, and tobacco
plantations have been established in the former; grazing is the chief
industry in the latter. Ebony and bamboo are among the forest products.

=British Possessions.=--The Fiji Islands are among the most important
British possessions. They number about eighty habitable and twice as
many small islands. Sugar is the chief export product, and it goes
mainly to Australia and New Zealand. Cocoanuts are also a large item of
export trade. _Suva_ is the chief trading-port.

The Tonga Islands are nominally independent, but are practically a
British protectorate. Among other British possessions are Cook, Gilbert,
and Ellice archipelagoes, and Pitcairn Island.

=German Possessions.=--The Samoa Islands are perhaps the most important
German possession, and German planters have made them highly productive.
They were formerly held under a community-of-interest plan by Great
Britain, Germany, and the United States. A joint commission awarded the
greater part of the territory to Germany. In addition to the ordinary
products, pineapples and limes are exported. Most of the trade is
carried on by way of Australia. _Apia_ is the trading-port.

Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon, Marshall, and Caroline groups
have also been acquired by Germany. The last named was purchased from
Spain at the close of the Spanish-American War.

=French Possessions.=--New Caledonia, together with Loyalty Islands,
Fortuna, and the New Hebrides group, have great wealth in the matter of
resources. New Caledonia, a penal colony, has productive mines of chrome
iron ore and copper. It is the source of a considerable supply of nickel
and cobalt. A railway to the coast has been built for the carriage of
these products.

Tahiti is the principal island of the Society group, and under the
missions long established there, the natives have become civilized. In
addition to the usual trade, sugar and mother-of-pearl are important
exports.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

How will the commerce of the Pacific be changed by the construction of
an isthmian canal?

What has been the effect of the Australian wool-clip on the cloth-making
industry of England and Germany?

How will the acquisition of Hawaii and the Philippine Islands affect the
commerce of the United States?

From Commercial Australia find the trade of the United States with the
Commonwealth.

FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE

From a cyclopaedia read the history of Australia as a co