hat they have had upon
man's progress.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Although many books deal with the physical features of the Western
Hemisphere and many others with the Indians, few deal with the two in
relation to one another. One book, however, stands out preeminent in
this respect, namely, Edward John Payne's "History of the New World
Called America," 2 vols. (1892-99). This book, which has never been
finished, attempts to explain the conditions of life among the American
aborigines as the result of geographical conditions, especially of the
food supply. Where the author carries this attempt into the field of
special customs and religious rites, he goes too far. Nevertheless his
work is uncommonly stimulating and deserves the careful attention of the
reader who would gain a broad grasp of the relation of geography to the
history of the New World.

Two other good books which deal with the relation of geography to
American history are Miss Ellen C. Semple's "American History and
its Geographical Conditions" (1903) and A. P. Brigham's "Geographic
Influences in American History" (1903). Both of these books interpret
geography as if it included little except the form of the land. While
they bring out clearly the effect of mountain barriers, indented coasts,
and easy routes whether by land or water, they scarcely touch on the
more subtle relationships between man on the one hand and the climate,
plants, and animals which form the dominant features of his physical
environment on the other hand.

In their emphasis on the form of the land both Semple and Brigham follow
the lead of W. M. Davis. In his admirable articles on America and the
United States in "The Encyclopaedia Britannica" (11th edition) and in
The International Geography edited by H. R. Mill (1901), Davis has given
an uncommonly clear and vivid description of the main physical features
of the New World. Living beings, however, play little part in this
description, so that the reader is not led to an understanding of how
physical geography affects human actions.

Other good descriptions of the North American continent are found in
the following books: I. C. Russell's "North America" (1904), Stanford's
"Compendium of Modern Geography and Travel," including the volumes on
Canada, the United States, and Central America, and the great volumes
on America in "The Earth and its Inhabitants" by Elise Reclus, 19 vols.
(1876-1894). Russell's book is largely physiogr