TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 167 
ledge of the physical features of the earth. My meaning may perhaps be explained 
by reference to a wall-map, probably well known to every one, that of Palestine, 
which frequently disfigures rather than ornaments the walls of our school-rooms. 
In this map there are usually deep shades of red, yellow, and green, to distinguish 
the districts of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, and perhaps another colour for the 
Trans-Jordanic region, with a number of Bible names inserted on the surface, 
whilst the natural features are quite subordinate and sometimes not even indicated. 
There is, perhaps, no book that bears the impress of the country in which it was 
written so strongly as the Bible; but it is quite impossible for a teacher to enable 
his pupils to realize what that country is with the maps at present at his disposal. 
How little distinction is made on the maps between the great corn-growing plains 
of Philistia, the vine- and olive-clad hills that stand round about Jerusalem, the 
deep depression of the Dead Sea, and the pasture-lands of the Moabite plateau ! 
and how little do they bring out those peculiar features which in a country the 
size of Yorkshire enabled the Psalmist to be familiar at the same time with the 
snows and alpine flora of the Lebanon and Mount Hermon, and with the intense 
heat and tropical vegetation of the Jordan valley. 
The first object of a wall-map should be to show the geographical features of 
countries, not their boundaries ; and for this purpose details should be omitted, and 
the grander features have special attention paid to them. Many attempts have been 
made in this direction on the continent, by representing the ground by contours, or 
by zones of altitude distinguished by tints, more or less deep, of the same or different 
colours, by giving prominence to rivers, coasts, &c., by reducing the importance of 
names by writing them small, and by inserting dotted lines instead of bright colours 
to mark boundaries. None of these attempts have been quite successful ; but they 
indicate progress in the right direction, and are deserving of attention in this 
country. 
In Sand atlases the same fault may be traced, physical features being too often 
made subordinate to political divisions; and there is also in many cases a tendency 
to overcrowd the maps with a multitude of names, which only serve to confuse the 
papi and divert his attention from the main points. 
he use of globes in our schools should be encouraged as much as possible, as 
there are many physical phenomena which cannot well be explained without them; 
and they offer far better means of conveying a knowledge of the relative positions 
of the various countries, seas, &c. than any maps. If a pupil once learns from a 
globe the places traversed by the principal parallels and four or eight equidistant 
meridians, with the most important places near their points of intersection, he will 
find more than half his difficulties overcome. The great expense of globes has 
hitherto prevented their very general use, but some experiments are at present being 
made with a view to lessening the cost of their construction, which it is hoped may 
be successful. : 
I cannot pass from this subject without alluding to that class of map which gives 
life to the large volumes of statistics which are accumulating upon us with such 
rapidity. On the continent these maps are employed to an extent unknown in this 
country, both for purposes of reference and education, and they convey their informa- 
tion in a simple and effective manner. Amongst them may be noticed maps showing 
the administrative, historical, and statistical features of Germany, the distribution 
of religious professions in Russia, the industrial maps of the same country, the 
ricultural maps of Austro-Hungary, &e. Several interesting maps of this nature 
were exhibited at Vienna last year, one of which may be noticed as illustrating the 
statistics of the coal-trade in Germany, showing at a glance the districts supplied 
by each separate coal-field and by imported coal, as well as the proportion of home 
and foreign coal consumed in those places where there is competition. 
I will only detain you to notice briefly a few of the most important geographical 
events of the year; and foremost amongst these ranks the publication of Dr. 
Schweinfurth’s work, which every one has recently been reading with so much 
interest and pleasure. Dr. Schweinfurth, who received the Founder’s Medal of the 
Royal Geographical Society this year, is, I am happy to say, amongst us at present, 
and has contributed a valuable paper on the oases of the Libyan Desert. Dr. 
Gerhard Rohlfs is preparing an account of the remarkable journey which he made 
