Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-08-11
Great Islands of the World.
From the Providence Journal

one of the results of this war will he tbe
| acquisition of islands by this country. M
| other great nation, save Austria. which js
not great in area, is SO lacking in islands as
Is the United States. Great Britain Is entire
| ly lnsuiar in it's home territory, and in ITS
| colonial empire 1t holds larger islands than
any other power. Australia is nearly ten
tunes as large as any other inhabita Bile
isiahd, and the next two largest are partly
IN Br1taln's possession. Down in the South
sea, in the south temperate zone, it owns
Two Islands. each of them larger than
Cupa. Newfoundland, in America, is about
as large as Ohio. Vancouver Island on the
racine coast. is nearly big as Vermont
and New Hampshire together. C4yion,
south OF India, is almost as large as the
state of Maine, and the same may be said
OF Tasmania, which is SO overshadowed by
Australia, in whose southern shade it lies
as to be scarcely noticeable on the map
| , rance, IN Madagascar, holds the third
largest island in the world, leaving Aus
traiia-which is often called continent
out CT the counting. Germany has during
recent years, picked up several islands,
among them New Britain. with 1900
square miles, larger than any of ours
Italy has Sicily, as large as Belgium, and
Sardinia, about the size of the state of New
hampshire. The Island of Sakhalin, north
OF Japan, held by Russia, is as large as
the state of New York. Japan, like Great
Britain, is an insular kingdom Its recent
acquisition, Formosa, is as large as the
| Kingdom of the Netherlands. In Hainan.
China has another island left, nearly as
large, although France is credited with the
design of taking it from her. Even Brazil
has, in Majura, which lies between the
estuaries of the Amazon and the Para rfy-
erS, an island ten times as large as any
Qnhabitable) one which we now possess
The largest island susceptible of cultiya-
ton within the territory of the United
States Is Long Island but the latter has an
area of but about 300 square miles, and II
would look small even by the side of Porto
Rico. 1T Is true that we have a few larger
Islands in the cold waters of Boring sea.
but they are not susceptible of cultivation
In a few days when we shall have an
nexed the Sandwich Islands, we shall be In
pc secession, in the Isle of Hawaii, of an
island more than double the size Of Long
Island. Porto Rico, also, now fast coming
into our possession, is more than twice as
large as our largest island.
When this war is over we shall be in
possession, for a time at least of one of
the largest Of the worlds islands, and per-
haps OF two of the largest, Cuba and
Luzon.
Australia is almost continent. 1t is 3
400 miles long. 81 miles In width and has
an area of 2.936.000 square miles, After
Australia, the worlds largest inhahitable
First, New Guinea, 100000 square miles;
second, Borneo. 2S5.G00; third, Madagascar
100000; fourth, Sumatra 16S 0oo: fifth
Great Britain, IS, 600; sixth, Houshin (Ja-
JAM. 81 coo; seventh, Ceiebss, $1,000; eighth.
Middle Island (New Zealand), IS, 0D0: ninth.
Java, 1900; tenth, Sakha1in Island A .oQo
eleventh, North New Zealand, 1900;
twelfth. Cuba. 1900; thirteenth New
foundland. $1,000; fourteenth. Luzon. a, 600
{ = 49,