Present Position and Prospects of Geographical Science 107 



tion of Scinde and the Punjaub, the gradual opening up of China 

 and that terra incognita Japan, furnish to the traveller and natu- 

 ralist a boundless field for research ; and the still little known 

 though lesser regions of the Corea and Formosa, must in the course 

 of time succumb to the advance of civilization and science, and 

 unfold their natural treasures to the philosopher. 



The establishment of railways, now pushing their way through 

 the very heart of our Indian possessions, will be the means of 

 adding greatly to our knowledge of countries and peoples hitherto 

 comparatively unknown, although under our rule. 



The colonization of Cambodia and Cochin China by the French, 

 offers a wide field for instructive research. 



The great islands of the Asiatic group forming the two chains 

 from Sumatra to Timor, and from Borneo to New Guinea, with 

 whose outlines we are so familiar, are far from being exhausted 

 with respect to their interiors ; and much yet remains to be done 

 in all, both by the naturalist and the geographer. 



Turn we to Africa — that land of mystery and death. To Egypt 

 and the Nile is now but a holiday trip, and the veil has been par- 

 tially withdrawn from the fatal regions beyond by the exertions of 

 heroic men, who, at the expense of their health, property, and life, 

 have devoted themselves to dispel the mystery which had pre- 

 viously entirely surrounded them. 



Much remains to be known of Madagascar and all beyond the 

 seaboard fringe of the African continent, from Zanzibar to the 

 Red Sea. 



With Abyssinia, too, we are already becoming better acquainted, 

 and ere long we shall know it as thoroughly as we do Egypt or 

 Algeria. 



In the great continent of America changes equally startling, but 

 not so rapid in succession as those in Europe, have taken place. 

 Commencing north, that large and apparently unprofitable country, 

 heretofore known as Russian America, having been ceded to the 

 United States, there can be little doubt but that the enterprising 

 spirit of its new owners will soon reveal sources of wealth hitherto 

 unsuspected ; the exploration of the country, already deter- 

 mined on by the United States' Government, will shortly ascertain 

 its capabilities. * 



Our own possessions in North America of British Columbia and 

 Vancouver Island in the west (but a few years since merely a source 

 of profit to a private company), and in the east of Canada, New 



