THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



VOL. XII. 



CHCAGO, MAY, 1898. 



NO. 8. 



THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN HMERICH 



Spain's 

 Foreign 

 Trade 



Thinking that at the present 

 time our readers may be inter- 

 ested in this subject, we give a few facts 

 relative to Spain's trade with foreign na- 

 tions, taking the statistics from a bulletin 

 prepared by Frank H. Hitchcock and re- 

 cently issued by the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. 



Spain's commercial transactions with the 

 rest of the world amounts annually to 

 more than $300,000,000. By comparing 

 the yearly average for 1891-1895 (the last 

 year for which official statistics are obtain- 

 able) with that of the preceding five years, 

 it shows a decrease of almost three mil- 

 lions, proving that the general tendency of 

 the trade was toward contraction rather 

 than expansion. Previous to 1891 more 

 than one-half of Spain's maritime com- 

 merce was carried by foreign vessels, but 

 since that y>ar there has been a decided 

 gain in the national shipping. 



In its foreign trade Spain had her most 

 important dealings with France, the 

 United Kingdom, Cuba, and the United 

 States, 70 per cent, of her foreign com- 

 merce during the years 1891 1895 being 

 with these four countries. During these 

 years almost one-half of the merchandise 

 imported into Spain was from France and 

 the United Kingdom, wliile the United 

 States was tMrd in rank among the sources 

 of Spain's import trade. After the United 

 States Cuba ranked next as an important 

 source of supply. 



Although the United States ranked third 

 among the sources of supply, furnishing 

 more than 19 per cent, of the merchandise 

 imported by Spain, it ranked only eighth 

 in list of countries to which Spanish ex- 

 ports were consigned, the annual average 

 of goods sent from Spain to the United 

 States being only 1.88 per cent, of the to- 

 tal shipment to other countries. 



Spain was supplied with 75.21 per cent, 

 of her cotton by the United States, for the 

 years 1891-95, and during that time the 

 United States ranked fourth among the 

 countries supplying Spain with wheat. 

 The chief coal supply comes from the 

 United Kingdom, the sugar and coffee 

 from her colonial possessions, and her to- 

 bacco from the Phillipines, Cuba and the 

 United States. 



Among the principal exports of Spain 

 wine is decidedly the most important, while 

 fruits and nuts hold the second 

 place. 



It will be thus seen that our principal 

 exports cotton and wheat are of a great 

 deal more importance to Spain than her 

 wine and fruits are to us. 



Seeking 



Nrw 



Homes 



In the early part of April sev- 

 eral trainloads of people from 

 various f-ections of the country passed 

 through Minneapolis on their way to n-ew 

 homes, principally in the west and north- 

 west. Among them was a colony of 57 

 negroes from Green Co., Ky., who intend 



