During the second century much colonizing was done. The French settled chiefly along the Saint Lawrence River; the English settled along the Atlantic coast of North America; the Spanish in Mexico and South America; the Dutch by the Hudson River; the Swedes by the Delaware. The European nations discovered that it was worth while to have American colonies. During the third century there was a long struggle to see which nation should rule in America. England and France were far ahead of the others, but which of them should it be? The French and Indian Wars gave the answer, "England." Then another question arose; should it be England or the Thirteen Colonies? The Revolutionary War answered, "The Colonies." At the end of the third century the United States had been established, and the land east of the Mississippi was under her rule. In the last century there has been a great gain in people and in land. To-day there are thirty times as many people in this country as there were then. USEFUL INFORMATION It may not be generally known that we have in the nickel five-cent piece of our American coinage a key to the tables of linear measures and weights. The diameter of a nickel is exactly two centimeters, and its weight is five grammes. Five nickels in a row will give the length of the decimeter, and two of them will weigh a decagram. As the kiloliter is a cubic meter, the key of the measure of length is also that of capacity. Among the North American Indians polished shells were used as currency. This money was called _wampum_ and was recognized by the colonists. Six white shells were exchanged for three purple beads, and these in turn were equivalent to one English penny. LESSON LVI OUR COUNTRY TO-DAY _PART II_ How has it come about that the number of people in the United States has increased with such rapidity? It is partly because more have been born than have died, and partly because so many have come from foreign countries. Fifty years ago large villages were common in which there were hardly any foreigners. Now one-sixth of the whole number of inhabitants of the United States are people who were born in some other country.