152 Transactions iSgg-'oo 



or lines of definite azimuth. Similarly with the subdivision of 

 Australia and recent boundaries in Africa. Astronomic bound- 

 aries may generally be taken as an index of the ignorance exist- 

 ing of the country or area involved and its resources. 



Boundaries under the first division are difficult for definition 

 or restoration when such is necessar3^ Those of the second, 

 always dependent upon water, are generally self evident, while 

 those of the third are comparatively easy of determination. 



There are instances of a fourth class of boundaries — where 

 the position of it is dependent upon the position of a physical 

 feature, — e. g. that it be at or within a given distance from a 

 river or the sea. 



A notable case of the last is that of south-eastern Alaska, 

 as described in Article 4 of the Convention of February 28th, 

 1825. Such boundaries are exceedingly difficult to lay down on 

 the ground, requiring, too, beforehand laborious mathematical 

 calculations. The Railway Belt of British Columbia, extending 

 twenty miles on each side of the Canadian Pacific Railway gave 

 the writer an example of such computation. 



A river, and least of all a large river, a commercial artery, 

 forms an undesirable international boundar3^ The very nature 

 thereof makes it a route of travel, and hence of settlement on its 

 banks, which, if in possession of two countries, is almost sure to 

 lead to trouble. Hence we find few or no large rivers forming 

 such boundaries, although our own St. lyawrence does for a short 

 distance separate us from our southern neighbor. A summit or 

 watershed boundary is prett^'- satisfactory, if restricted to mount- 

 ains, but when applied to plains or undulating country, is fraught 

 with difficulties. The difficulty consists in establishing the line 

 of watershed, as was presented in the Maine-New Brunswick 

 controversy early in the century. 



Of the several classes of boundaries spoken of, none "is as 

 immutable as the astronomic one. Of the first, the original 

 monuments and records may disappear, and personal evidence be 

 wanting. Of the second or physical boundarj^, time may bring 

 about changes quite marked and cause the line to move there- 

 with. As a well-known instance, the Mississippi may be cited. 

 In a recent report of the ' ' Idaho and Montana Boundary I^ine ' ' 



