moisture of the ocean from the south-west on to India and from the south-east on to China; the west winds from the Atlantic bring rain at all seasons upon Europe, and in the winter time upon the Mediterranean. Both coastlands are therefore rich with tillage, and for that reason nourish their great populations. Thus Europe and the Indies are the regions of the ploughmen and shipmen; whereas the Northern Heartland, Arabia, and the Southern Heartland have for the most part been unploughed, and are inaccessible to sea-going ships. On the other hand, they are naturally adapted to the mobility of horsemen and camel-men, with their herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. Even on the savannahs of Tropical Africa, where horses and camels are absent, the wealth of the natives is chiefly of cattle and sheep. These are of course broad generalisations, with many local exceptions; they are none the less truly and sufficiently descriptive of immense geographical realities.[1]
- ↑ Realities, that is to say, that have conditioned History, and have thus led to the present distribution of population and civilisation. These same realities have to-day begun to take on new aspects, owing to the higher organisation of food production on the richer grasslands.
