
Hartford. 221
Havana. 272

cigars, 137

Hawaiian Island*, 2S5
II I. mi, 248
Hematite, 163
ll.i. |. :-':
Hencquen, 12v

404

INDEX

Herodotus quoted, 106

Herring fisheries, 205

Herzegovina, 337

Hickory, 199

Hilo, 256

Hodeida, 130

Holland, 316

Hongkong, 365, 374

Honolulu, 256, 392

Houston, 233

Hudson's Bay Company, 208, 262

Iloilo, 258

Inclination of axis, 36

Indianapolis, 237

Inland waters, 50

Inter montane valleys, 18

Interstate Commerce Commission, 76

Iodine, 282

Iquique, 283

Iran plateau, 349

Ireland, 265

Irkutsk, 347

Iron, 162, 236, 300, 323

galvanized, 182

ore, 103, 166, 300, 306, 311, 315, 323
Iron Gate, 338
Italy, 325

Jade, 159

Japan, 375

Jarrah, 200, 394

Java, 364

Joint tariff associations, 72

Jute, 122, 360

Kabue, 356

Kansas City, 236

Kashmir, 363

Kauri, 146,396

Kerosene, 154, 157

Key West cigars, 137

Khaibar Pass. 356

Khiva. 347

Kiakhta. 347

Kiel, 309

Kimberley, 389, 390

Klondike mines, 254

Kongo River, navigation of, 54

Kongo State, 386

Korea, 376
Kristiania, 311, 313

Lac, 145

Lacquer, 378

La Guaira, 286

Lanolin, 114

Lassa, 374

Las Vegas, 250

Laudanum, 139

Lawrence, 220

Lead, 180

Lead pencils, 153

Leadville, 248

Leather goods, 221

Liechtenstein, 337

Lignum vitae, 200

Lithographic stone, 305

Liverpool, 302

Llama, 115

Lobster fisheries, 207

Locomotive, Central- Atlantic type, 64

Logwood, 201

London, 30 ;

Los Angeles, 157, 252

Louisville, 237

Lourenco Marquez, 390

Lowell, 220

Lynn, 221

Macao, 374

Mackerel, 206

Mackintosh, 143

Madagascar, 387

Madras, 363

Magnetite, 163

Maguey sugar, 187

Mahogany, 1 99

Malay States, Federated, 363

Manchester, Eng., 382

Manchester, N. H, 220

Manchuria, 376

Mandalay, 362

Manganese, 182

Manila, 258

hemp, 121
Manitoba, 265
Maple, 199

sugar, 186
Marco Polo, 9

INDKX

405

Martinique, 273

Mate, 136

Maverick, 240

Melbourue, 395

Memphis, 238

Merino wool, 111, 112

Metals, influence of, in cities, 85

Mexico, 267

city of, 209
Milan, 328
Mileage books, 73
Millet, 359
Milwaukee, 228
Mingo Junction, 224
Mining, 248
Minneapolis, 230, 236
Miquelon, 266
Mississippi River, 52

valley, 230
Mobile, 240
Mocha coffee, 130
Mohair, 115
Mohawk valley, 220
Molasses, 191
Moline, 237
Mongolia, 376
Mont Cenis tunnel, 66
Montenegro, 341
Montreal, 264
Morocco, 384

Mountains, contents of, 17
Moscow, 347
Mulberry, 116

Nagasaki, 380

Nankeen cotton, 108

Naphtha, 154, 156

Nashua, 220

Natural gas, 157

Naval stores, 145

Nearchus, 107

New Brunswick, 264

New Caledonia, 397

New England Plateau, 219

New Guinea, 3%

New Haven, 221

New Orleans, 238

New York City, 84, 214, 215, 230, 238,

248
New Zealand, 395

New Zealand flax, 123, 396

Newfoundland, 266

Nicaragua, 270

Nickel, 182

Nieuwchwang, 374

Nigeria, 887

Nile River, barrage of, 383

floods of, 33

navigation of, 54
Nitrate, 282
Norfolk, 218

Northern Securities Company,
Norway, 310
Nova Scotia. 264
Novgorod, 209

Oak, 198

Oats, 101

Ocean steamships, 45

Odessa, 134, 347

Ogden, 250

Ohio River, 52

Oil nf tin -"I in ii ii. -i. 135

Old Government Java. 129

Oleo-resins, 141

Omaha, 236

Ontario, 265

Opium, 139, 360

Oregon pine, 252

Ottawa, 265

Oyster fisheries, 207

Pacific Toast lowlands, 25f
Paddy, 103

Pago Pago Harbor, 258
Panama, 277

hats, 123, 279
Para, 29!
Paraffine, 157
Paraguay, 293

tea, 136
Paris, 324
Passes, 19
Pearl Harbor, 256
Peking, 374
Penang, 363
Pepper, 365
Persia, 354
Persian lamb, 308
Peru, 278

INDEX

Peshawur, 356, 362
Petroleum, 154, 225, 344, 379

jelly, 157
Philadelphia, 216
Philippine Islands, 256
Pine, 197
Piraeus, The, 341
Pitch, 145
Pittsburg, 166, 224
Plains, 21
Plaiting straw, 124
Plateaus, 21,247
Ponce, 255
Pools, 68

Population, distribution of, 81
Pork, 234
Port Arthur, 347
Port Huron, 230
Port Said, 384
Port wine, 330
Portland, Me., 217
Portland, Ore., 252
Porto Rico, 254
Portugal, 328
Pribilof Islands, 208, 254
Prince Edward Island, 264
Providence, 221
Puget Sound, 228. 252
Punjab, 362
Pyrites, 164

Quebec, 264

city of, 265
Quicksilver, ISO

Rabbit skins, 209

Railway, Canadian Pacific, 263

Chesapeake & Ohio, 71

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy,

New York Central, 65, 67

Northern Pacific, 227

Sind-Pishin, 356

Southern, 71

Tehuan tepee, 269

Transportation, 62

Transsiberian, 345, 372

Union Pacific, 66
Rainfall, effects of, 33

deficiency of, 33
Ramie, 123

Rangoon, 362

Raw silk, 118

Rebates, 71

Redwood, 198, 262

Resins, 141

Rhodesia, 389

Rice, 102, 359

Richmond, 221

Riga, 347

Rio Janeiro, 290

River navigation in Europe, 53

valleys, 21

Roads, macadamized, 78
Rock Island, 237
Rome, 327
Rotterdam, 318
Roumania, 338

Rubber, 141, 275, 278, 281, 388
Rug wools, 114
Rugs, oriental, 351, 355
Ruhr iron fields, 308
Russia, 343
Rye, 101,344

Sacramento, 252
Sahara, 385
Saigon, 365
Sailing vessels, 47
St. Gotthard tunnel, 66
St. Louis, 234
St. Paul, 230, 236
St. Petersburg, 346
St. Pierre, 266
St. Thomas, 273
Salmon, 205
Salonica, 340
Samoa Islands, 396
San Antonio, 239
San Francisco, 252
San Joaquin valley, 250
San Juan, P. R.,255
San Pedro, 252
Sandarach, 146
Santa Fe, 250
Santiago, 283
Santos, 290
Saskatchewan, 265
Savannah, 238
Schooners, 44, 47
Scranton, 224

INDEX

407

Seal fisheries, 208

Seasonal rains, 34

Seattle, 84, 252

Servia, 341

Shad, 256

Shanghai, 374

Sheep-growing, 242

Shell-lac, 145

Shoe manufacture, 221

Siam, 364

Siberia, 34?

Silk, 116, 323, 326, 368, 378

Silver, 162, 176, 248, 268, 278, 304, 340

Sind, 362

Singapore, 363, 365

Sioux City, 236

Sisal hemp, 122, 267

Skagway, 254

Smyrna, 139, 353

Sorghum, 187

Sound Valley, 250

South Bethlehem, 224

South Chicago, 225

Southampton, 302

Spain, 3'38

Spermaceti, 204

Spokane, 250

Sponge, 208

Steel, Bessemer, 160, 169, 170, 222, 300,

304, 345
Stephenson, 63
Stockholm, 312
Stockton, 252

Sugar, 1&5, 289, 303, 314, 318, 364
Swash channel, 50
Sweden, 310
Switzerland, 331
Sydney, 395

Tacoma, 252

Tar, 145

Tea, 131, 360,368,378

Teak, 200, 365

Temperate zone, activities of, 33

Textiles, 105

Three-mile fishing limit, 262

Thrown silk, 118

Tientsin, 134, 374

Tin, 181,364

Tobacco, 136, 237, 240, 364, 385

Tokio, 880

Toledo, 225

Topography and trade route*, 34

Toronto, 265

Torrid zone, temperature of, 30

Tortilla, Mexican, 100

Trade routes, ancient, 8

Transcaucasia, 348

Transvaal, 389

Treaty ports, 373

Trebizond, 351

Triple-expansion principle, 45

Tripoli, 386

Tunis, 885

Turf grass, 34

Turkey-in-Europe, 339

Turks invade Europe, 9

Turpentine, 144

Tussarsilk, 119

Tutuila. 358

Tweed, 113

Uruguay, 294

Valparaiso, 383

Vancouver, 266

Vanderbilt locomotive fire-box, 64

Vanilla, 268

Vaseline, 157

Venezuela, 285

Vicksburg, 238

Vienna, 837

Virginia City, 260

Vladivostok, 847

Vuelta Abajo, 137

Vulcanized rubber, 142

Wai-wu-pu, 878

Walla Walla, 250

Warsaw, 347

Water-power, 84

Waterproof cloth, 148

Welland Canal, 363

Wellington, 396

Whale fisheries, Ml

Wheat, 88, 98. 244, 844, 388, 889

White Pass, 254

Willamette Valley, 250

Winnipeg, 365 .

Wood-pulp, 134

408 INDEX

Wool, 110, 115, 117, 244, 251, 292, 297, Youngstown, 166
323 Yucatan, 267

Yafa, 354 Zinc, 182

Yokohama, 380 Zinf andei, 251

UC WUTJgN «E«N*i

A 000 031 709 9

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "Commercial geography : a book for high schools commercial courses, and business colleges"

See other formats