Longman's School Geography for India and Ceylon

Front matter

'B u — •» v *■* Ch "3 a a <a a *o O 5 » |*E £ I 3 o H -< Zi *W sa o 5 p. c 6 o o o © j* ■s.l- LONGMANS' SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY FOR INDIA AND CEYLON BY GEORGE G. CHISHOLM, M.A., B.Sc. — 1< FELLOW OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL AND STATISTICAL SOCIETIES LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET 1891 Alt right* reserved OBallfuit^nc pc«w BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. EDINBURGH AND LONDON

Preface

. This text-book has been prepared on the same lines as Longmans' School Geography by the same author, which was published for use in English schools in 1886. That work was based to a large extent on German models, and the principles which guided me in its preparation will be understood from the following extracts from the preface : — " In a country [like Germany] in which there has long been ample provision both for elementary education and for all intermediate stages leading up to the universities and to the best equipped commercial and technical schools, the teachers have at least been able to learn what is possible and what is impossible in school-years. Knowing that a limited period must be turned to account for the thorough teaching of a great variety of subjects, they have learned that it is impossible for school teaching to be both thorough and full of minute detail.

They have learned, accordingly, one of the most important of all lessons in edu cational method — to distinguish between what is indispensable as a ground-work, and what it is better to neglect if the pupils are really to be educated, instead of having their minds overloaded, distracted, em barrassed, and perplexed. " This, then, is the particular in which the author of the present text book has most earnestly endeavoured to guide himself by German examples, and he believes that on this feature it is impossible to lay too much stress. To those who are familiar with English text-books of geography, the work now submitted to the public will hence perhaps appear more remarkable for what it omits than for what it contains. " But while this is really the case, while the author has really sought to exclude from the text-book almost all details which the pupils cannot be expected to keep permanently in mind, and can hardly attempt to keep in mind without doing injury in some way to their mental training, he has kept constantly before him the necessity for taking care that what the text-book does contain should be really foundational — should consist of what is most effective as discipline, most important to know.

VI PKEFACE "In making this endeavour, he has first of all sought to draw a mental picture of the different countries and regions of the world, giving due relief to what is most distinctive in each region. . . . " Secondly, while in order to make the picture of any country coherent, the relation between different features and characteristics is always kept in view, special prominence is given to the relation of cause and effect, so as to enable the pupils to realise that in geography there is something to understand as well as to commit to memory ; in other words, so as to make geography a mental discipline as well as a body of instruction. Hence, in selecting the particulars for notice under different headings, special attention has been given to such as illustrate general laws. With this in view, frequent references are made from the body of the book to the Introduction — which deals with the general facts of physical geography — and to other passages of the text which it is instructive to compare with those from which the reference is made.

The Introduction, it may here be explained, is designed pri marily for teachers, and is not intended to form part of the course for the pupils until they have gone through the whole of the body of the book ; though it is expected that the references of which mention has just been made will always be taken advantage of to elucidate the text and heighten its interest. "The portion of the Introduction to which reference is most fre quently made is that which briefly summarises the conditions most favourable to the growth of towns, and these references have been given in the belief that no part of geographical teaching can be made more fruitful and instructive. It is for this reason that while, in accordance with the general plan of the book, the number of towns mentioned is comparatively small, all the more space is devoted to giving geographical descriptions of the principal cities, so that the pupils may grasp the relations of their sites to the surrounding features.

It is urged, therefore, upon teachers to cultivate in their pupils the habit of constantly referring to this section of the Introduction, even where no special reference is given in the text. . . . " 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." . . . l'EEFACE VII The present edition of this geography is in a large measure a new work.

The whole book has been "reset," and for the most part recast and rewritten, so as to adapt it to the tropical as well as the specially Indian point of view. The whole of the sec tion on India and Ceylon, along with tbe part of the section on Indo-China devoted to Burma, is new. The Appendix, dealing with facts in physics, &c, of most importance in geography, and intended as a supplement to, and for use in the same way as the Introduction, is also new. The whole of the division relating to Europe has been greatly reduced.. In the other portions of the work the text of the English edition is more closely followed, though in some places condensed, in others extended, as the special purpose of this edition seemed to require. Everywhere matters of special interest in India have received peculiar attention, and pro minence is given to contrasts and correspondences with Indian geography in other parts of the globe.

The commercial aspects of geography have a considerable amount of space devoted to them throughout ; and to facilitate the use of this text-book as a Commercial Geography, the more important commodities, and especially those of most interest in India and Ceylon, are entered in the index in italics, with refer ences by name to the countries to which they belong. I am indebted to Mr. Nash, Registrar of the University of Cal cutta, and to Mr. M'Donald, Rector of the Scottish High Schools, Bombay, both of whom read the proofs of the section on India and Ceylon, for numerous corrections and suggestions ; but have to regret that Mr. M'Donald's notes reached me too late for me to be able to make full use of them. In the spelling of Indian names the second edition of Hunter's Imperial Gazetteer of India has been followed.

Other familiar spellings are occasionally inserted in parentheses. For permission to use the diagram on p. 29 I am indebted to the kindness of Professor Kirchhoff of the University of Halle, whose admirably compact Schulgeograpliie served in a large measure as my model for the English edition. GEO. G. CHISHOLM. London, July 1891.

PREFACE.

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 Hke the average height of plateaux. Towns containing 100,000 inhabitants or more are printed in capitals. The population of towns, when given at all, is stated in thousands in parentheses after the name of the town.

Thus, " CALCUTTA (including suburbs, 810)," means that Calcutta has in round numbers a population of 840,000. The population is given in parentheses for all towns in India mentioned in the text, which at the census of 1881 had more than 20,000 inhabitants. In most cases, however, the population is given in accordance with the preliminary returns of the census of 1891. In other countries the population of towns is not usually given unless it exceeds 200,000. For the sake of convenience a number of figures which are frequently referred to in the text in making rough comparisons are here enumerated. The area given for the Punjab is that of the British territory exclusive of native states, but it will be useful to bear in mind that the more compact area of the North-West Provinces and Oudh, including the native states, is about the same.

Square miles (round numbers). Area of the Punjab 111,000 „ „ Ceylon or Mysore 25,000 „ „ Coorg 1,600 ,, „ Great Britain (including small islands adjacent) 90,000 Per square mile Density of population of Southern Bengal, about . . 500 „ „ „ Southern Madras, „ . . 300 „ „ Haidarabad, „ . . 130 „ „ „ the Indian tableland generally, about . . . ]50 Height of the Indian tableland (Haidarabad) above sea-level, 1700-2000 feet. CONTENTS.

Introduction

. PAGE PAGE The Atmosphere . . .28 I. Mathematical Geography : 2 Form of the Earth . . 2 Movements of the Earth . 3 Rotation ... 3 Winds .... 28 The Ocean .... 32 Points of the Compass . 3 Latitude and Longitude 5 Revolution ... 7 Temperature . . .32 Movements of the Ocean : 32 Waves .... 32 Tides . . 33 The Seasons ... 8 Currents ... 34 II. PHTSICAL GEOGEAPHY : . 12 Land and Water ... 12 Marine Life ... 37 Climate 33 Changes and Agents of Change .... 13 Temperature and Rainfall 38 Effects of the Relations of Sea and Land . 39 Modelling of the Land . 13 Rivers .... 14 Effects of Marine Currents .... 40 Dissolving Action of Rain-water .... 17 Effects of Superficial Configuration . . 41 Springs .... 18 The Snow-line . . 42 Lukes .... 20 Glaciers .... 42 Geneial Result of the Action of Running Water 21 Marine Deposits . 21 Emergence of Marine Deposits .... 22 Icebergs and Ocean Ice . 44 Salubrity . . . .44 Vegetation and Animal Life 45 Man 47 Folding of Strata . . 23 Mountain-building . . 23 Earthquakes ... 23 Density of Population, &c. 47 The Growth and Position of Towns ... 48 Volcanoes .... 24 Plutonic Rocks ... 25 Underground Heat . . 26 Effect of Surface Inequalities on the Habitability of the Earth ... 26 Table showing the Area and Population of the great Land-masses ... 50 Map-drawing ... 52 b CONTENTS X POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY.

PAGE PAGE Asia : General ... 59 Central Europe (German Empire, Switzerland Austria) . . .223 I. Countries outside of the Monsoon Region . . 63 Siberia .... 63 Eastern Europe (Russia and Roumania) . . 235 Russian Central Asia . 66 Caucasia and Armenia . 67 Turkey in Asia . . 69 Arabia .... 74 Northern Europe (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) . 240 The Mediterranean Peninsula (Spain and Por tugal, Italy, Balkan Peninsula) . .243 Irania .... 76 Persia .... 77 Afghanistan and Baluchistan ... 78 Colonial and other Possessions of European Powers 258 II.

The Monsoon Countries and their Dependencies . . . .82 Africa : General . . . 259 African Countries . . 264 Egypt .... 264 India : General . . 82 Bengal . . .125 Independent Soudan . 267 Western Mediterranean Assam .... 130 North-West Provinces States . . . .267 and Oudh . .132 Punjab . . .135 From the Senegal to the Congo .... 268 Congo Free State . . 269 Portuguese Lower Guinea 270 British South Africa . 271 South African Republics. 273 East Africa . . . 274 African Islands . . 275 America : General . . 276 Rajputana . . . 139 Centr.J India . . 141 Central Provinces . 143 Berar .... 145 Haidarabad . . .146 Mysore and Coorg . 148 Bombay Presidency . 150 Madras Presidency . 155 Nepfi.1 and Bhutan . . 160 Ceylon . . . .160 North America : General . 277 North American Countries . 279 Indo-China . . .162 Greenland . . . 279 Burma . . . 163 British North America . 280 Siam . . . .168 A. Dominion of Canada 280 Eastern Archipelago . 170 China .... 173 B. Newfoundland . 284 C. Bermudas . . 284 Korea . . . .179 United States . . .284 Central Asia . . .179 Mexico .... 292 Japan .... 181 Central America . . 294 West Indies . . . 294 Europe: General . . .184 South America : General . 296 The British Isles . .191 Great Britain . . .202 South American States . 300 Ireland . . . .213 Brazil .... 300 The Mainland of Europe . 214 Colonial Guiana . . 301 Western Europe (France, Belgium, Holland) . 214 Venezuela . .301 Colombia . . . 301 CONTENTS XI PACK PAGE Ecuador .... 30*2 Australia and Oceania . 307 Peru . . . .303 Australia .... 307 Bolivia . . . .304 The Australasian Colonies . 312 The Australasian Islands . 315 Chile . . . .304 Argentine Republic . 305 Uruguay .... 306 New Guinea . . .315 Melanesia . . .317 Paraguay . . 306 Polynesia .... 317 Falkland Islands . . 306 Antarctic Regions . . 319