Geographic Notes 



205 



tion are stated by the correspondent as 

 follows : 



' ' ' The syndicate addresses to manu- 

 facturing and commercial firms circulars 

 explaining the purpose of the exhibition 

 and the terms of participation. As soon 

 as the number of would-be participants 

 is large enough to permit the loading of 

 a vessel, the exhibitors send their sam- 

 ples to the port of departure. These 

 samples are then mounted and exhibited 

 on board the vessel, especially fitted for 

 this purpose. 



' ' ' By each exhibit there is an adver- 

 tisement giving prices and terms of sale. 

 Sales agents representing either the syn- 

 dicate or the individual exhibitors fur- 

 nish all desired information to the vis- 

 itors at the various ports where the vessel 

 stops. These sales agents are chosen 

 from among the 3^oung men, as well as 

 the young women, graduated from com- 

 mercial schools and speaking at least 

 two languages. Interpreters are hired 

 on the spot in each countr^^ of a new 

 language. The sales agents, besides see- 

 ing visitors aboard the ship, visit also 

 with their samples the towns in the in- 

 terior of the country. In such manner 

 the cost of transportation is greath' 

 reduced. 



" 'The exhibitors pay to the syndi- 

 cate a commission, to be deducted from 

 the realized sales and in proportion to 

 the value of the product. In addition 

 to this commission, the participants pay 

 a proportionate share of the cost of char- 

 tering and loading the vessel and the 

 general expenditure of the undertaking, 

 such as the hire of clerks, interpreters, 

 etc' 



' ' The report concludes with the ex- 

 pression of the hope that French com- 

 mercial circles would appreciate this 

 novel idea and try to achieve even more 

 splendid results." 



Announcement of an Austro-Hunga- 

 rian floating exposition to leave Trieste 

 this month for a voyage around the 

 world was made in the preceding num- 

 ber of this Magazine. 



POPULATIONS OF AUSTRIA-HUN- 

 GARY, DENMARK, AND SWITZER- 

 LAND 



THE figures for the census of Aus- 

 tria-Hungary, taken in December, 

 1900, show an increase for the past ten 

 years of about 10 per cent, a more rapid 

 growth than the dual kingdom has ex- 

 perienced for several decades. The pop- 

 ulation is about 46,890,000, which makes 

 her the seventh country in the world in 

 population. Those outnumbering her 

 are China, the British Empire, the Rus- 

 sian Empire, the United States, P>ance, 

 and the German Empire. Japan has a 

 million or two less. 



The Danish census was taken Feb- 

 ruary, 1901, and shows an increase dur- 

 ing the last eleven years of 12^ per 

 cent, which is greater than in any recent 

 decade. This increase is mainly due to 

 the diminishing number of emigrants 

 and to the decrease in the death rate, 

 brought about by the efforts of the gov- 

 ernment to prevent the spread of con- 

 sumption. As in the other countries of 

 Europe, the people are moving into the 

 towns. The towns show an increase of 

 28 per cent, while the country districts 

 show an increase of onlj' 4 per cent. 

 The present population of Denmark is 

 2,447,441. 



The cen.sus of Switzerland, taken De- 

 cember I, 1900, gives the population of 

 the republic as 3,312,551, an increase of 

 13.5 per cent during the twelve years 

 since the preceding enumeration. 



THE CONQUEST OF CHINA 



I KNOW not in what fable I have 

 read about some fishermen who 

 had disembarked upon an unknown 

 island and had already begun to set up 

 their tents and to sow their grain, feeling 

 great pride in their unexpected acquisi- 

 tion, when, all at once, they found them- 

 seh^es hurled into the water — they and 

 their . implements — so that the greater 



