Chapter I: Part 1

HOME GEOGRAPHY
FOR
PRIMARY GRADES

BY
C. C. LONG, Ph.D.

AUTHOR OF NEW LANGUAGE LESSONS, LESSONS IN ENGLISH, ETC.,

TO THE TEACHER.

Geography may be divided into the geography of the home and the geography of the world at large. A knowledge of the home must be obtained by direct observation; of the rest of the world, through the imagination assisted by information. Ideas acquired by direct observation form a basis for imagining those things which are distant and unknown.

The first work, then, in geographical instruction, is to study that small part of the earth's surface lying just at our doors. All around are illustrations of lake and river, upland and lowland, slope and valley. These forms must be actually observed by the pupil, mental pictures obtained, in order that he may be enabled to build up in his mind other mental pictures of similar unseen forms. The hill that he climbs each day may, by an appeal to his imagination, represent to him the lofty Andes or the Alps. From the meadow, or the bit of level land near the door, may be developed a notion of plain and prairie. The little stream that flows past the schoolhouse door, or even one formed by the sudden shower, may speak to him of the Mississippi, the Amazon, or the Rhine. Similarly, the idea of sea or ocean may be deduced from that of pond or lake. Thus, after the pupil has acquired elementary ideas by actual perception, the imagination can use them in constructing, on a larger scale, mental pictures of similar objects outside the bounds of his own experience and observation.

To effect this, the teacher should visit with her class places where the simpler geographical features in miniature may be observed. If the school is in the city, pupils may be taken to the parks for this purpose. If out-of-door study be impossible, they may be induced to recall objects which they have seen on their way to school or on short excursions in the neighborhood. In the case of children who have little opportunity for observing nature, a drawing, a photograph, or a model will be helpful in giving them a proper idea of the matter. It must not be forgotten, however, that actual observation by the pupil is necessary to seeing clearly and intelligently.

Vegetable and animal life are essential features of the geography of the world, and considerable time should be given to the study of those within the observation of the pupils. Information concerning plants may be gained by outdoor study; also by planting seeds in boxes and having pupils carefully watch their germination and growth.

Pupils should be encouraged to make collections of the minerals and rocks of their region. These should be classified and arranged for use, not for show.

The lessons about rain, snow, dew, etc., should be given at appropriate times. A wet day will suggest a lesson on rain, a snowy day a lesson about snow. No attempt should be made at "science" teaching, so-called. All that should be sought is to get the pupil thoughtfully to observe, and thus to awaken his interest in the world about him.

Lessons should be conversational in form, which is always a most pleasing style for children, as it is the most natural. The work of the teacher is to awaken and stimulate interest, not to impart information. The attention of the child should be directed to what lies around him. He must observe, and think, and express his thoughts. Nor should his observations be confined to the school and school hours. He should be encouraged to obtain his information by his own searching, without guidance, and report the results.

The development of clear mental pictures is stimulated by expression. "Expression is the test of the pupil's knowledge." Hence, the child should be required to reproduce what he has learned. He may do this by modeling, drawing, and oral and written description. These are placed in the order which should be followed in the training of children.

The inclination of nearly every child left to his own mode of development is to make, in some plastic material, what he has seen. Trying to fashion the hills and valleys with which he is familiar excites his interest, and leads to closer observation. This may be followed by the reproduction in molder's sand, or in clay, of the forms seen in pictures or learned from description. Definitions of the various forms, hill, mountain, valley, island, etc., should be developed as they are molded. The memorizing of definitions should seldom be required, and should never be made a test of the pupil's knowledge.

Reproduction by the hand should be followed by drawing, whenever this can be done. Drawing teaches the child how to see well. It often enables him to reveal what could not well be expressed in words. He also becomes ready and rapid in the use of the pencil when he has ideas to put on paper. Only reasonable accuracy should be required. Practice in making fine pictures should not be the end sought, but the development of geographical ideas.

Finally, pupils should be led to give clear and connected statements of what has been learned. For a language lesson, a written description may be prepared, illustrated by a drawing.

CONTENTS.

I.--POSITION

II.--HOW THE SUN SHOWS DIRECTION

III.--HOW THE STARS SHOW DIRECTION

IV.--HOW THE COMPASS SHOWS DIRECTION

V.--QUESTIONS ON DIRECTION

VI.--WHAT THE WINDS BRING (POEM)

VII.--HOW TO TELL DISTANCE

VIII.--PICTURES AND PLANS

IX.--WRITTEN EXERCISE

X.--GOD MADE THEM ALL (POEM)

XI.--PLAINS

XII.--HILLS, MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS

XIII.--RAIN, WIND, AND SNOW

XIV.--HOW WATER IS CHANGED TO VAPOR

XV.--HOW VAPOR IS CHANGED TO WATER

XVI.--DEW, CLOUDS, AND RAIN

XVII.--THE FAIRY ARTIST (POEM)

XVIII.--HOW RIVERS ARE MADE

XIX.--MORE ABOUT RIVERS

XX.--THE BROOK (POEM)

XXI.--WORK OF FLOWING RIVERS

XXII.--WATERDROP'S STORY

XXIII.--THE RIVER (POEM)

XXIV.--A MAP

XXV.--FORMS OF LAND AND WATER

XXVI.--MORE ABOUT FORMS OF LAND AND WATER

XXVII.--A TRIP TO THE HIGHLANDS

XXVIII.--SPRING (POEM)

XXIX.--USEFUL VEGETABLES

XXX.--USEFUL GRAINS

XXXI.--FRUITS

XXXII.--USEFUL PLANTS

XXXIII.--FOREST TREES

XXXIV.--FLOWERS

XXXV.--WHAT IS NECESSARY TO MAKE PLANTS GROW

XXXVI.--SUMMER RAIN (POEM)

XXXVII.--THE PARTS OF ANIMALS

XXXVIII.--THE COVERING OF ANIMALS

XXXIX.--USES OF ANIMALS

XL.--THE SIGNS OF THE SEASONS (POEM)

XLI.--THINGS FOUND IN THE EARTH

XLII.--MORE ABOUT THINGS FOUND IN THE EARTH

XLIII.--HOW PEOPLE LIVE, AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING

XLIV.--MORE ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE DOING

XLV.--A REVIEW LESSON

Home Geography.

LESSON I.

POSITION.

Lay your hands upon your desk, side by side.

Which side shall we call the right side? The left side?

Put your hands on the middle of your desk on the side farthest from you. That part is the back of your desk.

Think which is the front of your desk. Put your hands on the front of your desk.

Who sits on your right hand? On your left? At the desk in front of you? At the desk behind you?

Turn round. Who is on your right now? On your left? Before you? Behind you?

Turn again. Who is now on your right? On your left? Before you? Behind you?

NOTE.--Lead children to see that the terms _right, left, front_, and _back_ are of little use in telling the position of places, and that some fixed standard of direction is necessary.

LESSON II.

HOW THE SUN SHOWS DIRECTION.

If I should ask, "Which is the way to your home?" who could tell me what I mean?

You all know which way you must go to find your home, but if you should wish to go to a place where you have never been, you would ask, perhaps, "Which way is it?"

The way to a place is called _direction_. In order to find a place, we must know in what direction from us it lies, and we have names for directions, such as _north_, _south_, _east_, and _west_. We may know these directions by seeing where the sun is.

Did you ever see the sun rise? Point to the place where you saw the sun rise. The direction in which the sun seems to rise is called the _east_.

Did you ever see the sun set? Point to where you saw the sun set. The direction in which the sun seems to set is called the _west_. The west is just the opposite direction from east.

When do we see the sun rise? Where do we see the sun rise? What is the name of this direction? When do we see the sun set? Where do we see it set? What is the name of this direction? On which side of the schoolroom does the sun rise? On which side does it set? Which is the east side of your desk? Which the west side?

When coming to school this morning, in what direction did you see the sun? If we walk so that the morning sun shines in our faces, in what direction are we going? What direction is behind us?

Now that you know the east, you will be able to find other directions in this way: Stretch out your arms so that your right hand points toward the east, and your left hand toward the west. You are now facing the _north_. The direction behind you is the _south_.

_Write the following on your slates:_

The sun seems to rise toward the east, and set toward the west. The west is just the opposite direction from the east.

When my right hand is pointing to the east, and my left hand to the west, my face is toward the north and my back is toward the south.

ORAL EXERCISES.

Which is the north side of the schoolroom? Which is the south side? Who sits to the north of you? To the south?

In what direction do the pupils face? On which side of your schoolroom is the teacher's table? Which sides have no windows? Which sides have no doors?

If a room has a fireplace in the middle of the east side, which side of the room faces the fire? Suppose the wind is blowing from the north, in what direction will the smoke go?

In what direction from the schoolhouse is the playground?

What is the first street or road north of the school? The first street or road east? South? West?

In what direction is your home from the school? The school from your home? The nearest church from the school? The post office from your home?

LESSON III.

HOW THE STARS SHOW DIRECTION.

You have learned how to tell north, south, east, and west by the sun; but how can we tell these directions at night?

Ask some one to point out to you a group of seven bright stars in the north part of the sky. Some people think that this group of stars looks like a wagon and three horses; others say that it looks like a plow.

The proper name of the group containing these seven stars is the Great Bear. The group was given this name because men at first thought it looked like a bear with a long tail.

These seven stars are called the Dipper. It is a part of a larger group called the Great Bear. Find the two bright twinkling stars farthest from its handle. A line drawn through them will point to another star, not quite so bright, called the North Star. That star is always in the north; so by it, on a clear night, you can tell the other directions at once.

_Write on your slates_:

Sailors out on the sea at night often find direction by looking at the North Star.

LESSON IV.

HOW THE COMPASS SHOWS DIRECTION.

But there are times when it is cloudy, and neither the sun nor the stars can be seen. How can we tell direction then?

Have you ever seen a compass? It is a box in which is a little needle swinging on the top of a pin. When this needle is at rest, one end of it _points to the north_.

As the needle shows where the north is; it is easy to find the south, the east, or the west.

With the compass as a guide, the sailor, in the darkest night, can tell in what direction he is going.

North, south, east, and west are called the _chief points_ of the compass.

Other directions are northeast, halfway between north and east; northwest, halfway between north and west; southeast, halfway between south and east; and southwest, halfway between south and west.

_Write on your slates:_

The chief points of the compass are north, south, east, and west.

Other directions are northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest.

Sailors find their way over the ocean by the help of the compass.

LESSON V.

QUESTIONS ON DIRECTION.

Your teacher will give you time to discover answers to these questions. She could tell you, but it is better to find them out for yourself.

If I go out of doors, how can I find the north? How can I find it on a starlight night? How can I find it on pleasant days? How on rainy days? How does a sailor find the north?

If you were lost and knew your home was north, how would you find it? Do you know how hunters and Indians who live a great deal in the woods find out where the north is? When you are in the woods, notice the amount of moss on the north side of trees as compared to that on the south side.

As winter approaches; many of our birds will want to go to a warmer country; in what direction will they fly? Point to where ice and snow have their home. What direction is that?

In what direction does your shadow fall at sunrise? At sunset? At noon? When, during the day, is your shadow shortest?

In what direction does your shadow extend from yourself when it is shortest?

What time of day is noon? How can we tell when it is noon? When is the sun highest in the sky?

What may we discover by watching the direction of the smoke from the chimneys? What does a vane on a steeple tell us? What is a north wind? A south wind? An east wind? A west wind?

What kind of weather may be expected from a north wind? From a south wind? From an east wind? From a west wind?

LESSON VI.

WHAT THE WINDS BRING.

Comes the north wind, snowflakes bringing:
Robes the fields in purest white,
Paints grand houses, trees, and mountains
On our window-panes at night.

Hills and vales the east wind visits,
Brings them chilly, driving rain;
Shivering cattle homeward hurry,
Onward through the darkening lane.

Heat the south wind kindly gives us;
Reddens apples, gilds the pear,
Gives the grape a richer purple,
Scatters plenty everywhere.

Flowers sweet the west wind offers,
Peeping forth from vines and trees;
Brings the butterflies so brilliant,
And the busy, humming bees.

Each wind brings his own best treasure
To our land from year to year;
Blessings many without measure
E'er attend the winds' career.

Lillian Cox.

"Whichever way the wind doth blow.
Some heart is glad to have it so;
And blow it east or blow it west,
The wind that blows, that wind is best."

_Write_ all that you can tell about the wind.

What was the direction of the wind during the last snow-storm? Why is the north wind cold? Why is the south wind warm?

LESSON VII.

HOW TO TELL DISTANCE.

To tell where a place is, we must know its direction. But this is not all; we must also know how far it is from us; that is; its _distance_. To find this out we measure.

You have often heard of an _inch_, a _foot_, and a _yard_. This line is one inch long |--------|. Your ruler is twelve inches long, that is a foot. Three lengths of your ruler make a yard. A yard stick is three feet long.

With these measures you can tell how long your slate or your desk is, or how long and wide the schoolroom is.

The inch, foot, and yard are used for measuring short distances. But when we wish to tell the distance between objects far apart, we use another measure called a _mile_. A mile is much longer than a yard.

Think of some object that is a mile from our schoolhouse. How long would it take you to walk that distance?

ORAL EXERCISES.

How many inches long is your slate? How long is your desk? How many feet long is your room? How wide is it? What is the distance around the room? How many feet wide is each window? Each door? How many yards wide is the nearest street or road?

About what is the height of the schoolroom? Of the schoolhouse? Of the tallest tree near by? Of the nearest church spire?

About how long is the longest street in the town where you live? Do you know how many blocks or squares make a mile? Name the nearest river or creek. Give its direction from the school. In what direction does the water run? Give the direction and distance of the nearest church. What must you know to go to any place?

NOTE.--Have pupils estimate distances by the eye, then verify by actual measurement. Continue the exercises until the work becomes quite accurate. Correct ideas of distance are necessary in order to understand how large the world is, and how far apart places are on its surface.

LESSON VIII.

PICTURES AND PLANS.

You all know what a picture is. But do you know what a plan is?

A little boy wanted to show his cousin, who lived some miles away; the shape and size of his house, and how the rooms were arranged. How could he do this?

On a large sheet of white paper, he placed lines of blocks in the form of his house. Then, with a lead pencil, he drew a line on the paper along the sides of the blocks. He next took up the blocks, and there, on the paper, was a plan of his house.

Here is a picture of a schoolroom. We see desks, the teacher's table, a chair, a clock, globe, and two maps, in the picture. The picture shows these objects as they would appear if we stood at the door behind the teacher's table and looked in.

This is a plan of the schoolroom, a picture of which is shown above. You see, the plan and picture are quite different.

The picture shows the objects as we see them before us. The plan shows where the objects are, and their direction from one another.

Now let us see if we can make a plan of the same schoolroom on the blackboard.

The first thing is to measure the sides of the room. We will suppose the two long sides are each forty feet long, and the two short sides each thirty feet long. Now we will draw four straight lines on the board for the four sides. Of course, the lines must be much shorter than the sides themselves, else our plan will be too large.

Make one inch in the plan stand for one foot in the room. So the lines for the long sides will each be forty inches long, and the lines for the short sides thirty inches long.

The next thing is to make spaces in the sides for the door and the windows, and oblongs for the desks. But we must remember that an inch in our plan stands for a foot in the object itself, and therefore we must allow as many inches for the width of doors and windows, and for the length and width of the desks, as there are feet in the objects themselves. Thus, if the door is three feet wide, we must make it three inches wide in our plan.

And lastly, we will draw a circle for the globe, and an oblong and square for the teacher's table and chair, that shall show just where and just how long these objects are.

We have now a _plan_ of the schoolroom. Let us put N. to show the north side of the room, S. to show the south side, E. to show the east side, and W. to show the west side. We can now tell the direction of one thing from another in our plan.

LESSON IX.

WRITTEN EXERCISE.

_Write_ the answers to the following questions, in full sentences:

What is the name of your school? On what street or road is it? Which side of the street? Between what streets? In which direction does the building face?

How many rooms has the building? In what part of the building is your room? How large is it? How many doors and windows? How many seats?

In what direction is the school from your home? How far is it? How long does it take you to walk to school?

EXERCISES IN DRAWING PLANS.

Draw a plan of the schoolroom on your slates. It cannot be drawn on your slates as large as it was drawn on the board. So let one inch stand for ten feet, instead of for one foot; that is, use a _scale_ of one inch for every ten feet. Your plan will not be as large as mine, but it will show the position of everything as correctly.

Draw a plan of the top of the teacher's table, showing two books and an inkstand upon it. First, measure the sides. Then decide to what scale you will draw your plan.

Now draw a plan of the schoolhouse and grounds. You must measure not only the house, but the width and length of the yard. The plan must show the size, shape, and place of everything upon the grounds. (While drawing a plan of this kind, it is better to let the pupils face the north. The top of the plan should be the north side of the grounds.)

Draw a plan of your own room at home, showing the table, bed, chairs, and other objects in it.

ORAL EXERCISE.

If the shape of a room is shown on the blackboard, what have we drawn? Is a plan the same as a picture? What is the use of a plan? Mention some things of which plans can be drawn.

NOTE.--It is wrong to teach that the _top_ of a map or plan is _always_ north; as often as not, the bottom is north, in plans especially.

LESSON X.

GOD MADE THEM ALL.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The good God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The morning and the sunset,
The twinkling stars on high;

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden--
He made them every one.

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who hath made all things well.

LESSON XI.

PLAINS.

The floor of our schoolroom is level. The playground is almost, if not quite, level. As you look away from the school, is the land nearly level? Did you ever see a broad extent of nearly level land?

Let us imagine that we are out on a piece of nearly level land, many, many times larger than our playground. Such a broad, nearly level stretch of land is called a _plain_.

If this plain were covered with rich green grass and beautiful flowers, we should call it a _prairie_. In the summer it is a vast sea of waving grass. On the prairie we might find herds of wild horses and cattle, which feed upon the rich grass. If it were late in the summer, when the grass is dry and crisp, it might catch fire, and we might then see a grand sight--a prairie on fire.

We now come to another plain, miles and miles long, miles and miles wide. No rain falls here, and therefore we see no grass, nor flowers, nor cattle, nor horses, nothing but dry, burning sand, rocks, or gravel. We are in a _desert_. But we are so thirsty and tired!

No water to drink, no shade from the burning sun! Suddenly, in the midst of the desert, we come to a beautiful grassy spot. There is a cluster of date-palm trees, and, better still, a well or a spring of fresh water. This pleasant spot in the desert is called an _oasis_. Here we may quench our thirst, and rest beneath the shade of the trees.

An _oasis_ is a fertile spot in a desert. What does _fertile_ mean? When do we say land is fertile? When barren? When desert?

Find a picture of a palm tree, and try to draw it.

If we were really in a desert, we might see a company of merchants carrying goods to sell in the countries they visit. Such a company is called a _caravan_. The goods are packed in bundles, which are carried on camels' backs. The camel can live for a long time without drinking, and can carry a heavy load of merchandise a long distance. It is sometimes called the ship of the desert.

Why do travelers use camels to cross the desert? Why do they not use horses? If you can not find answers to these questions in your books at home, ask your teacher about them.

You have seen a small whirlwind in the street. The leaves flew round and round, the dust whirled along in clouds. Trees are sometimes torn from the ground, and houses overturned, by a strong wind.

Now think of a wind-storm in the desert. A loud, rustling noise is heard. Great clouds of fine sand are lifted into the air--clouds which darken the sun! Travelers must at once jump from their camels, cover themselves with their cloaks, and lie flat on the ground.

The poor beasts will close their eyes and nostrils, and kneel with their backs to the wind until the storm has passed over.

Thankful will the travelers be if none of them are buried in the sand.

LESSON XII.

HILLS, MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS.

The land is not always level like a plain. In some places it is high and uneven. We all know what a _hill_ is. It is land a little higher than the surrounding country.

Is there a hill near where you live? Let us walk to the _top_, and stand on its _summit_. We will start from the _foot_ or _base_ of the hill. Now we have climbed its steep, rough _sides_ or _slopes_. Was the ascent difficult? Is the view from the top fine?

What can you see from the top of the hill--meadow, river, lake, town? What grow on the hill? What live on the hill?

Which part of a hill is called the base, or foot? The slope, or sides? The top, or summit?

Give two names for the lowest part of a hill. Two for the highest part. Two for the part between the highest and lowest parts.

Parts of the land very much higher than the surrounding country are called _mountains_. Mountains are much higher than hills. Have you ever seen a steeple one hundred feet high? A mountain is as high as twenty such steeples, one on the top of the other. How high the mountains must be!

Some mountains reach away above the clouds. Their white tops seem to touch the sky. A man on the summit of one saw the clouds beneath his feet, while the sun shone where he stood. When it lightened he saw the flash far below him.

Is it warm or cold at the tops of mountains? With what are many high mountains covered, even in summer?

The land between mountains or hills is called a _valley_. Is there a valley near here? What do you call the ground on either side?

Would you like best to live on the mountains or in the valley? Why?

Are mountains of any use?

Yes, hills and mountains are of very great use. They make the earth more beautiful. Tops of high mountains are so cold that they turn the clouds into drops of water which fall as rain or snow. Then mountains give rise to rivers which make the valleys beautiful with grass and flowers. Mountains do much good to some countries by keeping off cold winds. They also give us coal and iron and other minerals which we find so useful.

Here is a picture. What do you call the very high land on the right and on the left? The long, narrow piece of land between the two mountains?

When you look at this picture you must think of a real valley between mountains.

Bring pictures of hills and mountains to school; if you can find them.

If you had a molding-board and a few quarts of sand; you might represent hills and mountains with valleys between. Think of a real hill while you mold.

Draw on your slate a hill you have seen with a little of the surrounding country.

_Write:_

A long, narrow piece of land between hills and mountains is called a valley.

A hill is land a little higher than the country about it.

A mountain is land that rises to a very great height above the country about it.

LESSON XIII.

RAIN, WIND, AND SNOW.

Do you see the dropping rain,
Pitter-patter on the pane?
How it runs along the street!
And it wets our little feet;
But it makes the green grass grow,
And the tiny streamlets flow.

Listen to the wintry blast
Moaning, shrieking, howling past,
Striking with tremendous force
Rocks and forests in its course;
But it blows the windmills strong,
And it sends big ships along.

Watch the pretty snowflakes fall,
Some are large and some are small;
Look, they cover all the ground,
Miles of dazzling white around;
But this covering, I am told,
Keeps the earth from frost and cold.

Ah! and I must work alway,
Life's not meant to spend in play;
Every moment's fleeting fast,
And our day will soon be past;
If our work is truly done,
It will last though ages run.

Of what use is rain? Of what use is snow? Of what use is wind?

LESSON XIV.

HOW WATER IS CHANGED TO VAPOR.

What happens when a kettle of water is put on a hot stove?

The water gets hot and boils away.

Where does it go? Is it destroyed?

The water is changed, but it is not destroyed. Coal burns, but we do not get rid of it altogether. It is changed into gas and smoke and ashes.

What is the water changed into?

It is changed to vapor. If we let the kettle remain on the fire long enough, the water it contains will all pass away as vapor.

Where does the vapor go? The water, though turned into vapor, must be somewhere.

It is floating about in the air of the room, though we cannot see it. The air holds the vapor, just as a sponge holds water.

Heat expands or swells air. Warm air, therefore, can contain more vapor than cold air. On a warm day there may be many times as much moisture in the air as on a cold day.

Moisten your slate with a damp sponge. Observe the disappearance of the moisture.

Dip your hand in water, and wave it in the air. The water on your hand disappears. Where has it gone?

When wet clothes are hung on the line, they soon become dry. What becomes of the water in the clothes?

If we set a plate of water out in the sunshine, what happens? Is the water lost?

The streets and roads were wet and muddy, now they are dry. What has become of the water? Has it all sunk into the ground?

Sometimes we see leaves and grass sparkle with water-drops, early in the morning, When the sun shines out and warms the air; what happens?

Why does vapor rise into the air?

Why does smoke go up? Because it is lighter than air. As vapor is lighter than air; what do you think ought to happen to it?

LESSON XV.

HOW VAPOR IS CHANGED TO WATER,

Heat, as you have learned, changes water into vapor. You must also know that cold turns vapor back into water again.

Now let us think of the kettle with the boiling water. You will notice a little space; quite close to the spout, where nothing can be seen. Is there no vapor there?

Yes, there is vapor there, but it cannot be seen; it is invisible. A little way from the spout we see something white, like smoke. This is only the vapor that has been chilled by the cool air and changed back again into water. The water is in the form of very fine particles, and may be called water-dust.

Hold a cold plate over boiling water. Observe how the water-dust gathers into drops that roll down the plate.

You have seen the inside of windows in cold weather covered with moisture. Where does it come from? Why did it form there? Why does it sometimes run down on the cold pane?

The vapor in our breath turns into water on frosty mornings. Explain this.

Carry a pitcher of ice-water into a room, and notice what takes place. A thin mist at once gathers on the outside of the pitcher. What takes place among the little drops of mist? What becomes of these larger drops?

Where does the water which collects on the outside of the pitcher come from? Does it come through the pitcher from the inside? Would the same thing have taken place if some other cold object had been used instead of a cold pitcher?

_Write_ out what you have learned about vapor.

LESSON XVI.

DEW, CLOUDS, AND RAIN.

The sun is all the time heating the water on the land and in the sea, and changing it into vapor, which rises in the air. We cannot see the vapor; but it is in the air around us.

If the vapor in the air is suddenly cooled, a strange thing happens. Some of it quickly changes back into water. You have often seen, in the early morning, little drops of water hanging like pearls upon the blades of grass.

Now, where do these drops come from? They come from the air. The vapor in the air floats against the cold grass and leaves, and is cooled and changed into tiny drops of water. We call this _dew_.

Of what use is dew?

If the night is quite cold, the dew will freeze. It is then called frost. You have seen the frosty window pane with the beautiful pictures upon it.

Make a picture of the window as you remember it, covered with the pretty things made by the frost.

When vapor rises high in the cool air it is turned into very small drops of water or minute crystals of ice, and we can see it floating about in the air. It is then called a _cloud_. Almost any clear day you may see clouds form and then seem to melt away.

You have seen on a blue sky, light, fleecy feather-clouds. They are very high up, and it is very cold where they are. You have also noticed the clouds at sunset with their beautiful colors. As the sun sank lower and lower, how did they change, in shape and color?

When clouds are low down, near the earth, we call them _fogs_ or _mist_.

If clouds are cooled, the little particles of water gather into large drops and fall as _rain_. If the drops should freeze in falling, we would call them _hail_.

What shape are the raindrops? Of what use is the rain?

Sometimes, when it is very cold, the moisture in the air freezes before it forms into drops, and falls in the beautiful flakes we call _snow_. Have you ever seen snowflakes through a microscope?

Snow keeps the roots of plants warm. Many plants would die in winter if it were not for the snow. What other uses has snow?

Observe the clouds; fog, rain, snow, dew, frost, and tell what you have noticed.

_Write_ what you have _seen_ or _noticed_ about vapor, clouds, rain, etc.

LESSON XVII.

THE FAIRY ARTIST.

Oh, there is a little artist
Who paints in the cold night hours
Pictures for little children
Of wondrous trees and flowers!

Pictures of snow-white mountains
Touching the snow-white sky;
Pictures of distant oceans
Where pretty ships sail by.

Pictures of rushing rivers
By fairy bridges spanned;
Bits of beautiful landscape
Copied from elfin land.

The moon is the lamp he paints by;
His canvas the window pane;
His brush is a frozen snowflake;
Jack Frost the artist's name.

LESSON XVIII.

HOW RIVERS ARE MADE.

Have you ever seen a brook or creek? A river? Is there a brook or river near here? Who can tell where it begins? where the water conies from that fills it? where it goes? Let us try to understand this.

As vapor rises into high, cool air, or is carried with the air in winds up the sides of mountains, it turns into water again, and comes falling down as rain.

Now think where the rain that falls on mountains must go. Some of the water runs off on the surface, down the mountain slope. Some sinks into the ground, and runs along in little streams below the surface. It will appear again, bubbling out of the mountain side as a _spring_. The spring is the beginning of a river.

Did you ever see a spring? Where was it? Was it shaded by trees? Where did the water come from? Did you drink from it? Was the water pure and cold? Where did the water go after leaving the spring?

From the spring flows a tiny, thread-like stream, so small that we can easily step across it. This little stream is called a _rill_.

Other rills meet this, and form a larger stream, which is called a _brook_ or _creek_.

As the brook flows on, it is joined by other streams, until, little by little, it becomes a wide and deep _river_ on which large boats may float. At last, it finds its way into the ocean.

Where a river begins is its _source_. The place where it flows into another body of water is called its _mouth_. The land over which it flows is its _bed_.

A river has two banks. As we go toward its mouth, the right bank is on our right hand, and the left bank is on our left.

Do you live near a river? Where does the water come from? In what direction does it flow? Why does it flow in such direction? Does it wind about much? Does it flow into the ocean, or into another river?

Is the water fresh or salt? What grow on its banks? Near which bank do you live?

Make a picture of a spring, and a brook flowing from it. Draw the tall grass and plants that grow near it.

Write the names of all the rivers you have seen.

_Write the following:_

Water flowing out of the ground is called a spring.

From springs flow small streams called rills, brooks, or creeks.

A large stream of water flowing through the land is called a river.

A small stream of water flowing into a larger one is called a tributary.

The source of a river is where it begins. The place where it empties into another body of water is its mouth.

Every river has two banks--a right-hand bank and a left-hand bank.

LESSON XIX.

MORE ABOUT RIVERS.

Let us have another chat about the river. We may fancy that we are following it in its course to the sea. We shall then learn for ourselves many things we do not know about rivers.

We will begin our journey at its source. Here it is a little rill, formed by water that trickles from a spring, or by the melting of snow.

As it flows on, it is joined by many other little streams, until it grows to be much larger.

There is a large word used for a stream that feeds another stream. Do you know what it is? The word, is _tributary_. Tributaries are often called _branches_.

Before we leave this part of the river, I wish you to learn another hard word.

You have seen the water run off the roof of a _shed_. The ridge; or highest part of the roof, divides the rain that falls on it, so that part of the rain flows down the one side, and part of it flows down the other side.

Now, hills, like the roof of a house, send off streams on both sides. When it rains, or the snow melts, some of the water goes down on one side, some on the other. And that is why the hills which divide or part the waters of streams are called a _water-parting_ or _water-shed_.

Let us now go further down the stream.

Here we see it rushing rapidly down a steep slope. Its waters foam and dash between the great rocks that lie in the stream. Such places in the river are called _rapids_. Can you tell why they are so called?

The stream flows on. It has now reached a high ledge of rock. Over this it leaps, making a great foam and noise.

When the water of a river falls over high rocks, it is called a waterfall or _cataract_.

You may have seen the Falls of Niagara, the greatest waterfall in the world.

The course of our river is now through a lower country. The valley in which it flows spreads out, and the stream grows wider and wider. The water moves slower and slower.

Why is the river swift in some places, and in others slow?

At length it flows through an almost level country. It is here widest and deepest. Its course is more winding.

Do you know why it is crooked and winding?

Because on the steep hillside the water runs very rapidly, and is not easily turned aside. Where the ground is nearly level, it runs slowly, and is easily turned from its course.

LESSON XX.

THE BROOK.

From a fountain
In a mountain,
Drops of water ran
Trickling through the grasses;
So our brook began.

Slow it started;
Soon it darted,
Cool and clear and free,
Rippling over pebbles,
Hurrying to the sea.

Children straying
Came a-playing
On its pretty banks;
Glad, our little brooklet
Sparkled up its thanks.

Blossoms floating,
Mimic boating,
Fishes darting past,
Swift, and strong, and happy,
Widening very fast.

Bubbling, singing,
Rushing, ringing,
Flecked with shade and sun.
Soon our pretty brooklet
To the sea has run.

LESSON XXI.

WORK OF FLOWING RIVERS.

Would you like to know more about brooks and rivers--about the work they do?

Notice what happens when it rains. Little tiny streams are formed, which chase each other down the slopes. See how they cut away the loose soil and carry it off. Notice how muddy this loose soil makes the water. What becomes of this loose soil, or mud?

Fill a jar with water. Put in a handful of mud from the nearest stream. Shake the jar, and the water is muddy. Let it stand awhile. What do you notice? The water is clear, and the soil has settled to the bottom.

Follow the streams to the valley where they unite to form a river. When does the load of mud it carries settle? Here, where the water scarcely moves, we find some of the soil spread out over the ground near the river banks.

You have seen a river overflow its banks. When the water went down, it left a layer of rich mud, which made the soil very fertile.

Have you never seen the low ground on the banks of rivers covered with rich grass and clover?

Well, these fertile meadows were formed out of the loam that has been washed down the streams from the far-off hills and mountains.

Look at the jar again. Which settled first, the coarse material or fine loam? What kind of a deposit will be made in the upper course of a river? What kind toward the mouth?

High up in the valley, when the river is low, we see _pebbles_ in its bed; lower down, the pebbles are worn into _gravel;_ and as we get still farther down, we find the gravel ground into _sand_.

Examine the stones found along the shore of a brook or river. Some are quite smooth and round. They were not always so, but had sharp edges. Do you know what made them round?

When there are heavy rains, the rushing water sweeps large stones down the mountain side and into the valley. As they are carried down the stream, the stones, by rubbing against each other, are smoothed and rounded and ground into pebbles. The pebbles themselves are ground at last into gravel and fine sand.

This is what the streams are doing everywhere--plowing deep furrows in the sides of the mountains, grinding the pebbles and sand into fine soil, and carrying it into the valleys below.

LESSON XXII.

WATERDROP'S STORY.

Patter, patter, fall the raindrops on the brown leaves in the woods. Mr. Squirrel's bright eyes sparkle as he peeps out of his queer little home, a hole in the tree; his store of nuts has been carefully hidden away.

Splash comes a drop on a leaf just opposite him. Such a friendly little drop it is, for soon it tells this little woodland dweller of all its travels.

Let us listen, for we may hear too:

"My home," began the Waterdrop, "is in the wide blue sea, where I live with many, many other drops.

"One day as we rode up and down on the big waves, the sun shone down on us, and we grew warmer. Each little drop felt, 'Oh, if I could only get away from the other drops, how much cooler I should be!' Then each tiny drop separated from the others, and grew so small you could not see it.

"We, of course, grew lighter, lighter than the air. Up, up we rose into the bright blue sky. When we got pretty high, where the air was cool, we came closer together again and formed a great fleecy white _cloud_, that cast its shadow over everything. Then a friendly wind carried us along, and soon we left the sea behind. Far below; we could see green fields and waving woods."

"You must have been very happy" said the little squirrel.

"Yes; it was a merry life we led, as we floated hither and thither, playing with the sun-beams," replied the Waterdrop.

"But we came at last to a purple mountain, and a chill wind began to blow. How we shivered with the cold! Then we huddled close together to get warm. We were now heavy again--so heavy that we could not stay up in the air.

"Then,

'I'm going down to cheer a flower,'
Cried a little drop of rain;
'I hear it sigh. It droops its head
As if in weary pain.'

'And I will go!' 'And I!' 'And I!'
Cried all the raindrops near.
So down we went in merry haste
The whole wide field to cheer.

"The drooping flowers lifted their bright faces to thank the little drops for the cool drink. Even the great tall trees nodded their heads in welcome."

"The grass on the hillside and in the valley must have been grateful, too, for your coming," said the squirrel. "It always looks so fresh and green after a shower. But, tell me, what became of _you_?"

"I fell where the ground was brown and bare, stopped for a moment, then went down, down into the ground, where all was dark. I met other drops trying to get out, and we went on together, turning first this way, then that way, till we burst into the sunshine again."

"We rested for a moment in a tiny pool of clear water; then I ran with the rest down the mountain side, slipping over smooth pebbles, and tumbling over sharp rocks, until I found myself in a deep, swift stream, where plants and trees grew on either bank."

"As I was hurried along, I heard a great roaring noise made by the river falling over a high ledge of rocks, as a cataract or waterfall. Suddenly we fell over the rocks so steep and high that we went leaping and dashing in all directions. We rose in the air in a fine gray mist, then sank back again into the foam-covered stream.

"Soon we were in a broad, quiet river, flowing past the grassy hills and green pastures. Then we came to a big mill-wheel, upon which we jumped, and by our weight made it turn over and over, and thus move the machinery in the mill. Here we were tossed in the air, whirled around, and at last flung back into the river, where we sailed slowly and quietly as before.

"By and by, we saw large boats floating on the water. We passed towns and cities with busy streets and many people; and as our river widened, and we heard the big sea waves dashing against the shore, we knew our brothers and sisters were singing a welcome home.

"And now farewell, little squirrel. My story is done, and I must hasten to my home in the sea. Perhaps we shall meet again some day. I may float down to you, a white-winged snowflake, or patter down as I came this time, a tiny raindrop."

_Write the following:_

The water rises from the sea in vapor.

The vapor is turned into clouds, which fall in rain or snow.

The rain forms rivers, which flow back again into the sea.

Thus the water is always going round and round in its long and curious journey--up to the clouds in vapor, down in rain, back in streams to the place it started from.

LESSON XXIII.

THE RIVER.

"Oh, tell me, pretty river,
Whence do thy waters flow?
And whither art thou roaming,
So smoothly and so slow?"

"My birthplace was the mountain,
My nurse the April showers;
My cradle was a fountain,
O'er-curtained by wild flowers.

"One morn I ran away,
A madcap, noisy rill;
And many a prank that day
I played adown the hill!

"And then 'mid meadowy banks,
I flirted with the flowers,
That stooped with glowing lips
To woo me to their bowers.

"But these bright scenes are o'er,
And darkly flows my wave;
I hear the ocean's roar--
And there must be my grave!"

Where have you seen a river like the one spoken of in the poem? Are rivers born? What is meant by "My nurse the April showers"? "I flirted with the flowers"? Explain the last stanza.

LESSON XXIV.

A MAP

A drawing made to show a room, or a house; or the school-yard, or even a village, is called a plan.

Drawings which represent land and water are called maps. You may learn from maps where the countries, and mountains, and rivers, and cities are that you have seen. It also shows how far places are from one another.

Here is a map showing mountains and rivers. The many short lines facing each other represent mountains. To show the very high part of the mountains, the lines are drawn close to each other, making that part of the map look dark. The line winding about, like the stream itself, represents a river. The line, as you see, is made thicker and thicker toward its mouth. From this you may know that the river itself becomes broader and broader as it flows toward the sea.

But you must not think that the crooked line on the map is a river, or the lines which face each other are mountains. If you do, you will learn very little of geography. When you look at these lines, you must _think_ of the real things which they stand for--the lofty mountains, with their covering of forests, and with long, narrow valleys between them; the winding, gently flowing river, bearing boats upon its waters.

LESSON XXV.

FORMS OF LAND AND WATER.

You all know what a pond is. Is there a pond near where you live? Did you ever fish in it? Did you ever walk round it?

When a stream, on its way to the ocean, flows into a basin or hollow in the land, the water spreads out and fills it. A hollow in the land filled with water is called a _lake_, or, if it be quite small, a _pond_.

What is a lake made of? What is round it? Suppose some one who never saw a lake were to ask you what a lake is, what would you say?

What do we find in lakes? Would you not like to sail on a lake?

In the hollows among mountains are great numbers of beautiful lakes. In their clear waters may be seen the mountains, the forests, and the sky, as in a looking-glass. At night the moon and stars may be seen below you as plainly as above.

Here is a picture of a pretty lake in a valley.