The Field of commercial Geography. 208 
practically established, upon a low plane, be it granted, so that the 
lowest tribes and highest communities are inextricably united. 
As an illustration consider the barbarous and lately cannibal- 
istic tribes of the Congo basin, sixteen years azo unknown to the 
world; five years later their future destiny deliberated on and in 
a measure decided by a congress of fourteen great nations. Yet 
again, and only a year since, the vast industries of this great 
nation, with their involved financial interests, almost completely 
paralyzed in a single week by the telegraphic announcement of 
an order passed by the board of council of a country held by 
many to be yet heathenish. 
These conditions emphasize the already assumed importance, 
which, it may be added, will steadily increase, of such branches 
of science as illustrate the interdependence of the humanities 
and natural sciences. In other words, of the interaction which 
takes place between man and his physical environment. 
One of the most important phases of geographic knowledge is 
that pertaining to commercial interests. Indeed, so indefinite, 
unsatisfactory and inaccessible have been the fundamental data 
on which rest the success of extensive enterprises that, in default 
of authoritative geographic departments in the great universities 
of the world, the business portion of large commercial communi- 
ties have been obliged to organize bureaus of information or 
commercial geographic societies for the purpose of collecting t!.e 
widely separated data pertaining to their special department of 
compierce. In the United States the lack of such data has very 
materially retarded the development of its foreign export trade— 
a condition of affairs so obvious and regrettable that the general 
government has been constrained to attempt a remedy for the 
evil by initiating and continuing its valuable and highly appre- 
ciated series of consular reports. Unfortunately, however, many 
of our consuls enter upon their duties in various stages of igno- 
rance as to the underlying principles of commercial geography 
and commerce as represented by widely separated and dissimilar 
countries. It requires a mind trained in geographic research to 
treat the important and various aspects of commercial geography. 
The successful performance of such duties involves a knowledge 
of the leading industries of each country ; technical familiarity 
with the raw material used; thorough knowledge of such factors 
as the method and cost of native labor; local customs ; trade re- 
strictions; facilities for transportation; hindrances and advan- 
28—Nat, Grog. Maa., von. VI, 1894, 
