Chapter 3 of 3 · 5414 words · ~27 min read

PART TWO

## CHAPTER I

THE EARTH AS A WHOLE

[Illustration]

Long ago wise men found out that the great earth on which we live is not flat, but round like a ball. It is so very large, and we see so small a part of it at one time, that it looks flat to us. Take a piece of paper and tear out a small hole. Hold the hole over your globe so that a small part of the surface shows through. Does the small piece of the globe look very curved?

These men noticed ships sailing away across the water. When the ships were far away the lower part of the boat could not be seen. More and more disappeared till only the tops of the masts could be seen; and at last they were gone too. If you make a little paper boat and let it sail flat across your desk and then try it over the globe, you can see how this proves that the earth is not flat.

Did you ever see an eclipse of the moon? The big curved shadow was the earth's shadow. Why was the shadow round?

A globe shows the shape of the earth.

Look at all of the globes and maps in the room. Find how the land and the water are shown. Can you see any islands, any peninsulas? A tiny dot may mean the whole city with hundreds of homes, factories and other buildings. Do you remember how we looked down on our town from a great height and saw the many houses? Just think of a tiny dot meaning all of our town.

[Illustration: WESTERN HEMISPHERE]

[Illustration: EASTERN HEMISPHERE]

How are the rivers drawn? Think of the great wide flowing river with its wharves and its boats. It flows on for miles and miles. Some day all of its water will reach the ocean. This little black line means all of that great broad river.

Why do we have such tiny things to represent such great things?

See this land called North America. It would take five days and nights in a fast express train to travel straight across it.

We can cut the globe in half and make a flat picture of the two parts as they look when placed side by side.

Another name for the globe is sphere. "Hemi" means "half," so each half of the globe is called a "hemisphere."

One half is called the Eastern Hemisphere and the other half the Western Hemisphere.

In the Western Hemisphere we have the Western Continent, which is America. This Western Continent is made of two grand divisions, North America and South America. Why are they so named? We live in North America. Find our city and the river nearest to it. North America was joined to South America by a narrow strip of land called the _Isthmus of Panama_. Look at the map and think why millions of dollars have been spent through many years to cut through this isthmus. Now vessels can pass through this Panama Canal.

Look at the map of the Western Hemisphere and notice what it contains besides the Western Continent of America. There is more water than land. This water forms the great oceans.

Perhaps you have been to Atlantic City or some other seashore place and have seen the Atlantic Ocean. Do you remember the big waves which rolled in on the sandy beach and the pretty white-caps far out? Did you see the big nets drawn in full of hundreds of fish? Perhaps you bathed in the ocean and got your mouth full of water. It did not taste like the water we drink, for it was salty. All of the water of the ocean is salt water, but the water of rivers is fresh.

The oceans are very large. It would take us five or six days and nights on a great steamer to cross to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. In what direction should we go?

On the western side of America there is another great ocean, the Pacific Ocean. It has salt water like the Atlantic Ocean, and it also is constantly in motion with great waves.

North of North America, in the intensely cold region, is the Arctic Ocean. Great masses of ice called icebergs and ice floes are floating through this ocean.

Far south of South America is the Antarctic Ocean. It does not touch South America. It too is in a cold part of the world.

Do you know of any people who came here from England, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy or Russia? Their homes were in the Eastern Hemisphere. The Eastern Hemisphere has a great mass of land called the Eastern Continent. The Eastern Continent is composed of three grand divisions, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Find the great island named Australia. That is sometimes called the Australian Continent because it is so large.

The same oceans which are in the Western Hemisphere extend into the Eastern Hemisphere. Can you name them? The Eastern Hemisphere also contains the Indian Ocean, which is not in the Western Hemisphere.

1. How can people go from North America to Europe?

2. How do the Chinese, whose home is in Asia, come to America?

3. Nearly all of the rubber which we use for automobile tires, overshoes, erasers, and hundreds of other articles comes from South America. Over what ocean does it come?

4. On what ocean did Peary sail on his journey to the North Pole?

5. When Amundsen searched for the South Pole, he started from an island near Australia. On what oceans did he sail?

6. When the first negroes were brought here from Africa over what ocean did they come?

7. What ocean trip is shortest from Africa to Asia?

8. Of what use is the ocean?

9. Which ocean can we reach most quickly from our home? How long would it take us to get to this ocean?

10. How long would it take us to reach the Pacific Ocean?

"Behold the sea, ... splendid and strong, yet beautiful as the rose or the rainbow; full of food, nourisher of man, purger of the world, creating a sweet climate."--_Emerson_.

## CHAPTER II

THE SEASONS

What kind of weather are we having now? What kind will we have in July, in December, in April, in October?

What do we call the warm season? What is the cold season? What are the mild seasons? How many seasons have we?

What kind of clothing do we need in winter?

What work in your home is different in winter from what is done in summer? What season gives the school janitor most work? Why?

If you live in the country you have seen how different it looks in winter time and in summer time. Tell how. In what ways do the town streets and country roads differ in winter and in summer?

Name some winter and some summer sports and games.

There are certain kinds of industries which can be engaged in only in summer and some only in winter. Decide which of the following are summer and which are winter industries, and which require work in more than one season:

Ice cutting Building Farming Preserving Lumbering Fishing

What season do we have when the warm summer is over, and before the cold winter has set in? How do the city streets look then? How do you think the farm looks then?

Autumn or fall is a busy time on the farm. The last of the vegetables must be taken in and stored away for the winter. The ripe apples and nuts must be gathered too. The corn is brought in from the fields and stored in the barns for the winter food of the farm animals.

After the long cold winter is over the days grow gradually milder and warmer until spring has come. Are you glad when spring comes? Why?

In your schoolroom you can tell when spring is here. How pleasant the air feels as it blows in through the window! It seems to kiss us with its warm breath. You can hear the birds chirping as if they were happy. Perhaps a bee will buzz into the room. Many of the children will bring to school the dainty little spring flowers, anemones, blood root, hepatica, violets and buttercups.

Out in the country all nature is busy. The tree buds are swelling and bursting. The grass and flowers are springing up. The birds are building their nests. The farmer is ploughing and planting his fields.

## CHAPTER III

THE ZONES

All parts of the earth do not have seasons such as we have. If we should travel north we should find the climate growing colder and colder. After a long time we should come to a region of intense cold. The ground would be covered with ice and snow all the year through, both winter and summer. This most northern part of the earth is called the North Pole. The region around it is the North Frigid Zone. There is a South Pole and a South Frigid Zone as cold as the northern one. You can see where they are on the diagram.

If we start from here and take a trip south we find it constantly growing warmer. At last we come to a place where it is extremely warm in both summer and winter. That region is called the Torrid Zone because "torrid" means "hot." This hot zone extends right around the middle part of the earth. The very hottest part through the middle is the Equator. Notice on the drawing that we live in a zone between the very cold region, or Frigid Zone, and the very warm region, or Torrid Zone. Our zone is called the North Temperate Zone. We have here spring, summer, autumn and winter. Our weather is seldom so cold as in the Frigid Zones, nor so warm as in the Torrid Zone. Our spring and autumn are mild or temperate.

[Illustration: World map]

[Illustration: THE ZONES.]

Find the South Temperate Zone. Its climate is just like ours. What seasons do they have there? What zone lies north of it and which south of it?

Copy the diagram of the zones in your note-book.

THE TEMPERATE ZONE--OUR ZONE

Most of the people of the world live in one of the Temperate Zones, and most of the great cities are in these zones. People can work better here where we do not have either intensely hot or intensely cold weather all of the time. There are two Temperate Zones, the North Temperate Zone and the South Temperate Zone. In which do we live?

Some plants grow best in the Temperate Zones, while others live best in the Torrid Zone. Scarcely any grow in the Frigid Zones. Name all the plants you can think of that live in our zone. These plants grow during the summer and rest or die when winter comes.

SOME PLANTS OF THE TEMPERATE ZONES

Poplar Fruit trees Maple Wheat Chestnut Corn Oak Cotton Walnut Farm vegetables Pine Familiar garden plants

None of these plants can grow well in either the intense cold of the Frigid Zones or the great heat of the Torrid Zone.

Many animals live better in our zone than in any other zone. They need temperate climate.

SOME ANIMALS OF THE TEMPERATE ZONES

Horse Squirrel Cow Bear Sheep Wolf Pig Rabbit Cat Fox Dog Deer Zebra Buffalo Giraffe Goat

Which are domestic and which are wild animals? Describe each and tell how it is useful to man.

[Illustration: ZEBRA.]

THE HOT ZONE

If we take a long trip to the south we find it growing warmer and warmer until at last we have reached a land where it is warm all the year through. This is the Torrid Zone.

The plants do not rest nor die in winter there, for there is no cold weather. These plants keep right on growing through the year. Many of the trees grow very, very high and have tremendous leaves.

In some cities there are large greenhouses where the Torrid Zone plants are raised. The temperature must be kept as warm there as in the Torrid Zone. These are some of the Torrid or Hot Zone plants:

Palm Rubber Giant ferns Coffee Bamboo Banana

[Illustration: IN THE TORRID ZONE.]

In the forests of the Hot Zone the trees grow very close together. The sunlight cannot shine through. It is impossible to walk through these forests without first chopping out a pathway with a hatchet.

In these forests live many of the fierce animals which you have seen in cages in the Zoological Gardens or at the circus.

SOME ANIMALS OF THE TORRID ZONE

Monkey Elephant Camel Snake Lion Parrot Tiger Rhinoceros Leopard Wild Cat

Describe these and tell of what use they are.

[Illustration: A TROPICAL JUNGLE.]

Why are some of the buildings in the Zoological Gardens so warm?

The Torrid Zone was the first home of the negroes before they were brought to America. There are many negroes and Indians living in the Hot Zone now. Many are but half-civilized. Some are savage. As they do not need large warm homes like ours, some live in small huts made of the branches of trees, earth and straw. A few of these homes together make a village. These people get their food by hunting in the forest and fishing in the rivers and ocean. They also eat the fruits that grow wild in the forests. There are some cities in the Torrid Zone, but none of them are very large. These towns have been built mostly by the civilized white people. The streets are often shaded with beautiful palm trees. The buildings are generally small, as the people live and work out of doors as much as possible.

WHAT THE TEMPERATE AND TORRID ZONES DO FOR EACH OTHER

The people living in the Torrid Zone send to us Temperate Zone people many useful things that do not grow here. These are some of them:

Cocoanuts Chocolate Bananas Pepper Coffee Palm leaves Rubber Mahogany

In return the Temperate Zone people send to the Torrid Zone inhabitants things that they do not have. In the Hot Zone there are no large factories in which to manufacture goods, so we send there:

Farm tools Guns Woven goods Knives Books Clothing

THE COLD ZONES

[Illustration: AN ESKIMO FAMILY.]

At the most northern part of the earth and at the most southern part are regions of intense cold. The earth is entirely covered with ice and snow all of the year. The water is filled with masses of floating ice and snow. Our coldest winter days are not nearly so cold as the climate of the North and South Frigid Zones. It is even hard to tell which is land and which is water.

Of course no trees, nor grass, nor plants, nor animals, nor people of any kind can live in that intense cold. At the parts near the Temperate Zones, where it is slightly warmer, there are some very small dwarfed trees not more than a foot or two high, and perhaps a little moss. It is here that the Eskimos live; but most of the North Frigid Zone and the South Frigid Zone is a stretch of frozen whiteness on all sides, with no living thing of any kind. During the summer the sun never sets, so that there is twilight all night. In winter the sun never rises above the horizon, so there are months of darkness.

[Illustration: ESKIMO BOY.]

These frozen lands are the regions through which so many brave explorers have traveled trying to find the most northern part called the North Pole, and the most southern part, the South Pole. Many of these fearless men have never returned from the Frigid Zones. They have starved or been frozen to death.

At last, after trying for twenty-seven years, Robert E. Peary, an American, reached the North Pole on April 6, 1909. All Americans are very proud of this brave, determined, fearless man, who would not stop until he had done what he set out to do.

Roald Amundsen, a brave Norwegian, reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911, after suffering many hardships.

Peary has written a book in which he tells about his travels. Up in the north he met the Eskimos, who belong to the Indian family. They live in snow houses in the winter. In summer, which is also very cold, they live in skin tents. These Eskimos dress in warm furs. They have no schools nor churches, but they are a kind and peaceful people. They are very good to the white explorers in the north.

The Eskimo travels mostly on foot, but carries loads on sledges drawn by dogs. The Eskimo's dogs are his best friends. Without them he could not manage to carry home the animals he kills for food and clothing. He also uses boats which he makes of skins.

Many of the Frigid Zone animals are covered with heavy fur. Why?

SOME FRIGID ZONE ANIMALS

Dog Polar Bear Seal Reindeer Whale Penguin

WHAT THE FRIGID AND TEMPERATE ZONES DO FOR EACH OTHER

Men go to the Frigid Zones and catch seals and other animals and bring back the skins for the Temperate Zone people.

The whale, which lives in the ocean of the Frigid Zone, is also very useful. From it we get the whalebone, oil and also a fertilizer to help our farm crops to grow. Great quantities of whale meat are eaten by some people of the Temperate Zones.

The Eskimos of the Frigid Zone are glad to have from the Temperate Zones manufactured articles like pans, knives and guns.

1. What different kinds of people have you ever seen?

2. Why are the Temperate Zone people more civilized than the Frigid Zone people?

3. Name some animals of each zone.

4. In which zones is it best to live? Why?

5. As you sit at your desk point toward the North Pole, toward the South Frigid Zone, the North Frigid Zone, the South Temperate Zone, the Equator, the South Pole, the Torrid Zone.

## CHAPTER IV

NORTH AMERICA

Find where we live on the map of North America. Locate our home on all of our maps and globes.

North America is a very large portion of land. You could sail along its shores for thousands of miles. At its widest part you could not cross it in a fast express train in less than five days and nights. There are thousands of cities in this great grand division, for there are millions of people here. Most of them are white or Caucasian. There are also many Indians, negroes, Eskimos and Mongolians.

Much of the land is dense forest, and much is fertile farm land. A small part has so few rivers and such a scarcity of rainfall that the land is dry and arid. Little grows upon it but coarse grass and cactus. This region is called a _desert_.

North America stretches far up north into the North Frigid Zone and far south into the Torrid Zone, but most of it lies in the North Temperate Zone. What plants and animals live in North America? It is separated from Asia by a narrow strip of water called Behring Strait. How did North America used to be connected with South America? Why is the separation called a canal and not an isthmus?

[Illustration: BARNEGAT LIGHTHOUSE.]

Three great oceans wash the shores of North America. Name them. The coast line is very irregular. Notice on the map that at places part of the ocean extends far into the land, forming _gulfs_ and _bays_. Hudson Bay, Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of St. Lawrence are all parts of which ocean? The waves are not so high in the bays and gulfs as in the open ocean. The land keeps off some of the wind. Vessels that are waiting to be laden with cargo lie in these sheltered gulfs and bays. Why?

At many places along the shore the land juts out into the ocean in _capes_. Many of these points of land have special names. Look on the map for them. There are light houses built on most of these capes to warn the ships in the dark and in the storms to keep away from the dangerous rocks and shore. A cape is often a pleasant place for a summer home. There is so much water around it that the sea breezes sweep across it and make it delightfully cool.

Do you remember how we spoke of the river with its many boats and steamers? There are hundreds of rivers in North America flowing for miles until at last they reach the ocean.

There are many high hills, some so very high as to be called _mountains_. There is a chain of these mountains called the Eastern Highlands along the eastern part of North America. They extend for many miles north and south. The scenery in this region is very beautiful. The mountains are covered mostly with forests of pine, spruce, oak, maple, chestnut and other trees. These are cut down for lumber. In the wilder parts of these forests live squirrels, rabbits, bears and snakes. At places the trees have been cut down to make room for fields of grain.

[Illustration: SURFACE MAP OF NORTH AMERICA.]

The mountains are full of useful minerals. Great quantities of coal and iron are mined in the Eastern Highlands.

The highest mountains in North America are the Western Highlands in the western part. One great chain or range extends the entire length of North America from the Arctic Ocean down into South America. Great forests grow on these mountains. In many places are huge masses of rock on which nothing grows, so this range has been called the Rocky Mountains. It is always bitter cold at the top of some of these mountains because they reach so high. Even in summer they are capped with snow. Nowhere in the world can more magnificent scenery be found.

West of the Rocky Mountains is the Pacific Mountain System.

Gold and silver are mined in the Western Highlands. In the wild parts of the forests, where no people live, deer, wolves and bears may be found.

The low land between the mountains we call _plains_ or _valleys_. There is a Great Central Plain which reaches from the Eastern Highlands to the Western Highlands. There are many rivers in this valley. The Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers are the largest.

You remember how rivers make rainfall and fertile soil. The Great Central Plain has some of the best farm land in the world. In the northern cold part hardly anything grows, but in the central part great quantities of corn, grain, fruits and vegetables are raised. In the south the plantations or farms raise sugar cane, cotton, tobacco, rice and coffee.

[Illustration: SHEEP ON THE PLAINS.]

On the western plains great herds of thousands of sheep and cattle are raised.

In the Great Central Plain are hundreds of cities where the farm products are sold. Here, too, the farmers buy the farm tools and machinery which they need. In the city mills the wheat is ground into flour and the logs from the forests are sawed into planks or made into furniture. The cattle and sheep are killed and the meat prepared for our use.

East of the central part of the Great Central Plain are five of the largest lakes in the world. When you are in a boat in the middle of any one of them you cannot see the land on any side. They are called the Great Lakes. Their names are Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario. They are all joined together, and from the last a large river runs into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It has the same name as the gulf.

There are many other smaller lakes in North America where the land is low and the water from the rivers and streams fills up the hollows. Nearly all have fresh water like the rivers. A very few, like Great Salt Lake, contain salt water.

## CHAPTER V

COUNTRIES OF NORTH AMERICA

North America contains several different countries. Each is under a separate government. These countries are United States, British America, Danish America, Mexico and Central America. Each country has its own ruler and its own laws. Each has a special flag and its own kind of money and postage stamps.

THE UNITED STATES

We live in the best one of these countries, for we have the best ways of obtaining our food, our clothing and our shelter. Our climate is good, for we are in the North Temperate Zone. Our soil is very fertile. The Great Central Plain of North America passes through the central part of the United States. We raise fruits, vegetables, corn, wheat, rice and sugar for food. We have immense ranches for raising cows and sheep too. Our clothing is supplied by the thousands of sheep we raise and from the cotton we grow here. The Western and Eastern Highlands pass through our country.

[Illustration: North America]

We have a great quantity of lumber, stone, coal and iron for making our comfortable homes. In what part of the country is each of these products obtained? Why? Right in our own United States is found nearly everything that is necessary to make us comfortable and happy.

[Illustration: COTTON FIELD.]

We have hundreds of towns with homes, factories, schools, hospitals and churches. Over every public building floats our beautiful flag, the Stars and Stripes.

Our laws are made in the capital, which is named Washington, after George Washington, our first president. Find Washington on the map. How long would it take to go to Washington from our home? It is a beautiful city. The Capitol building is one of the finest in the world. The President of the United States lives in the White House.

Alaska, in the north-west, and the island of Porto Rico, in the south-east, belong to the United States. We own other islands in other parts of the world.

_British America_ is our next neighbor on the north. It includes all of the Dominion of Canada and the Island of Newfoundland. It belongs to England or Great Britain in Europe.

[Illustration: MOUNTAIN GOAT.]

The Great Central Plain and the Western Highlands pass through it, and yet it is not a rich country with many people like the United States. Can you tell why?

There are large crops of fruit and grain in the southern part only of British America. In this part only are there any large cities. The few people in the northern part go there to hunt the animals for furs and to find gold. Many whales live in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Hudson Bay. Are they of use to man?

_Danish America_ is the name given to the two islands Greenland and Iceland, because they belong to Denmark, a country of Europe.

Greenland lies in which zones? What kind of climate has it? A few white people and some Eskimos live in the southern part. The northern part has no life at all.

What do you know of the people, the plants and the animals of this region?

In what zone is Iceland? Why is the climate very cold? Many fish are caught in the ocean around Iceland. The people on the island are able to raise little but grass to feed their sheep and cattle.

There are many mountains in Iceland. Some of them send out steam and melted rock and are called _volcanoes_.

_Mexico_ is our southern neighbor. This country has a president and a government somewhat like ours.

Both Indians and white people live in Mexico. The climate is so warm in the valleys that the people living there cannot work so hard as they do in the United States. So they do not have large factories and many fine schools, hospitals and libraries as we have. Why do they not build these on the mountains where the climate is pleasant?

They have large plantations where they raise rubber, sugar, cotton, coffee, tobacco and fruit and many cattle.

The great Western Highlands extend down through Mexico, and silver, copper and coal are mined in them. Some of these mountains are volcanoes. What does this mean?

Central America is still warmer than Mexico. It is entirely in what zone? The plants and animals are much like those of Mexico.

The West Indies consist of many islands. The largest are Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica and Porto Rico. Which belongs to the United States? These islands have a warm climate. What do you think is raised on the plantations by the white people and negroes?

The West Indies separate a part of the ocean from the main Atlantic Ocean. This smaller part is called the _Caribbean Sea_. Notice what countries it touches.

## CHAPTER VI

TRIPS

Suppose you were to sail from New York City to Iceland.

1. What would you take with you that the people would be glad to get?

2. What kind of clothing would you need for the trip?

3. Over what water would you sail?

4. In what direction would you go?

5. What countries would you pass?

6. How could you tell when you were getting near Iceland?

7. What would you see in Iceland?

8. Could you bring back to the people at home anything useful?

Let us go to visit the Panama Canal, keeping our vessel close to the shore all the way.

1. What clothing shall we need? Why?

2. What countries shall we pass? What islands, peninsulas and capes?

3. On what water shall we sail?

4. What would the people be glad to have from our country?

5. Where could we stop to get some coffee, rubber and bananas to bring back?

Plan a trip along the Pacific Ocean.

1. Where will you start?

2. Where will you go?

3. What will you see at the place from which you start and at the end of the trip?

4. What interesting places will you pass?

Let us cross our country by train from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Coast.

1. How long shall we be on the train?

2. Describe the scenery as we go west.

3. What rivers shall we cross?

4. What kinds of industries could we visit on the way across?

How far can a boat sail if it starts in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to go as far west as possible?

A trip up the Mississippi River.

1. How would the climate change?

2. What name is given to this part of the land through which the river flows?

3. What scenes could we expect to see on the shores of the river?

4. What products would the boats we pass be carrying?

+------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Transcriber's notes | | | | | | Obvious spelling/typographical and punctuation errors have been | | corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within | | the text and consultation of external sources. | | | | Inconsistent hyphenations have been retained: | | school-room/schoolroom, school-house/schoolhouse, | | note-book/notebook. | | | | On page 19 in Chapter II an apparent printing error | | interchanging the section heading "5" and the first line of the | | following text has been corrected. | | | | Re the question at the end of Chapter III: the cover of the 1913 | | edition shows a statue of a man, possibly William Penn, | | surrounded by silhouettes of the six continents. The cover of | | the 1914 general edition shows the dome of the Capitol at | | Washington (cf the frontispiece) in place of the statue. | | | | The original book was published at Philadelphia by the | | Christopher Sower Company, 124 North Eighteenth Street. The | | copyright date was 1913 and 1914. | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------+