The Penn's Grove record., 1896-10-09
N LITTLE KNOWN.

Many Parts OF the Globe Are fee Terra
Incoxnita to the Civilized Man
1t Is the very general supposition that
there Is very little of the world We live
on that has not been explored by geog-
raphers, and that the very little that
yet remains to investigate Is on the AT.
rlcan continent. And yet the fact 10
that about 100000 square miles of
this earth's surface is yet a terra incog-
nita, one-tenth Of which Is on Dur own
continents Of North and South Amer
lea.
The Cosmos, published in Paris. has
an article on this subject which gives
q synopsis Of an address by Mr.. Lobby
before the London geographical con-
gress last month, that brings out this
interesting question very clearly.
Mr.. Lobby reminds US that, in the
arst place, toward the middle Of the
sixteenth century all seas had been
travcrsed by navigators, and that If the
maps Of the continents were not yet
very exact at least their relative posi-
lions and their general CONFORMATION
were known. Australia itself appears
on a French map Of 1912 under the
name of Great Java. In the course of
the sixty years included in the last de-
cade of the fifteenth century and the
first half Of the sixteenth a group Of
navigators had advanced geographic
knowledge in q degree that has never
been reached In any other period SO
/ short. Sebastian d'Elano had made his
first voyage around the world; Vasco
De CANA had doubled the Cape of
Good Hope; Christopher Columbus had
added the two Americas to the map;
the voyages Of Cabot and Magellan had
completed this wonderful list Of new
discoveries.
To-day, outside Of the polar regions,
we must confess that all the seas have
been explored, but this Is far from be-
ing the case with the land. An i'm
mense extent Is entirely unknowA to
US: another, still more considerable,
has been only imperfectly explored;
travellers have Travelled 1t, commerce
has exploited some Of Its products, but
good maps OF 1t do not exist. Finally,
only the least part Ia well known; geo.
desy has covered 1t with a network of
triangles, and the maps Of 1t are com
plete even from q typographical stand
point.
After the two polar regions, which
have remained inaccessible. Africa Ia
the part Of the world Of which we have
the least information. Notwithstand-
ing the general scramble among Euro
pean nations to divide up and possess
the land, they have only a vague idea
Of what the continent contains, over
$500. 900 square miles being yet unex-
plored.
After Africa, Australia offers the
vastest field to the investigation OF ex-
plorers; wo must remember that even
It's seacoast was mot fully explored till
1s43. Since that time, At the price OF
great suffering, It has been crossed
from south to north, but NO traveller has
yet trayersed It from east to west,
While the North American continent
has been very well explored. the whole
central region Of the southern CONT.
lent has not been mapped with any
degree Of accuracy. Some portions of
It have been roamed Y e by men hunt
ing for wood. mines and articles of COM
merce, but very little is known Of the
interior Of the continent.
To sum up, the yet unexplered parta
Of the globe an area OF about 3d.
BOO, 600 square kilometers about 10000.
900 square miles,, approximately divid-
cd thua: