8 
TRANSACTIONS OP THE TEXAS ACADEMY OP SCIENCE. 
land transportation tended to localization in the markets for the common 
necessities of life, and at the same time made their production general in 
all parts of the country. The exceptions were the obvious ones of arti- 
cles which, in the nature of things, could he produced only in very few 
localities. Thus, iron, which was then smelted with charcoal, could he 
produced only in localities which furnished good ore, and at the same 
time were heavily timbered. Water transportation, on the other hand, 
was cheap, and, though absolutely dearer than at present, yet in com- 
parison with land carriage was very much cheaper. Marine commerce, 
therefore, flourished in the nations having a seacoast. But its influences 
were greater in those areas near the sea and faded out rapidly away from 
the coasts. It drew its chief exports from a comparatively narrow belt 
of country, and in this belt were situated all the large commercial cities 
and manufacturing towns. 
Summarizing the foregoing remarks, we see that prior to the advent of 
cheap transportation by steam power, the great staples and necessities 
of life were, in greatest part, marketed and consumed -in the neighbor- 
hoods where they were produced. Even the production itself had a 
much more domestic character than at present, for many needful things 
were then made in the household which at the present time are pur- 
chased at the stores, and buying at the store was largely barter, pure and 
simple. Little need to he said to point the contrast with existing condi- 
tions in this respect. The mills of St. Paul and Minneapolis grind 
wheat for the world. The wheat crop of California is sold in England, 
and its perishable fruits are marketed on the Atlantic seaboard. The 
Gulf States sell their garden produce in Hew York, Boston and Chicago. 
Pittsburg sends coke to the Rocky Mountains, and Northern Minnesota 
sends iron ore to Pittsburg. Domestic manufacture has almost ceased, 
and nearly everything is bought for cash or credit from stores, while the 
market of every manufacturer’s goods is now, potentially at least, the 
world. 
TENDENCY TO CENTRALIZE WEALTH. 
Thus there has gradually developed a new condition, of which com- 
merce and production have diligently availed themselves. Vast manu- 
facturing establishments are producing goods for markets distant and 
near. These markets comprise far denser populations than ever before, 
and the buying capacity of the average individual consumer has greatly 
increased. 
One of the results of these developments has been the marked tendency 
of some of the most important branches of industry and commerce to 
concentrate into large aggregates of control. In these branches, we see 
the gradual disappearance of small concerns, and the growth of a few 
