ast two products excepted, they are again exported in
the form of manufactured products. The great bulk of the imports comes
from Great Britain, the United States, Germany, Belgium, Russia, and
Argentina. In 1900 the import trade from these countries aggregated
about five hundred million dollars. The total export trade during the
same year was about eight hundred million dollars; it consisted mainly
of high-priced articles of luxury.

The foreign trade is supported by a navy, which ranks second among the
world's navies, and a merchant marine of more than fifteen thousand
vessels. Aside from the subsidies given to mail steamships, government
encouragement is given for the construction and equipment of home-built
vessels. It is a settled policy that French vessels shall carry French
traffic.

Of the 24,000 miles of railway, about 2,000 miles are owned by the
state. The rivers are connected by canals, and these furnish about 7,000
miles of navigable waters. As in Germany, the water-routes supplement
the railway lines. Practically all lines of transportation converge at
Paris.

_Paris_, the capital, is a great centre of finance, art, science, and
literature, whose influence in these features has been felt all over the
world. The character of fine textiles, and also the fashions in the
United States and Europe, are regulated largely in this city.
_Marseille_ is the chief seaport, and practically all the trade between
France and the Mediterranean countries is landed at this port; it is
also the focal point of the trade between France and her African
colonies, and a landing-place for the cotton brought from Egypt and
Brazil.

_Havre_, the port receiving most of the trade from the United States, is
the port of Paris. _Rouen_ is the chief seat of cotton manufacture.
_Paris_ and _Rheims_ are noted for shawls. _Lille_ and _Roubaix_ are
centres of woollen manufacture. _Lyons_ is the great seat of silk
manufacture.

=Italy.=--Italy is a spur of the Alps extending into the Mediterranean
Sea. From its earliest history it has been an agricultural state, and,
excepting the periods when it has been rent by wars, it has been one of
the most productive countries in the world.

Wheat is extensively grown, but the crop is insufficient for home
consumption, and the deficit is imported from Russia and Hungary. A
large part of the wheat-crop is grown in the valley of the Po River.
Flax and hemp are grown for export in this region; and c