Glasgow, the metropolis of Scotland. It ranks next to London in the United Kingdom. It is situated on both banks of the Clyde at the head of deep water navigation. In 1769 James Watt surveyed the river and found but two feet of water. By narrowing the channel and dredging, however, a passage 400 feet wide and 21 feet deep has been created. Large ships from all parts of the world lie at the wharves of Glasgow. Smaller ships for the coast trade crowd the channel. Little ships dart up and down the stream with passengers or loads of goods designed for shipment. The river is spanned by a number of bridges. Some consist of stone arches, others are of iron. There are two suspension bridges. Tunnels have been constructed beneath the river to accommodate a portion of the enormous traffic. The city possesses a series of fine parks. The most celebrated, though not the most beautiful, is Glasgow Green, facing the river. The various greens and squares contain statues of Queen Victoria, James Watt, Robert Burns, Dr. Livingstone, Sir John Moore, Walter Scott, Wellington, etc. There are a number of fine buildings, including the bank of Scotland, the Royal Exchange built in Corinthian style, the United Free Church College, the Stock Exchange, and immense railroad stations, but the most celebrated building is the old cathedral, dating from 1133. It is a stately edifice, now used as a Presbyterian church. It possesses a fine crypt with graceful arches. The crypt measures 125 feet in length. It is considered the masterpiece of Scottish architecture. It figures in Walter Scott's novel of Rob Roy. The University of Glasgow occupies a magnificent pile of new buildings on a commanding site near the city. Its library is especially rich in volumes and old manuscripts illuminated beautifully by the hands of industrious monks. The city obtains its water supply from Loch Katrine thirty-four miles distant. When the system was ready for use Queen Victoria turned on the water in person. The supply is 50,000,000 gallons a day. The street railways are owned by the city. Fares are regulated according to distance. It costs but a cent for a short ride, though the cost of a long ride exceeds the five cent fare customary in the United States. American students of municipal affairs consider Glasgow one of the best governed cities in the world. The early wealth of the city was derived from trade with France. Cargoes of herrings were exchanged for brandy and salt. An extensive trade was opened up later with the West Indies. The early merchant princes of the city were known as the tobacco lords. When cotton took the place largely of wool for clothing Glasgow became an important center of the cotton industry. Enormous quantities of raw material were imported, converted into cloth, then shipped abroad again. Coal and iron are at hand in great abundance. Enormous smelters with their tall chimneys stand out against the horizon in every direction. Shipbuilding has long been an important industry. Glasgow is still the most noted shipbuilding center in the world. When British oak was exhausted, pine was obtained from Maine and Georgia. Large quantities of ship timber are still purchased in Scandinavia. Glasgow led off in the building of iron ships. Clyde built steamers are noted the world over. The population at the beginning of the present century was 760,423--one-fourth of all Scotland. In 1908 the population was returned at 860,000. Goods to the value of $70,000,000 are imported annually. The exports amount to about $92,000,000. The secret of Glasgow's prosperity is told in the following extract from a United States Consular Report: Not a vessel entered the harbor during the year 1906 flying the flag of the United States. The records for six years past disclose the astonishing fact that while 1,130 loaded ships sailed from Glasgow to the United States, not one of them carried an American flag. The local market value of the goods carried on these vessels to the United States in the six years amounted to $37,016,949. This does not include an average annual passenger list of 25,000 persons. As the value of the importations from the United States into Glasgow exceeds the exports, the foreign vessels leaving this port carried freight valued at over $37,000,000 and returned with cargoes the estimated cost of which in America was no less than $50,000,000. Glasgow has 110 separate firms and corporations owning steam and sailing ships engaged in the foreign and coastwise trade. In some instances a single company owns as many as 30 vessels, the tonnage of many of these being over 8,000 tons. The number of local shipping offices and agents engaged in extending the foreign commerce is 569. The practical benefits of a merchant marine, and how it has aided in the development of a new industry in Glasgow during the past fifteen years, until it has outstripped its older rivals in the United States, is shown in the case of a well-known sewing-machine company. Its capital is English and its active management is in the hands of able and experienced Americans. This plant was built in the suburbs of Glasgow fifteen years ago. To-day it gives employment to 11,000 people, and during the past year it manufactured 1,000,000 sewing machines. These machines were sold in Central and South America, on the Continent of Europe, and all over the Far East. They reached these desirable markets through the medium of Glasgow's merchant vessels. This was an advantage its rivals in the United States did not enjoy, and hence during these years have missed the sale of millions of machines. With equal shipping facilities--direct lines and cheap transportation--and having all the raw material in America, the Glasgow plant could not undersell the sewing-machine companies of the United States in the foreign markets of the world. See CLYDE.