THE PKOGKKSS OF CJEOGKAPHICAL KNOWLEDdP:. H71 



MAI' SI'ELLIXU. 



I wish that Ave were as well on the way tow art I hoIllo^■elleity in 

 speliing- as we are in scale, hut it is iniicli to ])e feared that arl)itrary 

 rules will have to be a])i)lii'cl to so many s[)ecial localities that no 

 universal svsteni is ever likely to Ix' adopted. 'I'he farther tliat exact 

 o'cojij'raph}' extends the more dithcult beeonies this [)rohleni, until at 

 last we shall probably arrive at the conehisions adopted loni;- a^'o by 

 the government of India, and consider it best to lay down ])y order an 

 arl)itrar3" list of prominent names and ride that the spelling- of them 

 shall l)e maintained as in this list in all (Tovernment records and maps. 

 Seientists may disagree, ])ut, after all, it seems the only practical way 

 out of the confusion that exists at present. 



TKHxMINOLOCn. 



There is yet another subject of world-wide interest to the Li'eograph- 

 ical student eipially with the practical y;eo<j;raphor which recpnres 

 somethino- of tho erudition of the philolog-ical scholar to be brought 

 to bear upon it in order to arrive at a satisfactory issue. 1 refer to 

 the su])ject of geoo-raphical tei'minology. It mav seem an easy thing 

 to be satisfied with such general definitions as arc involved in the terms 

 "range of mountains,'' "coastlines," "main channels," "watersheds,'' 

 ''slojjes," " affluents," and the like; but when these terms, and terms 

 similar to them, are employed in international agreements and treaties, 

 carrying with them the nece.ssitv for identifying on tlie face of nature 

 the feature which corres})onds to the term employ<Hl, ther(> is always 

 to he found room for discussion as to what its exact meaning may l)e; 

 for the variations of nature are infinite, and no two features classified 

 under the same generic name are alike. AVere 1 to give you examples 

 of only a few of the geographical expressions whic)i, carelessly used, 

 have led up to serious international disagreements you would, I am 

 assured, agree with me that it is liigh time that geogi'aphers all the 

 world over came to some definite understunding about the meaning of 

 geographical terms. To take an instance. What is a "range" or a 

 "main range" of mountains^ AVliere does it Ix^gin ^ Where does it 

 end:' How far does the term involve geological structured When 

 a continuous line of similar structure is split across the axis of it. does 

 it Ix'come two ranges or does it remain one and the same ranged Or, 

 again, what is "the foot of the hills T" Is it where the steep slopes 

 end and the talus or gentle gradients of its deti'itus commenc(>, or must 

 you follow the latter down to the nearest watercourse ^ if you talk 

 of the coast line of w(\stern Pafagoida or of Norway, do you include 

 such headlands as are connected with the mainland at low wat(M' and 

 exclude the islands, or do you mean the coast line of both^ ^^'hat is 

 the main channel of a river? Is it where the flowing water scours 



