COMMERCE (FOREIGN) OF THE UNITED STATES. 



129 



many, 32 and 2 millions; from England, 99 

 and 15 millions. Whether the balance would 

 remain in favor of France if a treaty of com- 

 merce, such as exists between her and sev- 

 eral leading powers, were concluded with the 

 United States, is doubtful ; but it is certain 

 that the export of most American manufac- 

 tures is impossible under the prohibitive du- 

 ties which they must now pay. In the year 

 1875, nearly 93 per cent, of the imports into 

 France from the United States consisted of 

 the following crude articles, some of which 

 were certainly returned in the manufactured 

 state afterward: Cotton (25 million dollars), 

 hides and skins (2 millions), petroleum (2 

 millions), lard and tallow (1 million), tobac- 

 co (one million), copper ($700,000), meat (half 



a million). In the same year 7l| per cent, of 

 the exports from France to the United States 

 consisted in the following highly-finished man- 

 ufactures : Silks (15J millions), woolens (9 mill- 

 ions), leather manufactures (3 millions), pre- 

 pared skins (2 millions), wines (2 millions), 

 feathers, mercury, buttons, and straw-goods 

 (31 millions). 



The commercial relations of the United 

 States with other countries may be Been in 

 the following tabular survey of the pro-rata 

 participation of each country and of the gen- 

 eral divisions of the globe, in the export and 

 import trade, giving the percentage of the to- 

 tal domestic exports taken by each, and the 

 percentage of the net imports furnished by 

 each for the last four years : 



The returns for the cotton trade for the year 

 ending August 31, 1877, give a total crop of 

 4,485,423 bales. (See COTTON.) 



The average wheat-crop in the United States 

 for the last eight years has been 278 million 

 bushels, and the average exports 64 million 

 bushels. The crop of 1877 is estimated at 825 

 million bushels, or 17 millions more than any 

 former crop. The excess over the average do- 

 mestic consumption is therefore 111 million 

 bushels. 



In the returns of the British Board of Trade 

 for the first seven months of 1877 there are 

 promising indications of an improving tone in 

 American affairs, in the character of the arti- 

 cles exported to the United States. In cotton 

 and linen manufactures there was an advance 

 VOL. xvn. 9 A 



of 19 and 28 per cent, respectively in the quan- 

 tities shipped to America, over the quantities 

 shipped in the same part of 1876. The exports 

 of manufactures of wool have increased from 

 172,936 Ibs. to 958,281 Ibs., which was about 

 one-quarter of the entire British export, which, 

 taken in connection with the facts that the ex- 

 ports of wool-mixed goods fell off 86 per cent., 

 and of carpets 43.7 per cent., confirms the 

 hopeful accounts given of the improvements 

 in American wool-manufactures. American 

 carpets have recently been introduced into Ger- 

 many at Leipsic. Another raw material which 

 shows a great advance is tin, of which was ex- 

 ported to the United States 22 per cent, more 

 in plates, and 153 per cent, more in the un- 

 wrought state, than in the preceding year. 



