Author Description

Excerpt from A Complete Geography In the plan of this volume the authors have left the beaten track to such an extent that some words of explanation seem in place. General Geography. - Probably the most difficult part of the geography for Grammar School grades is that dealing with seasons, winds, rainfall, temperature, etc. It ordinarily occupies a considerable number of pages at the beginning of the larger book, and follows immediately upon Primary Geography. This arrangement requires pupils to spring from a meagre study of simple, concrete facts to the highest abstractions in the entire subject; and what makes the matter worse, these broad abstractions are usually only very briefly stated. The authors of this volume have followed a different plan. Only three chapters, at the beginning of the book, precede the intensive treatment of the United States. The first is a physiographic history of the continent, showing how its principal mountain ranges and valleys came into existence; how its coal beds were formed; what were the effects of the great Ice Age; and what have been the more recent changes in the coast line, with their results. Then comes a chapter on the Plants, Animals, and Peoples of North America; and following that is a treatment of Latitude and Longitude. Only so much is presented before taking up the United States, because that is all that seems really necessary. Whatever further facts have been needed for North America in regard to seasonal changes, winds, etc., have been plainly stated, when wanted, just as other concrete facts have been. After our continent is finished and a fair number of concrete data, bearing on these matters, has been collected, these topics themselves are treated in much detail. By this arrangement, the study of these difficult subjects has been postponed one year, and they are then approached somewhat inductively. The authors regard this as one of the most important among their proposed change