ns to guard it, have been made. No work beyond the
surveys has yet been undertaken, however. The cost of each canal is
estimated between one hundred and fifty million and two hundred million
dollars. The Panama route will require about twelve hours for the
passage of a vessel; the Nicaragua route about sixty hours.[11] (_See
map, p. 270._)

The completion of a canal by either route will cause a readjustment of
the world's commerce far greater than that which followed the
construction of the Suez Canal. By such a route San Francisco is brought
nearer to London than Calcutta now is, and the all-water route between
the Atlantic ports of the United States and those of China and Japan
will be shortened by upward of eight thousand miles. The importance of
the Hawaiian Islands, already a great ocean depot, will be greatly
increased, and the latter is becoming one of the great commercial
stations of the world.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What were some of the effects which resulted from the various embargo
and non-intercourse acts that preceded the war of 1812?

What is the effect upon an industry when all means of getting the
products to market are cut off?

In the early history of the country rivers were the most important
highways of commerce; obtain an account of some instance of this in
detail.

Certain commodities have been carried about four-fifths of the distance
between Moscow and Vladivostok by water, across Siberia. Illustrate
this, using the map of the Russian Empire, plate, p. 342.

What has been the effect of cheap steel on ocean navigation?

Discuss the difference between a screw-steamship and a side-wheeler; a
ship and a schooner. How are vessels steered?

How does a triple-expansion engine differ from an ordinary steam-engine?

Cargoes are carried by water across Europe from Havre to Marseilles, and
from The Hague to the mouth of the Danube; illustrate the route on a map
of Europe.

The following instruction occasionally is found in the pilothouse of a
vessel--what is its meaning?

"Green to green and red to red--
Perfect safety; go ahead."

From the chart on p. 49 show how a pilot uses the range lights in
entering New York Harbor.

The new freighter Minnesota is designed to carry a load of 30,000 tons;
how many trains of fifty cars, each car holding 30,000 pounds, are
required to furnish her cargo?

From the map on pp. x-xi describe the new ocean routes that will be
created by an