r 



r 



■-r 



I 



*. 



I ■ 





f 



«1 



{ 



F* 



^ . 



J - 



I 



1 f 



H 



1 



a 



lA 



e 



4 



\ 



^ * 



.-^n V 



fti i 



# 



Sect V,] 



GEOGRAPHY. 



143 



at any important results in reference to these questions, 

 or to make miieli progress in the investigation of a subject, 

 however important^ the whole value of which depends on 



the extent and minute accuracy of its detail : but yet 

 there are many matters connected with man's social state 

 which the traveller may easily elucidate by availing him- 

 self of the opportunities thrown in his way, and carefully 

 preserving the information he obtains. 



This branch of our subject may properly 

 into the following heads : 





divided 



1. Population ; different races of inhabitants. 



2. Language ; words and vocabularies. 



3. Government ; ceremonies and forms. 



4. Buildings ; towns, villages, 



5. Agriculture ; implements of labour and peculi 



of soil. 



6. Trade and Commerce. Roads, and other means of 



communication. 



1 



« 



Population. — One of the most interesting inquiries 



on visiting new countries relates to the people by whom 



they are inhabited. It is not enough to ascertain the 

 mere amount of population, although even this is by no 

 means easy ; and unless obtained from official dut^uments, 

 it cannot always be relied on. The oral information 

 first obtained by a stranger is almost invariably incorrect, 

 and particularly so in barbarous countries and amongst 

 an ignorant population, where truth and accuracy are 

 equally disregarded. Various sources must be referred 

 to before we can venture, in such cases, to place confi- 

 dence in our information. Another and more intorestina 



I 



r 



\ 







^t^- 



I 



