Ross, W. Gillies

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Érudit est un consortium interuniversitaire sans but lucratif composé de l'Université de Montréal, l'Université Laval et l'Université du Québec àMontréal. Il a pour mission la promotion et la valorisation de la recherche. Érudit offre des services d'édition numérique de documentsscientifiques depuis 1998.Pour communiquer avec les responsables d'Érudit : info@erudit.org Compte rendu Ouvrage recensé : Ganong, W.F. Crucial Maps in the Early Cartography and Place-Nomenclature of the Atlantic Coastof Canada. University of Toronto Press in co-operation with the Royal Society of Canada, Toronto,1963, 511 pages, 121 figures, map commentary and notes, index.  par W. Gillies RossCahiers de géographie du Québec, vol. 10, n° 20, 1966, p. 371-372.   Pour citer ce compte rendu, utiliser l'adresse suivante : URI: http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/020655arDOI: 10.7202/020655arNote : les règles d'écriture des références bibliographiques peuvent varier selon les différents domaines du savoir.Ce document est protégé par la loi sur le droit d'auteur. L'utilisation des services d'Érudit (y compris la reproduction) est assujettie à sa politiqued'utilisation que vous pouvez consulter à l'URI https://apropos.erudit.org/fr/usagers/politique-dutilisation/Document téléchargé le 10 février 2017 02:01NOTICES SIGNALËTIOUES TOPONYMIE GANONG, W. F. Crucial Maps in the Early Cartography and Place-Nomenclature of the Atlantic Coast of Canada. University of Toronto Press in co-operation with the Royal Society of Canada, Toronto, 1963, 511 pages, 121 figures, map commen-tary and notes, index. The publication in 1965 of the x v t h century Vinland map and James Cook's x v m t h century charts of the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts may stimulate interest in the historical cartography of Canada's Atlantic coast. Ganong's book is another important contribution to this field. It appeared, admittedly, with somewhat Iess public interest than the Vinland map, but this only underlines the différence between them, the one an exciting discovery of a pre-Columbian map, and the other a detailed analysis of early type maps whose existence has been kaown for some time. As Ganong's book consists of a séries of nine papers published in the Transactions oj the Royal Society of Canada from 1930 to 1939, it lacks the appeal of newness. But thèse papers hâve long been recognized as a corner stone in the knowledge of the x v i t h century cartography of the région. Added to the convenience of having the séries of papers now in one volume are the added advantages of an interesting introduction, a good index, a Iist of about 40 related publications by Ganong, and almost 30 pages of map commentaries and notes. In short, the publication is more available and far more valuable than the original séries of papers. The commentary and map notes are indispensable if Ganong is to be read today, be-cause new maps hâve been discovered and new interprétations made. T. E. Layng, Head of Map Division in the Public Archives, Ottawa, and already known for his catalogue, Sixteenth Century Maps Relating to Canada (1956), has provided thèse notes to comment on the validity of Ganong's conclusions in the Iight of récent works, such as the Portugaliœ Monumenta Carto-grapbica (1960-62). In the book the papers occur in their same chronological arrangement, starting with the La Casa map of 1500 and working up to the period between Cartier and Champlain. It appears that the original plates hâve been used so that , with the exception of an added book pagination, the Iayout is unchanged. AU of Ganong's 121 sketch maps, tracings, and photo reproductions of early maps are présent. In a few instances (Figure 24, the Lopo Homem map of 1554 ; and figure 104, the Carte portugaise of about 1550) a greater tonal contrast has obscured détails in the dark portions of the maps, but this is of small importance, and elsewhere in the book the tonal characteristics of the plates are similar to those of the first printing. Ganong's painstaking analysis of cartographical material has produced a scholarly pub-lication which is too detailed to appeal to a gênerai reader. Nevertheless it is not dull stuff. One cannot read the paper on the La Cosa map, for example, without experiencing the excite-ment of the inquiry or admiring the methods and the patience of the sleuth. This 5X3-foot world map, drawn on an ox-hide, dated and signed, was unearthed in a Paris shop in 1832, and became recognized as the earliest map to show a part of the Atlantic coast of North America, an eminence from which it has since been displaced. Ganong's investigation centered on a portion of the vaguely-defined coast at a latitude approximately that of southern England, where flags, place names, and a detailed coastal configuration indicated previous exploration. The identification of the « named coast )> and the relationship of the map to the Cabot voyages were the main points of inquiry, in which Ganong considered the limitations and probable errors of contemporary navigational techniques, the inaccuracies resulting from hand-copying of original maps, the implication of the flags, the dérivation and significance of each of the place names, 372 CAHIERS DE GEOGRAPHIE and the courses, distances and coastal observations of the Cabot records. It is possible to disagree with some of the author's conclusions, the location of John Cabot's Iandfall in 1497, for example. Nevertheless, the discussion of the La Cosa map is considered by Mr. Layng to be « one of the most brilliant ever written ». Crucial Maps should be of great value to historical geographers, not only for its élab-oration of x v i t h century exploration of the Atlantic coast but also for the insight it gives into techniques of interpreting historical maps. W. Gillies Ross, Bishop's University. BIOGÉOGRAPHIE YOUNGBERG, Ch. T., 1965. Forest-Soil Relat ionships in North America, Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, x n + 532 pages, 134 figures, 91 tableaux 16X23H cm. Rel. U. S. $8.00. 11 s'agit d'un recueil de 35 contributions présentées à la deuxième conférence nord-amé-ricaine sur les sols forestiers, tenue en août 1963 à l'université de l 'état de I'Oregon à Corvallis. Les textes concernent la physique, la chimie, la fertilité et la biologie des sols ainsi que les relations multiples entre ceux-ci et la végétation forestière, touchant par là au problème de la productivité des stations et de son évaluation. Les aménagistes seront intéressés d'y trouver les comptes-rendus des recherches du Service forestier et du Service de conservation du sol améri-cain et des programmes conjoints fédéraux-provinciaux canadiens touchant les problèmes de la classification des terrains et ceux de l'aménagement du territoire. Selon que l'on a tenu compte du sol seul, du sol et du landform, du sol et de la végétation et, enfin, du sol, du landjorm et de la végétation, un nombre de plus en plus grand de spécialistes y ont participé, ouvrant la voie à une collaboration interdisciplinaire étroite, perspective dont on ne peut que se réjouir. Appuyé sur 483 références bibliographiques et complété par une liste de noms latins et vernaculaires des plantes ainsi que par un index des sujets, le volume Forest-Soil Relationships in North America permet d'entrevoir la complexité des problèmes touchant les relations entre les sols et la végétation et, dans bien des cas, de comprendre les causes profondes qui régissent la répartition et le succès relatif des végétaux à la surface du sous-continent nord-américain. II peut, par conséquent, intéresser tous ceux qui sont préoccupés par les problèmes d'écologie végé-tale et de phytogéographie au sens large. Miroslav M. GRANDTNER ELHAÏ, Henri. Biogéographie : les paysages végétaux au Quaternaire en Europe occi-dentale , Centre de Documentation universitaire, Paris, 1964. 121 pp., 30 fig., 3 tables. This cours de Sorbonne outlines the végétation of France and neighboring countries during the course of the Quaternary, emphasizing the floras or pollen diagrams corresponding to the major stratigraphie units. FoIIowing a brief introduction, the major Pliocène floras are outlined, supplemented by maps, showing the modem distributions of Arcto-Tertiary or tro-pical gênera once présent in the European record. The Pliocène climate of western Ejurope is thought to hâve been moist and warm. On the other hand, during the Villafranchian repeated cold-climate oscillations Ied to a graduai impoverishment of the Tertiary floras. The distinc-tive pollen diagrams of the major interglacials (Cromerian, Holsteinian, Eemian) are illustrated in part, followed by an outline of végétation change during the course of the Iast Wiirm glacial. Finally the classical Postglacial pollen zones are discussed with examples. As could be expected from a lecture course, Elhai's style is concise and succinct, em-phasizing facts. Yet the choice of words is vivid, making the book easy to read. Fortunately, too, the stratigraphie framework employed is basic and non-parochial. As a ready référence on palseobotanical information, Elhai's treatise is quite useful. From the plant geographer's 

Ganong, W.F. Crucial Maps in the Early Cartography and Place-Nomenclature of the Atlantic Coast of Canada. University of Toronto Press in co-operation with the Royal Society of Canada, Toronto, 1963, 511 pages, 121 figures, map commentary and notes, index.

W. Gillies Ross

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Cahiers de géographie du Québec

http://www.erudit.org/revue/cgq/1966/v10/n20/020655ar.pdf

Ganong, W.F. Crucial Maps in the Early Cartography and Place-Nomenclature of the Atlantic Coast of Canada. University of Toronto Press in co-operation with the Royal Society of Canada, Toronto, 1963, 511 pages, 121 figures, map commentary and notes, index.

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