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.

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.

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

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