The United States furnished practically all the flour and other breadstuffs, oils, lumber, agricultural implements and leather articles and most of the cotton goods, hardware, machinery, fish, meat and dairy products. Before the European war all the rice was bought in Germany, as well as a considerable portion of the fish, beer, meat and dairy products. At present the rice is brought from the United States and England. The other imports from England are almost entirely cotton goods and bagging, with some iron and steel manufactures. In the chapter on the flora of the country, statistics are given with reference to the exports of the country, which are, as there pointed out, principally: sugar, cacao, tobacco, coffee, bananas, beeswax and honey, hides, cotton, hardwoods and dyewoods. Owing to its geographical position the United States naturally has the greater part of Dominican trade, but since the European war set the commerce of the world awry that proportion has grown until in 1916 the imports from the United States, including Porto Rico, were 90.4 per cent of the total and the exports to the United States and Porto Rico were 82.8 per cent of the total, though the latter figure varies somewhat from final destination, as much of the sugar and cacao is shipped subject to order. Before the European war something more than one-half of the trade of Santo Domingo was with the United States, one-fifth with Germany, and the remainder with France, England and other countries. The countries of origin of imports and destination of exports of the Dominican Republic in the year 1916, as compared with the list for 1913, the last preceding normal year, are here shown: DOMINICAN TRADE BY COUNTRIES IMPORTS 1913 1916 Value Percentage Value Percentage of whole of whole Cuba $ 7,352 .08 $ 136,587 1.17 France 274,318 2.96 152,358 1.30 Germany 1,677,833 18.10 ---- ---- Italy 173,105 1.87 63,450 .54 Porto Rico 62,900 .67 378,219 3.24 Spain 210,781 2.27 151,451 1.30 United Kingdom 730,191 7.88 481,305 4.13 United States 5,769,061 62.22 10,162,698 87.13 Other Countries 366,737 3.95 138,362 1.19 Total $ 9,272,278 100.00 $11,664,430 100.00 EXPORTS