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diff --git a/24884-8.txt b/24884-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cc3e551 --- /dev/null +++ b/24884-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12872 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Commercial Geography, by Jacques W. Redway + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Commercial Geography + A Book for High Schools, Commercial Courses, and Business Colleges + + +Author: Jacques W. Redway + + + +Release Date: March 20, 2008 [eBook #24884] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY*** + + +E-text prepared by Kevin Handy, John Hagerson, Greg Bergquist, and the +Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team +(https://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 24884-h.htm or 24884-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/8/8/24884/24884-h/24884-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/8/8/24884/24884-h.zip) + + +Transcriber's note: + + Text enclosed by equal signs was in bold face in the + original (=bold=). + + + + + +COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY + +A Book for High Schools +Commercial Courses, and +Business Colleges + +by + +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 ... 1907 + +Copyright, 1903, by +Jacques W. Redway + + + + +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 betterment 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 industrial 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 adjustment 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, and the world and +the people therein are readjusting themselves to the requirements made +upon them by commerce. And so at the beginning of a new century, +civilized 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. Moreover, 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.R. + + + 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 39 + + VI. TRANSPORTATION--RAILWAYS AND RAILWAY ORGANIZATION; + 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 ATLANTIC + 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 + + XX. THE UNITED STATES--THE WESTERN 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 SWITZERLAND 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 OF LARGEST + COMMERCE x, xi + + MEAN ANNUAL RAINFALL 28 + + CITY OF NEW YORK AND VICINITY, WITH HARBOR APPROACHES 49 + + 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 + + FRANCE 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 + +[Illustration: PRINCIPAL TRANSPORTATION LINES AND REGIONS OF LARGEST +COMMERCE] + +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 cyclopædia are also necessary. + + Industrial Evolution of the United States. WRIGHT. Charles + Scribner'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 ROBBINS. 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:[1] + + 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. Stereoscopic +views may be obtained from Underwood & Underwood, Fifth Avenue and +Nineteenth Street, New York. + + + + +COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY + +CHAPTER 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 throughout 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 a linen spread made from flax grown in Ireland or in +Russia. Rugs from Bokhara, or from Baluchistan, cover the floors; +portières 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 quarries, 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 elaborate processes of manufacture; coal must +be mined, broken, cleaned, and transported; the soil in which +food-stuffs are grown must be fertilized and mechanically prepared; and +even the water required for domestic purposes in many instances must be +transported long distances. + +[Illustration: AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURE SUPPLEMENT EACH OTHER] + +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 true of the various forms of energy, for although the sun +is the real source of light and heat, and probably of electricity, these +agents are usable only when they have been transformed into earth +energies. Thus, the physical energy 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 relating 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 activities and +employments: + + (_a_) The production of food-stuffs and other commodities by the + cultivation of the soil--_Agriculture_. + + (_b_) The preparation of food-stuffs and things used for shelter, + protection, or ornament--_Manufacture_. + + (_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--_Mining_. + + (_d_) The exchange of food stuffs and commodities--_Commerce_. + + (_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 surroundings--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 can, 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 resulted 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 instance, 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 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 so. 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 environment; 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 II + +HOW COMMERCE CIVILIZED MANKIND + + +The history of western civilization is so closely connected 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 intercourse of peoples, and peoples cannot be in mutual +communication 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 barbarism. 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 the 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 manufacture of some +kind or other, and they were the only ones through whom the feudal lord +could supply himself with 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 condition 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 +fabrics, 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 carried were few in +number. For the greater part, the Venetian trade went to Alexandria, and +thence by the Red Sea to India. Genoese merchants sent their goods to +Constantinople and Trebizond, thence down the Tigris River to the +Persian Gulf and to India. There was also another route that had been +used by the Phoenicians. It extended from Tyre through Damascus and +Palmyra[2] to the head 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 countries of India, China, and Japan +were mythical. According 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.[3] +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 unforeseen factor. The half-savage +Turkomans living southeast 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 between Europe and Asia, and one after +another the trade routes were tightly closed. Then they captured +Constantinople, and the routes between Genoa and the Orient were +hermetically sealed. Moslem power also spread over Syria and Egypt, and +so, little by little, the trade of Venice was throttled. + +[Illustration: ROUTES TO INDIA--THE TURK CHANGES THE COMMERCE OF THE +WORLD] + +Now a commerce that involved not only many millions of dollars, but the +employment of thousands of people as 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 made for a sea-route. Rather singularly the Venetians and +Genoese, 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 Columbus, 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 +expedition 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 Eugenius IV. had conferred +on Portugal "all heathen lands from Cape Bojador eastward even to the +Indies." Little by little, therefore, Portuguese navigators were pushing +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 Columbus, 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 Calicut. Two years later he returned +to Europe by the same route, his ships laden with spices, precious +stones, beautiful tapestries and brocades, ivory and bronzes. The +long-sought sea-route to India had been discovered. + +[Illustration: A HANSE CITY--HAMBURG, ALONG THE WATER-FRONT] + +=Commerce in Western Europe.=--After the discovery 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 terminus, 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, +adventure, and piracy were open, pillaged them illegally. Along the +coasts especially, piracy was considered 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[4] +Hamburg and Lübeck formed an alliance afterward called a _hansa_; at the +beginning of the fourteenth century it embraced seventy cities, having +the capital at Lübeck. At the time of its greatest power the League +embraced all the principal cities of western Europe nearly as far south +as the Danube. Large agencies, called "factories," were established in +London, Bruges, Novgorod, Bergen, and Wisby. The influence of the League +practically controlled western Europe. + +The Hanse League performed a wonderful work. It stopped piracy on the +seas and robbery on the land. Industrially, 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 not only encouraged and +protected all sorts of manufactures, 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. + +[Illustration: HANSE ROUTES--THE HANSE LEAGUE REORGANIZES THE TRADE OF +THE WORLD] + +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 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 municipal +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,[5] 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 independence, there was no longer need for its existence. +Independent 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. Indeed 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 Cæsar'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? + +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[6] + +Gibbins's History of Commerce--Chapters IV-V. + +Fiske's Discovery of America, Vol. 1--Chapters IV-V. + + + + +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 market value of the +products. Mountainous countries, therefore, 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 +similar 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 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, granite, 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 cañons of mountainous regions are quite as difficult to +overcome as the high ranges. In modern methods 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 cañon, however, +cannot be tunnelled, and if too wide for cantilever or suspension +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 mountainous countries is +apt to be found mainly in the intermontane 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 population, +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 regions. Thus, in the New +England plateau the chief growth during the past forty years has been in +the valley lands. In that time if the uplands have not suffered actual +loss, they certainly have made no material gains. Upland farming has not +proved a remunerative venture, and many of the farms have either been +abandoned or converted to other uses. + +=Passes.=--Transverse valleys form very important topographic features of +mountain-regions. Inasmuch as the ranges themselves are obstacles to +communication, it follows that the latter must be concentrated at such +cross valleys or 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 most of +the communication between northern Italy and the rest of Europe is +carried on by means of these passes. Every transcontinental railway of +the American continent crosses the various highlands 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 important 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 maintained +between the Atlantic seaboard and the food-producing region of the Great +Central Plain. It is to-day the most important one. It is so nearly +level that the total lift of freight going from Buffalo to tide-water is +less than five hundred feet. + +[Illustration: A PASS--THE ROUTE OF A RAILWAY] + +=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 transportation 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 constructed 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 produce 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 imitated elsewhere in the world. + +=Plains.=--Plains are of the highest importance to life and its +activities. Not only do they present fewer obstacles to +intercommunication than any other topographic features, 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 products. 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 regions. +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 regions 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 expenditure 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. Indeed, 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 is correspondingly +great, and the character of the surface features is such that +intercommunication is easy. + +[Illustration: A RIVER FLOOD-PLAIN--A REGION ADAPTED TO CULTIVATION] + +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 highways of the country were the direct +descendants 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 especially marked in the Pennsylvania, the +Baltimore and Ohio, and the Chesapeake and Ohio railways; in some +instances the tunnels through ranges have been constructed directly +under the trails. The reason is obvious; the instinct of the bison led +him along routes having the minimum 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. + +[Illustration: WHERE COMMODITIES ARE EXCHANGED--NEW YORK CITY +WATER-FRONT] + +=Harbors.=--Coast outlines have much to do with the commercial +possibilities of a region. The "drowned valleys" 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 +conditions outside may be. As a result, the two greatest centres 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 seaboard 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 Puget Sound monopolize most of the commerce of +the Pacific coast of the United States. South America has several good +harbors on the Atlantic seaboard, 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 productive 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 tremendous 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 +maritime 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? + +The first valuable discovery in the Rocky Mountains was gold; what were +the chief effects that resulted? + +Would the industries of the Pacific coast of the United States be +benefited or impaired by the existence of a coast-plain? + +Which are more conducive to commerce--the large mediterraneans, 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 lowland +plains? + + +COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE + +Adams's New Empire--Chapter I. + +Redway's Physical Geography--Chapter IV. + +A topographic map of the United States. + +[Illustration: MEAN ANNUAL RAINFALL] + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +CLIMATIC CONTROL OF COMMERCE + + +In its effect upon life and the various industries of peoples, climate +is a factor even more important than topography. Of the 53,000,000 +square miles of the land surface 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 topography. Thus the great +Russian plain is too cold to produce 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 prevail at least during part of the +year. Turf-grass will not live where there are repeated droughts of more +than three months' duration, and corn will not ripen in regions having +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° F., 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 atmosphere in the torrid +zone is apt to produce a feeling of lassitude 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 +exceptions, tropical peoples are rarely noted for energy or enterprise. +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 localities. + +[Illustration: THE EFFECTS OF HIGH LATITUDE--TOO COLD TO PRODUCE +BREAD-STUFFS] + +Polar regions are deficient both in the heat and light 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 people 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 industries and +activities of human life. The larger part of the land surface of the +earth is situated in these zones; moreover, 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 temperature 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, because very few of such regions produce food-stuffs +abundantly. + +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 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 wellnigh impossible. + +A deficiency of rainfall is even a greater factor in restricting the +density of population than too much rain. With less than fifteen or +twenty inches a year few regions produce 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 produce a normal overflow to the sea, the soil may be very rich, +because the nutrition is not leached out and carried 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 considerable commercial importance. The products of such +regions 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 lands. 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 excepted, 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 remaining part is a desert +producing practically nothing. + +The water that makes these lands productive falls, not 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 considerable areas +already have been made productive by irrigation, and it is estimated +that about two million acres of barren land 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 eastern 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 rainfall 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 irrigated; 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 thrive in regions of seasonal rains; that is, a great commercial +industry exists because of this feature of rainfall, and it could not +long survive in spite of it. + +[Illustration: CLIMATICALLY ADAPTED TO CULTIVATION--THE LOWLANDS +PRODUCE BREAD-STUFFS AND FRUIT; THE MOUNTAIN-SLOPES ARE GRAZING REGIONS] + +The seasonal rainfall also affects other agricultural industries. 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 possible 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 season 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 prunes, which +frequently are sun-dried. + +The presence of large bodies of water, which both absorb and give out +their heat very slowly, tempers the climate 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 inclination and +self-parallelism of the earth's axis is undoubtedly 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 +temperate zone. Beyond the tropics the obliquity of the sun's 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 industries into +regions that otherwise would not be habitable. 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. + +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 production? + +Why is not cod-fishing an industry off the east coast of Florida? + +Why is the greater part of the Russian Empire destined to be sparsely +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 localization 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. + +Farming 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 therefore look first of all to +conditions of topography and climate, and secondly to the means of +transporting his crop. + +Mining cannot be an industry in regions destitute of minerals; the miner +must therefore go where 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 independence among +the various centres, it is true, but the independence was at the expense +of civilization and the comforts of life. + +[Illustration: OCEAN TRANSPORTATION--ROYAL MAIL STEAMSHIP OCEANIC, +WHITE STAR LINE] + +Beyond an 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 prevailed, there was a lack of the breadth of knowledge that +comes with the mutual contact of peoples. + +The utilization of national resources, such as the productiveness 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 exchange +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 Australian +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 civilization. For this reason the +question of transportation is just as important to a community as the +industries of agriculture, 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 regions 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 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 carriage, for the +reason that less power is required to move a given tonnage through the +water than on the most perfectly 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 economical, +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 carried on by means of deep-water vessels. Therefore an +extraordinary 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--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. + +[Illustration: A SQUARE-RIGGED SHIP--A TYPE NOW BEING REPLACED BY +FORE-AND-AFT RIGGED SCHOONERS] + +In speed and ease of management these vessels surpassed anything that +had ever sailed. In time they became the standards for the +sailing-vessels of all the great commercial nations. The types of the +vessels are still standards. + +[Illustration: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODERN STEAMSHIP] + +=The Development of the Steamship.=--Another important 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 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 with 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 +steamship, makes the same trip in an average time of five and one-half +days.[7] + +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 manageable 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 carried from Fargo, N. Dak., to Liverpool for about +twenty-one cents--less than one-half the freight tariff of 1876. + +[Illustration: THE SCHOONER THOMAS A. LAWSON. THE FIRST SEVEN-MASTED +SAILING-VESSEL] + +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 +Wilhelm 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 ordinary tramp freighter. Some +of the larger vessels are provided with auxiliary engines and propelling +apparatus, which enables them to enter or to leave port without 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 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 navigable channels. + For this purpose buoys of different shapes and colors are used by + day; by night fixed and flashing lights are employed. + + 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 surmounted 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 entrance the buoy carries a double square. + Sharp angles in a channel are similarly marked. In many instances + the buoy carries, 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 produced + 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 + that one shows directly above the other, are used as + channel-markers. + + [Illustration: CITY OF NEW YORK AND VICINITY, WITH HARBOR + APPROACHES.] + + The use of lights may be seen as a vessel enters New York 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 case the pilot makes for Scotland lightship, and merely keeps + New Dorp and Elmtree beacons in range, giving Dry Romer 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 channel, 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 until 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 + underwriters 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 + receives 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 + channels are much the same in every part of the world. In the + United States all navigable channels are under the control of the + general 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. + +[Illustration: THE COMMERCE OF THE OHIO--TOWING COAL TO THE STEEL +MILLS, PITTSBURG] + +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 connect tributaries of this river with +the Great Lakes at Chicago and at several points in Ohio. The +development of the navigation of this great water-way 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 highway, and many millions of dollars have been spent in +widening and deepening its channel.[8] 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 manufacture in western +Pennsylvania, the commerce of the Ohio River 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 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 extends to the point where the +coast-plain joins the foot-hills. 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 distance 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 one hundred miles of Bogota. Light-draught boats ascend +the tributaries of La Plata River a distance of fifteen hundred miles. + +The Asian rivers that are important highways of commerce 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. + +Because 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 interrupted by rapids. The Nile has an +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 rapids 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 +commercial possibilities than other rivers of Africa. It is navigable 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 canals, 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 reloading a cargo. + +The manner in which canals supplement the obstructed navigation of a +river is seen in the case of the St. Lawrence. 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 Ontario. The Rideau Canal and River connect Kingston and Lake +Ontario with the Ottawa, and the latter with its canals 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 +improvement of internal water-ways. + +[Illustration: PROFILE OF ERIE CANAL + +HORIZONTAL SCALE 100 MILES TO THE INCH, VERTICAL SCALE 1,000 FEET TO THE +INCH] + +In the United States the possible development of canals has been +neglected and, to a certain extent, stifled by railway building. The +Erie Canal, built before the advent of the railway, connects Lake Erie +with tide-water at Albany, 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.[9] The level way that made the +canal possible is largely responsible for the decline of its importance, +for the absence of steep grades enables a powerful locomotive to haul +so many cars that the quick transit more than overbalances 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 River 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 Canal 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 River. +These canals obviate the falls in St. Marys River and form the +commercial outlet 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,[10] from Lake Michigan to Lockport, +on the Illinois River, was designed 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 Wilhelm Canal, from the mouth of the +Elbe to Kiel Bay, across the base of Jutland, saves two days between +Hamburg 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 Manchester 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 Amsterdam practically a seaport. + +Probably no other highway of commerce since the discovery 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. + +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 market and partly from the Khedive of Egypt, the +control of the canal passed into the hands of the English. The +restrictions placed upon the passage of war-ships is such that the canal +would be of little use to nations at war. + +[Illustration: THE ROUTE OF THE PANAMA CANAL] + +The necessity of an interoceanic canal across the American 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 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 the Culebra +ridge. The construction company, after spending the entire +capital--about one hundred and twenty million dollars--in accomplishing +one-tenth of the work, became bankrupt. The United States subsequently +purchased the franchise. + +A canal by way of Lake Nicaragua has also been projected, 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 +estimated 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 Nicaragua route about sixty hours.[11] (_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 becoming 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? + +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 important +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 Siberia. 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 Marseilles, and +from The Hague to the mouth of the Danube; illustrate the route on a map +of Europe. + +The following instruction occasionally is found in the pilothouse 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. + +[Illustration: A MODERN LOCOMOTIVE--THE TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED AT A +SPEED EXCEEDING NINETY MILES AN HOUR] + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +TRANSPORTATION--RAILWAYS AND RAILWAY ORGANIZATION; PUBLIC HIGHWAYS + + +In the United States and western Europe, in spite of the low cost of +water transportation, the railways have almost wholly monopolized the +transportation of commodities. 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 delivery at the specified +time. + +Into a large centre of population like New York, London, 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 delay 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 expensive 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 materially that in a few instances +only--notably the Great Lakes and the Hudson River--do inland waters +compete with the railways.[12] This is due in part to better +organization of the railways, but mainly to the substitution of Bessemer +steel for iron rails and the great improvements 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,[13] +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 +employed; it produced boilers that would carry steam at 250 instead of +60 pounds pressure per square inch. As a result, with only a moderate +increase in the fuel burned, a single locomotive on a level track will +haul eighty or ninety box-cars, each carrying nearly seventy thousand +pounds.[14] + +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,[15] enable steam to be +made more rapidly and to give higher speed.[16] 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 Croydon and Wandsworth, 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 omnibus lines and +public cabs. + +When the steam locomotive succeeded horse-power, however, 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, independent 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. Indeed, 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 individual 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 feature +entered into railway management, namely, the union of connecting lines. +This was a positive 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 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 another desirable +feature--the extension of the existing lines.[17] 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 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. + +[Illustration: A TRUNK SYSTEM--THE VARIOUS BRANCHES EXTEND INTO COAL, +GRAIN, IRON, CATTLE, TIMBER, AND TOBACCO REGIONS] + +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 lands +would have been valueless without 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 purposes. Thus, +there were instances in which a line occupying 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 enough business for one road.[18] 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 consolidation of roads, +while cutting off disastrous competition 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 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-dozen 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 managements 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 earnings, is a more difficult matter to adjust +because each road is usually dissatisfied with its proportion. As a +matter of 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 itself. In various instances important trunk lines have formed a +general company, each having its separate organization, because they +could accomplish under a combined organization what they could not as +independent companies. The restrictions against pooling have therefore +encouraged combination of competing lines. + +Because the railway is an absolute necessity, and because 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 +discrimination. Both problems are very difficult, however, and the +unintelligent adjustment of rates has frequently resulted in injustice +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.[19] + +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 +furniture, 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 +customary to divide freights into six general classes. + +[Illustration: 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 +statutory laws may forbid the former. As a result the laws most likely +are evaded, or else openly disobeyed.[20] + +The difficulties in adjusting the matter of the long and the short +haul, as has been shown, have caused the formation of pools and various +other traffic associations, the object of which has been to prevent +rate-wars. To this extent they resulted in positive good, for a +rate-war in the end is apt to be as hurtful to the community as to the +railway 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. Rate-cutting between competing roads has not been common 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 illicit use of tickets authorized for given purposes, such +as "editors'," "clergymen's," and "advertising" transportation. + +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. Thus, 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 follows: + + North America 216,000 + Europe 173,000 + Asia 36,000 + South America and West Indies 28,000 + Australasia 15,000 + Africa 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 construction 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 passengers 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 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 seaports of the two coasts form great centres of distribution. Most +of the trunk lines, therefore, extend east and west; of the north and +south 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. + +[Illustration: THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE RAILWAYS OF THE UNITED STATES +THEIR POSITION DEPENDS ON THE PRODUCTION OF THE LAND] + +=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 individually by private owners, and these are +mainly lumber or plantation roads. Thus, the railways of Prussia are +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 managed 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 operates 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 +difficulties in the way of excellent management. In Great Britain all +the railways are owned and controlled by corporate companies. The great +transcontinental line of the Russian Empire was built by the government, +but the latter does not own it. + +In the United States the railways are now owned by corporate companies. +Some of the western roads were built by Government subsidies;[21] other +roads were built by the aid of States, counties, or cities, which +afterward sold them to corporate companies. The first transcontinental +railways required Government assistance, and could not have been built +without it; nowadays, however, corporate 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 daily required in the great +centres of population, the charter 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 consigned to them for shipment if such +materials are necessary to operate their lines. + +Therefore, in consideration of the unusual powers possessed 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 discrimination. + +The control of the railways by the government may be absolute, as in the +German state of Prussia; or it may consist of a general supervision, as +in the case of the Canadian railways. In almost every European state +there is a director or else a commission to act as a representative +between 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. + +[Illustration: ELECTRIC RAILWAY--ROCKY MOUNTAINS] + +[Illustration: ELECTRIC FREIGHT LOCOMOTIVE--ERIE RAILROAD] + +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 marvellous 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 in 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 transportation when the "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 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 development of many +agricultural regions depends quite as much on good wagon roads as upon +railways and expensive farming machinery, there has been a disposition +to grade and rock-surface all roads that are important highways. +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, flags, and whistle-blasts. + +Why should not crated furniture and coal 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 + +Hartley's Railroad Transportation. + +American Railways. + +[Illustration: DISTRIBUTION OF VEGETATION] + + + + +CHAPTER 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 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 complex. +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 "country 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. + +[Illustration: THE EFFECT OF POSITION--BUFFALO IS AT THE FOOT OF LAKE +ERIE AND THE HEAD OF ERIE CANAL; AN EXCELLENT HARBOR FACILITATES ITS +COMMERCE] + +In the early history of nearly every country, military posts formed the +beginnings of many centres that have grown to be large cities. Thus, +Rome, Paris, London, the various "chesters"[22] 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 14-1/2 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 +non-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 manufacture 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 experience of the people. In the meantime villages sprang up in +pretty nearly every locality in which there was available water-power. + +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 +advantages 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 absolutely 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 Pittsburg's +population, and almost wholly for that of Scranton, 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. Étienne in France have resulted from the presence of coal and +iron. + +In many instances man is a great factor in the establishment 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 men kept 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 junction of the +Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, has the geographical 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 economically 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 discharging 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 population have been +common in the past; they will also occur in the future. In nearly every +case the readjustment results 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 training 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 materially lower than that of their +ancestors. + +People of the highest state of civilization do not always adjust +themselves to their environment readily. The people of the New England +plateau were nearly a century in learning that they possessed nearly all +the best harbors of the Atlantic coast of North America. When, however, +the great commerce of the country had been wiped out of existence, it +did not take them long to readjust themselves to the industry of +manufacture, the water-power being the 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 of the three or four +largest towns in the same county?--of the following places: Minneapolis, +Fall River, New Haven, New Bedford, Cairo (Ill.), Cairo (Egypt), +Marseille, Aix-la-Chapelle, Alexandria (Egypt), Washington (D.C.), +Columbus (O.), Johannesburg (Africa), Kimberley (Africa), Albany (N.Y.), +Punta Arenas (S.A.), Scranton (Pa.), Vancouver (B.C.), San Francisco, +Cape Nome? + +What circumstances connected with commerce led to the passing of the +following-named places: Palmyra, Carthage, Babylon, Genoa, Venice, +Ancient Rome, Jerusalem? + + +COLLATERAL REFERENCE + +Any good cyclopædia. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE CEREALS AND GRASSES + + +Of all the plants connected with the economies of mankind 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 Veldt 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 Mesopotamia, 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 went to Egypt, and the records of its harvesting are +scattered all over the pages of written history. + +[Illustration: THE GRAIN CROP--MODERN METHODS OF CULTIVATION AND +HARVESTING] + +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 consumers of wheat-bread; and this number is +yearly increasing 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.[23] 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,[24] 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 varieties. In general, the spring wheats are regarded as the +better, and this is nearly always the case in localities too cold for +winter wheat. There are exceptions to this rule, however. In the main, +winter wheat ripens first, and is therefore first in the market.[25] + +[Illustration: WHEAT] + +In Europe the plain that faces the North and Baltic Seas, and that part +which extends through southern Russia, 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. + +In a normal year all Europe produces a little more than one-half +(fifty-five per cent.) of the world's crop. Russia and France 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 billion 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, Argentina, Africa, and +Australia. + +[Illustration: WHEAT IN UNITED STATES] + +In the United States the great bulk of the crop comes from the upper +Mississippi valley and Pacific coast States. About one-third is +consumed where it is grown; more than one-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. + +[Illustration: WHEAT PRODUCTION] + +Much of this, especially the Pacific coast product, is sold unground, +but each year an increasing amount is made into flour. The flour +manufacture of the United States aggregates somewhat more than +160,000,000 barrels yearly--the output of 16,000 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. + +[Illustration: WHEAT] + +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 threshing process it is sacked and stored in the fields +in which it has grown.[26] Heretofore much of the sacked wheat has 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 harvested much of it is +sold to dealers whose storage elevators[27] are scattered all over the +wheat-growing region, and at all great points of shipment, such as +Duluth, Minneapolis, 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 constitutes 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 harvesting 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 difference +between these figures is divided between the farmer and the "middlemen," +the share of the latter being in the form of commissions and elevator +charges. + +[Illustration: STORING PACIFIC COAST WHEAT] + +In addition to bread-making wheat, certain varieties of grain known as +macaroni wheat have a certain importance 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 manufacture 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.[28] + +The yearly consumption of wheat is increasing very rapidly both in the +United States and in Europe; moreover, 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. + +[Illustration: THE WHEAT INDUSTRY--GRAIN ELEVATORS AT BUFFALO, NEW +YORK] + +In the United States the acreage may be somewhat increased by the +irrigation of arid lands now uncultivated, and by the reclamation of +overflowed and swamp lands. There are far greater possibilities, +however, in the employment of methods of cultivation which will double +the rate of present yield. It is doubtful if there can be much increase +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 possible. 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 quantity. 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.[29] 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 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 +Nebraska, 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. + +[Illustration: CORN] + +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 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[30] for a long time. In recent years, however, its +use has become very popular in Europe. + +[Illustration: CORN PRODUCTION] + +In the United States by far the greater part of the crop is consumed +where it is grown, being used to fatten swine 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. + +[Illustration: CORN] + +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 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, Austria-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 vulgare_. It is one of the oldest-used +of bread-stuffs. It can be cultivated 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 supplanted 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 sixty million bushels. Most of the crop +is grown in the Germanic 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 earliest known locality is central Europe, +where it was certainly a domestic plant during the Bronze Age. It seems +probable that the species now cultivated in Scotland at one time grew +wild in western Europe; certain it is that wild species are found in +North America. + +[Illustration: OATS PRODUCTION] + +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 +measurement, 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. + +[Illustration: OATS] + +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 grain going to western Europe. 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 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 cultivated in the +warmer parts of the temperate zone, but it thrives best in the tropical +regions. In China a considerable 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 corner, a disk +harrow, a cradle, a flail, a separator, futures, warehouse 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 five. +Explain how the lessened price came about. + +From 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 I. + +[Illustration: PICKING COTTON, ALABAMA] + +[Illustration: TRANSPORTING COTTON FROM WHARF, CHARLESTON, S.C.] + +[Illustration: COTTON PRESS YARD, NEW ORLEANS, LA.] + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +TEXTILE FIBRES + + +Under the term "textile" are included the fibrous substances that can be +spun into threads, and woven 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 animal origin; others, like cotton furze, the husk of +the cocoanut, 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 sudden changes of the temperature to reach the body quickly. +In other words, because of the artificial covering which mankind 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 instance, 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 protection against cold. It is used by practically +all peoples, 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 surrounding the seeds +of several species of _Gossypium_, plants 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-bearing 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. + +[Illustration: COTTON-PRODUCING REGIONS] + +More than four hundred years before the Christian era Herodotus +describes it and mentions a gin for separating 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. + +[Illustration: COTTON IN THE UNITED STATES] + +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 lands +it is but little more than one, unless unusual care is taken in the +preparation of the land. The islands off the Carolina coast produce 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 commercially 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 manufacture of hosiery +and balbriggan underwear, and also to adulterate wool. The long-staple +cotton of the Piura Valley is bought by British manufacturers at a high +price, and used in the webbing of rubber tires and hose. Egyptian cotton +is very fine and is used mainly in the manufacture of thread and the +finer grades of balbriggan underwear. 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 Manchester 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 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. + +[Illustration: COTTON PRODUCTION] + +In the United States the consequences were far more serious. The +invention of the engine or "gin" for separating the lint from the seed +made cotton cultivation highly profitable.[31] The negro slaves, who had +been scattered 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 workmen could not stand the hot, moist +climate of the cotton-fields. + +The cotton-mills grew up in the Northern manufacturing States. The +Northern manufacturer needed a tariff on imported goods to protect him +from European competition; 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 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-producing 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 produce about the same +quantity. There are a few cotton-cloth mills in these states, but in +Japan the manufacture is increasing, the mills being equipped with the +best of modern machinery. Brazil has a small product, and Russia in Asia +needs transportation facilities only to increase largely its growing +output. + +[Illustration: COTTON] + +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, Galveston, 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 extension 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,[32] 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 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 vicuña is soft and fine, possessing felting qualities that +make it very superior as a textile. + +[Illustration: WOOL PRODUCING REGIONS] + +The quality of wool varies greatly according to the conditions 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 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-staple 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 "carding" 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 introduced 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 American carpets, +coarse blankets, and certain kinds of heavy outer clothing. The Russian +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 regions produce a fine wool, when +introduced to this locality, after a few generations produce coarse +wool. + +[Illustration: SHEEP FEEDING ON ALFALFA] + +[Illustration: SHEEP RANGE, UTAH] + +[Illustration: SHEEP IN FEEDING YARD + +THE WOOL-GROWING INDUSTRY] + +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. + +[Illustration: WOOL PRODUCTION] + +In some instances the wool is obtained by a daily combing of the +half-grown lambs. This process, however, is employed in the rug-making +districts only; in general, the fleeces are clipped either with shears +or machine clippers. In the United States the latter are generally +employed, 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 as 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" (_adeps lanæ_) it is used in +medicine and pharmacy as a basis for ointments. + +The world's yearly clip is a little more than two and one-half billion +pounds, of which the United States produces about one-eighth. In Europe +and the United States, owing to the increasing value of the land, the +area of production is decreasing; in Australia, South Africa, and +Argentina, where land is cheap, it is increasing. From these three +regions wool is exported; most European countries and the United States +buy it. In the latter country the consumption is about six pounds for +each person. + +[Illustration: WOOL] + +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 Iran States (Persia, Afghanistan, 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 Valley 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 famous +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 part is used for native-made articles, such as +saddle-blankets, 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 because 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 Hamadan +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 larvæ 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 +(_morus 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 +protected, 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.[33] Then it begins to spin +the material that 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. + +[Illustration: _Copyright, 1898, by Nature Study Pub. Co._ + +SILK INDUSTRY + + 1. Silkworm Eggs + 2. Fourth-stage Worm + 3. Pupa in Cocoon + 4. Cocoon + 5. Male Moth + 6. Female Moth + 7. Unspun Silk + 8. Raw Manufactured Silk + 9. Manufactured Silk] + +[Illustration: SILK PRODUCING REGIONS] + +At the proper time the cocoons are gathered and, if immediately to be +used, are plunged into hot water. This 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 thread, thereby forming +"thrown silk." For convenience in handling, both raw and thrown silk +are made into large skeins called hanks, and most of the silk product is +exported 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 important +item in silk manufacture, and much of it is exported to Europe and +America. + +[Illustration: SILK PRODUCTION] + +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 +Mediterranean 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 product is commercially known as "tussar" +silk. Of the product of raw silk, about thirty-five million pounds, +China yields about two-fifths, Japan and Italy each one-fifth. The +remainder is grown in the Levant, Spain, and France. + +Most of the raw silk of China is exported from Shanghai 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. +By the operation of a heavy tariff a considerable manufacture of silk +textiles has grown up in the United States. New York City and Paterson, +N.J., are the chief centres 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 account 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 usitalissimum_, _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 constituted +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 well in the dry summers of +California or the moist regions of the Mississippi Valley. The chief +requisite is a firm soil that contains plenty 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 separates; "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 considerable amount of flax grown elsewhere in Europe is sent to this +part of Belgium to be retted. Ireland and Germany 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 handkerchiefs. 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 California 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 +manufacture 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 textilis_, 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. 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 manila 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 increasing. 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 Filipino 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 species of agave, to which the maguey +and century-plant belong. 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 olitorius_, belonging to the same order as the linden-tree. +The plant is an annual, growing in various moist, tropical countries, +but is extensively cultivated in India and parts of China for commercial +purposes. 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 has spread from China to +India, Japan, and the United States. Fine textiles are now manufactured +from it, the most important being carpets, mattings, and American +"Smyrna" rugs. The last are generally sold as jute-rugs, and they are +nearly as durable as woollen floor-covers. + +=Other Economic Fibres.=--The fibre of _cocoanut husk_ is largely employed +in the 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 mid-rib 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 (_Phormium tenax_) having leaves somewhat like those of the iris +or common flag furnishes the material of which New Zealand flax is +prepared. It is used mainly in the manufacture of cordage. + +_Plaiting straw_, 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 long, 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 exported 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 cotton 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, domestic, +canvas, and some of the fancy textiles such as organdie, 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 microscope and note +the difference. + +[Illustration: BRANCH OF COFFEE TREE, WEST BRAZIL] + +[Illustration: COFFEE PLANTATION NEAR JOLO, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS] + +[Illustration: COFFEE DRYING FIELD, BRAZIL] + + + + +CHAPTER X + +PLANT PRODUCTS OF 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 maté, the stimulant 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 +popularity also to narcotic poisons. + +=Coffee.=--The coffee "beans" of commerce are the seeds of a tree (_Coffea +arabica_) probably native to Abyssinia, but now cultivated in various +parts of the world. It was introduced into Aden from Africa late in the +fifteenth century, 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 forbidden to +followers of Islam.[34] But its power to prevent drowsiness and sleep +during the intolerably long religious exercises was a winning feature, +and so its use became general 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 became the main supply of the world. At the +present time, Java is second only to Brazil in 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. + +[Illustration: COFFEE PRODUCING REGIONS] + +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° F. 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 membrane, 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 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 endocarp, 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 coffee 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 machinery. This process, +however, merely collects beans of the same size; it still leaves the +good and the bad beans together, 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 beans. + +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 +_Maracaibo_ although they differ much in kind and quality; most Central +American coffee is sold as _Costa Rica_; most peaberry varieties are +known as _Mocha_; and most of the East India product is popularly called +_Java_, no matter whence it comes. + +[Illustration: COFFEE PRODUCTION] + +Of the American coffees Rio 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 +Rico coffees take a high rank and command very high prices, retailing in +some instances at sixty cents per 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 way into 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 plantations crop is now equally good. Some of the Sumatra +coffees 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 inhabitant. This is nearly three times as much +per inhabitant 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 +somewhat lessened the use of it. + +=Tea.=--The tea of commerce consists of the dried and prepared leaves of +an evergreen shrub (_Thea chinensis_) belonging most probably to the +_camellia_ family. Tea has been a commercial product of China for more +than fourteen 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 mythical) Chinung, 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 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 different 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.[35] 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 fermentation; 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 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 Ceylon) 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. + +[Illustration: AREA OF TEA PRODUCTION] + +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 consignments to London without loss of time, that fast +clipper ships were built especially for carrying tea. Since the opening +of the canal 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 collected 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[36] for the +Russian market, but the choicest products for western Europe also are +sent by this route. It is probably 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 _Theobroma_, the greater part being obtained from +the _Theobroma cacao_. 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 carried 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 fashionable +drink of western Europe. + +The cacao-tree, originally native to Mexico, is now cultivated +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 allowed to +undergo a rapid fermentation for a period of several days, to which +process their flavor is mainly due. The roasted and broken seeds are the +cocoa-nibs of commerce. The husks are known as cocoa-shells. + +A very large part of the cacao product comes from Ecuador, Guayaquil +being perhaps the chief market of the world. The Venezuelan and +Brazilian products, however, are the choicest; these are known in +commerce respectively 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 stimulant principle is the same as that +occurring in tea and coffee, but the proportion is considerably less. In +preparing the cocoa for the market, much of the fat is intentionally +withdrawn. The fat, commercially known as "cocoa-butter," and "oil of +theobroma," does not turn rancid. + +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 confectionery. 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. + +=Maté.=--Maté, yerba maté, or Paraguay tea, is the leaf of a shrub, a +species 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 maté of commerce has a stimulant principle identical 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, belonging to the nightshade family. Most of +the product is derived from the species known as Virginia tobacco +(_Nicotiana tabacum_) and the Brazilian species (_Nicotiana rustica_). +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 introduced into Europe. The +prepared leaf contains a substance, 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, however, finding that its use was becoming +general, made it a 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 product is +obtained in only a few localities of limited area. It sometimes happens +that the products of two plantations almost side by side, and similarly +situated, are very unlike in character and quality. + +[Illustration: TOBACCO] + +The choicest cigar-tobacco is grown on the Vuelta 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 commercially "Havana" +cigars, although tobacco from Manila and Porto Rico is apt to be largely +used in their manufacture. 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 known as "Key West." + +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 Rican 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 Sumatra 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 Turkey, +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 import duty, but an internal +revenue in addition. In Austria, France, Italy, Japan, and Spain the +manufacture and 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 central 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 having a +large capsule (_Papaver somniferum_) is most commonly cultivated for the +commercial production of the substance. Half-a-dozen times during 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 property 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 industry +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 Government 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 considerable 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. + + +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, Santos, Havana; how is each +connected commercially with this chapter? + +From the map, Fig. 1, trace the route of a cargo of tea overland from +China to Great Britain. + +Consult an English history or a cyclopædia 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. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +GUMS AND RESINS USED IN THE ARTS + + +Most vegetable juices exposed to the air harden into firm substances, +commonly called _gum_. Some of these dissolve, or at least soften, in +water; these technically are known as "gums," and usually are so +designated in commerce. 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 vegetable juices, however, that in commerce +are not classified among the gums and resins, and of these the most +important 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, and for nearly one hundred years no general 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 regions.[37] The belt of rubber-producing +plants extends around 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 urucuri palm and places an inverted funnel over it to +concentrate 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 converts 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 exported 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.[38] 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 Amazon +forests. Brazil produces about one-half, but a considerable quantity is +obtained in Acré, the territory formed where the borders of Brazil, +Bolivia, and Peru meet, and now ceded to Brazil. Nearly all this +product, that of the Ceará region excepted, is marketed at Pará and is +known as Pará rubber. It is the best produced. The African product, +mainly from the forests of the Kongo, and Madagascar, and nearly all the +East Indian product is sent to Europe. + +[Illustration: REGIONS YIELDING RUBBER] + +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,[39] and considerable is made into the small elastic bands for +which there is a growing use. + +=Gutta-Percha.=--Gutta-percha is obtained from the juices of several +plants (chiefly _Dichopsis gutta_ and _Supota mülleri_) both of which +abound in the Malay peninsula and the East Indies. It is prepared in a +manner somewhat 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, peppermint, 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 distilled and yields about one-fourth its weight of oil +or "spirit" of turpentine. It is a staple article of manufacture in +Europe, India, and the United States, and is used chiefly to dilute the +oil paints and varnishes used in indoor 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.[40] + +_Resin_ is the substance remaining after the crude turpentine 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 _pitch_ 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 commonly 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 religiosa_) growing in the tropical +forests of India. The hardened sap incrusts 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 _shell-lac_, the form best known +in commerce. It is the chief ingredient in sealing-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 XII + +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 nineteenth 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 thousand 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 supply for +the British naval stations of America. China has extensive coal-fields. + +In character coal is broadly divided into two classes--anthracite 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 consumption is somewhat greater than that +of production. A shortage 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 railway 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 independent operators who, as a rule, sell their coal to the railway +companies. The Reading, 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. + +[Illustration: A VIEW OF THREE COLLIERIES IN THE ANTHRACITE COAL BASIN +NEAR MAHANOY CITY, PA.] + +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 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 anthracite. Steam +sizes are about two-thirds the price of house fuel. + +[Illustration: COAL FIELDS IN UNITED STATES] + +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, burning with a long and smoky flame. The coal which +contains 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 volatile 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 it is found here and there in nearly all soft-coal +regions. A so-called smokeless bituminous coal occurs in various +localities; its low percentage of volatile matter makes it an excellent +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. + +[Illustration: COAL PRODUCTION] + +Most of the product is shipped to the large manufacturing 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 this 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 decreased cost of +mining due to machinery, and the low rates of transportation to the +seaboard has developed an export trade to Russia, Germany, and France. + +[Illustration: COAL] + +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 Francisco, and large quantities of Nanaimo, B.C., +coal are sold in Oregon, Washington, and California. A small quantity of +the "slack" or waste of the Nova Scotia mines is imported 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 until 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 +ammonia, are driven off and generally wasted. In a few instances +"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. + +There are more than five hundred and eighteen thousand coke-ovens in +the United States, of which 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 Connellsville. 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 illuminating 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 extensively 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[41] pencils; for this +purpose only a very soft mineral, 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 different localities differs greatly in +appearance and composition. + +The pitch that coated Noah's ark, the slime of the builders of the Tower +of Babel, and the slime-pits of the Vale 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 Russia, however, produce practically all the +commercial product; a very small amount is obtained from a horizon on +the south slope of the Carpathian Mountains, situated in Rumania and +Galicia, Austria-Hungary. There are also a few producing wells in Peru, +Germany, Italy, Burma, Argentina, and Sumatra. + +[Illustration: PETROLEUM FIELDS IN THE UNITED STATES] + +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 important +factors. The crude petroleum is transported partly in tank cars, but +mainly by means of long lines of pipe, 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 exporting +stations in New York, Philadelphia, and on the Delaware River. + +A considerable amount is exported to European countries 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 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 product 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 petroleum 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 Volga to Russian markets. +Great Britain takes about one-third; about the same amount is shipped to +Port Saïd 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 inflammable +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, including +_benzine_ and _gasoline_. It is used as a solvent of grease and also of +crude india-rubber, but chiefly the manufacture of illuminating gas. + +_Kerosene_ is the name commonly given to the refined oil. A good +quality should have a fire 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 beeswax; it is used +mainly in the manufacture of candles and as an insulator for electric +wires. A native mineral paraffine, known as ozocerite, is mined in Utah +and Galicia; it is used as an insulating material. + +"_Vaseline_," "_cosmoline_," 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 +Bermudez, Venezuela, the other in the island of Trinidad, off the +Venezuelan coast. The former 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 lubrication of machinery, the cosmetic, the +india-rubber solution, 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 belt extends through western +Pennsylvania and New York, and another through northwestern Ohio and +northeastern Indiana. It 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 regions 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._, coaling stations) rule the world"; show why this statement +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, paraffine, 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, +paraffine, and carbolic acid; note the properties of each. Throw away +the naphtha after using. + +Read Mineral Resources of the United States on the foregoing subjects. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +METALS OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES + + +The development of modern civilization is directly connected 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 +relations to one another, as well as to the people who used them. Next +to the discovery of the use of fire, an appreciation of the use of +metals has been the chief thing to develop the intellect of mankind. +When human beings discarded 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 Sinaitic peninsula, and subsequently of the gold products coming +from the upper Nile. + +A meridian drawn through Cairo, Egypt, practically divides the world +into two kinds of civilization. East of this meridian the population is +almost wholly agricultural and, excepting Japan and India, the +character of the civilization has changed but little in the past 2,000 +years. West 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 characteristics 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 industrial expansion that hurried +the Civil War, and led to the manufacture of iron and steel both for +agricultural machinery 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 lowered the cost of +transporting commodities to the extent that large areas, once of +necessity very moderately productive of food-stuffs, are now densely +peopled because food-stuffs can be transported to these regions more +economically 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 Colorado, and the factory operative +of Massachusetts have each the same comforts of living that are enjoyed +by all the others, and have them at scarcely more than half the cost of +fifty years ago. + +[Illustration: STEEL MANUFACTURE--THE NATIONAL STEEL COMPANY'S SMELTERY +AND ROLLING-MILLS, MINGO JUNCTION, OHIO] + +The gradual decrease in the production of the silver mines near the +present site of Ergasteria proved a beginning 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 Macedon hoarded the treasure +from the mines of Pangæus, and with the capital thus acquired his son, +Alexander the Great, conquered the East, implanted Hellenic business +methods there, and drew the various 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 Germany were the resources that made +Germanic Europe pre-eminent. The wresting of the trade in these two +metals from Venice caused the rise of Antwerp and brought immense gains +to Lübeck, London, Brussels, Augsburg, and Nuremberg. In the latter part +of the nineteenth century copper again reached a high position of +importance 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 which the ore may be quarried, +transported to coal, and smelted. The following are the ores commonly +employed in the production of iron: + +_Red hematite_ has a reddish metallic lustre and when pure contains +seventy per cent. of iron.[42] It is the most abundant of the workable +ores, and certainly the best for the manufacture of Bessemer steel. The +ores of the Lake Superior region are mainly red hematite, and the latter +constitutes more than four-fifths of the output of the United States. + +[Illustration: THE COMPARATIVE PRODUCTION OF IRON AND STEEL] + +_Brown hematite_, or limonite, has a chestnut brown color and contains +very nearly sixty per cent. of iron[43]; it includes 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.[44] Most of the ores obtained in Pennsylvania and New York are +magnetite. The magnetites furnish about one-sixteenth of the output of +the United States. + +_Carbonate of Iron_, or siderite, occurs in a few localities, the ore +produced in Ohio being almost wholly of this kind. It contains when +pure about forty-eight per cent. of iron.[45] 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 within +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 western 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. + +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[46] were +very near to one another. + +These conditions still obtain in the southern Appalachian 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[47] is sufficient to +make a ton of pig-iron. The smelteries and rolling-mills are built at +places where the materials are most conveniently 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. Rolling-mills and smelteries exist at Pittsburg and +vicinity, and at Youngstown, New Castle, and other nearby 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 quarried. In many instances it is taken out of +the quarry or pit by steam-shovels which dump it into self-discharging +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. + +[Illustration: MOVEMENT OF IRON ORE] + +Water transportation is very cheap compared with railway 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 +thousand five hundred miles for less than it could be loaded, on cars +hauled one-tenth that distance by rail, and unloaded. + +[Illustration: STEEL MANUFACTURE--ORE DOCKS] + +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 manufacture have grown up along this line of +"least resistance." 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. + +[Illustration: LAKE SUPERIOR IRON ORE FIELDS] + +There are three forms in which iron is used--cast iron, wrought iron, +and steel. Cast iron is crystalline and brittle. 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-iron 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 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 +whiteness 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 railways 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. + +[Illustration: IRON AND STEEL] + +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 certain Swedish or Cuban ores to give the product +hardness. A hot blast is then forced into the converter which not only +melts the mass but burns out the excess of carbon as well. The color of +the flame indicates the moment when the conversion to steel is +accomplished. + +In 1860, before the establishment of the Bessemer process, steel +commanded a price of about one hundred and twenty-five dollars per ton; +at the beginning of the twentieth 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 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 entirely supplanted +timber, while in nearly all modern buildings of more than six stories in +height, the frame is constructed of Bessemer steel. Indeed, a +steel-framed building of twenty-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 +1860, a vessel of 4,000 tons displacement 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. + +[Illustration: _From a copyrighted photograph by C.L. Ritzmann, N.Y._ + +STEEL MANUFACTURE + +THE FULLER (FLATIRON) BUILDING, NEW YORK CITY] + +HISTORICAL + + 1619.--Iron works established on Falling Creek, Va. + + 1643.--First foundry in Massachusetts, at Lynn. + + 1658.--Blast furnace and forge at New Haven, Conn. + + 1679.--Father Hennepin discovers coal in Illinois. + + 1703.--Mordecai Lincoln, ancestor of Abraham Lincoln, establishes + 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 Virginia. + + 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-hearth + steel. + +=Gold.=--Gold is one of the metals earliest to be mined. It is mentioned +by the ancient profane as well as by sacred writers. Pictorial +representations of fusing and working 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. + +[Illustration: LEACHING (CYANIDE) TANKS DISSOLVING THE GOLD FROM THE +ROASTED ORE] + +[Illustration: STOPING OUT A TUNNEL] + +[Illustration: INTERIOR OF MILL] + +[Illustration: GOLD MINING] + +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 such cases the gold is usually carried off by swiftly +running water and deposited in the channel lower down. In this way +"placer" deposits of gold occur. Placer deposits are sometimes very +rich, but they are 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 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 River. 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 gilding +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 jewelry, 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 employment 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 916-2/3 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 government +monopoly in every civilized country. + +The fiat value of gold throughout the commercial world is the equivalent +of $20.6718 per troy ounce of fine metal; an eagle weighs, therefore, +2580 grains. The real value, however, is reckoned by a different and a +more accurate standard, namely, the labor of man, and this, the +sporadic 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; moreover, the longer a mine is worked the +greater becomes the expense of its operation. Improved processes for the +extraction of gold have not created any surplus of gold; indeed, 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 combination 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 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 purchased 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 copper and tin, hard enough to cut and dress +stone, succeeded 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 quantities 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 Rocky Mountain region, +including Mexico; the Lake Superior region of the United States; the +Andean region, including Chile, Peru, Argentina, and Bolivia; the +Iberian 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 million 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 century 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 +price of copper in the past few years is due, not to a 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 mineral being its oxide. +It occurs in the various feldspars and feldspathic rocks, and in mica. +The expense of extracting 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 existence, 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 aluminium 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 patents 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 controlled 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-third 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 extends through Georgia and Alabama; +the other is in Arkansas. + +=Lead.=--Lead is neither so abundant nor so widely diffused as iron, +copper, and the precious metals, but the supply is fully equal to the +demand. Lead ores, mainly galena or lead sulphide, occur abundantly in +the Rocky 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 linotype machines, now used in all large +printing establishments, have increased the demand for lead. + +=Other Metals.=--Most of the remaining economic metals occur in small +quantities as compared with iron, copper, gold, and silver. Some of +them, however, are highly important from the fact that in various +industrial processes 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 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 barometers, but is used chiefly, however, as a solvent +of gold, which it separates from the finely powdered ore by solution or +amalgamation. Quicksilver occurs in the mineral cinnabar, a sulphide. + +Nearly one-half the world's product comes from California. 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. Almaden, 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 nearby 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[48]--that is, sheet-iron +coated with tin. Much of the block tin imported from Great Britain is +returned there in the form of 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 generally 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-mining 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 "spelter," are +produced in the United States; forty-five million pounds were exported +in 1900, mainly to Great Britain. + + +QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION + +What are the qualities that make iron the most valuable of metals? + +In what ways does commerce depend on iron and steel? + +What substances are used for food, clothing, or domestic purposes 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 the 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 vitriol (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 aluminium are put. + +Consult the chapters on these subjects in any cyclopædia. + +[Illustration: TRANSPORTING SUGAR-CANE, CUBA] + +[Illustration: SUGAR-CANE GROWING IN CUBA] + +[Illustration: HAVEMEYER SUGAR-REFINERY, BROOKLYN, N.Y.] + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +SUGAR AND ITS COMMERCE + + +The term sugar is applied rather loosely to a large number of substances +characterized by the quality of sweetness. 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 structure 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. Although 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--_cane_-sugar, +_grape_-sugar, and _milk_-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 sap of the sugar-cane (_Saccharum +officinarum_). The plant belongs to the grass family and much resembles +maize before the latter has matured. It is thought to be native to Asia, +but it is now cultivated in nearly all tropical countries in the world. + +Practically every moist tropical region in the world, the basins of the +Kongo and Amazon Rivers excepted, is a 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 production of sugar-cane sugar, +but the product is not exported. Cuba, Java, the Gulf coast of the +United States, Mauritius, the Philippine and the Hawaiian Islands +produce 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 commodity, 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 vulgaris_). 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 increasing. + +=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 caramel and flavored with an extract +prepared from the maple-tree. + +Sorghum-sugar is obtained from a cane known as Chinese 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 crystallizable, however, and it is usually made +into table-sirup. + +Maguey-sugar is derived from the sap of the maguey-plant (_Agave +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 express 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 per cent. 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. + +The juice is first strained or filtered under pressure in 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 portion 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 +standard of pure sugar. Within recent years 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 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 five 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 combination arrayed against the tropical sugar +interests. In general, the government of each state pays a bounty on +every pound of beet-sugar exported. The real effect of the export 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 transportation +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 agricultural interests of the country +have been completely reorganized. The uncertain profits of cereal +food-stuffs have 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 conditions, 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 granulated +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 in the United States, and not far from +thirty-five pounds in Germany and France. In Russia and the eastern +European countries it is less than fifteen pounds. + +=Molasses.=--The molasses of commerce is the uncrystallizable 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 "caramel" 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-sirup, 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-sugar is too expensive for ordinary +commercial use; the commercial product, on the other hand, is +artificial, and is made mainly from cornstarch. + +Glucose is employed in the cheaper kinds of confectionery in the United +States; most of it, however, is exported 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. + + +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 sugar brought about international +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 +people 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 +equator, 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. 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 wellnigh 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 instances 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 remaining forests is +usually a government charge. Only a certain number of mature trees may +be removed each year, and many are planted for each one removed--in the +aggregate, 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 preserves 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 +employed both to keep fires in check and to prevent the ravages of +timber thieves; excepting the State preserves however, the means of +prevention are inadequate for either purpose. + +[Illustration: THE LUMBER INDUSTRY--A LOG JAM] + +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, +merchantable lumber require at least a century for maturity.[49] 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 annually burnt the grass. With the +cessation of the prairie 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 required to give young trees the vigorous start that will +carry 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 eastward 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 territories. 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 fortieth 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_ (_Pinus strobus_) is the most valuable member of the +family. Its value is due 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 away from seaports +and water transportation. Rough lumber becomes too expensive for use +when transported by land, but it will stand the expense of shipment by +water many miles. + +The _Georgia_ or _long-leafed pine_ (_Pinus palustris_) is also +commonly called _pitch 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 lambertiana_) occurs mainly in Oregon and +California. The grain is fine and soft and the trees reach a large +girth. + +The _loblolly pine_ (_Pinus tæda_) has a considerably larger area than +the Georgia pine, extending into Indian Territory. 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 rigida_) 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_ (_Chamæcyparis thyoides_) occurs 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_, probably 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 seasoning. It is a most valuable timber both for common and +for ornamental use. It very frequently attains a diameter 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, form a nearly +continuous belt across the northern continents, 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_ +(_Quercus suber_) grows mainly in Spain and Algeria. + +_Black walnut_ (_Juglans nigra_) 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 willow +are most common in ordinary temperate latitudes, both in Europe and +America. In warmer latitudes the Australian 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 expensive. + +=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 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 +expensive 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. _Jarrah_, 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_ (_Buxus balearica_) is a high-growing tree, native to India, +but growing best in the islands of the Mediterranean. 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. Constantinople is the +principal market, and nearly ten thousand tons of the selected wood are +sold yearly. + +_Lignum vitæ_, 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 +employed 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. + +[Illustration: A LOG RAFT, WINONA, WIS.] + +[Illustration: HAULING LOGS TO THE RIVER] + +[Illustration: _Copyright, 1898, Detroit Photographic Co._ + +THE LUMBER INDUSTRY--A LOGGING STREAM, MENOMINEE, WIS.] + +_Logwood_ is the wood of a tree (_Hæmatoxylon campechianum_) 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 universally 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 teredo, or +ship-worm? + +From what country or countries do the following come: boxwood, 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 upward 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 continents, +the flesh of fish is about the only fresh meat obtainable. 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 nineteenth century whale-fishing was an industry +involving hundreds of vessels and a large aggregate capital. The +industry centred about New England seaports. + +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 superseded by coal-oil, gas, and electricity. It is +still in demand 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 substance 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. Spermaceti 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 Canadian 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, French, and American +fishermen. By the terms of treaties 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 eating 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 used 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 +between 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 important 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 +"sardines" marketed from this region are young herring. Indeed, nearly +all sorts of small fry are sold in boxes bearing 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 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 produce 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 world. 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 preserved. The area in which it is caught is about the +same as that of the cod. _Shad_ are usually caught when ascending the +rivers of the middle Atlantic coast. In the United States, Chesapeake, +Delaware, and New York Bays yield the chief supply. The _bluefish_ 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 sometimes 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. + +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-mere_, or "sea cucumber," is a product of Australasian and +Malaysian waters. Almost 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 Bay 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 quality 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 chief +oyster-market. + +The consumption of the lobster has been so great that the catch of the +New England coast has decreased about one-half in the past fifty years, +and the United States is now an importer. Most of the import, amounting +to about one million dollars yearly, comes from Canada. The so-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, especially the lakes and rivers, are +restocked. The eggs are 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 +department 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 Pribilof Islands have been so nearly exhausted, that the killing +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 fur-trade of North +America; the Russian furs are marketed mainly at Lower Novgorod. +Leipzig, Germany, is also an important fur-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? + +[Illustration: NORTH AMERICA] + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE UNITED STATES--THE SEAPORTS AND THE ATLANTIC COAST-PLAIN + + +The United States of America together with the possessions 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 +successfully throughout four-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 minerals and metals which give to a +nation its greatest material 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. + +[Illustration: A HARBOR--NEW YORK BAY, AT THE BATTERY] + +The topographic and climatic features of these various 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 +industries, 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 manufactures, 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 +Appalachians, 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, supply 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 highlands 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 bordered by a low +coast-plain. Along the northeastern coast of the United States the +coast-plain is 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 exceedingly 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 _New 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 anchorage. 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 and freight steamships arrive +and clear daily, about one-half of them being foreign. The latter +receive their cargoes 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 industries usually found in great +communities, the greater business enterprises practically reduce +themselves to export, import, and exchange. For this reason New York +City is the financial, as well as the commercial centre of the +continent. Most of the great industrial corporations 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.[50] + +[Illustration: BOSTON HARBOR] + +_Boston_ has been one of the leading ports of the United States for +considerably more than a century. It ranks second among the ports of the +United States. Regular 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 movement +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 business. The manufactures are +mainly carpets and rugs, locomotives and iron steamships, and refined +sugar. The carpet-weaving and the ship-building plants are among the +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 Pennsylvania and Baltimore & Ohio railway systems have +made Baltimore an important railway centre. The completion of the Gould +railway system to the Atlantic seaboard has made the city second to New +York only in the export 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 September to the end of April--about thirty carloads +of oysters a day are shipped. + +[Illustration: CHARLESTON HARBOR] + +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_, and _Brunswick_ 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 XVIII + +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 mainly 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 enterprises started in various parts of the United States, +but they prospered in this region for three reasons--an abundance of +power, plenty of capital, and business experience. Steam-power is +largely supplanting water-power in the manufacturing enterprises, and in +many instances the establishments 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 +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 +transportation; 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 industry 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; _Lewiston_, _Waterville_, _Augusta_, _Woonsocket_, 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 situated on tide-water. Having the advantage of good power and +cheap transportation, it has probably the greatest output of cotton +textiles of any city in the world. Textile establishments have also +grown up in the cities and towns of the Mohawk Valley, being attracted +by the excellent facilities for transportation and also by the available +water-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; _Waterbury_ and _Ansonia_ for +watches, clocks, and brass goods; _Meriden_ for silverware, and +_Waltham_ for watches. _Worcester_, _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_. _New Haven_, _New Bedford_, _Providence_, _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 turpentine. 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 encourage +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. _Richmond_, _Columbia_, _Milledgeville_, _Augusta_, and +_Columbus_ are thus situated. Their manufactures are very largely +connected with the cotton-crop. + +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 "round-the-island" 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 flying 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 transportation 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 manufacturing plant. In order to +avoid heavy grades the ore railways are also built along the +river-valleys. + +[Illustration: STEEL MANUFACTURE--ERECTING SHOP OF THE BALDWIN +LOCOMOTIVE WORKS, PHILADELPHIA] + +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-plate, or for wire, or for tool +steel. In a few mills armor-plate and ordinary plate for steel vessels +form the exclusive 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 wages 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_, _McKeesport_, +_Duquesne_, and _Braddock_, is the chief steel-making centre of the Ohio +River Valley. There are also large plants at _New Castle_, _Sharon_, +_Scranton_, _Johnstown_, _Bellaire_, _Youngstown_, _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 transportation +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 product is converted into coke and used in the +steel-plants. + +The petroleum of this region is a leading export of the country, the +states of western Europe being the chief purchasers. Of agricultural +products, hay, dairy products, and tobacco are the only ones of +importance. Natural gas is used both as a fuel and in manufactures. + +The lake-shore centre of steel manufacture depends 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_, _Sandusky_, _Lorain_, _Cleveland_, _Ashtabula_, +_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 manufacturing centres are _Birmingham_, +_Richmond_, _Roanoke_, 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 region are made into foundry +iron. + + +QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION + +What are the advantages and the disadvantages of manufacturing cotton +textiles in the New England States? + +Why have the mining of ore and the manufacture of steel become 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 the manufacture of artificial ice a precarious business north +of the latitude of Philadelphia? + +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 advantages and +disadvantages? + +Why are most of the great steel-making plants so remote from the 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 OF THE GREAT LAKES AND THE MISSISSIPPI +VALLEY + + +The principal agricultural region of the United States extends from the +Appalachian ranges to the Rocky Mountains. A certain amount of +bread-stuffs, 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 Valley +with the Atlantic seaboard. + +=The Basin of the Great Lakes.=--This region includes 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 water-way 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 River and New York Bay. + +From the head of Lake Superior railway routes of minimum grades--the +Great Northern and the Northern Pacific[51]--cross the continent to +Puget Sound, the best harbor 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 roadbeds 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. + +[Illustration: DULUTH] + +_Duluth_, at the head of Lake Superior, became commercially important +when the St. Mary's Falls Canal was completed. 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 Rocky 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 harbor 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 +Illinois 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. + +[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF LOCKS AND CANAL, SAULT STE. MARIE] + +_Milwaukee_ has a situation in many ways resembling that of Chicago, +its harbor being the mouth of Milwaukee River. Like Chicago, it owes its +importance to its lake-trade. _Detroit_ (with _Windsor_, Ont.) owes its +growth partly to its strategic 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 number 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 _New York City_--about 5-1/4 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 +business of the lake-region is carried on by the Canadians, who have +improved their resources for production and transportation to the +utmost. + +[Illustration: _Copyright, Detroit Photographic Co._ + +AURORA IRON MINES, IRONWOOD, MICHIGAN] + +=The Northern Mississippi Valley Region.=--This 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 abundant +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 evolution of farming machinery is the direct result of +topographic 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 harvest 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 himself 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 land. + +[Illustration: THE WHEAT INDUSTRY--HARVESTING WITH McCORMICK +SELF-BINDING REAPERS] + +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 machinery; 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, therefore, +somewhere near the cornfields. Manufacturing enterprises 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 +passenger 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 hundred 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 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 between the East and West; +but a large proportion are receiving and distributing roads for Southern +freight. + +[Illustration: AUTOMOTIVE POWER IN THE INDUSTRIES OF THE MISSISSIPPI +VALLEY] + +_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 prominence 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 between the United +States and Asian ports, and distribute a part of the trade that comes +from them. + +The two _Kansas Cities_,[52] _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 considerable 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 situation 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 +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. + +[Illustration: CATTLE AND DAIRY PRODUCTS] + +_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 largest establishment for the +manufacture of ploughs in the world. _Dubuque_, _Burlington_, _Quincy_, +and _Muscatine_ 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. + +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. + +_New 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 considerable 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 cotton 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 exports. _Pensacola_ and _Brunswick_ are also +important points of export. _Memphis_, _Vicksburg_, _Shreveport_, +_Houston_, and _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 purchase is landed at +Shanghai. + +In the main, the manufactures of this region closely concern 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 has the principal railway clearing-house. Like +New Orleans, it is an educational centre and one of the foremost in the +South. _Macon_, _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 depended for existence very largely +upon tariff protection and bounties paid to the American sugar-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 controlled 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, wandering from one range to +another, wherever the grazing might be good. The ownership of the cattle +was determined by the brand the animal bore,[53] 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 of +cattle and add to the number by capturing stray mavericks. + +[Illustration: A DESERT REGION--TOO DRY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF +FOOD-STUFFS] + +[Illustration: OPEN GRAZING RANGES, IN WESTERN HIGHLANDS] + +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 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.[54] This 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. + +[Illustration: _Copyright, 1901, by Detroit Photographic Co._ + +ON A TEXAS CATTLE RANCH] + +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 product is derived +mainly from this region. Nearly four hundred 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 transportation at various stations and sidings along the railways +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. + + +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 cotton 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 European 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. + +[Illustration: DIFFICULT RAILROADING--LAS ANIMAS CAÑON] + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE UNITED STATES--THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS AND TERRITORIAL POSSESSIONS + + +The western part of the United States consists of a succession 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 development 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 million acres, may be +made productive by irrigation, and the United States Government 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 products 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. + +Not much of the crop of this region, the fruit and wool excepted, +leaves the vicinity in which it is grown, on account of the expense of +transportation. In the matter of the transportation of their +commodities, the dwellers of the western highland are doubly +handicapped. The building 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,[55] and from 1865 to +1880 a large part of the capital invested in railway building 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 distance from +the Eastern smelteries. + +[Illustration: GOLD MINING--CRIPPLE CREEK, COLORADO] + +_Denver_ is the chief active centre of finance of the mining industry +in the western highlands, although many of the great enterprises derive +the capital necessary to develop them from _New York_ and _San +Francisco_. _Leadville_, _Cripple Creek_, _Butte_, _Helena_, and +_Deadwood_ are regions of 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 _Ogden_ are the +centre of the Mormon agricultural enterprises. _Santa Fé_, _Las Vegas_, +and _Albuquerque_ are centres of agricultural 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 collecting point for much of the freight sent by +steamboats down the Columbia River from _Wallula_. Railway +transportation 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 +October 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 occasional showers during the winter months, +aggregating ten or twenty inches. + +The level valley-lands have no superior for wheat-farming, 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 +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 average 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 River, Ore., produces nearly +seventeen million pounds of wool yearly, the staple being an ordinary +variety. California 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 California. It also was a factor +in the acquisition of the territory 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 material. 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. + +Lumber manufacture is an important industry. Douglas spruce, commonly +known as "Oregon pine," grows profusely 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-timber 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 Fé 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 commercial 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 metropolis 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 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. + +[Illustration: PUGET SOUND] + +The discovery of gold along the Klondike River and in the beach-sands of +Cape Nome was followed by the development of surface mines that produced +a large amount of gold. For the better transportation of products, a +railway has been completed from _Skagway_ across White Pass to _White +Horse_, the head of navigation of the Yukon. About twenty steamboats are +engaged in the commerce of the river. _Skagway_ and _Dyea_ are +collecting points for the commerce of the Klondike mines. _Juneau_ has +probably the largest quartz-mill in the world. + +=Porto Rico.=--Porto Rico, formerly a Spanish colony, is now a possession +of the United States. The island is about the size of Connecticut and +has a population somewhat greater. The industries are almost wholly +agricultural, 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 product and commands a high price on account of its +superior quality. It is sold very largely to European coffee-merchants, +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 overthrow the native government, and in 1898 they were formally +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 convenient mid-ocean post-station, and they have therefore +become a most important commercial centre. + +[Illustration: HYDRAULIC GOLD MINING--CALIFORNIA] + +Of the various islands composing the group, Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Kaui, +Molokai, Lanai, and Niihau are inhabited. About one-fifth of the +population consists of native Hawaiians; a little more than one-fifth is +white; the remainder 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 laborers, 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 hundred and fifty +thousand dollars. Coffee is rapidly becoming 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 commercial centre, +and foreign steamships and sailing-craft are scarcely ever absent from +its harbor. Regular steamship service connects this port with San +Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, B.C., and the principal ports of China +and Japan. It is connected with the other islands by a system of +wireless 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 of 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 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, copper + Mindanao |Zamboanga |Coal, gold, copper + Samar |Catbalogan |Coal, gold + Negros |Bacolor |Coal + Panay |Iloilo |Coal, gold, petroleum + Leyte |Tacloban |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 people. 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 Tagal mixed blood, commonly known +as "Chinese mestizos"; they inherit, in the main, the Chinese +characteristics. The European and American population consists mainly of +officials, troops, and merchant-agents for Philippine 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 +the great strength of the fibre it has no equal among cordage fibres. +The imports from the United States consist mainly of machinery 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 +resources 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. +Steamship lines connect the city with Hongkong, Australia, Japan, +Singapore, and Liverpool. There is also a military 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 _Cavité_ are cities of about forty +thousand population, all more or less connected with the industries of +Manila. _Iloilo_ is the second port of importance 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 Francisco and Australia. =Guam=, one of the Ladrone +Islands, is a naval station. These possessions are strategic and are +designed to secure the interests of the United States in the Pacific. An +ocean telegraphic cable connects 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 the 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. + +[Illustration: NIAGARA POWER-HOUSE (EXTERIOR)] + +[Illustration: 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 Saskatchewan excepted, there are but few marks of +human industry beyond the fiftieth parallel. The general conditions 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 commercially 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 products, 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.[56] 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 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 lands +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 merchandise of furs. For +the greater part, Indians are employed as hunters and trappers, and the +pelts are collected at the various trading-posts, known as "houses" and +"factories," to be sent to the head-quarters of the company near +Winnipeg. Nearly every Arctic animal furnishes a merchantable 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 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. Welland 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 drawbacks--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 products, +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. + +=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 continent 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. Halifax 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 province are mainly +connected with the coast-fisheries. During 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-building 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; moreover, the French population is increasing +rapidly. The English-speaking population lives mainly along the Vermont +border. As a rule the English are the manufacturers 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 manufactures. 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 malt, and "Canada +malt" is regarded as the best. Several of the trunk railways 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. _Ottawa_ is the capital of the +Dominion. At _Sudbury_ are the nickel-mines that are among the most +productive in the world. + +=Manitoba=, =Saskatchewan=, and =Alberta=.--These provinces include the +level prairie lands of the Saskatchewan and the Red River of the North. +They comprise the great grain-field of Canada. A considerable part of +the wheat-growing lands 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 considerable 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 and states +surrounding, but to the railways above named. A good quality of +anthracite coal is also 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 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 Railway, is connected +with various Asian ports by fast steamships. _Nanaimo_, _Wellington_, +and _Commox_ are the centres of the coal-mining industry. The +copper-mines at _Rossland_ produce most of the copper mined in Canada. + +=Newfoundland.=--Although a Crown possession, Newfoundland is not a member +of the Dominion of Canada. The extensive fisheries are its chief +resource. The Labrador coast, which is used as a resort for curing and +preserving 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 Newfoundland, are a +French possession. Fishing is the ostensible 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 Year-Book of Canada (official government publication, +Ottawa). + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +MEXICO--CENTRAL AMERICA--WEST INDIES + + +Mexico and the Central American states occupy the narrow, 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 templada_, has about the same climate as southern California; +the low coast-plains, or _tierra caliente_, are tropical. + +=Mexico.=--The United States of Mexico is the most important part of this +group. The people are of mixed Spanish 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 large unproductive class, mainly of Indians, who +are living in a savage state. In general the manners and 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 resources. Oaxaca coffee is usually sold as a "Mocha" berry. +The logwood goes mainly to British textile makers; and the fruit, +chiefly oranges and bananas, finds a market in the large cities of the +United States, to which large consignments 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. + +[Illustration: MEXICO] + +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 American 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. + +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 purchased in the United States. + +Railway systems, with American terminal points at El Paso, San Antonio, +and New Orleans, extend from the most productive parts of the country. +One of the most important railways crosses the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, +and, in order to encourage commerce, the harbors at Coatzacoalcos and +Salina Cruz have been deepened and improved. This interoceanic route is +destined to become a very important factor in commerce. It shortens the +route between European ports and San Francisco by six thousand miles, +and between New York and San Francisco by twelve hundred miles.[57] + +_Mexico_, the capital, is the financial and commercial centre. _Vera +Cruz_ and _Tampico_ are connected with the capital by railway, but both +have very poor port facilities. Steamship lines connect the former with +New York, New Orleans, Havana, and French ports. It is the chief port of +the country. _Matamoros_ on the American frontier has a considerable +cattle-trade. The crop of sisal-hemp is shipped mainly from _Progresso_ +and _Merida_. _Acapulco_, _Manzanillo_, 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. + +=The Central American States.=--The physical features 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 José_, is nearly completed. British Honduras is a +British territory acquired mainly for the mahogany product, which is +shipped from _Belize_. Honduras has great resources in mines, cultivable +lands, and forests, but these are undeveloped. Salvador is the smallest +but most progressive state. + +[Illustration: ROUTE OF PROPOSED NICARAGUA CANAL.] + +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 about four hundred miles, is in +its favor. The longer distance of transit and the dangers of navigating +Lake Nicaragua are against it. Costa Rica 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 Europe 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 grapefruit--is shipped +to the United States. New York, Philadelphia, 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 the price is not affected by that of other tobaccos.[58] 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 industry 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, hardware, 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 commercially 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. + +Barbados produces more sugar than any other British possession in the +West Indies. The raw sugar, muscovado, is shipped to the United States. +Bermuda, an outlying island, furnishes the Atlantic states with onions, +Easter lilies, and early potatoes. From Trinidad is obtained 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 are also exported from Port of Spain. The products of St. Vincent +and Dominica are similar to those of the other islands. + +The French own Martinique (_Fort de France_) and Guadeloupe (_Basse +Terre_). St. Thomas (_Charlotte Amalie_), 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 republics, 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 organization of +Mexico and the Central American states. + +From the report listed below find what commercial routes gain, and what +ones lose in distance by the Nicaragua, as compared with the Panama +canal. + +From a good atlas make a list of the islands of the West Indies; name +the country to which each belongs, and its exports to the United States. + + +FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE + +The Statesman's Year-Book. + +Great Canals of the World--pp. 4058-4059. + +[Illustration: SOUTH AMERICA] + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +SOUTH AMERICA--THE ANDEAN STATES + + +In its general surface features South America resembles North +America--that is, a central plain is bordered by low 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 except +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 Caribbean Sea. The lowlands east of the Andes are +admirably adapted for grazing, and such cattle products as hides, horns, +and tallow are articles of export. This region, however, 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 Europeans. Rubber, +copaiba, tolu, and vegetable ivory[59] are gathered by Indians from the +forests. + +[Illustration: A PASS IN THE ANDES] + +The montane region has long been famous for its mines of gold and +silver. The salt mines near Bogota are a government 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 water-way. The railways consist of short +lines mainly used as portages around obstructions of the rivers. + +An unstable government and an onerous system of export taxes hamper +trade. Coffee, 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. _Barranquilla_, _Sabanilla_, and _Cartagena_ +are the chief ports. + +=Panama.=--This state, formerly a part of Colombia, includes 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 isthmian canal. A +treaty with the United States gives the latter sovereign control over +the canal and the strip of land 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. + +=Peru.=--Peru has great resources, both agricultural and mineral. Cotton +is one of the chief products. The ordinary 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 manufacture 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 plantations aggregate about three million trees;[60] 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 revenue. 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.[61] + +Cattle are grown for their hides, and of these the United States is the +chief purchaser. The wool of the llama, alpaca, and vicuña 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 copper; 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. +_Callao_, 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 importance. 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 consumed 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 material used is toquilla straw, the +mid-rib of the screw-pine (_Carlodovica palmata_). 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, 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.[62] + +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 _Guayaquil_, a short distance inland. This city is the +chief market for foreign goods, and it is the only foreign port of the +Pacific 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 agricultural lands 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. Rubber 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 +transportation, the mines should make Bolivia one of the most powerful +South American states. + +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 Acré 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 proportion 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. Between 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 land 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.[63] 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 obtained 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 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. + +[Illustration: VALPARASIO] + +_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 completed, will +make it one of the most important ports of the world. _Santiago_ is the +capital. _Concepcion_ and _Talca_ are important centres of trade. +_Chillan_ is the principal cattle-market of the Pacific coast of South +America. _Copiapo_ is the focal point of the mining interests. _Iquique_ +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 compare the +trade of the United States with that of other countries in these states. + +How have race characteristics affected the commerce and development of +these states? + +What is meant by peonage? + +What cities of the tropical part of these states are in the climate of +the temperate zone? + + +FOR 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 and its +products, ivory nuts, cinchona bark, crude nitrate, Panama straw, iodine +(in a sealed vial), llama wool, alpaca cloth, Peruvian cotton. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +SOUTH AMERICA--THE LOWLAND STATES + + +The eastern countries of South America are mainly lowland 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 +excepted, 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 lowlands 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, +fustic, divi-divi,[64] 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 poorer beef. A few thousand head are +shipped yearly down the Orinoco to be sent to Cuba and Porto Rico. + +The placer gold-mines of the Yuruari country, a region also claimed by +Great Britain, have been very productive. Coal, iron ore, and asphaltum +are abundant. Concessions for mining the two last-named have been +granted to American companies. The pearl-fisheries around Margarita +Island, also leased to a foreign company, have become productive 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 +Maracaibo is becoming the centre of a rapidly growing commercial region. + +_Caracas_, the capital and largest city, receives the imports 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 organization 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 important 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 possess +the country. The divisions are known respectively 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 vegetable +products. _Georgetown_, better known by the name of the surrounding +district, _Demerara_, is the focal point of business. _New Amsterdam_ is +also a port of considerable trade. The gold-mining interests centre at +_Bartica_. + +[Illustration: A CACAO PLANTATION] + +[Illustration: PREPARING THE BEANS FOR SHIPMENT] + +[Illustration: CACAO-TREE] + +[Illustration: MAKING CHOCOLATE] + +Surinam, in addition to its export of vegetable products, contains rich +gold-mines, and these contribute a considerable 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 supply. The middle coast region has +various agricultural products, of which cotton and cane-sugar are the +most important. 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, the +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 bifurcating 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 aggregated about one +hundred and thirty million pounds, of 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 materially 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 and 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 (_Bertholletia excelsa_) furnish the +Brazil nuts of commerce, large quantities of which are shipped to Europe +and the United States.[65] 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 of the state; for while the rubber yield employs +comparatively 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 affords a navigable water-way to the mouth of +Plate River. 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 considerable 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 penetrated 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 "Rio," 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 +growing export trade. + +_Bahia_, _Pernambuco_ (or _Recife_), _Maceio_, _Ceará_ are the markets +for cotton, sugar, and tobacco, much of which is shipped to other +Brazilian ports for home consumption. _Pará_ and _Ceará_ 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 position, 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.[66] A small amount of refrigerator beef and a +large amount of jerked beef are exported, however. 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 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 radius of four +hundred miles around the mouth of Plate River. The area of cultivation +is increasing as the facilities for transportation are extended and, +little by little, is encroaching 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 transportation the timber-trade cannot +successfully compete with that of Central America and Mexico. Workable +gold and silver 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 plans of North American roads. About twelve thousand +miles are in actual operation, one of which is a transcontinental 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 acquired at the expense of the United States, whose +trade has not materially increased. + +[Illustration: AREA OF THE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF MATÉ] + +_Buenos Aires_ is the financial centre of this part of South America. +Among its industries is the largest meat-refrigerating plant in the +world. The harbor at _La Plata_ is excellent and has drawn a +considerable part of the foreign trade from Buenos Aires. _Rosario_, +_Cordoba_, _Santa Fé_, and _Parana_ are the markets of extensive farming +regions. _Mendoza_ 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 land, +the wheat and much of the bread-stuffs are purchased from Argentina. +Tobacco and maté 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 market 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. + + + + +CHAPTER 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 successful invasion by a +foreign power. Its commercial position is both natural and artificial. +It has utilized the markets to the east and south, and has founded great +countries which it supplies with manufactured products. + +[Illustration: THE BRITISH EMPIRE] + +The position of the kingdom with respect to climate is fortunate. The +movement of the Gulf Stream on the American coast carries a large volume +of water into the latitude 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 latitude, 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 summer 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 cultivated. 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 necessary 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. 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 demanded 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 inseparably 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 Cæsar's +reconnaissance of the islands, and it is not unlikely that the Bronze +Period was the natural development that resulted from the discovery of +these metals. + +Coal occurs in various fields that extend from the River Clyde to the +River Severn. The annual 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. + +[Illustration: BRITISH ISLES] + +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 foreign markets. +The coal in the Clyde basin is employed mainly in the manufacture of +railway iron, steamship material, and rolling stock. The manufacture of +Bessemer 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.[67] 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, and the Piura Valley of Peru send +portions, each region having fibre of specific qualities designed 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 imported 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 +manufactured into burlap and rugs. + +But little available standing timber remains, and lumber 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 Canada for paper-making. Mahogany for ornamental +manufactures 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 +guarantee 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 manufactured 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 an 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 reconstruction +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 commercial 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. _Glasgow_ is one of the foremost centres of steel +ship-building. _Cardiff_ 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 Lancashire coal-field. _Leeds_ +and _Bradford_ and the towns about them are the chief centres of woollen +manufacture. _Wilton_ and _Kidderminster_ are famous for carpets. +_Birmingham_ 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_, _Copeland_, and _Jackfield_ famous. _Belfast_ is +noted for its linen textiles, 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 Würtemburg, together with a number of +small states. The "free" cities of Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck, whose +independence was purchased in feudal times, are also incorporated 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 +industrial 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-Holstein 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 population in the +industrial regions. + +The midland belt, however, between the coast-plain and the mountains, is +the chief food-producing part of Germany. 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. + +[Illustration: GERMANY AND SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES] + +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-Hungary and France combined. This industry is +encouraged by a bounty paid on all sugar exported.[68] A considerable +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.[69] Zinc occurs in abundance, 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 Germany 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 welding 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 somewhat larger than the basin of the +river. To the industrial 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 imported from Italy. + +The great expansion and financial success of the manufacturing +enterprises is due very largely to the admirable organization of the +lines of transportation. The rivers, with their connecting canals, +supplement the railways instead of competing with them. They are +utilized mainly for slow freights, while the railways carry the traffic +that demands speed. The possibilities of both inland water-ways and +railway transportation have been utilized by the Germans 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 the Ruhr Valley to the seaboard at a rate of +eighty to ninety cents per ton.[70] + +[Illustration: LÜBECK] + +[Illustration: BREMEN] + +All this has resulted in a wonderful commercial expansion 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 manufactured goods and an +import of food-stuffs and raw materials. 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. _Lübeck_ is one of the free cities that was formerly in +the Hanse League. + +The twin cities, _Barmen-Eberfeld_, in the Ruhr coal-field, form one of +the principal centres of cotton manufacture in the world. _Dortmund_ is +a coal-market. At _Essen_ are the steel-works founded by Herr Krupp. +They are the largest and one 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 commercial 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 exports 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 III-V. + + + + +CHAPTER 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, inasmuch 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 Atlantic, 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 +redwood 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 paper-makers of Europe. Next to Russia, Sweden +has the largest lumber-trade in Europe. The Mediterranean states are the +chief buyers. + +The mineral products are a considerable source of income. 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 consequence 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 _vigs_ 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 products 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 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. + +_Göteborg_, 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 fodder for horses +and cattle. The dairy products, especially butter, are unrivalled +elsewhere in Europe. The dairy 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 trans-shipped 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 manufactured; coal, +cotton goods, and structural machinery are imported from the United +States. Little, however, is exported to that country, almost all the +dairy products being sold to Great Britain and other populous centres of +western Europe. _Aalborg_ and _Aarhuus_ 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 has 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 Ardennes +highland in the southeast is naturally unproductive, but it has become +one of the great manufacturing centres of Europe. Less than one-twelfth +of 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 before reaching the sea. + +[Illustration: HOLLAND AND BELGIUM] + +The low sand-barrens next the coast have been reclaimed by means of a +grass that holds in place the sand that formerly shifted with each +movement of the wind. This region is now cultivated 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 Germany and France, are purchased in the large cities, +where heavy draught-horses are required. Many of them are sold to the +express companies of the United States. + +Bordering the sand-barrens is a belt of land that produces 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. Before the advent of the cotton industry, woollen and linen were +practically the only fibres used in cloth-making. Belgium was then the +chief flax-growing and cloth-making country, and all western Europe +depended upon the Flemish 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. Belgium +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. + +_Liège_, _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. Firearms, 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 +manufactures of Germany and France. + +_Ghent_ 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 products, moreover, are extensively exported. + +The railways are owned and operated by the state. They are managed so +judiciously, moreover, that the rates of carriage are lower than in most +European states. The 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 connected 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 +steamships 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 exchange +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 Belgians, 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 directive 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[71] Sea, has been reclaimed +from the sea. + +In the reclamation of these lands stone dikes are built to enclose a +given area, and from the basin thus 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 are 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 anchovies, but +sprats. + +For want of coal and iron there are few manufactures, and the garden and +dairy products are about the only export articles. There is an +abundance of clay, and of this brick for road-making, tiles for building +purposes, and porcelains 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 accessible to the largest steamships. +Diamond-cutting is one of the unique industries of the city. Since the +discovery 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, and the tonnage of goods +handled at the docks is enormously increasing. _Vlissingen_ (Flushing) +and the _Hook_ are railway terminals that handle much of the local +freights consigned to London. _Delft_ 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 is their commerce affected by latitude and climate? + +How has the cultivation of the sugar-beet affected the cane-sugar +industry in the British West Indies? + +From the Statesman's Year-Book make a list of the leading exports 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 industrial 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 Mediterranean ports command a very large part of the trade of that +sea. + +The easily travelled overland routes between the Mediterranean and North +Seas in very early times gave the country a commercial prominence that +ever since has been retained. Even before the time of Cæsar 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 making thorough cultivation a necessity. Much of the +land is too valuable for wheat-farming, and so the eastern +manufacturing 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. + +[Illustration: FRANCE] + +The sugar-beet is the most profitable crop, and its cultivation 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 important source of revenue. Of the fruit-crop, the +grape is by far the most important commercially. French wines, +especially the champagnes, are exported to a greater extent than the +wines of any other country.[72] Most of the wine is sold in Great +Britain and the countries north of the grape belt; a considerable part +is sold in the United States and the eastern 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 northwest, where a large amount is made for London +consumers. 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. + +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 neighborhood of St. Étienne and Le Creuzôt to +be manufactured into steel. 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 powerful 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'Alençon fabrics, the +French have few equals and no superiors. The flax is imported mainly +from Belgium. + +Silk culture is aided by the government, and is carried 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 products. 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 hundred 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 subsidies given to mail steamships, government +encouragement 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 textiles, and also the fashions in the +United States and Europe, are regulated largely in this city. +_Marseille_ is the chief seaport, and practically all the trade between +France and the Mediterranean countries is landed at this port; it 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. _Rouen_ is the chief seat of cotton manufacture. +_Paris_ and _Rheims_ are noted for shawls. _Lille_ and _Roubaix_ are +centres of woollen manufacture. _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 +consumption 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 United States, in spite of the tariff imposed +against them by the latter country. Olives are probably the most +important 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. + +[Illustration: ITALY] + +The grape-crop is enormous, and the fruit itself is exported. Some of +the fruit sold as "Malaga" grapes throughout the United States during +winter months comes from Italy. Chianti wine, from the vineyards around +Florence, has hitherto been regarded as an inferior product, 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 fine 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 comes 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 Florentine and mosaic jewelry, and the pink +coral ornaments are famous the world over. Within recent years, however, +imported 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 farm machinery from the United +States, and coal, woollen textiles, and steel goods from Great Britain +are the chief imports. 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 readjusted 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 Cenis tunnel; they reach Switzerland +and Germany by way of St. Gotthard Pass; they cross the Austrian border +through Brenner Pass. + +_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 Valley 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 agricultural development. Less than half +the area is under cultivation; nevertheless, they are famous for several +agricultural 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 exports; among these products is the +bitter orange, from which the famous liqueur curaçao, 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 the American and +Scandinavian forests for lumber, there is one tree product that is in +demand wherever bottles are used--namely, cork. The cork is prepared +from the bark of a tree (_Quercus suber_) commonly known as the cork +oak,[73] which grows freely in the Iberian peninsula and northern +Africa. + +[Illustration: SPAIN AND PORTUGAL] + +Metals and minerals of economic use are abundant. Iron ore is sold to +Great Britain, France, and Germany. Since the Spanish-American War, +however, there have been extensive developments in utilizing the coal +and the ore which before that time had been sold to other countries. + +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 entering 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 practically a government monopoly, and the income was +mortgaged 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 transportation 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 filigree work for the trade with Mexico. Spain +has a considerable 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, +however, 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, however, the old Helvetian spirit, which not even Cæsar +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 Russia. 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 beef must be very +largely imported, Austria-Hungary and Italy selling the needed supply. +Goats are raised for their hides, and the latter are converted into +Morocco leather. Of the dairy products, cheese is in many respects the +most important; Gruyère cheese is exported to nearly every country. On +account of the long distance from populous centres milk cannot be +transported; much of it is, therefore, condensed, and in that form +exported. + +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,[74] +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 competition 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 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 every 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;[75] 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 transportation, 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 cotton textiles sold +to the United States are worth far more than the raw cotton purchased +therefrom. Silk textiles, straw wares, toys, watches, jewelry, and dairy +products 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 manufacture 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 development 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. + + +FOR 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. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +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 Danube has become an overland trade-route of +growing importance 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 government. 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 continuous with +Switzerland, and the people have Swiss characteristics. Galicia, +northeast of the Carpathian Mountains, 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 +Cæsar called the Boii, comprises the upper part of the Elbe river-basin. +Its natural commercial outlet is Germany, 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 the Danube. The Huns are +of Asian origin. Austria proper occupies 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 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 Wisconsin and Minnesota. Grain-growing and stock-raising are +the chief employments. High freight rates, a long haul, and the +competition of Russia and Roumania have retarded the development 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 manufacture, 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 Europe that +compete with those of Almaden, 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 consumption. 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 Bohemian glassware are all peculiar to the region, +and the wares, 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 navigable tributary of the Rhine; 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 +empire. + +The foreign trade consists mainly of the export of food-stuffs (of which +sugar and eggs are heavy items), fine cabinet 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, and 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 commercial +clearing-house of central Europe; it has also extensive manufactures. +_Budapest_ is the great focal point of Hungarian railways and commerce. +_Prague_ controls the coal, textile, and glass trade of Bohemia. +_Lemberg_ is the metropolis of Galicia. The states of Liechtenstein, +Bosnia, and Herzegovina are commercially under the control of Austria. + +=The Lower Danube States.=--Roumania and Bulgaria, the plain of the lower +Danube, are enclosed by the Carpathian and Balkan ranges. They +constitute a great wheat-field whose chief commercial outlets are the +Iron Gate into Germanic Europe, and the Sulina mouth of the Danube into +the Black Sea. The growing of maize for home consumption 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 navigation is directed by +a commission of the various European powers, having its head-quarters at +Galatz, Roumania. + +[Illustration: TURKEY AND GREECE] + +In the Balkan Mountains is the famous Vale of Roses 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 +_Rustchuk_ 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, a trunk line of railway extends through +Budapest to western Europe. + +=Turkey-in-Europe.=--The European part of the Ottoman Empire has long been +politically known as the "Sick Man" of Europe, and so far as the +industries and commerce of the state are concerned, there is no excuse +for its separate existence as a state. Its political existence, however, +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 +consists of Armenians, Jews, Magyars, and Latins. + +Most of the country is rugged and unfit for grain-growing. 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 cultivable 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 are permitted by treaties to remain +subject to the regulations of the consuls. + +_Constantinople_ is the capital. Its situation on the Bosphorus is such +that under any other European government it would command a tremendous +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. + +[Illustration: HARBOR OF CONSTANTINOPLE] + +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 Ergasteria, 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 cultivable lands as well. The railway lines are +short and their business is local; there are practically no trunk line +connections 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 Mediterranean Seas is controlled by Greek +merchants, and the Greeks are everywhere in evidence in the carrying +trade of the Mediterranean. The construction of the Corinthian canal has +also given Greek commerce a material 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 American 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 Piræus_ 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. _Belgrade_ 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 Ratisbon 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 movement of the +exports and imports of these 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. 4089. + +A good map of central Europe. + +[Illustration: RUSSIAN EMPIRE] + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +EUROPE-ASIA--THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE + + +The great plain of Eurasia, which borders about half the circuit of the +Arctic Ocean, is undivided by topographic 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 the chief +granary of Europe. + +Russia is an agricultural country. Maize and rye grown for home +consumption, and wheat for export, are the chief products. Flax is a +leading export product, and the Russian crop constitutes about +four-fifths of the 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 carpets; 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, +land tillage being usually 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 supervision 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 farmers of +western Europe; moreover, the laws of land ownership and tenure also +serve to discourage farming. + +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 requirements 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. + +The forest area is surpassed only by the timber belt of North America, +both of which are in about the same latitudes. This area, within a very +few years, is destined to be the chief lumber supply of all Europe. +Moreover, the forests, the grain-growing lands, and the iron and coal +constitute 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 Poland, and 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, woollen, +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 +Transsiberian Railway connecting Vladivostok with the trunk lines of +Europe was built by the state both for strategic and economic purposes. +Large bodies of emigrants are carried into Siberia at nominal rates and +are settled on lands that are practically free. The return cargoes +consist of Chinese products--mainly silk textiles and tea--destined for +western Europe. + +A network of railways covers the grain-growing districts; 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 under government management, and +the internal water-ways aggregate about fifty thousand miles of +navigation. + +The foreign commerce is changing in character as manufactures 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 European +countries utilizing Russian trade. The commerce between Russia and China +is growing rapidly. The Transsiberian 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_, +_Kharkof_, _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 port from which most of the lumber is 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 months +when the White Sea is free from ice. _Odessa_ and _Rostof_ 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 manufacture and trade. _Warsaw_, next to Moscow, is the most +important city. + +=Siberia.=--This great territory resembles Russia in surface and climatic +features. Like the former "west" of the United States, Siberia is the +open "east" into which much of the surplus population of Russia, +Germany, and the Scandinavian countries is moving, attracted by fine +farming 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 _Semipalatinsk_ are collecting stations 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 trade-route. A railway from _Krasnovodsk_ on the Caspian +Sea extends through _Merv_, _Bokhara_, and _Samarkand_ to _Kashgar_, +where it meets the caravan trade from central China. The building of +this railway has caused a great development of cotton-growing 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, Kabistan, Daghestan, and Kazak +rugs which are sold all over Europe and America. The so-called +"Cashmere" rugs are not a product of Kashmir, 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 resources most +likely affect the industrial future of Russia? + +Discuss the policy of Siberian immigration;--what are its advantages to +German colonists? + +From the map accompanying this chapter show how the tributary streams of +the great rivers have served to extend Russian commerce through Siberia. + +Note the situation of the cities and towns of Siberia with reference 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 between +Russia and the United States. + + +FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE + +Commercial life in Russia--preferably from the article, "Russia," in the +Encyclopædia Britannica. + +For a rug of the Caucasus type, see illustration, p. 351; 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 Mediterranean Sea to +the valley of the Indus River. The Arabian Peninsula is not a part of +it, but its climate and general character are similar. The Iran +countries are exceedingly rugged, and a great part of their surface is +more than a mile above sea-level. The climate is one of great extremes; +the summer hot-waves and the winter hurricanes are probably unknown +elsewhere in severity. The greater part of Arabia is an unhabitable +desert. + +[Illustration: THE RUG-MAKING COUNTRIES] + +The rigorous conditions of surface and climate have placed their stamp +upon the population of the region. They are full of the intelligent +cunning and ferocity that mark people living under such conditions of +environment. In many parts the sterile soil and arid climate force the +sparse population into nomadic habits of life and predatory pursuits. +For the greater part, the land hardly 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. + +[Illustration: AN ANTIQUE TREE-OF-LIFE, KERMANSHAH (PERSIAN) RUG] + +Before the Christian era several trade-routes between Europe and the +Orient lay across this region, and along the caravan routes there were +the usual industries pertaining to commercial peoples. The cities of +Sinope, Trebizond, 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 once passed +over this route was crushed out of existence during the invasions by +Jenghis Khan. + +[Illustration: A KABISTAN RUG--CAUCASUS DISTRICT] + +Of the various industries of the Iran plateau, practically but one +extends beyond its borders, namely, the manufacture 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 successfully imitated anywhere else in the world. The filling +of the rugs consists of fine wool, selected not only from particular +localities, but also from certain parts of the fleece. The dye-stuffs +are common to other parts of the world, and 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 and 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 designs and methods of workmanship, and the rugs of each are +easily distinguished.[76] + +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 at from ten to fifty dollars each; choice +fabrics, however, bring from three hundred to ten thousand dollars. +Oriental rugs are hand-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 commercial people of the +greater part of this region, and although thousands have been massacred +because of Turkish 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 became 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, rugs, and mohair cloth. + +_Angora_ and _Konieh_ (_Iconium_) 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 shipped to European and American markets the fruit and textile +fabrics that have made its importance. In Syria, _Damascus_, one of the +oldest cities in the world, is the centre of a considerable trade in +textile manufactures. Rugs, dates, 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. _Yafa_ 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 Mohammedan 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 instincts as they are keen. The commerce +which connects the western part of Asia with Europe is largely of their +making. They collect and transport the goods from the interior, +delivering them to Jewish and Armenian middlemen, who turn them over to +European and American merchants. 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 situation. 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 Fars, +or Farsistan. Within its borders, however, the name Persia is almost +unknown; the native people call the country Iran. In the times of +Cyrus, Xerxes, and Darius, Persia was one of the great powers of the +world. The cultivable lands produced an abundance 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 depriving 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 wagon-roads +with innumerable toll-gates. "Turkish" tobacco, opium, and small fruits +are grown for export; silk and wool, however, are the most important +crops. The former is manufactured into brocaded textiles; the latter +into rugs and carpets. There are famous pearl-fisheries in the Persian +Gulf. + +_Tabriz_, 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. _Shiraz_, the +former capital, _Kermanshah_,[77] and _Hamadan_ are noted for rug and +carpet manufactures. _Mashad_ is the centre of the trade with Russia. +_Bushire_ and _Bender-Abbas_ 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 Afghanistan 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 prosperous +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 British 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 Peshawur. _Kandahar_ has a growing trade +resulting from the railway of the Indus Valley. _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 carried 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 gateway between occidental and oriental civilizations for +more than twenty centuries. Since the acquisition of India by Great +Britain Afghanistan has been under British protectoracy. + +=Baluchistan.=--The general features of Baluchistan resemble those of the +other parts of the Iran plateau. The coast has no harbors in the proper +sense, but the anchorage 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 Baluchistan 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-Pishin Railway. + + +QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION + +What climatic factors prevent these countries from being regions of +great production? + +How do climate and soil affect the character of the wool clip? + +How do Arabian horses compare with American thorough-bred 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 cyclopædia (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. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +BRITISH INDIA AND THE EAST INDIES + + +These countries are in 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. + +[Illustration: INDIA] + +=British India.=--The Empire of India comprises an area half as large as +the United States, situated on the southern slope of Asia. It covers the +same latitude as the span between the Venezuelan coast and the Ohio +River; from the Indus to the Siam frontier the distance is about two +thousand miles. It includes also settlements in the Malay peninsula. + +Excepting the plateau of the Dekkan, and the slopes of 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 Mountains 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 gateways 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 admirable railway systems the necessary food-stuffs +are quickly shipped to the district where the shortage occurs. + +The Hindus constitute about three-fourths of the population. Along the +northern border there are many peoples of Afghan and Turkic descent; in +Burma there is a considerable admixture of Mongol blood. An elaborate +system of social castes imposed by the teachings of Brahmanism has made +the introduction of western methods of education and civilization +somewhat difficult to carry out. The educational system of the +dominating Brahmanic caste, although of a very high order, does not fit +the people to cope with the commercialism of western civilization. + +Five-sevenths of the population are engaged in agricultural labor. Rice, +wheat, millet, meat, and sugar are the chief food-crops. Of these, rice +and wheat[78] only are exported; 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; +perhaps 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 manufacture of rugs and coverings. + +Cotton cultivation is rapidly taking first rank among the industries of +India, for which the conditions of soil, climate, 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 purchaser, 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 industry 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 of Indian tea is regarded as superior to the Chinese +product, 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 affairs are concerned. + +There are about two hundred and fifty native states included within the +territory of British India. In addition to the native ruler, a British +governor or magistrate carries out the administrative features of the +British Government. 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 River, +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 finely adapted for +commerce. Railways 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 commerce and +finance as well. + +=Bombay.=--Bombay includes a number of states bordering 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 +European 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 centre for cotton textiles. _Ahmedabad_, 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 control of the Indus Valley and the passes leading +from it. The Sind-Pishin Railway traverses the Indus Valley from Karachi +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. _Peshawur_ is important +chiefly as a military station. + +=Burma.=--British Burma includes the basin of the Irawadi River. The +uplands are wheat-fields; the lowlands produce rice. _Mandalay_ is a +river-port and commercial centre. _Rangoon_ is the seaport, with a +considerable ship-building industry that results from the teak forests. +Although the Irawadi is navigable for light craft, railways along the +valley have become a necessity; these centre 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, has 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 +Karakorum Mountains, is known chiefly 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 encourage 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 share going to the United States. Spices, rubber, gutta-percha, +tapioca, and rattan constitute the remaining trade. Rice, cotton cloth, +and opium are the imports. + +The Federated Malay States, situated in the Malay peninsula, and the +northern part of Borneo are also British 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 Sumatra are the most important. They are divided into +"residencies," and the administering officers exercise control over the +various plantations. In addition, there are numerous private +plantations. The colonial administration 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 Banka and Billiton (with +Riouw) 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 commerce. + +=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 administration of the state is progressive, and much of the +resources have been developed in the last few years. + +Rice and teak are the leading products. The rice is 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 +middlemen, 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 River, and floated to Bangkok; there they +are squared and sent to European markets. Pepper and preserved fish are +also exported. The Menam River 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 River, 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 manufactures of cotton and silk textiles. On +account of cheaply mined coal, there is a considerable growth of this +industry. _Saigon_ is the business centre and port at which the Chinese +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 commerce of +India? + +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 cyclopædia, preferably the Encyclopædia Britannica, read the +following topics: + + Caste + Lord Clive + Rattan + Pepper + + + + +CHAPTER 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 and 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 countries 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 productivity 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 is not required for their cultivation. + +Wheat, millet, and pease are grown throughout the lowlands 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 +imported, 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 adjoining province. + +Tea is extensively cultivated, and China exports nearly one-half of the +world's product; the total amount produced is considerably more than +half. Most of this goes to Great Britain and Canada. Raw silk is an +important product, and the mulberry-tree is extensively grown. Cotton 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 management 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 +concession in Shansi. + +[Illustration: EASTERN CHINA] + +For the greater part the manufactures are home industries.[79] Until +recently most of the cotton cloth was made 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 carry 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 methods, 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 communication. 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 +commercially tributary to Canton and Hongkong. The most important +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 +standards. It was built not so much for the necessities of traffic, as +to avoid the numerous pirate vessels that infest the coasts. Junks, +row-boats, house-boats, and foreign steam craft are all employed for +traffic. The internal water-ways aggregate about fifteen thousand miles +in length. + +[Illustration: A TEA-PLANTATION--PICKING THE LEAVES] + +[Illustration: PREPARING THE LEAVES FOR ROASTING] + +[Illustration: TEA-BALES FOR EXPORT THROUGH RUSSIA] + +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 +communication, the most important, in many respects, being a direct +overland line between Peking and European cities. Inasmuch 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 trustworthy. 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: + + ---------------------+-------------+------------- + | | CAPITAL OR + STATE | POPULATION | CHIEF TOWN + ---------------------+-------------+------------- + China proper | 380,000,000 | Peking + Manchuria | 7,500,000 | Kirin + Tibet | 6,000,000 | Lassa + Mongolia | 2,000,000 | Urga + Jungaria | 600,000 | Kur-kara-usu + 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 proper 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-Yamen). +The government business is managed by a Grand Council whose members are +advisers to the throne. The government is controlled mainly by Manchu +officials. + +[Illustration: HONGKONG] + +Until within a few years China nominally allowed no foreign traders +within her borders; recently, however, about forty cities, commonly +known as "treaty ports," have been opened to the trade of foreign +countries. Goods going inland any distance are required to pay a "liken" +or internal tariff at the border of each province. + +Several concessions of territory within recent years have been forced +from China by foreign powers: thus, Great Britain has Hongkong Island +(with the peninsula of Kaulung) 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 includes the right to mine coal and +iron, and to build railways within a territory of much larger extent. At +the close of the war between Russia and Japan, the latter acquired Port +Arthur, the gateway to Manchuria. + +Whatever may be the political significance of the opening of the treaty +ports and the granting of the various concessions, 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 centres 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 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 caravan tea-trade to the Russian frontiers. +Eastern Turkestan is mainly a desert. _Kashgar_, the metropolis of the +fertile portion, is the exchange market for Chinese and Russian +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 Russian trading post, is connected with +Peking and with European cities by railway. + +[Illustration: JAPAN AND KOREA] + +=Korea=, formerly a vassal of China, became an independent state after the +war between China and Japan, this step being forced by Russia. The +country is a natural market for Japanese manufactures, and in turn +supplies Japan with a considerable amount of food-stuffs. _Chemulpo_ 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 Britain of the East," and the people are also called the "Yankees +of the East." Structurally, the chain of islands consists of ranges of +volcanic mountains. The abundant rains, 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 commercial 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 California, every square foot of +available land must be cultivated. 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. Rice is grown on the coast +lowlands, the west or rainy side[80] producing the larger crop. The +Japanese crop is so superior that the larger part is exported, while an +inferior Chinese grain is imported for home consumption. The quality of +the Japanese rice is due to skilful cultivation. + +[Illustration: NATIVE PLOUGHING RICE-FIELDS] + +[Illustration: IRRIGATING A RICE-FIELD] + +[Illustration: RICE-FIELDS] + +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 raw +silk is of superior quality, and the exported material is used mainly in +the manufacture of ribbons 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 Puget 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 (_Rhus 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 water-proof; it is not affected by +climate. + +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 Asia; 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 important factor in the world's product. + +Manufacturing industries are giving shape to the industrial 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 engaged in textile manufactures. Much of the cloth, both +cotton and silk, is still woven on cottage looms. The cotton 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 +export. + +Three thousand miles of railway aid the internal industries of the +country; several steamship lines to Hongkong and Shanghai, and one or +more each to Vladivostok, Bombay, San Francisco, Seattle, Honolulu, +Australia, and Vancouver (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. France and the United States buy +most of the raw silk. The latter 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 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 centres 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 development 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? + +From 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 leading articles of trade +between these states and the United States. + + +FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE + +From a cyclopædia read the following topics: The opium war, Commodore +Perry's expedition. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +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 +controlled 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 and seventy +million, and the continent is practically without manufacturing +enterprises. The people, therefore, must be supplied with clothing and +other commodities. In 1900 the total trade of Africa with the rest of +the world was about one and one-third billion dollars, 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. + +[Illustration: AFRICA] + +The food-producing power of Egypt depends on the Nile. In lower Egypt a +considerable area is made productive at the ordinary stage of water by +means of irrigating 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 engineering 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 structures, it is thought, will increase the productive power of +the country about one-fourth. Rice, maize (an Egyptian 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 refineries +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 manufacture of thread and hosiery. The cultivation +of tobacco is forbidden by law, but Egyptian cigarettes are an item of +considerable importance. They are made of imported Turkish tobacco by +foreign workmen. There is a heavy export duty on native tobacco +exported, and the ban on the inferior native-grown article is intended +to prevent its admixture with the high-grade product from Turkey, and +thereby to keep up the standard of the cigarettes. + +Egypt is nominally a vassal of Turkey, paying to the Sultan a yearly +tribute of $3,600,000. Great Britain's is the real controlling hand, +because the Suez Canal is Great Britain's gateway 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 British 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 Saïd_ 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. Valuable mining concessions have been granted to foreign +companies. 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 entrance 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 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 genuine. 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 import +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 cultivation is extensively carried on, and +coffee is the leading export. _Monrovia_ is the chief centre of trade. + +=North African Possessions.=--French influence is paramount 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 Mountains, 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 consumption, 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 important 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 the United States. A large part of +the crop, however, is consumed by the Arabs. Sumac-tanned goat-skins, +for book-binding leather, are also exported. + +The colonies must import coal. Manufactures are therefore restricted to +the preparation of the fruit and food 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 divide the lake-region and the +Zanzibar coast. On the Guinea coast the French are an additional factor. +The trade of these regions consists of an exchange of tropical +products--palm-oil, rubber, ebony, camwood, ivory, and hides--for cloth, +tobacco, fire-arms, beads and trinkets, and preserved foods. Most of +this trade is carried on by companies holding royal charters. + +The Kongo State is a semi-official corporation of this character, the +King of the Belgians being its chief executive 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 River is the outlet of the state, and to facilitate the +transportation of the products, railways have been built, or are under +construction, around the rapids. This region is about the only +remaining source of elephant ivory, but most of the supply consists of +the tusks of animals 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 Guinea coast,[81] +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 German 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 facing the Strait of +Bab-el-Mandeb, and also of the peninsula of Guardafui. Their actual +possession, however, is restricted to the island and trading-post of +_Massawa_. 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 Hope was a sort of half-way house between +British ports and India, and this position made it commercially +important. Even at the present time more than fifteen hundred vessels, +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 consumption, 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 likewise 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 feathers. 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 practically 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 than the number required to meet +the demand. All the Kimberley mines are now consolidated under one +company. 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.[82] Other undeveloped mines in the +territory of Rhodesia 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 sufficient for the growing of +sugar-cane, and sugar is an important 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 Rift") to the +Mediterranean 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 Town_ is the most important centre of trade in South Africa. A +considerable trade, however, is carried on at _Port Elizabeth_ and at +_Durban_, the port of Natal. _Kimberley_ is the seat of the +diamond-mining interests, and _Johannesberg_ of the gold-mines. + +Germany and Portugal divide the southwest coast. _Walfisch 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 +_Lourenço Marquez_ has a fine harbor. + + +QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION + +Has the partition of Africa been an advantage or a disadvantage 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 cyclopædia read the following topics: Ivory, Suez Canal, +Gibraltar, Livingstone, Diamonds, Canary Islands. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +OCEANIA + + +Oceania, the island division of the world, includes Australasia and the +great groups of islands in the Pacific 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, and that they depend on the +metal-working and manufacturing people of the Atlantic slopes for +clothing and commodities, 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, and 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, London, 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. The 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.[83] + +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 commonwealth of Australia consists +of the various states of Australia 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 steamships, Australia +has become a heavy exporter of meat. Areas long unproductive are now +cattle-ranges; mutton constitutes the heaviest shipment. Inasmuch as the +transportation is almost wholly by water, the cost is very light, and +the mutton can be sold to London dealers at less than four cents per +pound. + +[Illustration: THE COMMERCE OF THE PACIFIC] + +[Illustration: AUSTRALIA] + +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 competitor of California claret for public favor, and the two are +similar in character. Cane-sugar is grown in the moist regions of +Queensland; it is the chief supply of the commonwealth and the +neighboring islands. The forests produce an abundance of hard woods, but +practically no building-timber. Jarrah wood paving-blocks are an +important export. British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon supply much +of the building-timber. + +Gold has been the chief mineral product since the settlement 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 a 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 financial 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, cattle 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 landed. _Brisbane_, mainly a coal and a wool market, +is connected with British Columbia by an ocean cable. Steamships by way +of the Suez Canal generally call at _Perth_ and _Adelaide_. _Hobart_ and +_Launcestown_ are the markets of Tasmania. + +=New Zealand.=--This colony is one of the most prosperous and best +administered states in existence. The cultivable lands produce enough +wheat for home use, and an excess for export. Cattle and sheep are the +chief resource, however, and pretty nearly everything--meat, 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. + +New Zealand flax (_Phormium tenax_), a kind of marsh 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 manufactures 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 +_Auckland_ 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 character; 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 +export 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 perhaps the most important +German possession, and German planters have made them highly productive. +They were formerly held under a community-of-interest plan by Great +Britain, Germany, and the United States. A joint commission awarded the +greater part of the territory to Germany. In addition to the ordinary +products, pineapples and limes are exported. Most of the trade is +carried on by way of Australia. _Apia_ is the trading-port. + +Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon, Marshall, and Caroline groups +have also been acquired by Germany. 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 Caledonia, 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 by the construction of +an isthmian canal? + +What has been the effect of the Australian wool-clip on the cloth-making +industry of England and Germany? + +How will the acquisition of Hawaii and the Philippine Islands affect the +commerce of the United States? + +From Commercial Australia find the trade of the United States with the +Commonwealth. + + +FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE + +From a cyclopædia read the history of Australia as a convict colony. + +Commercial Australia. + + + + +APPENDIX + +TRADE OF THE PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE +TWENTIETH CENTURY + + + Sells Buys + Country Imports Exports to U.S. from U.S. + Argentina $110,000,000 $161,850,000 $10,000,000 $11,000,000 + Australia 201,000,000 224,000,000 5,263,000 28,164,000 + Austria- + Hungary 335,486,000 383,748,000 10,000,000 6,844,000 + Belgium 428,651,000 352,850,000 14,920,000 51,444,000 + Bolivia 5,845,000 15,618,000 22 120,000 + Brazil 97,330,000 165,461,000 64,914,000 11,517,000 + Canada 181,238,000 177,443,000 42,482,000 105,790,000 + Chile 46,916,000 61,201,000 7,474,000 4,507,000 + China 203,421,000 124,528,000 18,126,000 18,176,000 + Colombia 10,695,000 18,487,000 4,811,000 2,924,000 + Cuba 66,584,000 63,278,000 46,664,000 27,007,000 + Denmark 111,542,000 75,549,000 797,000 15,500,000 + Ecuador 6,541,000 7,509,000 1,578,000 1,590,000 + Egypt 75,366,000 77,754,000 8,867,000 1,321,000 + France 843,255,000 774,497,000 81,315,000 78,406,000 + Germany 1,290,254,000 1,054,685,000 99,970,000 184,679,000 + Greece 26,782,000 18,100,000 1,447,000 286,000 + India, + British 264,318,000 392,025,000 47,172,000 5,647,000 + India, + Dutch 67,755,000 100,632,000 32,309,000 1,653,000 + India, + French 36,576,000 30,513,000 ... 118,000 + Italy 331,668,000 265,270,000 27,631,000 34,046,000 + Japan 127,397,000 124,209,000 36,855,000 21,163,000 + Mexico 64,036,000 77,583,000 17,273,000 83,722,000 + Netherlands 815,442,000 695,763,000 17,273,000 83,722,000 + Norway 83,255,000 43,616,000 ... ... + Peru 11,276,000 21,890,000 2,911,000 2,312,000 + Philippine + Islands 30,279,000 23,215,000 4,421,000 4,027,000 + Portugal 62,497,000 30,546,000 3,642,000 4,454,000 + Roumania 41,878,000 54,041,000 101,000 31,000 + Russia 269,493,000 375,276,000 7,236,000 6,506,000 + Spain 161,867,000 129,399,000 7,041,000 16,786,000 + Sweden 143,363,000 104,878,000 4,370,000 11,521,000 + Switzerland 202,651,000 161,458,000 16,035,000 233,000 + Turkey 103,110,000 64,876,000 2,437,000 184,000 + United + Kingdom 2,540,265,000 1,362,729,000 155,292,000 598,767,000 + United + States 903,321,000 1,355,482,000 ... ... + Uruguay 24,497,000 28,674,000 1,975,000 1,481,000 + Venezuela 8,457,000 17,962,000 6,610,000 2,737,000 + + + + +INDEX + + +Acapulco, 269 + +Acré, 281 + +Activities classified, 4 + +Adams, 220 + +Aden, 354 + +Adjustment to environment, 86 + +Afghanistan, 355 + +Alaska, 254 + +Alberta, 265 + +Alexandria, 384 + +Alfa, 124 + +Algeria, 385 + +Alpaca, 111, 115 + +Altitude, effects of, 32 + +Aluminium, 179 + +Amazon River, 53 + +Amber, 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 coast-plain, 213, 221 + +Attar-of-roses, 338 + +Australia, 392 + +Austria-Hungary, 335 + +Bagdad, 354 + +Baku, 347, 348 + +Baltimore, 217 + +Baluchistan, 357 + +Banca, 181, 364 + +Barbados, 273 + +Barley, 101 + +Barmen-Elberfeld, 308 + +Batavia, 364 + +Bauxite, 179 + +Beef, exports of U.S., 244 + +Beet sugar, 186, 303, 321 + +Beginnings of cities, 82 + +Belgium, 313 + +Belgrade, 341 + +Bengal, 361 + +Benzine, 156 + +Bergen, 312 + +Berlin, 308 + +Bermuda, 273 + +Bessemer-steel boilers, 63 + +Big tree, 198 + +Billiton, 364 + +Birmingham, Ala., 165, 225 + +Birmingham, Eng., 302 + +Bismarck Archipelago, 397 + +Black walnut, 199 + +Blende, 182 + +Bluefish, 206 + +Boers, 86 + +Bogota, 277 + +Bohemian glass, 336 + +Boise City, 250 + +Bokhara, 347 + +Bolivia, 280 + +Bombay, 362 + +Bosnia, 337 + +Boston, 215 + +Boxwood, 200 + +Brass, 178 + +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, 237 + +Burma, British, 362 + +Burr clover, 34 + +Butte, 250 + + +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 + +Cañons, 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 + +Cavité, 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, 326 + +Cotton, Egyptian, 109, 383 + gin, 109 + Indian, 360 + Peruvian, 108, 278 + sea island, 108 + +Cotton crop, distribution of, 239 + +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 + +Deadwood, 250 + +Demerara, 286 + +Denmark, 312 + +Denver, 250 + +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 + + +Fairs, 346 + +Fall line, 53, 221 + +Fall River, 220 + +Felt hats, 209 + +Fertility of irrigated regions, 33 + +Feudalism, 7 + +Fiji Islands, 396 + +Fisheries, 266 + +Fish hatcheries, 207 + +Flax, 120, 300, 314, 343 + New Zealand, 124 + +Forced draught, 63 + +Forest areas, 193, 261, 288, 299, 310 + +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, 166, 172, 248, 264, 268, 286, 344, 379, 395 + +Grain elevators, 94 + +Grape industry in New York, 36 + +Graphite, 153 + +Grasses, 88 + +Great Britain, 295 + +Great Central Plain, 22 + +Great Lakes, 227 + +Great Salt 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, 264 + +Hamburg, 308 + +Hamilton, 265 + +Hanse League, 13 + +Harbors, 26, 47, 84 + +Hargreaves, 109 + +Hartford, 221 + +Havana, 272 + cigars, 137 + +Hawaiian Islands, 255 + +Helena, 250 + +Hematite, 163 + +Hemp, 121, 257 + +Henequen, 122 + +Herodotus quoted, 106 + +Herring fisheries, 205 + +Herzegovina, 337 + +Hickory, 199 + +Hilo, 256 + +Hodeida, 130 + +Holland, 316 + +Hongkong, 365, 374 + +Honolulu, 256, 392 + +Houston, 238 + +Hudson's Bay Company, 208, 262 + + +Iloilo, 258 + +Inclination of axis, 36 + +Indianapolis, 237 + +Inland waters, 50 + +Intermontane 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, 163, 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, 312 + + +Lac, 145 + +Lacquer, 378 + +La Guaira, 286 + +Lanolin, 114 + +Lassa, 374 + +Las Vegas, 250 + +Laudanum, 139 + +Lawrence, 220 + +Lead, 180 + +Lead pencils, 153 + +Leadville, 250 + +Leather goods, 221 + +Liechtenstein, 337 + +Lignum vitæ, 200 + +Lithographic stone, 305 + +Liverpool, 302 + +Llama, 115 + +Lobster fisheries, 207 + +Locomotive, Central-Atlantic type, 64 + +Logwood, 201 + +London, 302 + +Los Angeles, 157, 252 + +Louisville, 237 + +Lourenço Marquez, 390 + +Lowell, 220 + +Lynn, 221 + + +Macao, 374 + +Mackerel, 206 + +Mackintosh, 143 + +Madagascar, 387 + +Madras, 363 + +Magnetite, 163 + +Maguey sugar, 187 + +Mahogany, 199 + +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 + +Martinique, 273 + +Maté, 136 + +Maverick, 240 + +Melbourne, 395 + +Memphis, 238 + +Merino wool, 111, 112 + +Metals, influence of, in cities, 85 + +Mexico, 267 + city of, 269 + +Milan, 328 + +Mileage books, 72 + +Millet, 359 + +Milwaukee, 230 + +Mingo Junction, 224 + +Mining, 248 + +Minneapolis, 230, 236 + +Miquelon, 266 + +Mississippi River, 52 + valley, 232 + +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, 396 + +New Haven, 221 + +New Orleans, 238 + +New York City, 84, 214, 215, 230, 238, 250 + +New Zealand, 395 + +New Zealand flax, 123, 396 + +Newfoundland, 266 + +Nicaragua, 270 + +Nickel, 182 + +Nieuwchwang, 374 + +Nigeria, 387 + +Nile River, barrage of, 383 + floods of, 33 + navigation of, 54 + +Nitrate, 282 + +Norfolk, 218 + +Northern Securities Company, 227 + +Norway, 310 + +Nova Scotia, 264 + +Novgorod, 209 + + +Oak, 198 + +Oats, 101 + +Ocean steamships, 45 + +Odessa, 134, 347 + +Ogden, 250 + +Ohio River, 52 + +Oil of theobroma, 135 + +Old Government Java, 129 + +Oleo-resins, 141 + +Omaha, 236 + +Ontario, 265 + +Opium, 139, 360 + +Oregon pine, 252 + +Ottawa, 265 + +Oyster fisheries, 207 + + +Pacific Coast lowlands, 250 + +Paddy, 103 + +Pago Pago Harbor, 258 + +Panama, 277 + hats, 133, 279 + +Pará, 291 + +Paraffine, 157 + +Paraguay, 293 + tea, 136 + +Paris, 324 + +Passes, 19 + +Pearl Harbor, 256 + +Peking, 374 + +Penang, 363 + +Pepper, 365 + +Persia, 354 + +Persian lamb, 208 + +Peru, 278 + +Peshawur, 356, 362 + +Petroleum, 154, 225, 344, 379 + jelly, 157 + +Philadelphia, 216 + +Philippine Islands, 256 + +Pine, 197 + +Piræus, The, 341 + +Pitch, 145 + +Pittsburg, 106, 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 Saïd, 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, 180 + + +Rabbit skins, 209 + +Railway, Canadian Pacific, 263 + Chesapeake & Ohio, 71 + Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, 68 + New York Central, 65, 67 + Northern Pacific, 227 + Sind-Pishin, 356 + Southern, 71 + Tehuantepec, 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, 252 + +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, 288 + +Rug wools, 114 + +Rugs, oriental, 351, 355 + +Ruhr iron fields, 306 + +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 Fé, 250 + +Santiago, 283 + +Santos, 290 + +Saskatchewan, 265 + +Savannah, 238 + +Schooners, 44, 47 + +Scranton, 224 + +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, 347 + +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, 328 + +Spermaceti, 204 + +Spokane, 250 + +Sponge, 208 + +Steel, Bessemer, 160, 169, 170, 222, 300, 304, 345 + +Stephenson, 63 + +Stockholm, 312 + +Stockton, 252 + +Sugar, 185, 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, 32 + +Textiles, 105 + +Three-mile fishing limit, 262 + +Thrown silk, 118 + +Tientsin, 134, 374 + +Tin, 181, 364 + +Tobacco, 136, 237, 240, 364, 383 + +Tokio, 380 + +Toledo, 225 + +Topography and trade routes, 24 + +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, 385 + +Turf grass, 34 + +Turkey-in-Europe, 339 + +Turks invade Europe, 9 + +Turpentine, 144 + +Tussar silk, 119 + +Tutuila, 258 + +Tweed, 112 + + +Uruguay, 294 + + +Valparaiso, 283 + +Vancouver, 266 + +Vanderbilt locomotive fire-box, 64 + +Vanilla, 268 + +Vaseline, 157 + +Venezuela, 285 + +Vicksburg, 238 + +Vienna, 337 + +Virginia City, 250 + +Vladivostok, 347 + +Vuelta Abajo, 137 + +Vulcanized rubber, 142 + + +Wai-wu-pu, 373 + +Walla Walla, 250 + +Warsaw, 347 + +Water-power, 84 + +Waterproof cloth, 143 + +Welland Canal, 263 + +Wellington, 396 + +Whale fisheries, 203 + +Wheat, 88, 96, 244, 344, 359, 367 + +White Pass, 254 + +Willamette Valley, 250 + +Winnipeg, 265 + +Wood-pulp, 124 + +Wool, 110,115, 117, 244, 251, 292, 297, 323 + + +Yafa, 354 + +Yokohama, 380 + +Youngstown, 166 + +Yucatan, 267 + + +Zinc, 182 + +Zinfandel, 251 + +Footnotes: + +[1] If the edition for free distribution is exhausted, these may be +purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Public Printer, +Washington, D.C. + +[2] 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 Tadmor +is near the ruins of the former city. + +[3] Cosmas 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 theological arguments intended to disprove the Geography +written by Ptolemy. + +[4] The date is variously given as 1169, 1200, and 1241. + +[5] To Waldemar III. of Denmark it dictated terms that made its power in +Scandinavia supreme. + +[6] For a complete list of books for reference, see p. xii. + +[7] The record time on this route was made by the Lucania in five days, +seven hours, and twenty-three minutes, from Daunts Rock, Queenstown, to +Sandy Hook light. The fastest day's run yet recorded was made by the +Deutschland--601 nautical miles, a speed of 24.19 knots. + +[8] In Congress the River and Harbor Bill always receives a generous +appropriation. + +[9] 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. + +[10] 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. + +[11] 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. + +[12] On one great trunk system the average ton-mile rate in 1870 was one +and one-seventh cents; in 1900 it was just one-half that sum. + +[13] The modern steam-making boiler 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, thereby increasing the draught through the fire-box. + +[14] 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 "camel-back" of +the Philadelphia & Reading hauled 4,800 tons of coal from the mines to +tide-water without a helper. + +[15] The Vanderbilt boiler 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 cylindrical +form largely obviates the necessity of an array of stay-bolts to prevent +warping; the corrugated surface gives greater heating power. + +[16] The Central-Atlantic type of locomotive illustrates a modern +improvement. The driving-wheels are placed a little forward of their +usual position, 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. 61._) + +[17] 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. +Gotthard. In this manner trunk systems have gradually developed. + +[18] The building of the West Shore Railroad is an illustration. After +both roads had suffered tremendous losses the New York Central settled +the matter by purchasing the West Shore. This was one of a great number +of similar cases both in the United States and Europe. + +[19] In Great Britain the ton-rate is about $2.30 per hundred miles; in +Germany, $1.75; in Russia, $1.30; in the United States, $0.70. The +difference is due as much to the length of distance hauled as to +economical management. + +[20] Thus, 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 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 by 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 altering rates. If C fixes a rate, then A and B must +either charge higher rates between Chicago and Montreal, or Chicago and +Albany, than between their terminals. And although this is illegal in +most States, the laws are evaded by "rebate," or repayment of a certain +sum to the shipper. Of the three roads B, on account of easy grades, is +in the best position 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 delivery of through freight, to +carry it at a slightly lower rate. B then adjusts 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 +compete 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 Danville 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 Danville was shown to be not excessive, but if the +railway were required to maintain 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. + +[21] 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-grants and the +money subsidies were scandalously used. At least one road used its +earnings to build a competing line and, after disposing of the +land-grant and pocketing the proceeds, allowed the Government to +foreclose the mortgage and sell the original road. + +[22] From the Latin "castra," a camp. + +[23] In 1897 the world's crop was 2,226,750,000 bushels, and as a +result, the countries in which the crop was short suffered from high +prices. Had it not been for the prompt carrying service of railways and +steamships famine would have resulted. + +[24] In order to yield a crop of twenty-five bushels per acre the soil +must supply 110 lbs. of nitrogen, 45 lbs. of phosphoric acid, 30.5 lbs. +of lime, 14.5 lbs. of magnesia, and 142 lbs. of potash; these are +approximately the mineral elements taken out of the soil with each crop, +and it is needless to say that they must be replaced or the grain will +starve for want of nutrient substances. + +[25] In the United States there are about seven wheat-districts, each +characterized by particular varieties that grow 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 Fultz, Fulcaster, Purple Straw, and May are +foremost. In the north central group of States Early Red Clawson, Poole, +Dawson's Golden Chaff, Buda Pest, and Fultz 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 Blue Stem +(which are either winter or spring) are the main varieties. + +[26] Sometimes the owner sends it to the nearest elevator at tide-water +where the grain is stored, not in bulk, but in the original packages, +subject to his demand. In the course of a month or six weeks it absorbs +so much moisture that the gain in weight more than pays the storage +charges. + +[27] 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 Philadelphia are also important shipping ports. + +[28] The following is approximately the yield of the chief wheat-growing +countries in bushels per acre: + + Denmark 42 + England 29 + New Zealand 26 + Germany 23.2 + Holland & Belgium 21.5 + Hungary 18.5 + France 19.5 + Austria 16.3 + Canada 15.5 + United States 12.3 + Argentina 12.2 + Italy 12.1 + Australia 10 + India 9.2 + Russia 8.6 + Algeria 7.5 + +The low average in Australia, India, and Algeria is due mainly to lack +of rainfall; in the United States and Russia, mainly to unskilful +cultivation. + +[29] It seems to have been introduced into Turkey from India about the +latter part of the fifteenth century, after which it was occasionally +heard of in Europe as "Turkey corn." + +[30] The "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 in water. + +[31] The gin, invented by Eli Whitney in 1793, enabled one man to do by +machinery about the same amount of work as previously had required 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 numerous +infringements, and he died a poor man. + +[32] The commercial distinction is a sensible one: hair is hard, crisp, +straight, and does not felt; wool is soft, curly, and felts readily. + +[33] An ounce of eggs produces about forty thousand worms, and these, +during the grub stage, require about fifteen hundred pounds of leaves, +about one-half of which is actually consumed. + +[34] Charles II. of England also forbade its use (1675) and attempted to +close the coffee-houses that had sprung up in London, but in spite of +the ban and the prohibitive tax laid upon it, the use of coffee became +general. Similar efforts to close the coffee-houses in Constantinople +failed. + +[35] The full-grown leaf attains a length of from four to nine inches; +those picked rarely exceed one-and-a-half inches in length. + +[36] Brick tea consists of leaves moulded into bricks under heavy +pressure. Refuse and stems are also thus prepared for the cheaper +grades. + +[37] The following are the chief rubber-producing trees: _Siphonia +elastica_, or _Hevea brasiliensis_, Amazon forests, yields Pará rubber; +_Manihot Glaziovii_, also a tapioca-producing shrub, Ceará province, +Brazil, furnishes Ceará rubber; _Castilloa elastica_, 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. + +[38] 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." + +[39] 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. + +[40] 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. + +[41] 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 +about 1850. The hardness of a pencil is regulated by mixing clay with +the powdered graphite. + +[42] These percentages are on the supposition that the ores are +chemically pure; the percentage of metal actually obtained is somewhat +less. + +[43] These percentages are on the supposition that the ores are +chemically pure; the percentage of metal actually obtained is somewhat +less. + +[44] These percentages are on the supposition that the ores are +chemically pure; the percentage of metal actually obtained is somewhat +less. + +[45] These percentages are on the supposition that the ores are +chemically pure; the percentage of metal actually obtained is somewhat +less. + +[46] 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. + +[47] Under ordinary circumstances about two tons of coal, or +three-quarters of a ton of coke, are required to produce a ton of +pig-iron. + +[48] Terne plate is sheet-iron coated with an alloy of lead and tin. + +[49] Heredity is likewise a factor. The seeds of knotty, scraggly trees +are very apt to produce trees of their own kind and _vice versa_. + +[50] 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 great +industrial centres is a cash business. Even if the money existed, the +transfer 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 _balances_ 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 next. + +[51] These roads are financed by the Northern Securities Company and +form a link in the Hill-Morgan lines. Their intercontinental traffic is +large. + +[52] Their dividing line is the centre of a street. + +[53] The brand consisted of any specific device, such as an initial, a +monogram, or a conventional form that might be 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. + +[54] 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. + +[55] It is one-third of their capital stock plus the bonded +indebtedness. + +[56] The high latitude of the wheat-region, which in most cases is too +cold for the growing of food-stuffs, in this region is tempered by +occasional warm winds known as "Chinook winds." These winds are the +saving feature of wheat-growing. They prevail also in British Columbia, +Washington, and Oregon. + +[57] Freight rates from Coatzacoalcos to San Francisco are already fixed +at $6.50 per ton; by the transcontinental railways they vary from $12 to +$15 per ton. + +[58] The entire Cuban crop is comparatively small, being but little more +than one-eighth that of the United States. + +[59] Vegetable ivory is the seed or nut of a species of palm +(_Phytelephas macrocarpa_). The kernel of the nut gradually acquires the +hardness and appearance of the best ivory, for which it is employed as a +substitute. + +[60] The leaves of this shrub (_Erythroxylon coca_) contain a stimulant +substance 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 substance _cocaine_, now in demand all over the +world as an anæsthetic in eye and throat surgery. + +[61] More than a score of species of the tree from which this bark is +obtained grow in the higher eastern slopes of the Andes, but a very +large part is obtained from the tree, _Cinchona calisaya_. The medicinal +substance, quinine, is extracted from the bark, and in the past +half-century it has 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. + +[62] 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. + +[63] 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. + +[64] The pod of a shrub (_Cæsalpina coriaria_); it contains a +considerable proportion of tannin and is used for tanning leather. + +[65] The pericarp or pod contains about twenty-four prismatic-shaped +nuts. + +[66] The cattle for Cuba and Brazil must be shipped in open pens in +crossing 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 summer 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. + +[67] 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. + +[68] This is equivalent to the imposition of a tax on all the sugar +consumed at home. + +[69] Most of the lithographic stone is obtained at Solnhofen. + +[70] This is a little greater than the average ton-mile rate on the New +York Central Railroad between New York and Chicago. + +[71] The name Zuider, or Zuyder, means "south"; it was so named to +distinguish it from the North Sea. + +[72] 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. + +[73] It is cultivated as an ornamental tree in the Southern States and +in California. + +[74] A small vein of coal occurs near Freiburg. + +[75] 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 +nearing completion under the Simplon Pass is more than twelve miles +long. Five railways cross the northern frontier into Germany, and German +commerce profits most by them. + +[76] 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 American and European designs are made at Ushak and Smyrna. +"Smyrna" rugs are made in Philadelphia. + +[77] The most valuable Kermanshah rug, now no longer made there, is the +tree-of-life prayer-rug, an illustration of which is shown on p. 350. +The design is emblematic of the story of the Garden of Eden. + +[78] In 1900 the aggregate value of the wheat exported to Great Britain +was only £2,200. + +[79] Since the treaty of 1901, which forbids the importation of +fire-arms, a number of large plants for the manufacture of fire-arms, +smokeless powder, and fixed ammunition have been established on the +lower Yangtze. + +[80] The islands are mainly in the belt of prevailing westerly winds. +More rain, therefore, falls on the west than on the east coasts. + +[81] This region is also known us the Gold Coast. Formerly it furnished +the chief British supply of gold, and the gold coin known as the +"guinea" received its name from this circumstance. + +[82] This region was formerly comprised in the Boer republics, Orange +Free State and South African Republic. In 1899 they declared war against +Great Britain, with the result that they were defeated and annexed to +that country--the former as Orange Colony, the latter as Transvaal +Colony. + +[83] It is estimated that twenty-two acres of land are necessary to +sustain one adult on fresh meat. The same area of wheat would feed +forty-two people; of oats about eighty-five people; of maize, potatoes, +and rice, one hundred and seventy people. But twenty-two acres planted +with bread-fruit or bananas will support about six thousand. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY*** + + +******* This file should be named 24884-8.txt or 24884-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/8/8/24884 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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