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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.