The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1866-06-19
COMPARATIVE GEOGRAPHY.
Letts frona Hon. ID L. .S,cain to a friend in
Georgia.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA,

UNIVERSITY OF North CAROLINA,
Chapel Hill, May II, 1866.
M Dear Sir Your letter of the ninth was
received yesterday. recognize in the name OF
Tue iion' -, member of the junior class
'n thls institution in the autumn of 1885, the
classulate and successful competitor for collie
gate distlLctlon, among others, of the late w On.
W. Avery, and Perrin Busbee They, like
your friend, achieved early celebrity, with the
promise vi greater eminence, If it had pleased
Providence to grant longer lease of lite Mr.
Busbee died in August, 1858. Mr. Avery was
a member Of the first Confederate Congress
He fell mortally wounded in a confct with
k,rks raiders, iu the ueig borhood of Morgan
town, on the twenty -nibth OF June, 1864
Though | have no personal acquaintance with
the gentleman at whose instance YOU addressed
me, AIN familiar with his history, and most
cheertully recognize the claim which, his resi-
dence here and association with you cunters, to
all the aid / Can render in the prosecution of
| his researches.
| have never published anything on tie sub.
ject to which you call my attention, and in re-.
iatlon to the Information you desire, as to the
best method ofteaching geography, cannot hope
10 do nore in the compass of ordinary com
munication than to review the remembrance Of
the out!,ues OF the course of instruction to which
you refer, and in relat ion to which have neith-
er published nor written a lecture much less a
book, as YOU seem to suppose. | have confined
myself to oral ins tructlou.
Aulong the ideas that mock the grasp of the
human understanding, are those of unlimited
time aud unbounded space. The flute caunot
comprehend the Infinite. When we are told
hat the sun, the centre of our system, Is dis
tant from our planet ninety FIVE millions of miles
and that cannon ball flying at the rate OF four
huudred miles an hour, from the nearest of the
! liked stars, would not reach us in five hundred
aud seventy thousand years, we feel the utter
Inability of the most powerful understanding to
grapple with the conception even OF computed
time and measured space
We are taught 10 childhood that the earth is
sphere nearly eight thousand miles in diam
eter. and twenty five thousand miles in circnm =
ference, that the of its surface is equal in
round numbers to two hundred millions Of
square miles, one-fonrth Of which is land aud
three tourths water. What distinct definite
ideas do acquire from these details, which
burden and cucumber the memory for tune
but which in most instances forgotten
or inaccurately y retained?s
Is there no method by which we may gain
tangible ideas of the comparative extent of the
surface Of the earth, aud that portion of it which
we call our country? | have endeavored tor
solae years to impart useful information to the
younger classes in the University, by resorting
to a systematic scale of COMPARISONS, to which
| have annexed the name Of com mparatve geoS-
raphy:
The area of the State of North Carolina, for
example, is, in round numbers. fifty thousand
square miles Some of my pupils, like myself,
have traversed it from the eastern to the west
ern, from the northern to the southern border,
and the most of them have such a knowledge of
its surface as to be able to form conceptions
more or less satisfactory of it's extent. May no;
these conceptions be impressed more distinctly,
vividly and durably, upon the mind and memo
ry, by regarding North Carolina as the unit in
system OF geographical computations and c"u'-
parsons? AS Greenwich marks longitude for
the world, England, if preferred, may be adopt
cd as the STANDARD for universal computation
aud comparison.
The area of North Carolina and of England
(dvested of the principally of Wales) is fifty
thousand square miles; of the United States aud
British America, three millions The thirteen
States hch formed the American Union com
prised million; the purchase of Louisiana iE
1903. added second million; and the subse-
qucnt acquisition of Florida, Texas, California,
and New Mexico, a third million of square
miles to our domain.
To reca pituIaie, at the organization Of our
government in 1889, cur territory was million
of square miles, or f[tieth; after the purchase
Of Louisiana, two millions, or a twentyyffh;
and at the ratification of the treaty Of Guada-
loupe IIidalgo three millions, or about seven
teenh Of the globe.
North Carolina was equal at the first era to a
fuentieth, at the second to to'hrth, aud at
present TO sirtieh of the Union. Or, to state
the facts 10 more general terms, the globe might
be divided into a thousand States of equal ex-
tent with North Caruira iuto serenteen em-
pircs as large as the United ates and the
Union into sirty States of equal area with
North Carolina
North Carolina, Virginia. West Virginia. and
Maryland have an area of l22.474; England,
ScotIond, Ireland and the contiguous isles, l22.-
55l square miles: Virginia, North and South
Carolina, about III 900.
The peninsula of Italy, according to Liddel,
(Hist of Rome, p lis about 1000 square
miles. or an area nearly equal TO the surface OF
Great Britain and ireland" Z" Italy, the Papal
States, aud the little Republic Of San Marind,
are computed by Cotton at lO3,OS
North Carolina is equal iu extent to the half
of Italy, the ancient mistress of the world, and
! North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia,
to England, tie most powerful empire the world
has ever known.
| AS compared with TIE other great powers Of
Europe, she is equal to the h"lf of Prussia, the
fourth of France the ffth Of Austria, and the
fortieh of European Russia. She extends over
an area equal to the seUenfieth of Europe.
Palestine, the most ancient and interesting OF
historical nations, in confguration similar to
New Hampshire, is in extent about the same