The skins are taken to London, via San Francisco, where the fur is dyed a rich brown color; London is the chief market for dyed pelts; San Francisco for raw pelts; and New York, Paris, and St. Petersburg for garments. The pelts of the sea-otter are obtained mainly in the North Pacific Ocean. =Other Furs.=--The furs employed in the finest garments are in part the pelts of land animals living in polar regions. The sable, stone-marten, otter, beaver, and red fox are the most valuable. The Persian lamb, however, is not a polar animal. The Russian Empire and Canada are the chief sources of supply. The Hudson Bay Company, with head-quarters at Fort Garry, near Winnipeg, controls most of the fur-trade of North America; the Russian furs are marketed mainly at Lower Novgorod. Leipzig, Germany, is also an important fur-market. Enormous quantities of rabbit-skins from Australia and nutria from Argentina are imported into the United States and Europe for the manufacture of the felt of which hats are made. The amount of this substance may be realized when one considers that not far from two hundred million people in the two countries wear felt hats. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION Note an instance in which the search for deep-sea fishing-grounds has resulted in the discovery of unknown lands. Why are not whale products as essential now as a century ago? What international complications have arisen between the United States and Great Britain concerning the cod-fisheries?--the seal-catch? [Illustration: NORTH AMERICA] CHAPTER XVII THE UNITED STATES--THE SEAPORTS AND THE ATLANTIC COAST-PLAIN The United States of America together with the possessions included within the domain of the Republic comprise an area somewhat greater than that of Europe. With respect to latitude, the position of the main body of the United States is extremely fortunate. Practically all its area is situated in the warmer half of the temperate zone. Only a small part lies beyond the northern limit of the corn belt; wheat, oats, and barley are cultivated successfully throughout four-fifths of its extent in latitude; grass, and therefore cattle and sheep are grown in nearly every part. Coal, iron, copper, gold, and silver, the minerals and metals which give to a nation its greatest material power, exist in abundance, and the successful working of these deposits have placed the country upon a very high commercial plane. Topographically the United States may be divided into the following regions: The Atlantic Coast-Plain, The Appalachian Ranges and the New England Plateau, The Basin of the Great Lakes, The Northern Mississippi Valley Region, The Southern Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast, The Arid Plains, The Plateau Region, The Pacific Coast Lowlands. [Illustration: A HARBOR--NEW YORK BAY, AT THE BATTERY]