Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 03.djvu/527

ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION 463 ECUADOR ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION, AMER- ICAN, a society founded in 1885 by persons interested in questions of polit- ical economy or the economic side of so- cial and political conditions. Its 2,500 members consist largely of teachers of economics in the colleges and schools and a number of business and professional men interested in current problems. The annual meeting of the society takes place during the Christmas vacation of the colleges and is held alternately in an eastern and a western city. The associ- ation publishes a very valuable periodical, a quarterly, the "American Economic Re- view." In addition to this the society issues the reports of its annual meetings, which contain valuable monographs and theses on economic subjects. ECUADOR (ek' wa-dor), a republic of South America, situated under the equator, whence it takes its name, be- tween Peru and Colombia. It is of tri- angular shape, its base resting mainly on the Pacific, between lat. 1° 20' N. and 4° 50' S., its apex extending to about Ion. 71° 30' W.; area, about 116,000 square miles, excluding the Galapagos Islands. Between Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia there have been boundary disputes. That with Colombia was settled in 1917. Topography. — The country is divided into 16 provinces and 1 territory, and falls, as regards the surface, into three sections; the comparatively narrow and low-lying coast regions, the mountain region, and the extensive plains on the E. The mountain region is formed by a double range of snow-clad mountains, several of them active volcanoes, which inclose a longitudinal valley or tableland, with a breadth of 20 to 40 miles, and varying in elevation from 8,500 to 13,- 900 feet. The most elevated of these mountains are in the W. range, Chimbo- razo, Pichincha, and Cotacachi, Chimbo- razo being 20,703 feet high. In the E. range are Cayambe, Antisana, and Coto- paxi (19,500). The cultivated land and the population of Ecuador lie chiefly in this elevated region, which extends along between the summits of the Cordillera, and may be considered as divided by transverse ridges or dikes into the val- leys of Quito, Hambato and Cuenca. The chief towns here are Quito, the capital (pop. 70,000) ; Riobamba and Cuenca, all situated at a height of 9,000 feet or more above the sea. The chief port of Ecua- dor is Guayaquil (pop. 65,000). The most considerable rivers, the Tigre, Nape, Pastaza, etc., belong to the basin of the Amazon ; and some of them, nota- bly the Napo, are navigable for long distances. On the W. slope of the Andes the chief rivers are the Esmeraldas and the Guayaquil. Climate and Productions. — The climate on the plains, both in the E. and the W., is moist, hot, and unhealthful. In the higher regions it is rough and cold, but in gi'eat part the elevated valleys, as that of Quito, have a delightful climate. Here the chief productions are potatoes, barley, wheat, and European fruits. In the lower regions are grown all the food products of tropical climates, cacao, coffee, sugar, etc. Ecuador is compar- atively poor in mammalia, though va- rious kinds of deer as well as tapirs and pecaries are found in the forests. Par- rots and humming-birds are also numer- ous, but perhaps the most remarkable of the birds is the condor, which dwells on the slopes of the Andes. Reptiles, includ- ing serpents, are numerous. The forests yield cinchona bark, caoutchouc, sarsapa- rilla, vegetable ivory, etc. Commerce. — The international trade passes almost exclusively through the port of Guayaquil. In 1918 the imports for the previous five years were valued at $8,345,360. Imports from the United States (1918) $4,766,215. Exports $13,- 745,265. Exported to United States $4,- 793,345. The principal articles imported are cotton and woolen textiles, furniture, hardware, cutlery, provisions, malt liq- uors and spirits, silks, jewelry, laces, stationery, wines, breadstuffs, leather goods, and fancy articles; the principal exports are cacao (three-fourths of en- tire export), coffee, hides, vegetable ivory and caoutchouc. Industries. — The principal product of Ecuador is cacao, and the cultivation of this article shows some increase in re- cent years. The cacao plantations are, for the most part, situated on the low- lying lands in the vicinity of the Guaya- quil river. In 1919 the cacao crop was 22,474 cwt.; coffee (1917) 5,562,942 lbs.; rubber (1917) 239,018, ivory nuts 3,000 lbs. Sugar is manufactured principally for home consumption and the same may be said of tobacco and cotton, though some are exported. Pastoral industry is practically confined to raising cattle to fill the home demand for beef. Hides are exported principally to the United States. Mining. — Very little has been at- tempted in modern times in the direction of mining industry in Ecuador. In the province of Esmeraldas hydraulic wash- ing of gravel beds is being carried on by an American company, and quartz crush- ing is also in progress at Zuruma, in the province of Oro. The Indians do some washing in the beds of streams and rivers; a small supply of gold is obtained from this source. The ex- istence of petroleum has been proved in various localities, but nothing has yet