V Hi 
 m
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 This book is DUF on the last date stamped below
 
 Hints on How to Teach the 
 Frye Geographies 
 
 F. R. HATHAWAY 
 
 sri'MKINTENlJlXT OF SCHOOLS, OKANI) RAPIDS, MICHIGAN 
 
 nosTox, T.S.A. 
 
 CIXX i- COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 
 QTbc Stbcnrcttm 
 
 1900
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1900 
 BY GINN & COMPANY 
 
 AM. KK1MTS KKM-'KVED
 
 P R K F A C E . 
 
 THIS booklet is not intended for a teachers' manual, 
 but rather as a means whereby teachers may be put 
 in sympathy with the author of the Frye Geographies. 
 The difficulty of such an undertaking is fully realized, 
 for the writer has never had the pleasure of listening 
 to Mr. Frye. His conclusions are therefore those 
 which come to him as a result of carefully studying 
 these text-books. It is quite possible that in trying 
 to explain the underlying principles of Frye's Geog- 
 raphies there may be a little light thrown upon what 
 some persons are pleased to call "the new Geography." 
 
 The following pages comprise in a condensed form 
 the series of geography talks given by the writer to 
 the teachers of Grand Rapids during the winter of 
 189899, and are published at the request of several 
 teachers who listened to those talks.
 
 HOW TO TEACH THE FRYE GEOGRAPHIES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE FOUNDATION PRINCIPLE. 
 
 / -2 7 4 7 
 WHEN a person puts forth a book it is safe to say 
 
 that he has, or thinks he has, at least one idea which 
 lie wishes to lay before his readers. Unless he has 
 such a message he should for the sake of humanity 
 remain silent. In case the person is the author of a 
 text-book, his new idea will, in all probability, be merely 
 a new method which he wishes to introduce into the 
 schools of the country. The subject-matter of the 
 book may be as old as truth ; the only new feature 
 may be its method of presentation. This second aim 
 of an author is not to be deprecated ; in fact, in many 
 lines of school work the chief question is, "How to 
 present a truth," not " What is the truth ? " The 
 latter may have long since passed into the category of 
 undisputed facts ; the former may be a point around 
 which still centers many a battle of opinion. 
 
 If we who are teachers will think back to the time 
 when we were students in school, \ve shall remember 
 that the geography taught us was merely the geography 
 of location. Lessons were assigned us by the inch ; if
 
 2 How to Teach tlic Fiyc Geographies. 
 
 the questions were short and numerous, the teacher 
 gave us two inches and a half per day ; if they were 
 longer, we took three inches and a half, and if the 
 printer had by chance leaded the lines, the teacher 
 lengthened our lessons proportionally, giving us possi- 
 bly five or six inches. When the recitation time came 
 these questions were asked us in definite order and we 
 were expected to answer each in turn. Looking back 
 at such a drill, we must confess that but two benefits 
 were derived we learned the location of many places 
 on the surface of the earth and memory was trained. 
 In the absence of other exercise, the remaining powers 
 of the mind would have atrophied. 
 
 Following this method of teaching geography there 
 
 O O O O 1 j 
 
 came another, which we may dub "the straight line 
 method." It propounded such questions as : "In trav- 
 eling from New York to Chicago, along what parallel 
 would you journey ; through what cities would you 
 pass ; across what states would you move ? " Possibly 
 this method had its value, but ;is the gcnns homo never 
 thus moves in straight lines, his offspring rebelled at 
 being forever considered birds of passage, and crows 
 at that. 
 
 Method number two had its day, and teachers began 
 to wonder if it were not possible to devise some plan 
 to interest children in a subject which thus far had 
 been the most uninteresting in the school curriculum. 
 Some one hit upon the "journey method," and teachers 
 and children made zigzag tours over the entire face of 
 the earth. This plan had at least the defect of being 
 somewhat rambling. Interest had been aroused, but
 
 TJic Foundation Principle. 3 
 
 even the child's imagination ultimately revolted against 
 forever making believe and never actually performing. 
 
 Finally an author, Tilden, impressed with the impor- 
 tance of the business relations of the world, gave us a 
 text-book whose underlying principle is: "the com- 
 mercial relations man bears to man." This book, 
 though marking a decided advance, left out of consid- 
 eration the causal relations existing between physical 
 forces and human occupations. Moreover, the book 
 does not profess to be adapted to beginners. It is 
 only a text for advanced grammar grade pupils. 
 
 From time to time authors wrote so-called " Physical 
 Geographies," whose place was distinctly marked as 
 belonging to the high-school department. These books 
 leaned heavily toward geology, and served to give many 
 boys and girls the only glimpse they ever received into 
 that wonderful story which the hand of God has written 
 in the structure of the earth. 
 
 The time was ripe for a change a clean-cut, well- 
 marked and decisive transition. Mr. Alexis K. Frye 
 finally gave to the pupils of the grammar school his 
 Primary and Complete Geographies, the underlying 
 principle of which is that 
 
 77/r I'ilal geography, political geography and com- 
 mercial geography of tJic world grow out of and arc 
 dependent upon the physical geography of tlic world. 
 
 True, this was not a new thought. Ilumboldt had 
 long since shown the operation of physical forces in 
 shaping the surface of the earth for the abode of man ; 
 Darwin had demonstrated the effect of those forces 
 upon the animal and vegetable life, and Buckle had
 
 4 Hoic to TcacJi the Fryc Geographies. 
 
 proved that those same forces exercised a determining 
 factor upon the political and social relations of man- 
 kind. Still these and a host of other authors had 
 written books found simply upon library shelves and 
 adapted to mature minds. Air. Frye grasped this 
 central thought and placed it before the children of 
 America in a common school geography. 
 
 Air. F rye's geographies are not only unique as gram- 
 mar school texts in the underlying principle involved, 
 but also in the manner in which that principle is 
 taught. Teachers who use these books in the way 
 they are intended to be used do not develop simply the 
 power of memory. Those who study the books aright 
 must compare concepts, and thereby train judgment ; 
 must compare and combine propositions, and thereby 
 develop the ability to reason. Knowing certain general 
 laws, pupils learn to determine for themselves the lead- 
 ing characteristics of any given locality. This method 
 of work is the essential feature of the so-called "new 
 geography." 
 
 Not understanding the underlying principle in Frye's 
 "Geography," or the method of attack, si.me teachers 
 meet with little success in trying to use the books. 
 At first they are very much interested, the book being 
 so novel. When this interest wears off, such teachers 
 complain that the books are apparently without that 
 which Professor Hinsdale so aptly calls "necessary 
 handles." They then push aimlessl}' along, without 
 grasping the principles, teaching their children by 
 sheer memory many things about geography, but very 
 little real geography.
 
 The Inundation Pri)idplc. 5 
 
 What foundation has Mr. Frye for maintaining that 
 the vital geography, political geography and commercial 
 geography of the world grow out of and are dependent 
 upon the physical geography of the world ? 
 
 Consider the question of boundary lines. There are 
 two kinds natural and artificial. History shows that 
 the former are permanent, the latter temporary. France 
 and Spain have been at war time and time again. 
 \Yhencver they have settled their difficulties and estab- 
 lished a treaty of peace, the Pyrenees mountains have 
 stood as the line separating the two countries. Eng- 
 land and France have repeatedly met in death struggle. 
 With one single exception, in the treaties of peace 
 which closed those struggles, the English channel 
 remained the boundary line. This exception proved to 
 be but a temporary adjustment of the difficulties, and 
 slowly the artificial boundary was pushed northward 
 until it coincided with the natural one. One other 
 nation has often engaged France in war. No natural 
 boundary separates this country, Germany, from France; 
 consequently when the treaties of peace have been 
 established, settling their difficulties, the boundary lines 
 have been pushed back and forth, leaving continually 
 an area of contention between the two countries. To 
 the northeast of Prussia once la}' a little country, 
 Poland, separated from the adjoining countries by no 
 natural boundary lines. The time came when those 
 countries united for the partition of Poland, and the 
 little kingdom was swept from the map of the earth. 
 Not so with Switzerland, situated in the heart of 
 Europe, but hemmed in by a natural boundary of
 
 6 II me to Teach tlic Fryc Geographies. 
 
 mountains. It has stood intact for centuries. On 
 every side nations have risen, flourished and decayed ; 
 still Switzerland remains ; even though its form of 
 government is a standing menace to the monarchies 
 of Europe. 
 
 Not only are the pages of modern history replete 
 with illustrations of the question involved, but the 
 records of ancient nations give abundant illustration of 
 the same truth. Scarcely a state in old Greece but 
 had its boundaries marked in the configuration of the 
 earth. For years the Alps served as the northern 
 limit of the Roman empire, and even when the legions 
 of Rome carried her eagles beyond that snow-capped 
 range, the same mountains remained as before the 
 barrier which separated the Roman citizens from the 
 barbarians. As long as the Roman empire retained 
 the Danube with its mountainous southern bank as its 
 northeastern boundary it was safe, even though the 
 wild hordes of Huns thronged the plains of Russia. 
 But when her officers, false to their trust, granted 
 those Huns the privilege of crossing that natural 
 boundary, nothing could stay their onward march 
 toward the Imperial City. 
 
 The Roman soldiers pushed the native Britons back 
 from the fertile plains of southeastern England until 
 those Britons took lodgment within the mountain fast- 
 nesses of Wales and Scotland. Then, in seeming 
 imitation of Nature, they built a wall to serve as 
 the northern boundary of Britain, hoping thereby to 
 keep the Picts and Scots from invading the country. 
 Similarly, in times long ago, the founders of the
 
 The Foundation Principle. 7 
 
 Chinese empire raised a wall which should serve to 
 protect them from their enemies on the north. This 
 same general truth finds abundant negative illustration 
 in the history of the New World. Five European 
 nations originally laid claim to North America. Why 
 have these titles been extinguished ? Not merely 
 because the English race is the strongest, but rather 
 because Nature had fashioned a continent in which 
 there are few natural boundary lines. The two remain- 
 ing artificial boundary lines are rapidly being obliter- 
 ated by commercial treaties, all tending toward the 
 amalgamation of the great American continent into 
 one mighty nation. 
 
 Not only have natural boundaries separated nations, 
 but they have also served to keep separate and distinct 
 the peoples who have lived upon opposite sides of those 
 boundaries. The people of Transalpine and Cisalpine 
 Gaul never coalesced. The Spaniards and Erench liv- 
 ing on opposite slopes of the Pyrenees mountains have 
 preserved their individuality. Though the Swiss live 
 but a few miles from the Germans, they are distinct 
 peoples. The Erench and English have entirely differ- 
 ent traits. The tribes living on the southern slopes of 
 the Caucasus mountains are so different from those 
 living upon the northern slopes of the same mountains 
 that they are easily distinguished as belonging to 
 separate races. 
 
 It is interesting to note the effect of modern civiliza- 
 tion upon natural boundaries. Every railroad which 
 winds its way over the mountain pass, or plunges 
 through a dark tunnel ; every telegraph line which
 
 Hoiu to TcacJt tlic Frye Geographies. 
 
 flashes its messages over the mountains or under the 
 sea; every steamship which carries its precious freight 
 from country to country serves to break down natural 
 boundaries and hasten the advent of "The parliament 
 of man, the federation of the world." Modern engi- 
 neering has given man that faith which enables him to 
 say to the mountain, "Be thou removed," and behold 
 it is cast into the sea. 
 
 From the time when Eeonidas marshaled his Spar- 
 tan band in the pass of Thermopylae to the time when 
 the high tide of the southern confederacy broke upon 
 the crest of Mission Ridge, the god of battles has 
 inhabited some Olympian height and decided the for- 
 tunes of war and the fate of nations along the natural 
 boundaries which have separated countries. Of more 
 importance to England than her entire army was the 
 English channel when Napoleon saw nothing but that 
 narrow strip of water between himself and world empire. 
 No student of history can study the decisive battles of 
 the world, or the campaigns of great captains, without 
 being impressed with the important fact that the con- 
 figuration of the earth has been a mighty factor in 
 determining the results of such conflicts. 
 
 What then would Erye have the student see in 
 studying the boundaries of a country ? Not merely 
 the location of those boundary lines, but whether they 
 are natural or artificial ; permanent or temporary ; 
 what their effect has been upon the nation's life; how 
 they have separated or failed to separate adjoining peo- 
 ples ; how they have been a means of defense in time 
 of war or a highway of commerce in time of peace.
 
 TJic Foundation Principle. 9 
 
 For years teachers have recognized in a general way 
 the effect of climate upon animal and vegetable life. 
 They have called attention to the facts that the most 
 luxuriant vegetation grows in the tropics ; that decid- 
 uous trees are found in the temperate regions ; that as 
 one approaches the poles vegetation is more stunted, 
 finally disappearing entirely ; that animals living in the 
 cold regions are abundantly supplied with a warm cov- 
 ering ; that those found in the tropics are usually 
 larger and more ferocious ; that the temperature of the 
 torrid zone tends to enervate the people who live in 
 that region ; that the temperature of the frigid zone 
 necessitates such a struggle for existence, that people 
 in those localities have no opportunity for intellectual 
 advancement, and that only in the temperate regions 
 does man reach his fullest development and establish 
 the highest type of civilization. It remained, however, 
 for Frye to write a geography series in which there 
 should be placed before the school children the great 
 thought that the animal and vegetable life native to 
 any given region are determined largely by the physical 
 geography of that locality ; and that the forms of such 
 life which man can introduce in any given region are 
 also determined by the physical geography of that 
 locality. Moreover, this same general truth obtains 
 not only with reference to the lower forms of life, but 
 also to man himself, except in so far as he can adapt 
 himself to a greater variety of environment. To illus- 
 trate : The westerly winds blowing from the Pacific 
 upon the western coast of the United States climb 
 successively three ranges of mountains, each higher
 
 io How to TcacJi the Frye Geographies. 
 
 than the preceding ; then blow clown the eastern slope 
 of the Rockies, deprived of their moisture. The plains 
 lying at the foothills of these mountains have, conse- 
 quently, little rainfall. The only form of vegetation 
 which could thrive is the bunch-grass. The native 
 animal life must, therefore,- be such as could depend 
 upon this bunch-grass for food. This was the home 
 of the buffalo. These animals roamed over the plains 
 in vast herds, cropping the grass short, then moving 
 on to fresh pastures. When advancing civilization 
 drove the buffalo from his native plains, man supplied 
 his place with the only kind of animals which could 
 thrive upon that vegetation which had nourished the 
 buffalo. Great herds of cattle are now pastured upon 
 these plains and are driven from place to place as 
 necessity demands. 
 
 Compare the valley of California with the so-called 
 Great American desert. They lie in the same latitude, 
 are but a few miles apart and have a like soil the 
 rock waste of adjacent mountains. Why is the one a 
 garden spot, the other an arid waste ? Why has one 
 become the seat of a thriving population, the other 
 remained the home of roving bands of Indians ? Sim- 
 ply because one is well watered, while upon the other 
 region scarcely any rain falls. I Vat why this difference 
 in the amount of rain ? Surely it is not chance. Fixed 
 laws must govern this phenomenon just as surely as 
 they govern the movements of the .planets. Knowing 
 these laws and the relief forms of the two localities 
 in question, the student is able to predicate the native 
 life of those regions, even though he has never read a
 
 TJic Foundation Principle. 1 1 
 
 description of cither. Advancing a step farther toward 
 his final conclusion, he determines why Nature makes 
 one locality fitted for a great state, while man must 
 supplement by irrigation the lack of rainfall before the 
 other can be reclaimed for civilization. Apply the 
 same general principles in comparing the valley of 
 the Amazon with the Desert of Sahara. The physical 
 geography of the northern parts of Africa and South 
 America alone accounts for the dissimilarity. The 
 leading points of difference can be determined by the 
 student from the study of the map without memorizing 
 a word of the text. It is this power of reasoning out 
 the necessary, native life of any given locality that 
 Air. Frye would develop in the pupils. 
 
 The more advanced student can apply the principle 
 in question to the determination of the seats of empire. 
 It is a noticeable fact not only that every ancient civili- 
 zation was located in a fertile region, but that some 
 indigenous food grew luxuriantly in that locality. India 
 had its rice, which yielded sixty fold; Egypt its date, 
 which yielded an hundred fold ; Mexico its maize and 
 banana, which yielded abundantly ; and Peru its potatoes, 
 which furnished ample food for the vast population. 
 When civilization advanced and spread into the less 
 fertile regions of the world, transportation became 
 more and more a business enterprise. As the means 
 of transportation improved, localities were obliged to 
 depend less and less upon their own products. In 
 these closing years of the nineteenth century steam 
 and electricity have brought to one table the products 
 of all regions of the earth. Man's power to adapt
 
 1 2 How to TeacJi the Frye Geographies. 
 
 himself to his environment, assisted in a great measure 
 by the improved means of transportation, is splendidly 
 illustrated by the settlements among the niter beds of 
 Chili and the gold fields of Alaska. In the former 
 locality rainfall is unknown and the heat intense; in 
 the latter snow is abundant and the cold intense. In 
 both places vegetation is reduced to the minimum. 
 Nature has done much to make these localities unin- 
 habitable. Man has, however, taken up his abode in 
 these inhospitable corners of the earth and depends for 
 his sustenance upon a food supply brought thousands 
 of miles from the fertile fields of the temperate regions. 
 Such apparent exceptions to the general rule are but 
 genuine illustrations of the working out of the real 
 
 o o 
 
 principle involved ; namely, the law of adaption. 
 
 In general, commercial enterprise is manifested along 
 the lines of agriculture, manufacturing, mining and 
 commerce. What effect has the physical geography of 
 the world upon these forms of human activity ? 
 
 The prime requisite for an agricultural region is a 
 fertile soil. From what is such a soil made? How is 
 it made ? How has it been transported ? Every one 
 of these questions belongs to the realm of physical 
 geography. If the student is able to answer them, he 
 is also able to determine the fertility of the soil in any 
 given locality. The soil does not alone, however, make 
 an agricultural region. Climate, including heat and 
 moisture, must render assistance. Though as a matter 
 of poetry, " The wind bloweth where it listeth, and we 
 may hear the sound thereof but cannot tell whence it 
 cometh or whither it goeth " : still, as a matter of
 
 The Inundation Principle. 13 
 
 modern science there is little unknown about either the 
 origin or the course of the winds. The child who has 
 acquired even a rudimentary knowledge of air currents, 
 and knows the simple laws governing evaporation and 
 precipitation, may determine from the relief form of a 
 continent the approximate rainfall in any given locality, 
 and thereby decide for himself whether a certain region 
 has the necessary conditions to make it a good agri- 
 cultural district. Without this knowledge of nature's 
 laws he must depend entirely upon his memory in his 
 efforts to locate the farming lands of the world. With 
 this knowledge he sees that agricultural geography 
 grows out of physical geography and is dependent 
 thereon. 
 
 When manufacturing had its origin, water was the 
 chief power used in driving machinery. Even yet, 
 owing to its cheapness, it is retained in service wher- 
 ever possible. The older manufacturing districts are, 
 therefore, situated upon rapid rivers, at points where 
 there is sufficient fall to generate power. Only in the 
 last years of the present century have steam and elec- 
 tricity made it possible to establish manufacturing 
 plants remote from running water. Acting upon the 
 general principle involved, settlers going into a new 
 country have seized upon water-power sites, and around 
 such places there have quickly sprung up villages, 
 towns and cities. 
 
 Why do certain rivers creep lazily and wearily toward 
 the sea, while others plunge headlong toward the ocean 
 with the strength of a thousand horses in their tor- 
 rents ? This is a question for the student of physical
 
 14 How to TeacJi tlic Frye Geographies. 
 
 geography ; yet upon its answer depends in a large 
 measure the ability of a student to locate, irrespective 
 of the words of the text, the manufacturing districts of 
 a country. Thus taught, even a young philosopher can 
 determine why New England had its millions of busy 
 spindles, while upon the banks of the lower Mississippi 
 not a single mill stood among the whitened fields of 
 cotton. 
 
 Has physical geography any message for the boy or 
 girl who is trying to learn about the mineral regions 
 of the world ? At no other point in the whole range 
 of the science is the answer more explicit. Geology, 
 the foster parent of physical geography, teaches the 
 student to read the history of this old world in the 
 strata which compose the leaves in her book. In some 
 places these strata lie unsoiled and smooth as they 
 were originally placed, but in others they are crumpled 
 and torn, exposing the ragged edges of many a deep- 
 laid leaf to the inspection of man. At such places, 
 minerals which were once deposited far below the sur- 
 face are brought within the reach of the drill, the pick 
 and the shovel. 
 
 How was coal made? What are the interrelations 
 between coal, petroleum and natural gas ? What agen- 
 cies have been at work to transform soft coal into hard 
 coal ? Surelv the pupil who can answer these questions 
 will have little difficulty in locating the coal, oil and 
 gas fields of the world. 
 
 The average teacher who instructs her pupils as to 
 the locality, size and leading enterprises of any given 
 city takes it for granted that she has discharged her
 
 The Foundation Principle. I 5 
 
 whole duty. It is quite possible, however, that there 
 is a better way which should be adopted. These great 
 centers of population usually have their origin in one 
 of four causes ; they are educational centers, political 
 centers, manufacturing centers or trade centers. Ann 
 Arbor is an illustration of the first, Washington of the 
 second, Lowell of the third and New Orleans of the 
 fourth class. Occasionally a city, as Boston, has its 
 origin in two or three of the above causes. Every 
 great producing region has its distinct trade center 
 conveniently situated for discharging the business 
 pertaining to that region. Odessa, Rio dc Janeiro, 
 Minneapolis, are illustrations of this point. Occasion- 
 ally the same city is so situated that it can readily 
 serve as a trade center for two, three, or even four 
 distinct producing regions. Chicago is an illustration 
 of such a city. When thus favored a city must needs 
 grow rapidly. 
 
 There are two distinct kinds of transportation 
 land and water. Cities which owe their importance 
 to the fact that they serve as freight depots for vast 
 regions must be situated at points favorable to either 
 one or both kinds of transportation. When a city is 
 located so that it is a necessary center for both land 
 and water transportation, is furthermore a great manu- 
 facturing center, is still further a collecting and distrib- 
 uting point for several great producing regions, and 
 becomes finally a distinct educational center, that city 
 must of necessity grow beyond all precedent. Chicago 
 is the only illustration of such a metropolis. 
 
 It is interesting to note that every important seaport
 
 1 6 Hoiv to Teach tJic Fryc Geographies. 
 
 is located upon a good harbor. If the seaport in ques- 
 tion is an old one, the water upon which it is situated 
 is a. good natural harbor. Venice illustrates this truth. 
 If, however, the city is a modern one, the harbor may 
 be artificial. Such is the harbor at Galveston. In 
 many places man has supplemented the work of Nature 
 so that a harbor which was originally slightly defective 
 has been made ideal. Such is New York harbor. 
 
 Do not the above remarks suggest a more perfect 
 way for teachers to teach the geography of cities ? 
 The vital question is not, "Where is a city?" but, 
 " Why is it in that place ? " Pupils taught by this 
 latter method cannot but be impressed with the fact 
 that the great centers of the world's population have 
 not been located by chance, but are determined by 
 underlying principles whose operation may be known 
 to all. 
 
 Having by the above process determined the loca- 
 tion of the leading cities of any given country, the next 
 point in studying the commercial geography is to dis- 
 cuss their means of communication. If it is true that 
 the chief factors in determining the site of a city are 
 physical forces, it is also true, even to a greater extent, 
 that the lines of communication between those cities 
 are similarly decided upon. When the Great Lakes 
 were to be connected with the Hudson river by canal, 
 the first point to be decided was the location of a 
 natural water course between Buffalo and Albany. 
 Where shall an oceanic canal be located for the pur- 
 pose of connecting the waters of the Atlantic with 
 the waters of the Pacific ? Panama was once chosen
 
 TJic Foundation Principle. 17 
 
 because the isthmus was the narrowest and the moun- 
 tains the lowest at this point. Millions of dollars were 
 expended before it was found that the route was imprac- 
 ticable. Nicaragua is now the favorite route, because 
 the physical geography of that region makes the task 
 of the engineer less difficult, even though the length 
 of the canal is greater. When it became necessary to 
 connect by rail Denver with San Francisco, the engi- 
 neers sought carefully some mountain pass where for 
 ages water has been steadily at work cutting a defile 
 between the peaks, and making possible the construc- 
 tion of a railroad. When a trunk line is to be laid 
 between Chicago and New York, every inch of ground 
 is carefully inspected, in order that all possible ad- 
 vantage may be taken of water courses, ravines and 
 valleys, thereby finally locating the route in such a 
 place that the gradients shall be least in that direction 
 in which the heaviest freight is drawn. Nor are we 
 confined to modern history for illustrations of the prin- 
 ciple under discussion. The great commercial routes 
 of the old world were along lines of least resistance, 
 whether they traversed the burning sands of Arabia or 
 skirted the coasts of Europe. When the invention of 
 the mariner's compass removed hitherto insurmount- 
 able obstacles and changed the lines of least resistance, 
 Venice, Pisa and Genoa felt the uplift of a new com- 
 mercial life. Still later, when the routes were again 
 changed, these commercial centers of the middle ages 
 became mere memories in the business world. 
 
 Apply the foregoing general principles to the study 
 of the settlement of our own country. From the time
 
 1 8 Hvw to Teach the Fryc Geographies. 
 
 when the first settlers pushed up the creeks and rivers 
 which empty into the Atlantic, building their stock- 
 ades and clearing the ground, to the time when their 
 descendants, imbued with the same spirit, planted the 
 most recent settlements upon our western coast, advanc- 
 ing civilization has followed the natural roadways of 
 the continent, and its star has in turn stood above each 
 favored spot where kind Nature made it possible for 
 man to make "the desert blossom as the rose." The 
 first settlers followed water courses or picked their 
 trail around morasses, avoided steep hills and finally 
 settled in those localities where the struggle for exist- 
 ence would be least severe. A drive along the original 
 turnpikes which cross the southern part of Michigan 
 cannot but impress this truth upon even a casual ob- 
 server. When Marcus Whitman, with his peck of seed 
 wheat and old red wagon, picked his way through the 
 mountain fastnesses of the Rockies that he might set- 
 tle in the fertile plains of the Oregon, and thereby 
 take possession of the land which should ultimately 
 become two mighty states, he illustrated the same gen- 
 eral law. When the "Forty-niners," with their prairie 
 schooners, wound slowly over the trackless prairies 
 and then climbed wearily through the safest mountain 
 gorges that they might win a fortune and establish a 
 state, they, too, illustrated this same general law. 
 Indeed, the student of history who would rightly study 
 the gradual settlement of the United States must 
 study it from the standpoint of physical geography. 
 
 Enough has been said to show that Fryc has many 
 reasons for claiming that the vital geography, the polit-
 
 Tlic Foundation Principle. 19 
 
 ical geography and the commercial geography of the 
 world grow out of, and are dependent upon, the phys- 
 ical geography of the world. It remains for us in sub- 
 sequent chapters to see how this truth is brought out 
 and developed in the two books which this author has 
 written.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Frye's Primary Geography. Pages /-//. 
 
 SOME GEOGRAPHY MAXIMS. 
 
 THE casual reader will notice at once a marked dif- 
 ference between the opening pages of this book and 
 the corresponding pages of other primary geographies. 
 It has been customary in times past for authors of 
 geographies to begin with definitions of various land 
 forms and water forms. Search as best you can through 
 the first seventeen pages of F rye's book, and you do 
 not find a single definition. This much is apparent to 
 all. The vital difference is not, however, so apparent. 
 To discover this, one must look closer. 
 
 Two distinct forms of reasoning have been given to 
 the world the deductive and the inductive. In ac- 
 cordance with the former the reasoner pn ceeds from 
 general truths to individual facts. In accordance with 
 the latter the reasoner begins with individual facts and 
 reaches general conclusions. The deductive system of 
 reasoning was formulated by Aristotle, and for 1500 
 years constituted the only recognized system. Even 
 yet it is used exclusively in pure mathematics. While 
 this system held universal sway science stood still, or 
 if it advanced, it was almost sure to reach incorrect 
 conclusions. Finally Bacon systematized the inductive
 
 Some Geography Mn.rhns. 21 
 
 form of reasoning and established the truth that ob- 
 servation, the gathering of data and the examination 
 of individual facts should precede the enunciation of a 
 general truth. Final conclusions were thus made to 
 depend upon actual facts ; whereas in times past the 
 actual facts were distorted to harmonize with the gen- 
 eral conclusions. The immediate effect of the Baco- 
 nian or inductive system of reasoning upon all branches 
 of science was marked. Chemistry, Physics, Botany, 
 Medicine, Zoology, Physiology, Geology and Physical 
 Geography were soon established upon a reasonable 
 basis. Having been thus established, they offered a 
 most fruitful field for investigation and research. The 
 result was most astounding. These sciences forged 
 ahead more within the next few years than they had 
 in all the preceding centuries. 
 
 Mr. Frye in these first pages of his Primary book 
 has simply applied the inductive process of reasoning 
 to a beginners' geography. lie aims to reason from 
 individual facts, gathered by observation, to general 
 conclusions, and moves continually from the concrete 
 to the abstract. In this way he establishes several in- 
 teresting geographical principles. In thus establishing 
 them he trains not merely the child's memory, but his 
 reasoning powers as well. 
 
 There arc two kinds of observation : observation of 
 nature per .sv, and observation of. pictures or models 
 of nature. The former is always best when it can be 
 rightly directed ; the latter is often necessary in the 
 study of geography, because many forms of land and 
 water arc not to be found in the vicinity i the school.
 
 22 Hoiv to TcacJi the Frj'c Geographies. 
 
 Frye recognizes both kinds of observation. He sup- 
 plements the first by an abundance of well-selected 
 pictures, illustrating the phenomena under discussion. 
 Xo teacher can use this book successfully unless she 
 realizes the importance of both kinds of observation. 
 She must frequently take her class to observe gravel 
 banks, slopes, divides, valleys, basins, deltas, water 
 courses and vegetation to be found within walking 
 distance of her school ; and also train her children to 
 study illustrations of other phenomena not located 
 thus conveniently. In doing this work she must exer- 
 cise the greatest care that her pupils are taught how 
 to observe and what to observe. The importance of 
 these lessons is not confined to the geography. The 
 power of observing carefully (such power must always 
 precede the habit of observing carefully) is a necessary 
 foundation for all science training. More than this, 
 there is no other power which the teacher can cultivate 
 in her pupils which enters more vitally into their ulti- 
 mate success as men and women. lie who observes 
 accurately and compares carefully has a power which 
 iroes far toward making his success assured. 
 
 O <^> 
 
 Let us now observe how Mr. Frye applies the induc- 
 tive system of reasoning to geography. In his first 
 lesson he makes what the lawyer would term "an 
 opening statement," in which he announces that which 
 he expects to show in the course of the book. Passing 
 on to Lesson 2, he directs the observation of teacher 
 and pupils along certain lines. In Lesson 3 the 
 observation work is continued with this difference 
 in the second lesson that which is observed is nature
 
 Some Geography Maxims. 23 
 
 itself ; in the third it is pictures of nature. In the 
 fourth lesson the pupils are led to think about some 
 natural scenes which they beheld in times past, but 
 which are not now before their eyes, either in actual 
 form or as pictures. Then before the close of the 
 lesson the first general geographical principle is enun- 
 ciated ; viz., that slopes decide tJie direction of rivers, 
 and by rivers i^c arc able to find out tlie direction of 
 slopes. This is a simple, yet an important principle. 
 Many pupils have, however, advanced to the age of 
 maturity without recognizing this truth or using it in 
 the study of maps. Having reached the general con- 
 clusion, it will be well to permit pupils to apply the 
 same to the examination of such maps as those found 
 on pages 9, 32, 42 and 46. In fact they should make 
 constant use of this and succeeding general principles 
 as soon as those principles are developed. By thus 
 using these principles they will learn to recognize their 
 importance, and will realize that they constitute the 
 alphabet of geography. It will be well, at this point, 
 to make one general statement which pertains to the 
 working out not merely of the first geographical prin- 
 ciple, but also to those which follow. Teachers should 
 not confine themselves to the exact questions asked 
 in the book. The observation work, both as it per- 
 tains to nature and to pictures, should be broader and 
 more extensive than is there specified. The teacher 
 must recognize the general truth which she wishes 
 to bring out, and direct the observation accordingly. 
 Moreover, the immediate vicinity of the school may 
 give opportunity for much more extended observation
 
 24 How to Teach tlic Fryc Geographies. 
 
 of nature than even Mr. Frye suggests. You will also 
 be able to illustrate many points by pictures selected 
 from other text-books and from general collections. 
 
 With the fifth lesson the author takes up a different 
 thought. He here directs pupil and teacher to make 
 certain experiments. What is an experiment? Simply 
 a question asked of Nature. To learn the answer one 
 must observe closely. At the beginning of the sixth 
 lesson the author directs certain lines of observation 
 work, and by the time the last paragraphs are reached 
 the pupil is ready to draw his second conclusion ; viz., 
 Coarser soil is found near tJic heads of streams, wliilc 
 the finest soil is in tJic I'icinity of tJic outlet. Let him 
 apply this principle to the discussion of the upper pic- 
 ture on page 2, and the two pictures on page 5. He 
 will be able to see that this same principle is applicable 
 to the largest river basins in the world. 
 
 In Lesson / the author directs another line of experi- 
 mentation. In Lesson 8 the pupil is led to observe 
 the effect of water upon vegetation, and is taught the 
 third general principle ; viz., Wafer is necessary to all 
 forms of vegetable life. 
 
 In Lesson 9 the author directs some new experi- 
 ments, with an entirely different object in view. He 
 lollows these in Lesson 10 with observation work from 
 nature which is within the reach of every pupil. This 
 is continued in the early part of Lesson i i. Finally, 
 before.' the close of that lesson, he announces the fourth 
 general principle ; viz., l')eltas are formed frcm soil 
 worn o/f from ///;;"// land and deposited where slow 
 streams empty itit,> still water. This is one of the most
 
 Sonic GcograpJiy Maxims. 25 
 
 important geographical principles which the student 
 will meet. Notice how the conclusion has been estab- 
 lished. The author begins with the observation of 
 seemingly trivial forces at work in the vicinity of any 
 school house, and step by step leads up to the establish- 
 ment of a general principle which accounts for the for- 
 mation of some of the most extensive and fertile tracts 
 in the world. Be sure to let the pupil make use of this 
 principle. Teach him to recognize a delta wherever he 
 sees it, both in his own observation of nature and in 
 the examination of pictures and maps. By contrast 
 let him observe also what rivers will not form deltas. 
 Lven now he may compare the outlets of the Columbia 
 and the Mississippi, the Ganges and the St. Lawrence, 
 the Indus and the Colorado, the Rhine and the Danube, 
 the Congo and the Nile. 
 
 It will he well for the pupil now to combine princi- 
 ples two, three and four, and determine for himself 
 the soil in the deltas and also whether that soil is cal- 
 culated to support vegetation. The pupil has not thus 
 far had anything relative to the effect of temperature 
 upon vegetation, and consequently the teacher will be 
 obliged to direct his reasoning so that he may not form 
 erroneous conclusions. 
 
 With Lesson 12 the author begins another line of 
 experiments by which he seeks to place before the 
 pupil the different conditions under which evaporation 
 and precipitation take place. In Lesson 13 he leads 
 the child to see these same forces at work in nature 
 itself. The conditions of the various forms of precipi- 
 tation are set forth. All these are drawn from infor-
 
 26 Hoiv to TcacJi the Frye Geographies. 
 
 mation already possessed by the pupil. In Lesson 14 
 the child is taught to observe at least two sources of 
 streams, and in Lesson 15 the fifth general principle is 
 enunciated ; viz., By means of evaporation and precipi- 
 tation t/ic rivers are supplied vvitli icatcr. 
 
 In the development of the next general principle it 
 is suggested that Lesson 17 follow immediately after 
 Lesson 19. Lesson 16 is an observation lesson. So 
 are Lessons 18 and 19. Their examination, taken in 
 the order suggested, will lead the pupil from local to 
 universal facts and will include both the examination 
 of nature itself and pictorial representations of nature. 
 In Lesson 17 the pupil establishes his sixth general 
 conclusion ; namely, By means of divides river basins 
 and systems are formed. Review the first principle in 
 connection with the sixth. Make practical application 
 of this general principle in the study of maps on pages 
 9, 32, 36, 42, 46, 50 and 91. Then return to the map 
 on page 8 and train the pupil to observe that between 
 adjacent branches of the Mississippi system there must 
 be a local divide. Every such branch, therefore, having 
 a divide on each side of it, marks a distinct valley. 
 Pupils should be taught to distinguish carefully be- 
 tween local slopes and general slopes ; the main stream 
 and its chief branches revealing the latter, while the 
 smaller branches determine the former. A study of 
 the Tennessee and the Cumberland rivers will be inter- 
 esting in this connection. It will be well to ask the 
 children to locate the lowest ground in any great river 
 system, and to point out and describe the general slopes 
 which approach that lowest ground ; then to see how
 
 Maxims. 
 
 these general slopes are in turn cut by other valleys, 
 in which the slopes are, in all probability, at right 
 angles to the main slope ; how these second valleys 
 may be in turn cut by still smaller valleys, and these 
 again traversed by other valleys, until finally the 
 branches have been traced back to the original brooks 
 which flow between the local hills. Remember that 
 all these can be read from the map on page 8, if the 
 other maps have been studied as suggested. The 
 teacher must, however, make use of the wonderful 
 imagination which every child possesses. The white 
 page before him, covered with a few wiggly black lines, 
 will then have a meaning which otherwise it cannot 
 possess. Hills and valleys will come forth, slopes and 
 divides be a reality, and the whole surface of any map 
 become a book as legible and entertaining as a fairy 
 tale. 
 
 \Yith Lesson 20 the author begins another series of 
 experiments. He follows this in Lessons 21 and 22 
 with a series of observations. These experiments and 
 observations have a definite purpose. They serve to 
 lead the pupil out from the individual to the general. 
 The experiments and observations cover both nature 
 itself and pictures. Following these directions the 
 pupil is able to ascertain the seventh geographical 
 principle, which is: Wind, frost and running water arc 
 tlic cliii'J agencies in pulverizing rock and iccaring doion 
 mountains. 1 laving determined this principle, the pupil 
 should make practical application of it in the discussion 
 of local geographical features. He should realize that 
 these forces are at work transforming the surface of the
 
 28 Hoiv to Teach tJic Fryc Geographies. 
 
 ground in his immediate neighborhood. Such observa- 
 tion will assist the pupil in appreciating the fact that 
 these general principles which he has discovered are 
 principles which are now operating in actual nature and 
 not merely something which the author has seen fit to 
 place in the text-book. 
 
 The general principle which the author seeks to 
 develop in Lessons 23 and 24 is closely connected with 
 the seventh principle. The means of reaching the final 
 conclusion are the same as have been heretofore noticed ; 
 namely, by observation and experiment, to proceed from 
 the examination of individual facts to the general con- 
 clusion. In Lessons 20, 21 and 22 the pupil was led 
 to discover the great agencies which Nature uses in 
 
 o o 
 
 wearing down the mountains. In Lessons 23 and 24 
 he notes the eighth general principle, namely : Running 
 water is tJic cJiicf agency in transporting material from 
 tJic mountain regions to the lowlands, and most of tJie 
 lowlands of tlie ivorld Jiai'c been tlius made. Pupils 
 should now combine principles seven and eight in the 
 discussion of such regions as the Colorado canon, Niag- 
 ara gorge, the Nile valley, the Mississippi valley and 
 the Ganges valley. While it is true that pupils do not 
 yet know the geographical location of these regions, 
 neither have they had any instruction relative to the 
 names of the different continents and divisions ; it is 
 equally true that if the teacher will turn to the maps 
 the pupils will easily see how the seventh and eighth 
 principles enable one to understand the necessary geo- 
 graphical conditions of tin. se places. 
 
 Thus far the general principles that have been devel-
 
 Some Geography Maxims. 29 
 
 oped arc those which largely govern the building up of 
 the inside of a continent. Very little has been given 
 about shaping its margin. The only place where any- 
 thing has been said directly about shore lines is in con- 
 nection with the formation of deltas at mouths of rivers. 
 In Lessons 25 and 26, by skillful questioning and by 
 carefully directed observation, the author establishes 
 the ninth geographical principle : The chief agency in 
 shaping shore forms is the ocean. He shows how the 
 waves, surf and currents act differently upon different 
 kinds of soil, fashioning in one place a bold bluff, in 
 another a shelving beach ; how a harbor is cut here and 
 an unbroken shore line is left there. 
 
 The nine principles re-stated in order of their devel- 
 opment are : 
 
 1. Slopes decide the direction of rivers, and by rivers 
 \ve are able to find out the direction of slopes. 
 
 2. Coarser soil is found near the heads of streams, 
 while the finest soil is in the vicinity of the outlet. 
 
 3. Water is necessary to all forms of vegetable life. 
 
 4. Deltas are formed from soil worn off from high 
 land and deposited where slow streams empty into still 
 water. 
 
 5. Ey means of evaporation and precipitation the 
 rivers are supplied with water. 
 
 6. l>y means of divides river basins and systems are 
 formed. 
 
 /. Wind, frost and running water are the chief agen- 
 cies in pulverizing rock and wearing down mountains. 
 
 8. Running water is the chief agency in transporting 
 material from the mountain regions to the lowlands,
 
 30 Hoiv to TcacJi tJic Fryc Geographies. 
 
 and most of the lowlands of the world have been thus 
 made. 
 
 9. The chief agency in shaping shore forms is the 
 ocean. 
 
 Every pupil should be thoroughly familiar with the 
 above principles, lie can no more understand the re- 
 maining pages of geography if he is in ignorance of 
 them, than he can understand advanced mathematics 
 if he is unacquainted with the fundamental operations 
 in arithmetic. It is not sufficient that a pupil should 
 memorize these principles (a parrot could do that) ; it 
 is necessary that he should have the power of applying 
 these principles to the discussion of the geography of 
 any given locality which he may be studying. In all 
 subsequent work teachers should recognize these prin- 
 ciples and give the pupils abundant opportunity to make 
 practical application of them in the daily work of the 
 class-room. Pupils must be trained to see that these 
 principles do not operate individually, but in unison. 
 Often, in trying to understand the features of some 
 locality, several or all of the principles must be used. 
 The practice of thus applying the principles will assist- 
 in training the pupil's judgment and reason. This 
 work will place the study of geography upon an en- 
 tirely different basis than that heretofore occupied and 
 will entitle it to a much higher place in the school 
 curriculum.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE WORLD. 
 
 THIS portion of the book is distinct and character- 
 istic. At the time the book was written no other 
 author had put forth anything like it. As Mr. Frye 
 makes so much depend upon the physical geography 
 of the world, it is safe to say that the work of these 
 pages constitutes a most important undertaking in the 
 study of geography. The teacher must here, if any- 
 where, enter into the spirit of the book. She must 
 grasp the central thought of the author and work in 
 harmony therewith. What is this central thought? 
 Simply this : The unity of tJic physical features of tJic 
 .cartJi. To establish this, Mr. Frye first discusses the 
 earth as a unit, showing that there is a world ridge 
 traversing the globe and having its uniform divides and 
 slopes. The pupil is led to notice the similarity among 
 the inside slopes and the similarity among the outside 
 slopes of this ridge. The relation of this ridge to the 
 shallow and dee}") oceans is also brought out. In the dis- 
 cussion of this part of the book the teacher must supple- 
 ment the text with oral instruction in certain particulars ; 
 the child must be taught the names of the grand con- 
 tinents even before those names appear in the book.
 
 32 How to TcacJi tJic Fryc Geographies, 
 
 It is not the intention of the author to dwell much, 
 if any, upon details. This view of the earth is like 
 that \vhich a person upon the moon might obtain 
 through a powerful telescope. To him the earth 
 would be a unit, and to the child, in the study of the 
 world ridge, it is to be a unit traversed by one great 
 elevation. 
 
 Before taking up the study of the continents, as 
 given on page 31, it will be well for the teacher to 
 bring out a few of the salient features in the chapter 
 on Heat, Wind and Rain, begun on page 75. A pupil 
 at this point should know the approximate location of 
 the belts of heat. He should know that heated air 
 rises and that cool air rushes in to take its place ; that 
 this, coupled with the rotary motion of the earth, 
 causes the Trade Winds, which blow constantly from 
 the east over a region of the earth extending each side 
 of the equator nearly one third the distance to the 
 poles. He should know that water is evaporated from 
 wet surfaces ; that the amount of evaporation is in- 
 creased by increasing the temperature and by setting 
 the air in motion ; that warm air will carry more mois- 
 ture than cold air ; that the effect of sufficiently cooling 
 the air is to cause precipitation; that the chief forms 
 of precipitation are fog, rain and snow ; that the inter- 
 position of a range of mountains in the path of a warm, 
 wet wind invariably causes heavy rainfall en the wind- 
 ward side of those mountains, while the wind which 
 blows down from the summit upon the leeward side ot 
 the mountains is a drying wind. 
 
 In attempting to establish the above facts with refer-
 
 The Physical Geography of the World. 33 
 
 once to heat, wind and rain, it will be well to avoid 
 scientific technicalities. Make the lesson as simple as 
 possible, but be sure that the pupil knows these facts. 
 Then, having learned them, be sure that he makes 
 daily use of these truths in his study of the physical 
 geography of the different continents. Knowing these 
 few rudimentary principles, he will grow to determine, 
 in a large measure without the help of teacher or text- 
 book, the rainfall and consequent river system of each 
 continent. 
 
 It is well to observe the order in which Frye takes 
 up the different continents in his study of the physical 
 geography of the world. This order is different in the 
 Primary and Complete Geographies. Moreover, it is 
 different from the order in which he takes them up 
 when he comes to discuss the political and commer- 
 cial geography of the world. There must be some 
 reason for the arrangement he adopts. The continents, 
 in the " Primary Geography," are studied in the order 
 of their increasing difficulty. The simplest and most 
 typical continent is South America. It therefore 
 comes first. Then the others are discussed in the 
 following order : North America, Asia, Europe, Africa 
 and Australia. Note further that these continents are 
 arranged in three natural pairs ; the two Americas 
 constituting the first. In both, the continental out- 
 lines are evidently triangular, with the apexes pointing 
 toward the south. The main and secondary axes of 
 the continents occupy similar positions and extend in 
 corresponding directions, while the interior of each 
 continent is a great fertile plain. In the second pair
 
 34 How to Teach tlic l : ryc Geographies. 
 
 of continents, Asia and Europe, the main axes extend- 
 in an easterly and westerly direction, and the secondary 
 axis is in each case north of the primary axis and par- 
 allel with it. From each of these two continents three 
 great plateaus project to the south in the form of 
 peninsulas ; while the lowlands of both continents 
 slope gradually toward the Arctic ocean. The third 
 pair of continents, Africa and Australia, are also sim- 
 ilar not so much in their outline as in the fact that 
 the great mountain ranges of these continents follow 
 quite closely the coast line, leaving as the interior of 
 each an elevated, arid plateau. 
 
 Frye discusses the continents in a uniform manner, 
 which may be roughly outlined as follows : 
 
 1. Skeleton. 
 
 2. Flesh. 
 
 3. Circulating System. 
 
 4. Shore Forms. 
 
 It is not meant that a teacher can place this outline 
 upon the board when she comes to the study of any 
 given continent, and from it secure good work on the 
 part of her pupils. The outline, however, not only 
 covers the topics developed by Frye, but also the order 
 in which they are discussed. For our convenience it 
 may be necessary to examine this outline more in 
 detail. 
 
 By the skeleton of a continent is meant the rehVf 
 forms of that continent, the primary and secondary 
 axes and the arrangement of the plateaus. Upon this 
 skeleton the flesh of the continent, that is, the lowland, 
 is placed. (Make use of the seventh and eighth geo-
 
 Tltc Physical Geography oj the \\\>rld. 35 
 
 graphical principles.) Having thus determined the 
 highlands and lowlands, we are next to discuss the cir- 
 culating system ; but before the rivers can be decided 
 we must know the rainfall of a continent. In order to 
 know this we must take up the position of the heat 
 belts and the prevailing winds. (Revert to fifth geo- 
 graphical principle.) Having found out where the 
 precipitation takes place and the form in which it 
 comes, the pupil will determine the river systems of a 
 continent. (At this place make use of the first and 
 sixth geographical principles.) Having mastered these 
 three general topics, skeleton, flesh and circulating 
 system, the class can advance to the discussion of 
 shore forms, and see how they have been shaped by 
 the ocean in a manner either to promote or retard 
 commerce. (Make application of the fourth and eighth 
 principles.) This is the order in which Mr. Frye dis- 
 cusses each continent in detail. 
 
 When a new continent is taken up, the teacher 
 should compare that continent with the preceding one. 
 This is a most important point. Such comparisons 
 train judgment and give the pupil data from which he 
 may reason. These comparisons should bring out not 
 only the points of resemblance but the points of differ- 
 ence. By such means the central thought of this por- 
 tion of the book will be made clear. The pupil will 
 see for himself the unity which pervades the physical 
 geography of the earth, but will sec in that unity a 
 variety which is instructive and interesting. 
 
 In our lessons in reading and arithmetic we are very 
 careful to give what are designated as development
 
 36 How to TcacJi the Fryc Geographies. 
 
 lessons, by which we pave the way for that which is to 
 come from the study of the text. From our broader 
 experience we put the pupil in a position so that his 
 mind will be in a receptive attitude ; thus enabling 
 him to take up the work of the study period in a way 
 that will give him better returns for his labor. The 
 development lesson is even more necessary in geog- 
 raphy than in either reading or arithmetic. When a 
 new continent is taken up, turn to the physical map as 
 given in the book, or, what is better, a physical wall 
 map, hung before the pupils. Give a development 
 lesson upon the physical geography of the continent, 
 in which the pupils will be led to see that they can 
 read from the map nearly every important geographical 
 fact bearing upon the study. In truth, as the student 
 grows older, he will perceive, if rightly taught, that 
 the only things which he cannot read from the map 
 itself are the names which man has used to designate 
 the different regions. There is no law governing 
 these ; they are purely arbitrary.
 
 CHAITKR IV. 
 
 F rye's Primary Geography. Pages 55-86. 
 THE VITAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE WORLD. 
 
 IT is quite possible that the title given to this chap- 
 ter may not be the best that could have been selected, 
 and therefore it may be necessary to explain, in a word, 
 what is meant by the term " vital geography." As 
 here used, it means simply the geography of the animal 
 and vegetable world. For the purposes of this discus- 
 sion man will be classed among the other animals. In 
 thus classifying man we shall not undertake to treat of 
 his industrial and political progress, but shall consider 
 him strictly from an ethnological standpoint. 
 
 Possibly the first educational body to lay stress upon 
 vital geography was that branch of the National Edu- 
 cational Association which gave us the Report of the 
 Committee of Ten. They emphasized what is com- 
 monly called the "Humanistic side" of geography. 
 Before that report was issued Mr. Frye had, however, 
 written his text-books in which the broad principle was 
 laid down, if not in so many words, at least by implica- 
 tion, that, in a large measure, the vital geography of 
 the world grows out of, and is dependent upon, the 
 physical geography of the world. 
 
 Though treating such a general principle, Air. Frye
 
 38 How to Tcac/t tlic Fryc Gcograpiiics. 
 
 rea]izcd that he was writing for children, and that 
 abstract discussions would be utterly inadequate. He 
 therefore sought to establish his general conclusion by 
 such simple reasoning that even a child can grasp it. 
 
 This author introduces the children of America to 
 the children in the different parts of the earth. His 
 plan is much the same as that followed by Jane 
 Andrews in " Seven Little Sisters " and " Each and 
 All." The publishers have, however, made this text 
 differ from the Andrews texts in several important par- 
 ticulars, the most prominent of which is the great num- 
 ber of excellent illustrations found in the geography. 
 
 The chapter upon the people can be considered a 
 series of reading lessons, and should be supplemented 
 by corresponding lessons from such books as Butter- 
 worth's " Journeys," " Rollo's Tours " and Jane An- 
 drews's stories. The wide-awake teacher will bring to 
 the class many other books which will render real as- 
 sistance in this work. If, however, the lesson stops 
 simply with interesting the class with stories of the 
 little people in other parts of the world, the real and 
 vital question will be lost. Every pupil should see that 
 the physical surroundings of Tibbu, Chuglu, Mans, \Vil- 
 helm, the Arab children, the Indian children, the Lapp 
 children, the Malay children, the Japanese children and 
 the Chinese children are the chief factors in determining 
 the kind of a home they live in, the food they eat, the 
 clothing the}' wear, the games they play, the progress 
 they make and the occupations their parents pursue. 
 The child who grasps this great truth will have the 
 foundation upon which to build a substantial super-
 
 'J'hi Vital Geography of the ll'orld. 39 
 
 structure in support of the proposition that physical 
 environment determines in a large measure the posi- 
 tion any nation takes in the history of the world. 
 
 Following the chapter upon people is a chapter upon 
 Heat, Wind and Rain. It lias been suggested that 
 a few of the principles involved in this latter chapter 
 should be brought out and established before discussing 
 the physical geography of a continent. This seemed 
 necessary in order that pupils might correctly under- 
 stand the drainage of the various grand divisions. The 
 work of this chapter must now be examined a second 
 time, but for a different purpose. Rightly studied a 
 second time, this portion of the book will give the nec- 
 essary data from which to examine the flora and fauna 
 nf the world. One of the strongest features in Mr. 
 Krye's treatment of " lle;it, "Wind and Rain " is the 
 careful way in which he avoids scientific technicalities. 
 A few great truths are brought out, but they are 
 established without either laborious reasoning or the 
 phraseology of science. The teacher should profit by 
 the example so plainly set by the author. Children 
 who have reached this stage in their work are unable 
 to enter more deeply into the subject. Rudimentary 
 facts concerning heat, wind and rain are, however, nec- 
 essary for the study of the animal and vegetable life 
 of the world. The way in which the earth is heated, 
 the general causes for different degrees of temperature 
 at different portions of the earth, the various heat 
 belts, moisture as a necessary condition for fertile soil, 
 the interrelation of wind and rain and the causes of 
 seasons and their changes are the principles which
 
 40 Hoiij to TcacJi the Fiyc Geographies. 
 
 should be established at this point in the pupil's prog- 
 ress. If these principles are understood, the class 
 may safely advance to the discussion of plant and 
 animal life. 
 
 In Lesson 109 Mr. Frye gives the key to this por- 
 tion of the work. Note the two following sentences : 
 " Every plant grows best where it has the kind of soil 
 and the amount of water and heat that it needs." "All 
 over the earth plants search out the soil, heat and 
 moisture that best suit their needs." Here is the 
 statement of the doctrine of adaptation or, as it has 
 been previously put, the fact that the vegetable life of 
 the world grows out of, and is dependent upon, the 
 physical geography of the world. These two state- 
 ments, if given to the pupils without illustrations, will 
 fail to convey the real meaning. Undoubtedly, Lesson 
 109 is sufficient for a recitation. Still it can be read 
 in three minutes. The teacher must exemplify the 
 truth of the two statements made. To be sure, the 
 author gives several examples. These are, however, 
 but hints ; the teacher must have in mind many other 
 illustrations, not merely of a local character, but such 
 as will lead the child from the contemplation of local 
 vegetation to the vegetation of the great heat belts. 
 Let him see that the principle involved is one and 
 the same, whether we consider the pussy willow grow- 
 ing on the margin of a local stream or the stunted 
 growth within the Arctic circle. 
 
 In showing how plants search out the soil, heat and 
 moisture that best suit their needs, the teacher has an 
 opportunity to draw abundantly from the works of such
 
 The Vital GcograpJiy of the World. 41 
 
 teachers as Agassiz and Darwin. Even at this point 
 children can get a glimpse of that quiet but constant 
 and intense struggle throughout the vegetable world 
 which for ages past, and during the unending present, 
 gives us " the survival of the fittest." He who, with- 
 out ostentation, without pedantry, but with simplicity 
 and with candor, can teach at this time such an impor- 
 tant truth, has many of the elements of a great teacher. 
 
 Following Lesson 109 are four lessons in which 
 Mr. Frye gives us the names of the plants growing in 
 each of the heat belts. It would be quite possible in 
 this connection to require the child to memorize the 
 complete classified list of all plants mentioned. Such a 
 system would, however, fail utterly of the real intent of 
 the author. Notice that under the discussion of each 
 distinct belt there is a statement of the physical condi- 
 tions of that belt with reference to heat and moisture. 
 For example, in Lesson 110 we find this assertion: 
 "This belt (the Hot Belt) has a hot or a warm season 
 all the year, with plenty of rain. The hot belt is very 
 rich in plant life." Then follows the enumeration of a 
 number of plants which grow in the hot belt. Group 
 these all together and you have the general fact that 
 the important vegetable life of this belt is that which 
 produces fruit, which, without being cooked, serves 
 adequately as food. 
 
 In Lesson 1 1 1 we are informed that the physical 
 conditions of the warm belts are similar to those in 
 the hot belt, with the exception that in the former 
 there are long, hot summers and short, cool winters. 
 We would naturally expect the vegetable life to be
 
 42 I hnc to Teach tJic Frye Geographies. 
 
 similar to that of the hot belt. Though this similarity 
 exists, there is, however, a difference. The fruits are 
 not those which are calculated to sustain life, but to 
 add to its pleasure. We here meet for the first time 
 that cereal, rice, which will grow nearest the equator. 
 [Moreover, as there are short, cool winters in the 
 warm belt, Nature provides a plant which will furnish 
 material for clothing. This is the home of the cotton. 
 
 On each side of the warm belts are cool belts. Mr. 
 Frye tells us that the hot and cool seasons are of 
 about equal length. Note the characteristic vegeta- 
 tion. This is the home of the grass, the cereals and 
 the forest. Proceeding in our journey toward the 
 poles, we come next to the final heat belts, in which the 
 summers are short and the winters long. The mini- 
 mum growing season necessitates the most stunted 
 forms of vegetation. Food plants are unknown. 
 
 In the chapter on animals the same general princi- 
 ples are developed as in the chapter on plants. The 
 animal life depends upon its environment just as truly 
 as does the vegetable life. The dependence is not, 
 however, so absolute, owing to the fact that animals 
 have the power of locomotion and can move from place 
 to place. This fact makes it impossible to classify 
 them in regard to heat belts as accurately as we do 
 vegetable life. This is especially true with reference 
 to birds, which car, migrate from one region to another. 
 Mr. Frye recognizes these truths in that, while he 
 devotes a separate lesson to the plants of each heat 
 belt, he groups the animals of the heat belts in one 
 section. Though animals have the power of locomo-
 
 The Vital Geograpliy of the World. 43 
 
 tion, there are many barriers which they cannot cross. 
 Where such barriers intervene the animal life on the 
 different sides of the barrier is distinct. If animals 
 are left free to migrate, they will ultimately settle in 
 that region which is best suited for their development. 
 Here they will remain until the physical conditions 
 change or advancing civilization drives them to new 
 fields. 
 
 Though in the vegetable life there is ever a struggle 
 to determine "The survival of the fittest," this struggle 
 becomes a mere skirmish when compared with the con- 
 test going on in the animal world to determine what 
 forms of animal life shall survive. To the plants food 
 is brought by the air, soil and moisture. If it is not 
 thus tendered them, they die and a new form of vege- 
 tation springs up. Not so among the animals. Mr. 
 Frye aptly says : " All around us there is a struggle 
 for food." The animals must struggle for their own 
 food. Kindly Nature docs not offer it to them from an 
 open hand. In the effort to obtain the necessaries of 
 life they fight continuously and ultimately die. All 
 along the scale of animal life, from the lowest to the 
 highest, the great struggle is for something to eat. 
 Nature helps each by furnishing organs especially 
 adapted as weapons in this warfare. 
 
 The above facts show why Mr. Frye should give the 
 lessons on " The Teeth, Claws and Homes of Ani- 
 mals." Note the pictures on page 83. The elephant's 
 trunk is calculated to help him get his proper food. 
 The giraffe has a long neck, which enables him to 
 reach the branches of trees. The woodpecker has a
 
 44 I I oiv to TcacJi tJic ] : ryc GcognipJiics. 
 
 stiff, hard bill with which he picks holes into the 
 trunks of trees. The cluck has a shovel-shaped bill, 
 just fitted for digging in the mud. The ant-eater has 
 a nose and tongue suited to his manner of getting food. 
 The eagle's beak is well calculated to tear to pieces 
 his food, while that of the finch is naturally shaped for 
 cracking seeds. The humming bird has a bill with 
 which he can draw nectar from the deepest flower cup. 
 The hog can root in the ground. The tiger's paws are 
 obviously adapted for springing, catching and scratch- 
 ing. The duck's feet are just the kind to enable him 
 to walk best in the mud, while those of the camel have 
 the soft, yielding pads which make it possible for that 
 animal to travel over the sands of the desert. The 
 long, bare legs of the heron are such that that bird can 
 wade in deep water in search of food. The neck and 
 bill of this same bird are of the right shape and length 
 to work in harmony with the legs. The ostrich's feet 
 and lego are well adapted to running, while the eagle's 
 talons are so strong and firm that they can carry food 
 which the beak will afterward tear to pieces. The 
 clean, hard hoofs of the horse are the acme of perfec- 
 tion, their present form having been reached through 
 ages of development. 
 
 Keeping in mind the above facts, we shall readily see 
 the basis upon which Mr. J-'rye broadly classifies the 
 animal life of the various regions of the world. In the 
 hot belt the dominant animal life is carnivorous, with 
 all its inherited ferocity. In the temperate regions 
 the dominant animal life is herbivorous and is found in 
 greatest abundance where pasture lands are best. In
 
 The Vital (icograpliy of the ll'orld. 45 
 
 the polar regions, where vegetation is reduced to a 
 minimum, the animal life is again carnivorous, but is 
 largely aquatic or semi-aquatic. 
 
 A final thought is necessarv with reference to the rela- 
 
 o _/ 
 
 tion of animal and vegetable life to human food. While 
 animal life is most abundant in the tropics, the flesh of 
 animals living in the hot belt is not good food for 
 man, even if he felt disposed to eat it. In the region 
 of the equator man's food consists almost entirely of 
 fruits and vegetables. As we move toward the polar 
 regions cereals take the place of some of the fruits, 
 and as we go still larther men depend more upon meat 
 and less upon vegetables for sustenance. Finally, as 
 we approach the poles, the flesh of animals is used 
 entirely. It will thus be seen that the maximum 
 amount of food supply is given us by the vegetable 
 life in the tropics, and the minimum amount in the 
 polar regions ; while, on the other hand, the animal life 
 gives us the maximum amount in the polar regions and 
 the minimum amount in the tropics. In the temperate 
 regions these two sources of food are about evenly 
 balanced and man is best nourished.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 I ; rye' s Primarv Geography. J*ages 86-136. 
 
 THE POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE 
 WORLD. 
 
 THE next distinct portion of the book is that which 
 begins on page 86 and continues throughout the remain- 
 der of the text. This portion treats of the political and 
 commercial geography of the world. In teaching these 
 subjects Mr. Frye would have it constantly kept in mind 
 that the political geography and commercial geography 
 of the world grow out of, and are dependent upon, the 
 physical geography of the world. Notice how he intro- 
 duces on page 91 a relief map of the United States, in 
 order that it may be compared with the political map 
 found on the opposite page, and the product maps found 
 on the following pages. Every one of these maps should 
 be measured by the relief map. Much benefit will be 
 obtained by superimposing each in turn upon the relief 
 map. This is another recurrence of the foundation 
 principle of the book. Some teachers have thought 
 that these branches of geography should be brought 
 out immediately after the discussion of the physical 
 geography of each continent. Such, however, is not 
 Mr. Frye's plan. He keeps constantly in mind that 
 the earth must be studied as a unit. First, he discusses 
 
 16
 
 Political and Commercial Geography. 47 
 
 the world ridge ; second, the physical geography of the 
 earth ; third, the vital geography of the earth. Now he 
 takes up the business and commercial geography. In 
 each of these subdivisions the pupil is led to see that 
 subdivision in its relations, not merely to one continent, 
 however large that continent may be, but to the entire 
 world. It is, therefore, fitting that the author should 
 discuss the relation man bears to the earth as a unit. 
 The only place where the book deviates from this gen- 
 eral underlying principle is from page 129 to page 136, 
 where, in an appendix written by another author, a new 
 plan of treatment is given for the geography of certain 
 groups of states in order to give more details. It will, 
 however, be noticed that even this appendix is to be 
 studied only after the book has in reality been com- 
 pleted. This appendix is, moreover, partially justified 
 by the fact that many pupils drop out of school before 
 studying the larger book, \vhcrein they will find the 
 more explicit geography of that portion of the United 
 States in which they reside. If all children were sure 
 to study the "Complete Geography," this appendix, 
 treating of local geography, might safely be omitted. 
 
 In that portion of the book now under consideration 
 the child should get his principal instruction in the 
 geography of location. Here is where some attention 
 must be given to the old-fashioned drill. Pupils should 
 not be allowed to pass through the study of geography 
 without learning definitely the location of the most 
 prominent places on the surface of the earth. Such a 
 knowledge is of inestimable benefit in all subsequent 
 reading. In the examination of the maps given by
 
 48 JIou to Tcacli tiic Frye GcografJiics. 
 
 Mr. Frye the teacher will be struck with the fact that 
 the author gives names of but a few places. Almost 
 without exception those found in the " Primary Geog- 
 raphy " should be learned by pupils. If they know the 
 location of these places, their geography of location 
 will be sufficiently accurate for pupils of this grade. 
 
 It is to be observed that in the discussion of the 
 political and commercial geography of the world Mr. 
 Frye takes up the study of the continents in an entirely 
 different order from that followed when discussing the 
 physical geography. \Yhy this change ? Before, as 
 was noticed, the order is the order of increasing com- 
 plexity. Now the order is the order of diminishing 
 business and political importance as measured by the 
 standard of a citizen of the United States. Notice the 
 truth of this statement in the following arrangement of 
 grand divisions : United States, North America, South 
 America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Some 
 may fancy that Europe should precede South America, 
 but possibly, in placing the continents in the order 
 selected, Mr. Frye has grasped more accurately than 
 these critics the real present and future business and 
 political relations of the United States. 
 
 The way in which Mr. Frye treats the subject of 
 "The People of the United States" is decidedly differ- 
 ent from the way in which that topic is usually treated 
 by geographers. A few writers of history have, how- 
 ever, approached the theme from practically the same 
 standpoint. The average fifth grade pupil, in studying 
 the distribution of people in the United States, discov- 
 ers no laws governing that distribution, and the average
 
 Political and Commercial Geography. 49 
 
 grammar grade pupil, in studying the gradual settlement 
 and development of the United States, remains equally 
 in ignorance of the underlying principles. Possibly 
 writers have thought that these principles are either 
 too unimportant or else too difficult. Such, however, 
 is not the opinion of Mr. Frye. lie sees in the dis- 
 tribution of population and in the gradual settlement of 
 our country the same law which underlies the entire 
 subject of geography. In his mind the physical geog- 
 raphy of a country is the great determining force \vhich 
 decides all such questions. Adequately understanding 
 this, the pupil is able to know why cities are located in 
 some places and not in others, why population is more 
 dense in some states than in others, and why settlers 
 followed certain well-defined routes in their invasion of 
 the New West. Preceding the establishment of canals 
 and railroads, settlers followed the water courses through 
 the forests of the Middle States ; and these same water 
 courses served as highways along which they shipped 
 the products of their farms. Washington grasped this 
 thought over a hundred years ago, when, in the absence 
 of a natural water course connecting the head waters 
 of the Ohio with the head waters of the Chesapeake, 
 he sought to locate a canal between those points. He 
 recogni/ed this as the only way of keeping the great 
 Mississippi valley from either founding an independent 
 government or becoming a province of France or Spain. 
 Similarly, he himself inspected a canal route between 
 the Great Lakes and the Hudson river, hoping thereby 
 to establish a means of communication between the val- 
 ley of the Great Lakes and the .Atlantic seaboard, and
 
 50 Hoii* to Teach the Fryc Geographies . 
 
 thus unite the great Northwest to the Atlantic States 
 by the ties of commercial interest. To his mind the 
 physical geography of these regions was so important 
 that it became a determining factor in maintaining the 
 integrity of that country whose independence he had 
 secured. His dreams were ultimately realized, even 
 more fully than he expected. 
 
 Mr. Frye's method of presenting the business inter- 
 ests of the United States to a fifth grade child is unique. 
 Notice how he takes up each great product in turn, 
 giving a map illustrating the locality especially adapted 
 for this product. He gives the physical conditions 
 necessary for producing each great staple. As a means 
 of assisting the pupil in determining these physical con- 
 ditions it will be well to require the child, as previously 
 suggested, to superimpose each of these maps upon the 
 physical map of the United States. He will thus learn 
 why the cotton belt is in one region, the corn belt in 
 another and the wheat belt in a third. Take next in 
 connection with each of these maps the paragraph found, 
 on page 100, which reads as follows : " Every producing 
 region needs one or more shipping points. These be- 
 come centers of trade. They should be within easy 
 reach of all parts of the region, and should connect by 
 water, rail or other route with the markets of the world." 
 Require the pupil to determine the centers of trade tor 
 each region studied. lie will, bv this process, learn the 
 reason for the location of cities. It is not enough, how- 
 ever, to know where cotton is rnised, how and where it 
 is collected. The pupil must know where the cotton is 
 manufactured into cloth. This will establish the loca-
 
 Political an/I Commercial Geography. 5 i 
 
 tion not only of New Orleans and Galvcston but of Bos- 
 ton, Lowell and Manchester as well. Having discov- 
 ered the collecting and manufacturing centers, the next 
 question is, " What are the routes of trade between these 
 points?" Xor is the inquiry yet complete. The next 
 natural question that arises is, "What are the markets 
 for the manufactured cotton ?" When the child has 
 determined this question and the routes of trade between 
 the manufacturing centers and these markets, he has 
 completed the geography of cotton. In a similar way 
 let him discuss wool, wheat, forests, beef, cattle, coal 
 and iron. True, in some of these the manufacturing 
 centers are not so concentrated as in the case of cotton, 
 but they are nevertheless quite distinctly marked. The 
 cities where cattle and hogs are changed to beef and 
 pork can be definitely located. The interrelation of 
 coal and iron will determine the great smelting cities 
 of the world. It will thus IDC seen that whenever a 
 producing area is discussed its physical conditions must 
 1)0 first determined, then the area over which these con- 
 ditions prevail, then the collecting and distributing de- 
 pots for the area, then the manufacturing centers, then 
 the routes of trade between the collecting depots and 
 the manufacturing centers, then the markets for the 
 finished product, then the routes of trade between the 
 manufacturing centers and the markets, and, finally, 
 the interrelation between certain great departments of 
 business enterprise. 
 
 It is suggested that in this connection it will be 
 interesting and instructive to allow the pupil to super- 
 impose one product map upon another, in order that
 
 52 How to Teach the Frye Geographies. 
 
 he may determine for himself what regions of the 
 country depend for their prosperity upon simply one- 
 line of business, and what regions have diversified occu- 
 pations. Our fifth grade boy will then be able to 
 decide what localities are least liable to periods of 
 business depression. 
 
 The class which has followed the study of the geog- 
 raphy of the United States according to the plans 
 suggested will have learned the reason for every great 
 city in the country and the principal land and water 
 routes connecting these cities. This plan, faithfully 
 carried out, will determine quite largely the answer to 
 that perplexing question which often arises in the mind 
 of the teacher, "What cities shall I require my class to 
 memorize?" Possibly the only additional cities which 
 the pupils should learn are those which owe their 
 importance to political or educational interests. Every 
 fifth grade child should know the capital of every state 
 and the seats of our great universities. 
 
 Having mastered somewhat in detail the political 
 and commercial geography of the United States, the 
 pupil advances to the discussion of these same branches 
 in each of the grand divisions of the world. The 
 underlying principle which we found in the discussion 
 of the geography of the United States must be retained 
 in all subsequent similar investigations. True, we 
 shall not be able to go so much into detail, but still the 
 pupil must understand that the political and commer- 
 cial geography of every continent are the direct out- 
 growth of the physical geography of that continent. 
 When he studies South America, he must observe that
 
 Political ami Commercial (icograpliy. 53 
 
 the physical conditions of Brazil are such as make 
 that country a great coffee country. lie must learn 
 that Rio de Janeiro is the collecting and distributing 
 depot for this product. He must determine the great 
 markets for coffee, and then sec by what means coffee- 
 is carried from Rio de Janeiro to those markets. Simi- 
 larly, he must discuss the wheat and cattle industries 
 of the valley of the Rio de la Plata, the sheep industry 
 of Australia, the diamond fields of South Africa, the 
 wheat fields of Russia and India, the cotton of India, 
 the rice of China and the coal and iron of England. 
 
 Throughout all this discussion he must observe the 
 natural routes of travel between trade centers, must 
 see how Xaturc has fashioned certain harbors so that 
 there may be established on their shores termini for 
 routes of trade, must know where man has improved 
 these natural routes of trade ; for example, in the con- 
 struction of the Erie, Suez and Manchester canals, and, 
 finally, how he has established great trunk lines of 
 international railways along the lines of least resistance. 
 
 In the discussion of the political geography of the 
 world, he must learn the forms of government and 
 capitals of the different countries. When he studies 
 boundaries of different countries he should follow along 
 lines suggested in the first chapter, and determine the 
 effects of certain natural boundaries upon the life of 
 the people. With fifth grade children this work must 
 be given largely by the teacher. Yet the children will 
 be able to grasp enough of it to help them to compre- 
 hend in a large measure why the chief boundaries of 
 the different countries are in certain positions.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Frye' s Complete Geography. Pages 1-27. 
 
 THE NATURAL FORCES THAT HAVE SHAPED AND ARE 
 SHAPING THE EARTH FOR THE HOME OF MAN. 
 
 IN taking up the work of F rye's second book we may 
 fairly suppose that the author will follow the same 
 general lines of thought carried forward in the first 
 book. As a matter of fact, a real unity pervades both 
 texts. This unity is manifested not merely in the 
 arrangement of material, but in the foundation principle. 
 Air. Frye has written a second book which is adapted 
 for more mature minds than is the first. A few addi- 
 tional principles are brought out, but in the main he 
 has given us broader and more definite views of these 
 principles which he formerly stated in the simplest 
 manner. Possibly the purport of the second book can 
 be illustrated by the statement that the author uses a 
 larger magnifying glass through which to look at the 
 world. We must remember that a greater magnifying 
 power means a smaller field of view. This point is 
 nicely illustrated by the different way in which Mr. 
 Frye treats the geography of the United States. lie- 
 now breaks that country into sections, each section in 
 turn passing under more careful scrutiny of the more 
 mature pupil. 
 
 54
 
 Natural Forces that Ilai'c Shaped the Ii firth. 55 
 
 While in the second book, as in the first, Mr. Fryc 
 seeks to show that the other forms of geography grow 
 out of, and are dependent upon, physical geography, 
 he nevertheless recognizes that the pupils for whom he 
 is writing are more mature. In the first book there are 
 very few statements of bare facts. That book is neither 
 didactic nor expository. In the second book this plan 
 is changed. The author, in column after column of 
 the first twenty-six pages, gives the reader definite, 
 clean-cut statements, pregnant with truth. His style 
 is concise and explicit. It is taken for granted that 
 the pupil is now mature enough to grasp these truths, 
 lersely stated, and that if he has any difficulty it is the 
 teacher's business to lead him to the comprehension of 
 these truths by processes similar to those used by the 
 author in his first book. Formerly the pupil was led 
 to discover new truths by means of investigation. Now 
 the truth is presented to him in definite form, and he 
 must reflect upon it, using it as a basis for more general 
 conclusions. This is the essential point of difference 
 between the " Primary Geography " and the " Complete 
 Geography." In other respects the books are similar. 
 
 \Yhen Mr. Frye introduced the primary student to 
 geography he sought to establish, by observation and 
 inductive reasoning, several great geographic principles. 
 These principles he used in all his subsequent treatment 
 of the subject, nor does he now discard them. He, 
 however, recognizes that the human mind is ever 
 attempting to reach more general conclusions, that the 
 work of the greatest philosopher is to reduce human 
 knowledge to the most general propositions possible.
 
 5 6 I foi^' to Teach the Ptyc GeograpJdcs. 
 
 Of this universal principle he now wishes to make 
 practical application. No longer is it sufficient that 
 the child shall see that there are nine great geographic 
 principles. These must now be grouped, in order that 
 the pupil shall appreciate in their most general state- 
 ment the great forces which are at work transforming 
 the surface of the earth so that it may be used as the 
 abode of man. Reduced thus, the pupil will see that 
 there are but three forces at work : the physical forces, 
 the chemical forces and the life forces. Possibly if 
 the author were to write a third book, adapted to even 
 more mature minds, he would group the last two forces 
 in one comprehensive principle, and thus specify that 
 in the fined solution of this question the student of 
 geography need consider but two great forces in active 
 operation upon the earth's surface. 
 
 In Chapter I we called attention to the fact that the 
 principal lines of human activity are agriculture, man- 
 ufacturing, mining and transportation ; and we also 
 showed, in a general way, h<>\v physical geography con- 
 tributes to an adequate understanding of these forms 
 of industry. In attempting to discuss ho\v the eartli 
 has been, and is being, prepared for the home of man, 
 we must remember the chief characteristics of man's 
 abode ; wheat arc the essentials of a good agricultural 
 district; what makes a good manufacturing locality; 
 under what conditions can mining be profitably fol- 
 lowed ; how, where and why is transportation carried 
 on ; where do people live and why do they live in those 
 places ? Keeping in mind these questions, we shall be 
 able to see more clearly how the physical, chemical and
 
 Natural Forces tJiat I fai'c Shaped (lie ] : ,arlh. 57 
 
 life forces arc aiding in the solution of these problems 
 which arise in the field of humanistic geography. 
 
 One other thought must preface the accurate analysis 
 of this portion of the text. Many of us were taught 
 years ago that the earth came from the hand of its 
 Maker complete in every detail, and just as it is at the 
 present time. When our minds were disabused of this 
 idea the awakening was both rude and painful. We 
 found it difficult to adjust our faith to the idea that the 
 world was never completed, is not now completed and 
 never will be completed. Still, science left us no alter- 
 native, and we finally were forced to the belief that the 
 world is being made in the unending present ; that the 
 forces which are now at work are the forces which have 
 been at work since the foundations of the earth were 
 laid ; that these forces are as busy now as they ever 
 have been, and that the changes are now as rapid as 
 were the average changes in geologic times. The child 
 who is taught by the more modern method gets a truer 
 appreciation ot the element of time in the construction 
 of the earth. Ravines, gorges, glacial marks, coral 
 reefs, subsidence of continents and the formation of 
 plains all impress upon the youthful mind that in the 
 workshop of Nature "A thousand years are but as yes- 
 terday and as a watch in the night when it is past." 
 Mr. I'Yye deserves some credit tor the way in which 
 he has brought this thought to the school children of 
 America. Thereby, in the study of the onlv science 
 which is taught all school children, he lavs the founda- 
 
 o j 
 
 tion lor a more correct knowledge of real scientific 
 truth.
 
 5 8 How to Teach the Frye Geographies. 
 
 The physical forces which Mr. Frye shows as busily 
 at work in fashioning the surface of the earth are water, 
 heat and wind. Sometimes these act separately, but 
 more often in unison. The chemical forces are seen 
 at work in the decomposition of rock, in the formation 
 of caverns, in the production of carbonic acid gas and 
 in the purification of the atmosphere. The life forces 
 operate in covering banks with vegetation, in producing 
 vegetable mold, in building coral reefs and in forming 
 great limestone strata. The intimate relation existing 
 between the chemical and life forces is apparent in that 
 nearly every change brought about by life or death is 
 a chemical change. The pupil who finishes the first 
 twenty-seven pages of this book, with his scientific 
 knowledge thus clarified and systematized, will have 
 laid a good foundation for subsequent study, either in 
 the laboratory or the home. Such a knowledge will 
 help to banish superstition and enthrone reason. 
 
 Some teachers have a tendency to instruct their 
 pupils relative to detached and separate items of truth, 
 each of itself valuable, but taken as a whole entirely 
 disconnected. This tendency should be overcome. 
 Here, within a few pages, Mr. Frye sets an example. 
 The location of the oceans, the causes and effects 
 of rainfall, the formation of springs and streams, the 
 transporting power of rivers, the work of snow and 
 ice, the formation of river systems by means of basins 
 and divides, the erosive power of rivers, the building of 
 flood plains and deltas, the shaping of coastal plains 
 and lake plains, the fashioning of shore forms, the 
 movements of waves, the flow of ocean currents and
 
 Natural Forces t/iat 1 fare Shaped tlic Earth. 59 
 
 the throbbing of tides arc all set forth as the means 
 whereby Nature is using water in shaping the earth for 
 the home of man. Moreover, when thus viewed, the 
 intimate relation existing between these various forms 
 is abundantly illustrated. None of them aet alone, all 
 work together. 
 
 Similarly, the author unifies the work of heat. The 
 simplicity with which he discusses the way in which the 
 earth is heated and lighted leaves little to be desired. 
 The teacher who will follow the text closely, supple- 
 menting it with the use of a globe, will escape many 
 perplexing questions and still give her pupils those 
 portions of this much discussed question which they 
 are able to understand, and upon which scientists are 
 agreed. Here the author lays the foundation for 
 mathematical geography. Enough is given to show 
 how the location of the tropics and Arctic circle 
 are determined by the inclination of the earth's axis 
 and the movements of the earth about the sun. The 
 pupil can thus see for himself that these lines are not 
 arbitrarily determined. The reasons why heat belts 
 are not constant and isotherms are not parallel to the 
 equator are also shown to depend upon the physical 
 structure of the earth. To assist the pupil in gaining 
 a clearer conception of some of the fundamental prin- 
 ciples of mathematical geography, the following experi- 
 ments are suggested : 
 
 Drive in a south window sill a long vertical nail from 
 which the head has been cut. Let it project above the 
 sill about three inches. Require the class to measure 
 the shadow cast by this nail at noon each month of the
 
 60 How to Teach tlic Fryc Geographies. 
 
 school year, being sure to obtain the accurate length of 
 the shadow at the time of the spring and autumn equi- 
 noxes and the winter and summer solstices. Preserve 
 a record of all observations. Let the class draw con- 
 clusions with reference to the height of the sun at the 
 different seasons of the year. Next erect in a south 
 window a north and south vertical plain, such as a 
 sheet of stiff paper. Place some opaque object, as the 
 point of a lead pencil, near the south edge of this plain ; 
 note and mark the direction of the shadow cast by this 
 point on the plain at noon. Transfer this line, showing 
 the direction of the shadow, to a blackboard on the 
 west side of the room, being careful to preserve the 
 exact inclination. Leave these lines on the blackboard 
 throughout the season. Represent their direction at 
 the time of the solstices and equinoxes by different col- 
 ored crayons. Make the observations every time you 
 measure the length of the sun's shadow. Draw conclu- 
 sions with reference to the direction of the sun's rays 
 at the different seasons of the year. Compare these 
 conclusions with those reached by measuring the length 
 of the shadow. Let pupils determine for themselves 
 the relations existing between the height of the sun 
 and the seasons of the year. 
 
 Quite properly the author groups in very close rela- 
 tion Winds and Rainfall. Correctly to understand this 
 twofold problem it is necessary to know something of 
 the laws governing the mixture of warm and cold air, 
 the general direction of prevalent winds and the con- 
 ditions governing evaporation and precipitation. These 
 are topics which are usually taught in the department
 
 Natural 1'orccs that Have Shaped tlic luirtli. 61 
 
 of physics. If a teacher's knowledge on these points 
 is not correct and accurate, she should carefully review 
 the subjects as discussed in a first-class text-book on 
 physics before trying to teach this portion of the 
 geography. Granted, however, that her knowledge is 
 sufficient, Mr. F rye's presentation of these points is 
 clear enough to enable pupils to get correct ideas not 
 only of facts, but of general laws. This part of the 
 book demands that the teacher's knowledge of the sub- 
 ject must be more extensive than that covered by the 
 words of the text. 1'robably no other phase of phys- 
 ical geography will be more often referred to or more 
 frequently used than that chapter which treats of winds 
 and rainfall. Knowing the winds, rainfall and relief 
 form of any continent, the pupil will more and more 
 appreciate the fact that he can predicate, without study- 
 ing the exact text, the forms of animal and vegetable 
 life, not only native to any given locality, but which 
 may be introduced into that locality. lie will see that 
 possibly these agencies have the most to do in fashion- 
 ing the surface of the earth so that it is adapted to 
 agriculture, manufacturing and transportation.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 J-'rvt~'s Complete Geography. Pages 2~-QQ, 
 THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE CONTINENTS. 
 
 Ix this portion of the book the principles governing 
 the order of presentation of continents ancl allotment 
 of space are different from those which obtained in the 
 corresponding portion of the smaller geography. The 
 grand divisions are no longer discussed in the order of 
 their increasing complexity, but in the probable order 
 of their diminishing importance to the future Ameri- 
 can citizen. Mr. Frye has undoubtedly been led to 
 depart from the scientific arrangement of his subject- 
 matter because so many pupils are compelled to leave 
 school before having an opportunity to finish the 
 "Complete Geography." Such pupils should be famil- 
 iar with the geography of North America, South 
 America and Europe, even though the}- have no oppor- 
 tunity to amplify their general knowledge of the other 
 three continents. 
 
 Of the seventy-two pages devoted to the physical 
 features of the continents a little more than one third 
 are devoted to North America; and of the twenty-five 
 pages thus used, the greater number are given to the 
 United States. Mr. Frye himself states in a footnote 
 on page 30 why this apportionment of space is made : 
 
 62
 
 The Physical Geography of the Continents. 63 
 
 " Not only because we ought to know the geography 
 of our own country, but also because a full knowledge 
 of the surface and resources of our land affords the 
 best key to its history." The full import of this state- 
 ment should be grasped by the teacher of geography 
 and the teacher of history. When it is fully compre- 
 hended the real basis for the correlation of these 
 branches will be understood. 
 
 The arrangement of the text in the " Complete 
 Geography " presupposes that the pupil has completed 
 the " Primary Geography." In the study of an}' given 
 portion of the larger book, the teacher should, therefore, 
 make use of the pupil's general geographical knowledge 
 of the entire world ; whereas, in using the smaller book, 
 the teacher is always confronted with the fact that 
 there is ever before the pupil an unexplored region, 
 which is either a land of terror or a land of promise, 
 according to the way it is approached. The attitude of 
 the child's mind is different in the study of the two 
 books. While studying the smaller, it is comparable 
 to that of an explorer who traverses an unknown 
 region ; while studying the larger, it is comparable to 
 that of the prospective settler who examines a locality 
 to determine the most promising site for a settlement. 
 With the "Primary Geography" each pupil is a LaSalle ; 
 with the "Complete Geography" he is a Daniel Boone. 
 This difference is recognized by Air. Erye. Note the 
 way he treats the physical geography ot Xorth America 
 in the two books. Every general topic discussed in the 
 large book is touched upon in the smaller. There is a 
 difference, however. In the primary book two columns
 
 C>4 lloii 1 to Tench the Fryc Geographies. 
 
 are devoted to the Rocky mountains ; in the complete 
 text these mountains with their subdivisions are given 
 eighteen larger columns. The detail is filled in. An 
 important principle governs the selection of such detail. 
 The average teacher introduces simply the description 
 of scenery. Railway folders, photographs, personal 
 narrative are all used to interest the class and make 
 more vivid the pupils' mental pictures. Such descrip- 
 tions are entertaining and possibly have their place. 
 Still this is not teaching geography. Observe Mr. 
 F rye's first sentence in his "Complete Geography": 
 "This book describes the earth as our home." In our 
 last chapter we showed that in the first twenty-six 
 pages of his "Complete Geography" the author treats 
 of those forces which have shaped and are shaping the 
 earth for the home of man. In the next seventy-two 
 pages he describes that home. To the student of geog- 
 raphy the Willamette valley is of vastly more impor- 
 tance than the Yellowstone park, simply because it is 
 the home of a thriving people rather than the stopping 
 place of an occasional tourist. The entertaining descrip- 
 tions of snow-capped mountains, with their precipitous 
 sides and deep gorges, are not the material with which 
 the geography lesson or text should be filled. This is 
 the prope r ty of the lecturer, the essayist and the kodak 
 fiend. What relation do the mountains in question 
 bear to mining? I low do thev affect the winds and 
 
 J 
 
 rainfall of neighboring lowlands? I low do they serve- 
 as a barrier to commerce, a defense to a nation, a 
 boundary for a race? These are the questions which 
 should engage the attention of teacher and pupil. Such
 
 The Physical (icograpliy of the Continents. 65 
 
 is the detail with which, in his " Complete Geography," 
 I\lr. Erye fills in the large outline drawn in his "Primary 
 Geography." 
 
 The pupil who is engaged with this portion of the 
 book is supposed to have attained a maturity both 
 as to study and age which enables him to undertake 
 the solution of certain geographical problems. Such 
 mental effort will not only test his real knowledge of 
 principles, but will help develop his reasoning powers. 
 It is therefore suggested that some time be given to 
 such questions as the following: 
 
 Suppose the Coast Range mountains were higher 
 tli an the Sierra Nevada, what effect would this have 
 upon the rainfall of central California ? 
 
 Suppose the Coast Range and Sierra Nevada moun- 
 tains to remain at their present altitudes, but the former 
 to extend unbroken along the western coast, how would 
 the interior of California be changed ? 
 
 If the Sierra Nevada mountains were lowered to the 
 height of the Coast Range, how would it affect the 
 rainfall of California? of Nevada? 
 
 \Yhat effect would increasing the velocity of the 
 lower Mississippi have upon the character of the soil 
 deposited along its banks and at its mouth ? 
 
 Compare central North America with central Eurasia. 
 Suppose a body of water equal to the Great Lakes were 
 placed in the north central part of Eurasia, how would it 
 affect the extremes of heat and cold in that continent ? 
 
 I low does cutting the forests around the head waters 
 of a river affect the river ? Study in this connection 
 the Hudson and Rhone.
 
 66 How to Teach tltc Fryc Geographies. 
 
 Account for the rainfall in the valley of the Po. 
 
 If the velocity of the Nile could be increased, how 
 would it affect the delta at the mouth of that river ? 
 
 Suppose the trade winds should stop blowing, how 
 would that affect the vegetation of South America? 
 
 Suppose water contracted when freezing, how would 
 that affect the rivers and lakes in the temperate zones ? 
 
 If water contracted when freezing, would rocks 
 weather more or less rapidly then they do now ? 
 
 Suppose, owing to the elevation of the ocean bottom, 
 the Gulf stream were deflected so that it flowed straight 
 east from Florida to Europe, what would be some of 
 the probable results ? 
 
 Suppose the axis of the earth were inclined 15, 30, 
 or 45, what would be the width of the various zones 
 in each case ? 
 
 It is not intended that the above serve as a complete 
 list of such problems nor that their solution shall con- 
 stitute a regular class exercise. Whenever pupils are 
 called upon to discuss such questions they should be 
 required to give the course of reasoning by which they 
 arrive at conclusions. If, starting from supposed data, 
 a boy can reason logically and arrive at the proper 
 conclusion, it is fair to suppose that he has such a 
 knowledge of principles that his conclusions drawn 
 from the examination of actual data will be sound. 
 This plan of work tests his comprehension of under- 
 lying geographical principles. 
 
 The relief maps found in this portion of the book- 
 should be studied and constantly consulted by both 
 teacher and pupil. They constitute as distinct and im-
 
 The Physical Gcografliy of t lie Continents. 67 
 
 portant a feature as do the words of the text. With- 
 out them pupils would often fail utterly to understand 
 the true relation physical geography bears to other 
 branches of the science. By omitting all names and 
 boundary lines from these maps the author enables the 
 student to fix his entire attention upon relief forms. 
 Kvery line and every piece of shading contribute to 
 the one end in view. As location of places is neces- 
 sary in order to use the relief maps intelligently when 
 studying the text or discussing the lesson, the author 
 has hit upon the plan of printing key maps on the oppo- 
 site pages. Many teachers use these maps, the relief 
 and the key, simply in connection with the lesson called 
 "Map Studies" which accompanies each relief map. 
 Such use of these maps is wrong. True, they are to 
 be used with the map studies, but they are also to be 
 used with nearly every lesson in the book. They con- 
 stitute a great object lesson which should continually 
 confront both pupil and teacher, showing ever that 
 political geography, commercial geography and vital 
 geography grow out of, and are dependent upon, phys- 
 ical geography. As well drop Ilamlet from Shakes- 
 peare's great drama as omit the relief maps from 
 Frye's geographies. 
 
 Permit a few illustrations : 
 
 On page 81 we find the statement: "The Scandi- 
 navian peninsula is in the path of the moist westerly 
 winds. The steep western slopes therefore receive 
 much heavier rainfall than the lowland on the east." 
 Turn to the relief map on page 74 and reinforce this 
 statement. Next direct the pupils' attention to the
 
 68 Iloii' to TcacJi tJic Fiyc GcograpJiics. 
 
 relief form of France and the Netherlands. Discuss 
 the prevalent winds and permit pupils to prophesy the 
 rainfall. Now turn to Lesson 84 and see if the prog- 
 nostications are correct. 
 
 Read on page 65 concerning the Indus and Brahma- 
 putra rivers. Note how they rush through narrow 
 deep valleys, cutting for themselves pathways in the 
 solid rock and breaking down that which impedes their 
 progress. Turn to the relief maps on page 62 and see 
 how such a condition is represented. Observe next 
 the Hoang-Ho river and permit the pupils to draw 
 their own conclusions concerning the rapidity of this 
 stream and the nature of the valley through which it 
 flows. Let them next read a paragraph or two on page 
 
 69 and see if their reasoning is correct. 
 
 Taught thus, pupils will soon learn that a relief map 
 is an open page from which can be read as easily as 
 from print much of the geography of a continent. 
 The ever recurring question should be, "What does 
 the relief map say ? " The ability to read a map is one 
 of the greatest advantages to be derived from the study 
 of geography. 
 
 We learn much by comparison. It is upon the rela- 
 tion that one item of knowledge bears to other items 
 that its chief, if not its total, value depends. It is not 
 only true that " Xo man liveth unto himself alone," 
 but it is equally true that no knowledge standeth by 
 itself alone. Later we shall apply this principle to the 
 study of commercial geography ; now we shall use it 
 with reference to physical geography. 
 
 On studying any given continent be sure to compare
 
 'The Physical (icography of t lie Continents. 69 
 
 it with continents previously studied. These compari- 
 sons should bring' out both points of resemblance and 
 points of contrast. When all continents have been 
 considered in this manner take up in succession such 
 features as highlands, lowlands, river systems, shore 
 forms. Make each feature a general topic and study 
 it with reference to all continents. This plan will give 
 the pupils a series of cross-references concerning geo- 
 graphical data. 
 
 Let us illustrate. Suppose the continents have been 
 studied in turn and each compared with the others. 
 Mow shall the physical geography of the world be 
 reviewed ? To go back over the book in the order it 
 was first studied will awaken little interest and make 
 nugatory the study period of pupils. ]>oys and girls 
 will think they know it all and will not attempt to pre- 
 pare their lessons. If, however, the teacher assigns 
 such a general topic as The Lowlands of the World, 
 then subdivides it so as to bring out their location 
 with reference to continents, zones and prevalent winds, 
 their rainfalls, their drainage, their climate and their 
 ability or inability to support a population, she will 
 arouse intense interest and provoke enthusiastic study. 
 For the benefit of the slower pupils it will be well to 
 give definite references to the pages where these topics 
 are treated. The average pupil will, however, do most 
 of this studying by simply comparing the relief maps, 
 "A consummation most devoutly to be wished." A final 
 review of the continents conducted along these lines 
 rearranges the fragmentary knowledge a pupil has 
 previously gained, so that he no longer sees each con-
 
 /o How to Teach the Fryc Geographies. 
 
 tincnt by itself, but rather the entire earth as a unit. 
 Thus, starting in the " Primary Geography " with the 
 thought that the earth is a unit, he returns at the con- 
 clusion of his study of physical geography in the larger 
 book to the same idea, the earth is a unit. Analy- 
 sis, then synthesis, has been the order. The circle is 
 complete. The unity to which the pupil returns is 
 different from the unity from which he started. His 
 new unity is made up of infinite variety, yet so harmon- 
 ized that there is no confusion. Thus taught, the 
 child need take but one more step to come face to face 
 with the vitalizing thought that there is a Something 
 which plans and controls world forces so that they work 
 together in complete accord. 
 
 Such we believe to be the general thought pervading 
 this portion of Frye's " Complete Geography."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 J''rvc' s Complete Gco^raphv. J\i cs <)Q-fi<-)- 
 VITAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 THE general principles governing the corresponding 
 portion of the smaller book, as described in Chapter 
 IV, will be found to obtain in the work now before us. 
 As the pupils are two years older than when they began 
 the study of vital geography, the author brings to their 
 consideration some new truths which were beyond their 
 comprehension at the earlier period. 
 
 Teachers and pupils, when studying the races of men, 
 plants and animals, should keep constantly in mind the 
 fact that F rye's " Complete Geography" "describes the 
 earth as our home." 
 
 One of the most important relations that physical 
 geography bears to racial geography is set forth by 
 Air. Frye in the statement: "The home of each 
 race is bounded on nearly all sides by oceans, deserts 
 or lofty highlands." The author follows this generali- 
 zation with several illustrations, then emphasizes it in 
 the study of each separate race, and finally clinches the 
 thought in his Review of the Races, as found in Les- 
 son 104. Much, however, is left for the teacher. She 
 must bring pupils to see the reason which underlies this 
 condition. When they comprehend that the primitive 
 
 7 1
 
 "2 Huti 1 to Teach tJic Fryc Geographies. 
 
 races could not cross oceans, deserts or lofty highlands, 
 they will have mastered a truth that will be of much 
 subsequent use to them. Starting from this fundamen- 
 tal proposition, lead the pupils to see that as the races 
 became more civilized they worked their way through 
 mountain passes into new valleys, from oasis to oasis 
 across barren deserts into new fertile regions, along 
 dangerous coasts to new islands. Tell of the Teutonic 
 invasion of central Europe, the exploits of Hengist and 
 Ilorsa, the journeyings of Lief Kricson. Boys and girls 
 will quickly see that the means of communication were 
 still so difficult that settlements planted under such 
 circumstances could have very little communication 
 with the original race. In time there would thus 
 spring up the various subdivisions of the five great 
 races, each with its own peculiarities, but each in turn 
 having certain characteristics which plainly designate 
 the parent race to which it belongs. Do not stop here. 
 Lead the pupil to take one more step. Having taken 
 it, he will see that as civilization advanced man discov- 
 ered means of communication, no matter how difficult 
 the barriers which separated tribes, nations or races. 
 After inventing the compass he was no longer obliged to 
 skirt the coast, but could boldly venture across seas and 
 oceans. Commerce as well as discovery came with this 
 invention. Military roads were the precursors of tunnels, 
 bridges and railways. The tendency of to-day is to break 
 down barriers and to bring the different races into closer 
 touch. The civilizing influence of commerce, made pos- 
 sible by modern invention, is a principle with which even 
 grammar grade pupils should be familiar.
 
 Vital Geography. 73 
 
 While considering the effects of mountains, oceans 
 and deserts upon the organization of races and their 
 subdivisions, it will be well to illustrate with examples 
 and story the relation the physical features of the 
 world bear to the military and political history of the 
 nations. The Alleghanies, the Pyrenees, the Alps, 
 the Dardanelles, the English channel, the Danube, 
 the Nile, Khyber pass and the Atlantic ocean have 
 each borne an important part in determining the rise 
 and fall of dynasties and nations. The stories of 
 which they form the nuclei are more fascinating than 
 romance they are a key to history. 
 
 Coupled closely with the thought relative to the 
 effect of oceans, deserts and lofty highlands upon the 
 separation of the human family into races is another ; 
 viz., the original homes of populous races were in 
 fertile valleys where indigenous food grew in abun- 
 dance ; and, even to the present day, the population 
 of the world is located in the lowlands rather than the 
 highlands. The teacher who cares to reinforce what 
 Air. Frye says upon this subject can read \vith pleas- 
 ure and profit certain portions of Buckle's " History 
 of Civilization in England," especially his General 
 Introduction. 
 
 This s:ime chapter from Buckle will acquaint the 
 teacher with many interesting facts bearing upon the 
 relation of physical geography, including climate, to 
 the development of the different races. Though more 
 recent writers dispute some of Buckle's conclusions, 
 his leading premises are undoubtedly correct. Mr. 
 Erye would have pupils understand that the Caucasian
 
 74 How to TcacJi the Fryc Geographies. 
 
 is the race whose history is marked by achievement, 
 whose influence makes for civilization. Moreover, he 
 would have them see that this same race has been more 
 fortunate than any other in its physical environment. 
 
 Instructors who teach Air. Frye's chapter upon the 
 Races of Men, according to the preceding suggestions, 
 will lay a correct foundation for the subsequent study 
 of history, whether their pupils pursue that line of 
 investigation in school or by private reading. 
 
 In teaching the chapters upon Plants and Animals, it 
 should be remembered that from the standpoint of the 
 geographer plants and animals are important in propor- 
 tion as they minister to the needs of men or influence 
 geographical conditions. Plants may assist man by 
 furnishing him with food, clothing, fuel or building 
 material ; may hinder him by the luxuriance of vegeta- 
 tion. They always exercise a direct influence upon 
 rainfall and temperature. Animals help man by assist- 
 ing as beasts of burden or by furnishing him with food, 
 clothing and occasionally fuel. 
 
 The first question in studying the flora of any region 
 is : What are the climatic effects of the vegetation ? 
 The second : Does this vegetation assist or retard 
 civili/.ation ? Of course it is not sufficient to answer 
 these questions with monosyllables. They are intended 
 to open up lines of discussion. Having discovered the 
 general effects of the vegetation, the teacher should 
 next lead the pupils to divide the flora into four groups ; 
 viz., plants which furnish man food, clothing, fuel or 
 building material. Plants that do not readily drop 
 into one or the other of these groups should not be
 
 Vital (icography. 75 
 
 studied in detail in the geography class. If they are 
 in sufficient numbers to be of importance, their mass 
 effect has been considered in determining the climatic 
 and civilizing effects of the vegetation of the region. 
 Why expect pupils to memorize forty or fifty species 
 of plants growing in the tropics ? Let them see that 
 the plant universally used for building purposes is the 
 bamboo ; and that this plant is better adapted for such 
 use than is any other kind in that region. Next let 
 them discover what plants furnish the little clothing 
 necessary for the dwellers within the tropics. Follow 
 this with the names of eight or ten plants which fur- 
 nish food, not only for the natives of that region but 
 for people living in other zones. When the names of 
 these three kinds of plants have been mastered and 
 their characteristics learned, the remaining vegetation 
 of the torrid zone can be grouped in one great mass 
 and studied merely in its effect upon climate and 
 civilization. 
 
 If pupils study Frye's chapter on Plants from the 
 above-described standpoint, they will reach some inter- 
 esting and valuable generalizations. Take, for instance, 
 the question of fuel. They will see that within the 
 tropics fuel is unnecessary except for cooking pur- 
 poses; that in the temperate zones it must be used for 
 both cooking and heating; that the hard woods are 
 best adapted for this purpose ; that coal, the flora of 
 another age, is here used for the same purpose ; that 
 in the polar regions the fats of animals are the only 
 fuel used. 
 
 Ouite similarly the student of geography need not
 
 76 How to TcacJi the Fiyc Geographies. 
 
 attempt to memorize a complete list of the animals 
 native to any given zone. It is sufficient if he know 
 what animals assist man either as beasts of burden or 
 by furnishing him with food or clothing. It is not im- 
 portant that- he have impressed upon his mind the fact 
 that great herds of bison once roamed over the Ameri- 
 can prairies, but he should understand that great herds 
 of cattle and flocks of sheep now pasture upon those 
 same prairies. When studying the fauna of the tropics 
 the average pupil is swamped by the great number of 
 animals whose names he is called upon to memorize. 
 Mr. Frye would have the teacher realize that the pupil 
 is studying the description of the earth as our home; 
 consequently, there is no need of requiring geography 
 pupils to consider any animal unless it comes in direct 
 relation with man. Rather than commit to memory 
 the names of all the tropical animals, let the pupil see, 
 first, what animals assist man as beasts of burden. In 
 this list he will classify the elephant, the horse, the 
 camel, the ox and llama. As animals which furnish 
 food he will classify the camel, the goat and the sheep, 
 and will at the same time reject the carnivorous ani- 
 mals. Quickly the child will advance to the generali- 
 zation that the flesh of animals is not a good diet for 
 people living in the tropics, and that consequently they 
 are not inconvenienced by the absence of herbivorous 
 animals. He will, however, look ahead and see that 
 such animals are found in abundance in the temperate 
 zones where pasture lands are plenty and animals fur- 
 nish a necessary article of food. Only a limited num- 
 ber of tropical animals will be grouped in the third
 
 Vital GcograpJiy. 77 
 
 class those which furnish man clothing. This is in 
 accordance with nature's demands. When the pupil has 
 thus grouped the animals of the torrid zone, the teacher 
 may safely omit the names of the monkeys, baboons, 
 crocodiles, boa-constrictor, iguana, jaguar, tapir, arma- 
 dillo, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, hyena, giraffe and 
 scores of others that may possibly be considered at a 
 later date by the class in zoology. 
 
 The interrelation existing between certain vegetable 
 and animal life should be shown ; i.e., pasture lands and 
 cud-chewing animals, hog area and corn belt, sheep and 
 poorer grazing land. It will be interesting to note how 
 man has taken advantage of this principle and utilized 
 certain regions which were naturally unproductive. 
 
 Finally, as pupils combine their knowledge of ani- 
 mal and vegetable life they should be led to see that 
 as we go either way from the equator toward the poles 
 that which man needs for food, for clothing, for fuel, 
 for building material, changes with the changing cli- 
 mate, but that Nature arranges in each case for his 
 new needs. If necessary supplies are not provided 
 outright, the conditions are such that man can produce 
 that which is required.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 J<'/-yc's Complete Geography. l\v^cs JIQ-I-J. 
 HUMANISTIC GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 I\ this portion of the book the pupil enters upon 
 the study of that part of geography which will prove 
 of more practical benefit to him than any other. lie 
 examines the humanistic phase of the subject. He is 
 not now primarily concerned with those physical forces 
 which have shaped the earth for the abode of man, but 
 rather with the manner in which man utilizes the 
 resources of the world for his own necessities and 
 enjoyment. What portions of the globe has man made 
 to bring forth and blossom as the rose ? Where does 
 lie obtain his food, his clothing, his fuel, his building 
 material ? Where does he delve beneath the surface 
 of the earth that he may transform his civilization into 
 an age of iron ? Wherefore has he become familiar 
 with the trackless deep ? To what purpose has he 
 bound state to state, country to country, with double 
 bands of steel ? Why has he compelled the lightning 
 to carry his messages across continents and beneath 
 oceans, to reproduce in distant cities the lones of his 
 own voice and to drive sable-winged Night from the 
 streets of his metropolis ? These are some of the 
 questions which shall engage the pupil's attention. 
 
 78
 
 Humanistic Geography. 79 
 
 From their consideration he should come forth with a 
 working knowledge of the business geography of the 
 world. 
 
 Mr. Frye precedes the study of the products of the 
 United States by the examination of the temperature, 
 winds and rainfall of the country. The maps with 
 which he illustrates this portion of the book are inval- 
 uable they are an epitome of the text. The pupil 
 must either photograph them upon his memory or turn 
 to the original again and again. 
 
 In discussing the various products, as cotton, wheat, 
 corn, the author uses the following outline : The phys- 
 ical conditions under which the crop flourishes ; the 
 producing area; the collecting centers; the markets; 
 domestic routes of trade ; the world's producing area 
 and collecting centers ; the world's markets and routes 
 of trade. Physical conditions and producing areas arc- 
 not only described in words but pictured by maps. If 
 the country produces a greater amount of any commod- 
 ity than it needs that fact is noted and the export 
 market is named. 
 
 To illustrate the method of teaching this portion of 
 the book take the subject Cotton. Though this topic- 
 is discussed in Chapter V, we again outline it in order 
 to illustrate the broader way any given question is 
 treated in the " Complete Geography." 
 
 The first question is, What are the physical condi- 
 tions under which cotton flourishes ? The answer is 
 definitely told at the bottom of the first column on 
 page i 30. 
 
 Next, What are the cotton areas of the United
 
 80 I lii-i*.' to Teach tJic Fiyc Geographies. 
 
 States ? Turn to the Rainfall and Climate maps,, and 
 permit the pupils to discover for themselves the cotton 
 belt. Reinforce their conclusions by the author's 
 statement as found at the top of the second column on 
 page 130. Compare both these findings with the 
 Cotton map itself. The final results are thus reached 
 by three processes of reasoning, and should be the 
 same in each case. 
 
 The pupils are now ready to investigate the third 
 topic ; viz., What other countries produce cotton ? In 
 the very first paragraph of Lesson 129 the author 
 directs this investigation. Though they have neither 
 Rainfall nor Climate maps of these countries, boys and 
 girls will quickly see that the physical conditions of 
 the foreign cotton areas are very similar to those of 
 our own cotton belt. The characteristics of cotton, 
 the methods of planting, cultivating and harvesting the 
 crop will prove interesting themes at this point. 
 
 The next topic is, The collecting centers, both do- 
 mestic and foreign. Xow is the time to turn to the 
 geography of the Southern States, as treated on pages 
 147-150, and study everything bearing upon cotton. 
 Later we should revert to the map of these states when 
 studying such general topics as sugar, corn, tobacco, 
 forests, iron and coal. Quite similarly the lessons 
 upon India and Egypt should be read and the maps 
 examined, that clear, distinct and accurate ideas of the 
 producing areas and collecting centers in these coun- 
 tries may be formed. 
 
 Having determined the centers at which the cotton 
 crop is collected, the pupils should next be expected
 
 Humanistic Geography. 81 
 
 to locate the markets; i.e., the places where the cot- 
 ton is manufactured into cloth. In this connection 
 they should study the geography of New England, 
 as described on pages 142-144, and of England, as 
 described on pages 162 and 163 ; or rather that portion 
 of this geography which relates to the manufacture of 
 cotton fabrics. Pupils may wonder why cotton cloth 
 is not manufactured in the immediate vicinity of the 
 cotton fields. Teachers should be ready with an inter- 
 esting bit of history, giving the pupils an opportunity 
 to see that when the United States embarked in the 
 manufacture of cotton the labor of the South was per- 
 formed by slaves who had not the intellectual training 
 necessary for skilled laborers. The raw cotton was 
 therefore sent to a region where it could be manufac- 
 tured by white labor. Cotton mills were established 
 before steam was applied to manufacturing. Water 
 power was used to drive the machinery of these mills. 
 The best water power in those regions of the North 
 which were then settled was in New England. The 
 mills were therefore established in that locality, and 
 the most intelligent labor \vas directed to the manufac- 
 ture of cotton fabrics. Since the abolition of slavery 
 in the South, labor has been looked upon differently, 
 and there are many skilled workmen, both black and 
 white. Steam is supplanting water as a motive power. 
 A result of these changes is the erection of many cot- 
 ton mills in the South and the manufacture of the fin- 
 ished product in the very region where the cotton is 
 grown. By this means the cost of shipping the raw 
 cotton to New England and the manufactured cotton
 
 82 How to Teack the Fryc Geographies. 
 
 back to the South is saved, and the mills of Georgia 
 have this important advantage over the mills of Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 The leading manufacturing districts are a long dis- 
 tance from the cotton raising districts. This gives rise 
 to the next topic, the routes of trade. Turn to the 
 chapter upon Highways of Trade, and learn how New 
 Orleans, Galveston, Calcutta, Bombay and Alexandria 
 are connected with Boston and Liverpool. 
 
 Lastly, determine the markets for the manufactured 
 cotton cloth and the routes by which it is shipped to 
 the consumers. 
 
 Pupils who study the subject of cotton according to 
 the above plan will acquire a knowledge which, while 
 broad and comprehensive, is, at the same time, accurate 
 and unified. The other general products can be studied 
 in a similar way. Even grammar grade pupils will see 
 that most of the world's business transactions are con- 
 cerning the production or transportation of food, cloth- 
 ing, fuel and building material. 
 
 The plan for studying sectional maps indicated in 
 the discussion of cotton should be followed in the inves- 
 tigation of other products or industries. The map and 
 description of New England will be studied in connec- 
 tion with cotton, wool, hides, forests, fisheries and 
 building material ; the Middle Atlantic states with 
 coal, iron, building material and tobacco ; the Southern 
 states with cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, corn, hogs, 
 coal and iron ; the Central states with wheat, corn, 
 oats, barley, cattle, hogs, sheep, coal and iron ; the 
 Western states with fruits, wheat, grazing and the
 
 Humanistic Geography. 83 
 
 precious metals. Each of these products has a general 
 topic devoted to it. When investigating that topic, 
 study in connection therewith the sectional map or 
 maps which throw light upon it. Each map will thus 
 he studied as many times as there are important com- 
 modities produced in that region. 
 
 This plan of studying the sectional maps has many 
 advantages : it does away with the tediousness usually 
 attendant upon this portion of the geography ; it fur- 
 nishes definite aim for the pupil's research, and it 
 removes vagueness and indistinctness with reference 
 to localities referred to in the general discussion of 
 the subject in hand. 
 
 When studying the product maps pupils should be 
 taught to superimpose one map upon the others, thus 
 determining the variety of resources incident to any 
 section. This work will be much more satisfactory 
 than when first attempted while studying the " Primary 
 Geography." This time pupils will be able to draw 
 valuable conclusions concerning the advantages aris- 
 ing from a diversity of industries. 
 
 Pupils will be much interested in comparing different 
 regions in this respect. To illustrate : Notice that the 
 only product map which covers certain sections of 
 Xorth Dakota is the Wheat map, while, on the other 
 hand, Southern Michigan is covered by the following 
 maps: Wheat, Corn, Oats, Forests, Emits, Beef Cattle, 
 1 )airy Products, Sheep and Coal. If the wheat crop of 
 Xorth Dakota is ruined, farmers have nothing to fall 
 hack upon ; whereas, if the wheat crop of Southern 
 Michigan is injured the citizens have many other
 
 84 1 1 uic to TcacJi the Frj'c Geographies, 
 
 sources of revenue. In Dakota the prosperity of mer- 
 chants, bankers, railroad people, in fact the entire pop- 
 ulation, depends, directly or indirectly, upon the wheat 
 crop. Though the people of Southern Michigan may 
 raise quantities of wheat, their industries are so diver- 
 sified that the population at large may still have a pros- 
 perous year, even though the wheat crop is ruined 
 entirely. Another illustration : Central Florida is cov- 
 ered by the Fruit map and a light shading of the For- 
 est map. This shows that the country depends chiefly 
 upon fruits for a source of revenue. A killing frost 
 not only destroys the orange crop, but the trees as 
 well and ruins the prosperity of the region for years 
 to come. It is interesting to note further how this 
 fruit industry depends upon the development of rail- 
 roads. Not until the invention of the refrigerator car 
 were fruit growers able to have other than a local, and 
 consequently limited, market for their product. Fruits 
 were too perishable for ordinary transportation. With 
 the invention of such cars and the organization of 
 through fast freights perishable fruits are shipped from 
 the Gulf to the Great Lakes and from the Pacific to 
 the Atlantic, thus giving to the fruit growers a market 
 in the farthest corner of the country. The increasing 
 production keeps pace with the developing market. 
 
 The interrelation of certain industries is nicely illus- 
 trated by the Product maps. The Corn and Hog maps 
 cover practically the same areas ; in fact, the Beef Cat- 
 tle map differs but little from either of the two men- 
 tioned. No other Cereal map so nearly corresponds in 
 area to the Hog and Cattle maps. This leads to the
 
 Humanistic Geography. 85 
 
 inference that corn is more extensively used as a food 
 for such animals than is any other grain. A comparison 
 of the Dairy Products and Beef Cattle maps will sug- 
 gest to the wide-awake teacher two interesting thoughts. 
 The cheaper lands of the West make possible the pas- 
 turing of large herds of cattle. Such herds are so far 
 removed from the centers of population that it is not 
 profitable to ship milk or make butter. On the other 
 hand, the farming lands of New York, Pennsylvania 
 and Ohio are so valuable that they cannot be used for 
 pasturing great herds of cattle, and the proximity of 
 these sections to the centers of population makes profit- 
 able the shipment of dairy products. Thus while the 
 Beef Cattle map covers every part described in the 
 Dairy Products map, and more too, the darker portion 
 of the former map is different from the darker portion 
 of the latter. The maps of Coal, Iron, and Iron and 
 Steel Manufacture speak volumes to one who knows 
 how coal is used in smelting iron ore and how iron is 
 transformed into steel. Unless teachers are informed 
 on such topics they should not attempt to teach Sec- 
 tions 140 and 141. The advantages incident to finding 
 iron and coal in close proximity are the underlying 
 cause for the wonderful development of such cities 
 as Chattanooga and Birmingham. Moreover, the sep- 
 aration of the Michigan iron mines from the coal fields 
 of Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania makes possible 
 the most wonderful inland carrying trade in the world. 
 If, in connection with the various things raised or 
 manufactured in the United States, the pupil is led to 
 take a world-wide view, as he did in studying cotton, he
 
 S6 Hou to TcacJi tlie Fryc Geographies. 
 
 will be surprised to find how little of the world's busi- 
 ness there remains for him to examine after having 
 completed the geography of the United States. This 
 country of ours is wonderful in its natural resources ; 
 its people are unsurpassed in their activities. With its 
 new possessions almost every line of enterprise is repre- 
 sented. The mature pupil thus makes the United States 
 the center from which he studies the industries of the 
 world. How are these \vorld enterprises related to his 
 own country ? What are the business relations uniting 
 his native land to the world at large ? The final thought 
 crowning his three years' study of geography is thus 
 the Interdependence of Nations. Such a conception 
 enriches his understanding, broadens his patriotism 
 and makes more generous his humanity.
 
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 FRYE'S GEOGRAPHIES 
 
 Primary Geography. Small quarto. Cloth. 127 pages. Fully 
 illustrated. For introduction, 60 cents. 
 
 Elements of Geography. Small quarto. Cloth. 164 pages. Fully 
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 Complete Geography. Large quarto. 184 pages. Cloth. Profusely 
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 For introduction, 81.25. 
 
 Brooks and Brook Basins. First Steps in Geography Nature 
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 58 cents. 
 
 The Child and Nature. Geography Teaching with Sand Modelling. 
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 Teachers' Manual. To accompany 1' rye's Geographies. i2mo. Flexible cloth, 
 i vo pages. Illustrated. For introduction, 50 cents. 
 
 MR. FRYF.'S text-books on geography are universally 
 recognized as representing an advance movement in edu- 
 cation, but their crowning merit lies in the fact that they 
 not only can secure better results than other books, but can 
 make the pupils' work more interesting and the teacher's 
 work lighter. 
 
 The success of this author's books shows that they are 
 in line with the best methods of teaching and that there is 
 a deep and widespread demand for the best ideas, methods, 
 and books. At the beginning, it requires perhaps a little 
 more skill and pains to teach the pupils to get ideas instead 
 of words from their text-books, but that is of course the 
 only right way, and in a little time it becomes the easier 
 and more pleasant. 
 
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 FRYE'S GEOGRAPHIES 
 
 FRYE'S ELEMENTS OF GEOGRAPHY. Small 4 to. Cloth. 
 164 pages. Fully illustrated. For introduction, 65 cents. 
 
 FRYE'S COMPLETE GEOGRAPHY. With an Appendix con 
 taining 24 pages of Reference Maps. Large 410. Cloth. 184 
 pages. Profusely illustrated. For introduction, $1.25. 
 
 FRYE'S GEOGRAPHIES are universally recognized as rep- 
 resenting an advance movement in education, but their 
 crowning merit lies in the fact that they not only can 
 secure better results than other books, but can make the 
 pupils' work more interesting and the teacher's work 
 lighter. 
 
 The success of Frye's geographies, which is literally 
 unparalleled in the history of text-book publishing, shows 
 that there is a deep and widespread demand for the best 
 ideas, methods, and books. It goes without saying, that, 
 at the beginning, it requires a little more skill and pains 
 to teach the pupils to get ideas instead of words from 
 their text-books ; but that is of course the only right way, 
 and in a little time it becomes the easier and more 
 pleasant. 
 
 L. H. Jones, Superintendent of Public Schools, Cleveland, Ohio: 
 
 I am delighted with Frye's Complete Geography ; it is thoroughly 
 modern and in line with the best methods of teaching. 
 
 F. F. Murdock, Principal of State A r ormal School, A'orth Adams, Mass, 
 I make no reservation when I say that Frye's Complete is the best 
 grammar-school geography I have ever used. 
 
 J. R. Miller, Superintendent of Schools, Jjisf Rapids, I\Iich. 
 
 I have examined a number of the best geographies published and 
 after a very careful comparison I have recommended Frye's geographies 
 (Flements and Complete) as the best on the market. 
 
 GINN & COMPANY, Publishers, 
 
 Boston. New York. Chicago. Atlanta. Dallas.
 
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