telephone systems of the Republic is said to be $181,687. There are approximately 5,400 miles of telegraph, and upward of 400,000 messages are handled annually.

MINING AND PETROLEUM ENTERPRISES.

Ecuador has been the least fortunate among the Andean Republics in mineral resources. Gold seems to be the only mineral of commercial importance at the present time, although copper, quicksilver, iron, lead, and platinum all exist in unknown quantities. Petroleum has also been located and will be discussed in subsequent paragraphs.

The Zaruma mines, in Southern Ecuador, have long been known to the outside world. They were first known to the Spaniards in 1549, since which time they have been worked in a haphazard, spasmodic manner. During the early part of the nineteenth century a large population was supported by the mines. In the latter years the gold production decreased and the importance of the industry steadily declined. English and French companies have in later years worked important mines in the district, including the Compañía Mineral Nacional Felix, formed in France in 1889 and the Zaruma Gold Mining Co., of Great Britain, formed in 1880, with a capitalization of £250,000. The Compañía Exploradora was also a factor in the field. The Zaruma company met with financial difficulties and has since been reorganized. The present Zaruma Mining Corporation was registered in 1913 with a capitalization of £110,000 preferred and £10,000 deferred stock. At last accounts 1,838 acres were held and the stock was owned by French and British interests. The mine is presumably idle. The South American Development Co. seems at the present time to be the only company carrying on any mining operations.

There are copper deposits in the Department of Loja. A little mining has been carried on without success. While there is every reason to believe that the great Andean regions of the country contain considerable copper, little exploration work has been carried

on.

Because of the successful development of petroleum-bearing zones in Peru and the fact that oil deposits are known to exist in Colombia and Venezuela, attention has been directed to Ecuador. Bituminous seams in which fair quantities of petroleum have been found to exist have been variously located in the northern portions of the Republic. In El Oro also, not far from the boundary with Peru, oil has been located, this field holding very good prospects, it is claimed. Santa Rosa is the town nearest to this prospective petroleum field. The principal oil deposits thus far located in Ecuador lie about 90 miles southwest of Guayaquil and are not more than 750 miles from Panama, being near the minor port of Santa Elena, in desert country. They are reached from Guayaquil by means of a fairly good automobile road and have telephone and telegraph connections with that city. The surface of the country is said to be fairly level, inclining slightly toward the sea. "In this district," says the South American Journal, "the layer containing the petroleum, known by its black color, is blue shale of unknown thickness, superficial at some points, and elsewhere covered with marine débris; is very

spongy and rests on a base of impermeable sandstone, which prevents much filtration, although it is impregnated with oil. It is nearly horizontal, of variable thickness, about 3 feet in the center, and covers an area extending 6 miles north and south and about 20 miles inland. The presence of a small oil fountain, together with considerable gas, would indicate that deep drilling would produce flowing wells.

At the present time the method employed in collecting the petroleum, about 25,000 barrels of which are secured annually, is to dig small holes to a depth of not more than 50 feet down to the impermeable sandstone. The life of these "wells" is anywhere from three months to three years.

In 1910 a well was sunk to the depth of about 150 feet and in 1913 another to a similar depth, both passing through small veins of oil and gas. A third well of 1,250 feet was to have been sunk, but work was discontinued at about the time of the outbreak of the European war, owing to lack of available capital. The deposits seem to be similar to those of the Lobitos and Negritos fields of Peru, which yield successfully at a depth of about 1,000 feet and which have been steady large producers for many years. It was stated in 1916 that drilling in the Ecuadorian field at that time cost approximately (including casing) $7.75 per foot to 1,500 feet and slightly less than $10 per foot after that depth is reached. Native labor receives from 60 to 75 cents gold per day. Mechanics are obtainable only with difficulty.

The Ecuadorian petroleum is certain to find a ready market in Guayaquil and elsewhere throughout the Republic. Already the Guayaquil electric lighting plant, the local brewery, and the gas works are using it, and the Guayaquil & Quito Railway has converted a number of its locomotives into oil burners. Local river boats and a number of the small industrial plants of the country would doubtless use it if obtainable, particularly since the price of coal has soared to record heights. A small refinery was attempted at Santa Elena, but the enterprise did not prove successful. A plant exists that treats small quantities of the oil for asphalt.

Most of the oil concessions are held by Ecuadorians. However, in 1910, an Anglo-French company known as the Ancon Oil Co., with £250,000 authorized capitalization, of which £81,060 has been subscribed and fully paid up, was incorporated to acquire five oil claims of 800 acres each. The well on the Ancon property has been sunk to the depth of approximately 2,180 feet, and an agreement has been entered into with another company, the Ecuador Drilling Co., for assistance in carrying on the work.

AGRICULTURE.

The leading product of the Republic is cacao, the Ecuadorian cacao ranking second to none in quality. The cacao industry employs directly or indirectly a relatively large proportion of the population, and a number of joint-stock companies have from time to time been formed to carry on the raising of the product on an extensive scale. Two of the largest companies are German, working the Seminario, Puga, and Clementina Estates. Some of the plantations are under

British control, and the remainder are, for the most part, locally owned. It is estimated that an area of 100 square yards will accommodate more than 1,300 trees and will yield under normal conditions more than 1,000 pounds of cacao. Three or four years ago it was calculated that a season's crop would return a profit of about 12 per cent on the investment. At present prices the profit varies from 15 to 25 per cent.

Rice and maize may be readily produced, but no great headway has been made in cultivating these products. Plantation rubber is being raised in small quantities; the soil and climate are highly favorable to its cultivation. The tagua or ivory nut was exported rather extensively before the European war, and a moderate demand exists for the product at the present time. Sugar, bananas, oranges, and other products are cultivated. The oranges might readily be shipped to Panama and elsewhere were it not for the unfavorable freight rates, the quality raised being excellent. Enough tobacco is grown for home needs, and a large number of coconuts are gathered in the coastal lowlands.

Although there are considerable areas that might be used for pastoral purposes, the development in this field has been comparatively slow. A small number of horses and mules are exported, as well as some hides. Practically all of the wool clip and meat supply are consumed in the country.

FOREST RESOURCES.

One might write an elaborate essay concerning the vast forest wealth of eastern Ecuador. C. Reginald Enock, a well-known traveler in South America, in his book "Ecuador" (Scribner's South American Series) describes the country lying to the east of the Andes: "It is majestic in certain aspects, but becomes at times melancholy, sombre, and oppressive. There is no horizon. The view is everywhere barred by trees, whose green walls inclose the channels of the rivers to the very verge." These forests contain many varieties of hardwood trees and practically every known form of forest wealth. There are numerous rivers in the eastern section of the Republic, all of which flow in a general easterly direction. Almost no means of communication exist between the forest country and the Andean plateau, and the development of the timber and hardwood resources awaits the coming of better transportation facilities.

MANUFACTURING.

One need scarcely say that the industrial development of Ecuador has been decidedly restricted. There are a few factories and manufacturing plants in the Republic, mostly in Guayaquil. These include the national shoe factory, capitalized at $200,000 and employing about 100 persons; 7 flour mills; 6 cotton and woolen mills; 11 breweries, 7 of which are located in Quito; 3 tanneries; 24 ice plants; a few small boat and ship building plants; an iron foundry; machine shops; chocolate and candy factories; sawmills; furniture factories, etc. The Panama hat industry is, of course, extremely important.

THE GUIANAS.

BRITISH GUIANA.

INTRODUCTION.

Great Britain's only colony on the continent of South America, British Guiana or Demerara, is bounded on the northwest by Venezuela, on the east by Dutch Guiana, and on the south and southwest by Brazil. At the source of the Essequibo River the colony is within two-thirds of one degree (north latitude) of the equator. Its area is 90,277 square miles, exceeding that of England, Scotland, and Wales combined. Its seacoast covers 270 miles, and its depth varies from 300 to about 535 miles. The coastal lands are extremely flat, the country sloping gradually as the interior is reached. The estimated population of British Guiana is 300,000.

British Guiana is a land of many rivers, some navigable and important. The Demerara River, though not the largest, is by far the most important, since Georgetown, the capital and principal town. (population 65,000), is located at its mouth. There are about 58,000,000 acres of land in the colony, of which only about 2,000,000 acres are owned privately. About 11,000,000 acres of the land are located in the accessible lowlands. At present practically the whole population lives in the coastal belt. Many of the sugar plantations are located close to the sea and have been compelled to put up extensive dykes for protection against the inroads of the waves. Similar conditions exist among many of the river plantations. The average annual rainfall at Georgetown is 93 inches.

In the highlands there is a great area of prairie land known as the Rupununi Savannah, said to be magnificent cattle country and suitable also for the raising of cotton and tobacco. There is sufficient water supply in the district, which is, however, rather difficult of access owing to the lack of a railway to the interior. The various resources of this and other sections of the colony will be discussed in later paragraphs.

Georgetown contains 50 miles of paved streets and covers an area of more than 1,300 acres. An excellent system of tramways operated by the Demerara Electric Co. furnish local transportation. This company also provides electric lighting.

BONDED DEBT-FINANCES.

The public debt of British Guiana amounts to approximately £3 per head of population. There are only two important external issues, both mostly held in London and listed on the London Stock Exchange. One of these issues bears interest at 4 per cent per annum and the other at 3 per cent. These issues are as follows:

Four per cent inscribed stock, redeemable 1935, authorized and outstanding £194,500, interest January and July 15. The closing

price of this issue July 27, 1914, was 99 and the price January, 1918, about 80.

Three per cent inscribed stock, redeemable 1923 to 1945, interest February and August, authorized and outstanding £250,000. The closing price of this issue July 27, 1914, was 77 and the price January, 1918, about 61.

No British stamp-duty taxes are payable on the two issues.

The revenues and expenditures of the colony generally about balance. In recent years they have averaged approximately £550,000 per annum; resources and sources of revenue are sufficiently large to assure the maintenance of the interest and sinking fund on all outstanding issues of bonds.

BANKING AND INSURANCE.

The banking facilities of British Guiana are amply provided by the Colonial Bank, the Royal Bank of Canada, and various private interests. A large amount of insurance business is handled by the Demerara Mutual Insurance Co., which also maintains agencies throughout the West Indies.

RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT.

There are two railway lines operating in British Guiana, the most important of which is the Demerara Railway, operating 79 miles of road. The main line is of 4-foot 81-inch gauge; this line is 60 miles in length, its track extending from Georgetown eastward along the coast to a point opposite New Amsterdam (Berbice), the second city in importance. There is another 19-mile line that runs from Vreeden-Hoop on the Demerara River to Greenwich Park on the Atlantic Ocean, this line having a gauge of 3 feet 6 inches. The original prospectus of the Demerara Railway was issued in 1845, when subscription was invited for 10,000 shares of £25 stock, payable in installments. The proceeds were to be used to construct a line 20 miles in length from Georgetown easterly to Mahaica. The company was incorporated October 30, 1846, and grading was commenced several months later. The concern had been floated during a great railway boom in England and elsewhere, and, as this boom collapsed very shortly after construction work on this line was begun, many of the shareholders who had made investments in shares of other railway companies found themselves embarrassed to such an extent that they were unable to continue installment payments on their Demerara Railway shares. The assistance of the colonial government alone saved the situation through advances made to the company; however, funds raised were only sufficient to complete 5 miles of road from Georgetown to Plaisance. This short line was opened for traffic in the year 1848 and is actually the oldest railway in South America.

Construction work was resumed prior to the year 1851, and the extending of the line was slowly continued, Mahaica being reached in 1864. In 1899 this line was continued to Rossignol, opposite New Amsterdam, which latter city, as stated, is the second place of importance in the colony. The other section of the railway, known as the West Coast Line, was also completed in 1899, with the exception