hemisphere, and every addition to our knowledge in this respect will open the way to more important conclusions.

In closing this article the writer begs to acknowledge the obligations he is under to Admiral FitzRoy for the assistance which that officer has rendered him during its revision for the present edition of the Manual,' and to present his best thanks for the information which the Admiral has so readily placed at his disposal.

ARTICLE VII.

THIRD DIVISION, SECTION 1.

GEOGRAPHY.

By W. J. HAMILTON, Esq., PRES. R.G.S., 1848-49.

IN drawing up the following remarks for the use of those requiring information as to the principal points to which,, in respect of geographical investigations, their attention should be mainly directed, the first thing which strikes us is the rapid progress which has been made of late years in the study of the science of geography. Nor, when we consider the nature of the subject, and our own national position, with our colonies extending to every quarter of the globe, our ships navigating every sea, and our travellers exploring every country, is there any reason to be surprised at such a result. The evidence of this progress will be found in the more scientific nature of the observations made, and in the increasing number of valuable maps which are constantly, and in all countries, being brought under the notice of the public.

It must, however, be admitted, that we are yet very far from possessing accurate maps of many very important regions-all the north of Scotland even being still inaccurately represented on any map. But even when we shall have attained such ends, we shall be but at the commencement of our science. The most perfect maps are but the skeleton or groundwork of geography, taken in the higher and more extended sense in which it should be cultivated. Its application to the progress and development of civilization, and to the knowledge of the animal and

vegetable productions of the earth, of the distribution of, the different races of the human family, and the various combinations which have arisen from their repeated intercourse, are subjects of the highest consequence, and to the clear understanding of which our maps and charts can only serve as the foundation stone. No doubt the commercial intercourse of mankind is facilitated and kept up by these maps and charts; but we should aim at a higher object in the study of geography, viz. the improvement of man's moral culture by a more extended knowledge of the productions of different climes, and by bringing before him, on a large tabular scale, the moral and physical conditions of his race.

With this view of the importance of the subject before us the following instructions have been prepared; but before attempting to point out the particular objects to which, in reference to geographical observations, the attention of travellers should be more immediately directed, it is, perhaps, advisable to mention a few general points which should be constantly borne in mind as the basis of all observations, inasmuch as without them all individual remarks, however carefully made at the moment, will ever be desultory in their character and unsatisfactory in their results.

Most prominent amongst these general points is the necessity of acquiring a habit of writing down in a notebook, either immediately or at the earliest opportunity, the observations made and the information obtained. Where numbers are concerned, the whole value of the information is lost, unless the greatest accuracy is observed; and amidst the hurry of business or professional duties the memory is not always to be trusted. This habit cannot be carried too far. A thousand circumstances occur daily to a traveller in distant regions, which from repeated observation may appear insignificant to himself, but which, when brought home in the pages of his note-book, may be of the greatest importance to others, either as affording new information to the scientific inquirer, or as corroborating the

observations of others, or as affording the means of judging between the conflicting testimonies of former travellers.

It is also important, in order to secure accuracy, that the observations should be noted down on the spot. It is dangerous to trust much to the memory on such subjects; and if the observation be worth making, it is essential that it be correct. And here it may not be inappropriate to hold out a caution against too hasty generalization. A traveller is not justified in concluding that, because the portion of a district, or continent, or island which he has visited is wooded or rocky, or otherwise remarkable, the whole district may be set down as similarly formed. He must carefully confine himself to the description of what he has himself seen, or what he has learned on undoubted authority.

Again, to the geographer, the constant use of the compass is of the greatest consequence. No one attempting to give geographical information should ever be without this instrument. The bearings of distant points, the direction of the course of a river, however they may be guessed at by the eye, can never be accurately laid down without the compass; and these observations should be immediately transferred to the note-book. This and his

compass should on all occasions be his constant and inseparable companions. In using the former, he should not forget that slight sketches of the country, and of the peculiar forms of hills, however hastily and roughly made, will often be of more assistance in recalling to his own mind, or in making intelligible to others, the features of the district he has visited, than long and elaborate descriptions. Let him then acquire the habit of never quitting his ship without his note-book and pencil, and his pocketcompass, and the traveller who acquires the habit of constantly using them with readiness will never have reason to regret the delay or the inconvenience which may have temporarily arisen in providing himself before starting with such useful companions.

Having made these few introductory remarks, equally

applicable to most other branches of science, let us proceed to describe as briefly and succinctly as possible some of the principal features to which the attention and the inquiries of the young geographer should be chiefly directed. For this purpose the subject of the present memoir is divided into two heads, which, without straining the use of words, may be not inappropriately called Physical and Political Geography. By physical geography is meant everything relating to the form and configuration of the earth's surface as it issues from the hand of nature, or as it is modified by the combined effects of time and weather, and atmospheric influences. By political geography all those facts are implied which are the immediate consequences of the operations of man, exercised either on the raw materials of the earth, or on the means of his intercourse with his fellow creatures.*

I. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY..

The study of physical geography has of late years made considerable progress. In proportion as the more extensive and careful observations of geologists have led to a clearer conception of the principles and details of that science, the importance of more correct information respecting the physical features and outward forms of the component parts of the earth's surface has been recognised even in a geographical point of view. For without invading the province of geology, it is evident that many modifications of the surface of our planet are constantly, indeed almost daily, taking place, which may be distinctly traced to the peculiar conformation of some of its physical features. A lofty mountain or a projecting headland may be the indirect cause of a distant sandbank or a shoal. The effect

An Italian writer of considerable eminence, Count Annibale Ranuzzi, in a little work published at Bologna, 1840, entitled ‘Saggio di Geografia Pura,' divides geography into two branches, which he calls pure and statistical geography: the former professes to describe the results of physical forces, the latter the effects of moral force; the former is expressed by measurement, the latter by numbers.