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