PHYSIOGRAPHICAL GEOLOGY. 1 73 



within narrower limits than his contemporaries ; on the other 

 hand, Desmarest in 1795 began a very large work in the Ency- 

 clopedic Methodique, in which he treated the subject in the 

 wide sense more generally accepted at that time. 



No less a scientist than Immanuel Kant was the first in 



Germany to hold academical lectures on physical geography. 



1 Kant's lectures were published in text-book form at Konigs- 



,, berg in 1802. They contained nothing remarkably new, yet 



an importance attached to them as the first attempt to collect 



the subject-matter within concise and definite limits. 



In the years 1827 and 1828 Alexander von Humboldt 

 delivered his famous lectures at the Berlin University and the 

 ; Academy of Singing. Under the inspiring influence of this 

 | great geographer, Friedrich Hoffmann prepared his inter- 

 esting work on physical geography (1837). Almost simul- 

 ' taneously, in the year 1836, Heinrich Berghaus published 

 ' at Gotha a Physical Atlas which contained a collection of maps 

 presenting the facts of physical geography in a manner that at 

 once appealed to the eye and understanding. This graphic 

 treatment of the subject marked a new and successful 

 i departure in geography, which was immediately imitated in 

 i other countries. The excellent Physical Atlas of the Scottish 

 | publisher, Keith Johnstone, is essentially an imitation of the 

 j Berghaus Atlas, increased by a few special maps of Great 

 ' Britain, and some additions contributed by two German col- 

 leagues, H. Lange and A. Petermann. The Geographical 

 i Institute at Gotha kept its leading place in cartographical 

 I science, and published between the years 1886 and 1892 a 

 new and enlarged edition of the original atlas of Heinrich 

 i Berghaus, under the editorship of his nephew, Hermann 

 r Berghaus. 



The year 1845 will ever be remembered in geographical 

 I science as the date of the publication of the first volume of 

 I Alexander von Humboldt's great work, The Cosmos. This 

 I magnificent physical description of the world gives a complete 

 . account of the knowledge of natural science in all civilised 

 races up to the middle of the nineteenth century. It is a more 

 extensive work than had ever before been undertaken by a 

 . single individual, and a work that is not likely to be attempted 

 again in the future. As Peschel has said, Humboldt's Cosmos 

 comprises thousands of facts, of measurements, and of cal- 

 culations reckoned according to the most exact scientific 



