Chap, v.] Geography. .5§ 



At the same period, and in the same part of tlie 

 New A\"orld, Messrs. Condamine, Godin, and Boii- 

 guer, travelled for several years, and communicated 

 to the public a great variety and a very valuable 

 amount of information respecting the interior of 

 those extensive countries. The travels also of Cat- 

 taneo, Helms, andDobritzhoffer, in Ptru and Para-- 

 guai) ; of Bancroft and Stedman, in Gidajia ; of 

 Armateur, in Cayenne; of don Molina, in CJdli ; 

 and of Falkner *, in Patagonia, have contributed 

 greatly to enlarge the sphere of our knowledge re- 

 specting the southern division of this western con- 

 tinent. Don Malespina, before mentioned, made 

 an excellent survey of the coast, from Rio de la Plata 

 to Panama. But the best geographical view ever 

 published of a large portion of South America is 

 exhibited in the Mapa Geographic a del America 

 Meridional, published in 177-5, ^yy don Juan de }a 

 Cruz, geographer to the king of Spain •(-. 



Beside all the discoveries and improvements 

 stated in tlie foregoing pages, to which the en-, 

 terprise of navigators and travellers has given birtli, 

 the last age is distinguished, above all others, by the 

 prodiiction of large and excellent systematic works 

 pn the subject of geography. The dilference in 

 fulness and accuracy, between the geographical 

 treatises published at the commencement of the 

 eigiiteenth century, and those whicli appeared 

 tQward the close of it, can be adequately conceived 



* Falkner, who \v^% a missionary, published a Map of Futagoma 

 in 1774. It is not, however, considered as eqaaliy correct with 

 that of la Cruz. 



f This map was republished, in London, with improycnjents^ 

 by Faden, in 1799. 



