Chapter III: The Zones

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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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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

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THE COLD ZONES

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.

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.

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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

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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.

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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.