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Les diagrammes suivants illustrant la mAthoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 S 6 MICROCOPY RtSOlUTION TEST CHART (ANSI ond ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 I.I 12.5 Ui |3^ ill 2-2 ■ 63 If 1^ 1^ >- u bi^u IJJ. 1.25 1.6 A /APPLIED IIV1/1GE Inc ^^ 1653 East Main Street B'.S Rochester, Ne» York 14609 USA ^S (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone ^-5 (716) 288 - 5989 - Fox THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY PRICE . - 25 Cents TOKONTO GEORGK N ^MORASr. & tOMPAXY, Limitkd 1 IM)2 I I U I I li Mill. i^MI'l.lMi \ I s I ! . I M t I » n .!■• W , \ ] i\{,](-)\ ST. \\i;s| THE 5TUDY OF QEOGRAPHY A TEACHER'S MAXUA . TO AtCD.MPAXY MORANG'S MODERN GEOGRAPHIES TORONTO GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY, Limited 1902 METROPOLITAN TORONTO LIBRARY Social Sciencps Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, In the year Nineteen Hundred and Two, byGKOROR N. Moka.no & CoMVANY, Limited, at the Department of Agriculture. •9 OCT 2 6 t982 V^TS?' •7«fl' Plt£FATOIiY NOTE As " Morang's Modern Geographies " are a Hotnewhat marked innovation, both in subject niotter and in form, a word of explanation may perhaps bo in place. The principles upon which these Geograpliies have Leon prepared are fully explained in the following pages ; indeed V is is the purpose of the issue of this little book. The form r .optctl is that of the latest geographical text-books in Great >>i«ain and in the United States. After carefully . isiderin ' the question, the Pubb'shera i,ine to the concm.n vegetables and fruits ; the work of the farm in caring for crops and farm animals; the tools, machines and processes of the blacksmith, the tinner, the carpenter, and others; the work done in planing-mills, waggon factories, grain elevators, mills, etc.; the shipment of fruits, meats, glassware ajid iron products by rail and by water, etc. Many of these things which we assume that teachers and children know by their own daily observation are either not known at all, or are not well understood. If they are to be clearly grasped and made the basis of a real understanding of similar topics on a larger scale, it can be done only by turning the children's thoughts definitely upon these supposedly familiar topics. They may be THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY handled in such a way as to furnish ii terosting instruction and to require genuine effort on the pupil's part, both to get clear notions and to express them in language and by drawing. There is much variety of surprising knowledge to be gained by stepping from the schoolroom into the real world, in order to see the different kinds of workmen in their employments, and to get a view of the country from the hilltops. This is especially fitting for children, because of their delight in these concrete realities. The ignorance among so-called intelligent people of many important things about home i': matter for surprise. It is to a large extenc the cause of that lack of sympathy and appreciation among the well-to-do classes for many other people who are close about them. It is an extremely faulty training that allows us to pass by many of these matters of human interest without desire or effort to understand them. It is a marked and justi6able tendency of d up. It is generally possible to survey a district of country eight or ten miles in diameter from some high point of view. On the basis of such observations it is well to make a map upon a scale of perhaps an inch to a mile. It may include the railways, three or four principal waggon-roads, and perhaps two or three neighboring villages, and the more extended course of a creek or river. Such maps should be made carefully by each child. In connection with this, may be shown a map of the township and of the county or municipality with which the children are more or less familiar. 2 i^tva:^ m^^Ms^iWfy. 12 OUR HOME AND ITS SURROUNDINGS Attention should be particularly called to the fact that, although for convenience the map is hung upon the wall it better represents the district or country when laid flat "^The greaTe^st difficulty is found in introducing children to definite ideas of distance and topography for whole provinces and larger areas. In discussing products, such as lumber, groceries, fruits, coal, brick, building stone, etc., and in pointing out the sources from which they are brought to us, it is advantageous to use a larger map of the province and of neighboring provinces, to locate defi- nitely these regions. In order to give as much clearness and definiteness as possible to the ideas of distance, area, etc it is necessary to fall back upon the previous experi- ences and travels of the children. They are famihar with railway travel for shor^ distances. The time required to travel over these distances, by waggon, in buggies, or upon the cars, may help the children to form more definite ideas. The time required by them to go to the neighboring villages and towns should be used frequently as a basis of comparisons. Also the journeys by rai tc larger cities, at a greater distance. The tune taken formerly by stage-coaches and by the earlier settlers ir travelling, and the difficulty and hardships of such jour neys will also help the children to form clearer notion. It is not likely that any teacher will overdo this effort t( make concrete these geographical notions of distance anc space. . , 1 -11 u It must not be expected that children in school will b able to get as clear and accurate notions of surface, dis tance, and the various forms of land and water as th adult' who has travelled much, and has seen many varietit THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY 13 of country. AH of these geograpliical concepts grow gradu- ally with experience. In dealing with larger areas of country, maps which give a bird's-eye view of extensive regions, such as some of the railway maps and guides, are (|uite lielpful. They form a good transition from the flat map to the relief map. They should be studied and discussed in the class, as should all maps, so as to correct false notions and give greater clearness. The relief maps found in the geographies and large wall relief maps are helpful in giving general, ap- proximately coriect notions, but in order to avoid serious error, they should be discussed and explained. Good pic- tures of broad valleys and mountain landscapes greatly assist the children in forming definite ideas. The pictures of maps given in Fig. 132 in "Our Home and its Sur- roundings " illustrate the connection between pictures and maps. Many of the pictures through " Our Home " may be used to great advantage when it is necessary, in differ- ent topics, to illustrate the varieties of surface. The constant appeal by the teacher to familiar standards of measurement, as the foot, yard, and mile, or the block, section, and township, and to heights as mea.sured upon steeples, buildings, chimneys, watch-towers, and hills, will enable the teacher to correct many false notions, and at the same time give a degree of concreteness and reality to the instruction. The home geography, as indicated above, should often reach out into the neighboring parts of our own province, and into other provinces, and also into the United States, showing from what sources fruits, coal, lumber, iron, sugar, salt, and many other products come. This is a natural and excellent means of gradually extending geo- I 14 OUB HOME AND ITS SURR0UNDI2-:GS graphical experience beyond home. The grocery or fruit ftol, the hardware and tin shop, the lumber-yard, h hoe or waggon factory. P--^^.'^ P^^^^ ,%tlpo country from which their material is derived The map of Canada, of the United States, of Great Britain, and even of the whole world, will be needed, at various times, m tracing out the sources of common necessities and sUple products used in our own neighborhood. As Po-ted ou before in all these efforts to interpret maps, sufficient time must be taken to get at the primary conceptions of map- makine We must use the crudest and most rapid forms of illustration, such as the making of maps on the floor quick blackboard sketches, etc.. so tha the objects a^ relations are made very clear to the children. Such time Lwl spent in forming a sure basis for all future glob and map studies. . ,„ .t The observation of seasonal changes, the varying lengtl of day and night, of the position and apparent movemen of the sun, moon, and stars, may be carried on in an: locality, and is a good preparation for later topics in phye ieal ani mathematical geography. The climatic change connected with the successive seasons, the winds an storms, frost and ice. and their effect upon vegetation an animal life, are of great value in studying climatic cond tions and their effects in other parts of the world. W sometimes forget that these grand object lessons, some ( them the most beautiful and imposing, belong directly i the child's home and are part of his own experienc They all involve problems too uIPFcalt for a child to u, derstand, but the .simpler and more manifest phases . these phenomena should be carefully studied as a k( to the larger geographical world which he must learn THF STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY 15 )r fruit ird, the of the map of id even imes, in i staple ited out jnt time of map- d forms he floor, ecta and ach time ire globe ig length lovement 1 in any in phys- ; changes inds and ation and ;ic condi- >rld. We 3, some of irectly to ?perience. Id to un- phases of as a key t learn to grasp and interpret. Even within the first year's study, topics of this nature w'il demand a brief treatment, and it will be necessary for the teacher to make use of all the child's experience about home to give him even a meagre and approximate view of the world as a whole, of the continents and oceans, etc. Another topic which involves more or less difficulty throughout the school course, on account of its abstract nature, is government. This is a subject that is capable of concrete illustration in the home neighborhood. The local government of the city, the town council and offi- cials, with their duties and mode of election, the police, the jail and treatment of offenders against law, local taxes and the uses to which they are put for streets, water supply, schools, etc., the popular modes of lawmaking, — all these phases of self-government may be observed and understood by the children in nearly every community. They may know some of the people who serve as local magistrates or justices of the peace and the duties they perform, or by a little discussion in the school they may be made well acquainted with these facts. Even the relations of the central government to the smaller place may be definitely studied in connection with the post-ofRce and postmaster, custom house and revenue officers, and often- times in connection with members of Parliament and judges, who are under the Dominion rather than the Provincial authority. A few lessons upon the mode of assessing and collecting taxes, and on the various uses of the money for paving the streets, building bridges, providing for the tire and police departments, building schoolhouses, etc,, are both inter- esting and instructive to children. One reason for this 16 OUR HOME AND ITS SURROUNDINGS is the fact tliat all these things are familiar to their own eyes, and acquire in this way a fresh and more definite meaning. When we come to compare later the departments of the Dominion government and of the Provincial government with that which is loml in our own neighborhood, we shall tind on a larger scale exactly the same things as in local government, the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. It would seem to be possible in this way to remove some of that haziness which marks the ideas of many public scIkjoI boys and girls on government. In this connection a visit may be made to the court ^ ouse and to the rooms where cases are tried, or to the i cgistry office where the documents, such as deeds for all the property in the county, are registered and preserved, or to the county or municipal offices. Several lessons in the schoolroom may be devoted to the elaboration of the things observed on such a visit. The three important topics, included under building materials, clothing, and food products, embrace a large lunnber of lessons upon the various common necessities and occupations of men. They are of special value in the later study of geography, because they deal with those trades and occupations which are common in every civ- ilized and semicivilized country of the world. The car- penter, the mason, the shoemaker, the tailor, the farmer, the miller, the blacksmith, the baker, the shepherd, the grocer, the weaver, are found in every locality, almost in every part of the civilized world. A study of these local trades and occupations in our own community helps to make a child a citizen of the world, and puts him into sympathetic relations with the simple, primitive industries of men everywhere. THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY 17 :1 ■i We will cite a few examples. In connection with building materials he may study, not only a house in pro- cess of building (as shown above), but the lumber-yard, the bi.k-yard, the stone quarry, the carpenter shop, the sawmi!!, and the planing-mill, besides other common sources from which the material is drawn. If it is pos- sible for the children to make an excursion to the carpet weaver's, they will see, in its simplest, crudest, and most easily understood form, that process of weaving which is common to all the great textile industries in all lands. Where opportunity offers, it is of great interest to chil- dren to visit a pottery and to observe the potter's wheel, and the skill of the potter in shaping vases from the crude clay. The local geography of a large city requires a different treatment from that of a village or a country place. In Canada we have no large cities like London, Paris, or New York, but even a city like Toronto or Montreal is so com- plex that it takes much time, study, and discussion to understand even the simpler phases of its life and occu- pations. On account of the numerous kinds of business, trade, and sight-seeing in a big city, it is necessary to pick out those topics that may be treated from a simple point of view. Bulky products like lumber, grain, iron and fruits may be studied to mr. ' tter advantages than T^ifficult, refined, and complex \ . les like tb' -veaving and dye- ing of textile fabrics, the manufacture ot fine pottery and silverware, watchmaking, and the construction of complex machinery, engines, etc. Children cannot visit great manufacturing establishments to good advantage, especi- ally those which present an intricate series of processes executed by machinery. Children can understand a saw- 18 OUR HOME AND ITS SURROUNDINGS mill, a blast furnace, a brick kiln, a foundry where simple castings are made, or even a rolling-mill; but in most cases it is better to visit a small blacksmith shop, a carpenter's shop, a schooner unloading, a carpet weaver's, a park, the seashore, a grocery or fruit store, a small job print- ing establishment, a baker's, a grain elevator, a market f-arden, a bridge, a canal boat, an ocean steamer, a fish market, a monument, a freight shed, a shoemaker's, a basket-maker's, a cooper shop, a lumber-yard, a shipping dock, in short, some easily grasped whole. If a map of the city is studied, it should be simple, giving only a fev.- streets and leading sections, and locating a few of the most important points. Even if we limit ourselves to the simpler, more promi- nent and important topics, it will require much more time to compass the home geography ot a city than that of a country place. The greater part of a year in junior classes may profitably be spent upon the home geography of a large city, especially if we follow up the connections with the adjacent regions. To some extent this should be done, and the sources of large staple products, like lumber, iron, fruits, cotton, dairy products, vegetables, grains, etc., should be traced out on a larger map of Canada and neighboring countries. Ne&rly every town or city has some special local indus- tries worthy of study, such as waggon- works, or a cooper shop, or a shoe factory, or glass-works, or a foundry, or a paper factory, which are deserving of careful study. At the present day, when we talk so much of the social function of the school, it is well to note the social value of such studies. In them it is easy for children to see the complete dependence of different occupations and THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY 19 trades upon one another, and liow necessary it is for pooplc to work together in harmony. They will also learn something of the l^ours of labor and wages of laln^r- iug men, and of the value of expert skill in workmen. The significance of machines, of mechanical inventions for accomplishing the greatest amount of work with tlie least expense, will be noted. It is ditficult to see how children may be trained in a better way than this to spell out later the great problems of .social life. In close relation to these topics stands that of local connnerce, roads, and bridges. The chief waggon roads by which the farmers, gardeners, dairymen, (juarrymen, wood-cutters, and fruit-growers bring their produce to market will be pointed out, and will also be worked into those local maps which have been described. The farmers and others, with the profits gained by the sale of their prod- uct.s, buy .sucli things as they need in the stores. The idea of the town as a trade centre for receiving raw products fram the surrounding country, and, in return, for dis- tributing clothing, groceries, machines, and other things to the farmers, will be understood. The railway lines to the neighboring towns, the freight sheds, the elevators, and other places of shipment, with the products they send out and receive, will still further enlarge the children's idea of a town as a trade centre. If the town in which the children live is the capital of the province or the chief town of the county or municipality it becomes, at the same time, a centre of government and trade. The children in the rural districts and villages all over the country are familiar with the chief town of the county or municipality where people congregate for various causes. i 90 OUR HOME AND ITS SURROUNDINGS In such places it would be advisable to give a few lesson to the study of the town. If the town lies upon a navigable river or canal, som attention should be given to the trade by water, explain ing boats and their cargoes and modes of propulsion. I is quite evident that ia discussing local commerce in con Crete forms, children may get a clear notion which will b a means of quick interpretation of many later ge» rraphict topics. The geography material treated in home geograph falls into a few large, distinct topics, and V se again inl smaller units, each capable of a connected treatment. I every topic which is handled with children there shoul be a simple sequence of connected ideas. This is tn even of the excursions which are made to the ope country, to the woods, to a shop or factory. The purpoi of the excursion, and of the school lessons which folio it, centres in a single idea. It may be to trace the cour of a brook, and to consider its various uses, for wat supply, for drainage, for beauty of scenery, etc. shoe factory reveals the process by which raw materi is worked up into shoes and prepared for the mark( A fruit store is a centre into which fruits are broug from all parts of the world and sold out to consume Most of these topics contain each a natural unit of thougl based upon the actual surroundings and conditions of li The dairyman, for example, has the process of butt< making, and is dependent upon the farms for the supi of milk and upon shippers and consumers for the dispo of his product. Everything is causally conditioned, a the child may see the reasons and trace this line of cau through an industry. This means, of course, that i TEE STUDY OF OEOGRAPHV 21 V lessons nal, some explain- Ision. It e in con- \\ will be graphical eograpliy Lwain into nent. In re should is is true the open e purpose ch follow the course for water ', etc. A / material e market, e brought consumers, (f thoujfht, )ns of life, of butter- ;he supply le disposal ioned, and 3 of causes ), that the teacher must have first solved the riddle, that is, the problem which each tradesman is compelled to work out. 'J'liis demands of the teacher a power of accurate observa- tion and an ability to trace cau.ses and etfects; in short, a clear and comprehensive analysis beforehand of the materi- als. Children may also accjuire this close connection of thought and the ability to express themselves coherently in longer sequences. The fragmentary and conglomerate character of much geography study is a point of criticism. Children can fully appreciate connected thinking if the right sequences are presented, with familiar objects as a basis of tliought. For example, to trace the coal from the chambers in the mine to the factory or schoolhouse where it is used, is entirely within the grasp of children ; or to follow the pine tree in the forests of Ontario or New Brunswick to its use as lumber in a house in Quebec ; or bananas from a plantation in Jamaica to ic grocerj'- in Winnipeg. Moreover, these are the same sequences that nal life, in its necessary adaptations to surrounding con- ditions, impo.ses. Such a sequence, clearly traced out and understood, is a sure basis of a connected, independent narrative on the part of the pupil. Trace these topics out al.so on the map. Along the line of these important sequences most of the children's own observations may be ranged, and thus they may be saved from that loose, incoherent collection of facts and experiences in which oral discussions are apt to run to waste. As already stated, the topics treated in " Our Home " are large units of instruction, each worked out in a connected series of points. At the same time, by means of pictures and illustrations, these topics are rendered concrete and interesting. But the text, the pictures, and the detailed 22 OUR HOME AND ITS SUKKOUNDINOS descriptions are designed to work out together tliis series of ideas in a single unit of thoug]»t. The review questions also and suggestions for teachers on pages 140 to 152 are intended to collect other concrete knowledge gained by the children around the central topics of instruction. Tlu excursions into the home neighborhood of which we havt spoken will serve to concentrate a still greater amount o; experience and observation upon the central topics treatet in the book. It may be easily seen, for example, that th( excursions to shops, factories, and stores, together with tlv .study of the home town as the centre of trade, contribut directly to the great topics of industry and conimerc treated in "Our Hoine." In like manner ihe topic oi government, necessarily somewhat abstiact in its bool treatment, will receive from the topics of local tow government and municipal government many concret details which will give to it added significance. The large topics on surface features, as soil, hills, valley rivers, ponds and lakes, in "Our Home," will recei% particular illustration in many ways from the excursioi into the home neighborhood, "ne observation of locj weather conditions, winds, storms, temperature and se; sonal chanfTos, will add substance and interest to the topi which are treated in Chapter VIII. of " Our Home," und^ the subject of air. We may observe also that the excursioi for working out the local maps will serve admirably as t introduction to the book chapter on maps. In these vai ous ways we are able to observe the numerous and impc tant applications of home-bred knowledge to the proce of acquiring primary geographical concepts. In soi cases it is well to begin the study of a topic with t treatment in the book, and to insert the local excursio THE STUDY OF OEOGRAPHY 23 and discussions where they are most needed. In other cases the local observations will be a good introduction to the whole topic. In Honv respects the incorporation of this local homo knowled<,'e into geographical topics is more important evon than the logical sequence in the treatment of topics. But it really strengthens the idea of logica' order and connection. It is impossible to secure such a close se- (]uence A ileas in topics unless some large, important con- cept is under consideration, and unless one enters some- what fully into the concrete details of its treatment. The concept is necessarily comprehensive and abstract in char- acter. The great difficulty in the treatment of all topics in the ttr.st year or two of geographical study lies in bas- ing it upon concrete experience, and thus filling up these general notions with meaning. A mere outline of leading points in a subject is almost wholly lacking in interest, and cannot reveal to a child the causal and necessary relations, any more than the mere names of a series of battles indi- cates the strategic skill of a general. The details with which the topic is filled give not only interesting pictures, special objects, and lively experiences for the children to incorporate into theii '.bought (such as a good excursion or a good magazine article always furnishes), but these detailed facts are the r^al links of the causal connection in important sequences. If a nild has traced the wheat from the field to the granary, then through the process of cleaning to the grain elevator, where he sees it loaded into cars and shipped to Fort William, where again it is trans- ferred to lake vessels and shipped eastward, he has a com- plete series of causally connected facts. These facts will aid him greatly in interpreting the work of the f .ruierand 24 OUR HOME AND .'TS SURROUNDINGS the grain merchant in all partH of the great ^-Ijeat belt. Thefwill also help him to understand better the move- ,nent of other products which are sent to the great centres of trade, like Minneapolis. Chicago. Nc.v York Montreal Toronto. Winnipeg. Halifax, etc. Such a close causa sequence is found in nearly every topic which is treated in home geography, and this same causal se.iuence becomes typical in later study of the largest geographical notions '"'Thries.sons in the book, being for the most part njon treneral. comprehensive statements, are better adapted t( close up and round out the treatment of topics than t( serve as a first introduction to them. They are an exce lent basis for the teachers study, showing what topics t treat and how to centre ws thought on the main idea an. to get a proper sequence of topics and materials. It wi take thoughtfulness and skill to bring the work of th local excursions into close relation to the text-bcok stud^ At this point the teacher has to deal with several bod, . of knowledge : (1) the experience which every child picl up incidentally about home; (2) the local knowledf gained through local excursions; (3) the pictures, descri lions, and explanatory matter contained in the text^oV (4) the general geographical notions which these differe materials are designed to illuminate. It n.ay seem to b. heavy task for the teacher to organize all this mater fitly, but it is by no means so difficult as to try to tea ireography without such concrete matter. For example, t c^Aeron ponds and lakes contains genera descr.ptio ; ■ .f ted by pictures and drawings. In addition to th it .eful to call up the particular experiences of childi with dams, ponds and lakes, to review any excursions wh THE STUDY OF GKOGRAPHi' 25 irt more apted to than to an excel- topics to idea and It will rk of the ak study, ral bodies lild picks :nowledge i», descrip- ext-book ; 6 different em to be a s material •y to teach :ample, the jscriptionri, on to these of children jions which boar upon these topics, and even to explain by means of tilt! lakes of one's own neighlxjrhood the points mentioned in the text. The Province of Ontario, for example, has many illustrations like Simcoe, Erie, Nipissing, CJeorgian Bay and the Muskoka Lakes, which show the inlet and outlet of rivers, also the irre^lar sliore lines, the harbors and cities, and the v .rious u.ses of lakes for commerce, Hsliinjj, drinking water, ice, summer resorts, scenery, and the like. The teacher should not for.^'ot to make use of the larger opportunities for observation and travel wliieh ho ha.s had. His reading also will supply him with many defi- nite geographical details, and he should strive in every way to u.se this knowledge to give a lively interest to geographical study. A teacher with a good imagination may from his reading and studies build up geographical pictures, which will be at once vivid and impressive. In coiuiection with the discussion of harbors on page 63 of " Our Home," it may be well to present clearly, by means of a board map, pictures, and verbal description, such places as the harbor of Halifax, Montreal, Port Arthur, Vancouver, or some other sea port or lake port, familiar by name to the children. There is still another means by which such topics may K' enriched with concrete material, and the work be made very interesting. The largo topics treated in the book furnish an excellent basis for the collection of pictures and for grouping them about significant ideas. Even during the first two years of study this may be done to a con- siderable extent. From papers, magazines, guide books, and advertisements, from railway announcements and pictures, it is possible for teacher and children to work 26 OUR HOME AND ITS SURROUNDINGS together in gathering and sorting n.at.-ial^-^^^^^^ iUustratin^r the lesson. Old geographies furnish excel S Sut pt:L a.e wen worth preserving in »crap. books foi use in {uture classes. In addition to his other »=»™P>'*™"''' f J-^'Um the teacher to be able to use the sand map, and to mould the deTred forms quickly, while talking and expla,mn(, Ind tr laps questioning the children. It should be noted 2?chi,dL:take-.pl^^^^^^^^^^^ ;"X 7^^' S It'esthe corner of the schooU Tm mayt W tor this purpose ; so-times the ground on the «hool yard furnishes, in „rood weather, the best ponditions for map-making. . , Before leaving each important topic, or division of a iieiore leavi g i,/«hV to eive a connected and topic, the pupil should be able to give ^^^^^^ relatively complete description ot tne suuj^v. Sng if partly upon the book >— -f/^tr knowledge sained from other sources. Until this oon the Tacher cannot be sure that the children have clea ouestions either interrupt the children or help ^heni w rSestions, to such an extent that they "'^^^::^:1:^X^^^^ ^^^^^^^ Great Lakes cannot ^^ »f "^^^ „,„„« be lost were side ; the true geographical P""?^" ^■^^ ^^„ „„„„- this attempted. As tar as P"''^*'''' ^°» 7;^; '^^ „t this ^"IdisluW cedUrothefsingeographM home studies snouiu y .„n,.,nnnected with the topics first place, they are more d.rectlj ~™«='"<'J ^.^^^ ^„t- already studied, and n, "J-y sT^s In t lond place, r\rr«:X?:e;rmention,^^^^ t^The chUdren thL any other geographical topics. The r.c'^ THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY 31 children of Ontario, even before beginning geographical study, have heard many tiujos about the St. T^iwronco, the Muskoka Lakes, New Ontario, the Falls of Niagara, tlie Ottawa River, and they are much more interested in these than in foreign places, the names of which they have not even heard. In the third place, the leading topics of study in Canada, as the rivers, cities, mountains, lakes, products, industries, etc., illustrate or explain almost exactly many of the same topics which will be studied later in other countries. It seems strange that we should think of studying the mountains, the rivers, the agriculture, the raining, and the manufacturing of other countries, before crivino' any clear description and explanation of kindred things near by, and known to us as important in our own land. In the fourth place, a much greater concreteness and fulness of detail will be possible in dealing with topics (l(\scriptive of our own country than will be either desirable or necessary in the treatment of foreign lands. It is im- portant that such topics as are taken up in the early years should be full of strong, interesting subject-matter. This may be secured easily in topics such as, the Saskatchewan River, the Rocky Mountains, the Great Lakes, and the people and industries of our own country. It is, of course, evident that such a detailed study of Canada will require a great deal of minute and accr.. j knowledge upon the part of the teacher. No text-book intended for the use of pupils can contain anything like the amount of information, 'vldch must necessarily be given to the children during the course of the geography lesson. All that the text-book can do is to summarize \ i leading facts, in order that the criildren m.ay have pegs, as it were, upon which to hang the facts they are constantly 82 OUE EARTH AS A WHOLE vickincr up, both from their own investigations and from The teacher. The importance of studying Canada thoroughly before proceeding to the study of the remainder of North America, and to the other continents, has been reco-aized in "Our Earth as a Whole." Seventy-five page's are devoted to Canada and Newfoundland, twenty- three to the United States, seven to Mexico and t.ie W est Indies, while seventy-three pages are given to the remainder of the world. There can be no doubt that the plan followed is both valuable and educative. Fifth the liistory stories connected with Canada, whicli are generally treated in the same grades as the geography, make it especially advantageous to bring the geography and history into closest relation. The stories of Cartier, Champlain, LaSalle, Hennepin, Henry and McKenzie cannot be understood apart from the geography of Canada. On the other hand the history stones lend a pecuhar attractiveness to many localities in our Canadian geography. Nearly every important part of Canada, its rivers, mountains, plains and coast lines, is touched in an interesting way by these stories o^-^l^ ^^^^^^^f^s discoveries. The French explorers along the Great Lakes, Radisson and d'Iberville on Hudson Bay, McKenzie descending the river which bears his name, Thompson and Fraser crossing the Rocky Mountains, are only a tew of the examples which might be given. Sixth, Canada is extremely rich in the variety, attrac- tiveness and importance of its geographical features Ihe St Lawrence is remarkable for its system of Great Lakes and for Niagara Falls. The mountains of Canada are o every variety, abounding in impressive scenery and u mineral resources, and in wealth of forests. The variet; ^r*_Tpr THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY 33 of climate is of almost eveiy type from the lovely mildness „f British Columbia, to the intense winter cold of Labrador or the Klondike. The agricultural and mineral resources of the country and the occupations of the people, based upon these, illustrate almost all the chief plmsos of liuman activity on a j;rand scale. Still more, if Canada be considered as part of North America, and the remainder of the continent be taken into account, the child who has made a somewhat minute study of the country, will have acquired a substantial and adequate basis for all his future ."•oographical information, whether gained in school or in Hfe" Seventh, from the pedagogical standpoint, there arc two .signiticant reasons why this clear and full knowledge of our own country should be gained early in the course. First, it constitutes that body of apperceptive ideas by the u.se of which children may the more easily and quickly master and appropriate the geography of other countries. It is the capital with which a child quickly develops the geographical resources of distant lands. This is an idea whose growing importance is being more and more under- stood by teachers. Secondly, the geographical objects with which the children are made familiar in Canada become the commonly used and fixed standards upon which all other foreign objects are measured and their size or value determined. Just as a child who has clear notions of what is meant by a foot, a yard, a gallon, a barrel, a pou id, a ton, a square mile, a hundred miles, a dollar, a thousand dollars, a peck, a bushel, etc., may easily measure all objects upon these standards ; so a child who has acquired a dafinite knowledge of the St. John River, of Mount Stephen, of Lake Nipissing, of Halifax, of Banff 84 OrJi EARTH AS A WHOLE Si)rinj,'s, of a ^'old inino, of the cod fisheries, of a catll vaiieli, of Ni.iL,';uii I'^ills, of Toronto as a trade -entre, etc may conslantly fall baek upon tliesc! familiar standards an hy comparison may determine the size, (piality or value c new ohjects in countries other than his own. In studying; the i;eo<,'raphy of our country, the teaclu should not ne«,'lect to biinjr clearly before the children tli relation in which Canada stands to Great Britain, and t the IJrilish Empire as a whole. This will necessital special attention being paid to the Mother Country, and I the various portions of the Empire. The importance of th study catniot lie overestimated, both fi'om the patriotic ati from the commercial standpoint. Every Canadian chil should have an intelli«>;ent knowledjje of the great Empit of which his country forms a part. He should be a (piainted with the commercial needs of the countries whi( make up the Empire, and should know how Canada a benefit these and be benefited in return. For instan( what does South Africa lack that Canada can supply What is the shortest and best route to South Africa fro Canada ? What can Canada import from South Africa f her own use ? These and numberless other questions w crowd upon the teacher, who fully realizes the importan of a study of this kind. Xo more effective work empire-building can be done, than in training the childr of Canada to think intelligently upon these great problen II.— It is a striking feature of " Our Earth as x Whol that it picks out a few important topics for elabors treatment, instead of giving a brief and superficial surv of many topics. This concentration of study upon a f( important units leads to a fulness and thoroughness instruction which makes the study in all respects mc THE STUDY OF (IK()• iniixrative. In makiiij,' this selection the teacher must \vtii,'h the relative worth of facts and pick out those which have a command- iiii,' inlluence; for example, the St. Lawrence River, luiiib«'rin<; in British Columbia, coal and iron in Nova Scotia, and the Welland Canal in Ontario. The (treat Lakes have a dominatinj^ intiuence upon the climate and commerce of the richest part of Central North America. Such a larj^e topic as this, studied in its important inilucMice and relations, is, in reality, a key which unlocks one «,'ri"at door of knowledjjje. .Such a topic also admits of a lo<,Mcal seipience and oi'jjanization of facts which calls for ;: od thouj^ht work both from teacher and from pupils. It is in marked contrast to a fraijmentary and superficial accumulation of j,'eographical facts without any strong unifying thread. This subject, the Great Lakes, makes it necessary for the teacher to think out a connectt^d series of important topics dealing with the physical features, the climatic conditions, the navii'able waters in commerce, the falls, rapids, and canals, the series of lake and river ports with reason for their location, the products shipped back and forth over this trade route, and the sources from which they are drawn. Tins exercise in logical thinking, in the organization of complex material into a connected series, not only teaches the mairs geographical facts, but also explains their meaning and relative importance. TIL— In many cases the central thread which binds to*'ether this large body of varied material is the idea of cause and effect. One topic leads of necessity into another, and so on to a third and fourth, through a whole series. 36 OUR EARTH AS A WHOLE Such a causal idea brings together, into one central topic, a body of closely connected facts drawn from several sources, — physical, commercial, historical, and industrial, Nearly every important geogi-aphical unit, when properly organized, is just such a combination of diverse elements held together by strong causal relations. It is wholly artificial and unnatural to is te these various parts of a complex subject from one aiiother, and to treat them separately. Isolation, for example, of the physical facts of the St. Lawrence system from the commercial, industrial and political geography, gives the facts without cause or relation, and out of their proper setting and meaning. The virtue of the causal idea lies in the child perceiv- ing that tiie physical conditions produced, for example by the (Jreat Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, together with the other physical facts of this region, have directlj; influenced men in their industries, such as lumbering mining, fishing, connnerce, etc., also in the location of theii cities, and in determining the trade routes which are sc very important to all the inhabitants of this region. Il will not do, therefore, to treat the cities and trade routes distinct topics, and tlie lakes, forests, and surface as features likewise as isolated topics, without any referenc( to their intimate and organic interdependence. The political divisions into provinces or states anc nations form larger complex units of study. In the treat ment of geography these units have played an importani part. They have been so much used in maps anc descriptions of countries that they have become the mos convenient means for designating certain areas. Wher we speak of Quebec or Manitoba, of Texas or Maine, o Spain or Italy, we designate certain political and territoria THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY 87 units more clearly than in any other way. The uni- versal usage of books and of educated people hna fixed those divisions in our language and in our thought, hut we may ask ourselves what are the reasons for their oojitinued use as the titles of important gi'ographical topics. First, as political units tliey are important, and when synonymous with nationality they have characteristic iiiiirks, which give them importance and distinguish them from all others. France, Spain, Italy, and England are not only separate political units, but there is in each also a nnity of life in commerce, language, custom, history, and literature; and, to a large extent, there is even a distinct physiography. Paris, as the capital of France, is the centre of tlie national life, not only in government, but also in commerce, manufacturing, education, literature, and fashion. In a similar way London, Berlin, Constantinople and Moscow, are great centres of national life. In short, a nation is a large complex unit, and the series of nationalities, such as England, Canada, the United States, Russia, China, etc., must always constitute a most important series of geographical topics. It is necessary, therefore, to treat these nationalities or political units, in many cases, as separate topics, since they form convenient centres around which to collect and group a variety of lesser topics. Berlin, for instance, the political capital of Germany, has become also the commercial and railroad centre of the empire. The militaiy system of Germany, so significant in the politics of Europe, is best explained as centring in Berlin. Education has here its administrative head, and the great University of Berlin is the nucleus of the 88 OUR EARTH AS A WHOLE whole school system. The great art schools, also, are located at the capital, where are preserved, in musemns and lialleries, the art treasures beUnij^'ing to the nation. Tliis pronnneiice of political units is noticeable at the bejrinning, at the end, and throu<,diout the course of geocrraphical stu.ly. In the earliest survey of North America as a whole, attention was called to the three chief political divisions, Canada, the United States, and Mexico ; and a similar plan is followed in the study of Europe and the other continents. Again, in completing the study of any country, a multitude of minor topics is combined into one large complex unit like France or Turkey. The reason for this is the fact that these geo- graphical topics are, to a large extent, social units, rather than physical or scientiHc units. A nationality like England or Switzerland grasps into one thought a great vaHcty of closely related elements, or ratlier it is a cross- section of all the important elements. Geography is a complex study, not a series of .scientitic units drawn from physiography, meteorology, geology, astronomy, and biology. There has been a strong tendency to treat geography from the standpoint of these distinct sciences ; but'^the important geographical units are those which combine all of these, more or less, into a single topic of causally connected parts. The physiographic topics, like physical structure, geo- logical strata and changes, river action, etc., are in much danger of standing out in isolation from those industrial, political, and social phenomena which fo u! an important constituent of most geographical topic-.. It is claimed, of course, that physiography explains .so many things broadly on the basis of cause and effect, that its topic- must be THE STUDY OF UEOGRAPUY 3y treated fitHt and in full. lUit it is a pL'dat,'o}ricul (Mior to txpluin HO many thinj^s in a general, niuro or Kvsjs ali.stract fuiin, before the children have cotr' i'l contact with the facts which need explanation. The adult and scientitic mind sees in these great physical causes tlie explanation of a multitude of minor facts, and is greatly inteitsted in such a broad survey of causal influences. Hut the child h.is no such interest because he is incapable of such broad I'L'ueralizationsand inferences, h' short, it is the imposition of the adult standpoint upon the child. It seems advisable to begin the study of any important region or country by a brief survey of physical and climatic conditions. But the important thing, after all, is to brin" these physical causes into close relation to the special t pics at the time when they are being treated in full. For example, when we are discussing the fruit-raising of Ontario or British Columbia, we should enter definitely and fully into the physical surroundings and climatic conditions favorable to fruit-growing. The effort to explain all these things by anticipation, when dealing with the physiographic features of North America, would be a mistake. Likewi.se in explaining the arid regions of the Western States, it should be done chietly at the time when irrigation is under full treatment, so that the cause and effect upon human life and industry may be iinmedi- ately felt. Even the smaller political units expres,sed by the names of provinces or states are of much value, becau.se they .sometimes express distinct physical units, as in the case of British Columbia and Maine; or when furmed int(^ groups like the Maritime Provinces or the New England States, they designate distinct physical divisions of country. 40 OUR EARTH AS A WHOLE ■ ) It seems, therefore, that there are important reasons why the political divisions into provinces or states and countries should continue to constitute an important series of geographical topics. We may, indeed, drop out a large part of the old minutife of political map studies, such as the names and location of the capitals of all the provinces, the exact boundaries of each separate province, and the drawing of the special maps of each. The time thus saved may be better devoted to topics, which extend througli several provinces, or to those topics which are character- istically important in any one province or group. It is not meant by this special attention to provincial or national geography that we should make a miscellan- eous catalogue of products for each province or nation, to be memorized by the children. For example, in connection with Ontario, it is of very little value to learn merely that it produces wheat, grapes, hops, salt, petroleum, lumber, apples, peaches, dairy products, farm machinery, and a multitude of other manufactured articles. In planning the study of any large political unit like France, we should consider, not only the physiographic and clim- atic conditions, but we should select for somewhat elaborate description a few prominent topics which bring out, in a striking way, the pronounced characteristics of the people and the country. Paris as a centre of art, fashion, and amusement, the production of wine, the manufacture of silk, give us that small group of topics whose full description will bring out the most important points in city and in country life. The architecture, style, and gaiety of the French capital, and on the other hand, the vineyards, peasant life, and sunny fields of the open country, are pictured. In Germany a quite different series THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY 41 of characteristic topics would be selected. The army and military system, the universities, the opera, the popular concerts, the beer-gardens, the Rhine River, the beet- sugar industry, and the great iron manufactures on the lower Rhine may serve as central topics. A few such characteristic topics in each country, fully described, give a more distinct notion of the nation as a whole than a catalogue of products, industries, etc., such as has been customary in the ordinary text-books on geography. In the real world, outside of school books, we find every great geographical topic springing out of complex condi- tions. To be understood, it must be studied in its causes and relations to man and to nature. The effort to unravel the causal idea hidden in these facts brings out the central influences that are at work in physical geography, in commerce, and in history. The outcome, as already explained, is a causal series of mutually dependent facts. IV. In connection with the causal idea, it is easy to set up problems for solution which give us the best forms of mental discipline. In any important topic, when certain facts have been presented, interesting questions or problems may be introduced which will requiie the pupils to combine and interpret facts. This is especially true of all the great industries, such as mining, manufacturing, and agriculture. We have as distinctly marked problems in geographical study as in arithmetic. For example: Explain fully why Sydney is an important centre for the iron industries. Again: In shipping grain from Port Arthur to Europe, what is the best way of getting around Niagara Falls? What is the best railway route between New York and San Franci.sco, and why ? How is it possible to get irrigating water from rivers up to the level of dry lands ''i^' oV»'« an 42 OVK EARTH AS A WHOLE which lie considerably above the surface of the rivers? Why has the Colorado River deeper and longer canons than any other great river in North America ? How may smTu Xers be^ened and made navigable for steam- ZtlandcanalUs. ^^o^rav^^y'^'^^^^^^^^^ bristles with such interestmg questions. The teacher ,nay state these problems with sufficient explanation o I'^.onditions involved, so that the cliildren may think out Lportant results and conclusions. To a-wer th^ ^^^^^ similar questions, the student must gather the fact, to- gX and organize them; he must compare and balance d ff ent sets of facts, and must draw important inference. ThT student who gets into the habit of working out ^uch problems is acquiring a sure independence and self-re- rnce in thinking. Moreover, the data or his lunking consists of the undisputed facts, the realities o life, as show, in industrial, commercial, and political affairs. There is a very broad distinction in geographical study between memoHzing facts and locations on the one side, and he working out of problems on the basis of cause and effect on the other. Not only is this a source of : rongtlterest and better thinking, but it binds the ideas Ser more iirmly in the memory, and makes such knowledge more serviceable in interpreting the world '^rliperficial observation of children might suggest that they are chietly interested in facts, and not in deeper-lying c Is; but in the higher grades, if -^ -onej. hey are naturally inquisitive about the reason and cause of things^ Unless their training has been very poor, they like to pxlTin these queS.ions, and for the skilful teacher, here Ts the spur to : true interest and to a strong effort on 'S^k ■WSP THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY 43 their part. In the lumber business, it is a source of interest to see how the logs are gotten out of the woods and brought to the river banks in winter, how the skid- ding roads are skilfully laid out for this purpose, why the rivers, in springtime, arc specially useful, where the saw- mills are located and why, and how the lumber is distributed to the prairie regions. At every step in the movement we meet the same problems which the lum- berman is compelled to meet and solve. This kind of work commands the unbounded confidence of children, because it is so real and tangible, so true to the conditions of life- There are many varieties of geographical topics admit- ting of this problem-solving study. In the raising ef beet roots for sugar we pass from the farm to the factory and refinery, thenc -ommerce and distribution over great trafiic routes. ame with all other staple agricultural products in va n parts of the world. The study of iron mines and the production of raw ore, the shipment of ore to the centres of iron manufacture, its treatment in blast furnaces, mills, and factories of all sorts, and the distribu- tion of iron machines and products by commerce, — all these likewise show the operation of causes, and the fore- thought and ingenuity of men in meeting and solving difficult problems. The coal-mines, silver-mines, and other metal-producing mines furnish similar problems. The full study of any important topic in geography penetrates into the deeper and more important connections, not only of geographical facts, but of many facts belonging to other studies which are wrapped up with these. For example, in the discussion of the iron industries, the sources from which iron and coal and lime are obtained 44 oru EARTH AS A WHOLE touch on geology and nunoralogy. The process of stnelt- r a vco- interesting study, deals with chennstry and the effect of heat. Likewise the processes of producn.g steel and wrought iron. Again, the manufacture of iron .oods such as wire, steam-engines, agncultural imple- ments', bridges, etc., deals with interesting inventions ouching on his.K>ry, physics, and chemistry, and various phases of geography. This naturally brings up Uie grea problem of correlation or interconnection of studies. The only point which we wish to emphasize is hat of he presence of strong causal relations, which bind together the different parts of an important topic, and which give opportunity for setting up problems in school work which are in fact identical with the problems of business men manufacturers, shippers, and capitalists in the world of industry and trade. In any proper treatment of such large ^eographica topics, it is impossible to avoid this apparent mixing up of studies but the whole difficulty is solved by the teacher ^vho knows how to work out a connected series of points necessary to the logical development of a controlling idea or process When such a controlling idea is present in the mind of a teacher, all these complex materials are brought easilv into coherency and unity. V_Of e-iual importance with the idea of causal se- (.uence, and with the opportunity for problem-setting in following causal relations, is the idea of types. These im- portant units of study which we have described as valuable centres around which to collect and organize facts, have a still greater value when looked at in their typical or re- presentative character. If children have obtained a clear understanding of the glacial ice sheet in North America, THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY 45 and of its effects on soils, rivers, and lakes, it is an easy matter, on the basis of this previous study, to explain the similar glacial period in Europe, where like causes have produced like results, and so in other parts of the world. Attain, if the children have studied the great canon of the Colorado River and the causes of this most striking example of the erosive power of water, tracing back the causes to the location of mountain chains, plateaus, and slopes, to winds and rains on the mountains, and to the dry climatic conditions of the great western plateau; in short, if they have thoroughly understood the causes that have produced the Colorado canon, it will be very easy and interesting for them to explain the trough of the upper Mississippi, the gorges of the Rhine and the Danube, the Kongo canons on the western rim of Africa, and the irreat gorges of the Brahmaputra and other cafion rivers of the Himalaya. Each geographical type is in its first treatment very individual and concrete. And this concreteness lends interest and a strong sense of realism to the study. For example, the study of Banff as a mountain resort, is full of picturesque and concrete realities. They are such as the traveller experiences on his journeys. The treatment of geographical topics is oftentimes so gene. 1 and com- prehensive that these interesting details are left out, and is therefore weak and powerless to arouse the attention of children. But wrapped up in these concrete facts are representa- tive or typical ideas which are brought out by the com- parison of similar objects. A type-subject is the basis for a series of comparisons, which leads oftentimes to a sweep- ing general notion, which gives comprehensiveness and :>i: 4g OUR EARTH AS A WHOLE unity to a large body of more or less scattered facts. It Terns strange how little attention has been paid hereto- forHo the'vorth of a geographical type Once under- stood, it is a means of interpreting quickly scores of simikr things elsewhere. We have been - occu^^^^^^^^^^ memorizing bare facts in geography as to forget that the chief purpose and value lies, not in the memorizing but m he understanding of the facts. The intelligence of children is increased by their insight and their power to interpret the meaning of things, rather than by the number of names they have memorized. If a child understands how an irrigating ditch is constructed along one nver valley to enrich arid lands, he possesses thereby an idea which will speedily interpret to him the means by which agriculture is made possible in hundreds of places or along hundreds of streams in the Western States and in the southern portion of Alberta. The same is true in India, in China, m Mexico and in South America, and in many other arid regions on the borders of the great Saharas of the world Such a type which possesses within itself the power of interpreting a multitude of things in many lands is educationally of the highest value. By comparison of similar rivers or similar cities or mountains, the type-idea common to them all springs into view. If we are careful to select the best types and, after treating each one fully, to make sufficient comparisons to bring out the variations of the type in different countries, we shall acquire a speedy insight mto the main lines of geographical knowledge. The original type worked out in more complete detail that the others, becomes the standard of measurement for a host of similar things in later geographical study. The enlargement, extension, and variation of a typical idea by means of i-f ^i THE STUDY OF OEOORAPHY 47 comparisons will give the chiklren a good oppoitiiuity for associating similar groups of knowledge; that is, for organizing that which they already know. To supplement and complete the work with types we need comprehensive surveys, reviews, and drills. Other- wise the types stand isolated and unrelated to one another, and large bodies of important facts seem to be overlooked. Every important type study, before it reaches completion, should bring within the circle of its discussion the whole body of facts which is typified by it. For example, in treating the sugar beet industry in Canada or in the United States or in Germany, we should discuss the ugricultural methods employed on a sugar beet farm, the processes of extracting the sugiir in the factories, the methods of refining, the shipment of the product to its con- sumers even in foreign lands, the location and extent of beet sugar production in Germany, France and other European countries, in the United States and in Canada. In Cuba and the Hawaiian Islands, and in the Southern States, the cane sugar production should be compared with that of beet sugar, with respect to its relative importance and methods. The production of maple sugar in the hardwood forests of Ontario and Quebec should be compared also with the other forms of sugar production. In this way the whole broad field of sugar production in all parts of the world, in its relations to agriculture, manufacturing, and commercial routes, may be worked out into a large, connected complex of facts. VI. — To secure this more complete mastery and coimection of facts in geography, there is great value in oral drills, both for the class as a whole, and for individuals. I^rge wall maps are of special use. With such maps, and a 4g OUR EARTH AS A WHOLE pointer in his hand, the teacher nmy -ive raj.id oral drills upon cities, rivers, countries, peninsulas and bays moun- tains and political divisions, in fact, upon all the leadu.. points in geography. Many of these facts range them- selves in great series along traffic routes, nver courses, or coast lines, or they may be traced along parallel hues of latitude or along great mountain chains. It is an easy matter to arouse strong enthusiasm and a vigorous class spirit in these oral drills. When new and difficult geographical names are pro- nounced, first by the teacher, and then in concert by the class and singly by pupils, they are very quick ymf«"^'^ in the memory. Much more may be accomplished m a short time by vigorous drills in the class than by long periods of seat study. Such drills as these may be thrown fn at odd moments almost daily, and they give variety and interest to geographical study. Without such drills it is almost certain that many of the commonest names and facts will not be well mastered. The children may not know how to pronounce the new names, and if they earn tUem at all at their seat study, they are apt to learn them i K-orrectly. Children will get much detailed knowledge from special type studies, but they will fail to acquire that ready mastery and comprehensive grasp which nothing but drill exercise will be likely to give. These dnlls will fill in to a large extent, the necessary facts lying between the larger types, and will give that mastery over the facts which alone is of practical benefit. , • ,, VII -In the treatment of the topics worked out m tlie text- books there are several ways in which the teacher may strengthen and re-enforce the text-book lessons In the assignment of lessons in the book, it is well for the teacher n^nen THK STl'DV OF UKOii liAI'IIY 49 to consider carefully how to open up the sulij«'C't in sueh a way that the assijrnnient of the lesson itself heconies something of a revelation of interesting; problems in con- nection with the facts dealt with in the IkjoU. Merely to assign a number of paragraphs or pages in the text is useless, but if the teacher calls attention to what the pupils have been studying, if he shows how this leads up to the following topics, if he recalls some familar experience or knowledge of the children, if he shows how tl.j lesson will be helped by a proper study of maps or by examining certain pictures, or by reading some book of reference, a strong stimulus will be given to the study of the lesson. With many children the victory will be half won. The purpose that underlies all this is not to give excessive lielp to the children, thus reducing their owi\ self-activity and independent effort, but rather to stimulate to stronger effort, to thoughtful study, to an independent use of books and materials. A great deal will depend upon the teacher knowing how to assign a lesson properly. It is generally admitted that there are several important ways by which the knowledge contained in the text- books may be extended in class discussion. This may be done by the presentation of additional facts by the teacher, by the use of geographical readers, guide-books, and bo«)ks of travel by the children, and by collecting illustrative pictures, maps, and magazine articles from various sources. Many successful teachers of geography use all these methods of awakening the children to thought fulness and independent use of sources. It might seem that the text- books are so full of material on important topics that very little needs to be added, and certain it is that the text-book lessons should be the nuclei around which 50 OUR EARTH AS A WHOLE this additional material is clustered, and to which it in made contributary. But there is one inevitable deficiency in text-book work whicli the teacher alone can make good. This deficiency lies in the meagreness of tho concrete and illustrative details of each subject. If children wnsh to know how a canal lock works, how iron is smelted in a blast furnace, how the water-power of a river is applied to a mill-wheel, how an irrigating ditch is con- structed, how gold is gotten out of a mine, and scores of other similar problems, they will not find the explanation in the text-books. Yet these may be the most important parts of the lesson. Nor can we throw the blame for this defect upon the text-books. It would be impossible for text- books to contain such material. It lies with the teacher and the children to work these things out in the class- room on the basis of the text-book work. This implies, of course, that the teacher, as well as the children, must have some time for the reading of geographical readers and other reference books. Among other things the teacher must possess skill in the clear and graphic presentation of these additional facts and illustrations. Simplicity and clearness of statement stand first. Next in importance, is the constant use of the blackboard for making diagrams and plans of cities, for drawing canals, machines, and tools, for showing the courses of winds and ocean currents, for exhibiting the processes in the manufacturing industries, for the illus- tratior. by blocks and squares of the comparative statistics of products, etc. These things are useful in almost every topic treated in geography. If the teacher has learned how to use them freely and easily, the children also will fall quickly into the stme modes of expressing ideas, and THE STUDY OF GEOOHAPHV 51 will develop a similar jMiwer. Let the teaclier eucourage them and require work of this kind from them. This kind of skill and power on the teacher's part may be traced back to definite causes as follows : (1) The close observation of many common things in his own neighborhood, such as the various modes of cultivating plants, the treatment of stock, the devices and processes and machinery employed in manufacturing, the construction of buildings, etc., in short the various activities and phenomena in the world of human affairs and in the realm of physical nature al)out him. There arc very few of these things which, if closely viewed and understood, will not be found later of great use in clearing up geographical ideas. No text-book can furnish this kind of knowledge. It must be picked up at first-hand by each person, in blacksmith shops, gardens, factories, founderies, hothouses, (juarries, fields, storms, homes, travels, and various kinds of daily "perience. (2) The knowledge of how to appeal to similar experi- ences gained by the children from their own observa- tions. It is not probable that any teacher will overdo this matter of concrete illustration of ideograph ical topics by appealing to the children's home '^'xperiences. The work of home geog-'aphy, especially by the variety of excursions in the home neighborhood, is designed to supply an abundance of this varied experience. Both teacher and pupils should continue these lines of direct observation throughout the years of the school course. (3) The ready use of sketching and map-drawing. This power ia of great assistance to the teacher in his work. Many topics require local maps drawn to a large scale, such as the harbors of cities, a special river basin or tlood plain, 52 OUR KAtiTH AS A W h,-K an i nidation stitiiiu ami canal, i\w | i; i of .> y or local niiniii;,' diHtrict <»r luiuber camp It is \ -y ijniiurl.i'it that tlu! tcachor slioulil Ik; .ihlf to skt'tcli such local maps »|uickly and neatly. In addition to tliin, children should learn to sketch the maps of provinces or countries, iver hasina, mountain systems, and continents (juickly and correctly as to «;eneral pro{)ortionH, yet without painful accuraey in small details. In two ir three minutes a child should be able to put the map of the St. Lawrence Valley on tlu' blackboard, likewise the map of Soufh America or Afiica; but no class of children will ever ae- complish this unless the teacher j^ives the example of ii ady proficiency. With as little waste of time as may be, children sI.vMiM learn to draw on the bo.i;'l from memory all sorts of maps, correct in general outline and proportion, A brief exami- nation and di.scussion in cla.ss of the book map, with respect to tiie general outline and proportions, will help jjreatly in t'iie first attempt to draw ^ny map. If the teacher will .sketch it (juiekly bcfcjre the children, they will readily grasp the method of execution. It is not necessary that much time be spent in order to get results approximately correct. ^laps should be regarded as a mode of expressing the children's ideas a method to which they resoit as freely as to the words ( *■ ' mguage. There are a great many things in geographical .idy which ma^ be expressed better by drawings and -^ketches than I'V language. These various ways <.f acijuii ig skill in Uie presentation of ideas .should be steadily ciilti ated b}' thr teacher. They iniply open-minded progressive intt'lligenct at every step. It is in these thing- that the in entiveness and orisdnalitv of the teach.f'r are given full scope. >Hv... THt STII y m rtKiHii; \PH VIII.— Childn ,, shouM 1 ca theii lessons htv tif instivis. wliieli thoy may Ix- thrown up.... tli tuuijlit to > to .st .iy htri' ill Wll iffieiilt ircome ti ance. The leH.s(jn a.-^ re((uired of th( .n. Tl 'luriii' tho ! 'citiiion, -.liou'n br ca both )f thi'.se ca.«- s witho'U much shouKl recite tlieir k^ssons in conti way Hlavislily boutid t( lanifiia free and cuiiuectfil t xprLvviion iiiiportant topics, thi more in enouirh to rinjj a full st atonic i, ihon sist- Meco ^ ,1,-vsi ihmI ,n • e IxKi loiiii, ..-strictly topi' .«nt< In the t.achcral.so, '"r aijaiii ; and in •M.onin<;. Children His disconrHt', in rn> t till' book, but with e subject falls into i of opic should be ai the . upil. Teachers the be.si work of the ions and by helpin<,' the The topics which the ■ qu" >tion.s oftt times ,v .,»!<•!( ai destroy pup , by a.Hk m^ too in,' chi! ren \ lit su^ chii.iren liuv- jrath- d li, m refert>nce book.s, they shou'd b. ili'i- to d,.cus thus ac(]^ in^f idepondence of thoUj,;»t iuiti laii;,'uage ' teach. oi ' never forjjet that tlie final worth and utcome of sun is what the children get . I of it iind are able .. .-xpress about it. If the cliildi n are i - held to a rigid account by reijuirin"- a full and adeqi e statement of facts in every le.sson, th-y ga Ml er. - hi ct like geography there is danger that the u fall into a habit of much talking and explain- !" ubject is interesting and admits of infinite and the teacher who is well equipped is tempted to turn the lesson into a lecture. le has done his duty by the clear and simple >^sentt< ju of a topic, he .should keep silence while ■e pupils give pi-oof of their understanding. Nothing O i\v- h t -acl eniu verj But Wi. 54 OUR EARTH AS A WHOLE can take the place in good oral lessons of the teacher's own careful and complete statement of the topics. But he should not keep on talking and questioning when the work of the children begins. To test the real effective- ness of his instruction the teacher may give every week or two a written review or test upon a few topics. This is the most searching of all tests of the pupil's mastery of the subject and of the teacher's method. Defects in spelling, in language and in thought which do not appear in oral recitations are made distinct and noticeable. IX.— In " Our Earth as a Whole " great importance is assigned to Review Exercises, by which the facts are fixed in ^he mind by repetition. These review tjuestions will be found on pages 214 to 233. But this is only one of the ways which lead to a better mastery and retention of the facts. The various methods of review, by repetition, by written tests, by oral drills, by comparison, and by constant appeal to the child's own experience and previous knowl- edge, are the various modes by which a child's gradually expanding knowledge may be strengthened, consolidated, organized, and made effective in the interpretation of the world. X.- -There are certain dangers and faults which should be guarded against in geographical studies. (1) The mere memorizing of places and their locations without a study of causes and reasons. (2) The memorizing of the words of a book with- out much thoughtful ness as to the value of the things learned. (3) The abstract rather than the concrete and illustrative treatment of topics. THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY 55 (4) The lack of close connection and steady coherency of the facts treated in any topic. (5) The failure to use maps, to make them concrete and real rather than purely formal and symbolic. THE PROVINCIAL GEOGRAPHIES The supplementary volumes called " Provincial Geo- graphies," which will be issued almost immediately, will be found to be of great value in work'ng out the general scheme of geographical study. These volumes will be four in number : Ontario and Quebec ; the Maritime Provinces ; Manitoba and the North- West Territories ; British Columbia and the Yukon. The " Provincial Geographies " will give an opportunity for an elaborate, picturesque, descriptive treatment of topics, which, for lack of space, is not possible in the general geography. In pictures, maps, and detailed descriptions, there will be a richer, more interesting and more instructive treatment of important provincial topics than can be secured in any other way. This is a kind of treatment of topics, which appeals to children. To put this interesting descriptive material early into the school course will give a certain richness and vitality to all later study of geography. The general principle underlying the " Provincial Geo- graphies " is that children will be more interested in the important topics of their own province, and of the provinces close^at hand, than they will be in questions 56 THE PROVINCIAL GEOGRAPHIES relating to those far distant. It is assumed that an Ontario child will be more interested in Ontario topics, not so much because they are more interesting than other topics, but because he has heard much more about them, and they have come closer to his experience in many ways. From childhood he has heard of these things, and, knowing something, he will be glad to get more definite information. It is to be noted also that, while the topics treated in the "Provincial Geographies," will be rich in descriptive details, they will at the same time, furnish excellent types of similar topics the world over. The importance of this study of types has already been discussed. It is not necessary to say more, further than that it is hoped that this kind of study v.ill put an end to the fragraentai'y and incoherent memorizing ot facts in indiscriminate order, which has characterized a great deal of the teaching done in connection with the old fashioned text-books on geography. It is intended, by means of the " Provincial Geographies," to provide what should be an extremely valuable series of geographical readers or reference books for the Dominion of Canada. It is assumed that the supplement on the Maritime Provinces will be almost as valuable for the teacher in British Columbia, as for the teacher in Nova Scotia. It is hoped that these " Provincial Geographies " will be the means of securing a really rich and instructive treatment of Canadian Geography, an object which hitherto has been attained by no series of text-books published. Morang;s Modern Geographies OUR HOME AND ITS SURROUNDINGS A FIRST BOOK OF GEOGRAPHY Crown 8vo., 100 pages ; 4 Colored Maps and 131 Illustrations. Price 40 Cents. Authorized for use in the Public Schools of Ontario and Manitoba. OUR EARTH AS A WHOLE A SECOND ROOK OF GEOGRAPHY Crown 8vo., 264 pages ; 18 Colored Maps and 241 Illustrations. Price 60 Cents. MORANG'S MODERN GEOGRAPHY PART I.— Oru Home aw Its Scrkoindincs PART II.— OCR Earth as a Whole Crown 8vo, 432 pages ; 379 Illustrations, 21 Colored Maps, and 7 Relief Maps. P- ice 75 Cents: Authorized for use in * I '■■.i.lic and High Schools of Ontario. MORANG'S MODERN PROVIN'CIAL GHOGRAPIIIES IN PREPARATION 1. ONTARIO AND QUEBEC 2. THE MARITIME PROVINCES 3. MANITOBA AND THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES 4. BRITISH COLUMBIA AND THE YUKON GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY. Limited. TORONTO 90 WELLINGTON STRECTJWEST Aids to Geographical Study HOW TO STUDY GEOGRAPHY BY COLONEL FRANCIS W. PARKER Price $1.50 ELEMENTARY PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY BY rA.LPH S. TARR, B.i , F.G.S.A. Authorized for use in the North- West Territories and British Columbia. Price $1.40 I AN INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY BY GROVE KARL GILBERT and ALBERT PERRY BRIGHAM Price $1.25 A TEXT BOOK OF COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY BY CYRUS C. ADAMS, B.A., F.A.Q.S. Price $1.30 I AN ELEMENTARY COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY BY CYRUS C. ADAMS. B.A.. F.A.G.S. Price $1.10 GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY. Limited. TOR.ONTO 90 WELLINGTON STREET WEST J \