The Netherlands is a land of canals. Canals take much of the travel off the highways and railroads of that country. The thrifty Dutchman and his wife can row themselves to market to sell their eggs and other farm produce in the summer time. In the winter they can skate to the city with their butter and cheese. Do you know why there are so many canals in the Netherlands? For one reason, the country is very low and level. Much of it has actually been recovered from the sea. The ocean is kept out in places by dikes; and some of the canals are diked in to keep them from flooding the land on either side. But it takes more than low level land to build canals. It requires years of patient labor. The Dutch are a hard-working thrifty people not easily beaten by discouragement. By their bulldog grit they have made their little country the great nation it is. The city before you is the largest in the Netherlands. Amsterdam is larger than Cleveland or Baltimore. Only five cities in our country exceed its size. It is not on the sea, but it has much shipping that comes to it through a ship canal. Rotterdam, the second Dutch city in size, is one of the world's great seaports. The Dutch are thrifty traders and fine sailors. They own rich islands in the East Indies, with which they carry on a flourishing trade. You are not surprised to find in Amsterdam many factories hulling and polishing rice from Jaya, or making cigars from tobacco grown in the Far East. The chief industry is diamond cutting and polishing. Keystone ID: 12202 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.