284 
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 
The pepper perhaps contains cocoanut shells, 
And the mustard is cotton-seed meal ; 
The coiTee in sooth of baked chickory smells, 
And the terrapin tastes like roast veal. 
The wine which you drink never heard of a 
grape, 
But of tannin and coal-tar is made, 
And you could not be certain, except by the 
shape, 
That the eggs by a chicken were laid. 
And the salad that bears such an innocent look, 
And whispers of fields that are green, 
Is covered with germs, each armed with a hook, 
To grapple with liver and spleen. 
No matter how tired, and hungry, and dry. 
The banquet how fine, don't begin it 
Till you think of the past and the future and 
sigh, , . . ^ 
Oh ! I wonder, I wonder, what s m it? 
the: toastmaster, dr. bell 
Our next speaker is our own Vice- 
President, Mr. Tittmann, the head of 
the Coast and Geodetic Survey of the 
United States, and he surely needs no 
introduction to his own Society. 
VICE-PRESIDENT O. H. TITTMANN 
Mr. Toastmaster, ladies and gentle- 
men: It is the plan of the managers of 
this Society to have at its annual dinner 
at least one address which shall present 
some important aspect of geographic 
science. 
Descriptive geography has readily 
commanded the attention of the reader, 
whether he lived in the time of Herodo- 
tus, of Humboldt, or of the National 
Geographic Magazine. My theme, 
however, relates to certain fundamental 
operations concerning geography which 
are not well known and the importance 
of which is not as well understood, 
though they mark the progress of civili- 
zation. These operations furnish us 
with our knowledge of the size and fig- 
ure of the earth, which is the very foun- 
dation of geographic science. Through 
them it will ultimately be possible to 
introduce uniform accuracy in the map 
of the world, now being constructed by 
international cooperation on a uniform 
scale. They are of far-reaching impor- 
tance in many fields allied to geography. 
Through them we measure the distances 
of the heavenly bodies by means of a 
yard-stick. 
In the absence of our accustomed lan- 
tern slides, let me ask you to picture to 
yourself a globe on which you will note 
that three-quarters of the surface repre- 
sented is water and only one-quarter 
land. The trigonometric surveys con- 
ducted on this one-quarter of the globe 
by the various governments of the world 
are the basis of all mensurational geog- 
raphy. Picture to yourselves the net- 
work of existing triangulation depicted 
on the globe and you will find all Europe, 
excepting Turkey and the Balkan States, 
well covered. Russia has extended a 
thread of triangulation eastward into 
Asia. The great trigonometrical survey 
of India has covered that vast country 
with a monumental survey. The Feder- 
ated Malay States are extending their 
triangulation. Holland has covered 
Java. The United States is at work in 
the Philippines. Japan, as usual, is not 
behind in the extension of its triangula- 
tion. The French, in cooperation with 
the Spaniards, have crossed the Mediter- 
ranean with long triangles, and have 
done remarkable work in Algiers. You 
have all heard of the Cape to Cairo Rail- 
road, but few know that the British are 
triangulating southward through Egypt 
and northward from Cape Town and 
through Rhodesia, and the Germans will 
doubtless fill the link which extends 
through their sphere of influence. The 
Australians are also at work. 
Coming to our own hemisphere, we 
find that the United States has an ex- 
tended trigonometric survey. Canada 
has but lately organized one, and has 
already begun to fix its geographic co- 
ordinates by the trigonometric method. 
Mexico has a commission for the same 
purpose, and has extended a triangula- 
tion through about lo degrees of latitude 
and will connect with the triangulation 
of the United States. Central America 
is a blank. In Peru a small triangula- 
tion, famous as having been measured by 
the French in the i8th century and re- 
measured by them with greater refine- 
ment a few years ago, serves but to show 
how much remains to be done. The 
Argentine Republic and Chile are just 
beginning operations. 
The upshot of the review of these 
activities is that accurate or dimensional 
