570 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION E. 
alternating with sandy beach, and still practically without islands, which extends 
nearly to the port of Egersund, when the characteristic steep, broken coast, with 
many islands (though not so many as to the north of Stavanger), is resumed. This 
intermediate stretch of coast belongs to a peculiar region, which is defined inland 
by a sharp range of mountains to the north, and by mountains and the valley of 
the Birkren River to the east. Beyond these boundaries is found the typical 
scenery of Southern Norway; within them the scenery is wholly individual in 
character. The district is still hilly but less elevated, the hills rise in semi- 
isolated clumps, and the whole is practically an unbroken tract of naked rock, 
which reveals, to an extent dominating every other feature, and scarcely equalled 
elsewhere in this intensely glaciated country, the work of the glacier which once 
coveredit. The perched blocks scattered all over it, the innumerable hollows carry- 
ing little lakes, and the remarkable manner in which at many points huge boulders 
are piled together and riven, all illustrate the action of the same force. Moreover, 
the coast of this district demonstrates peculiarly well the upward movement of the 
land which is traceable elsewhere. A succession of lowlands separated by high 
ridges indicates former small fjords; an old beach may be traced at a considerable 
distance inland ; and through the sand-dunes and marshes along the shore high 
rocky eminences stand up, clearly once islands. But the rocks immediately upon 
the coast show that at the period of glaciation the land stood higher than it 
does now, and thus indicate an intermediate period of sinking. The diverse 
physical characteristics of Jwderen exercise a notable effect on the distribution 
of its population, 
2. Commercial Geography from the Modern Standpownt. 
By Professor Max Eckert. 
Anthropogeography, or the geography of mankind, as brought into existence 
within the last few decades, is essentially the study of the relations of man to 
his native soil. It is an independent branch of geography, as it deals with a 
special group of facts and ideas, and its object is to trace the connection between 
the several factors —geographical, historical, and social—which come into play. 
The geography of mankind is the one subject of study which supplies an 
adequate bond of union between the natural and moral sciences. In it the 
attention is focused, in the first place, on the moral side, since it pays regard to 
the moral influences which underlie human action, past as well as present ; and in 
the next place, on the natural side, since it bases all its considerations on the 
physical conditions of the earth, and by the aid of scientific induction evolves 
general laws regarding the influence of the soil on man, and of man on the soil. 
It is the latter consideration which is of special importance in the study of 
human geography. 
One of the most important bases of anthropogeography is the study of the 
geography of settlements, which teaches us how man exploits the ground on 
which he dwells for the satisfaction of his requirements. With the multiplication 
of his economic interests man passes beyond the narrow bounds of his dwelling- 
place and native sphere of action, entering into commercial intercourse with his 
neighbours, and even with more distant peoples. 
The character and problems of commercial geography, in the modern concep- 
tion of the term, are briefly as follows: Starting from a knowledge of the 
location, the orography and hydrography of a given region, it must also consider 
certain aspects of its climatology, geology, political economy, and political 
geography, aud thus arrive at a clear conception of the conditions of production 
and commerce within such region, as well as throughout the earth as a whole. 
Or, in fewer words, commercial geography must view the earth as the theatre of 
human production and commerce. 
Regarded from the economic view-point, commercial geography must not only 
determine the places of occurrence of natural and industrial products, but must 
study the factors which govern such occurrence—e.g., the latitude and altitude of 
