November 25, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



743 



tribution of meteorological stations with 

 those given in Bartholomew's atlas would 

 show how great the extension of this work 

 is. 



I have not time to recapitulate the in- 

 numerable studies of geographical value 

 issued by many meteorological services, 

 observatories and observers — public and 

 private — but I may call attention to the 

 improved weather maps and to the excel- 

 lent pilot charts of the North Atlantic and 

 of the Indian Ocean published monthly by 

 our Meteorological OfSce. 



Lake studies have also been a feature of 

 this decade, and none are so complete or so 

 valuable as the Scottish Lakes Survey — 

 a work of national importance, undertaken 

 by private enthusiasm and generosity. We 

 have to congratulate Sir John Murray and 

 Mr. Pullar on the completion of a great 

 work. 



In geology I might note that we now 

 possess a map of Europe on a scale of 

 1:1,500,000 prepared by international co- 

 operation and also one of North America 

 on a smaller scale. The thanks and con- 

 gratulations of all geographers are due to 

 Professor Suess on the conclusion of his 

 classical study of the face of the earth, the 

 first comprehensive stiidy of the main divi- 

 sions and characteristics of its skeleton. 

 English readers are indebted to Professor 

 and Miss Sollas for the brilliant English 

 translation which they have prepared. 



A new movement, inspired mainly by 

 Professor Flahault in Prance, Professor 

 Geddes in this country. Professors Engler-, 

 Drude and Schimper in Germany has 

 arisen among botanists, and at last we have 

 some modern botanical geography which is 

 really valuable to the geographer. I wish 

 we could report similar progress in zoolog- 

 ical geography, but that, I trust, will come 

 in the next decade. 



I pass over the various expensive arbi- 



trations and commissions to settle boun- 

 dary disputes which have in many eases 

 been due to geographical ignorance, also 

 the important and fascinating problems of 

 the growth of our knowledge of the dis- 

 tribution of economic products and powers 

 existing and potential, and the new geo- 

 graphical problems for statesmen due to 

 the industrial revolution in Japan and 

 China. 



It is quite impossible to deal with the 

 exploration of the decade. Even in the 

 past two years we have had Peary and 

 Shackleton, Stein and Hedin, the Duke of 

 the Abruzzi, and a host of others returning 

 to tell us of unknown or little known parts 

 of the globe. We hope to hear some of the 

 results of latest investigations from Dr. 

 Charcot. 



We wish success to Scott and his com- 

 panions, to Bruce, Amundsen, Filchner, 

 and others, British, American, German, or 

 whatever nationality, who go to the south 

 or north polar ice worlds, to Longstaff, 

 Bruce, and others exploring the Himalayan 

 regions, and to other geographical expedi- 

 tions too numerous to mention. 



One word of caution may, perhaps, be 

 permitted. There is a tendency on the part 

 of the public to confuse geographical ex- 

 ploration and sport. The newspaper re- 

 porter naturally lays stress on the unusual 

 in any expedition, the accidental rather 

 than the essential, and those of us who have 

 to examine the work of expeditions know 

 how some have been unduly boomed be- 

 cause of some adventurous element, while 

 others have not received adequate popular 

 recognition because all went well. The 

 fact that all went well is in itself a proof 

 of competent organization. There is no 

 excuse for us in this section if we fall into 

 the journalist's mistake, and we shall cer- 

 tainly be acting against the interests of 



