A Colorado highway which is destined to become known for its scenic attractions was completed recently. It is a twenty-three mile stretch between the towns of Parkdale and Cotopaxi, and forms a gateway to the western part of the state through the canon of the Arkansas river. Construction of the road began two years ago and cost $100,000. Much of the way was cut through solid granite, it being necessary at one point to build the highway through a tunnel. The road skirts the Arkansas river the entire distance. The new highway takes the place of a thirty-two mile hill road between Parkdale and Cotopaxi, which ran through Copper gulch and crossed the sandy bottom of the gulch forty-eight times in eight miles. It gives an easy water grade between Canon City and Salida, and is a link in the Santa Fé trail and Rainbow transcontinental route from the East to the Pacific coast.

The president of the Atlantic Deeper Waterways Association has just issued a call for the eighth annual convention of the association, to be held in Savannah, Ga., Nov. 9-12. "The unfortunate filibusters," says President Moore, "that developed in the last two sessions of Congress over the river and harbor bills, ended in the adoption of compromise measures carrying lump sum appropriations in insufficient amount and excluding all new projects, thereby postponing and even threatening abandonment of the coastal waterways for which this association has stood since its inception. An unmistakable demonstration should now be made of the popular demand for adequate recognition at the next session of Congress of commercial necessities in the East."

The thirty-third annual report of the fishery board of Scotland, covering the operations of 1914, was recently issued. The sea fish of all kinds landed within the year amounted to 7,440,321 cwts., of the value of £3,208,536, including shell fish valued at £65,029, a decrease of about 25 per cent in value as compared with the previous year. This result was obtained by 8,869 fishing vessels, manned by crews aggregating 37,594. During 1914, 108 steam and 171 motor boats were added to the fishing fleet.

More than 2,000,000 motor cars and trucks are registered in the United States, according to a compilation made in the current number of The Automobile. The exact figures, after all deductions for duplications have been made, are 2,070,903 motor vehicles registered in the several states on July 1. This is an increase of 334,809 registrations since the first of the year. New York leads with a total of 185,767, and Ohio is second with 152,950. Illinois is a close third with 151,832; California fourth with 138,600; Pennsylvania fifth with 128,062, and Iowa sixth with 117,407. Michigan has 93,669, Minnesota 82,000, Indiana 81,208. Massachusetts is credited with 76,168, Texas with 72,433.

A new double-tracked railroad link connecting the freight and passenger distributing centers of East Boston, Everett, Somerville, Cambridge, and Allston, Mass., will probably be a leading recommendation made in the report of the special legislative commission to inquire into the steam freight and passenger terminal facilities of Boston. The consensus of opinion was that such a link of two tracks, or preferably four tracks, is an urgent necessity if Boston commercial interests are to have adequate service, and if convenient transfer of passenger trains is to be effected between the Boston & Maine, Boston & Albany, and New York & New Haven railroads, pending solution of a more direct connection between the North and South stations.

A project to build a system of light railways in a virgin agricultural district of the territory of Misiones, Argentine Republic, has progressed so far that the director-general of railways has been requested to prepare preliminary plans and estimates. The Argentine minister of public works has been investigating the feasibility of the project. The line would be government built and owned. Either Posadas or Apostoles, it is stated, would be the terminus, and the system would thus be connected with the Argentine Northeastern Railway, which traverses the southern extremity of the territory between the two points named. With this exception Misiones possesses no railways.

Panama hats are made in Panama, but in the province of Manabi, Ecuador. The hats are made only at night, because owing to the heat the straw becomes too brittle to use in the daytime. Thousands of natives in the interior of Ecuador are engaged in the weaving of these hats, working from a little after midnight to seven o'clock in the morning. The plants producing toquilla straw, from which Manabi (Panama) hats are made, are five or six species of stemless screw pine. The plant is seen at its best in the dense, dark, tropical forests on the Pacific coast of Ecuador. It attains a height of six to ten feet, and has the appearance of a diminutive palm tree.

After having been under consideration for ten years, the Torrens land registration act was adopted at Salt Lake City, Utah, by the recent conference of the commissioners on uniform state laws. The vote was seventeen to seven, with Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin voting in the negative. The act is similar to those in effect in California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington, the changes being largely to conform with recent court decisions. It does away with abstracts of titles and provides that the state shall guarantee titles.

Circuit Court Judges Buffington and McPherson have entered a decree in the United States district court for the district of New Jersey, enjoining the officers and directors of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Coal Company from continuing the business of coal mining and purchase and shipping heretofore in existence between the two concerns. The decree is in accordance with the recent decision of the United States Supreme Court.

It is reported that a chain of wireless stations is to be erected along the proposed steamer route through Hudson bay, Canada. Preliminary work is to be commenced almost immediately at Mansell island at the western entrance to Hudson straits, where the first of the stations will be constructed. The chain will eventually extend to Port Chidley at the Atlantic entrance to the straits. When it is completed vessels will be in touch with the canal stations right to Port Nelson.

Members of the Appalachian Mountain Club are to take a leading part in the dedicatory celebration of the opening of the New Summit House, on Mt. Washington, N. H., which is to be marked by an illumination on Saturday evening, Aug. 21. Al nine o'clock that evening a bonfire will be built on the hotel grounds, and it will be answered by fires on all the peaks up and down the notches and on mountain peaks in Vermont.

There are 6,361,5502 farms in the United States, according to recent census figures, and they represent 878,798,325 acres, or 46.2 per cent of the total land area of the country. Of the total acreage given only 478,451,750 acres are classed as improved land. The balance comprises wood land and other unimproved land in farms. The average size of farms is 138.1 acres, of which 75.2 acres are improved and 662.9 acres unimproved.

Salt consumed in the United States amounted to 9,998,52,560 pounds during 1914, an increase of 41,475,800 pounds over that consumed in 1913. The geological survey estimates this amount would mean a per capita consumption of almost one hundred pounds for the year. The per capita consumption of sugar in 1914 was 89.14 pounds.

Official advices are to the effect that the 1915 peach crop of the United States will be the largest in the country's history. On July 1, a total of 58,000,000 bushels was reported, which was an increase of 8 per cent over the figures for 1914. It is now believed that the 1915 total will be considerably larger than the figure quoted.

The estimated outlay on road construction in Ontario, Canada, under the good roads act this season has been submitted. Last year the actual expenditure on road construction was $847,000, of which the government contributed one third. The estimates this year provide an outlay of $640,000.

The dairy production of the province of Alberta, Canada, is valued at $10,500,000, according to a report made by the dairy commissioner. With the exception of a negligible quantity of fancy cheese, the dairy production of Alberta is marketed in the form of milk, cream, butter, and Cheddar cheese.

A large contract for the purchase of apples has been closed with the Hood river growers of Oregon by the Netherlands consul, who bought 100,000 boxes at $1.50 a box. The apples will be shipped to the Netherlands in October.

The ninth annual conference of the National Tax Association was in session at San Francisco Aug. 10–14.