7. Name the harbors of the United States in the order of their (a) natural advantages; (b) commercial importance.
8. Compare the general geographical advantages of North and South America. To what extent has the difference in the relative economic progress of the two continents been due to geographical differences?
9. Which do you regard as the more urgent need at the present day: the conservation of timber or of coal or of oil? Give your reasons.
10. Compare the relative geographical advantages of the following cities: Pittsburgh, Detroit, Atlanta, San Francisco, Baltimore.
Topics for Debate
1. The United States should adopt a rental system for all public lands on which there are mineral resources or water powers.
2. The United States should insist upon free access to foreign natural resources (for example, in Mexico).
CHAPTER XVIII
THE AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS
The purpose of this chapter is to show the large part which agriculture plays in the life of the country and to discuss briefly some of the problems of agriculture today.
Importance of American Agriculture.—Agriculture has always been the most important single industry in the United States. |The crops in earlier days.| It was at one time practically the sole occupation of the people; even today it directly or indirectly engages the attention of more than half the adult male workers of the country. In colonial days the chief task of the people was to raise a food supply sufficient for themselves. Corn was their principal crop, the colonists having learned from the Indians the methods of cultivating it. Corn had the advantage of being well suited to the soil and climate; besides it grows well even in partially cleared land. But in colonial days and even for a time after the Revolution the country did not produce much grain beyond its own needs. The production of large quantities for export came with the opening up of the great agricultural areas of the West.