SCI E N CE.-SUPPLEMENT. 



FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1887. 



THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY. 



It is a remarkable fact, that, in the recent 

 literature of geography, researches on the method 

 and limits of that science occupy a prominent 

 place. Almost every distinguished geographer 

 has felt the necessity of expressing his views on 

 its aim and scope, and of defending it from being 

 disintegrated and swallowed up by geology, bot- 

 any, history, and other sciences treating on sub- 

 jects similar to or identical with those of geogra- 

 phy. If the representatives of a science as young 

 as geography spend a great part of their time in 

 discussions of this kind, though the material for 

 investigations is still unlimited ; if they feel com- 

 pelled to defend their field of research against 

 assaults of their fellow-workers and outsiders, — 

 the reason for this fact must be looked for in a 

 deep discrepancy bet ween their fundamental views 

 of science and those of their adversaries. 



Formerly, when the greater part of the earth's 

 surface was undiscovered, and European vessels 

 sailed only over their well-known routes from 

 continent to continent, careful not to stray from 

 the old path and fearing the dangers of unknown 

 regions, the mere thought of these vast territories 

 which had never been sighted by a European 

 could fill the mind of geographers with ardent 

 longing for extended knowledge ; with the desire 

 of unveiling the secrets of regions enlivened by 

 imagination with figures of unknown animals 

 and peoples. But the more completely the out- 

 lines of continents and islands became known, 

 the stronger grew the desire to understand the 

 phenomena of the newly discovered regions by 

 comparing them with those of one's own country. 

 Instead of merely extending their study over new 

 areas, scientists began to be absorbed in examin- 

 ing the phenomena more intently, and comparing 

 them with the results of observations already 

 made. Thus Humboldt's admirable works and 

 Karl Ritter's comparative geography arose out of 

 the rapidly extending knowledge of the earth. 



The fact that the rapid disclosure of the most 

 remote parts of the globe coincided with the not 

 less rapid development of physical sciences has 

 had great influence upon the development of 

 geography ; for while the circle of phenomena 

 became wider every day, the idea became preva- 

 lent that a single phenomenon is not of great avail, 



but that it is the aim of science to deduce laws 

 from phenomena ; and the wider their scope, 

 the more valuable they are considered. The 

 descriptive sciences were deemed inferior in value 

 to researches which had hitherto been outside their 

 range. Instead of systematical botany and zoology, 

 biology became the favorite study ; theoretical 

 philosophy was supplanted by experimental psy- 

 chology ; and, by the same process, geography 

 was disintegrated into geology, meteorology, etc. 



Ever since, these sciences have been rapidly de- 

 veloped, but geography itself has for a long time 

 been ^Imost overshadowed by its growing chil- 

 dren. However, we do not think they can fill its 

 place, and wish to prove that its neglect cannot 

 be remedied by the attentive cultivation of those 

 sciences separately. 



Those accustomed to value a study according to 

 the scope of the laws found by means of it are not 

 content with researches on phenomena such as are 

 the object of geography. They consider them 

 from a physical stand-point, and find them to be 

 physical, meteorological, or ethnological ; and, 

 after having explained them by means of physi- 

 cal, physiological, or psychological laws, have 

 finished their work. It is very instructive to con- 

 sider thoroughly their definition of geography. 

 They declai'e that the domain of this science com- 

 prises neither magnetical and meteorological nor 

 geological phenomena and processes. They gen- 

 erously grant it the study of the distribution of 

 animals and plants, as far as physiologists and 

 evolutionists will permit ; but all agree that an- 

 thropo-geography — the life of man as far as it 

 depends on the country he lives in — is the true 

 domain of geography. 



It is not difiicult to discover the principle on 

 which this segregation is founded. Physical phe- 

 nomena are subject to physical laws which are 

 known, or which will assuredly be found by the 

 methods used in discovering those that are known. 

 Physiological, and, to a still higher degree, psy- 

 chological, laws are not so well known as to allow 

 their being treated in the same way as physical 

 laws. The conditions of the phenomena are gen- 

 erally so complicated, that, even if the most gen- 

 eral laws were known, a strict conclusion cannot 

 easily be drawn. But were those auxiliary sciences 

 just as far developed as physics, no doubt the 

 same scientists who at the present time concede 

 them willingly to geography would not hesitate 

 to claim them for physiology and psychology. It 



