Geography
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Geography. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a description of the earth's surface. The position of the earth in the universe and its relation to the other heavenly bodies fall within the province of astronomy. The make-up of the earth and its history before it became fit for the habitation of man belong to geology. The study of the surface, particularly the study of the earth as a home, constitutes the subject of geography. Indeed, Arnold Guyot, the eminent geographer, named his monumental work Earth and Man. The ancients were acquainted with but a small portion of the earth's surface. To Strabo, a learned Greek, resident in Rome, we owe a geographical work in seventeen books, virtually a geographical cyclopedia, in which the world's knowledge of geography at the time of the birth of Christ is given in systematic form. In Strabo's geography the size and shape of the earth are given correctly, but the land mass is confined to the Mediterranean countries and southern Asia as far as the mouth of the Ganges. Around this territory, which on maps has somewhat the form of an oval about twice as long as it is wide, lay the all encircling ocean into which not only the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, but the Caspian as well, are represented as opening. What to the ancients seemed vast regions of this single small land mass are denoted on maps of that time as inhabited by Hyperboreans and other little known or imaginary people beyond the pale of civilization. The enlargement of geographical knowledge has been brought about in various ways. One of the earliest, most persistent, and effective motives is the search for wealth, the love of gainful trade. Far back in the mythological age the Greek Jason and his companions are reputed to have sailed eastward in search of the Golden Fleece . The Phoenicians are known to have visited Cornwall in search of tin, and are believed to have bartered for amber on the shores of the Baltic. Motives of conquest and commercial supremacy led Alexander to penetrate the plains of the Indus. The invention of the compass converted boatmen into sailors. Commercial enterprise led to the discovery of the New World and to the circumnavigation of the globe. Missionaries and merchants share in the honor of contributing to geographical knowledge. The mixed love of adventure, desire for gold, and thirst for glory that led Cortez, Pizarro, and De Soto, shaded off in later times into the spirit of scientific discovery that animated Mungo Park, Cook, Speke, Livingstone, Stanley, Humboldt, and Lewis and Clark. The history of Arctic discovery is a chapter in itself. The body of geographical knowledge is now so great that it is divided into several subjects. At least four distinct branches are recognized: 1. Mathematical geography. This division includes the form, size, position, and motions of the earth, as well as the entire subject of map, globe, and chart making. 2. Physical geography. Under this head are included land, water, and air. Land masses, bodies of water, currents, winds, moisture, temperature, and, in general, the working of physical forces belong here. 3. Political geography. This is the ordinary geography of the school, dealing with countries, nations, and the industries by means of which man makes a living. 4. Commercial geography. The study of this branch includes not only the production of articles of commerce, but routes of travel and the trade of the world. See articles on the noted geographical writers, as PTOLEMY, PLINY, MERCATOR, HUMBOLDT, GUYOT; travelers and discovers, as MARCO POLO, COLUMBUS, VASCO DA GAMA, MAGELLAN, DRAKE, COOK, LIVINGSTONE, STANLEY, FRANKLIN, ROSS; COPERNICUS; GALILEO; EARTH; SUN; MOON; SATELLITES; SEASONS; OCEAN; WATER; AIR; GEYSER; VOLCANO; EARTHQUAKE; ICEBERG; GLACIER; DESERT; DELTA; DUST; TIDE; ISLAND; CLIMATE; ARTESIAN WELLS ; CAVERN; WINDS; GEMS; important rivers, as the GANGES, NILE, DANUBE, AMAZON, MISSISSIPPI, RHINE; mountains, as AETNA, EVEREST, PYRENEES; lakes, as SUPERIOR, CASPIAN; large cities, as LONDON, NEW YORK , TOKIO, PARIS; important productions, as WHEAT, SILK, COFFEE, BANANA; the chief minerals, as IRON, LEAD, SILVER, GOLD; building stones and rocks, soils, etc., as GRANITE, LIMESTONE, CLAY, SAND, LAVA; important plants as the OAK, BAMBOO, PALM, etc.; animals, as LION, TIGER, CROCODILE, BUFFALO, SEAL, WHALE, HERRING, DOGFISH, etc. A separate article may be consulted for each country.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a delineation or description of the earth as it at present is, leaving it to geology to investigate how it came into its present condition. It may be divided into three distinct sciences, mathematical or astronomical, physical, and political geography. Mathematical geography views the earth as a planet; it investigates its relations to the sun, the moon and other bodies belonging to the solar system. It gives attention to the angle at which its axis is inclined to the ecliptic, the position of the arctic and antarctic circles and the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the parallels of latitude, and the meridians of longitude. Physical geography treats of the present distribution of sea and land, the currents of the oceans, the climates of the several continents and islands. With regard to the land, it commences by indicating the position of the mountain chains and table lands, thus fixing the positions of the great rivers, to which attention is next turned. Then the position of the alluvial plains, the deserts, etc., is pointed out; the distribution of the plants over the surface of the earth, often called botanical geography, follows next; then that of the animals; and finally that of the several races of mankind. This branch of the science approaches those of geology, hydrology, meteorology, botany, zoölogy, and ethnology or anthropology. Finally, there follows political geography; which treats of the present distribution of political power over the world, the position and resources of the several empires, kingdoms, republics, etc. History. Eratosthenes, b. c. 240, was one of the earliest ancient geographers of eminence; but the greatest names in this department were Strabo-who lived during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius-and Ptolemy, who flourished about A. D. 139. The discovery of the' GEOK TEPE passage round the Cape of Good Hope and that of America in the 16th century gave a great impulse to its modern advance. In the United States geographical science has been carefully fostered by the government, a board being appointed to supervise all practical work and to insure uniformity of nomenclature. Under the patronage of several of the earlier presidents, there was great activity in geographical research and exploration of the vast domain which lay to the W. of the then settled portions of the country. The most notable of these early expeditions was that undertaken by authority of President Jefferson, the leaders of the enterprise being Gen. Meriwether Lewis and Gen. William Clark (afterward governor of the territory of Louisiana). This attempt bore fruit in the settlement of the great Mississippi basin to the N. W., and it was supplemented a few years after by the expedition under Lieut. (afterward Gen.) John C. Frémont. The great apostle of the United States Coast Survey was Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler, who was invited to the United States by President Tyler. A geographical congress was held at Paris in 1875, and at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago.