=German Possessions.=--The Samoa Islands are perhaps the most important German possession, and German planters have made them highly productive. They were formerly held under a community-of-interest plan by Great Britain, Germany, and the United States. A joint commission awarded the greater part of the territory to Germany. In addition to the ordinary products, pineapples and limes are exported. Most of the trade is carried on by way of Australia. _Apia_ is the trading-port. Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon, Marshall, and Caroline groups have also been acquired by Germany. The last named was purchased from Spain at the close of the Spanish-American War. =French Possessions.=--New Caledonia, together with Loyalty Islands, Fortuna, and the New Hebrides group, have great wealth in the matter of resources. New Caledonia, a penal colony, has productive mines of chrome iron ore and copper. It is the source of a considerable supply of nickel and cobalt. A railway to the coast has been built for the carriage of these products. Tahiti is the principal island of the Society group, and under the missions long established there, the natives have become civilized. In addition to the usual trade, sugar and mother-of-pearl are important exports. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION How will the commerce of the Pacific be changed by the construction of an isthmian canal? What has been the effect of the Australian wool-clip on the cloth-making industry of England and Germany? How will the acquisition of Hawaii and the Philippine Islands affect the commerce of the United States? From Commercial Australia find the trade of the United States with the Commonwealth. FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE From a cyclopaedia read the history of Australia as a convict colony. Commercial Australia. APPENDIX TRADE OF THE PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY