PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 641 



the closing of Ben Nevis Observatory at the moment when its work would have 

 been most necessary- To appreciate the progress of Climatology it is only neces- 

 sary to compare the present number and distribution of meteorological stations 

 with those given in Bartholomew's Atlas of 1899. I have not time to recapitu- 

 late the innumerable studies of geographical value issued by many meteorological 

 services, observatories, and observers— public and private— but I may call atten- 

 tion to the improved weather maps and to the excellent pilot charts of the North 

 Atlantic and of the Indian Ocean published monthly by our Meteorological Office. 



Lake studies have also been a feature of this decade, and none are so complete 

 or so valuable as the Scottish Lakes Survey— a work of national importance, 

 undertaken by private enthusiasm and generosity. We have to congratulate 

 Sir John Murray and Mr. Pullar on the completion of a great work. 



In Geology I might note that we now possess a map of Europe on a scale 

 of 1 : 1,500,000 prepared by international co-operation and also one of North 

 America on a smaller scale; both invaluable to the geographer. The thanks 

 and congratulations of all geographers are due to Professor Suess on the con- 

 clusion of his classical work on the Face of the Earth, the first comprehensive 

 study of the main divisions and characteristics of its skeleton. English readers 

 are indebted to Professor and Miss Sollas for the brilliant English translation 

 which they have prepared. 



A new movement, inspired mainly by Professor Flahault in France, Pro- 

 fessor Geddes in this country, Professors Engler, Drude, and Schimper in Ger- 

 many, has arisen among botanists, and at last we have some modem botanical 

 geography which is really valuable to the geographer. I wish we could report 

 similar progress in zoological geography, but that, I trust, will come in the next 

 decade. 



I pass over the various expensive arbitrations and commissions to settle 

 boundary disputes which have in many cases been due to geographical ignorance, 

 also the important and fascinating problems of the growth of our knowledge 

 of the distribution of economic products and powers, existing and potential, and 

 the new geographical problems for statesmen due to the political and economic 

 revolutions in Japan and China. 



It is quite impossible to deal with the exploration of the decade. Even in the 

 past two years we have had Peary and Shackleton, Stein and Hedin, the Duke of 

 the Abruzzi, and a host of others returning to tell us of unknown or little known 

 parts of the globe. We hope to hear soon from Dr. Charcot the results of the 

 latest investigations in the Antarctic. Further work is being undertaken by 

 Scott and his companions ; by Bruce, Amundsen, Filchner, and others in the 

 South or North Polar ice worlds ; by Longstaff, Bruce, and others in the 

 mountains of India and Central Asia ; by Goodf ellow and Ryder in New 

 Guinea ; and by many other expeditions. 



One word of caution may, perhaps, be permitted. There is a tendency on the 

 part of the public to confuse geographical exploration and sport. The newspaper 

 reporter naturally lays stress on the unusual in any expedition, the accidental 

 rather than the essential, and those of us who have to examine the work of 

 expeditions know how some have been unduly boomed because of some adven- 

 turous element, while others have not received adequate popular recognition be- 

 cause all went well. The fact that all went well is in itself a proof of competent 

 organisation. There is no excuse for us in this section if we fall into the jour- 

 nalist's mistake, and we shall certainly be acting against the interests of both our 

 science and our section if we do so. 



The Position of Geography in the Association. 



It was not my intention in this address to raise the question of what is 

 Geography, but various circumstances make it desirable to say a few words upon 

 it. We are all the victims of the geographical teaching of our youth, and it 

 is easy to understand how those who have retained unchanged the conceptions 

 of geography they gained at school many years ago cavil at the recognition of 

 geography as a branch of science. Moreover, the geography of the schools still 

 colours the conceptions of some geographers who have nevertheless done much to 

 make school geography scientific and educational. Many definitions of geography 

 are consequently too much limited by the arbitrary but traditional division of 



