Chapter 2 of 3 · 8439 words · ~42 min read

PART ONE

[Illustration: THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON.]

WHERE WE LIVE--A HOME GEOGRAPHY

## CHAPTER I

OUR SCHOOL

What is the name of our school?

Where have you seen this name?

[Illustration: A TOWN SCHOOL.]

Why was this name given to our school?

On what street or road does our school stand?

How long have you been attending this school?

See how much you have noticed as you came here each day. Tell what you can remember of the different parts of the building which can be seen from the street or road. Describe each of these parts:

Walls Roof Windows Chimneys Doors Fire-escape

As you look at the school from the outside what materials do you see that the builders have used? Where have they needed stone, slate, glass, tin, iron, steel, wood?

Now let us think of the garden and playground. Tell about the different parts and the materials that have been used in making them.

What great numbers of workmen were needed before a school like ours could be built! Who procured the stone and the slate? Whose work was needed to obtain the iron, the steel and the tin? Who made the glass? Which workmen shall we thank for the wood?

Can you think how the bare lot looked before the school was built? Many men with shovels and pick-axes dug out the foundation, and numbers of horses and wagons were needed to carry out the earth. Then came the builders. How were so many materials brought here?

1. We will go outdoors together and look at the school building.

2. We will stand north of the school, south, east and west of it. Notice the position of the parts, their number, shape, size and color.

3. As we stand at each side, see whether there are any parts which you never noticed before or any parts which we forgot to mention yesterday.

[Illustration]

Look at this drawing of a school building and grounds. It is called a plan. Before any school or church or home is built a plan must be drawn. This is to show the workmen what to do. See how much of the ground is used for the building. Find the garden. What are in the garden? Which is larger, the garden or the playground? What shape is the playground? How many doors are there to the building? In how many ways can you get into the playground?

Try to draw a plan of your school building and yard, showing the gates, the flagpole, the drinking fountain or pump, and any other parts you think of. Show which door you use most.

_Note to the Teacher._--The pupils should draw the plan upon paper while the teacher draws it upon the blackboard. Infinite care should be exercised to invest every line with its full meaning. Upon the proper interpretation of this first plan will depend much of the pupil's future ability to correctly read a map as the representation of a reality.

THE INSIDE OF THE SCHOOL

As you walk from the school door to your room what do you see? Tell all that you have noticed in the corridors, on the staircases, in the cloak-rooms and the class-rooms.

We will go on a little excursion through the school today, walking along all of the corridors and upon all of the staircases. Look especially to see anything that you never saw before, and notice anything that you forgot to mention in yesterday's description.

Answer the following questions:

1. How many stories high is our school?

2. How many class-rooms are on each floor?

3. How many other rooms are on each floor?

4. How many staircases does our school have?

5. What materials have been used in building the staircases?

6. What can be seen in the corridor nearest your room?

7. By how many doorways can the children leave the building?

8. How is your school heated and ventilated?

Describe everything that you can see in your class-room.

[Illustration: PLAN OF SCHOOL ROOM]

Look at this plan of a school-room. See if you can draw a plan of _your_ school-room.

Make a list of all the materials that have been used in building the inside of your school. Remember all of the following parts:

Floors Windows Corridor furnishings Ceilings Doors Class-room furnishings Walls Staircases

Now write a list of the kinds of workmen who gathered together these materials. Name as many of the kinds of workmen as you can think of who were engaged on the inside work of the building.

Write a letter to anyone whom you know who has never seen our school. Tell all about our building and the good workmen by whom it was planned and built.

## CHAPTER II

THE STREETS AND ROADS

On what street or road does your school stand?

On what street or road do you live?

What streets or roads do you pass on your way home?

What do you think is the finest street or road that you have ever seen anywhere? What makes that so good a street or road?

Name a poor street or road. What could be done to improve it?

Why do cities and towns have streets and roads? Where are there no streets?

Look at the country picture shown on page 19. How pretty it is! When would it be pleasant to walk there? When would it not be so pleasant? Why? What must be done to a road to make it into a good street? Tell what you can of the different ways of paving, lighting and draining streets and roads, and of the different kinds of name-signs you have seen.

Now what can be done to make a street or road beautiful and pleasant in warm weather?

How can boys and girls help to keep the streets and roads pleasant?

Here is a plan of some of the streets in a large city.

[Illustration: PLAN OF CITY STREETS.]

Draw the shape of the school lot. Now show the street or road that the school stands upon. If you live in a town, draw the streets next to the school. Then draw the next streets, and keep on until you have drawn the street on which your home stands. Place a little cross to show your home. With your pencil start from your house and make a dotted line to show how you come to school.

On your plan of the neighborhood place a circle to show the grocery store or bakery that you pass on your way to school. Make a large dot to show the nearest store to school, and with a dotted line explain how you would go there from school if your teacher sent you to buy ink. Make a circle with a cross in it to show where there is a church, a bank, a factory, or any other important building near your school. If there is a railroad near, show it upon your plan.

[Illustration: A COUNTRY HOME.]

Many streets and lanes have names of trees. Some have been named after great and good men. There are some streets with only numbers for names. Do you know of any streets having names of these different kinds? Can you think of any street or road that received its name for some other reason?

Get as many pictures as you can of the streets of your town or any other town and paste them in your note-book. Get some pictures of country roads and paste them also in your note-book.

[Illustration: A CITY STREET. (Copyright, 1911, William H. Rau, Philadelphia.)]

In some towns the streets are nearly straight and cross each other like the wires of a window-screen. In other towns the streets run off from the centre of the town like the spokes of a wheel. Some streets and roads are very crooked.

How are the streets in our town arranged? Name some of our best business streets. Which streets have the finest homes in which people live? Name some streets or roads with trolley lines upon them. Are our streets paved?

Perhaps you live in the country where there are very few streets or none at all. How different is your walk to school each day from that of the city boy or girl! In town, children walk on paved streets and pass many buildings. What kind of roads do the country children walk upon? What buildings do they pass? A country school.

[Illustration: A MODERN COUNTRY SCHOOL.]

Do you take a pleasant road between broad fields? Do you walk through the cool shady woods? Perhaps you run over a bridge with the clear brook sparkling and babbling beneath. What else do you see or hear in the country which city folks do not know in their built up towns?

## CHAPTER III

THE BUILDINGS

What kinds of buildings do you pass on your way to school? Write a list of all the kinds that you have ever seen.

Look at the pictures of buildings in this book and see if you know for what each is used. How can you tell?

Of all the many kinds of buildings in town or country, the _houses_ are the most important. It is more necessary to have good homes to live in than to have the other buildings large or beautiful. What makes a good residence? There must be enough room for the whole family. It needs plenty of light, air, sunshine and water. It must have a good roof to keep it dry in stormy weather. It should be well heated in the cold winter. Tell of other things that are needed in our homes to keep the family healthy and happy. How can you help to make your home pleasant?

Good _schools_, too, are very necessary. The school-house must be built to keep the boys and girls comfortable and healthy while at work. Name some of the things needed for a good school building.

[Illustration: A STREET SCENE IN NEW YORK.]

The libraries and museums also teach people. A _library_ is like a home where many friendly teachers live. These friends will talk to you and tell you many useful and wonderful things. Have you ever visited them at the library? Have you ever taken any of them home with you? Is there a library near our school?

The _museums_ are full of many interesting objects. You may see beautiful pictures and statuary. Some have collections of pretty stones and of stuffed animals. Curious clothing, jewelry, toys and musical instruments used by people in distant lands are shown too. In a museum in Portland you may see the dear little clothing worn by the poet Longfellow when he was a tiny baby. Many books that Washington read are kept in a museum near the city of Washington. Have you ever visited a museum in a city? What did you see there?

No buildings anywhere are more beautiful than the _churches_. Are there any churches in your neighborhood? Describe the church which you attend.

In town and country there are many ill people who cannot be cared for at home. They go to _hospitals_ to be nursed back to health and strength. The good doctors and nurses work day and night to cure the sick people. How can well people help sick people? Where is the nearest hospital to your home? What is it named?

[Illustration: INDEPENDENCE HALL.]

Almost every town has a _Town Hall_. Have you ever seen such a building? What is it used for? Here the mayor has his office. Sometimes the Town Hall or Court House has a high tower, or a fine dome, or a cupola. If you have ever seen a Town Hall tell how it looked.

Think of the _stores_ that you have seen. How many kinds can you name? What does each sell principally? Where are these things made? Have you ever seen a large _factory_? What does it manufacture?

[Illustration: PITTSBURGH OBSERVATORY.]

It would be fine if all of the buildings in which folks work were sunny, airy and clean. People employed in comfortable stores and factories are happy and feel like working.

Alas! there are many miserable places where the workmen are crowded and uncomfortable. The impure air makes them tired and ill. If you have seen a good store or factory tell what helps to keep the workers comfortable and healthy.

Old cities have in them many very old buildings that all Americans love. The magnificent Capitol at Washington was built long ago. It is one of the finest buildings in the world. It is built of white marble. In the first picture in this book notice the beautiful dome and the great high stairs. In Philadelphia is the dear old Independence Hall with the Liberty Bell. Boston has the old Faneuil Hall. Here many great Americans of long ago have spoken to the people. Are there any old historic buildings in our neighborhood?

[Illustration: LONGFELLOW'S BIRTHPLACE, PORTLAND, MAINE.]

Suppose some friends travel on the railroad to visit us. At what railroad station would the train arrive? Are there any other stations? How are they built? Do you think they give a beautiful, clean, friendly welcome to strangers? All stations should be pleasant and comfortable to cheer the tired travelers that pass through them day and night. At Denver, just outside of the station, there is a great arch stretching across the street. It says, "Welcome," in bright letters at night and in pretty letters in the day. The visitor is glad to see the friendly word after a long trip.

[Illustration: OLD SOUTH CHURCH, BOSTON.]

When friends come from another town we like to show them the sights. Plan a nice trip around the town. Write a list of places to which you would take them. You must know where each place is. What could you tell about each place?

One day we should visit some park. Is there any near our school? Are there any interesting buildings or statuary in the park? Is there any water near by?

When we visit our town park we should remember that it belongs to us, for a public park belongs to all of the people. Do you not like to have the things that belong to you as good, as useful and as beautiful as possible? Do you want your home to look sweet and clean and comfortable, or dirty, careless and unpleasant? Do you want your clothing to be strong, neat and pretty, or torn and dirty? We should all take pride in having the things we own just as good as possible. When you are in the street, the school, any public building, or in a park, say to yourself, "This is mine." Then look around and see whether you like the way it looks. Think how you can help to keep it looking well or make it look even better.

[Illustration: WINTER SCENE IN FAIRMOUNT PARK.]

How can boys and girls help keep the grass, the paths, the flower-beds, the trees and the buildings beautiful? Where does the money come from to pay the caretakers of the park?

Some people visit the park only in spring, summer or autumn. We all love the park in those seasons. Many do not know how beautiful the bare trees look in winter with their gray or brown branches. There is no more exquisite sight in the world than to see these trees coated with glistening ice out to the tiniest twig, or to see them ridged with pearly white snow. It is a merry sight to see the jolly coasters and skaters.

Copy the list of buildings given below and mark each kind that you have seen. Tell where you saw it, of what it was built, or for what it was used.

Residence School Museum Store Church Car-barn Bank Hospital Library Factory Railroad station Office Stable Government building Garage Dairy Barn Ice House

What building is shown on the cover of this book?

## CHAPTER IV

THE TOWN AS A WHOLE

Think of the times when you have walked or ridden about our town.

What rivers did you see?

[Illustration: CAPITOL AT HARRISBURG.]

Which buildings did you think were very beautiful?

What was each used for?

What buildings have we that are very helpful to the people?

What interesting places have you visited in your neighborhood?

What other places would you like to visit?

PREPARATION FOR A TRIP TO SOME HILLTOP, OBSERVATORY, TOWER OR ROOF-GARDEN FROM WHICH AN EXTENSIVE VIEW CAN BE HAD

What place shall we visit? Why? Draw a plan to include the school and the place to be visited.

How far must we go? Shall we ride or walk? In what direction shall we go?

When we are up high we can look over the whole neighborhood. First, try to find our school. In what direction shall we need to face? Then let us notice what lies between us and our school. See if you can find any park or large building which you know. Try to find the street or road upon which your home stands. Then look beyond our school for any other familiar building or park, and look for your home if you did not see it before. Notice how far the town stretches and try to see what cuts it off or bounds it.

Next we shall turn and look in the opposite direction. What direction will that be? Find any familiar places. How can you know which are homes, schools, churches or factories? See how far the town extends and what cuts off or bounds it on this side.

In what other directions shall we look? Again we shall notice the familiar and unfamiliar places and the town boundaries.

THE TRIP

Was the neighborhood view like you expected? What surprised you? What did we see most of? Make a list of all the places you remember seeing. Think of each view separately; north, south, east and west. Tell of anything you saw as you looked in each direction. Why could we see so much? How could we see even farther?

Do we live in a large city, a small town or in the country? What is the name of our town or the nearest town? Who first settled in the place which has grown to be a town? It is hard for us to believe that two hundred and fifty years ago there were no houses, churches, schools, streets or roads where we now live. All this land was wild country, mostly woods. The early settlers were strong and brave men. They had to cut down the forests and build their first homes of rough logs. Then they planted fields with corn, wheat and vegetables. They killed the wild animals for food, using the skins for clothing. As soon as possible the settlers tried to build a small plain church and a school-house.

[Illustration: CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. From a "Thistle" Print. (Copyright, Detroit Publishing Co.)]

[Illustration: COLUMBUS'S SHIP.]

Now we have our fine towns which have grown from the early work of these first sturdy settlers. All of the people should love our dear home town and try to make it beautiful, healthful and comfortable. We should love our neighbors and treat them all like brothers and sisters. If we are true to our village or our dear town we will be kind and fair to all, rich and poor, Americans and foreigners, white and colored people. That is one way of showing our thankfulness for our comfortable homes.

## CHAPTER V

THE PEOPLE

Think of the many buildings which you see as you look over the landscape. There are people living in nearly all of those houses. Just think of the many, many people who live here. How many are there? How many schools have we in the town? How many people go to your school?

Most of these people look much alike, but some are very different in appearance. Name some of the different kinds of people whom you have seen. How do you distinguish a negro and Chinaman or Mongolian from a white person or Caucasian? Tell about their hair, skin or any other peculiar features.

Each kind of people is called a race. The pictures show some of the races we often see--Caucasian, Mongolian and negro. The Chinese and Japanese are called Mongolians.

THE INDIANS

The Indians lived at this place which is now our home long before there were any white people here or any towns at all. Where these many buildings now stand there was wild country, fields and woods. Under the trees stood the Indian wigwams made of skins and branches. The early settlers came to this country from far across the ocean. After William Penn landed with his companions he began at once to make friends with the Indians. As the red men were living upon the land, Penn thought that it was only fair and honest to buy from them the land that the English people wanted for their homes. The Indians could not use money, so he gave them blankets and other presents which pleased them very much. The Indians promised William Penn to live in peace with the white men and they kept their promise for many years.

[Illustration: AN INDIAN FAMILY.]

Most of the white people who came in those early days to other parts of our land did not act in this noble way. When they wanted land on which to build their homes they drove the Indians away, killing many of them. Thus these unjustly treated Indians became the enemies of the white men, and often treated them very cruelly in return. Let us remember that the Indians were the first owners of this land of ours and that they should be treated as William Penn showed us, with kindness and justice.

[Illustration: INDIAN CHIEF.]

Those wild Indians of long ago had many noble traits. They were strong and brave and fearless.

Read in some of your school books about Indians and their homes.

THE NEGROES

There were no negroes in this country till many years after Columbus and the other white men began to settle here. Some white men went far across the sea to Africa. They stole the negroes away from their homes, carried them to their ships and sailed back to this country. Then these white men sold the negroes to other men for money. The poor colored men had to work terribly hard as slaves and received no pay for their work. At last they were freed by Abraham Lincoln and others who helped him.

[Illustration: NEGRO.]

The negroes have much that is fine in their character. Even when they were slaves they often grew to love their masters so dearly that they would do anything in the world, even give up their lives, for their masters. We should always remember that God made the negro as well as the white man. Fair-minded people will try to be honest, kind and just to everyone.

THE CHINESE

[Illustration: CHINESE MANDARIN AND SERVANT.]

Many Chinamen have come to our country from their distant homes in China. Their country is so crowded, and it is so hard to earn a living there, that most of the people are very poor.

The Chinese living in our country are peaceful and quiet. They work very hard in their laundries and other places of business; yet there are many white people so cruel and thoughtless as to ridicule a Chinaman whenever they see one. These white people should remember that God made the Chinaman and that he is a stranger here in our country. Is it not even worse to ill-treat a stranger than one who is at home? The color of our skin and hair is not very important. It matters far more whether we are honest, loving, industrious and fair-minded.

Not all of the white people living around us were born in this country. Where did your parents and grandparents live when they were children? Do you know any people who came from distant lands? Where were their first homes? Find out how many of the parents of your schoolmates came a long journey over the water to reach our land.

Yes, we have people from many foreign countries. Some are English, Irish, Scotch or French. Then there are the Germans, Italians, Russians and others. From what country did each of these people come?

Here they are all living together, people from all over the great wide world. Our homes stand side by side. We work and play together. Truly we are brothers and sisters, for we are all children in the great human family. It matters not from what distant land our people may have come, we should all be bound together like one family by human love and kindness.

## CHAPTER VI

INDUSTRIES AND OCCUPATIONS

Which members of your family work? Why do they work? For what is the money they earn spent? Think which of these things are absolutely necessary to keep us alive.

We all need _food_.

We all need _clothing_.

We all need _homes or shelter_.

Without these provisions we should die.

How do we get our food, our clothing and our homes? How did people get them when there were no stores and no money? Do you know of any people who were compelled to get things in this way?

In a school reader, read about how primitive people lived.

THE SOIL

We have two kinds of food, vegetable food, which grows from the ground, and animal food. Name some foods of each kind. All plants grow out of the earth or soil. The soil is necessary to produce our animal food also. The meat we eat comes from sheep, cows, chickens and other animals. These animals all live on vegetable food. Without good soil there would be no grass nor hay. No grass would mean no food for cows and sheep. So we see that all of our food really comes from the soil.

Our clothing, too, is dependent upon the soil. The cotton plant grows up out of the ground. The wool comes from the sheep, which eats grass which grows from the ground.

Even our homes could not be built without products from the earth or soil. Think how much wood is used in the construction of a house. The trees which grow in the soil give us all the wood. Much iron, steel, copper, brass and nickel are used in our homes. Stones and bricks form part of many houses. All of these things come out of the earth. What a wonderful thing is the soil! Out of it come our food, our clothing and our shelter!

In one of your books read the wonderful story of how we obtain a loaf of bread.

Write a list of all the kinds of work you can think of which people do.

Copy this list of industries and place a cross beside the ones at which any persons you know work:

Mining Printing and bookmaking Weaving Iron and steel work Shipbuilding Glass-blowing Lumbering Pottery making Brickmaking Meat packing Farming Dairying Manufacturing foods Manufacturing clothing Ice cutting Manufacturing furniture

Which are town industries? Which are country industries?

Would you like to go to-morrow to visit a factory in which some food or clothing is manufactured? Look at the map of the town. Find your school. Find the factory. How far must we go and in what direction? What is the name of the place we will visit? Notice all of the things made there. Try to remember all of the materials needed at the factory, and find out where these materials come from. Try to remember just how the articles are made. Find out what will be done with the things that are manufactured. Notice the number and kinds of machines used. See how many workmen are employed.

AFTER THE TRIP

Write a letter to a friend in another class telling all about your visit. Mention these points:

1. Where you went.

2. What was made.

3. How it was made.

4. The materials used.

5. The machinery.

6. The workmen.

7. The usefulness of the factory.

8. The care and skill of the workmen.

9. Anything else interesting about the trip.

Every town and every village is a workshop. There are many workmen here that do good, careful work. Some of the goods of our town may be sent thousands of miles away to other people who need them. The country people, too, do much useful work. Name some of the things which our workmen do for other people living at a distance from us.

Read about the manufacture of the articles which you saw being made at the factory.

There are many workers in the world who do not make things with their hands. Most of their work is done with their minds, though, of course, their hands help too. Name some of these. What kind of work does each of the following do?

Teacher Lawyer Minister Doctor Author Banker

## CHAPTER VII

ANIMALS AND PLANTS

There are many other living creatures in the world besides people. Write a list of all the kinds of animals that you have ever seen.

[Illustration: AMERICAN BUFFALO.]

Some of these animals live near the homes of men. They are tame. Men take care of them and see that they get food. Many of these animals are very useful to us. Write a list of these tame animals. At the top of the list write _Domestic Animals_. Of what use is each of the following animals when alive? Which are useful after they are killed? Of what use to man is each one?

Horse Pig Chicken Cow Dog Duck Sheep Cat Pigeon.

Read about how our meat is supplied to us.

Write a list of all the _wild animals_ you remember ever having seen. Where did you see them? How were they prevented from harming people? Where was the natural home of these animals? How did they get their food? How do they now get their food?

[Illustration: RACCOON.]

Some of these animals so closely resemble the domestic animals that they are said to belong to the same family. Read the names of the animals belonging to the same family and tell in what way they resemble each other. Tell which are domestic and which are wild.

THE CAT FAMILY

Cat Lion Tiger Leopard

[Illustration: TIGER.]

THE DOG FAMILY

Dog Fox Wolf

THE HORSE FAMILY

Horse Zebra

THE COW FAMILY

Cow Buffalo

Describe some of these wild animals:

Elephant Fox Squirrel Wolf Bear Deer

There are also many fish, birds and insects.

Paste in your notebook any pictures of animals.

Take a trip to the Zoological Gardens and see these animals.

[Illustration: LEOPARD.]

Which domestic or wild animals are useful to us in obtaining food, clothing and shelter?

PLANTS

We cannot live without food, clothing and shelter. Let us see how plants help us to obtain these three great necessities.

Write a list of all the plants that you can name.

Draw a line under each that is useful for _food_.

Draw two lines under each that is useful for _clothing_.

Draw three lines under each that is useful in making or furnishing our _homes or shelter_.

[Illustration: ELK.]

Of what use are the plants that are not underlined? Are they beautiful? How dull the world would be without flowers!

We have:

1. Food plants.

2. Clothing plants.

3. Shelter plants.

4. Ornamental plants.

## CHAPTER VIII

TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION

Think of the foods that you had on your dinner table yesterday. Where did each come from? How did it get here? Was there anything which came from our own neighborhood, and which did not have to take a long journey either to the factory where it was manufactured or to the store where it was sold?

Examine the clothing you are wearing. Of what material is each article made? Where did the materials come from? Where were they manufactured? Which had to come a long journey before it reached your home?

Look around the school-room and name the materials which had to travel a long distance before we could have them for our use.

Imagine trying to get our food, our clothing and our shelter materials right near our school. How much could we be sure of having?

Perhaps you have seen products being brought into the city. You may have seen the milk trains unloading their many shining cans. Surely you have seen the freight cars with their signs painted on the outside telling that they are refrigerator cars, or coal cars, or other kinds of cars. What do they carry?

Most of the things we need are brought here on trains. Where is there in our neighborhood a freight railroad station? Is it near our school?

Some products are taken from the country to the town in wagons. You have seen the big hay wagons which go a long way from some farm to take food for the city horses.

[Illustration: CHINESE TRANSPORTATION.]

How else are products carried? Coffee, rubber, pepper, chocolate and much silk are brought here from distant lands in ships. If you go to the harbor of a large city you can see hundreds of busy men unloading the big steamers.

Ships and railroads carry not only foods but people too. There are many ways of carrying people and products. These are some of the ways:

1. On the backs of animals, as horses, camels, elephants.

2. In wheelbarrows.

3. In wagons.

4. In automobiles.

5. In trolley cars.

6. In railroad trains.

7. On boats, or ships.

8. In sleighs.

9. On bicycles.

10. In airships.

[Illustration: TRANSPORTATION IN ARABIA.]

In which of these ways have you traveled? Can you tell what power is used in each case?

In order to travel safely and quickly we need more than something in which to carry the people and products. We must have good wagon roads, well built railroads, tunnels through the mountains, and bridges over the rivers. Lighthouses are necessary to warn the vessels of the rocks at night or in the storms.

When people need things from a distance they cannot always go all the way to the place and bring back the products or articles. It is quicker and easier to send messages asking for what is needed. How would your mother send an order to the butcher for meat if she did not wish to go for it? How could a farmer send a message to the city ordering new milk cans and strawberry boxes? How do messages come to your house?

In olden days the persons had to carry all of their messages for themselves or send them by other persons. The messenger would often run for miles without resting so as to deliver the letters as soon as possible. At last the people decided to give all of their letters to a postman who would ride on horseback from place to place with the mail. Stagecoaches were next used. It took a week for a coach to go as far as a train can go now in a few hours. Our mail is now carried from one place to another by trains or vessels, and then the letter carriers deliver it at our city houses or to our town post office or rural mail-box.

The quickest way to send a message is by cable, telegraph, telephone or wireless message. Over the electric wires or through the air the words are flashed for miles in a few minutes.

## CHAPTER IX

FAMILIAR SURFACE FEATURES

1. Hill and plain. 3. River 2. Mountain and valley. 4. Ocean 5. Island and peninsula.

_Note to the Teacher._--Consider at this time only such familiar features as belong to the children's immediate environment in or very near their neighborhood. Defer the study of the other land and water forms until later, as suggested in the Introduction. For further details of these features, see Chapters I and IV in Part II.

HILL AND PLAIN

Some streets and roads are flat and level. Others slope like _hills_. Can you name a street which is level, and one that slants or slopes? Which road is easier to walk on? Why? Do you prefer the level or the sloping street when roller-skating? Why? Which is the best when you are coasting?

You may have noticed that some of the fields in the park or in the country are nearly flat. Other fields lie on slopes or hills. We call the flat part of the land a _plain_, whether it is in the city or in the country. The sloping part of the land forms a hill. Have we mostly hills or plains in the streets of our city?

Some plains and some hills are covered with trees. If you were in the woods, surrounded by trees, how would you know whether you were on a plain or on a hill?

[Illustration: HILLS AND VALLEYS.]

Some hills look very different from others. Some slope very gradually, while some are very steep. Some hills have city streets on them. Others have great fields of grass for cows to graze upon. Still others are planted with corn, wheat, rye or vegetables. There are wooded hills covered with trees. How do we know that all of these very different forms are hills?

In the same way plains vary greatly. While some have been made into city streets, others are large, flat, grassy fields, with streams sometimes flowing through them. Some plains are covered with forests. Others are planted with grain and vegetables. How can you know when you see a plain if there are so many different kinds?

Look through the pictures in this book and decide which show hills and which show plains. Which is easier for a farmer to plow, a hill or a plain? Why?

If you were sent upon an errand, would you choose to go by way of a hilly road or by a level one? Which is the pleasantest place for a summer home, upon a hill or upon a plain?

How must a driver help his horses when they are pulling a heavy load up or down a hill?

MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS

Some hills are so very, very high that they have been called _mountains_. What are our neighboring mountains named? Have you ever been to the top of one of these mountains? Describe the beautiful view from the summit. Did you see any wild creatures along the way? Tell about any trees and other plants that you noticed.

When people build homes in mountain regions they generally place them in the low land between the high mountains. Why? This lower land is called a _valley_. The people in the valley town can often look beyond the fields and see the mountains rising high and steep beyond. Some mountains are covered with trees. At places you may see great bare, rough rocks on the mountain side. The scenery is very beautiful. There are often streams and broad rivers down in the valley.

[Illustration: THE UPPER DELAWARE.]

Many lumbermen work on the mountains. Why do they cut down the trees? The mountains give the miners work too. The men go far into the mines to bring out the useful minerals. Are there any mines in the mountains near our home? What do the miners take from these mines?

[Illustration: AN OCEAN STEAMSHIP. (Copyright, 1911, William H. Rau, Philadelphia.)]

RIVERS

What _river_ flows near our home? Have you ever seen it? Where were you when you saw it? How did it look? What did you notice along its banks? What was on the river? Was there any way of crossing over to the opposite bank?

Did you see where the boats land? Men have built many wharves on the banks of the rivers. If you stand on the wharf, you may see great ferry-boats crowded with people. Back and forth these boats go, carrying the people from one side of the river to the other.

Sometimes great steamers come up the river. They have carried people, food and clothing on a long journey. Some boats are loaded with coal or lumber. There are many pretty sailboats and rowboats too. In some you will see fishermen. They bring the fish back for the city people to eat.

Before the city was built there was beautiful country all along the banks. If you travel up the river, leaving the city far behind, you will see some fine scenery. Perhaps you will pass beautiful woods. Some of the trees bend over the river as if they were looking at their reflections in the clear water. At places there are broad fields where the cows come down to drink the cool water. Farther up there are hills or mountains rising far above the banks. You will notice that the river is growing narrower and narrower until it is but a small stream. If you go down the river again, you will see that it gradually widens as it flows on to the mouth.

Most cities get their water supply from a nearby river. Do you know where the water in your bath-room comes from? When you take a drink in our school-yard what water are you swallowing? How does this water get to our home and school? Pipes run under the streets from the river to all the buildings of the town. There are big pumping stations on the river bank to pump the water out of the river through pipes to the houses. Millions of gallons of water are pumped each day into the homes, schools, mills and factories. For what is this water used?

[Illustration: PUBLIC LIBRARY, NEWARK, N. J.]

Plants need more than good soil to make them grow. They will wither and die unless they have plenty of rain to keep the earth soft and moist. There are many places in the world where no trees, nor grass, nor plants of any kind can grow. This is because there is no water to wet the earth.

We all know that clouds bring the rain; but how do the clouds get the water? Whenever there is water on the earth, as in the rivers, the air is continually drawing up the moisture in tiny invisible drops. This moisture rises in the air and forms clouds. When the clouds get very heavy, down comes the water which we call rain. In cold weather it is changed into snow.

[Illustration: ELEPHANT IN THE "ZOO."]

Where there is no moisture there can be no rain, for the air cannot draw up moisture to form clouds. Where there are many rivers there has been much rain, and the soil is kept fertile. Plants will grow in it. Do you see how our food, our clothing and our shelter are dependent upon rainfall? Do you see how we are kept alive by rivers?

Think of the many, many uses of rivers. There are thousands of useful rivers in the world.

What are the three great necessities of human life? How do rivers help us to get _food_ and _clothing_ and to build our _homes_ and make them comfortable?

SOME USES OF RIVERS

1. Water supply; washing and drinking.

2. Water power; flour, textile and planing mills.

3. Commerce; transportation.

4. Life; fish, plants.

5. Fertility of soil, rainfall.

6. Beauty of scenery.

Look at the map of our neighborhood. See the lines that represent the river. Notice how it bends. Does it show where bridges cross it?

THE OCEAN

Have you ever stood on the beach and watched the big waves roll in? The great _ocean_ stretches away as far as you can see. It seems to meet the sky. The weaves roll and break, and roll and break from morning till night forever. Where there are rocks along the shore the ocean dashes against them. The sparkling snowy spray then leaps high into the air with a boom and a swish!

_Note to the Teacher._--See the details for studying about the oceans in Part II, Chapter I.

ISLANDS AND PENINSULAS

[Illustration: THE OCEAN.]

As you sail up the river you may see large portions of land lying right out in the water. There are pieces of land lying out in the ocean too. The water lies around them on all sides. We call such portions of land _islands_. If you were standing on the shore how could you go to an island which you saw out in the water? How could you get there if you had no boat? Some islands are joined to the shores by bridges.

Many islands are no larger than this room. Others are so large that it would take days to travel around them. Whether they are large or small they have water entirely around them.

[Illustration: PART OF A ROCKY ISLAND.]

Some of us have been to a large island that has been built up into a city. When the New York boys and girls want to leave their city they must either go in a boat, or over a bridge, or through a tunnel far under a river. Why? When you visit Atlantic City your train goes over a bridge into the city. Why?

Look at some pictures of islands and notice how many kinds there are. Some are all wooded. Others are covered with fields. Notice one that is rocky and steep, and another that is level and built into a city.

Some islands are so large as to have many cities built upon them, and there are many farms and dense woods besides upon the same islands. Some have many rivers flowing through them.

If you were on a large island, how could you prove that it was an island? If you wanted to leave it, how could you do so? Notice on the map of our neighborhood whether a river with islands in it is shown.

Sometimes a piece of land has water flowing only part way around it. If you take a boat and try to go all around it, you will come to a place where the boat cannot go because there is land there. This land that is nearly an island, but does not have the water completely around it, is called a _peninsula_. Where have you seen a peninsula?

## CHAPTER X

DIRECTION

A LESSON IN THE SCHOOL YARD AT NOON TIME

Face the sun. We are facing the south. Does the sun always lie south of us? Where was it early this morning when it arose? That was east. Where will it be at sunset? That is west. Move your hand to show the sun's daily journey from east to south to west. The sun is south of us only at noon time.

[Illustration]

Face your shadow. Now the sun is behind you. What direction is back of you? You are facing north. Look at the shadows of the school, of the fence, of the pole, and of all the other children. They are all falling to the north. Can you make your shadow fall east or west or south? Why not? When only will shadows fall north? Can you think of any time when the shadows would fall east or west? Could they ever fall south? Why not?

Draw this diagram on the yard pavement, and mark the parts that are north, south, east and west. Stand at the middle of the cross. Face north. What is behind you? What direction is at your right side and which is at your left side? Learn these words:

"When I face the north the south is behind me; the east is at my right hand and the west is at my left hand."

If you pass a weather vane on your way home, see if you can read the letters on it and find out what they mean.

With soft chalk draw a line on your desk with one end toward the north and one end toward the south. Mark N for north and S for south. Draw a line across the middle of it, and mark E for east and W for west.

What is north of you, south of you, east of you and west of you?

In what direction from you is your teacher's desk?

On what side of you are the blackboards? On which side are the windows?

Walk toward the north, toward the east, toward the south, toward the west.

Which boy or girl is north of you? Which pupil is west of you?

What is south of your room? What is east of it?

On what side of your room is the corridor? On which side is the street? On which side is the school yard?

What is north of your teacher's desk? What is south of your teacher's chair? What is west of the table? What is east of the windows?

[Illustration: POINTS OF THE COMPASS.]

Draw a plan of your desk. Mark north, south, east and west upon it. Hang it up with north at the top. Draw a plan of your schoolroom. Mark the north, south, east and west. Hang up the plan with north at the top.

Look at the plan of the town. We call it a map. North is at the top. Find the rivers. At which side of the city are they?

Look at a plan of the entire school floor with all of the rooms and the corridor. How shall we hang it?

Men have made plans of the city, the country, and the whole world. These plans which show the land and water are called maps. On all maps north is usually at the top.

Look at the map of the whole world. How can you tell which part means land and which means water? What direction is at the top of the map, at the bottom, at the right side, and at the left side?

See where we find the north-east, south-east, south-west and north-west.