209 
Modern Business Geography 
almost exclusively with their much needed manufactured goods. 
[t is surprising to note on the map, or better on a globe, how 
nearly the Pacific coast of South America lies due south from 
the Atlantic coast of North America. Florida seems to point 
directly to the Panama Canal and the west coast of Colombia, 
Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. 
The canal protects the United States in war. If the United States 
should ever go to war again, the Panama Canal would enable the 
Atlantic and Pacific battleship fleets quickly to unite on either 
coast. 
(4) 
QUESTIONS, EXERCISES, AND PROBLEMS 
A. The ships of a great port. 
1. From the New York Times or some other newspaper that gives shipping 
news, clip the list of steamships arriving in New York. Indicate on an out- 
line map the starting point of each ship. Compare the length of time of 
their voyages. Pick out three that you think are tramp steamers, and 
explain your choice. 
What might reasonably be supposed to be the cargo of each of the ships 
arriving? Other geographies or an encyclopedia may help you to make 
reasonable suppositions. Make entries in your notebook in this way: 
NAME oF Surp Port oF DEPARTURE 
Columbia 
Bristol. England 
PossiBLE CARGO 
Coal : and steel manufactures 
SaiLing TIME 
18 days 
3. A steamship company must pay for the following expenses and equip- 
ment: (a) hulls and their fittings; (b) engines and other machinery; 
(c) fuel; (d) wages of crews; (e) wharves and docks; (f) agents, 
office expenses, and advertising. What corresponding items does a 
railroad pay for? What extra expenses must it meet that make trans- 
portation by rail more expensive than by steamship? 
The North Atlantic liner route is mapped out on a double-track plan for 
eastbound and westbound vessels. What is the advantage of this? Both 
lanes are shifted southward at a certain season. When is this done. and 
why? 
B. The study of a harbor. 
{. A great deal is done to make harbors safe and convenient for shipping. Is 
this done by the United States, the local municipal government, or the 
state government? What are ‘‘ port works”? Explain: buoy, light- 
house, jetty, breakwater, channel. Why must dredging and blasting be 
done in some harbors? 
The Coast and Geodetic Survey, Washington, D. C., has maps of 
some ports. Let a member of the class write for a map of the port with