4 i8 



The National Geographic Magazine 



From C. L. Marlatt, Department of Agriculture 



Transportation in China. A Country Cart 



to nearly as much as the total exports 

 of the United States. At present we 

 supply but about 8 per cent of that great 

 importation, and it needs but a moment 

 of reflection to realize what an addition 

 it would give to our foreign trade if we 

 could treble or quadruple our shares in 

 the growing imports of that great sec- 

 tion. 



OUR PROSPECTS OF INCREASING OUR 

 SHARE IN THE COMMERCE OF 

 THE ORIENT VERY 

 BRIGHT 



What are our prospects of increasing 

 our share in that commerce ? Europe 

 is, of course, our chief rival in the at- 

 tempt to supply the imports of the 

 Orient. The European countries, in- 

 cluding the British Isles in this term, 

 send to Asia and Oceania about 600 



million dollars' worth of merchandise 

 annually, and the United States sends 

 about 100 millions ; and we are gain- 

 ing ground in the Orient even more 

 rapidly than are the European countries. 

 The imports of China, Japan, and Aus- 

 tralia from all the European countries 

 combined show an increase in 1903 of 

 but 45 millions as compared with 1890, 

 while their increase in importations 

 from the United States alone in the 

 same period was 49 millions thus show- 

 ing that our gains in their import 

 trade are actually greater than those of 

 all Europe combined. Comparing the 

 total imports of all Asia and Oceania 

 in 1903 with those of 1890, we find an 

 increase of about 22 per cent in the 

 imports from all Europe and of 160 per 

 cent in the imports from the United 

 States 



