subject, it is not with irreverent wonder; but rather because it affords us an opportunity to remind the earnest student and laborer in the field of pure science the searcher after truth for truth's sake-how mysteriously all parts of human learning and thought are linked together, and to teach him to trust that, even in this world, the faithful servants will find their reckoning.

Let us now look at a science which exhibits another mode and degree of advancement-the science of Physical Geography-the very title of which is only lately introduced into our catalogue. A few years since, all the knowledge coming under this head was included in Geography and Geology. But the researches and discoveries of Humboldt, Ritter, Steffens, and Guyot, added such vast stores to the former scanty collection, that it was necessary to create a new department in which they could be suitably arranged. Nothing affords so striking an indication of progressive improvement as these subdivisions of science. The building becomes too small to contain the accumulating riches of knowledge, and wings must be added.

The term "Physical Geography," in its most extended meaning, is made to comprehend a vast variety of subjects, belonging of course to the physical condition and structure of our globe, but touching, in one extreme, upon the relations it holds to other bodies in space, and, in the other, upon the races of man by which it is peopled.

A writer upon Physical Geography fifteen years ago, would have found it difficult to compile a work of respectable dimensions, unless he had been allowed to enter very far into the domains of Geology and Natural History. He would have included in his plan some account of the structure of the earth, and of the disposition of the materials composing its crust, and also a brief view of the distribution of animal life on its surface.

If we were to take our idea of the sphere and extent of the science of Physical Geography from the admirable compilation of Mrs. Somerville, we should say that in a general way it might include every thing in art, in nature, and in the natural sciences. the other hand, Mr. Hamilton, the President of the Royal Geographical Society, says:-"By Physical Geography, I

On

mean every thing relating to the form and configuration of the earth's surface, as it issues from the hand of Nature, or as it is modified by the combined effects of time and weather and atmospheric influences;" leaving out art and man. Count Annibale Ramuzzi, in a work published at Bologna, in 1840, (we are quoting from an essay of Mr. Hamilton) divides geography into two branchespure and statistical geography; the former professes to describe the result of physical force-the latter, the effects of moral force.

But if we follow the latest and best authority on this subject, we shall find that Guyot, in the revised edition of that most instructive and enchanting work, "The Earth and Man," after the example of Humboldt, Ritter, and Steffens, defines Physical Geography to be "not only the description of our earth, but the physical science of the globeor the science of the general phenomena of the present life of the globe, in reference to their connection and their mutual dependence." Nothing, perhaps, could have been said which would give a more lively idea of the uncertain limits of this science, and of its state of rapid development, than this variety of definitions. We shall adhere to the last-not only because it proceeds from the highest authority, and is satisfactorily sustained in the work just mentioned, but because it is entirely borne out by Maury's treatises; which, if they had been wholly confined to facts of observation, and strict deductions from them, unmixed with speculations, might have been distinguished by this definition as a title.

Having now come to these treatises, composing the "Physical Geography of the Sea," which is our present subject, let us, in the beginning, say a few words as to the origin and conduct of that system of research which has led to such rich acquisitions, and has produced such extraordinary results in the practical world of business, as well as in what practical people love to call the speculative world of science.

It has always been the custom for sea-going ships to keep a record of the occurrences, facts, and appearances of their voyages, in a succinct and abbreviated, but perfectly clear, systematic, and intelligible form, called a log-book. The occurrences and facts recorded are those connected with the sailing and

The

navigation of the ship, and the appearances are the principal phenomena of the atmosphere and of the sea. record is kept by the most responsible officers of the ship, and is closely inspected by the captain. The manner of keeping it is such that it must be copied at the close of every day, and it undergoes revision while the events and phenomena it registers are still fresh in the memory of the officers. Thus, it will be seen, that a ship's log-book has great claims to confidence on account of the intelligence of the observers, and the care bestowed upon it. These

claims are still further strengthened, by the great value attached to the log-book as the only authentic narrative of the events of a voyage recognized in law. This circumstance, as may readily be imagined, increases the pains and the responsibility, so that, if the facts and phenomena recorded in the log-book should ever have any use, they may be relied on as strictly accurate.

When the voyage terminated, the log-book was put away, (we speak now of past times) in a safe place, and very rarely was there occasion to disturb its repose. From the shelf it passed to the garret, where it was soon covered with dust and oblivion. Its author, still employed in collecting the materials of other log-books, would, during the period of his active life, forget his former silent companion. It would

never again see the light of day, except when called forth from its obscure retreat to revive the recollections of the past. We can imagine the gray-haired seaman pondering over the records of his youthful voyages, closing with a heavy sigh the pages which bring back the scenes of his fresh and early life, and exclaiming, in that language which with its tender iteration touches the very heart of our melancholy, as memory searches after vanished hours and joys of other days

"Eheu fugaces Postume, Postume,
Labuntur anni."

But, beyond this gentle office, the old log-book had no worth. It was a picture of life, to be sure, but so dull and unchanging, so without light and shade, without atmosphere and perspective, that no one could desire to look at it. There was no individuality in it; and therefore the old log-book, when it had survived its generation, became mouldy

and offensive, and, suffering the lustration of fire, went where "there is no remembrance of former things."

It is reckoned as conspicuous among the many triumphs of modern art, that it has, in various ways, brought into beneficial use substances which, till now, had been regarded as worthless. Thus it furnishes the means of support for the laborious, and of wealth for the enterprising, out of that which ignorance formerly condemned as of no value.

An invention which brings out such a result, is in art what Maury's discovery of the utility of old log-books is in science; but the latter has all that superiority over the former which science has over art-that is, which general knowledge, comprising a large body of truths and principles, has over particular knowledge employed to effect some one special object.

But the general reader will ask, What these log-books contained which Maury found so serviceable and so prolific, but the value of which others had failed to perceive? They contained very full and accurate notes of the state of the wind and weather, during all seasons of the year, in all parts of the navigable seas. The also contained frequent observations of the currents of the ocean, of the temperature of the water and air, and of the barometer pressures. And further, there were to be found in them occasional observations of remarkable occurrences, such as "red fogs," and "sea-dust," and in the log-books of whale-ships information concerning the habitat of the various species of the whale. Now a single one of these manuscript journals had in itself no interest; the owner or ship-master was not, therefore, much out of the way in his estimation of its value. A single sea-journal was like an isolated astronomical observation, in which there is no meaning beyond itself. But when all these log-books were combined, they resembled a volume of astronomical observations, in which the appearances of the heavenly bodies are registered so often, and in so many different parts of the heavens, as to afford the means of determining the laws of their real or apparent motion.

This combination, which was "to collect the experience of every navigator as to the winds and currents of the ocean, and then to present the world with the results, on charts, for the improvement

of commerce and navigation," was the happy conception of Maury's genius. In order to form a correct judgment of the moment and significancy of this conception, we must consider that its effect was as if Maury had, by a strokə of magic, (genius is not unlike magic in its operations,) distributed in every frequented part of the high seas, an army of ten thousand intelligent friends, who were to collect for him the information he wanted. In executing his wishes, they were to be regardless of danger or suffering. They were to encounter the extremes of heat and cold, the rage of the southern capes, the blighting fervor of the tropics, the water-spouts and the "sulphurous and thought-executing fires" of the Gulf-stream, the obstinate monsoon, the dangerous gale and the tedious calm. And on their return they were to lay the results before him in a brief and intelligible form.

Or let us endeavor to estimate the importance of this conception, by considering how many life-times would be employed in collecting the required facts, if it were to be begun now. And in this view, let us look at the state of meteorological investigations on the land. The science of meteorology has, of late years, made very great advances; and there is, probably, no branch of knowledge which commands more attention and effort. But the principal pains and expense are at present bestowed upon making a collection of observations, more perfect, indeed, but similar to those which Maury found ready for use in the old, condemned log-books. These observations are the precursory and preparatory means, the fundamental basis, of further improvement. By the aid of these considerations, we may measure the consequence of the original conception.

The particular objects in view are thus stated in Maury's own language:

"By putting down on a chart the tracks of many vessels on the same voyage, but at different times, in different years, and during all seasons, and by projecting along each track the winds and currents daily encountered, it was plain that navigators hereafter, by consulting this chart, would have for their guide the results of the combined experience of all whose tracks were thus pointed out."

We have here the amplification of the original conception; let us pass from that to the execution of the plan. The plan was, to present the results on charts for the improvement of commerce

and navigation. These results included the geographical position of the ship, without which the numerous observations would be of no value. In tracing the course of a single voyage, on a nautical chart, it is customary to mark down the ship's place for every day at noon, and to join the places by a line which is called the ship's track. If the usual way had been adopted in this case, only a few tracks, comparatively, could have been put down. The paper would soon have become an inextricabie labyrinth, perplexing and unintelligible even to the person by whom it was plotted. It was requisite, then, to devise some other procedure. A system, composed of symbols and colors, was invented.

"The symbols devised with this view were a comet's tail for the wind, an arrow for currents, Arabic numerals for the temperature of the sea, Roman for the variation of the needle, continuous, broken, and dotted lines for the month, and colors for the four seasons.

"A continuous line was used to show that the track was made during the first month; a broken, the second; and a dotted line, the last month of each season: black standing for the winter, green for spring, red for summer, and blue for autumn.

"The comet's tail, and the arrow, and the numerals, were also in colors, according to the seasons. The force and direction of the wind were indicated by the shape and position of this tail; while the flight and length of the arrows designated the velocity and set of the currents."

Having touched upon the conception and the execution of the plan, let us now proceed to a hasty enumeration of the principal results of its fulfillment, not forgetting to give a passing thought to the great labor involved in the selection and disposition of the materials, and to the transfer of them to the prepared projections.

One of the most prominent of the results has already been alluded to; the advantages conferred on every navigator by communicating to him at once the combined experience of all other navigators. "The young ship-master, with these charts before him, would be immediately lifted up, and placed on a footing with the oldest sea-captains." The knowledge gathered by the oldest mariner, while patiently watching through the long and weary nights, and which had hitherto only been serviceable to himself, now became the property and the good of all. It would be impossible to overstate the benefits derived from this abundant source. They were

the greater, because the observations and experience, thus communicated, extended over the broad oceans, and were not limited to the sea-coasts. Properly to appreciate this, it must be remembered that, when Maury first entered upon his fruitful investigation, no such work was known. The most valuable practical instructions and information in the hands of the navigator were contained in books of Sailing Directions and of Navigation. The Sailing Directions were limited to shores and harbors, if we except the ponderous (both in weight and merit) Directory of Horsburgh. But even Horsburgh, though he conducts the seaman across the great oceans, restricts his directions to certain fixed paths and regions of the sea, and to the coasts and harbors included in the plan of his work. Moreover, he tells us very candidly in his Introduction, "that the temperature of the sea is a phenomenon hitherto but little investigated, although," as he very justly adds, "it appears to be closely connected with the improvement of navigation." The information contained in books of navigation, concerning any subject but navigation itself, is too meagre, or else too general, to require mention.

But, however much importance may be attached to this sudden accession to the general knowledge of the individual seaman, the discoveries and generalizations of the author of the new charts proved even more beneficial. Standing over his manuscript sheets, on which were inscribed in symbolic language the vast array of facts and observations, numerous, but distinct, intricate, but not confused-to the eye of the careless looker-on, a mixed assemblage of colors and signs, "in mazes running," without method or meaning-to the mind that ordered them, an intelligible language embodying important truths and significations, Maury drew such inferences and information as led him to alter the principal routes across the ocean.

"The great end and aim of all this labor and research are in these, and consist in the shortening of passages-the improvement of navi gation. Other interests and other objects are promoted thereby, but these, in the mind of a practical people, who, by their habits of thought and modes of action, mark the age in which we live as eminently utilitarian, do not stand out in relief half so grand and imposing as do those achievements by which the distant

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isles and marts of the sea have been lifted up, as it were, and brought closer together, for the convenience of commerce, by many days' sail.

"We have been told in the foregoing pages how the winds blow and the currents flow in all parts of the ocean. These control the mariner in his course; and to know how to steer his ship on this or that voyage so as always to make the most of them, is the perfection of navigation. The figures representing the vessels are so marked as to show whether the prevailing direction of the wind be adverse or fair.

"When one looks seaward from the shore, and sees a ship disappear in the horizon as she gains an offing on a voyage to India, or the Antipodes, perhaps, the common idea is that she is bound over a trackless waste, and the chances of another ship, sailing with the same destination the next day, or the next week, coming up and speaking with her on the 'pathless ocean,' would, to most minds, seem slender, indeed. Yet the truth is, the winds and the currents are now becoming to be so well understood, that the navigator, like the backwoodsman in the wilderness, is enabled literally 'to blaze his way' across the ocean; not, indeed, upon trees, as in the wilderness, but upon the wings of the wind. The results of scientific inquiry have so taught him how to use these invisible couriers, that they, with the calm belts of the air, serve as sign-boards to indicate to him the turnings, and forks, and crossings by the way."

Let us cite a few examples of the actual gain effected. The passage from our northern ports, to the equator alone, was shortened ten days, or more than one-third of its duration. Previous to Maury's undertaking, the average passage to California was one hundred and eighty-three days; that average is now reduced to one hundred and thirty-five days-that is, it has been lessened by forty-eight days, or twice the time of the average passage of a common sailing ship across the Atlantic. Between England and Australia, the average duration of a passage was formerly one hundred and twenty-four days: it is now ascertained that the average time of the outward passage is reduced, by means of the new charts, to ninetyseven days; that is, it is reduced by more than the time of a common voyage across the Atlantic.

To the merchant seaman, time is money; the unnecessary delays suffered in passing from the port of loading to that of delivery, where his merchandise is to reënter the channels of trade, are so many drawbacks to his profits. To shorten the passages of merchant ships, is, therefore, to increase their business and to multiply their means. But on

this point we will quote the high authority of the President of the British Association, (the Earl of Harrowby,) in his inaugural address, delivered at the twenty-fourth annual meeting.

"Now let us make a calculation of the annual saving to the commerce of the United States effected by those charts and sailing directions. According to Mr. Maury, the average freight from the United States to Rio Janeiro is 17-7 cents per ton per day; to Australia, 20 cents; to California, also, about 20 cents. The mean of this is a little over 19 cents per ton per day; but, to be within the mark, we will take it at 15, and include all the ports of South America, China, and the East Indies.

"The sailing directions have shortened the passages to California 30 days, to Australia 20, to Rio Janeiro 10. The mean of this is 20, but we will take it at 15, and also include the above named ports of South America, China, and the East Indies.

"We estimate the tonnage of the United States engaged in trade with these places at 1,000,000 tons per annum.

"With these data, we see that there has been effected a saving for each one of these tons of 15 cents per day for a period of 15 days, which will give an aggregate of $2,250,000 saved per annum. This is on the outward voyage alone, and the tonnage trading with all other parts of the world is also left out of the calculation. Take these into consideration, and also the fact that there is a vast amount of foreign tonnage trading between these places and the United States, and it will be seen that the annual sum saved will swell to an enormous amount."

We add another statement from Dr. Buist, of Edinburgh:

"It has been shown that Lieutenant Maury's Charts and Sailing Directions have shortened the voyages of American ships by about a third. If the voyages of those to and from India were shortened by no more than a tenth, it would secure a saving in freightage alone of £250,000 annually. Estimating the freights of vessels trading from Europe with distant ports at £20,000,000 a year, a saving of a tenth would be about £2,000,000.

But the saving to result from the active and combined prosecution of Maury's plan will amount, on the average, to three-tenths, that is, to at least $30,000,000 a year. In these estimates, no account is taken of the amount saved by the greater security given to navigation, and by the decrease in the wear and tear of ships.

Such are the immediate benefits resulting from this new system of research. But the future benefits must be greater -we might say infinitely greater-than those hitherto reaped. A general plan of observations at sea has been carefully matured, and has been adopted by the most active and intelligent of our seacaptains. It consists of an abstract journal of the voyage, and comprises all

the observations and notes, which will tend to improve our knowledge of the deep and its wonders. But still further, the Government of the United States, at the suggestion of Maury, invited the other commercial nations of the world to unite with it in this enterprise, and proposed for this purpose a conference on the subject.

"This conference, consisting of representatives from France, England and Russia, from Sweden and Norway, Holland, Denmark, Belgium, Portugal, and the United States, met in Brussels, August 23, 1853, and recom. mended a plan of observations which should be followed on board the vessels of all friendly nations, and especially of those there present, in the persons of their representatives.

"Prussia, Spain, the free city of Hamburg, the republics of Bremen and Chili, and the empires of Austria and Brazil, have since offered their co-operation also in the same plan.

"Thus the sea has been brought regularly within the domains of philosophical research, and crowded with observers.

"In peace and in war these observations are to be carried on; and, in case any of the vessels on board of which they are conducted may be captured, the abstract log-as the journal which contains these observations is called-is to be held sacred.

"Baron Humboldt is of opinion that the results already obtained from this system of research are sufficient to give rise to a new department of science, which he has called the PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE SEA. If so much have already been accomplished by one nation, what may we not expect in the course of a few years, from the joint co-operation of so many?

Rarely before has there been such a sublime spectacle presented to the scientific world: all nations agreeing to unite and co-operate in carrying out one system of philosophical research with regard to the sea. Though they may be enemies in all else, here they are to be friends. Every ship that navigates the high seas with these charts and blank abstract logs on board may henceforth be regarded as a floating observatory, a temple of science. The instruments used by every co-operating vessel are to be compared with standards that are common to all; so that an observation that is made anywhere, and in any ship, may be referred to and compared with all similar observations, by all other ships, in all other parts of the world."

Another passage must be cited in connection with this, because it forms an apt conclusion to the views we have taken of the practical results, the "first fruits" of the new system of scientific researches, instituted by the author of the "Wind and Current Charts."

"As great as is the value attached to what has been accomplished by these researches in the way of shortening passages and lessening the dangers of the sea, a good of higher value is, in the opinion of many seamen, yet to come out of the moral, the educational, influence