Indted States Deparimeni of Aagriculiure

Fig. 127. Where railroads and steamships meet. The terminal of a grain-carrying railroad at
Jersey Citv

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

RAILROADS

Tae number of railroads varies greatly from country to country. For
example, the United States has more than a third of all the railways
in the world, while in northern Siberia an area as large as the whole
United States contains not a single mile of railroad. Great Britain
and Ireland have over three times as great a railway mileage as China;
yet China has eight times as many people and is thirty times as large.
Although New Jersey is only a twelfth as large as Wyoming, it has
more miles of railroad. Such differences are accounted for by four
main causes: (1) degree of progress in civilization; (2) density of
population; (3) relief of the land ; and (4) natural resources. Let us
see how each of these conditions does its work.
Why progressive countries have many railroads. Most of the
railroads are in highly progressive regions like the United States and
western Europe. Japan, too, in proportion to its area, has far more
railroads than any other country in Asia. On the other hand, backward
 countries like Siam, Persia, Abyssinia, and Paraguay have very
few. There are many reasons for this difference.
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