414 THE TRESKNT STANDPOINT OF GEOGRArHY, 



fill .study and ap[>lication of tlio acliicveiuoiitis of t\\v devotees of our 

 science in past ceutuile.s. The advance and extension of geograi)l»y 

 depends as nuicli upon its students and scliolars as upon its discoverers 

 and ex])Iorers. Comparative geograi)liy is indeed one of the highest 

 branches of our science. By identifying sites, comparing descriptions 

 \Yritten long ago with the actual surface of the ground, and by deniou- 

 strating the changes which have taken place within historical times, it 

 IS an indis[)ensable auxiliary to i)hysical geograi)hy. We shall, I am 

 sure, all be glad to receive the results of the invest igations of our 

 Oxford travelling scholar, Mr. (Iriindy, who has compared the narrative 

 of Herodotus with the actual ground where the battle of Plata-a was 

 fought. Comparative geography also enables us to comprehend the 

 gradual evolution of our science through the discoveries and lifelong 

 studies of a long series of devoted men during a succession of ages. 

 Such knowledge is of the deepest interest. We therefore welcomed, 

 in 1891, Dr. Schlichter's ably leasoned paper on Ptolemy's topography 

 of eastern equatorial Africa, and we shall be glad to receive further 

 results of his researches. Mr. Ryland's long and careful bibliographi- 

 cal and mathematical study of Ptolemy and his laborious corrections 

 and veritications have also resulted in an important addition to I'tole- 

 maic literature. 



Thesi)iritin which geographical students enter upon their researches 

 and the methods they adopt have a special interest at a time when the 

 educational efforts of the society justify the expectation that their num- 

 bers will soon increase. Dr. H. S. Schlichter, who has already coin 

 municated the most interesting paper on Ptolemy's geography of 

 Africa — to which 1 have just alluded— has explained to me his system 

 of investigation. He not only uses history for the solution of i)hysical 

 phenomena, but also resorts to physical facts and observations for 

 solving (luestions of historical geography. By looking at the problem 

 under consideration in all its bearings and the various ways which 

 seem to lead to its solution an insight is obtained into the nature of the 

 questions we have to deal with and into the trustworthiness of the 

 sourceS'Of our information. fSuch studies lead from one ])roblem to 

 another. They open up new questions and lines of research, and not only 

 connect physical and historical facts of all times and ages, but also join 

 our own minds and thoughts with those of men who lived and worked 

 centuries before us. Hardly any branch of science is of greater inter- 

 est in this respect than comparative geography, because wherever we 

 turn we discover links which connect the development of our race with 

 the changes on the surface of our planet. 



Dr. Schlichter is now engaged in studying the desiccation of parts of 

 Africa, and he has, with great labor and research, drawn a series of 

 se(;tions across that continent. The subjects, in physical geograithy, 

 which offer themselves for the investigation of the student are, indeed, 

 as numerous as they are fascinating. The juocess of denudation of 



