33© (.KUCKAl'lIV. 



cessful farming. The bearing of meteorology on aviation is 

 of premier importance, and Ijefore long aerial conveyance is 

 likely to demand very serious consideration from the geographers 

 of commerce. 



Botanists, zoologists, anthropologists, etc . after more com- 

 prehensive observation and exhaustive investigation, in which 

 innumerable indirect causes will not fail to receive due considera- 

 tion, may discover laws regarding man's distribution and racial 

 characteristics which will stand the test of universal applica- 

 tion. 



(Questions regarding a topographical nomenclature for 

 general adoption, the distribution of tropical diseases, the world's 

 decreasing coal suiJi^ly, the latent itower of oil. water, tides, and 

 the sun and the alteration of the great trade routes, giving rise 

 to such local questions as shipning accommodation, storage, etc.. 

 must all receive attention from the geographer of to-morrow. 



The establishnient of an Imperial ( ieographical Information 

 Bureau, which would collect and distribute information regard- 

 ing all matters geographical, would prove a tremendous boon. 

 In such an institution could be ke])t series of maps, saiuples 

 of products, lantern slides, geographical literature, etc. 



In .^oulh Africa tlie da_\' of geograi)h\' is just dawning. 

 During the jjast twelve months no fewer than three syllabuses 

 for advanced examinations in geograph\- have b-en arranged, and 

 various courses of training have been esta])lished bv the Provin- 

 cial and Union bxlucation nepartinents for teachers desirous of 

 obtaining special qualihcations in the subject. 



To man\- who left school in the \ears gone by, even after 

 completing a " secondary " course, their own country w^as little 

 more than a " L^ark Continent." Xow. from the points of view 

 of cultural, disci])linary, imaginative or utilitarian education, few 

 countries in their geogrn])hical study offer trrcater attractions 

 than Africa. The fascinating story of its discovery, the 

 apparent relation between its economic development and its 

 geological structure, the numerous illustrations in recent times 

 of the im])ortance of military geography, its extensive range of 

 climatic conditions and their influence on man and his work, the 

 varied nature of its bio-geography, its cosmopolitan population, 

 its dependence on other countries, together with the fact that 

 it can boast of no mean portion of the world's grandest topo- 

 graphical features — all would seem to advocate a more com- 

 prehensive study of the subject than has hitherto existed. 



In the past, geographical enthusiasts have been faced by 

 many difficulties, but these are gradually being overcome. De- 

 tailed contour maps of several districts are now available, books 

 written from the South African ])oint of view are on the ma'-ket. 

 and as " home geography " is so orominent a feature in all the 

 afore-mentioned syllabuses, several gentlemen, who are forming 

 themselves into the nucleus of a Geographical Society, are con- 

 sidering the advisability of instituting what may be termed a 



