HOME GEOGRAPHY

THE EARTH UPON WHICH WE LIVE.

We are going to learn about the earth upon which we live. This earth is made up of many things.

First, there is the land where our homes are. Then there is water, which we find in the hollows of the land. Besides the land and the water there is the air. We cannot see the air, but it surrounds us on all sides.

We could not live without land, water, and air. The land furnishes us the most of our food. The land is the home of many kinds of animals and plants. Some of the animals live upon plants, others eat the flesh of weaker animals. We use both plants and animals for food and depend upon them for our clothing also.

Every living thing needs water. Many plants and animals spend the whole of their lives in the

water.

Some animals are fitted to move through the

air. We see them flying here and there. Each animal is fitted for the place in which we find it. Fish swim in the water. Horses walk or run upon

the land. Birds fly through the air.

The air has many uses. It carries the clouds from the ocean. The clouds make the raindrops which water the earth. Where it does not rain we find neither grass nor flowers.

The land and water are not at all alike. We can walk upon the land, but we sink into the water. The top of the water is level. The surface of the land is uneven. In some places it is so rough that we can hardly climb over it.

In the valleys between the hills are the rippling streams. The water of the streams is running as fast as it can toward the hollows in the land. In the little hollows we find lakes and ponds of water. The oceans lie in the great hollows of the land. The pond in the little hollow may be so small that you can jump across it. The oceans are so wide that you cannot see the land on the other side of them.

All over the earth we find busy people. In the valleys they are farming. In the mountains they are digging for gold and other minerals. They are sailing back and forth upon the oceans carrying many things from one land to another.

In some places there are great cities where many people live. They are all at work like the ants in their busy home. Some of the people in the cities are doing one kind of work, some are doing another. Are you not glad to live in a world full of so many interesting things? Do you not want to learn all about it? We must not spend all of our time in play. We will take a part of every day to learn more about the strange and beautiful things around us.

The

By and by we shall grow up and become men and women. Then we shall have to work. more we learn about the world the easier our work will be. The world will be our happy home.

THE SOIL.

How nice it is to play in the soft dirt! The wind also likes to play with the dirt. It picks up the dirt and blows it in our faces.

When the rain plays with the dirt it makes mud. How the mud sticks to our feet, and leaves dirty tracks upon mother's clean floor! The mud soils our hands and clothes. Is there anyone who does not know how to make mud pies?

We sometimes wish there was no dirt. What do you suppose would happen if our wish should come true? There would be no green fields. There would be no pretty meadows with their carpet of flowers.

Perhaps you know what the gardener calls the dirt in the fields. Did you ever hear him speak of the soil? He says that plants will not grow well if the soil is poor.

Let us find out what the soil is made of. Run out to the garden and get a handful of the dirt or soil. It feels fine and soft in our fingers. Here and there we find little hard grains and pieces of plant stems.

Now place the soil in a basin of water and