Not all of the story of the sea is in the story of ships. Ships have always required shelter from the stress of sea, where repairs could be made, where cargoes could be loaded and unloaded, where crews and passengers could be taken on board or put ashore. In ancient times a river’s mouth might have been sufficient, or a natural indentation in the coast line where a small protected body of water lay in the lee of a jutting headland. Sometimes a small bay, almost completely surrounded by land, and still deep enough for ships to ride at anchor, served as a harbour of refuge. Sometimes islands might be found that protected a small arm of the sea. All such places along the Mediterranean coast early became known to navigation, for the early sailor was inclined to skirt the shore, fearful of the perils of the open sea. At first these sheltered spots were left, of course, as Nature had made them. Perhaps a bar at the mouth made entry difficult; perhaps the prevailing winds drove piled-up seas into the broad mouths of others; perhaps marshes surrounded others still, and in such cases these harbours were less used than those without such disadvantages. But wherever a fine harbour existed there grew up a port, for ships, except those meant for war, have no uses save to carry the goods and passengers that originate ashore. If, on some one of these finer harbours, a port sprang up, and if a rich interior country was easy of access from it, because of a navigable river, perhaps, or because caravan routes converged there, or an easy defile through some mountain range led to some rich valley not too far distant, these ports became important. They grew in size because the ease of land or inland transportation permitted the people of the interior to bring their goods for sale. Because of their increased size they attracted the makers of cloth, of leather goods, of glass, of metal ware and cutlery, and of all the great list of goods that go to make up commerce. These artisans came to important ports because the ease of distribution made it simpler for them to sell their wares. [Illustration: A MAP OF THE PORT OF NEW YORK _The Lower Bay has not yet been developed, but about the Upper Bay and along the Hudson and East rivers hundreds of piers are in everyday use. While New York is a huge port and while it can continue to grow for many years it has numerous disadvantages, one of the chief of which is the absence of a belt line railroad._ ]