♦ KNOWLEDGE 



the circle represent iiig a 

 sphere. 



e (90' from 0) on tlu 



1 Fig. 1. 



If the map is a pdlur miij), tlien the circles thus ob- 

 tained are parallels of latitude, 10° apart, and radial lines 

 to the alternate divisions round A C B D, as in the lower 

 half of Pig. 1 , are the corresponding meridrans. 



The meridians and parallels for the illustrative charts 

 have been obtained on this principle, only that instead of 

 the geometrical construction just given, I simply took out 

 the natural cosines of 5°, 10°, 15°, &c., to represent the radii 

 of the parallels having polar distances 10°, 20°, 30°, .fee. 

 The whole globe can be represented, as we see from Fig. 1, 

 in a single chart on this projection. In my " Essays on 

 Astronomy " there is an article on equal-surface projec- 

 tion illustrated by charts of the whole surface of the 

 earth on three projections possessing this property. The 

 first of these chai'ts is on the polar equal sm-face projection 

 here considered. There are also projections of the whole 

 globe in my little treatise on " Elementary Physical 

 Geography." Of course the distortion in parts of such 

 maps is necessarily very great. 



In the illustrative charts the British Empire is tinted 

 by meridianal shading, the United States by shading 

 along latitude parallels, the Chinese Empire by_ slant 

 lines in one direction, the Empire of Brazil by slant lines 

 in another direction, and' the Russian Empire is spotted. 

 [By the way, when we consider that the British Empire 

 is not much more than half-a-millinn s.juar,' miles larger 

 than the Russian, and note the limitt-d shore-line we 

 command, our anxieties about Russiiui encroachments in 

 Central Asia seem m.,ro than justili.a. There is a bare 

 possibility that Russia ni;iy one Jiiy extend across Persia 

 or Afghanistan, so as actually to rtacli tlf shores of the 

 Indian Ocean ! What a terrible thing that would be for 

 British commerce !] 



Photogeaphy continues to increase in popularity. A new society 

 juat established in Birmingham starts with seventy members, and 

 promises to be of real use to the town and district. The meetings 

 are held in the Technical School, Bridge-street. Dr. Hill Norris is 

 President; Mr. W.Jerome Harrison, F.G.S., rice-president; and 

 Mr. Joyner, of 43, Bull-street, hon. secretary. At the first excursion 

 — to Salford Priors, on Jnne 27 — nineteen members were present, 

 and 8eventy:three plates were exposed. 



STATISTICS OF GREAT COUNTRIES. 



Bi Ri 11 VI I V Pit < I I 



THE table on th i 1 ' ' i" 



Whitakers Aim.. | i I i 1 i 1 



information) iMllht 1 i i i i i i ih 

 tht jiiccedin^ i 1 



globe I h i\ I 



cipal countiii 1 i 1 u 



udcd < 

 fLSth no .tht 

 e uutM ) 



I m,3 .11 1 

 But) h 1 , 



girded 



great 



.1 I 



depu 



f t 



m, st dement respecting the 



, u 1 - I rlui (The 



I t. bein 



1 I ndt! the 



1 1 



thit\u\ III hptndenee ^\^s iji I i I Inn li i i \ 

 th u^h ( iiimnsandothei foi i i i s li n im 1 .fter 

 the woik >% xs done maj tike \\ v uu in it„iulin^ 

 thtmstlves as natnes and English folk is foi doners in 

 the United States) — 



^^^'", Population Exports and 

 square miles. ^ Imports. 



Engl^h-speaking nations 12,491,726. 367,225,000. £1,371,842,260. 

 ana possessions. ■ 



But as regards exports and imports, the United 

 States, by a foolish protective system (in political 

 economy America is still a mere child among the 

 nations) has spoiled the splendid total which the 

 English-speaking nations might otherwise have shown. 

 Imagine fifty millions of the most commercial people 

 in existence, with a magnificent country and a 

 splendid seaboard, fi-ee also from the necessity of 

 maintaining large forces for defensive purposes (to 

 say nothing of their prudent avoidance of a^-gres- 

 sive courses), yet with little more than one-third 

 the imports and exports of our 36,300,000 in the old 

 country ! And they claim to be a progressive, nay a 

 go-ahead nation ! — regarding us as effete. (If we are, 

 though, things look bad for our kinsfolk over the 

 water, who presumably have inherited our national 

 qualities.) 



The wiseacres who regulate American commerce (and 

 are regarded by manj- Ajmericans as statesmen !) conceive 

 that the way to make a nation rich and prosperous, is to 

 force it to manufacture at great cost (and pretty badly, 

 too, in many cases) what they could get more cheaply, 

 and much better, from other nations. They neglect 

 altogether the splendid opportunities which America 

 would have if she drove— as she could— a roaring trade 

 with other nations in the muUitudinous articles which 

 her people can manufacture well, and (owing to natural 

 advantages) at less cost than other countries. They 

 imagine the artificial rise of wages to meet the enormous 

 extra cost for necessaries of many sorts, a real gain ; not 

 seeing that labour would be far more profitably remune- 

 rated, and have a much more rapid (because a more 

 natural) growth if directed to such manufactures a* 

 would make of America a great exporting nation. And' 

 because the old country (which has long since come to 

 years of discretion and ha.s learned tliat as among indivi- 

 duals so among nations, the loss of one is a loss for all 

 and the gain of one the gain of all) would be glad to see 

 wiser counsels prevail, America fondly imagines that 

 Britain would be the only gainer if America threw away 



