836 Professor Henry E. Armstrong [Feb. 19, 



sheep runs ; to fruit and other farms ; to irrigation areas ; to sugar 

 plantations ; to the vast region over-run with the dread prickly pear— 

 so that what we did not see collectively we might hope was scarce 

 worth seeing ; vet we must admit that what we saw was as nothing, 

 so vast is the island, covering, as it does, an area only slightly less 

 than that of the whole European Continent. 



There has been great difference of opinion, in the past, within 

 the Association, as to the advisability of our taking long journeys 

 away from our islands. I venture to think that the objectors, if not 

 selfish, have at least been narrow and insular in their outlook : 

 moreover, there is the point of view represented by Punch's recent 

 remark : " It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good ; the War 

 has at least saved us from any mention of the British Association 

 proceedings in the newspapers." I will not reproduce here the argu- 

 ments for and against but merely state my opinion that such visits 

 are of infinite value to all parties, both to those who take part in 

 them and to those whom we visit ; it is to be regretted that oui 

 younger members have not shown more enterprise in availing them- 

 selves of the great opportunities that have been offered to them cf 

 learning geography in the only way in which it can be learnt — in the 

 way that Mr. Squeers required his boys to learn to spell " Winders " 

 by cleaning them. 



Only seeing is believing. Even in these days of photography, 

 when a new journey is undertaken, the things which are seen rarely 

 correspond with the impressions formed in advance by reading ; at 

 least, this has been my experience recently in such countries as Java, 

 Ceylon and India. 



It is admitted that it takes all sorts to make a world ; it is 

 equally true that it takes all sorts to see the world, to see it in proper 

 perspective. Too few travellers are sufficiently trained as observers 

 to see properly ; moreover, the point of view each traveller repre- 

 sents is usually very limited. Our Association should represent 

 all points of view ; it can travel as no other body can travel — with 

 all-seeing eyes. 



When we talk of Australia, what does it represent to us ? A far 

 distant land ; in the past a veritable Tom Tiddler's Ground, where 

 the most noble of metals is found, where sheep are pastured in 

 millions and bear a veritable Golden Fleece ; a land ever calling out 

 for emigrants, yet never receiving them in the numbers it desires. 

 But how many of us know what the conditions it offers really are ? 



In various ornate shop-windows in London and elsewhere, we see 

 displays of grain, of rosy apples, of golden nuggets, of minerals 

 galore, of opal and other precious stones, backed by most attractive 

 photographs of fern-clad glens and giant trees, all spread out to 

 tempt the unwary ; but these do not represent Australia, at all events 

 Australia as we saw it ; some of its rewards may be indicated but 

 its hardships are rarely portrayed. I fear, indeed, the pictures that 



