INLAND WATERWAYS. 
By GrEorGE G. CHISHOLM. 
With the exception, perhaps, of the subject of national character- 
istics, there is probably no subject on which it is easier and more 
tempting to generalize rashly than that of transport. And yet the 
subject is extremely complex. A very great variety of conditions 
have to be taken into account in determining what is really the most 
advantageous mode of carriage for any class of goods. In the present 
paper it is my duty to bring into relief the considerations of a geo- 
graphical character that affect the problem. But that does not imply 
that other than geographical considerations are to be left out of 
account. In no geographical investigation whatever is it possible 
to proceed without any regard to considerations which must be 
deemed nongeographical. Even in the surveying of a country for 
mapping some nongeographical facts are always tacitly, if not ex- 
pressly, assumed as determining the selection of the superficial 
features that are to be laid down. Nongeographical considerations 
are still more obvious in determining the degree of importance 
belonging to certain facts of local distribution. It is solely, for exam- 
ple, on nongeographical grounds that a high degree of prominence 
must always be given in geography to the study of climate. The 
nature of the nongeographical considerations that have to be borne 
in mind in special investigations varies with the nature of the subject. 
The subject of the distribution of plants cannot be handled without 
regard to facts which belong to the sphere of the botanist, that of 
animal distribution without the knowledge that belongs to the 
zoologist. 
In considering this subject, therefore, even from a geographical 
point of view, it is necessary to begin by pointing out the more 
important facts of a nongeographical character that have to be 
taken into account in dealing with the geography of the subject, 
that is to say, in showing or endeavoring to show how far the utility 
of inland waterways is affected by local conditions and place rela- 
@Paper read before the Royal Geographical Society, February 25, 1907. Re- 
printed, by permission, from the Geographical Journal, July, 1907. 
DAT 
