﻿THE 
  GEOGRAPHY 
  OF 
  OUR 
  FOREIGN 
  TRADE 
  

  

  93 
  

  

  HOPS 
  EOR 
  HOMF 
  BREWERS 
  

  

  For 
  generations 
  a 
  great 
  annual 
  hop 
  market 
  has. 
  been 
  held 
  at 
  Nuremberg. 
  Every 
  autumn 
  

   buyers 
  from 
  breweries 
  all 
  over 
  Europe 
  swarm 
  to 
  this 
  old 
  town, 
  where 
  giant 
  bags 
  of 
  hops 
  

   for 
  sale 
  are 
  piled 
  in 
  the 
  streets. 
  

  

  how 
  much, 
  the 
  white 
  or 
  black 
  or 
  brown 
  

   races 
  in 
  far-away 
  lands 
  are 
  producing 
  

   above 
  their 
  own 
  needs, 
  and 
  they 
  know 
  in 
  

   what 
  language 
  to 
  write 
  to 
  them, 
  and 
  what 
  

   steamer 
  line 
  or 
  connecting 
  railway 
  offers 
  

   quickest, 
  cheapest 
  freight 
  haul. 
  

  

  Figuratively, 
  these 
  men 
  know 
  whether 
  

   Fiji 
  or 
  Formosa 
  wants 
  furniture 
  or 
  foun- 
  

   tain 
  pens, 
  calico 
  or 
  corned 
  beef, 
  pink 
  pills 
  

   or 
  canned 
  peaches, 
  baby-grands 
  or 
  baby 
  

   buggies. 
  They 
  know, 
  for 
  example, 
  much 
  

   more 
  of 
  France 
  than 
  was 
  contained 
  in 
  

   that 
  classic 
  paragraph 
  of 
  your 
  old 
  school 
  

   geography 
  which, 
  after 
  naming 
  the 
  cities 
  

   and 
  rivers, 
  generously 
  added 
  : 
  "The 
  in- 
  

   habitants 
  are 
  a 
  gay 
  and 
  frivolous 
  race, 
  

   addicted 
  to 
  light 
  wines 
  and 
  dancing" 
  ! 
  

  

  a 
  knowledge: 
  oe 
  geography 
  vital 
  to 
  

   the 
  international 
  investor 
  

  

  Trade 
  has 
  been 
  called 
  the 
  "economic 
  

   fruit 
  of 
  geographic 
  environment" 
  ; 
  and 
  

   whether 
  a 
  bold 
  Yankee 
  firm 
  pioneering 
  

   for 
  trade 
  will 
  invest 
  the 
  first 
  million 
  in 
  a 
  

   foreign 
  land 
  depends 
  almost 
  slavishly 
  on 
  

   geographic 
  considerations. 
  

  

  A 
  well-known 
  banker 
  has 
  vigorously 
  

  

  asserted 
  that 
  commercial 
  geography 
  is 
  the 
  

   most 
  important 
  part 
  of 
  an 
  international 
  

   banker's 
  education; 
  that 
  is, 
  before 
  he 
  

   opens 
  a 
  branch 
  in 
  Cairo 
  or 
  Calcutta 
  or 
  

   urges 
  a 
  merchant 
  to 
  seek 
  trade 
  there, 
  he 
  

   must 
  know 
  the 
  local 
  situation 
  not 
  only 
  as 
  

   to 
  money, 
  politics, 
  and 
  native 
  character- 
  

   istics, 
  but 
  also 
  as 
  to 
  climate, 
  rainfall, 
  

   crops, 
  and 
  communications. 
  

  

  Prof. 
  J. 
  Russell 
  Smith 
  says: 
  "That 
  the 
  

   trader 
  should 
  know 
  the 
  people 
  with 
  whom 
  

   he 
  trades 
  is 
  a 
  truism. 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  We 
  must 
  

   give 
  them 
  what 
  they 
  want. 
  I 
  recall 
  in 
  

   this 
  connection 
  a 
  ludicrous 
  old 
  story 
  con- 
  

   cerning 
  the 
  clock 
  trade 
  in 
  Africa. 
  

  

  "The 
  English 
  had 
  been 
  supplying 
  a 
  

   great 
  number 
  of 
  cheap 
  alarm 
  clocks 
  to 
  a 
  

   jungle 
  tribe. 
  Suddenly 
  the 
  trade 
  ceased. 
  

   Investigation 
  showed 
  the 
  entire 
  clock 
  

   trade 
  had 
  been 
  taken 
  over 
  by 
  a 
  German 
  

   firm, 
  which 
  had, 
  after 
  looking 
  into 
  it, 
  

   found 
  out 
  what 
  kind 
  of 
  a 
  clock 
  the 
  Afri- 
  

   can 
  really 
  wanted. 
  

  

  "The 
  native 
  had 
  no 
  knowledge 
  of 
  time 
  ; 
  

   he 
  merely 
  liked 
  to 
  look 
  at 
  the 
  shiny 
  nickel 
  

   thing 
  in 
  his 
  grass 
  hut. 
  and 
  to 
  hear 
  it 
  tick. 
  

   With 
  this 
  cue, 
  the 
  German 
  had 
  hurried 
  

  

  