Longmans' School Geography for Australasia

Front matter

(See ;>.36.) The Wuiik Tisiirack, Lake Rotomahana, New Zealand. LONGMANS' SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY FOE AUSTEALASIA BY GEORGE G. CHISHOLM, M.A., B.Sc. FELL05V OF THE "ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL AND STATISTICAL SOCIETIES LONDON LONGMANS, G E E E N, AND CO. AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16* STREET 1888 All rights reserved "With numerous Maps, 4to, Is. Cxi. boards ; 2s. cloth. LONGMANS' JUNIOR SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY. BY George Chisholm, M.A., E.Sc, F.R.G.S., &c. *** The Maps form the special characteristic of this work. They are mostly of two kinds. Those of one set are chiefly intended to be copied by the pupils, and are so simple as to be capable of beina; copied by boys and girls rapidly, and therefore frequently. It is expected that after a few repetitions the learners will be able to draw them from memory, and thus have the most important relations of place fixed in their minds in the firmest manner possible.

Those of the other set represent the nature of the chief products of different regions, and the density of the population according to a uniform scale. London: LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO. PBEFACE. It is an unusual thing to prefix a long preface to an ordinary school book, but the position which geographical teaching at present holds in this country makes it necessary to explain why a new departure i9 attempted, and what the nature of the new departure is. It is not long since we were told, on the authority of the Boyal Geographical Society's Inspector of Geographical Education, that in this country geography is as a rule almost entirely neglected as a subject of education ; and that among other reasons for this state of matters is the want of text-books fitted to aid teachers in putting the subject on a more satis factory basis.

We are also informed by the same authority that ' Germany may be taken as the model which all the other Continental countries are following, as far as their special circumstances will permit ' ; and it may be confidently asserted that all those who have bestowed adequate attention upon this matter are satisfied that, as with regard to the general methods of geographical teaching, so with respect to text-books in particular, Germany does in fact furnish us with the models most worthy of imitation. Why it should be so is easily understood when we consider the place which geography holds in that country in the universities and in the higher education generally ; but in order to appreciate fully the service which Germany has rendered to geographical education, it is necessary to take into account the length of the experience of German educationists in the working of an advanced system of education in all departments.

Preface

7 With regard to other features of this text-book, it may be noted that it is assumed throughout that no adequate teaching in geography can be given without the aid of maps. From the map alone can be gained a satisfactory knowledge of the position of different places, and from good maps it is possible, in some respects, to acquire a much more accurate idea of the character of the surface of the globe than can be gained from any description. A text-book ought, in fact, to be supple mentary to an atlas and other aids to geographical education, and by no means to attempt to supersede them. Hence in the present text book much is omitted, not as being useless, but as being out of place. In the spelling of foreign names an attempt is made to secure an approximation to consistency, for it is obvious that to accustom boys and girls to a rational system from their school-days is the likeliest way to arrive ultimately at uniformity of practice in this respect.

The rules adopted by the Council of the Boyal Geographical Society, and repeated at the end of this Preface, have, therefore, been followed in the text. It need hardly be explained that no more than an approximation to consistency is thereby secured, seeing that, as stated in Bule 2, many names — including most of those which naturally find a place in a school geography — are already too familiar under spellings not in harmony with the rules laid down. This, however, is matter for httle regret, inasmuch as it forms in most cases no obstacle to the ultimate attainment of uniformity of practice. The illustrations have been selected to exhibit some of the most characteristic scenes in different parts of the world, and most of them have been specially engraved by Mr. G. Pearson for the present work.

For permission to use the diagram on p. 39 the author is indebted to the kindness of Professor Kirchhoff of the University of Halle, whose admirably compact Schulgeographie has served him to a large extent as a model for the present work, so far as was possible in the case of an English school-book, and so far as it is designed for pupils of the same standing as those for whom the present text-book is adapted. Among other works to which the author has to express his special acknowledgments are : Professor Supan's Lehrbuch der Geographic ; and, above all, the fifth edition (by Professor Wagner) of Guthe's Ze/sr buch der Geographie ; and for the British Isles the various works of Mr. Green, including the Short Geography of the British Islands, by J. B. Green and A. S. Green. The author has also much pleasure in acknowledging his indebted ness to Mr. C. Colbeck, M.A., and Mr. F. E. Marshall, M.A., of Harrow School, for numerous improvements suggested by them in reading the proofs ; but it is right to add that for the book as it stands the author is alone responsible.

PREFACE.

TO THE AUSTRALIAN EDITION. Foe the Australian edition of this text-book the sections on Australasia and the British Isles have been entirely rewritten, and modifications have been made in other parts of the text with the view of calling attention to matters of special interest in Austraha and New Zealand. The author has much pleasure in acknowledging the assistance he has derived in the way of correction and suggestion from several of the following gentlemen, who have kindly expressed opinions on the proofs of the Australasian section : — Mr. E. E. Moeeis, of the Uni versity, Melbourne ; Dr. Lupee, Warden, Trinity College, Melbourne ; Mr. A. B. Weigall, Head-master of Sydney Grammar School ; the Bev. Canon Shaep, St. Paul's College, Sydney ; Mr. Edwin Bean, All Saints' College, Bathurst, N.S.W. ; Mr. B. Boe, Head-master of Brisbane Grammar School ; Mr. J. A. Haetley, Inspector-General of Schools, Adelaide ; the Bev.

B. D. Poulett-Haebis, late Head-master of the High School, Hobart ; the Bev. W. J. Habens, B.A., Inspector- General of Education, New Zealand ; Mr. J. H. Pope ; Mr. Wilson, Head-master Otago Girls' High School, Dunedin ; and Mr. N. Heath of the High School, Napier, New Zealand. NOTE. In the paragraph devoted to latitude and longitude at" the head of the principal sections into which the text is divided, a number of places in nearly the same latitude are always given. Those places which do not belong to the country or region with which the section deals are given in parentheses ; and where they lie less than 180° to the west of the place named within such country, or region, they are printed to the left of that place, otherwise to the right. The figures given in the text are always more or less round numbers, and especially where they represent variable numbers like populations, or indefinite numbers, like the average height of plateaux.

Towns containing 100,000 inhabitants or more are printed in capitals. Where the population exceeds 200,000 it is stated in thousands in pareni theses after the name of the town. Thus, LIVERPOOL (600) means that Liverpool has, in round numbers, 600,000 inhabitants. In the Australasian section the population of all towns containing upwards of 10,000 inhabitants is similarly given. PKEFACE The area of Great Britain, including the small islands adjacent— an area frequently employed in the text as a standard of comparison— is, in round numbers, 90,000 square miles. That of the island of Anglesey, which is sometimes similarly used, is about 300 square miles ; that of Scotland (in cluding islands) upwards of 30,000 square miles ; that of Wales about 7,400 square miles. For the sake of comparison it is also useful to bear in mind that, according to the estimate of the population of the British Isles for 1885, the average density was then just 300 to the square mile.

RULES ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY AS TO THE SPELLING OF NATIVE NAMES OF PLACES. 1. No change will be made in the orthography of foreign names in countries which use Boman letters : thus Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, &c, names will be spelt as by the respective nations. 2. Neither will any change be made in the spelling of such names in languages which are not written in Boman character as have become by long usage familiar to English readers : thus Calcutta, Cutch, Celebes, Mecca, &c, will be retained in their present form. 3. The true sound of the word as locally pronounced will be taken as the basis of the spelling. 4. An approximation, however, to the sound is alone aimed at. . . . 5. The broad feature of the system is that vowels are pronounced as in Italian, and consonants as in English. 6.

One accent only is used, the acute, to denote the syllable on which stress is laid. . . . 7. Every letter is pronounced. When two vowels come together each one is sounded, though the result, when spoken quickly, is sometimes scarcely to be distinguished from a single sound, as in ai, au, ei. 8. Indian names are accepted as spelt in Hunter's Gazetteer. ■ The amplification of these rules is given below : — Letters Pronunciation and Remarks Examples a . . . ah, a as in father Java, Bandna, Somdli, Bari. e , . . eh, e as in benefit Tel-el-kebir, Olcleh, Yezo, Medina, Lcviika, Peru. i . . . English e; i as in ravine ; tlie sound of ee i -pj-j jjjn(j; in beet. Thus not Feejee, but > . o . . . o as in mute Tokio. «... Ioiirb as in flute ; the sound of oo in boot. , z. gumatr 1 hus, not Zooloo, but j ' AH vowels are shortened in sound by , Yarra, Tanna, Mecca, doubling the following consonant. j Jidda, Bonny.

Doubling of a vow-el is only necessary \ where there is a distinct repetition of \ Nuuliia, Oosinia, the single sound. I ai . . . English i as in ice Shanghai. an . . . ow as in how. Thus, not Fnochow, but . Fuchau. au. . . is slightly different from above . . ■ Macao.

PREFACE.

Letters Prouunciation and Remarks Examples ei . . . is the sound of the two Italian vowels, but - is frequently slurred over, when it is .Be;r^t Beiliil. scarcely to be. distinguished from ey in English thiy. b . . . English b. c ... is always soft, but is so nearly the sound , of s that it should be seldom used. I ceie^,e3> If Celebes were not already recognised it j would be written Selebes. > , rb . . . is always soft as in church . • ■ ChiDgchin. d . . . English _/. /* . . . English/. i)A should not be used for the -. Uaif Nafa_ sound of/1 Thus, not Haiphong, but J g ■ . . is always hard. (Soft g is given by J) . Galapagos. b . . . is always pronounced when inserted. j . . . English j*. Dj should never be put for , Ja pan> Jincllucn. this sound. ) k . . . English k. It shouid always be put for I Korea the hard c. Thus not Corea, but I kh . . .

The Oriental guttural .... Khan. gh ... is another guttural, as in the Turkish . Dagh, Ghazi. / m n . . As in English. i,g. . . has two separate sounds, the one hard as in the English word finger, the other as in singer. As the=e two sounds are rarely employed in the same locality, no attempt is made to distinguish between them. p . . . As in English. q . . . should never be employed j qu is given as , Kwangtuns. rstvwx As in English Sawakin. y ... is always a consonant, as iu yard, and \ therefore should never be used as a iKikuyu. terminal — _ or e being substituted. ) 2 . . . English z Zulu. Accents should not generally be used, but , where there is a very decided emphatic I T„ . .. , r,.i-„ „__„_, . syllable or stress, which affects the sound LTongatabu, Galapagos, of the word, it should be marked by an Palawan, Sarawak. acute accent. ' To this statement it need only be added that, in accordance with Bule 6 and the note at the end, accents are used in this text-book in the spelling of Indian names only where they indicate stress ; that in certain more or less familiar spellings (such as Punjab, Bassora) u has the sound which it has in but ; and that in some Russian names the combination z'i is used to rspresent the sound of z in azure. CONTENTS.