THE PROdRESS OF aEOORAPHTOAL KNOWLEDGE. 359 



niostin.sutiicientgeogTaphical surveys on a sound geodetic basis extcnd- 

 ino- through the whole coatinciit. 



KOHTH AMERICA. 



In the geographical tields presented ])y North America, as also b}' 

 Australia, magnificent as are the opportunities for acquiring that per- 

 sonal ac(piaintance with the great depositions of nature which environ 

 new conditions of life, and shape the course of human existence to its 

 appointed ends; or, in other words, to acquire a geographical educa- 

 tion from original sources of instruction, there is but little opening for 

 the enterprise of the pioneer who aspires to show the way into new 

 fields. There is no lack of native enterprise in colonies peopled by 

 the stout-hearted descendants of generations of explor(^rs. Neither 

 Canadians nor Australians wait for p]ngland to show them how to 

 develop the resources of their own country or pilot the road to new 

 ventures. On the contrary, we have to turn to Canada now for instruc- 

 tion in the higher art of geographical map making and to admit that 

 England has been left far behind in the development of the special 

 branch of science which deals with the illustration of the main fea- 

 tures of geographical configuration in relation to their geological 

 construction. 



AFKICA. 



In Africa the advanct^ of our knowledge of the main outline of the 

 geographical features of the continent has l)een so rapid since the days 

 when the Nile was first traced to its source l)y Speke that a perfect 

 network of explorers' lines of travel now embraces the continent in its 

 meshes, and it is only in the intermediate spaces that room for enter- 

 prise on the part of the poineer is left, even if it may not be said 

 altogether to haxe \aiiished. A reference to the little map })ul)lished 

 by Mr. Kavenstein in the Royal Geographical Society Journal for last 

 December will show you at once that the hydrcjgraphy of Africa has 

 been fairly well traced out in all its main arteries, leaving but few 

 unexplored spaces of any great extent, and that such spaces, where 

 tlie}^ occur within the area which is especially oj)en to Englishmen, 

 demand an organized system of exploration more complete in its 

 results, mor(^ carefully balanced in its relation to th(» g(H)gra])hic;il 

 illustration of those lands which are l)egiiuiing to form centers of 

 ci\ilization than can l)e securc^l by tli(? process of poineer route mak- 

 ing. In short, we want a system of geographical sur\(\ving allicnl to 

 those systems which Iuiac been perfected after years of careful experi- 

 ment by Canada, or Russia, or France, or b}' England in India. This, 

 however, l)rlngs us into a field of technical in([uirv of great importance, 

 into which, so far as it deals with geogi'aphy — i. e.. with the measure- 

 ment of the earth's surface and the illustration of its contiguration l)y 

 means of maps, I proposi^ to enter brielly in this ad<lress. 



