Commercial Prize of the Orient 417 



systems between the railroads of Europe 

 and those of Asia. Already the great 

 Siberian Railway connects the system 

 of Europe with that of China at the 

 north, and, now that the construction of 

 a few short links would furnish another 

 continuous line from China to Europe 

 at the south, we may confidently expect 

 that the traveler may, within a com- 

 paratively few years, make the entire 

 circuit of Eurasia by rail, traveling com- 

 fortably from Paris through the coun- 

 tries of northwestern Europe, Russia, 

 and Siberia, into China, and thence 

 southward through Indo-China, Bur- 

 mah, India, Persia, Turkey, and the 

 countries of southern Europe to the place 

 of starting. The development which 

 would come to the commerce of Europe 

 with the Orient through the operation 

 of this great railway circuit of the Eura- 

 sian continent could but be of great im - 

 portance. 



While it is a fact that the Orient, with 

 more than half of the world's population 

 and one-third of its land area, has now 

 but one-tenth of its railways and tele- 



graphs, and one-eighth of its commerce, 

 we are not justified in considering its 

 commercial prize as of little value, pres- 

 ent or prospective. The total commerce 

 of Asia and Oceania, which we may 

 broadly consider under this title, is nearly 

 three billions of dollars, about equally 

 divided between imports and exports, 

 and its percentage of growth, even with 

 the limited railway facilities offered, has 

 been quite as rapid in recent years as 

 that of the more favored Occident. The 

 commerce of India is four times as great 

 as when its railway system was begun, 

 and that of Japan is six times as great 

 as at the beginning of the construction 

 of its railroads, and we may therefore 

 expect that the development of the great 

 railway systems now projected in China, 

 Korea, Indo-China, Siam, Burmah, Ma- 

 layan Peninsula, the Dutch East Indies, 

 and the Philippines, with the additions 

 planned for India, Japan, Siberia, and 

 Australia, will enormously increase the 

 commerce of that part of the world. ^ 

 The imports of all the countries and 

 islands of Asia and Oceania now amount 



From C L,. Marlatt, Department of Agriculture 



On One of the Interior Canals of China 



