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SCIENCE 



[N. S. VOL.XXXL No. 807 



year now closing; a year that has brought 

 lis the news of the most remarkable ad- 

 vances in polar exploration ever made. 

 Although our own work is mostly per- 

 formed in well-known lands, we must ree- 

 og-nize and admire the brave strength of 

 purpose, the persistence in the face of ex- 

 hausting hardships, which enabled Peary 

 to reach one pole and Shackleton so very 

 nearly to reach the other. 



The work of our members has naturally 

 been limited for the most part to our own 

 country. It was at first feared that it 

 might also be limited too closely to the 

 physiography of the lands, because so 

 many of us had been more concerned with 

 that division of geography than with any 

 other ; but if we have at any time deserved 

 that reproach, the meeting last winter at 

 Baltimore merited and indeed received al- 

 together different comment; for Professor 

 Penek, who was then our guest, described 

 it as giving a well-distributed attention to 

 various' phases of our subject; and Dr. 

 Gilbert, our president at that time, con- 

 sidered the meeting to be a thoroughly 

 serious and scientific assembly. These two 

 opinions are surely most encouraging; yet 

 we still have work to do in the way of 

 broadening our relations. "We would will- 

 ingly see oeeanogTaphy and climatology 

 more fully represented on the inorganic 

 side of geography, and on the organic side 

 there is pressing need of more attention to 

 the geography of plants, animals and man 

 than has yet been given. We therefore 

 have abundant room for expansion, and I 

 beg each and all of you to use all appropri- 

 ate efforts to make our needs known in 

 these several directions. As a practical 

 step in this direction, I suggest that we in- 

 vite representatives of allied subjects, such 

 as history, economics and biology, to ad- 

 dress us from time to time on their con- 

 ception and use of geography. 



We have, I believe, still the distinction 

 of being the only geographical society in 

 the world in which some definite geograph- 

 ical accomplishment is required for mem- 

 bership. I trust that such a qualification 

 will be carefully maintained. We have 

 probably the further distinction of being 

 the smallest geographical society in the 

 world; we are indeed so small that it is 

 difficult and disappointing to believe that 

 all the trained and productive geographers 

 in North America are included in our list 

 of some eighty names. Let me, therefore, 

 commend the discreet nomination of new 

 names to the council, always provided that 

 the nominees have reached the stage of 

 studious and original geographical pro- 

 duction ; and let me even more particularly 

 advise that personal invitation be given to 

 earnest younger students of geography to 

 attend our meetings as gnaests of the as- 

 sociation, in the hope that what they see 

 and hear among us will encourage them to 

 secure serious professional equipment and 

 to reach active production in geographical 

 science. In due time, they having become 

 members, it will be their turn to maintain 

 our simple organization and to foster its 

 fuller development. 



EXAMPLES OP UNSYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTION 



The particular subject on which I wish 

 to address you to-day concerns, as you 

 might expect, the study of land forms, and 

 more especially the manner in which land 

 forms may be effectively described by ma- 

 ture observers, so that they may be appre- 

 ciated by mature readers. Let me con- 

 sider with you whether it is desirable and 

 practicable to make at least some approach 

 to systematic methods in describing the 

 landscapes with which every geographer 

 has to deal in the narrative of his travels, 

 or in the account that he gives of particu- 

 lar areas in his regional studies. My own 



