cruisers of the largest and most approved type, but we will not maintain this position very long unless Congress shall authorize the building of additional ships. It is of the highest importance that old and practically obsolete ships shall be replaced by ships of the newest type. It is pretty generally conceded that the battleship is the fighting machine, and it is also pretty generally conceded that the most effective battleship is the all-big-gun ship of the Delaware type. As compared with other naval powers, we are deficient in destroyers and submarines, and also in colliers.
The expenditure on the naval establishment of the United States for the year 1911 was nearly $130,000,000. This sum includes expenditures for the construction and armament of battleships and other vessels authorized by Congress besides disbursements in the maintenance of the fleet and the national defense. In 1910 the navy numbered 2,921 officers and 45,076 enlisted men; the marine corps 334 officers and 9,152 men. The pay of naval officers is as follows: Admiral $13,500 per year; rear-admirals, first nine $8,000; second nine $6,000; captains $4,000; commanders $3,500; lieutenant-commanders $3,000; lieutenants $2,400; ensigns $1,700; midshipmen at sea $1,400; petty officers and chief petty officers get from $33 to $77 per month; first class seamen $26; ordinary seamen $21; firemen $33 to $35. The term of enlistment in the United States navy is four years.
The cruise around the world of the American fleet of 16 battleships, which occurred in 1908, was perhaps the most notable feat in naval annals. Leaving Norfolk on Dec. 16, 1907, the fleet sailed around South America, visited the chief ports of that continent and arrived at San Francisco without mishap and in condition ready for any service. Proceeding on its itinerary it visited Hawaii, the Philippines, Australia and Japan, and returned by way of the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. This wonderful cruise attracted the attention of the world; the fleet was welcomed and féted by every nation it visited; and the efficiency of ships, officers and crews was fully demonstrated by this long and severe test. See J. W. King's Warships and Navies of the World; Lieut. F. H. Vesey's (U. S. N.) Navies of the World; and Mahan on Sea Power.
Naz′areth, the Galilean home of Jesus, is a small and flourishing town in Palestine. It is built partly on rocky ridges in a hilly country. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and in the early part of the Christian era was almost forgotten, the first pilgrimage to it taking place in the 6th century. The town contains a Latin convent, built on the supposed scene of the annunciation, while the Greeks have also built a commemorative chapel. There also are a Latin chapel, supposedly built over the workshop of Joseph, and a temple of the Table of Christ, containing the table from which the twelve apostles ate the last supper. The Virgin's well is just outside the town limits. The place has long been famed for the beauty of its women. The population is estimated at from 8,000 to 10,000.
Ne′bo, Mount, the highest point of the range of mountains east of Jordan, in Moab. It was from its summit that Moses had his “Pisgah view” of Palestine. An ancient rude altar, probably as old as the time of the Amorites, was discovered here by Captain Conder in 1881.
Nebras′ka, one of the northern central states of the Union, situated between South Dakota on the north, Iowa and Missouri on the east, Kansas and Colorado on the south and Colorado and Wyoming on the west. Its extreme length is 205 miles, its extreme breadth 415; entire area 77,510 square miles; capital, Lincoln (population 43,973), its other chief cities being Omaha (124,096) and South Omaha (26,259). The population in 1910 was 1,192,214.
Surface and Climate. The state, which is a prairie one, is without any great eleavtions, though in the north and west the surface is diversified by hills. Its chief waterways are the Platte or Nebraska River, which courses across the state from west to east, and the Missouri River, which flanks it on the east and forms part of its northeastern boundary. The soil is rich and fertile, with a dry climate, the rainfall being light; so much so as to necessitate the resort to irrigation in the western part of the state. In the absence of humidity there is little extreme of either heat or cold.
Natural Resources. The state is preeminently an agricultural one, raising the chief cereals, including corn, wheat, oats, rye and barley, besides hay and potatoes. The farmland area is about 39,000,000 acres, the acreage in 1909 in the following crops being corn, 7,266,000 acres; wheat, 2,662,000 acres; oats, 2,365,000 acres; hay and forage, 4,520,000 acres. There is now considerable stock-raising, with an increasing number of dairy-cows and other cattle, horses, sheep and swine. The mineral deposits are poor or are as yet undeveloped, except such limestone as is quarried for building purposes, brick and tile product and clay. Fruit-growing is being developed.
Manufactures. The lack of fuel, either of coal or timber, has been a drawback to manufacturing. The leading industry is slaughtering and meat-packing, with a product value, in 1909, of close upon $93,000,000. South Omaha is the chief seat of this industry. The manufacture of malt liquors, cheese, butter, condensed milk and flour and grist-mill product is important, as is the yield from the brick and tile works, lumber and planing mills, railroad cars, saddlery and harness shops. There is, moreover, a
