We have now a plan of the schoolroom. Let us put N. to show the north side of the room, S. to show the south side, E. to show the east side, and W. to show the west side. We can now tell the direction of one thing from another in our plan.

LESSON IX.

WRITTEN EXERCISE.

Write the answers to the following questions, in full sentences:

What is the name of your school? On what street or road is it? Which side of the street? Between what streets? In which direction does the building face?

How many rooms has the building? In what part of the building is your room? How large is it? How many doors and windows? How many seats?

In what direction is the school from your home? How far is it? How long does it take you to walk to school?

EXERCISES IN DRAWING PLANS.

Draw a plan of the schoolroom on your slates. It cannot be drawn on your slates as large as it was drawn on the board. So let one inch stand for ten feet, instead of for one foot; that is, use a scale of one inch for every ten feet. Your plan will not be as large as mine, but it will show the position of everything as correctly.

Draw a plan of the top of the teacher's table, showing two books and an inkstand upon it. First, measure the sides. Then decide to what scale you will draw your plan.

Now draw a plan of the schoolhouse and grounds. You must measure not only the house, but the width and length of the yard. The plan must show the size, shape, and place of everything upon the grounds. (While drawing a plan of this kind, it is better to let the pupils face the north. The top of the plan should be the north side of the grounds.)

Draw a plan of your own room at home, showing the table, bed, chairs, and other objects in it.

ORAL EXERCISE.

If the shape of a room is shown on the blackboard, what have we drawn? Is a plan the same as a picture? What is the use of a plan? Mention some things of which plans can be drawn.

NOTE.--It is wrong to teach that the top of a map or plan is always north; as often as not, the bottom is north, in plans especially.

LESSON X.

GOD MADE THEM ALL.

All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The good God made them all.

Each little flower that opens, Each little bird that sings, He made their glowing colors, He made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountain, The river running by, The morning and the sunset, The twinkling stars on high;

The tall trees in the greenwood, The pleasant summer sun, The ripe fruits in the garden-- He made them every one.

He gave us eyes to see them, And lips that we might tell How great is God Almighty, Who hath made all things well.

LESSON XI.

PLAINS.

The floor of our schoolroom is level. The playground is almost, if not quite, level. As you look away from the school, is the land nearly level? Did you ever see a broad extent of nearly level land?

Let us imagine that we are out on a piece of nearly level land, many, many times larger than our playground. Such a broad, nearly level stretch of land is called a plain.

If this plain were covered with rich green grass and beautiful flowers, we should call it a prairie. In the summer it is a vast sea of waving grass. On the prairie we might find herds of wild horses and cattle, which feed upon the rich grass. If it were late in the summer, when the grass is dry and crisp, it might catch fire, and we might then see a grand sight--a prairie on fire.

We now come to another plain, miles and miles long, miles and miles wide. No rain falls here, and therefore we see no grass, nor flowers, nor cattle, nor horses, nothing but dry, burning sand, rocks, or gravel. We are in a desert. But we are so thirsty and tired!

No water to drink, no shade from the burning sun! Suddenly, in the midst of the desert, we come to a beautiful grassy spot. There is a cluster of date-palm trees, and, better still, a well or a spring of fresh water. This pleasant spot in the desert is called an oasis. Here we may quench our thirst, and rest beneath the shade of the trees.

An oasis is a fertile spot in a desert. What does fertile mean? When do we say land is fertile? When barren? When desert?

Find a picture of a palm tree, and try to draw it.

If we were really in a desert, we might see a company of merchants carrying goods to sell in the countries they visit. Such a company is called a caravan. The goods are packed in bundles, which are carried on camels' backs. The camel can live for a long time without drinking, and can carry a heavy load of merchandise a long distance. It is sometimes called the ship of the desert.

Why do travelers use camels to cross the desert? Why do they not use horses? If you can not find answers to these questions in your books at home, ask your teacher about them.

You have seen a small whirlwind in the street. The leaves flew round and round, the dust whirled along in clouds. Trees are sometimes torn from the ground, and houses overturned, by a strong wind.

Now think of a wind-storm in the desert. A loud, rustling noise is heard. Great clouds of fine sand are lifted into the air--clouds which darken the sun! Travelers must at once jump from their camels, cover themselves with their cloaks, and lie flat on the ground.

The poor beasts will close their eyes and nostrils, and kneel with their backs to the wind until the storm has passed over.

Thankful will the travelers be if none of them are buried in the sand.

LESSON XII.

HILLS, MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS.

The land is not always level like a plain. In some places it is high and uneven. We all know what a hill is. It is land a little higher than the surrounding country.

Is there a hill near where you live? Let us walk to the top, and stand on its summit. We will start from the foot or base of the hill. Now we have climbed its steep, rough sides or slopes. Was the ascent difficult? Is the view from the top fine?

What can you see from the top of the hill--meadow, river, lake, town? What grow on the hill? What live on the hill?

Which part of a hill is called the base, or foot? The slope, or sides? The top, or summit?

Give two names for the lowest part of a hill. Two for the highest part. Two for the part between the highest and lowest parts.

Parts of the land very much higher than the surrounding country are called mountains. Mountains are much higher than hills. Have you ever seen a steeple one hundred feet high? A mountain is as high as twenty such steeples, one on the top of the other. How high the mountains must be!

Some mountains reach away above the clouds. Their white tops seem to touch the sky. A man on the summit of one saw the clouds beneath his feet, while the sun shone where he stood. When it lightened he saw the flash far below him.

Is it warm or cold at the tops of mountains? With what are many high mountains covered, even in summer?

The land between mountains or hills is called a valley. Is there a valley near here? What do you call the ground on either side?

Would you like best to live on the mountains or in the valley? Why?

Are mountains of any use?

Yes, hills and mountains are of very great use. They make the earth more beautiful. Tops of high mountains are so cold that they turn the clouds into drops of water which fall as rain or snow. Then mountains give rise to rivers which make the valleys beautiful with grass and flowers. Mountains do much good to some countries by keeping off cold winds. They also give us coal and iron and other minerals which we find so useful.

Here is a picture. What do you call the very high land on the right and on the left? The long, narrow piece of land between the two mountains?

When you look at this picture you must think of a real valley between mountains.

Bring pictures of hills and mountains to school; if you can find them.

If you had a molding-board and a few quarts of sand; you might represent hills and mountains with valleys between. Think of a real hill while you mold.

Draw on your slate a hill you have seen with a little of the surrounding country.

Write:

A long, narrow piece of land between hills and mountains is called a valley.

A hill is land a little higher than the country about it.

A mountain is land that rises to a very great height above the country about it.

LESSON XIII.

RAIN, WIND, AND SNOW.

Do you see the dropping rain, Pitter-patter on the pane? How it runs along the street! And it wets our little feet; But it makes the green grass grow, And the tiny streamlets flow.

Listen to the wintry blast Moaning, shrieking, howling past, Striking with tremendous force Rocks and forests in its course; But it blows the windmills strong, And it sends big ships along.

Watch the pretty snowflakes fall, Some are large and some are small; Look, they cover all the ground, Miles of dazzling white around; But this covering, I am told, Keeps the earth from frost and cold.

Ah! and I must work alway, Life's not meant to spend in play; Every moment's fleeting fast, And our day will soon be past; If our work is truly done, It will last though ages run.

Of what use is rain? Of what use is snow? Of what use is wind?

LESSON XIV.