It is claimed for this "High-School Geography" 1. That it is arranged on the true inductive system, commencing with ele- mentary principles, and proceeding by natural and gradual advances from de- duction to deduction and from step to step until the whole ground is covered. 2. The arrangement is clear and practical, enabling the pupil to observe the relations between different parts of the subject, to know, at every point, where he is standing, and constantly to keep in view the end proposed. 3. It is interesting. Details are by no means sacrificed, but they are in- terspersed with noteworthy facts relating to the earth and its inhabitants, 4. It facilitates the teacher's task, by neither requiring reference to Tables nor asking questions which the learner cannot answer without aid. 5. It contains as many facts as can be advantageously remembered, while it eschews an embarrassing multiplicity that would be forgotten as soon as 6. It embraces a system of Reviews in which the questions, presented in new forms, require the pupil to look at the subject in different lights, to think for himself, and to compare and digest the various facts he has learned. 7. It embodies the results of all new discoveries in Physical Geography, etc., the latest explorations of travelers and navigators, and takes its statistics These are a few of the prominent features of the system here set forth. The present volume is divided into three parts, to which is added an Ap- PART I. embraces Descriptive Geography and exercises on the Maps in the earth, among which are the following: 1st. That, if a mountain or any other elevation be ascended, a much greater extent of the earth's surface becomes visible; 2d. That, persons on shipboard, as they near the land, see first the tops of mountains, and, on approaching nearer, their bases; 3d. That, to a person on land, the highest parts of a ship are seen first in the distance, and, as she approaches nearer, the lower part, or hull; 4th. That, in traveling to any considerable distance, either north or south, new stars come into view in the direction in which the traveler is advancing, while others gradually disappear in the direction from which he is receding; 5th. That, persons have sailed constantly in one direction, either east or west (as nearly as the different bodies of land on the globe will admit), and returned to the place from which they first set out; 6th. That, in cutting for a canal it is found that allowance must be made for a dip of about eight inches in a mile, in order to keep the water of a uniform depth throughout; 7th. That, the shadow the earth casts upon the moon, during a lunar eclipse, is always circular. How many motions has the earth? Two; a diurnal, or daily motion, on its axis; and an annual, or yearly motion, round the sun. What is the Earth's Axis? It is a straight line which we imagine to pass through the centre of the earth. Which way does the earth turn on its axis? How long is it in making a complete revolution? What does this revolution cause? The succession of day and night. How long is the earth in making a complete revolution round the sun? A year. What does the earth's revolution round the sun occasion? It occasions, in part, the diversity of the seasons. What is the distance round the earth in a great circle? About twenty-five thousand miles. What is this distance called? The circumference of the earth. What is the distance through the centre of the earth at the equator? What is this distance called? The equatorial diameter of the earth. What is the distance through the centre of the earth, from one pole to the other? About seven thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine miles. What is this distance called? The polar diameter of the earth. t LESSON II. EXTENT OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE, ETC. How many square miles is the carth's surface supposed to contain ? About two hundred millions. What portion of this is land? About one-fourth, or fifty millions. What portion water? About three-fourths, or one hundred and fifty millions. How is the land distributed? There is about three times as much land in the Northern Hemisphere as in the Southern; and two and a half times as much in the Eastern as in the Western Hemisphere. How is the land naturally divided? It is divided into different parts, of various forms, to which geographers have given the names of continent, island, peninsula, isthmus, cape, promontory, mountain, hill, plain, and valley. What are these divisions styled? The natural or physical divisions of the land area of the earth's surface. How is the water naturally divided? The water also is divided into parts, variously formed, which geographers have designated by the names ocean, sea, gulf, bay, strait, passage, sound, channel, lake, and river. What are these divisions called? The natural or physical divisions of the water area of the earth's surface. Why are these divisions styled natural? Because they have not been made by man, but have been formed by nature. What divisions of the earth's surface have been made by man? Empires, kingdoms, states, cities, towns, villages, &c. What are these divisions called? Political divisions. By what means is the earth's surface represented? By means of maps and artificial globes. What are maps? Maps are drawings which represent, on a plane, the whole, or any part, of the earth's surface. What are artificial globes? Artificial globes are balls of wood, or other material, on whose exterior the surface of the earth is delineated or represented. What lines are usually drawn on maps? The equator, meridians, parallels, the tropics, and the polar circles. Do any of these lines actually exist, or, in other words, can any of them be found on the surface of the earth? There are no such lines on the earth. Why then are they drawn upon maps? Because they greatly facilitate our obtaining a knowledge of much that is important for us to know respecting the earth. What do we reckon from the equator? Latitude; and this may be either north or south. What do we reckon from meridians? Longitude; and this may be either east or west. Of what use are the tropics and polar circles? They serve to designate the respective limits of the several zones of the earth. ZONES NFrigid LESSON III. ZONES, ETC. How many zones are there? Five two frigid zones, two temperate, and one torrid zone. How many distinct kinds of climate do these five zones represent? Three: the coldest, the hottest, and the medium climate. What does the term climate signify? It signifies the prevailing character of the weather at any place. Where, generally speaking, are the hottest countries situated? In the torrid zone. Where are the coldest countries situated? In the frigid zones. Where are the countries situated that generally possess a medium climate? |