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SCIENCE. 



[Vol. X. No. 237 



at our universities, it would be hopeless to attempt to make any im- 

 pression, on our higher schools at least. Now, with two good men, 

 working on right lines, and tilled with contagious enthusiasm, at 

 our two great universities, we may confidently expect that improve- 

 ment will filter downwards. 



It is nearly twenty years since the society felt compelled to raise 

 geography from the low level it has occupied in English education. 

 It memorialized both Oxford and Cambridge, but its memorials 

 were scarcely even honored by a reply. Medals were offered for 

 competition among certain (about fifty) selected schools of the 

 higher grade ; but after sixteen years these were dropped, from lack 

 of competitors. Three years ago the council resolved to institute a 

 thorough inquiry into the whole question of the position of geogra- 

 phy at home and abroad, and did me the honor of appointing me to 

 conduct the inquiry. The results of the inquiry have been pub- 

 lished in the form of a report, which has been referred to at some 

 length, on various occasions, in Science, so that I need not analyze 

 it in detail here. The general conclusion was, that except in a few 

 rare cases, depending mainly on the tastes of individual teachers, 

 geography has no substantial place in English education. In many 

 of our higher schools it is not taught at all. In most cases where 

 it is taught, it is the barrenest of studies, consisting in the learning 

 of long lists of names and figures. Rarely was any attempt made 

 to show the intimate connection between physical and political 

 geography, the latter being taken almost invariably in its narrowest 

 and meagrest acceptation. In our elementary schools, on the other 

 hand, some attempt is made, under the guidance of the Govern- 

 ment Code, to make the subject a reality ; but even here it is by no 

 means compulsory. On the continent, again, especially in Ger- 

 many, geography is everywhere taught, in every grade of school, 

 and throughout nearly all classes in all schools. While the position 

 is not the same throughout all the provinces of Germany, and while 

 here also a good deal depends upon the teacher, still the subject 

 holds a high position, and is taught after intelligent methods. It 

 was everywhere admitted that improvement in Germany has been 

 largely due to the establishment of chairs in the universities, of 

 which there are now a dozen. In Austria, France, Italy, Holland, 

 Belgium, Norway, Sweden, the position of the subject and the 

 methods of teaching were far ahead of what we find in England. 

 The Education Bureau of the United States very kindly instituted, 

 on behalf of the society, an inquiry into the position of the subject 

 in the schools there. Unfortunately the voluminous documents 

 thus collected did not reach me until after my report was written ; 

 but, from what I gather from the documents, I fear American 

 schools, so far at least as the methods and standard of the subject 

 are concerned, are not very far ahead of those of the Old Country. 



There can be little doubt that the society's recent action, apart 

 from the results in the universities, has had considerable effect on 

 the schools generally. It has drawn wide attention to the subject ; 

 not only laid bare its neglect and the poverty and wretched quality 

 of the apphances used in teaching, but has set before the public a 

 higher standard than was dreamt of before, and indicated how the 

 despised and rejected subject might, with proper methods, become 

 one of the most fruitful fields of scientifico-historical research. It 

 has been shown that geography has a field uncovered by any other 

 department. Of what is known as physical geography, — the topo- 

 graphical surroundings of humanity, — there is not much to com- 

 plain : its facts and principles are pretty well known, and fairly set 

 forth in numerous text-books. It is when we come to apply these 

 facts to humanity, to deal with their bearings on the development 

 of man in communities, that we find so much to desire. Mr. Mac- 

 kinder defines geography as the physical basis of history : ma.y we 

 not extend this, and say it is the physical basis of all the activities 

 of collective humanity ? At present ' political ' geography consists 

 mainly of a catalogue of States and their subdivisions, their routes, 

 towns, and ' chief manufactures.' If ' political ' were taken in its 

 wider and more correct sense, and political geography treated as 

 the department of knowledge that dealt with the development of 

 States so far as that is influenced by geographical conditions, then 

 it is evident that both as a branch of knowledge and as a discipline 

 we might expect the most fruitful results. What are the lines on 

 which this new geography should run may be learned from the 

 lecture of Mr. Mackinder, referred to above ; from the lecture de- 



livered in connection with the society's exhibition, and presented in 

 one large volume along with my report ; and from an admirable 

 paper by Dr. Boas in Science a few months ago. To attempt to 

 develop the subject further here would take more space than can 

 be allowed me. Suffice it to say that this aspect of it is rapidly 

 gaining ground in England, both in our schools and among thought- 

 ful men generally, and I am confident will make more rapid head- 

 way in the future. 



It was part of my duty to collect specimens of the various ap- 

 pliances used in teaching geography at home and abroad. The 

 collection thus formed so grew on our hands that it developed into 

 a somewhat formidable space when displayed. This collection was 

 on view in a large hall in London in the end of 1885 and beginning 

 of 1886. During 1886 it was sent by request to Manchester, Edin- 

 burgh, and Bradford, and at each place attracted large numbers of 

 visitors, chiefly teachers and those interested in education. The 

 collection was not meant to be a model one, but only tj'pical of the 

 various appliances in use. It therefore contained good and bad ; 

 more of the latter, I fear, than of the former. The most prominent 

 feature was the collection of wall-maps from the leading European 

 countries. Besides these, there were relief-maps of all sizes, models, 

 globes, telluria, text-books, atlases, and hand-maps, and a variety 

 of other odds and ends. The principal result of this exhibition was 

 to bring out in strong relief the poverty of English productions of this 

 class, especially when compared with the variety and excellence of 

 the appliances used in Germany. English wall-maps, for example, 

 like English text-books and English geographical teaching generally, 

 seem mainly intended to record names. Physical features are en- 

 tirely subordinate, and special physical maps are rarely met with in 

 our schools. High and aimless coloring is the most prominent 

 feature of our maps and atlases ; and these, with our text-books, 

 reflect painfully the low standard of the subject which exists here. 

 German maps, again, while capable enough of improvement, are in 

 execution, instructiveness, intelligence, and accuracy, far above any 

 thing we have here, except in one or two cases. In the best Ger- 

 man schools we find wall-maps always in pairs ; a physical map, with 

 physical features simply, but permanently laid down, and no names ; 

 and a political map, with the physical features subordinate but clear, 

 in which the political features and names are laid down. Some of 

 the best wall-maps come from Winterthur, near Ziirich, from the 

 establishment of Randegger, and are almost perfect specimens of 

 cartography. Even Italy, following close on the heels of Germany, 

 furnishes its schools with better maps than does England ; while 

 France, though improving, is not often very far ahead of ourselves. 

 To Italy we owe some of the best large reUef-maps, — maps ac- 

 curately executed from surveys, and with the minimum exaggera- 

 tion of altitudes. At the same time Delagrave of Paris sent some 

 beautiful specimens of large relief-maps by Mile. Kleinhaus. The 

 great model of the Monte Rosa group, executed by Imfeld and 

 Heim of Ziirich, was the gem of our exhibition, and has been 

 secured for the science collection at South Kensington. Unfortu- 

 nately its price places it beyond the reach of most schools. But 

 reliefs of a glacier, of a volcanic island, and other subjects, by Pro- 

 fessor Heim, are cheap enough, and of the greatest utility in teach- 

 ing physical geography. I am glad to say that not a few teachers 

 were induced to invest in copies. The globes were mostly too 

 small. No globe under eighteen inches diameter is of much use 

 for the purpose for which such an article is ordinarily used. 

 The larger the better, but unfortunately large globes are too 

 dear for ordinar)' schools. We had one or two relief - globes, 

 but the exaggeration of altitudes is so great as to render 

 such globes pernicious. We had some very large black slate 

 globes of foreign make and wonderfully cheap, with only the 

 lines of latitude and longitude marked. These globes, in the 

 hands of good teachers, can be put to excellent use in a variety 

 of ways. The ordinary planetarea and telluria are mere toys. 

 Their mechanism is so coarse and elaborate as to convey the 

 most erroneous conceptions to young pupils. The most useful 

 thing of this kind was a simple terrestrial globe on a revolving 

 arm, with a small glass globe in the centre to hold a candle, 

 which represents the sun. But any teacher who knows his busi- 

 ness, can, with a simple ball or an orange, and a lamp, show all that 

 the most elaborate tellurium can illustrate, and with much less risk 



