The Field of physical and economic Geography. 205 
of the wonderful fitness of the earth for man’s habitation and 
workshop. It includes the distribution of the animal, vegetal 
and mineral kingdoms ; the atmospheric phenomena ; the limits, 
forms and movements of land and water and their interrelations. 
The broad field of physical geography is of extreme practical 
importance as furnishing a vast array of Knowledge not only in- 
teresting in itself, but also as furnishing the fundamental bases 
on which necessarily rest the ultimate conclusions of economic 
geography in its efforts for the perfect evolution of man’s material 
interests. The course and degree of permanency of the great 
currents of air and sea, the intensity and variation of the im- 
portant factors of climate, the distribution of rain and snow, the 
prevalence of storms, the diversifications of land surfaces and 
ocean beds, the extent and relation of navigable waters and 
practicable roads, the habitat of faunas and the distribution of 
floras useful to mankind, and the ethnographic characteristics of 
different nations and races are the most important subjects that 
it furnishes for study and consideration. 
Kconomic geography—which may be said to be the compara- 
tive treatment of the political and physical branches—owing to 
‘its practical bearings, is the most important part of this science, 
since it illustrates where, when and how the latent resources of 
the earth may be most advantageously exploited for the benefit 
of mankind. It involves a knowledge of the natural resources 
of different regions, of transportation routes, of natural elements 
that militate against or are favorable to special pursuits or indus- 
tries, and of numberless social conditions that may affect the ini- 
tiation, development or continuance of any material enterprise. 
In economic geography efforts should be made to supplement 
the accumulated data of political and physical geography by 
special study of soil, climate, trade routes, mineral and vegetal 
deposits and aggregations, transference and acclimatization of 
plants and animals, raw industrial materials, industrial appl- 
ances, financial methods, trade restrictions, race prejudices or 
peculiarities, and other elements calculated to assist in the prac- 
tical solution of the problem of bringing the producer and con- 
sumer into such relations as will insure the greatest possible 
benefit to the world. Problems of this character offer endless 
and attractive means of cultivating the intellect, since the powers 
of thought are necessarily exercised and the faculties of observa- 
tion stimulated. 
