JS.6 I /) < b ^11. X : ty V it ) .V /7 ' (^■\\a^ h !+. II CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FROM THE LIBRARY OF PROFESSOR RALPH S. TARR i864-i9ii GIFT OF Russell Tarr 1939 CORNELL UNIVEHSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 092 515 158 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924092515158 NEW GEOGEAPHIES FIEST BOOK THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK • BOSTON ■ CHICAGO ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Limited LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. TORONTO NEW GEOGKAPHIES FIEST BOOK BY RALPH S. TARR, B.S., F.G.S.A. PROFESSOR OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY AND FRANK M. McMURRY, Ph.D. PROFESSOR OP ELEMENTARY EDUCATION AT TEACHERS COLLEGE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY WITH MANY COLOEED MAPS AND NUMEBOUS ILLUSTRATIONS CHIEFLY PHOTOGBAPHS OF ACTUAL SCENES THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1910 . ,H . , A II rights reserved ' ' ^' t V f: \{\: |, '\ y '"^ I L-'KAkY f\lf6flO Copyright, 1910, By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published April, igio. Reprinted August, October, December, 1910. NotijjooB 3|resa , J. 8. CuBhlng Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. . I , I , i Kl )\ U v) Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. YrilAVi;"!.' PEEFACE Home Geography. — In the Introduc- tory volume of the Tarr and McMurry series of geographies, as issued ten years ago, more extensive acquaintance was urged with the fundamental ideas of geography before the child enter upon a study of the earth as a whole. Such preparation was advocated in the pref- ace in the following words : " Necessity of Home Geography. — The final basis for all study of geogra- phy is actual experience. Yet text-books on that subject rarely treat Home Geog- raphy at all, and those that do, devote but few pages to it. This subject should, we think, receive far more careful atten- tion. " Necessity of Other Basal Notions. — Home experience alone, however, cannot offer a complete basis for the later study of geography, because no one locality presents all the features required. From this it happens that the best books have contained some definitions and illustra- tions, as of mountain, river, valley, harbor, and factory, and have planned to build the later text upon the ideas these gave as a foundation. Such con- ceptions are certainly necessary in the early part of geography ; but mere definitions fail to prodvice vivid, accu- rate pictures. The average pupil who has pursued geography for a year, has little notion of the great importance of soil, of what a mountain or a river really is, of the value of good trade routes, and why a vessel cannot find a harbor wherever it will cast anchor along the coast. Yet such ideas are the proper basis for the study of geography in the higher grades. The fact that they are so often wanting is proof that our geog- raphy still lacks foundation. " How these Needs are Met. — The first 110 pages of this volume attempt to supply this foundation by treating first, such common things as soil, hills, valleys, industries, climate, and govern- ment, which are part of every child's environment ; and secondly, other f ea- tm-es, as mountains, rivers, lakes, and the ocean, which, though absent from many localities, are still necessary as a preparation for later study. Definitions, however, are not relied upon for giving the child this extra knowledge, but de- tailed descriptions and discussions in- stead. This by no means involves neglect of the child's own environment from the time the unfainiliar matter is introduced, for throughout the geog- raphies home experiences are frequently used. We believe that our plan gives a fuller guarantee of fitness for advanced study than has heretofore been fur- nished." While this plan was a radical innova- tion in text-book production at the time, the authors have seen no reason for re- ceding from any portion of it. On the contrary, they have greatly enlarged this portion of the book, devoting to it VI PREFACE eighty-five pages of the present volume. The chief additions have been two new chapters, one at the beginning on Food, Clothing, and Shelter — in which man's dependence upon the earth is somewhat extensively treated ; and one on Country and City — in which life in the two places is contrasted. Relationship to Man. — In the former preface the authors defined geography as the science " which treats of the rela- tion between man and the earth/' and the text was written upon this basis. It was difiicult ten years ago to apply this idea extensively, because so little had been previously accomplished in this direction. The authors feel that one of the most important improve- ments in the present volume has been effected at that point. Every topic has been approached, and receives its entire consideration, from the point of view of man's interest in it. Descriptions of continents and countries offered without reference to human relationships are likely to be colorless and tiresome to the young mind. Our point of view may be illustrated by the treatment of Asia, for instance. That continent is declared, at the begin- ning of its presentation, to be the largest and most populous of all the continents, and also to have the oldest civilization. In addition it lies next to Europe. Yet, possibly next to Africa, it is the least known of all the continents. Why it should be so little known becomes then a question of real interest; and the answer, as presented in pages 216-218, involves consideration of its surface features, climate, and inhabitants. Like- wise in the case of China, as an example of an individual country, the former progress of its inhabitants first receives attention. This is contrasted with their present backwardness. Then, since the future progress of the Chinese is one of the live questions of the day, the area and population of the country, the variety of its climate, its surface features, and resources, are all considered with reference to this one problem. Then the recent advances of China are dis- cussed and its principal cities located. Thus, as far as possible, each continent and country has been approached from the point of view of the learner, and the questions raised at the beginning control the presentation that follows. Organization of Subject-matter. — The close relation of this method of presen- tation to organization is evident. Good literature is organized around ideas of live interest to man ; and any text whatever, intended for children, should be organized on the same basis. Most geography text, however, has attempted to follow the scientific organization, which is that of the mature mind sup- posed already to be interested in the subject. But even though the attempt has been made, it has not heretofore been followed in full, for, owing to the immaturity of children and to want of space, many of the connecting facts — that reveal the relationship of facts and tend to arouse interest — have had to be omitted, until a mere heterogeneous lot of statements has been all that has occu- pied many a page. Believing that good organization is necessary to successful study, the authors have endeavored earnestly to secure it. With this object they have done two things. First, for each page, more or less, they PREFACE vu have fixed upon some central thought that should tie together the details under- lying it, and secure their unity. What this central idea is in each case is clearly shown in the marginal heading ; and by grasping it early, the child is enabled to master a lesson much more quickly and easily than otherwise. It is sur- prising how many pages of geography and history for children lack such a central idea. A portion of text may read easily and appear simple ; but it shows serious want of organization when you cannot find the one thought with which it deals. Many a lesson is found diffi- cult by children because, while each sentence may be clear, each page, more or less, treats of several things instead of one, and there is nothing to hold these parts together. It is hardly advisable that all texts for children be provided with marginal headings, for children should have prac- tice in finding these themselves. But it is highly important that enough texts contain such headings to accustom pupils to dividing their lessons up into well- rounded units, or to studying by " points." In the second place, the authors have selected for the unifying thoughts, not merely scientific facts, but ideas likely to prove of peculiar interest to young students. Africa, beginning on page 231, well illustrates this, as well as Asia and China, to which reference has already been made. In consequence of these two characteristics, the authors believe that the subject-matter in this volume is more completely organized, and orga- nized on a better basis, than is customary in common school geography texts. Amount of Detail. — Part Two, as well as Part One, of this book has been greatly enlarged. The main reason for this is that more detail seemed necessary in order to make the subject interesting and clear. The most difficult text to study, or to teach, is one that contains too little detail to clothe its skeleton. A child can memorize or understand ten pages of good literature as easily as he can one or two of the ordinary geography, and will enjoy himself far more in the process. One important reason for this is that the literature offers enough de- tail to establish a close relation among the ideas and thus secure the story form. Any good text must follow the model set by literature in this respect. Books are thereby made thicker, to be sure; and longer lessons may, therefore, have to be assigned. But the "length" of a lesson is determined by other things, as well as by the number of pages ; and two pages of an interesting, prop- erly organized text may easily make a shorter lesson than one page of a different kind of text. Method of Study by Children. — While there is no reason why a text-book in geography, more than any other text, should offer suggestions about methods of study, every one knows that children's ways of studying are often extremely crude, involving great waste. On this account it seemed advisable to include here some suggestions on this subject, applicable both to this and to other books. These are found on pages 10, 30, 53, 66, and 80. These occupy little space ; but they will have accomplished much, if they are influential in leading children to do the things suggested, and if, in addition, they direct the attention of both chil- dren and teachers to a fuller considera- tion of proper methods of study. Vlll PREFACE Size of Page. — It is with much regret that the small size page has had to be abandoned in this revision; but the length of the line involved seemed man- datory. If the old form of book had been retained, the additional subject- matter would have compelled a much wider page, or else a book so thick that the difficulties of binding would have become serious. Meanwhile, agitation in favor of a line not over three inches in length has become so active, and has seemed so fully justified, that both authors and publisher have felt con- vinced of the advisability of adopting a larger style of book. Maps and Illustrations. — The maps in this book have been made by The Williams Engraving Company. Half- tones from photographs are used when- ever possible, and these have been selected with great care, from collec- tions of many thousands, and are in all cases introduced not as mere pictures, but as illustrations of topics treated in the text. It is expected that they will be studied as well as the text. It is believed that the book is as thoroughly illustrated as is desirable for the needs of the student, and the authors have used care not to overillustrate by throw- ing together a heterogeneous mass of pictures unrelated to the text. It is our idea that a geography should not be a picture album. From the preceding statements it is evident that the " Introductory Book in Geography," published ten years ago, has suffered radical revision in this edi- tion. There is hardly a page that has not been greatly altered, and most of the volume has been completely rewritten. TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I. HOME GEOGR A.PHY SECTION SECTION PAOE I. Food, Clothing, and Shelter . 1 I. Among the People of our own Country 1 1. Food .... « 1 IX. 2. Clothing . • 2 3. Shelter , 3 X. II. Among the Negroes of Central Africa 3 m. Among the Eskimos . . 5 IV. Among the People of the Desert 7 n. Land, Water, and Air I. The Land 1. Soil . 2. Plains • 10 10 . 10 16 3. Hills and Valleys , 18 4. Mountains . , 23 n. Water .... . 31 1. Rivers , 31 2. Ponds and Lakes , 41 XI. 3. The Ocean . , 44 m. The Air .... . 54 m. Industry, Commerce, and " MENT Govern 59 I. Industry and Commerce . • 59 XII. n. Country and City . 67 m. Government . 75 IV. Maps • 81 PART II. WORLD GEOGRAPHY I. General Facts about the Earth 86 1. Form and Size of the Earth 86 2. Daily Motion of the Earth . 88 3. Zones 91 4. Latitude and Longitude 92 5. The Continents . 93 6. The Oceans 96 11. North America . 101 ni. The United States 103 IV. The Northeastern States 108' V. The Southern States 120 VI. The Central States . 132 XIII. VII. The Western States . 143 VIII. Depj:ndencies of the United States 158 1. Alaska .... . 158 2. Cuba and Porto Rico . 160 i X 3. The Philippine Islands . . . 161 4. The Hawaiian Islands . . . 162 5. Other Territory 163 Review op the United States, with Comparisons 164 Other Countries of North America 172 1. Canada, and Other Countries North of Us 172 (1) Canada 172 (2) Newfoundland . . . .175 (3) Greenland . '. . . .175 2. Mexico, and Other Countries South of Us 175 (1) Mexico 176 (2) Central America . . . 177 (3) West Indies . . . .178 3. The Bermuda Islands .... 179 South America 179 1. Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay . 182 2. Brazil 182 3. The Andean Countries . . .183 4. Venezuela and Guiana . . . 185 Europe 186 . 186 . 188 . 188 . 192 . 195 . 198 . 200 . 202 . 205 . 205 . 207 . 207 . 208 . 209 . 210 . 212 ies 213 . 216 . 216 . 218 . 220 . 221 1. General Facts about Europe 2. The Great Powers of Europe (1) The British Isles (2) German Empire . (3) France .... (4) Italy (5) Austria-Hungary (6) Russia .... 3. The Lesser Powers of Europe (1) Norway and Sweden . (2) Denmark .... (3) The Netherlands (4) Belgium .... (5) Spain and Portugal . (6) Switzerland (7) Greece .... (8) Turkeyand the Balkan Countr Asia 1. General Facts about Asia . 2. Southwestern Asia 3. Russia in Asia, or Siberia . 4. T'he Chinese Empire . . . TABLE OF CONTENTS — LIST OF COLORED MAPS 5. Japan and Korea .... 224 6. India and the Countries East of It . 227 XIV. Africa 231 1. General Facts about Africa . . 2-31 2. Northern Africa 234 3. Central Africa 236 4. South Africa 236 XV. Australia, the East Indies, and Other Islands of the Pacific . 238 1. Australia 238 XVI. PAGE 2. New Zealand 241 3. The East Indies 242 4. Islands of the Pacific . . . .242 Review of the United States and Other Great Powers . . .243 Appendix I. References to Descriptions, in Prose and Poetry, of Topics treated IN THIS Geography 251 Appendix II. Tables of Statistics . . 255 LIST OF COLORED MAPS FIGURE FACING PAGE 106. Mercator Map of the World . . . 86 107. The Eastern and Western Hemispheres . 86 116. Map of the Zones 91 133. North America, Political Map . . .101 134. North America, Physical Map . . .101 136. United States, Political Map . . .103 137. United States, Physical Map . . .103 140. Northeastern States, Political Map . . 108 154. Southern States, Political Map . . .120 169. Central States, Political Map . . .132 180. Western States, Political Map . . .143 224. South America, Political Map . . .180 225. South America, Physical Map . . .180 232. Europe, Political Map . . . .186 FIGURE FACING PAGE 233. Europe, Physical Map . . . .186 272. Asia, Political Map 216 273. Asia, Physical Map 216 290. Africa, Political Map 231 291. Africa, Physical Map 231 301. Australia and Islands of the Pacific, Po- litical Map 289 302. Australia and Islands of the Pacific, Physi- cal Map 239 310. Possessions of Five of the Great World Powers 244 323. Transportation Routes and Telegraph Lines 249 PART I. HOME GEOaRAPHY SECTION I. FOOD, CLOTHING, AND SHELTER I. Among the People op our Own Country I. Food In the spring, men begin to work the soil. Those who have small gardens What the break up farmers do the groimd with such tools as spades and forks. Those who live on farms turn the soil over with plows drawn by horses. In these Ways the soil is loosened and made soft, so that seeds and plants can grow in it. After the plant- ing is done, the weeds must be killed and the soil must be loos- ened. In places where little rain falls, other ways of watering the plants must be found. Later, in the summer, the crops are ready to gather. This is the harvest season, and it is a very busy time for the farmers. They often begin work at four or five o'clock in the morning, and do not stop before eight o'clock at night. They raise much more than they need for themselves, and what they do not want they sell. Those of how their us who live in the city eat work is of at every meal some of the '^^^"® things that have been grown on farms. Fig. 1. — A herd of dairy cows in pasture. This shows how important the work of farmers is to every one of us. One of their most valuable crops is grass. To be sure, we do not eat grass. Yet it helps to give us food. Can you tell how ? If you cannot answer this question, perhaps Figure 1 will help you. Make a list of the different kinds of food that you eat in one day, and find how many of them come from farms. HOME GMOQBAPHY A very great number of men are kept busy raising food for other people to eat. How would you like that kind of work? What are some of the pleasant things about it ? Many other people are at work chang- ing the farm crops into food. For ex- Preparing ample, milk is made into our food butter and cheese, oats into oatmeal, and sugar-cane into sugar. Can you tell the story of a loaf of bread ? 2. Clothing Every one must have clothing as well as food. The Indians dressed very Fig. 2.— Picking cotton in a cottonfield in the South. The white patches are fluffy- cotton out of which cotton goods are made. lightly in summer ; but in winter they had to wear much heavier clothing made out of the skins of animals. We wear much more clothing than the Indians did, both in summer and winter, and it is of many rSSnl: more kinds. Most of the and where they materials for it come from come from ^^^ ^^-j^ ^^ ^^^ fo^^ ^oeg_ For example, girls' dresses are often made of cotton. Point out such a dress. In some places cotton is one of the farmers' greatest crops. Fields of cot- ton (Fig. 2) are as common in the South as cornfields are in the North. Linen handkerchiefs, collars, and cuffs are made out of flax. This plant is also raised in large fields, much as wheat and oats are grown. Some of the materials for our cloth- ing come from animals that feed on plants. For example, a boy's coat, if not made of cotton, is made of the wool that grows on sheep. Find such a coat. The leather for your shoes came from the hide of some animal, probably a cow. Name several things that you wear, and tell, if you can, from what material each has been made. The cotton, wool, and hides are called raw materials. Much work is necessary to change _ , ° Work neces- SUCh raw sary to change materials raw materials . , 1 .-, into clothing mto cloth- ing. For example, the cotton and wool must be spun into yarn and woven into cloth. Perhaps you can tell what more must be done before a dress or coat is finished. What are some of the things that must be done with hides before they become shoes or gloves ? The work of preparing our clothing keeps many, many thousands of men and women busy both winter and sum- mer. Do you know any persons who do such work ? FOOD, CLOTHING, AND SHELTER 3. Shelter Shelter, as well Why shel ter is necessary as food and cloth- ing, is very im- portant. We must have houses to protect us against rain ; also, against the heat of summer and the cold of winter. We must have fuel, too, such as coal, or wood, or gas, to keep our houses warm. The Indians often lived in tents called Materials wigWams used for (J^ig- 3) shelter ^, °" ^' in our Iheseare country pleasant enough in sum- mer, but are very- cold in winter. Sometimes the Indians built much bet- ter houses, using wood in some places and stone or clay in others. What are some of the materials that we use in building our houses? Make as full a list of them as you can. Where does the wood for the floors and for other parts of a house come from ? The stone ? Where is the material for brick found? For nails ? Can you tell where the other materials in your list come from ? Where is coal found ? Most of the men in our country are engaged in some one of these three kinds Fig. 3.- of work : that is, in preparing either food, or clothing, or shel- ter. People living in other countries have the same kinds of work to do. But in many other countries the food, cloth- ing, and shelter are very different from ours, for reasons that you will now learn. II. Among the Negroes op Central Af- rica Central Africa, the home of the Negroes, is a part of the earth where the people live in a very strange way. Have you ever thought what a differ- The heat ana ence it would make with rain in Central us, if we had summer all ■*■*"'=* the time ? Central Africa is just such a land. Every day in the year is hot. In some parts of Central Africa the air is damp or muggy, too, as it is here on our most unpleasant summer days; and heavy thunder-storms are common. It is one of the rainiest places on the earth. Where there is so much heat and rain, plants grow very rapidly. You have, perhaps, noticed how grass and plants An Indian wigwam, the home of the Indian girl who stands in the front of the picture. 4 HOME GEOGBAPHT thrive on warm, damp days. Because there is just such weather all the time in x-he vegetation ^his part of Africa, plants that grows grow there in vast numbers, there Giant trees are found in the forests, and vines, trees, and other plants grow so close together that one cannot make his way through them without cutting a path. Many fruits and vegetables grow wild there ; and since there is no winter in Their shelter Fig. 4. — Negroes of Alrica sitting in front of their grass-covered liuts, that land, there is no season when all the vegetation stops growing and loses its leaves. It is very easy for people to obtain^ food, clothing, and shelter in su.ch a land. What the Food is plentiful. Bananas people eat Or other fruits can be and wear plucked from the trees and bushes at any time of year. Or if beans, potatoes, and corn are wanted, one has only to scrape a hole in the soft earth for planting the seeds. There is plenty of meat to be had, too, from cattle. sheep, and goats, or from wild game, such as the buffalo and antelope. It is also easy to provide clothing in this region. One reason is that not much of it is wanted. Figure 4 shows how little clothing is needed in the hot country of Central Africa. Sometimes skins of animals are used ; but the com- mon material is cloth made from the bark and fiber of trees and plants that grow in that land. Since there is no win- ter, one might think that houses would not be needed ; but the heat and rain make shelter of some sort very necessary. Sometimes the people live in trees, or in caves, as the Swiss Family Robinson lived for a time. Sometimes they stick branches of trees into the ground in the form of a circle, fasten the upper ends together, and then cover the sides and top with such mate- rials as brush, mud, grass, and straw (Fig. 4) . Their huts are always very simple ; they usually have no win- dows, and are only one story high. A savage Negro, when he first saw one of our houses, cried out, " This is not a hut ; it is a mountain with many caves in it! " You can see that the Negroes who live in the hot, damp part of Central Africa do not have to work hard for food, cloth- ing, and shelter. Are they fortunate to have such an easy time ? Would you like to live in such a country and in such a way ? FOOD, CLOTHING, AND SHELTER snow in the Far North III. Among the Eskimos Far to the north of us is the home of the Eskimos. They have both summer The cold and ^^^ winter. But the sum- mer is so cold that the ground does not thaw except at the very surface. The winters are bitterly cold. Heavy snows then fall, the ground freezes to a great depth, and thick ice forms on the sea (Fig. 5). In such a country no trees can grow. The Eskimo children have never seen Plants and 'rees of any kind. Only animals found small plants are found there, ^^^ such as mosses, grasses, and very low bushes ; and the plants that in fishing and in hunting the seal and M^alrus; and now and then they catch ' sea-birds and the polar bear. They have very little food except the flesh of these animals. Even that is difficult to get, especially in winter when the sea is frozen over with thick ice. These sea animals supply oil for heat and for light in the long, dark winter. The seals have a layer of other uses of fat under the skin which animals helps to keep them warm in winter. This seal fat, or blubber, is burned in small lamps for both heat and light. But the Eskimos do not do much cook- ing. They are fond of raw meat and like to eat it even when it is frozen ! Fig. 5. — Eskimos on sledges drawn by dogs on the frozen Arctic Ocean. grow wild furnish no food except a few small berries. With so httle vegetation there can be few wild animals on the land, for they would have nothing to eat. There are a few reindeer, foxes, and wolves, but scarcely any other land animals. What, then, can the Eskimos them- selves find to eat ? Not very many What the things, to be sure. They Eskimos eat have to look to the sea, not to the land, for their food. From one year's end to another, they are engaged In summer the Eskimos go hunting in small canoes, or kayaks, that are easily upset in storms. In winter they often go on long and dangerous journeys over the ice on sleds, or sledges, drawn by five or ten dogs (Fig. 5). Can you give reasons why horses are not used in the land of the Eskimo ? The sleds and canoes are not made of wood, like ours. The reason is that no wood grows in that country. The only wood the Eskimos have is that which drifts ashore from distant, forest-covered 6 HOME GEOGRAPHY lands, or from the wrecks of vessels. There is so little of this that pieces of wood are highly prized. An Eskimo will gladly exchange valuable furs for a small amount of wood. Parts of the bodies of animals take the place of wood in many ways. Their bones are used to build the framework of the sledges and kayaks^ and their ent that is from the clothing worn by the Negroes of Central Africa ! The Eskimo houses seem even stranger than their clothing. Although there is plenty of stone for building, -^^y ^^^ esM- it hardly pays to build stone mos build snow houses because the Eskimos ^^^ have to move from place to place in order to find food. Very often whole Fig. 6. — An Eskimo igloo made of blocks of snow. In tlie upper right-hand corner is a little figure show- ing the inside of the igloo. skins are stretched over these frames in place of boards. Bones are also used to make spears, fishhooks, pipes, and even needles ; and skins, are made into har- ness for the dogs. The Eskimos need the warmest kind of. clothing. Their boots are made of What the the skins of animals, with Eskimos wear the fur on. Their clothes are also made of fur ; and in that cold land they need to wear these furs both in summer and in winter. How differ- villages must be moved many miles on this account. In summer, therefore, the Eskimos live in tents made of skins, which are easily taken down and moved about. In winter they live in huts made of snow. There is always plenty of snow at hand, no matter where the people happen to be ; and in an hour or two they can build an igloo, as the Eskimo snow huts are called. Figure 6 is a picture of one of these igloos. It is about forty feet around the FOOD, CLOTHING, AND SHELTER outside, and is made of blocks of snow piled one on another, till it is high. How these huts enough on the inside for a are built man to stand up. The en- trance is through a snow tunnel about ten feet long, and so low that the Eski- mos have to crawl through it on their hands and knees. The purpose of this tunnel is to keep the cold winds out of the hut; and when all the persons are inside, the tunnel is tightly closed, so that no draught can enter. A stand is made of snow for the lamp, that gives both light and heat. Low benches of snow, covered with furs, are used for beds. A whole family, and sometimes two families, live in a single hut that is no more than ten or fifteen feet across. You might thiak that a snow hut would not be very warm ; but the snow The warmth in keeps out the cold, and even such huts when it is stinging cold out- side, the Eskimos in the igloo are warm enough. The heat of their bodies, and of the small blubber lamp, warms the air in the igloo, so that it is often too warm for comfort. Of course, with so many people in a single small room, the air becomes very close. If a family decides to remain in one place a second winter, a new hut has to be built, because the old one melts down during the summer. No wonder that the huts are small ! The Negroes of Central Africa have little work to do to find food, clothing, and shelter at any season. But the Eskimos must work hard for these things even in summer; and in winter all the people of a village may starve to death. Are people in our own country better or worse off than the Eskimos ? IV. Among the People of the Desert While parts of Central Africa are hot and wet, northern Africa is somewhat cooler, and very dry. In The desert of fact, so little rain falls there northern that very few plants can •'^^""^ grow. On that account it is a desert land, called the Desert of Sahara. One might travel hundreds of miles in that desert without seeing a tree, or a house, or even a patch of The vegetation green grass. He might find fo^o^ there nothing anywhere except sand and rock and a few half-starved plants (Fig. 7). A little rain falls now and then even , in the driest part of the desert, and grass and flowers quickly spring up whenever that happens. To be sure, these soon wither for want of more rain. But a few kinds of plants, like the acacia, are able to live a long time even in such a place. These store up water in their roots, or leaves, or stems, whenever it rains, and this keeps them alive till the next rain comes. Here and there one finds trees and green grass. For in some places streams flow from the mountains out into the desert, and in other places springs occur. These springs and streams water the desert soil near by, so that grass can grow ; and if the supply of water lasts throughout the year, trees like the date palm can thrive. Such green places in the desert are called oases, and on them are found gardens and villages. The oases are like beautiful islands, many miles apart, in a great ocean of sand and barren rock. People live on the oases year after year. Indeed, good-sized towns, have 8 BOME GEOGRAPHY been built upon some of them. The fruit that these families most commonly The food of ^^^ ^^ ^^^ date, from the people on the date palm tree ; they also °^®®* raise figs and wheat, and keep cattle, camels, sheep, and goats. Some people who live in the desert, however, have no fixed homes. They The nomads of spend their time in tending the desert herds of cattle, sheep, and goats. As soon as these animals eat the grass in one place, they must be The nomads can get other food from the people who live on the oages. Can you name something that they could obtain from them ? What food might the nomads give in exchange ? Food can also be brought from other countries. For, although there are no railroads across that desert, ^^^ f^od is and no rivers large enough brought from for boats, there is a way of «'*'^" '=°"°*™^ carrying goods from place to place. That is by means of the camel (Fig. 8). ■j>-. Fig. 7. — A barren desert, and some nomads with the tents in which they live. driven to another section. Thus these herders, like the Eskimos, must move about and take their families with them. They spend their lives wandering about with their herds. For this reason they are called nomads, or wanderers (Fig. 7). For food, these nomads of the desert have plenty of meat and milk from The food of their camels, cattle, and the nomads goats. They make butter, too ; but it is so warm in the desert that the butter is sent, melted, to market in goatskins. In some places the people drink the melted butter. This animal, often called " the ship of the desert," can carry a heavy load on its back, and can travel a long distance without drinking. Indeed, the camel has in his body a sack which is filled when he drinks, and which holds enough water to last for several days. The camels are driven across the desert in droves, called caravans. The dress of the people of the desert, as we might expect, is very different from that of the Negroes. The clothing of The days are very warm, the people for the sky is almost always clear, and Fig. 8. — a Domad of the desert. FOOn, CLOTHING, AND SHELTER 9 the sun shines brightly. Figure 9 shows the kind of clothing that is worn. The strange covering for the head is called a turban. It protects the head against the sun and the fine sand that is driven about by the winds. Although the weather is hot during the day, it becomes rapidly cooler as soon while to build such houses, when they might be used only a few days. Like the Eskimos in summer, therefore, the nomads live in tents (Fig. 7) that can easily be taken down, carried about, and set up again. The skins of animals, or blankets that the nomads weave, are used as covering for the tents. Fig. 9. —A street in a town on an oasis in northern Africa. Notice the house made of sun-dried clay. as the sun sets, and the nights are quite chilly. On account of the cool nights these people need much more clothing than the Negroes, and they must sleep under heavy blankets. Their herds supply plenty of wool for cloth; and other materials for clothing are brought by the caravans. The people living on the oases remain in one place, building houses of sun-dried Why the nomads mud or clay (Fig. 9). But live in tents m^d huts are not suited to the nomads. It would not be worth We have now learned some facts about the Negroes in Central Africa, about the Eskimos, the people of the ^^^^^ ^^^ desert, and ourselves. From clothing, and what has been said it is plain shelter depend that people do not have their own way fully in choosing what they shall eat and wear, and the kind of houses they shall have. These depend very much upon the amount of heat and rain. In which of these sections is there too little rain? In which too much cold ? In which too much heat ? 10 HOME GEOGRAPHY In studying this book it is a good plan first to read a number of pages without stopping, .. ^ , , iust as you would read any story. About how to -ij, . •! 4.1. c i o study instance, the first 3 pages — up to the part telling about the Negroes — might first be read without pause, for the purpose of finding out what it is all about. Then you might read the same part through a second and a third time, watching each heading that is printed near the margin to see if you are getting its answer. When the part about our country has been studied in this way, the part telling about the ITegroes of Central Africa should be studied in a similar way ; and so on through the book. 1. Name some of the things that farmers and gardeners do. 2. How is their work of impor- tance ? 3. Give examples of Review ^^.j^gj. j^-^^j^ ^j ^^^-^ ^j^^^^ ^^^ Questions . . ^ , necessary in preparing our food. 4. Out of what materials is our clothing made ? Where do such materials come from? 5. Tell about the work necessary to change these raw materials into clothing. 6. Why is shelter necessary? 7. What materials are used for shelter in our country? 8. Where do these materials come from ? 9. What can you tell about the heat and rain in Central Africa ? 10. What sort of vegetation grows there ? 11. What do the people who live there, eat and wear ? 12. What kind of shelter have they ? 13. What about the cold and snow in the Far North ? 14. What plants and animals are found there? 15. What is the food of the Eskimos ? 16. What other uses do they make of animals ? 17. What do the Eskimos wear ? 18. Why do they build huts of snow? 19. How are such huts built ? 20. Why is it not cold in the igloos ? 21. What about heat and rain in the Desert of Sahara ? 22. Describe the vegetation there. 23. What is the food of the people ? 24. What are the oases ? Who live on them? What kind of houses have they? 25. What is meant by the nomads of the desert ? 26. What food do they eat? 27. How is food brought to them from other countries? 28. What kind of clothing is worn by the people of the desert ? 29. Why do the nomads live in tents? 30. Why is there so little plant and animal life in the Far North, and in the Sahara Desert, while there is so much of each in Central Africa ? 31. Why do the Eskimos have so few kinds of food, clothing, and shelter, while we have so many ? 1. If you have visited some garden, or farm, in the spring, tell how the ground is prepared for planting. 2. What kinds of work are done later in the season? Suggestions 3. Make a list of products that f«st"dyat T „ ^ home and out some gardener or farmer near you ^^ aoors is raising. 4. What things that your grqcer sells have come from some garden or farm? 5. Make a list of the many kinds of work that you have seen men doing, and find how many on the list have to do with food, clothing, and shelter. SECTION II. LAND, WATER, AND AIR I. The Land I. Soil Heat and rain are very important, as we have seen. But they are not of much value alone. There is a third thing that must go with them in order that people may have food, clothing, and shelter; and that is the soil, or dirt, in which plants grow. As soon as the warm spring weather comes, thousands and thousands of men in our own country begin to work the soil, in gardens and on farms (Fig. 10). Indeed, more than one third ^he value of of all the people in the United the sou in our States live on farms. They "^oiiotry spend their lives in raising plants, and animals that feed on plants, such as cows, sheep, hogs, and chickens. "What they do not need for themselves they sell to other people. Our flour, potatoes, and sugar, the cotton for our clothing, and hun- dreds of other things come from the soil. LAND, WATER, AND AIR 11 Fig. 10. — Men plowing a field in which wheat is to be sown. The dense forests of Central Africa, and the fruits and vegetables of that Its value in land, all spring from its soil, other places warmed by the hot sun and kept moist by the rains. It is the warm soU again, watered by streams and springs, that makes life on the oases of the desert possible. On the other hand, it is the cold in the land of the Eskimos that freezes the soU and prevents the growth of trees and crops. It is the frozen soil that drives the Eskimos to the sea for food. The dirt under yoiu* feet may seem hardly worth thinking about ; but it is Why sou is of ^^^% one of the most im- so great impor- portant things in the world. **°''® If there were no soil, there could be no grass, no flowers, no trees, around your home. Without grass and grain there could be no cattle, horses, or sheep ; in fact, few animals, such as are found upon the land, could live ; for what would they eat ? What, then, would you yourself find to eat ? There would be no fruits or vegetables, no bread, no butter and milk, and no meat. We ourselves, then, could not live if there were no soil. Since the soil is so important, it is worth while to study about it. How it has been formed, how plants make use of it, and what men do to increase its value to plants, — these are all very in- teresting questions that every one should be able to answer. If you have ever made mud pies, or played in the dirt in other ways, you have, perhaps, stopped to wonder what the soil what the soil was made of. J^ "^^^e of It has not always been dirt or mud. You know that the wood in your desk has not always been a part of the desk ; it used to be a part of a tree, and has a long story to tell about itself before it was brought to your school. So, also, the soil has a long story to tell about itself. Let us see what that story is. When mud ^ dries upon your hands, and you rub them together, you can notice an unpleasant, gritty feeling. This is caused by hard bits of something in the soil that scrape together. If you rub some of this dirt upon a smooth piece of glass, you can perhaps hear it scratch the glass. This shows that these little bits must be very hard ; for if they were not, they could not scratch anything 12 HOME OEOGEAPBY SO hard as glass. They must be even harder than a pin, for you cannot scratch glass with a pin. It will help you to find out what these bits are, if you examine some sand. The grains of sand are tiny bits of rock, large enough to be clearly seen. When they are rubbed against glass, they scratch it, because they are very hard and sharp. Sand is made of rock that has been broken up into fine pieces. Soil is also made of rock ; but the pieces are still finer than sand. The soil that you have seen, such as that in the school yard, or by perhaps more slowly. Bright and shiny nails decay until they become a soft, yel- low rust. Tin cans and iron pipes rust until holes appear in them and they leak. You may not have thought that stones also decay, but they do. The headstones in old graveyards are often so crumbled that the letters can scarcely be read; Fig. 11. — a stump of a tree decaying, or rotting. the side of the walk, or in a flower- pot, was once a part of hard rock. Soil has been made in several ways, which you may learn about How soil is later ; but most of it made from rock ijas been formed by the decay of rock. You know that the stumps of trees and the boards in sidewalks, after a long time, become so soft that they fall to pieces. Perhaps you have called it "rotting," but that means the same as decaying. The picture (Fig. 11) shows such a stump. Other things, even harder than wood, decay in much the same way, although Fig. 12. — a rock clife showing the cracks that extend through the rock ; also, at the base of the cliff, a large pile of rock frag- ments that have been loosened by frost, and have fallen down the steep slope. and sometimes the stones have fallen to pieces. The decay of rock may also be seen in old stone buildings, bowlders, and rock cliffs. Have you ever noticed this ? There are several causes for this decay. All rocks have cracks in them (Pig. 12). LAND, WATJEE, AND AIR 13 Usually some of these cracks are so large that they can be plainly seen ; but What causes ^^^^^ ^''^ ^^^7 Others so the decay of small that they cannot be ^°'^^ seen without a magnifying glass. When it rains, the water steals into the cracks, and by eating into and rain, roots of plants, and earthworms can reach it there most easily. For this reason the deeper you dig why solid rock into soil that is formed by is found be- the decay of rocks, the less ""^^^ ^^^ """ you will find the rock changed (Fig. 13) ; and no matter where you live, if you dig deep enough, you will come to solid rock. Figure 14 shows the soil a little less than two feet deep. Some- times there is much more than this, and Why the soil Fig. 13. — A cut into the earth. In this figure notice the soil on top, partly decayed rock lower down, and solid rock below that. rotting the rock, this water very slowly changes it into a powder. The water may also freeze in the cracks and pry the stone apart. Per- haps you have seen iron pipes or water pitchers that have been burst by water freezing in them. This shows how much the freezing water expands ; it will even break rocks apart. Some of the pieces of rock broken off in this way are very small, others are quite large (Fig. 12). Plants help the water to break up the rock. Their hairlike roots push into the cracks, and remain there until they grow so large that they pry off pieces. The earthworms that one often sees on a lawn after a heavy rain also help in crumbling the jock. In order to get food, they take soil into their bodies and grind the coarse bits to- gether until these become very iine. Rock changes to soil most rapidly near the surface. This is because the . . is of different men may even dig ^^^^^^ deep wells without finding rock. But in many places there are only a few inches of soil, and in others there is not enough even to hide the rock. One reason why the soil is deeper in one place than in another is that some kinds of rock decay much more easily than other kinds. Another reason is that in some places the rain washes the bits away as fast as the rocks crumble. This may leave the rock quite bare in one place, and make very deep soil in the places where the water leaves the broken bits. FiQ. 14.- - A out in the earth, showing the soil resting on the soUd rock. 14 HOME GEOGRAPHY Having learned how the soil came to be what it is, let us see how plants make use of it. An acorn that has been planted in the soil sprouts and sends up a tiny stem. Fig. 15. — A photograph of four weeds, showing the great number of long, hairlike roots. This grows taller and taller, and sends out one branch after another until the little tree becomes a mighty oak. What a lot has been used to make such here has it all come from ? it has been taken out of the leaves, but most of it has from the soil by the roots. The use that plants make of the soil of material a tree ! W Some of air by the been taken While the stem, branches, and leaves have been growing above ground, the roots have been growing underground, where we cannot see them. These roots have spread out in all directions (Fig. 15) and have extended deep into the soil, in search of things needed by the tree. Dig up a weed, in order to see how its roots have pushed their way in and out through the soil. Boots have no eyes, to be sure; but they burrow about, and in their own way find what they need. It is not the large or old roots, ., ^j^^^ "* ° however, that do this. That j^p^g is the work of the young roots, many of which are not much larger than hairs (Fig. 15). If you dig up a weed, or any other plant, very carefully, you will see that it has a great many such hairlike roots. It is these that take the materials from the soil, while the older, larger roots merely pass these materials on to the part of the plant above ground. Every tree, every blade of grass, every weed and vegetable, depends upon such tiny roots for its life. One of the things that the roots of plants seek in the soil is water. Plants need water as what plants much as you do; and a take from the plant in a flower-pot will ^°^ soon wither and die if it is given no water. Try it, to see for yourself. That is the reason we water our lawns during dry weather in summer. Eoots take other substances from the soil, called plant food. This plant food is a part of the soil itself, and is as necessary to plants as food is to you. It is carried, in the sap, to all parts of the plant and used to make stems, leasees, flowers, fruit, and seeds, as the blood in your body is used to make bones and flesh. Every blade of grass and every limb of a tree contains some of this LAND, WATER, AND AIB 15 plant food that was once a part of the rocks. When a piece of wood is burned, some of this rock material is left behind in the ashes. Every person, even, has some plant food in his body ; your bones and teeth are partly made of it. But you did not take it directly from the soil ; the plants took it for you, and you received it from them in the flour and other foods that you have eaten. Plants do not all need the same kind of food, any more than all animals do. whydifierent Horses eat hay and grain; kinds of sou dogs eat meat. So, also, are needed ^^^^ plants need one kind of food, others another. These different kinds of plant food are found in the different kinds of soil. There are many different kinds of soil. Sometimes the rock has crumbled into very small bits, making a fine-grained What causes ^^q Jj^^ ^j^g pieces are so large different kinds , , ' .-r -t ■ t j; \. of soil *^* '' ® ^°^^ -^^ coarse. In fact, in some soils the pieces of rock are so large that some of them are pebbles. Then, too, there are many kinds of rock, such as granite, marble, and sandstone ; and when they crumble they make different kinds of soil. In some places the soil has plenty of plant food in it. To raise good crops in such soil, men have to do nothing beyond plowing, planting, and hoeing. Central Africa has a great deal of that kind of soil, and so has the United States. Soil of this kind, with plenty of plant food in it, is said to be rich, or fertile. There is also much soil that has little plant food in it, and that is said to be poor, or sterile. One reason for sterile soil is that the rock from which the soil has come may Fertile soil Sterile soil contain little plant food. On that ac- count one farm may be much more sterile than another next to it. Soil that was once fertile may become sterile, because plants are always taking some of the plant foodout Howfertuesoii of it. They must do this in may become order to grow. When weeds ®^®"'® and trees fall and decay on the spot where they grew, they pay back what they took away. But if plants are carried away from the spot where they grew, there is danger that fertile soil may be made quite sterile. Now this often happens. Farmers send away their wheat to make flour, and take their corn, hay, and oats to market. Indeed, they have to do this in order to make a living. Some farm- ers have sent their crops away year after year, without putting anything back in the ground to take the place of what was carried away. The result is that the soil has become really worn out, or sterile, and the farmers are no longer able to support their families on such land. The wise farmer takes care to put some plant food back upon the soil, to replace what his crops have How this dan- taken from it. Then he can ger can be continue to raise good crops. ^^"^^^^ That which he puts back upon the soil is called a, fertilizer, because it keeps the soil fertile. People in the city often spread a fertilizer on their lawns, to feed the grass and thus make it grow. Millions of dollars are spent in the United States every year for fertilizers. If this were not done, the crops would not be nearly so valuable. Then the farmers would suffer; and since we all depend upon the products which they raise, we would all suffer. Farming is 16 HOME GEOGRAPHY the most important industry not only in our country, but in the whole world. Therefore, what is important to the farmer, is important to every one. 1. Why is the soil in our country so valu- able ? 2. What about its value in other places ? 3. Why is the soil one of the most important things in the world ? 4. What is the soil made of? 6. How has it been made? 6. What causes rock to crumble ? 7. How does it hap- pen that solid rock is everywhere found be- neath the soil ? 8. Why is the soil of different depths? 9. What use do plants make of the soil? 10. What is the work done by the hair- Review Questions 2. Plains If the soil that rests on the rock had a smooth and level surface like a floor, it would be unfit for farm- ing. For the water, after a sloping land is heavy rain, would then stand ^''^^ ^f^^ *<» in a thin sheet upon the ground. This would drown the crops and prove unhealthful for both people and animals. Land with steep slopes is also unfit for farming. The rains wash away inuch of the soil on these slopes, until "5(t*tTSS;'*»«: If i'-;'!^-"' I'feiO; ^?I#S Fig. 16. — Farmers cutting wheat on the broad plains of the West. like roots of plants ? 11. Name two things that plants take from the soil. 12. Why is it im- portant that there should be different kinds of soil ? 13. What causes the different kinds ? 14. What is meant by fertile soil ? 15. By sterile soil ? 16. How may fertile soil be made sterile? 17. How can such danger be avoided ? 1. Find a place where men are digging a ditch, or a cellar, to see how the dirt looks be- low the surface. 2. Find a f ^?tua'°at ^o'^^^'ie'f' t'liff' or old stone wall, homelnVout that is crumbling away. 3. Col- of doors •^^"t several different kinds of soil. 4. Find out what trees and vegetables grow best near your home. 6. Visit a greenhouse to find out what kind of soil is used there, and what is done to keep it fertile. 6. Make a drawing of the roots of some weed that has been carefully dug up. only a rough, thin soil is left ; sometimes even the bare rock is uncovered. The crops, too, are often washed away from such steep slopes by the heavy rain. It is very difficult, also, to do the work of planting, plowing, and harvesting on a steep hillside. Land that has gentle slopes is better for farming. The water runs off more slowly, without washing the soil away or injuring the crops; more of the water soaks into the soil, leaving it moist; and the farmer can work, or cultivate, the soil more easily. Land of this kind, with slopes so gentle that it is nearly level, or slightly rolling, is called a plain. A very large LAND, WATER, AND AIR 17 The extent of plains in the United States part of our country consists of such plains, and this is one reason why the United States is one of the finest farming countries in the world (Fig. 16). If you were to cross our country on the railroad you might travel for two or three days over nearly level plains, with no mountains, and not even any high hills, in sight. On either side of the track you might see one farmhouse after another, each surrounded in summer by fields of waving grain, and by green There are thousands of swamps in our country, and it is quite common for a farm to have one or more of them upon it. Swamp land cannot be cultivated until it is drained ; that is, until the water is made to run off. Drainage of the land, therefore, becomes a very im- portant matter. Swamp soil is usually very fertile. For this reason, when there is no natu- ral slope to carry off the what is done water, mto often set to work '^'^^^ swamps to make one. For this purpose they ■HH ■ ■pp 1 ■ 1 1 ■ JIHHj ■1 ^^^^^lZfc,jLf^^|f <£^^ii)^ ji;;' ' i ■ ■ ■ 1 ■ "^ ''^9 H IkIbhb I^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^H ^H PGHSH^^^^BI ■ ifnr^ &. "..*' jflfl m 1 ^ , /i \ 1 i ^^^^Sj^HJI^^^Sj^ v^T^ 1 Fig. 17. — An open ditch dug through a swamp in order to drain off the water. pastures in which horses, cattle, and sheep were feeding. Now and then the train would pass through a village or a city; but everywhere else, for hundreds of miles, you would find only fertile farms. In many places, even from a train, one can easily see that there are slopes Theimpor- On this great plain, down tance of slopes -vphich the water rims freely. But in parts of the plain the slopes are so gentle that the surface ^eems to the eye to be perfectly flat. Yet the fact that the water runs off, proves that even here the land has a slope. Here and there, however, the surface is so level that the water does not all run off, but makes wet places, called swamps. dig ditches with sloping bottoms that allow the water to run away to some lower place. Sometimes the ditches are left open, as in the picture (Fig. 17). More often tiles are laid along the bottom, forming a kind of pipe, and then the earth is thrown back. The water finds its way into these pipes and thus flows away. Such drainage is expensive, but it usu- ally pays well, for it makes good fertile farm land out of land that before was useless. Definitions A plain is a nearly level, or gently rolling, part of the land. A swamp is wet land from which the water does not run off freely. 18 HOME GEOGRAPHY 1. Why is gently sloping land the best kind for farming? 2. What about the extent of such land in the United States ? 3. Why are slopes of great im- portance? 4. Why are swamps drained ? 5. How is this done ? Review Questions Suggestions 1. Find some ground near your home that seems nearly level. In what direction does it really slope ? 2. Where is the longest slope in your neighbor- hood ? Would you call it a part of a plain ? Why ? 3. Find out whether or not there are any swamps near you. If so, tell how you might plan to drain one of them. 4. Why should a farmer use tile and fill up a ditch, rather than leave it open ? No matter in what direction you lool in a hilly country, the scenery change The view from the top, or summit, of hill that requires only a few minutes 1 climb, is very different froni the view i its base (Fig. 18). Can you explain whj The higher hills, which may requii several hours to climb, furnish eve finer views. From the summit of sue a hill one can see hilltop after hillto] with valleys between, stretching out fc miles in the distance. The valleys win in and out among the hills, with perhaj a rugged cliff too steep to climb on on Fig. 18. — A view in a hilly country, with a lake in the valley. Here some of the slopes are too steep for farms, and are, therefore, still covered hy forests. side, and a long wooded slope on th other. In the bottom of the valley on can possibly see a brook or a river wine ing about. If you live among hills, d( scribe some of the walks and views tha you have enjoyed. The soil on hills may be deep an fertile; and then, even uses made though it is difficult to cul- of Mils tivate the ground,, the hilly land, lik the plains, is used for farms. Many people build their houses upo 3. Hills and Valleys Plains are usually so level that one can see for miles upon them in every The beauty of direction. The surface is so a hilly country flat that, uo matter where one looks, he sees the same kind of scenery. It is very different in a region where the slopes are steeper. The higher parts are called hills, and the lower parts, be- tween the hUls, are called valleys. LAND, WATER, AND AIB 19 hills in order to enjoy the beautiful views. Another reason for doing this is that the air is cooler and fresher there in summer. A third and even more important reason is that it is more healthful to live on high ground. Where the land is low, the slope is often so gentle that the water cannot flow off readily. Houses in such places often have cellars that are damp, and the people living in such houses are in danger of fever, and of other kinds of sickness caused by this dampness. But the water generally runs away quick- ly from a hill, so that the ground there soon becomes dry even after a heavy rain. In large cities, where land is very expensive, people build almost any- where. Here the low places are carefully drained like swamps on farms ; drain pipes, or sewers, being used to carry off the water. The bottoms of valleys, unlike hills, usually have a gentle slope. This fact has had a great influence Theuseofvai- upon the roads of every leys for roads country (Fig. 20). For in ^nd railways order to get from one place to another, it is easier to travel in a valley than to go up and down across the hills. On that account, when white men first came to ^ g WM N 1 1 HHHIIIIIHHiiiiEr'^^^^ M ■ "^'1 ' 1 1 itB HbBK^S^^^^ ^V'/" '^^SBBa 1 mm f^ ■"'^Wi ■— ^ ^ A Fig. 19. — The ruins of castles, built on the crests of steep hills in the Knine Valley in Gernaany. In times past, wlieii war was more common than now, men Isuilt great castles, with thick ■walls, on the summits, or crests, of hills (Fig. 19). From these they could look out over the coun- try for a long distance, and spy approaching enemies in time to prepare for them. Besides this, the steep sides of the hills were diflBcult for the enemy to climb. Some of the Indians used to build their towns upon the tops of steep hills, in order to be safe from other Indians. For the same reason the early settlers in Ifew England placed their churches and villages upon the hilltops. At present, hills are little needed for protection against enemies. this country, and settled among the hills, they built their roads in the valleys. The same thing is still done. Railroads have also been built in the valleys. Trains cannot be drawn up steep slopes, and therefore the railroads must either cut through the hills or else follow the valleys. The latter is much the cheaper plan, so that in a hilly country railroads wind in and out, often making sharp curves in order to follow the valleys (Fig. 20). 20 HOME GEOGRAPHY 1 ^^ 1 ^pr^ ^^^>.v^ " ^HP - >^BB 1 ■ Mi ^mgmjMM ^^ P^B ^ ,' -^^ ^•^ ^f^^^^^^^^^^^^l^^l wit'-- fl if ^^J ^^j^^^^^H Fig. 20. — A road and a railway winding their way up a mountain valley. Where the country is more level, as upon a plain, it is easier to travel in a straight line. Even in such a place, however, both the wagon roads and the railways are often built round a small hill rather than over or through it. While many people build their houses upon hills, many Theuseofvai- more live in the leys for homes valleys. Farmers often live in the valleys be- cause the best soil is usu- ally found there. The soil is washed into the valleys by the rains and is therefore deeper than on the hill slopes. There is also more moisture in the valleys, so that the crops grow better there. Another important reason why people live in valleys is the fact just mentioned, that the roads and railways are so often built there. Rivers large enough for boats are also found in many of the larger valleys. Can you give reasons why peo- ple choose to live along such highways of travel ? It is because valleys are such important highways that many of our towns and cities have grown up in them. Some of the largest cities are found where two or more val- leys come together. In such places roads and rail- ways, coming from differ- ent directions, meet and thus make a good center where people may trade, and from which they may ship goods (Fig. 21). When we think of a valley, we u.sually have in mind a small one, across which Fig. 21. — Notice how the roads and railways, following the valleys, meet at this point. Because this is a center, a city has grown up here. LAND, WATER, AND AIR 21 a person can easily see, for the valleys The size of that one commonly sees are valleys ]3q^;];^ narrow and short. But valleys are of all sizes. Many are so narrow that a person can easily toss a stone across them. Probably there Fig. 22. — Trace the divide on the rool of this house. are some of this kind near your home, and if you search you may find one. Other valleys are several miles across, and some are far larger. Indeed, there are some so great that one could not travel their whole length or width, even if he were to spend all day and all night upon a fast train. There is one such in oiu- country, called the Mississippi Valley, which is over three thousand miles long, and nearly as wide. Valleys as large as this must, of course, have very gentle slopes. On that ac- The Missis- couiit many people living sippi Valley jn the Mississippi Valley scarcely know that they are in a valley. The Mississippi River flows through the lowest part, and the homes of many people are so far from that river that they may never have seen it. The land all about them is so level that it does not seem to form a part of any slope. It is, in fact, a vast plain. Yet, when the rain falls there, it flows on and on in brooks and rivers, till it reaches the great river, thus proving that the plain is a part of the Mississippi Valley. The slopes of this valley are not all smooth and even. There are smaller valleys of many different sizes within this great valley, and some of them are hundreds of miles long. The more important valleys have names, just as people have; how one valley for instance, there is the is separated Mississippi Valley, the Hud- * -^""i ^"other son Valley, and the Connecticut Valley. Can you name others ? It is impor- tant that there be some way of fixing the boundaries of such a valley, so that one can know where it begins and ends, and how much land is included within it. Usually this is easily done. When the rain falls upon the roof of a house (Fig. 22), the water is divided along the highest part, some flowing down one side, some down the other. Fig. 23. — A map to show the divides between valleys. Trace the divides. Water falling upon the highest land between two valleys is divided in a similar manner. Because the water parts, or divides, at the highest place 22 EOME GEOGRAPHY between two valleys, this place is called a divide, or water parting, or sometimes a watershed. The dotted lines in the pictm-e (Fig. 23) show some divides. Notice how irregular the lines are. A divide sometimes stands out as sharply as on the roof of a house. In other places it is difficult to find, because the land is so nearly level. Can you point out such a place in Figure 23 ? Since the divides are the boundaries of the valleys, it is easy to determine how far it is across any valley. How would you do it ? When it rains slightly, the water soaki into the soil and disappears ; but wher there is a heavy rain, not all of the wate] can sink into the ground. Some begins to flow away. One little stream, per haps less than an inch wide, begins at one point; another joins it; soon sev- eral of them unite; and after a little while a good-sized brook or creek is formed. Have you not noticed this flowing water in the school yard, in the roads, or on the sides of hills? If you have, you have surely noticed that the water Fig. 24. — Little valleys cut in the soil by the rains. The divides on the two sides of the Mississippi Valley are many hundreds of miles apart. But there are, no doubt, some valleys near your home whose divides are not one hundred feet apart. See whether yoii can find one ; and if you do, try to trace its divides. People sometimes speak of the '' ever- lasting hills," but they are not everlasting. How hiii3 and The hills and valleys that you vaHeys have have seen were not always been made ^^^^^ ^^^ ^jj^ ^^^ remain for- ever. They have all been slowly made. Let us see how this has been done. did not flow off without taking some- thing with it. It was muddy. This means that soil had become mixed with the water and was being borne away by it. Every heavy rain bears along much soil, cutting little channels, washing out- roads, and perhaps even destroying the beds of railways, so that trains must stop running for a time. During such a rain little channels, or valleys, are carved in the soil, leaving tiny hills and ridges between (Fig. 24). No doubt you have seen these formed many times. If not, you can easily LAND, WATER, AND AIR'i^ 23 make them by poiiring water from a sprinkler upon a pile of loose dirt. There are many heavy rains every year, and in a lifetime their number is very large. During many hundreds of years, then, the water could wash away an enormous amount of soil and rock. This soil the large streams and rivers would carry away to the sea. It is by such very simple means that even deep valleys have been formed, with the hills between them. It has all been done in much the same way as the rain water cuts the tiny channels in the soil of the school yard. What a change water must have made in the surface of the earth during the thousands of years that have passed ! No doubt there were hills and valleys in the very beginning; but every year these have been slowly changing, so that they are now very different from what they once were, v^ter many more years they will be very different from what they are now, for they are even now slowly changing. This is the way in which most hjlls and valleys have been formed. Some of the very largest valleys, however, like the Mississippi, have not been made entirely by running water. They have been partly caused by the sinking or the rising of the land. We shall learn more about this when we study a^out mountains. ^ • .^. A valley is the low land be- Definitions , , . , , , , , tween higher lands, as between hills or mountains. A divide (also called water-parting ot water- shed) is the place between two valleys where the rain water parts, or divides, that' on one side flowing into one valley, that on the other flowing into the neighboring valley. 1. Why does a hilly country look more at-^ tractive than a plain ? 2. Of Stains ^^** "®® ^'^ ^'^^^ ^ ^- ^^ how valleys are of use for roads and railways. 4. Why are they of use for homes ? 5. What about the size of valleys ? 6. Tell about the Mississippi Valley. 7. How is one valley separated from another ? 8. How have hills and valleys been made ? 1. Where is the highest hill near your home ? 2. What views do you most enjoy in your neighborhood? Describe them. 3. Find pictures of castles, show- Suggestions ing their location on hills. 4. Find the divide, or watershed, of some valley near you. Trace it as far as you can. 6. Watch the water carry- ing off soil after a rain. 6. Find a washout after a heavy rain. 7. Show that streets and roads are so made that they have a watershed. Why is that done ? 8. Do you know any roads or railways that follow valleys and wind about among the hills ? If so, tell about them. 9. Make a drawing showing the appearance of a hilly country. 4. Mountains Hills are seldom more than a few hundred feet high ; but in some parts of the world the slopes rise thousands of feet. Such high places are called moun- tains. You may never have seen mountains, but you have certainly seen something that looks quite like them. Appearance of Often, on a summer even- mountains ing, the sun sets behind great banks of clouds that reach far up iato the sky. Some of them have rough, steep sides and great rugged peaks; others have more gentle slopes and rounder tops. Often there are many of them together, and they appear so real that it seems as if one might climb their sides, if he could only reach them. This is very much as snow-covered mountains appear in the distance. In fact, in a mountainous country one must often look carefully to tell whether he sees real mountains or only some clouds. 24 HOME GEOOBAPHT Fig. 25. — A view in a region of low mountains, with forests covering the lower slopes. The mountains in Figure 25 are much like hills, except that they are larger. The size of They are two or three thou- mountains gand feet in height. Some mountains are so low, and their slopes Fig. 26. — Snow-covered mountain peaks in the Alps, many thousands of feet high. SO gentle, that one is easily able to climl to their tops. Such mountains are oftei called hills; but many mountains ar( even two or three miles in • height The tops, or peaks, of these may rise fa: above the clouds, and ar( often wholly hidden by them Usually where there is on( mountain peak, there ar( others in sight (Fig. 26) They often extend in lines forming what is called f mountain chain, or a moun tain range, which may bi hundreds of miles in length Besides peaks, there are mdn; deep valleys and steep slope in such a mountain chain. Perhaps you know that i is colder on the summit of i high hill than at xhe tempera- its base. When tureonmoun- going to the top ^^^'^^ of the Washington Mom ment, which is five hundre and fifty feet high, if on LAND, WATER, AND AIR 25 takes a thermometer witti him, he finds that it is about two degrees cooler at Fig. 27.- - A moimtain on whose summit snow has just fallen, while no snow fell at its hase. the top than at the base. One might not notice any difference in temperature when climbing low hills, but it is easily noticed on high ones. If your home is near such a hill, you can prove this. People who live among high hills observe that it often snows upon their summits (Fig. 27), while it rains in the valleys below. How can you explain this ? Many mountains rise so high that it is much colder at the summit than at the base. In fact, it is so cold on very high mountains that the snow never quite melts away. No rain ever falls there ; but it snows instead, both summer and winter, and it is far too cold for trees to grow. Such mountains, therefore, are always white with a thick blanket of snow. Even in hot Central Africa some of the mountains rise so high that they are always covered with snow. On these peaks it is as cold as in the land of the Eskimos, although the Negroes living at the base of the mountains need hardly any clothing. Because of the cool climate and beau- tiful scenery, many people spend part of the summer among the mountains. Even the lower mountains, which are covered with , TT ,, The use of woods all the way mountains as to the top, and summer re- 1 • sorts have no snow m summer, are so much cooler than the lowland that they often attract thousands of visitors during hot weather. Railroads now lead to many of the mountains, and sometimes even go complete- ly across them. Following a valley, such a road rises higher and higher until it comes to what is called a mountain pass (Fig. 28). Fig 28 — A railroad tiam crossing a pass m the lofty, snow-covered Alps. 26 ROME GEOGBAPHT This is nothing more than a valley be- tween two mountain peaks. Then, after going over the pass, the railroad leads down the valley on the other side. Or, quite often, if the way to the pass is too steep, a railroad winds about, in many curves, until it can climb no higher; then it tunnels directly through the hard mountain rock. Some of the tunnels in mountains are several miles long, and have several thousand feet of rock di- rectly overhead. There are often good roads in the mountains, and some of the visitors amuse themselves by driving. There are also paths in many directions, lead- ing to points of interest ; and many people spend a part of their time in mountain climbing. ' This* sport, however, is often difficult ^^ ^ . and sometimes dangerous, why mountam ° climbing is dif- It may not seem difficult to ficuit, and even climb to the top of a moun- dangerous , . i , •, m • tarn, but it usually is. In the first place, a long distance must be traveled. It might require a whole day of steady climbing to reach the summit of a mountain only one mile high. We cannot go straight up into the air. That is impossible. In- stead, we must walk up the slope of the mountain and go several miles before we reach the summit. Most mountains are so steep that one would grow very tired climbing directly up their slopes ; therefore a much longer, zigzag path is usually followed. In addition to this, there may be some steep cliffs, or precipices (Fig. 29), that could not be climbed even if one wished to do so ; and it is necessary to travel round these, to find a place where the slope is less steep. For these reasons it may be necessary to walk ten miles, or even more, climb- ing uphill all the time, in order to reach the top of a mountain only a mile high. One would need to stop often for breath and rest. There may be danger, at some points, especially in climbing very high moun- tains. One may lose his way, or, since the path is often wet and rocky, with perhaps a steep precipice close to it, Fig. 29. — Steep rock precipices, up whose face one cannot climb. one's foot may slip, causing him to fall upon the rocks far beneath. Or great masses of stone and snow may suddenly come crashing down the mountain side, destroying everything in their path. The dangers to be met in climbing high mountains are shown in the following description. Many people cross the ocean to visit the Alps Mountains in Swit- ^^^ ^,^^,^^ zerland. Mont Blanc, one of Mont Blanc, of the best-known peaks in *° Switzerland the Alps, is nearly three miles in height. LAND, WATER, AND AIR 27 It is so difficult and dangerous to climb this mountain that persons wishing to do so must employ guides, to show them the way and help them over the worst places. The round trip usually takes two nights and three days; and as there is no place to obtain food, it is necessary to carry it. Overcoats and blankets are also needed ; for even though the journey be made in the hottest summer weather, it is bitterly cold upon the mountain top. Suppose that we are mabing such a journey. We start early in the morning, so as to have a long day. Each of us carries a few light articles, but the guides and porters take most, for they are strong and used to climbing. At first we walk along a pleasant path in a beautiful wood ; a house is now and then passed, and per- haps a green field, but soon there are no more houses and fields, and we meet no people. The trees become smaller and smaller, until the line is reached above which it is so cold that no trees can grow. This is called the tree line, or timber line. Prom this point on, no plants larger than bushes are seen, and after a while even these disap- pear. Meantime the soil and grass have become more scarce, while here and there banks of snow are found in the shady hollows. Soon we have climbed to the snow line. This is the line above which snow is found all the year round. Now, no matter in what direction we look, rocks and snow are everywhere to be seen, and the snow is often hundreds of feet deep. What a wonderful view is before us ! It re- pays us for all the hard work. We look down upon the woods through which we have just passed, and over them to the deep valleys, with the green fields, pretty houses, and vil- lages far below us. Beyond are seen other steep mountains upon the opposite side of the valley. A guide takes his place in front of us, and, often tells us to stop while he goes ahead to examine the way. It may be that the snow has bridged over and hidden a deep and nar- row chasm, and if we were to step upon this snow bridge, we might break through and fall a hundred feet or more. Sometimes the guides lift us over a danger- ous place; and when it is steep or slippery, they fasten all the members of the party to- gether with ropes, so that if one falls, the others may hold him (Fig. 30). As we advance higher and higher, it is often necessary to take a narrow path on the steep side of the mountain. On the right we can look hundreds of feet almost straight down- ward ; on the left are huge stones and masses of snow almost directly overhead. Fig. 30. — Mountain climbers, fastened together by ropes, on the way to the top oi Mont Blanc. The snow sometimes slips, forming snmv slides, or avalanches, which are very dangerous. They come tearing down the sides of the moun- tains with a terrible roar, at times burying whole villages beneath them. You have seen the same thing, on a much smaller scale, when snow has slid from the roofs of houses on warm winter days. After one night spent in a little house about halfway up the mountain side (Fig. 31), and after much hard work on the next day, we reach the summit. Here, in spite of our heavy wraps, we are all shivering, for upon high moun- tain tops there are fierce winds which seem to go through even the thickest clothing. 28 HOME GEOOEAPHT Other uses of mountains gold lead. and and Fio. 31. — Rest house on the slopes of Mont Blanc, ahove the snow line. On this barren mountain top there are no birds, no trees, no grass, — nothing but snow and rock (Fig. 32). But if it is a clear day and there are no clouds clinging to the mountain sides below us, we may be able to look down into the beautiful green valleys only a few miles away. There the birds are singing, flow- ers are blossoming, and men working in the fields are complaining of the heat. Perhaps you already know that the rocks in- side the moun- tains some- times contain silver. Iron, other metals are also ob- tained there. The metal in the rings, watches, and silver coins that you have seen, and even the iron parts of your school desk, may have come from the roeks of some moun- tain. Rock that contains metal is called ore; and it may look so much like common rock that you might not note the differ- ence. You might have a gold ore in your hand that it contained any very valuable and not know gold. In order to get the metal out of the ore, much work is necessary. Many men in mountainous countries are em- ployed in mining ore and in getting the metal out of it (Fig. 33). FiGt. 33. — The summit of Mont Blanc, covered with a deep coat of snow. LAND, WATER, AND AIR 29 The trees in the mountain forests are also valuable. The most common kinds are evergreens, such as the pine, hem- lock, and spruce. These are green even through the winter, and can live on the there is much ice and snoTV upon some of them ; and that upon the higher mountains there is so much that it never melts away, no matter how- hot the summer maybe. During hot weather, many streams in the plains dry up ; but at such times the ice and snow of the mountains melt the faster. Then the streams which flow forth from these mountains are even more swol- len than usual. This water may run along for many miles, until it finally reaches towns and cities where people need it to drink. Do you know of any city that gets its drinking water from such a river ? You have learned that most hills have been slowly made by running water, which cuts out val- FiG. 33. — In these buildings metal is obtained from the ore that is mined in the mountain rocks far below the surface. cold mountain sides as far up as the timber line (Fig. 34). The land upon a mountain side is usually too steep and rocky for farms, but even where there can be no farms, trees may grow, covering the mountains for miles and miles with dense for- ests. These trees may be cut down and sawed into lumber, from which all sorts of wooden articles are made. Possibly the very seat in which you are sitting was once part of a tree that grew on the side of a moun- tain. Mountains are of further use because of the water, they supply. We have already seen that Fig. 34. — The forest-covered slopes of lofty mountains, which shut in a mountain valley. Point out the timber line. leys and leaves high places between. Most mountain ranges have ^^^ ^q„jj. not been made in this way. tainshavebeen They are really parts of the ™^^® land that have been slowly raised, until some portions are much higher than the 30 BOME GE06EAPHT surrounding country. When mountains are thus raised, the rocks are bent, broken, and folded in a very irregular way (Fig. 35). You can imitate this folding of the mountain rocks by bend- ing, or crumpling, a number of sheets of paper. When the rocks of mountains are folded, the crumpling extends for a great distance, sometimes even for thousands of miles. Such a region of folded rocks, a hundred miles or more wide, and perhaps a thousand miles or more long, is called a mountain system. Fia. 35. — Beds of rook, in the mountains, that have been bent up in an arch when the mountains were raised. Of course running water cuts valleys in a mountain region as well as in a hilly country. In fact, most of the val- leys and many of the peaks and ridges in mountains, have been carved out by • running water. The land is slowly raised by folding, and then valleys are cut into it by the water that flows down the slopes. While it is well, first, to read even several pages of the text without pause, as before stated, it is necessary in further study to stop here and there to think over what has been read. For this purpose some stopping places are better than others. Probably the best stopping About how to study place, for every page or two, is found at the end of the answer to each question that is sug- gested in the headings at the side of the page. At this point, each time, the thought turns to another topic, and it is therefore a good place to make a stop. One can then look back over what he has just read, or think it through with- out looking at the book. In preparing for recitation it is not necessary to try to remember the exact words of the book. In fact, it is much better to tell what has been learned in one's own words, just as a person does in writing a letter. A moMwtoi'w is high land, where . . masses of rock have been pushed up above the level of the surrounding country. A mountain peak is a high part of a mountain. It is a sort of large hill in the moun- tains. A mountain range is a long, rather narrow belt of moun- tain country. A mountain chain is a group of mountain ranges, one beside the other, and often nearly in a line. A mountain system is an even larger group of moim- tains, often including two or more mountain chains. A precipice is a steep rock cliff, often found in a moun- tainous country. An avalanche is a great mass of snow, ice, or rock falling down a mountain side. The timber line (or tree line) is the line above which no trees grow. The snow line is a line above which snow re- mains all the year round. A mountain pass is a gap, usually a valley, across the crest of a mountain range. 1. Describe the appearance of mountains. 2. What about the temperature on mountains ? 3. Why are mountains of use as summer resorts ? 4. Why is mountain climbing difficult and Review Questions sometimes dangerous ? 5. Tell about the climb- ing of Mont Blanc. 6. State other uses of mountains. 7. How have mountains been made? 8. What is meant by a plain? Swamp? LAND, WATER, AND AIR 31 Valley ? Divide ? Mountain ? Mountain peak ? Mountain range ? Mountain chain ? Mountain system ? Precipice ? Avalanche ? Timber line ? Snow line ? Mountain pass ? 1. If you have made a visit to the mountains, describe what you saw, to the class. 2. Watch for clouds that resemble moun- tains. 3. Make a collection of pictures of mountains. Note the timber line, the snow line, and other points of interest. 4. Represent a mountain by the use of sand, stones, twigs, and chalk dust. Show the woods and the timber line ; the snow line ; precipices. 5. Ask some one who has climbed a mountain to tell you about it. 6. Write a story relating the adventures you might expect in climbing a mountain. 7. Describe some of the views you would expect to enjoy. II. Water I. Rivers We have seen how very important valleys are; and we have also learned that they have been formed by the work of running water. We shall next study the running water that has carved out the valleys, and that makes the rivers. Every heavy rain causes the water to collect here and there, and to flow down How rivers the slopes. At first only begin tiny rills are formed, but these unite to make little streams and brooks. The brooks and small streams, in turn, unite to form rivers. Thus rain alone may cause a river; but as soon as all the rain water runs off, such a river would become quite dry if there were not water from some other source. Eivers usually have a more regular supply of water. Some of them, as we have seen, start in the high mountains, where the snows never entirely melt away. Others have their beginnings, or sources, in lakes and swamps. It should be remembered, too, that there is a great deal of water in the ground, for some of it sinks into the earth during every rain. It is this water that men find when they dig wells. The underground water trickles Fig. 36. — Icicles formed in winter where water from un- derground slowly oozes out from cracks in the rock. slowly through the soil, and through crevices in the rocks (Fig- 36), often bubbling forth as a spring, weeks after it has fallen as rain somewhere else. Many rivers have their sources in such springs, and most large rivers receive water along their courses from hun- dreds and even thousands of them. Let us take a journey from the source of a river to its lower end, or mouth, and see how it changes. Our river has its source ia a small spring in the moun- tains, where the clear, cold water bubbles out of the P^rt ground at the base of a rock cliff. How a river changes and grows as it advances 1 . Its upper' 32 HOME GEOGRAPHY For a short distance it flows through a grassy meadow (Fig. 37), and is so narrow that you can easily step across it. The water is so clear that you can see the spec- kled trout swimming about in a deep hole near one side, or hank. A smaller branch, or Fig. 38. — Here the water, shut in by steep walls, leaps from ledge to ledge, each time forming a waterfall. Fig. 37. — A meadow brook — that later forms a river — near its source. tributary, enters the brook from an- other small valley, and makes it somewhat larger and deeper. Soon the brook leaves the nteadow and begins to tumble down a steeper slope. Here it changes greatly. In some places it is narrow and deep; in others, broad and shallow ; here it flows swiftly, there slowly. We put a toy boat upon the water. It floats along quietly for a time, and then, coming to a swift part of the current, called a rapid, it is whirled along roughly and up- set. "We rescue it and set it right again, but soon it comes to a place where the water falls several feet from the top of a ledge (Fig. 38). In tumbling over this waterfall the boat is again upset, and dashed against the rocks. As the water rushes along, beat- ing itself into foam, it is here and there joined by other tributaries, some very small, others nearly as large as the brook itself. Thus the stream gradually grows broader and deeper. Often the water must rush around or leap over large bowlders that lie directly in its path; and often it LAND, WATER, AND AIR 33 Fig. 39. — The stream, shut in by towering cliffs. The large bowlders in its bed have fallen from these cliffs. falls directly downward for many feet, with a roar. The stream is now in a deep gorge, with the rocky cliffs ex- tending high on each side, and shutting it in like walls (Fig. 38). It seems quite helpless, with the great, hard rocks all about it. Yet it is really getting the better of this rock, for pieces of stone are often loosened and fall from the steep cliffs into the water. Then the torrent hurls them against one another, and grinds them against the bottom, or hed, of the stream until they are worn into smooth, round pebbles. These pebbles are borne on downstream, and are slowly ground up into grains of sand and bits of clay. The bed of the stream and the rock cliffs by its side are ground away at the same time. It is this grinding that has made the gorge so deep and caused its sides to rise so steep and high. The scenery here is wild and grand, with towering cliffs on either side (Fig. 39). Now it is too difficult to follow the stream, and we leave it, to join it again many miles below. Here the river has left the mountains and flows in a broad valley through a hilly country. Some of the g. its middle slopes are steep and covered p^'* with forests; others, more gentle, are cleared of trees and dotted with farms, farmhouses, and barns. The current is not so swift now, although there are still some rapids and falls ; and instead of rocky cliffs the banks are low (Fig. 40). In fact, in Fig. 40. — The river is now large, and its banks are low and bordered by farm laud. 34 HOME GEOGRAPHY some places these are not mucli higher than the water. Here and there a tributary, itself almost a river, pours its flood into our stream. It has now been many days since this water left the mountains. The river has become so deep that we cannot touch its bed with a long pole, and so ha,s greatly changed. In the mountains the water rushed rapidly and noisily on- ward, dragging along bowlders and peb- bles; in its middle part it flowed fast enough to carry only sand and mud ; but now the current is so gentle that it can carry only the finest bits of rock mud. These bits are so tiny that, if you were 1 )ll|flliM»« ^••••••i|J»}MM!!»"'""~'""^- Fig. 41. — Here the river is so broad that a very long bridge is needed to cross it. wide that bridges are needed to cross it (Fig. 41). We can now drift along easily in a boat, watching .the men at work in the fields, and the towns and villages that we pass. At one point, however, the cu.rrent grows swifter, and finally the water tumbles in a great fall. We must leave the river at this point and pass around the fall. Here is a large city with many mills and factories. From this point on, the stream is so broad and deep that large steamboats can travel upon it ; it has now become a great river. It is still several hundred miles to the river mouth, and since other rivers, both 3. Its lower large and small, continue to course jqj^ ^j;^ j^ steadily grows deeper and broader. The banks become lower, and they are occupied by- many towns and cities, with farms between. In this part of its course there are no rapids and falls. Indeed, the current to place some of the muddy water in a glass, it would take hours for all of them to settle and leave the water clear. At last we are approaching the river mouth, toward which the water has been steadily flowing for weeks. The river is now a full mile in width, and moving very slowly. It never dries up, because there is always a supply of water from its thousands of springs, and it drains so great a country that rain is nearly always falling into some of its hundreds of tributaries. Not only river-boats, but ships from the ocean are now passing up and down the river." Now the water divides into several streams, each flowing into the~ ocean along a separate course (Fig. 43). Each of these pours its fresh water into the salt water of the sea, and be- yond their .mouths no land is to be seen, — nothing but water everywhere (Fig. 42). LAND, WATER, AND AIB 35 Other rivers may differ from this one in many How other ways. Instead of having their rivers differ sources in springs among the from this one mountains, they may start from swamps or lakes. They may have low, soft system (Fig. 43). For instance, we speak of the Mississippi River System, meaning the Mississippi River and all its tributaries. Fig. 42. — Mouth of a large river where it pours its water into the ocean. banks near their sources, instead of high rocky ones, and they may have no rapids or falls. Instead of emptying directly into the ocean, they may enter other rivers as tributaries, or they may pour their waters into lakes. But, in spite of such differences, other rivers are much like this one in most respects. If there is a river near you, how does it resemble _ the one described ? How does it differ from it ? We have seen that from its source to its The meaning mouthariv- of n'yer system er may re- ^ni river basin ceive Water from hundreds of tribu- taries. Thus the rain that falls in places even hundreds of miles apart may at last be brought together in a single main stream. Such a main stream, with all of its tributa- ries, is called a river Fig. 43. — Map of a river system. Point out the source ; the mouth ; the main stream ; several tributaries. All the country that is drained by a single main stream is called a river hasin. Thus all the land drained by the Missis- sippi River and its tributaries forms the Mississippi Basin. In what river basin is your home located? Very great quantities of soil are carried away by rivers, ^^^^ ^^^^^ and much do with their rock is ^^^™^°^ ground up and carried off by them. This load of rock bits that rivers carry is called sediment. Some of it comes from the pebbles that are rolled about in the stream bed, and some comes from the stream bed itself. What be- comes of it all? If you have seen a sidewalk, or a field, 36 HOME GEOGRAPHY flooded with water, you perhaps remem- ber that a thin layer of sand or fine 1 PI d 1 ■ ™"^ ^^^ ^^^^ when the flood disappeared. The sand and mud were borne along by the current, Fig. 44. — A river which has overflowed its hanks in time of flood The tree is completely surrounded by the flood. until they reached a place where the water did not move swiftly enough to carry them any farther. Then they slowly settled. After heavy rains, or when the snow melts rapidly, rivers often rise so high that they over- flow their banks (Fig. 44). At such times the water spreads out in a thin, slowly moving sheet, on both sides of the main current. Then, as just described, this slowly moving water allows a thin layer of mud to settle. Each flood adds another layer, making the land a little higher, until, after many years, it is built above the usual level of the river. Such land is gener- ally a level plain ; and, since it is made by river floods, it is called a flood plain. This is one of the ways in which plains are made. Near small streams such plains are generally narrow strips of land (Fig. 45) between the stream and the hills; that rise at some distance on either side. But in large valleys, like the Mississippi, the flood plains are many miles in width. Flood plains make the best kind of farm land. The soil is very fertile; the surface is so level that it can be easily culti- vated; and, being so near the water, it has plenty of moisture for the roots of plants. Not all the sediment that a river carries is used to .build flood plains along its banks. Much of it is drifted on to the river mouth, where it enters a lake or the ocean. Here the water is usually quiet, so that even the finest mud sinks to the bottom. At first only enough sediment is collected to form 2. Deltas Fig. 45.— A narrow flood plain bordering a small stream, which in time of flood overflows the plain. low, swampy land. But, like the flood plains, this is slowly built higher and higher, by a layer of mud from each flood, until it becomes high enough to make dry land. LAND, WATER, AND AIR 37 Such plains at the mouths of rivers form what are called deltas (Fig. 46). Many rivers have deltas so wide that one cannot see across them, and the great quantity of sediment from which they are made has come from the fields, hills, and moun- tains, perhaps hundreds of miles away. Such delta lands, like flood plains, are very fertile and make excellent farms. Rivers are of importance in other ways besides carv- The value ^E out valleys and building of rivers for flood plains and deltas. Each drainage river is really a great open ditch for draining the surrounding land. Fig. 46. — The delta of a river. rapidly. If it were not for rivers, this water could not run off so quickly. People in towns and cities along a river bank also owe a special debt to the river, because it quickly carries away all sewage. While rivers drain the land, and xheir value thus for the water keep they supply it healthful, they also bring the much-needed water to plants, animals, and man. We have already learned in our study of the Sahara Des- ert how necessary water is to plants. In desert countries men lead water from the streams many miles, through ditches or pipes, and let it spread out over the Js/ancf Fig. 47. — A large ditch, in western United States, in which water is led from a river to be used in watering crops in the desert. Its work in drainage is always of value to the farmers who live in the valley through which it flows; but its impor- tance is most plainly seen when" heavy rains fall, or when the snow melts thirsty soil, so that plants can thrive (Fig. 47). That is called irrigation, and in many places, including some parts of our Own' country, no crops can be raised without it. 38 HOME OEOOBAPHT Again, many animals and people de- pend upon rivers for the water that they drink. Even whole cities often Fig. 48. — An old-lashioned water wheel used to give the power for grinding grain into flour in a grist mill. obtain their drinking water from rivers. Find out where your own drinking water comes from, if you do not already know. The water of rivers is also used for turning water wheels Their use (^ig- 48). for manufac- YoU have, ^"''"S perhaps, noticed how wind- millswork. Thewind blows the large wheel round and round, and it may be so con- nected with other wheels that it can pump water, or turn a saw for sawing wood, or grind corn. Steam is also used for power; for example, to turn the wheels of a railway engine, so that it can drag the heavy cars along. Hiver water is made to do work in much the same manner. Where there is a swift current, or where there are waterfalls, such as the Niagara Falls, it is often easy to run some of the water off to one side through a ditch or pipe. The water, racing rapidly along, or falling with great force, strikes a wheel (Fig. 48) and makes it whirl round. This wheel, being connected with others, causes them to turn also, much as one wheel in a clock causes others to move. Thus machinery is set in motion by which logs are sawed into lumber, grain is ground into flour, cotton is made into cloth, and many other kinds of work are done. Water that furnishes the power to turn the wheels is called loater poioer; and the buildings in which such manu- facturing is carried on are called fac- tories, or mills (Fig. 49). The water in most rivers . does not flow fast enough to strike a wheel with much force. Water power is found Fig. 49. — A large mill beside a waterfall that supplies the water power for running the machinery iu the mill. LAND, WATUB, AND AIB 39 mainly in rivers with swift currents, and especially near rapids and falls. There mills have been built (Pig. 49), and then cities have often sprung up. We found one such city on our journey down the river, described on page 34. There is one other way in which rivers are very valuable. It has always Their use for been difficult to find an easy navigation means for carrying goods from one place to another. In some places there are no roads, and even where there are roads, they are often hilly, rough, and muddy. much as scores of wagons or cars (Fig. 50), and many boats can go up and down at the same time, so that a large river is equal to several railroads. Besides, such a river may lead a long distance into a country. For example, one can travel by boat for thousands of miles up the Mississippi River and its tributaries. For these reasons, carrying goods by boat upon rivers, or river navigation, is a very important business. Indeed, it is so important, that broad ditches, called canals, have been dug in many places (Fig. 51) in order to improve it. fe«'---— - a^^K 1 1--^ ^2 i^^^^^ igtgwTOs^ "' ' "^'^^^hhH ■ ' .^- ___ ^^1^ ' " . f -