THE PRESENT STANDPOINT OF GEOGRAPHY. 407 



after he bad entered upon what promised to be a useful piece of geo- 

 graphical work. 



Passing over the great Empire of China, which has been traversed 

 in numerous directions, and the geography of which is tolerably well 

 understood, we come to Korea. In this peninsula, which until lately 

 had scarcely been visited, the pack roads between the principal towns 

 are now pretty well known, but there remain a number of routes on the 

 western side, from Seoul down to the south coast, and on the east side 

 between Gensaii and Fusan, which 3Ir. Cuzron informs me have either 

 not been traversed in modern times or are wholly unexplored. There 

 is very great need of a survey and map of Korea, and, apart from the 

 pack roads, the mountainous parts of the country are quite unknown. 

 There is thus very considerable scope for geographical enterprise in this 

 great peninsula, which may be looked upon as one of the numerous 

 allurements which the unknown parts of the world present to the 

 explorer. 



Leaving the great Asiatic continent, and turning our attention to the 

 mass of islands to the south, and stretching away eastward to the 

 Pacific, we shall find that the most important future work will have to 

 be done by the hydrographer rather than by the geographer. Doubt- 

 less there are many unreported reefs and shoals, and others whose 

 recorded positi(uis require verification. Yet when we think of the 

 splendid work of Mr. Wallace in the Malay Archipelago, and ot the 

 lonely residence of Mr. Forbes on Timor Laut, there can be no doubt 

 that much is also left for the exi)lorer to do on land among those lovely 

 islands. vSir William Macgregor will steadily proceed with the exam- 

 ination of British New Guinea, and will encourage all well-conceived 

 schemes of discovery. Mr. Woodford tells me that, in his opinion, a 

 properly equipped expedition would have little diiliculty in passing 

 from the headwaters of the Fly to those of the Empress Augusta 

 Eiver, and so crossing New Guinea in its broadest part. Meanwhile 

 the interior of Dutch New Guinea is a complete blank — another of tlie 

 vast tracts which await discovery. Here there is an extensive range 

 marked on the maps as the Charles Louis Mountains, and attaining a 

 height of 1(),0(>() feet. The particular exploration of this range would 

 offer work for geographers and naturalists for many years to come. 

 Another interesting piece of work for a young explorer to undertake 

 would be a definite solution of the question whether a passage exists 

 right through the supposed isthmus from ^laclure Gulf to Geelvink 

 Bay, as has l)een reported. More knowledge of the islands to the north 

 of New Guinea is also needed, where the natives present the chief 

 obstacle to exploration. In the Solomon Islands, Mr. Woodford was 

 successful in visiting the interior of (xuadalcanal, but Bougainville 

 Island is still absolutely virgin ground, and I am informed by Mr. 

 Woodford that there is a most interesting elevated coral lagoon to the 

 north of the island of New Georgia, which has hitherto been nude- 



