PREFATORY NOTE. A THOROUGH knowledge of one's country is a prime condition of intelligent citizenship. This knowledge should first come to one in school, under intelligent instruction and carefully arranged facts. Children are always interested in all that concerns the land they live in, and find greater delight when the matter is properly presented, in learning about its natural beauties, its productions, cities, people, than in studying about other countries. It has been the aim of the author of these Readers to collate and present in as attractive a manner as possible the striking facts of the United States. The amount and number of interesting facts collected made it necessary to issue these in three volumes convenient to handle and satisfactorily complete in information. Book III. Part I. takes up the New England and Middle States; Book IV. Part II. mainly describes the Southern, Middle, and Central States. Book V. Part III. describes the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Coast. The present volume is designed for children in the fifth and sixth years of school life, but it is well adapted for more advanced grades. Teachers and adults will here find a vast amount of information not usually given in the regular text-book, information obtained only from personal observation and inspection, or from recent published works of faithful travellers. Friends who have resided for years in several places described, have kindly assisted the writer in reading proof, thus providing accuracy in details. Nearly all the pictures in this volume have been made from photographs, many of which have been taken especially to illustrate these chapters. Beauty and exactness are thus happily combined. The ordinary scope of geography has been in this series of Readers enlarged so as to embrace the business life and labor of the present day. Leading manufactures, mining industries, agriculture, domestic commerce, methods of transportation, the people of the country, have each received careful attention, in the belief that such knowledge will prove both useful and interesting. The great question at present before educators is how best to economize time and save unnecessary labor. One of the wisest ways to accomplish this is to learn how to do two things at once. The geography lesson supplies ample material for language lessons, for spelling, or for composition. The poetical selections in Chapter XIX. are well adapted for memorizing. Helps to the teacher in this direction are several times introduced at the ends of chapters, as mere suggestions. Teachers are urged to carry out these ideas more fully in their daily work. THE AUTHOR. LESSON CONTENTS. - Rice Negroes - Cabin Home-School Children - Map of Florida - Jacksonville - St. John's River - Oranges Crescent City-Cotton States - Cotton Boll-Cotton Fibres The "Natchez "- Evangeline - Grand Saloon - Baton Rouge Commerce - Levee Washington Avenue-St. Louis Rail- - Oil Section and Pipe Lines - An Oil Village - Sinking an Oil 61 Coal Map-Fern in the Coal - Coal Landscape — Coal Basin Kindergarten-Primary Schools - Grammar Schools - Sew- ing-High Schools - Manual Training - Rindge School- Carpentry School - Cooking School - St. Johnsbury Academy— New York Normal School - Wellesley College - Other Colleges Newport-Map of New England — "Verbena "— New Bedford Cottage City - Nantucket Provincetown - Plymouth X. AMONG THE LIGHTHOUSES. Part I.. Portland - Visiting a Lighthouse-Portland's Head Light – XI. AMONG THE LIGHTHOUSES. Part II. . Monhegan Light-Squid-Baby Seal-Owl's Head - Bar Harbor-Whistling Buoy - Petit Manan-Characteristics of Tower and Shops - Michigan Avenue Parks and Boulevards - - - - South Shore Station - Parlor Car-Train of Cars - Building a Railroad Bridges The Bloomer Cutting Mountain Big Loop-Spiral- Elevation Ute Indians Map of Indian Reservations - Civilized In- dians-Group of Ute Indians-Seven Sioux Warriors - Characteristics of the Indians Indian Squaw - Indian Baby Grave - 197 209 |