GEOGRAPHY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 157, 6 July 1939, Page 13

GEOGRAPHY.

USEFUL TO COMMERCE. STUDY IN U.SJ\. CAPACITY FOR CONSUMPTION. Defining geography as a comparative study of the earth's regions, Dr. A. K. Botts, exchange lecturer from New York State, delivered an address to-day to a well-a'.-ter/ued meeting of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce on the geography of the United States particularly in relation to the commercial activities and industrial interests.

Tlie large size of the United States, the variety of its region*, industries and resources, and the almost complete absence of trade barrier* between the various regions, said the lecturer, made it particularly suitable as an example to prove the contention that geography had a .useful point of view to offer in the study of iinv country.

In several respects, said the speaker, tho United States had more than ite share, of the world's resources. Although it comprised only 5 per cent of the world's land and* about 5 per cent of its population, it produced 15 per cent of the world's wheat, :!5 per cent of ite steel, 33 per cent of its coal, 40 jht cent of its cotton, f>o per cent of its petroleum and had 75 per cent of the passenger automobile registration. Population distribution presents another geographic distributional pattern influenced largely by the physiographic, climatic and resource conditions.

On the question of markets it was noteworthy that within the United States there is still a tremendous capacity for consumption. Only 15 per cent of the farme are electrified, 15 per cent have running water, 20 per cent have radios, 35 per cent have telephones, and 00 per cent have automobiles. The rest constitutes a reserve market of considerable proportions.

Dr. Botts dealt with the relationship between different geographic regions as expressed hy the network of trans]>ortation lines and showed how general manufacturing areas had developed in the neighbourhood of the basic factory industries.

However, geographic factors were not static and sometimes entire industries would move from one place to another. Aβ an instance cotton milling had shifted from the New England States to the "cotton belt."

The lecturer's address was illustrated by majte and lantern slides.