436 The National Geographic Magazine 



of manufactures in the year just ended 

 amounted to $543,620,297, as against 

 $452,415,921 in the preceding year, 

 $433^51,756 in 1900, and $183,595,743 

 in 1895. The growth in exports of 

 manufactures far exceeds the growth 

 of population or the growth in com- 

 merce as a whole. This is apparent 

 from an examination of the following 

 table, showing the population, com- 

 merce, and exports of manufactures of 

 the United States in 1800, 1875, and 

 1905, and the percentage of increase in 

 each since 1800 and 1875, the beginning 

 of the greatest era in American devel- 

 opment : 



Year. 



Population. 



Commerce 

 (imports and 

 exports of 

 merchan- 

 dise). 



Exports of 

 domestic 

 manufact- 

 ures. 



1800 



5 308,483 

 45,^37,ooo 

 83,145,000 



Dollars. 



162,224,548 

 1,001,125,861 

 2,636,074,349 



Dollars. 



2,493,755 

 100,492,055 

 543,620,297 



1876 



i9°5 



Per cent of 

 increase : 

 1800-1876.. 

 1 876- 1 905.. 



7S0 

 84 



5i7 

 63 



3.930 

 441 



Iron and steel manufactures supply 

 about one-fourth of the manufactured 

 articles exported from the United States, 

 the total in 1905 having been $134,727,- 

 921, as against $11 1,948,586 in the pre- 

 ceding year, an increase of nearly 23 

 million dollars. Steel rails showed an 

 increase of 6 million dollars, chiefly in 

 shipments to Canada, South America, 

 Mexico, the West Indies, Japan, and 

 other oriental countries, in several of 

 which railway development is proceed- 

 ing at a rapid rate. Machinery also 

 showed an increase in 1905 of more than 

 6 million dollars over 1904. A con- 

 spicuous feature, however, is the large 

 increase in exports of locomotives to 

 Japan, 151 engines having been sent 

 thither in 1905, as against 74 in the pre- 

 vious year. Mexico and Argentina in- 

 creased their purchases of American 

 sewing machines, while Japan increased 



her purchases of electrical machinery and 

 builders' hardware, each in a substantial 

 degree. 



Copper manufactures, consisting large- 

 ly of pigs and bars, form the item of 

 second importance in our exports of 

 manufactures, the total being $86,225,- 

 291 in 1905, as compared with $57, 142,- 

 08 1 in the preceding year. This growth 

 of practically 30 million dollars in a 

 single year is accounted for by an in- 

 crease of nearly 10 millions in exports to 

 China, 3 millions to the United King- 

 dom, 1 y<z millions to France, 3 millions 

 to Germany, 4^ millions to Nether- 

 lands, 1 j£ millions to Russia, and nearly 

 2 millions to other countries. 



Refined mineral oil ranks third in the 

 exports of manufactures, the total being 

 $71,888,317, as against $71,753,552 in 

 the preceding year. Owing to the fall 

 in price, the value remained practically 

 stationary, despite the fact that the 

 quantity increased from 847 million gal- 

 lons in 1904 to 951 millions in 1905. 

 The countries to which the largest ex- 

 portations were made were United King- 

 dom, 221 million gallons; Germany, 142 

 millions; Netherlands, 117 millions; 

 China, 90 millions ; Belgium, 46 mil- 

 lions ; British East Indies and Japan, 

 each about 30 millions ; Italy, nearly 

 29 millions, and France, 27! millions. 

 South America, as a whole, took about 

 55 million gallons. 



Cotton manufactures present one of 

 the striking features of the year's ex- 

 port record, having advanced from 

 $22,403,713 in 1904 to $49,666,080 in 

 the year just ended. The growth oc- 

 curred chiefly in cotton- cloth exports, 

 $14,696,199 being the total in 1904 and 

 $41,320,542 the figure for 1905. To 

 China there was an increase of about 

 400 million yards over last year's ex- 

 portation of 76.9 millions, and the value 

 of our cotton-cloth exports to that 

 country increased from 4 million dol- 

 lars in 1904 to 27^ millions in 1905. 

 Japan was the only other country to 

 show a considerable increase in takings 



