GEOGRAPHY, by derivation, means scription of the earth." Humboldt's interpreta tion, which, beyond the gathering of data for mapping the topographical and drainage fea tures of a region, added a study of meteorologi cal and climatic conditions, of the character of soils, and of the distribution of life both ani mal and vegetable, was the first true impulse given to modern geographical research. For a comprehensive knowledge of the earth the aid of all branches of natural science is sought. Geography, while it is specifically the science or knowledge of the earth, is dealing with phe nomena and studying laws which belong to the universe. One of its important functions is the investigation of the reciprocal relations exist ing between man and his physical surroundings. The average text-books have fallen far below such a standard. Cartography and statistics form the sum and substance of these treatises. Maps constitute an essential feature of geog raphy, but are commonly read with less intel ligence than the working drawings of an engi neer or architect. Lists of cities with their populations, and the names of rivers, bays, mountains and islands are of great value in the way of information, but they are of secondary importance. It concerns the student of geog raphy less to know that New York is the largest city in the world and the greatest sea port of America than to discover the causes which have led to such growth and development The physical or social reasons for the fixing of political boundaries are of greater interest than the mere location of or changes in the bound aries themselves. Happily a change for the bet ter may be observed. The recognition some years ago of the scientific and practical value of geography by German scholars and the sys tematic work done by them have already borne fruit. Departments of geography have been established in universities and higher institu• tions of learning. Geographical societies have been organized in all the leading countries of the world, and a broader interest in the subject has been aroused.
When Columbus (q.v.) made his first voyage of discovery, popular belief maintained that the earth was flat, though the schblars of the time recognized its spherical form. The first people to add to a knowledge
of distant lands were the Phcenicians. They had founded colonies as early as 1200 ac., and exerted much influence upon the progress of civilization. Herodotus, the father of history and geography, and himself a great traveler, records a Phoenicianexpedition in the 7th cen tury which, starting from the Red Sea, re turned by way of the Pillars of Hercules and the Mediterranean, having circumnavigated Africa. While the story has been doubted, the incidents of the narrative give it much color of probability. Herodotus leaves an account of the conception of the earth's extent in the 4th century B.C. The scanty knowledge of the time comprised the coast regions of the Me& terranean Sea extending vaguely to the north and south, with the Atlantic Ocean and the Persian empire constituting the western and eastern boundaries. Strabo s voluminous work on geography, at the dawn of the Christian era, itself a valuable treatise, is of special import ance in affording a glimpse of the efforts of earlier geographers, whose books are lost. Eratosthenes, the most remarkable of these scholars, made wonderful advances in mathe matics and astronomy. He measured the obliq uity of the ecliptic, described the earth as a sphere revolving on its own axis, and con structed maps with parallels of latitude and longitude. Beyond influencing the belief of a few learned contemporaries, his work was practically unavailing. Ptolemy, who lived in the 2d century A.D., was the supreme authority in astronomy and geography, not only in his own time, but during the Middle Ages. In ac cordance with his system, which was really a compilation of the views of earlier writers, the centre of the universe was the earth, around which the various heavenly bodies revolved. The travels of Marco Polo in the 14th century and the introduction of the mariners' compass were instrumental in changing the whole history of the human race.