THE 



NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE. 



Vol. I. 1888. No. 1. 



INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. 



By the President, Mr. Gardiner G. Hubbard. 



I AM not a scientific man, nor can I lay claim to any special 

 tnowledge that would entitle me to be called a " Geographer." 

 I owe the honor of my election as Pi'esident of the National 

 Geographic Society simply to the fact that I am one of those 

 who desire to further the prosecution of geographic research, I 

 possess only the same general interest in the subject of geog- 

 raphy that should be felt by every educated man. 



By my election you notify the public that the membership of 

 our Society will not be confined to professional geographers, but 

 will include that large number who, like myself, desire to pro- 

 mote special researches by others, and to diffuse the knowledge 

 «o gained, among men, so that we may all know more of the 

 world upon which we live. 



By the establishment of this Society we hope to bring to- 

 gether (]) the scattered workers of our country, and (2) the 

 persons who desire to promote their researches. In union there 

 is strength, and through the medium of a national organization, 

 we may hope to promote geographic research in a manner that 

 could not be accomplished by scattered individuals, or by local 

 societies; we may also hope — through the same agency — to dif- 

 fuse the results of geographic research over a wider area than 

 would otherwise be possible. 



