160 



COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



show an improvement in nearly all branches, and 

 a noticeable one in household furniture, the 

 value of which rose from $2,628,673 to $3,086,- 

 864. The exports of lumber in the form of 

 boards and planks were much larger than in 

 1889, the figures being 612,814, against 571,075 

 thousand feet, even at lower prices, as shown by 

 the values, given as $9,974,888 and $9,703,219 

 respectively. The same is true in a less degree 

 of hard timber, the figures being, for sawed 

 timber, 271,000 thousand feet, against 252,996, 

 of the respective values of $3,384,847 and 

 $3,132,888; for hewed timber, 8,732,761 cubic 

 feet, of the value of $1,381,761, against 6,301,065, 

 of the value of $1,122,223 ; and of logs and other 

 timber, of the value of $1,680,346, against $1,- 

 637,346. The value of the export of barrel 

 staves and heads rose from $2,168,909 to $2,- 

 476,857; doors, sashes, and blinds, from $307,- 

 356 to $320,919 ; wooden ware, from $321,378 to 

 $360,515. The small sum set down under the 

 head of woolen manufactures is mainly made up 

 of the exports of wearing apparel, which rose 

 from $264,074 in 1889 to $317,910 in 1890. 



The exports of domestic merchandise when 

 classified according to their sources of produc- 

 tion and the nature of the articles show the fol- 

 lowing figures: Products of agriculture, value 

 $629,785,917 in 1890, or 74-51 per cent, of the 

 total value of domestic produce exported, against 

 $532,141,489, or 72-87 per cent, of the total, in 

 1889 ; mining products, $22,351,746, or 2-64 per 

 cent, of the total, against $19,947,519, or 2-73 per 

 cent., in 1889; forest products, $29,473,084, or 

 3-48 per cent, of the total, against $26,997,127, 

 or 3-70 per cent., in 1889 ; fishery products, $7,- 

 496,044, or 0-89 per cent, of the total, against 

 $7,106,388, or 0-97 per cent, in 1889 ; miscella- 

 neous crude products, $5,055,740, or 0-60 per 

 cent, of the total, against $5,414,579, or 0-74 per 

 cent, in 1889 ; total raw products and articles 

 slightly enhanced in value by manufacturing 

 processes, $694,162,531, or 82-12 per cent, of the 

 total domestic exports, against $591,607,102, or 

 81-01 per cent, in 1889; manufactures, $151,- 

 131,297, or 17*88 per cent, of the total, against 

 $138,675,507, or 18-99 per cent, in 1889. 



The exports of foreign merchandise amount- 

 ed in total value to $4,783,807 of free and 

 $7,334,959 of dutiable goods in 1889 ; and in 

 1890 to $4,542,363 of free and $7,988,643 of 

 dutiable articles, making the total of $12,118,- 

 766 in 1889 and $12,531,006 in 1890. This is 

 $756,707 less than the average for 1885-'9. 



Of the total exports of domestic merchandise 

 in 1890, amounting to $845,293,828, the propor- 

 tion carried in American steam vessels was $36,- 

 909,333; in American sailing vessels, $38,472,- 

 679 ; in foreign steam vessels, $644,577,783 ; in 

 foreign sailing vessels, $95,016,641 : in cars and 

 other land vehicles, $30,317,392. The moderate 

 growth of the trade with contiguous countries 

 and the slow but constant contraction of the 

 American carrying trade is shown by a com- 

 parison with the figures of the preceding year, 

 when out of $730,282,609 worth of exports of 

 domestic produce $26,225,185 were transported 

 in land carnages, $37,083,575 in American 

 steamers, $43,836,229 in American sailing ships, 

 $531,623,376 in foreign steam vessels, and $91,- 

 514,244 in foreign sailing vessels. 



The volume of the export trade from year to 

 year varies greatly according to the condition of 

 the harvests in Europe and America, affecting 

 prices and the foreign demand for the American 

 staples. Adverse tariff legislation and adminis- 

 trative regulations in European states have in- 

 jured, but only to the extent of retarding in its 

 development, the trade in provisions and some 

 other classes of domestic products. The extraor- 

 dinary total of 1890 was the result of a good 

 year for most of the staple crops and of a large 

 demand in foreign countries caused, not by un- 

 usual scarcity, but by a general expansion of 

 commerce. The exports of domestic merchan- 

 dise in 1885 were $726,682,946 in total value ; in 

 1886, $665,964,529; in 1887, $703,022,923; in 

 1888, $683,862,104 ; in 1889, $730,282,609. The 

 average for these five years was $701,963,022. 

 The total for 1890 is more than 20 per cent, 

 larger than this average. Taking the classes of 

 exports separately there was a dimunition in the 

 values exported of $8,571,932 in wheat and wheat 

 flour, $899,721 in manufactured copper, $2,791,- 

 063 in cotton manufactures, $327,070 in hops, 

 $807,242 in distilled spirits, $6,471,014 in sugar 

 and molasses, and $1,714,378 in leaf tobacco. 

 Notwithstanding these relapses in the growth of 

 American commerce, some of which seem seri- 

 ous, the total export trade for the year in articles 

 of domestic production was $143,330,806 more 

 than the average aggregate trade of the period 

 of five years preceding 1890. The exports of 

 agricultural implements were $1,191,941 above 

 the average; of cattle, $19,014,676; of other 

 animals, $834,652 ; of books, maps, engravings, 

 and other printed matter, $346,569 ; of corn and 

 corn meal, $17,667,681 ; of other cereals besides 

 corn and wheat, $5,219,090 ; of cars, street cars, 

 and carriages, $2,499,859 ; of chemicals, drugs, 

 and dyes, $897,131 ; of clocks and watches, 

 $297,202; of coal, $1,600,753; of copper ore, 

 $1,636,166: of raw cotton, $36,156,354; of fish, 

 $1,397,885; of flax, hemp, and jute manufact- 

 ures, $664,094 : of fruits, $456,421 ; of furs and 

 fur skins, $243,271 ; of iron and steel manufact- 

 ures, $8,099,140; of leather and leather manu- 

 facturers, $2,599,378 ; of naval stores, $606,382 ; 

 of oil cake and oil meal, $1,121,983 ; of animal 

 oils, $466,716 ; of crude petroleum, $1,246,449 ; 

 of kerosene, $1,308,892; of vegetable oils, $3,- 

 399,507; of paper manufactures, $133,237; of 

 paraffine and paraffine wax, $471,665 ; of meat 

 products, $36,929,982; of dairy products, $1,- 

 750,226 ; of seeds, $354,835 ; of spirits of turpen- 

 tine, $1,321,024; of manufactured tobacco, $560,- 

 561 ; of vegetables, $74,669 ; of wood and manu- 

 factures of wood, $5,925,206; of various other 

 articles, $8,419,629. 



Of the exports of agricultural implements in 

 1890, amounting to $3,859,184, the Argentine 

 Republic took $1,065,445 ; Great Britain, $454,- 

 608; France, $256,306; Australia, $249,404; Ger- 

 many, $205,655; and other European countries, 

 $575,589. The cattle were nearly all consumed 

 in Great Britain, and the hogs and sheep went 

 mainly to British America and various other 

 neighboring countries. The products of the 

 printer's industry went largely to Spanish Amer- 

 ica, a considerable proportion to England and 

 the Continent of Europe, and not a few books to 

 Asia. Of the corn exports, Great Britain received 



