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THE subject of this paper and that of President Russell's address of last Year reveal in striking fashion the wide scope of the field in which geographers work. Comparison of the treatment in the two papers wilt, I hope, demonstrate the justification for assuming that the same body of readers may find common interest in the two extremes. This is possible in all our work only if each of us, in developing our special area of interest, will follow Russell's example in striving to maintain its geographic quality. We can do this if we keep in the forefront of our thinking, that the core of geography is "the study of places," that is, the analysis of the significant differences that distinguish the various areas of the world from each other. Among the differences that are significant to this areal differentiation, one of the more obvious are differences in landforms; one of the least obvious to the eye, but nonetheless important in molding the character of areas, are the differences in their political organization. In pursuing these and other separate topics, geographers "radiate out in diverse directions" "and for various distances, toward the cores of other disciplines." As long as they remain "ever conscious of where they are" in reference to the central core, they may hope to understand each other's purposes. "Questions of boundaries always seem pedantic in comparison with questions concerning the cores of disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]