pulation and the land proprietors
are imported. Animals are grown for their hides and these are sold to
the United States.

Another manufacture that connects Ecuador with the rest of the world is
the so-called "Panama" hat. The material used is toquilla straw, the
mid-rib of the screw-pine (_Carlodovica palmata_). The prepared straw
can be plaited only when the atmosphere is very moist, and much of the
work is done at night. The hats are made by Indians, who are governed
by their own ideas regarding style and shape. They bring from
twenty-five to fifty dollars apiece in the American markets, where
nearly all the product is sold.[62]

Mule-paths are the only means of inland communication. There is a
considerable local traffic on the estuaries of the rivers, but this is
confined to the rainy seasons. A railway built by an American company is
in operation from _Guayaquil_, a short distance inland. This city is the
chief market for foreign goods, and it is the only foreign port of the
Pacific coast of South America in which the volume of trade of the
United States approximates that of Germany and Great Britain.

=Bolivia.=--Bolivia lost much of its possible commercial possible future
when, after a disastrous war, its Pacific coast frontage became a
possession of Chile. The agricultural lands are unfortunately situated
with reference to the mining population; as a result, a considerable
amount of food-stuffs must be imported from Argentina. Coffee, cacao,
and coca are the principal cultivated products. Rubber from the Amazon
forest is the most valuable vegetable product, but a considerable amount
of cinchona bark and ivory nuts are also exported.

The mines, however, are the chief wealth of the state and give it the
only excuse for its political existence. They produce silver, tin,
copper, gold, and borate of lime. Inasmuch as a large part of the ore
and ore products must be transported by llamas and mules, only the
richest mines can be profitably worked. With adequate means of
transportation, the mines should make Bolivia one of the most powerful
South American states.

Railways already connect _Oruro_ with the sea-coast. A railway now
under construction will connect _La Paz_ (the pass) with the Pacific
coast, and also Buenos Aires. Excellent roads to take the place of the
pack-trains are under construction.

Practically all the imports, consisting of cotton and woollen textiles,
machinery, and steel wares, are purch