Agriculture.— Agriculture is the principal industry of Colombia and is especially favored by soil and climate. The low and torrid regions (coast and valleys produce coffee,) sugar cane, bananas, cacao, yucca, cotton, tobacco, indigo, vanilla, rice and many kinds of tropical fruits. The temperate middle region of the Andes is suited to the cultivation of wheat, barley, corn, etc., but these grains are not produced in very large quantities owing to the lack of means of transportation. The rubber tree and copaiba grow wild and are tapped. The cattle raising Industry is important in the great plains of the southeast and cattle hides are an important export. The total number of cattle in the re public is about 7,000,000. There are some ex cellent horses and mules of Andalusian stock The government has adopted measures to make expenrnents in irrigation of tropical lands and to place artesian wells at vanous points on the plains. A recent law covers tins project and provides for the establishment of schools of tropical agriculture and a central bacteriolog ical institute. Coffee is Colombia's most irn-1 portant article of export, is grown principally in the Medellin distnct and the Cauca Valley. Colombian coffee commands a high price and finds a ready market in Europe and the United States. The new Cali Railway will stimulate the industry in the Cauca Valley. Much of the rubber shipped abroad is of the uncultivated variety, but in the Atrato Valley and elsewhere the tree is under cultivation. The production in 1915 increased 100 per cent over that of the preceding year, and the industry is still in its infancy. The Simi and Atrato valleys abound in fibrous plants, such as fique and pita, and on the banks of the Magdalena River plants of the agave family and a species of henequen, called locally “plantanillo,D grow in great num bers. These various plants produce an ex cellent grade of fibre which is used throughout the country for making rope, rugs, hammocics, etc. The manner of separating and cleaning the fibre is crude and primitive, the plants be ing flagellated until the fibres separate, when they are put in the sun to dry. The introduc tion of machinery for separating the fibre economically should create a thriving industry. Ipecac is an important agricultural export. In 1915 there was a large increase in the tonnage and value of shipments of this commodity. The plant grows wild in the Sinfi Valley and a small toll is assessed by the government on all ipecac gathered on public lands.
There are productive tobacco lands near the coast and in the department of Santander, but the district of Ambalema produces the best grade and the greatest quantity of tobacco. The larger part of it is used locally for manufactur ing cigars and cigarettes, although the exports have been important during some years. There was less tobacco grown than usual in 1915 owing to the expected curtailment of the market abroad. The invoiced price of exported tobacco early in 1915 was six cents a pound, which in creased to eight cents in November.
The elimination of Germany from the market in 1915 left the exporters of tagua or ivory nuts in this district with quantities on hand that could not be disposed of elsewhere. It is owing to the neglect in sorting the nuts according to size and grade that has prevented Colombian exporters from selling greater quantities in the United States. The prevailing
local price of tagua during the year was $40 a ton. Land for agncultural and other purposes is cheap and generally well watered, but the scarcity of labor is one of the greatest diffi culties in developing the country. There are many varieties of hardwood, but only cedar and mahogany are exported to any extent.
Commerce.—The value of Colombia's im ports in the last normal year before the Euro pean War, 1913, was given as $28,535,800, ex ports in the same year reaching the sum of $34,315,800. After Brazil, Colombia exports more coffee than any other country. It is esti mated that the annual exports amount to 1,000, 000 bags of 60 kilos each (132 pounds), pro duced by 125,000,000 coffee plants. As these plants are valued at 30 cents apiece, they rep resent an investment of $37,500,000. The ex ports of coffee in 1915 were valued at more than half of the total exports, being $16,247,672 out of a total of $31,579,131. The United States consumes the bulkof Colombian coffee? import ing 91,830,513 pounds out of Colombia's total exportation of 136,215,413 pounds in 1914, and taking 111,077,449 pounds out of the exports of 149,111,674 pounds in 1915. Other items in the export list are: Bananas, tagua, hides, leaf to bacco, rubber, gold, ((Panama° hats and plati num. Imports from the United States in 1913 were valued at $7,629,503, and exports to the United States $18,861,800. In the same year, the imports from Great Britain were valued at $5,837,490, and exports to Great Britain, $5, 566,000; imports from Germany, $4,012,100 and exports to Germany, $2,216,200; imports from France, $4,408,600 and exports to France, $797, 000. Colombia imported from the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, Bel gium, Italy and other countries in normal years, before the outbrealc of hostilities in Europe, articles of the following classes: Textiles, foodstuffs, metals, cars and carriages, materials for arts, drugs and chemicals, fuel and light ing, agricultural and mining implements, electrt cal supplies, paper and cardboard, wines and liquors, arms and munitions, etc. In domestic commerce many articles appear which are manu factured in the country on a very small scale, partially supplying home consumption. Ex ports from the United States to Colombia were valued at $8,980,177 in 1915. Exports to the United States from Colombia in 1916 increased over $9,000,000, according to the declared re turns received from the consulate of the United States at Barranquilla. The total exports for 1915 were $18,656,662 and for 1916 they were $27, 759,081. Large increases are shown in the ship ments of bananas, coffee, gold bullion and hides. The increase in exports of platinum. is especially large. In 1916, coffee to the value of $16,616,686 was exported as compared with $12,632,829; hides and skins valued at $3,632,359, as com pared with $2,122,595; gold bullion, $2,009,079 against $903,441 in 1915; bananas, $1,667,213 against $863,483; platinum, $1,456,648 against $4,302 in 1915. Rubber, sugar, tanning ex tract and ivory nuts figured in the exports to the extent of about $250,000 each.