(b) How Geographical Surroundings Influence the Eight Great Occupations.—In supplying their material needs the people of different parts of the earth generally follow the occupations in which their geographic surroundings give them the greatest chance of success. The Pygmies of the dense forests of Central Africa are wandering hunters not because they choose that occupation, but because no other is possible. The climate is so moist and the forest so dense that they cannot practice agriculture; the water bodies do not fur nish any great amount of fish; cattle will not thrive; it is useless to cut lumber, for there is no market for it; there are no valuable ores, or else they are so covered with soil that no one has found them, and hence there is no mining; and more advanced occupations such as manufacturing and commerce are beyond the capacity of people who live in such surroundings.
Similarly on the Labrador coast, fishing is the only occupation which furnishes a fairly sure living, and even that is sometimes pre carious. In Sonora in northern Mexico the climate is too dry for agriculture in many sections, but cattle can live on the short grass even though it dries up in a month or two. Hence the people are cattle herders.
In more favored regions such as Denmark the levelness and cli mate and the absence of other resources cause agriculture to be the great occupation.
In similar fashion the great forests are almost the only resource of the mountains of Western Sweden, so that the inhabitants have to be lumbermen, just as in Spitzbergen the low temperature and the presence of rich ores make mining practically the only occupation. England like Spitzbergen possesses valuable minerals in the shape of beds of coal and iron, and these not only foster mining, but cause manufacturing to take the lead. In Holland, on the other hand, the location of the country on the shores of the North Sea and at the mouth of the Rhine, between Germany and England, raises com merce to the leading position.
Pennsylvania: An Example of Many Occupations in One Region.— In the more advanced parts of the world several occupations are always carried on close together. One simple kind of occupation may have prevailed at first, but others are introduced until all are represented. In Pennsylvania, for instance, up to the beginning of the last century many Indians lived by hunting and fishing, and even to-day a few people are still supported exclusively in this way. Some of the early colonists lived by these same occupations, but most of them at once began lumbering in order to clear the land for agriculture. Even to-day many Pennsylvanians are engaged in
lumbering, although this occupation is negligible compared with farming or mining, which rose to great importance after the steam engine was invented. The life of the farmers differs from the life of the miners as much as if the two lived in separate countries. After farming and mining had become well developed, manufacturing and commerce, which had formerly existed on only a small scale, began to be the occupations of large numbers of people, and are now of great importance. Thus, to-day in Pennsylvania, hunting, fishing, and lumbering are each represented on a small scale, while farming, mining, manufacturing, and commerce are all well represented. Such a development of many occupations is characteristic of advanced countries.
(c) How Efficiency Depends on Geographical Surroundings.—The great trouble with most people and with most races is not that they do not have ability, but that they do not make the most of what they have. They are lazy, or they lack will power, or find it difficult to concentrate on their work. Much of this inefficiency is due to lack of health and energy.
Health and energy, as everyone can see, are largely influenced by people's occupations and by the way in which their material needs are met. Many a man has poor health because he eats poor food, or eats good food too rapidly, or in too large amounts. Others lack energy because they dress unwisely, live in houses that are not properly ventilated, use machines that necessitate unnatural posi tions, ride too much in automobiles, or follow unhealthful occupa which keep them in offices and factories instead of outdoors.
These reasons for lack of health and energy are closely bound up with geography, because man's occupations, food, clothing, and shelter all depend largely on physical environment.
Certain geographic conditions, however, have a much more direct effect, and are so powerful that not even the strongest races have yet learned to overcome them. For example, the Dutch are a wonderful people, possessed of fine minds, and great energy; but when they go to such places as Borneo, where the climate is tropical, they soon cease to accomplish as much as in their own land, for they suffer in health and energy. This is due not only to distinct diseases, but to the direct effect of climate, as we ourselves see when we feel dull and listless in hot weather. Thus it appears that a considerable part of what we call the character of a race or nation, by which we often mean their efficiency, depends upon geographical surroundings.