Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1852-06-17
From tho Literary World.
Commerce of the Amazon.

'tedueIs1 iFOH ANUIiOlh VI NhaIi9SbN"1 =" OFNA
he commerce of the Amazon. AS usual with
is papers, Mr.. Maury superadds to dry, technical
tatement brilliant coloring worthy of the pa
es Of an Alexander Humbolt. After exhlbl-
ing the course of the South American currents
vessels from the Amazon, " to pass
" our own DOORS" he thus describes the Gulf,
With its future resources -
{" If we regard the whole continent Of Ameri-
"a at cue REV, we observe that in the equatorial
regions il is nearly cut in twain 10 receive an
arm Of the sea, ssirted on the east by the chain
Of islands, the Great and Little Antilles, which
extend from the peninsula of Florida on the north
10 the mouth of the Orinoco on the south; that
this land-locked arm Of the sea receives the |
drainage from the valley of the Rio Grande, the
Mississippi, and the Alabama rivers; on the
south the surplus waters OF the Amazon, the
Orinoco, the Magdalena, and Atrato are emptied
into it also. This sheet Of salt water may there
fore be treated Of as an expansion of the Miss
ssippi on the North, and of the Amazon on the
south.
Regarding this magnificent marine basin as
commercial receptacle, we may search the
world in vain for another such feature in physi-
cal geography wherewith to compare it. 1t is
unique. And for its commercial capabilities, it
must forever remain unsurpassed and unequalled.
at has semi-continent on the north, and
another on the south. When il is seed-time on
one side of this continental receptacle of agri-
cultural and commercial wealth, it is harvest-timc
on the other. Being between the two hemis-
pheres, with their opposite seasons, it will have
round of crops always in the market Six
months after the first delivery Of the new crop
from the north, fresh crop from the south will
be in the act of coming forward The Mississip-
pi River gives drainage and commercial out
let to the largest and most fertile valley of the
northern hemisphere. The river basin of the
Amazon (for the Ornoco is connected with it by
a natural canal, and therefore belongs to the
SYSTEM is the largest and most fertile in the
world.
"'The Mississippi, taking its rise near the par
alel of so deg. north latitude, runs south. At
every step it changes its latitude: with its lati-
tudc its climates are changed with its climates
| the productions its banks also changed.
Consequently the trader, as he descends the
Mississippi, beholds at every turn some new ar
ticle of produce-some fresh variety of mer-
chandise offering for commerce. And by the
|
time he crosses the tropic of Cancer and bounds
out through the commercial mouth Of this river
upon the blue waters of the Atlantic ocean, ne
will have crossed the climate and the region for
every agricultural staple, and ranged through all
the capacities of field and forest in the northern
hemisphere, from barley, furs, and peltries, down
to the list of tropical productions.
"The Amazon, on the other hand, runs stand
its navigable tributaries, flowing both from the
north and the SOUTH push the intertropical varie-
ties from field and forest, far down towards the
circle of Capricorn, in the other hemisphere.
{" The Mississippi has but reached the sugar.
producing latitude, where it expands out upon
the Gnlf of Mexico. The Amazon takes up the
list where the Mississippi leaves it; and, COM
mencng with sugar, it yields in great profusion,
and of fine quality, coffee, cochinea, cocoa, cot
ton, hemp, indigo, India-ubber, wax, gums,
drugs, and resins. With cabinet woods and dye
stufs of great beauty and Of infinite variety,
this splendid river basin completes the CONNER
cial round by the addition 10 the above list of
many other articles from the field the forest, and
the mine, of rare value or great worth. In the
commercial circle, these two river basins are the
supplements of each other-what one lacks, the
other one has to spare.
"The foundations of commerce rest upon
diversity of climate for without diversity of
climate there can be no diversity of productions
and consequently no variety of produce, which
begets barter, and thus gives rises to commerce.
"The Continent of Europe, extending from
the Polar Basin, reaches no further to the south
than the parallel of sc deg. north; consequently
none of the climates due any of the parallels
36 deg. north and the Equator are to be found
in Europe and if not the climates, certainly
not the productions.
"Now it is fact in physical geography that
IS worthy of remark in this onnection-where !
the Continent Of Europe ends, at that degree OF
latitude begin the river basins of India, which,
extending from fhe parallel of SO deg. north far
down into the intertropical regions of this
hemisphere, have enriched with their produce
and their commerce every nation OF Europe
that has ever ventured abroad with her merchant
men in search of it. And why? Simply because
The latitudes and the climates, and consequently
he productions of India, were not to be found
N Europe and the Europeans wanting them,
tent TO India for them. In like manner the peo-
,Ie of India wanted the productions of Europe. n
fence barter and the foundation of all commerce
nay be referred to difference of latitude and cli-
nate.
Sc But to exchange the produce and the mer- .
handse of the north frigid aud north temperate !,
Or the north torrid zone, the European had to
ncounter a tedious and dangerous navigation,
nd he had witha to compass such distance =
nat the time taken for bis vessel to 90 and to
ONE once, occupied the full year.
"on the other hand we have at our very doors :
lis great valley of the Amazon, with all, and,
lore than ALL in the climates and soils and ag. :
cultural capabilities of India twice told. VI
"The distance under modern improvements
navigation, from our southern ports to the R
outh of the Amazon, is not as many days as 7
ldiO used to be months from Europe. fl
"Tho valley of the Mississippi extends, ac- al
'rding to the computation Of physical geoersph TX