4 2 



land by her union with England — in like manner the shamrock, 

 for Ireland. The establishment of potteries by Wedgewood in 

 1763 is indicated by the vase ; the invention of Hargreaves' and 

 of Arkwright's spinning machinery, and of James Watt's steam 

 engine is marked by the wheel. The press and pencil mark 

 the advent of. parliamentary reporting and the establishment 

 of the newspaper press. The inventions of the electric light 

 by Humphrey Davy, and of the single needle telegraph and 

 dynamo are appropriately indicated. 



As the diagram has been constructed simply to illustrate this 

 application of the graphic method, much time was not spent on 

 the choice of matters embodied in it. They were taken more 

 or less at random from Mulhall's Dictionary of Statistics and 

 Green's History of the English People. It is a remarkable fact 

 that in the latter work no mention whatever is made of an 

 event which had probably more influence on the progress and 

 destiny of the English people — not to mention other peoples — 

 than all the Royalties put together. I mean the invention of 

 the locomotive by George Stephenson. We find a good deal 

 about a comparatively despicable person called Stephen who was 

 a king, and we have Georges — two of them not really " English 

 people " at all, but no George Stephenson. Under letter L in 

 the index we find about Lollards, but the locomotive might 

 have been imported from China for all we are informed to the 

 contrary. 



Besides the use of such a chart as an aid to memory, it has 

 the further advantage of giving much facility for the study of 

 the causes interacting towards the variation of the character- 

 istics indicated, and thus conduces to the rational study of history. 

 The great rise of the National debt up to 181 7 is evidently 

 due to the war with France, etc. The rise of Capital is 

 evidently accelerated by the invention of machinery, and 

 perhaps also by the freedom of the press in the latter half of the 

 1 8th century. The increase of railways gives it a further lift 

 upward. In a more complete chart such relations could be 

 more generally and accurately traced. I am indebted to 

 Professor Patrick Geddes for the idea of this kind of chart for 



