MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 15 



REPORT ON COURSES IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



By Professor W. M. Davis. 



During the past year, the courses in Elementary and Advanced 

 Physiography given by Professor Davis, and the course in Elemen- 

 tary Meteorology given by Mr. Ward, have been conducted on the 

 plan described in recent reports. The course on Climatology by 

 Mr. Ward in the first half-year was presented for the first time, 

 and the course on the Physiography of the United States by Pro- 

 fessor Davis in the second half-year was given for the second 

 time after an interval of a year, in which a similar course was 

 given on Europe. It is believed that the course on Climatology 

 will prove to be a valuable addition to the preparation of those 

 who later take up the study of medicine, as at present this impor- 

 tant subject seldom finds adequate treatment in medical schools. 

 The acceptance with which a series of four lectures on Climatology 

 by Mr. Ward were received by an audience of physicians in Boston 

 in the spring of 1897 gives further ground for this belief. The 

 course on the United States was strengthened by a much more 

 extended exhibition of reports and essays, bearing on the various 

 divisions of the country than when it was given before : in this 

 connection, Darton's Bibliography of American Geology (Bulletin 

 127, U. S. Geol. Survey) proved very serviceable. 



Apart from the duties connected with courses of instruction, Mr. 

 Ward undertook to inquire, by means of a circular letter addressed 

 to medical schools, into the amount of attention given to Clima- 

 tology in their regular course of study, with the result intimated 

 above. In the latter part of the year, Mr. Ward gave much care 

 to preparations for his voyage around South America, including 

 visits to various ports, and a sojourn at the Harvard Observatory 

 at Arequipa, Peru. He left New York on this voyage early in 

 June, 1897, and will return to Cambridge in January, 1898. 

 During the past year, Mr. Ward has prepared an Outline of 



