THE NATURE OF BUSINESS GEOGRAPHY What Business Includes.—Business may be defined as the exchange of one product for another, or the preparation of products for such an exchange. The merchant, the importer, and the manufacturer are typical business men. So, too, is the banker, for he deals with money which is merely a convenient way of representing goods which one man transfers to another. The ordinary farmer is not strictly a busi ness man, but he engages in many business transactions such as buy ing tools, fertilizer, and seed, and making bargains for the sale of his products. The manager of a plantation, however, or of a large farm, engages so frequently in buying and selling that he is as much a business man as the head of a large store. Many other people, although em ployed in other occupations, are deeply concerned in business. This is true of the laborer, for example, even though he owns neither land, buildings, nor tools. If the products upon which he works find a ready sale he is relatively sure of his job, but if they arc not salable he may lose it or have to work part time. Like everyone else, whether he is working or idle, he must have food, clothing, and shelter, and the business of getting them is highly important. Among all sorts of people the wife or mother generally buys food and clothing as well as many other necessities, so that she, too, takes an active part in busi ness. Thus practically every adult is interested in business in a very real and vital way.
An Example of Business Geography.—A simple example of what in a pioneer Minnesota village will show how a survey of geographical conditions helps a man in business. A few years ago a young man started a general store in spite of the protests of his friends. They thought he would fail because another store already handled the small business of the community. He looked over the geographical conditions, however, and went to work.
Here are the conditions: The country for miles around the village was a level plain; the soil was deep and fertile; the climate fairly cool and invigorating, too cool for corn but excellent, for potatoes, grass, and cattle-raising. The plain was covered with a mixed forest of pine
and hard wood except around a lumber camp where the trees had been cut for a steam mill near the village. In isolated clearings a handful ' of farmers had settled, and were pasturing cattle on a fine growth of short sweet grass in the cleared areas not needed for crops. Transportation was difficult. Through the village, to be sure, ran a railroad, but there were no good roads, nothing but lumber trails and cart paths. One other feature completes the geographical picture, namely, a number of pretty glacial lakes full of fish and surrounded by woods where game was still abundant. If the young man had put his thoughts into the language of commercial geography he would have said that his problem centered around four communities: (1) a lumber mill with its shifting, irresponsible population; (2) a few farmers; (3) a tiny commercial village near a railroad station; and (4) occasional campers on the shores of the lakes.
The proprietor of the old store was content to carry chiefly the staple goods such as bacon, sugar, flour, and clothing. The rough clothing and especially the heavy boots and shoes used by the men in the mill formed a large part of his sales. The proprietor of the new store realized that he must cater somewhat to the millmen, but he knew that the geographical conditions would some day produce a farm ing community. All the lumber would be cut, the mill would shut down, and the cleared land would be taken over by farmers. The farmers were indeed poor; they could purchase little, and had only a small surplus to offer for the market, Even that little they had much difficulty in bringing to the railroad because of the bad roads. They were reliable, however, because their homes were permanent, the storekeeper could safely give them credit. On the other hand, the workers in the mill had cash and were good spenders; but they were likely to quit their jobs and leave their bills unpaid.