,illustration3 ,pike's ,peak1 ,colorado ,,earth and ,,sky ,,every ,,child ,,should ,,know ,,easy ,,studies ,,of ,,the ,,earth ,,and ,,the ,,stars ,,for ,,any ,,time ,,and ,,place ,,by ,,julia ,,ellen ,,rogers ,,author ,,of ,,the ,,tree ,,book1 ,,the ,,shell ,,book1 ,,key ,,to ,,the ,,nature ,,library1 ,,trees ,,every ,,child ,,should ,,know4 ,,illustrated ,,by ,,thirty-,,one ,,pages ,,of ,,photographs ,,and ,,drawings ,illustration ,,new ,,york ,,grosset ,,dunlap ,,publishers ,,copyright1 #aiaj1 ,,by ,,doubleday1 ,,page ,,company ,,published1 ,,october1 #aiaj ,,all ,,rights ,,reserved1 ,,including ,,that ,,of ,,translation ,,into ,,foreign ,,languages1 ,,including ,,the ,,scandinavian ,,acknowledgments ,a number of the photographs in this volume are used by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history4 ,the star maps and drawings of the constellations are by ,mrs4 ,jerome ,b4 ,thomas4 ,the poem by ,longfellow1 quoted in part1 is with the permission of the publishers1 ,houghton1 ,mifflin ,co4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,contents ,,part ,i4 ,,the ,,earth ,,page ,,the ,,great ,,stone ,,book #c ,,the ,,fossil ,,fish #f ,,the ,,crust ,,of ,,the ,,earth #i ,,what ,,is ,,the ,,earth ,,made ,,of8 #ad ,,the ,,first ,,dry ,,land #bb ,a ,,study ,,of ,,granite #bg ,,metamorphic ,,rocks #ca ,,the ,,air ,,in ,,motion #ce ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,the ,,wind #dd ,,rain ,,in ,,summer1 by ,henry ,w4 ,longfellow #ej ,,what ,,becomes ,,of ,,the ,,rain8 #ea ,,the ,,soil ,,in ,,fields ,,and ,,gardens #eh ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,earthworms #fc ,,quiet ,,forces ,,that ,,destroy ,,rocks #fh ,,how ,,rocks ,,are ,,made #gb ,,getting ,,acquainted ,,with ,a ,,river #gh ,,the ,,ways ,,of ,,rivers #hd ,,the ,,story ,,of ,a ,,pond #ij ,,the ,,riddle ,,of ,,the ,,lost ,,rocks #ic ,,the ,,question ,,answered #if ,,glaciers ,,among ,,the ,,alps #ih ,,the ,,great ,,ice ,,sheet #ajd ,,following ,,some ,,lost ,,rivers #aaj ,,the ,,mammoth ,,cave ,,of ,,kentucky #aad ,,land ,,building ,,by ,,rivers #aba ,,the ,,making ,,of ,,mountains #abf ,,the ,,lava ,,flood ,,of ,,the ,,northwest #acj ,,the ,,first ,,living ,,things #acd ,,an ,,ancient ,,beach ,,at ,,ebb ,,tide #ach ,,the ,,lime ,,rocks #adg ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,fishes #aeb ,,king ,,coal #aee ,,how ,,coal ,,was ,,made #afj ,,the ,,most ,,useful ,,metal #afg ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,reptiles #age ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,mammals #ahj ,,the ,,horse ,,and ,,his ,,ancestors #ahf ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,man #aid ,,part ,,ii4 ,,the ,,sky ,,every ,,family ,a ,,star ,,club #bja ,,the ,,dippers ,,and ,,the ,,pole ,,star #bjg ,,constellations ,,you ,,can ,,always ,,see #bac ,,winter ,,constellations #bai ,,orion1 ,,his ,,dogs1 ,,and ,,the ,,bull #bbc ,,seven ,,famous ,,constellations #bca ,,the ,,twenty ,,brightest ,,stars #bci ,,how ,,to ,,learn ,,more #bda ,,illustrations ,pike's ,peak ,frontispiece ,,facing ,,page ,sand ,dunes in ,arizona #dd ,grand ,caon of the ,colorado #de ,castles ,carved by ,rain and ,wind #eb ,where ,all the ,water ,comes ,from #ec ,the ,richest ,gold and ,silver ,mines #gb ,rocks ,being ,ground to ,flour #gc ,a ,pond ,made by a ,glacier #hh ,the ,struggle ,between a ,stream and ,its ,banks #hi ,ripple ,marks and ,glacial ,stri #ajb ,glacial ,grooves and ,markings #ajc ,crinoid and ,ammonite #adj ,fossil ,corals1 ,coquina1 ,hippurite ,limestone #ada ,fossil ,fish #aeb ,meteorite #aec ,eocene ,fish and ,trilobite #aef ,how ,coal ,was ,made #aeg ,banded ,sandstone4 ,opalized ,wood #agf ,allosaurus #agg ,a ,three-horned ,dinosaur #agh ,remains of ,brontosaurus #agi ,restoration of ,brontosaurus #ahb ,ornitholestes1 a ,small ,dinosaur #ahc ,a ,mammoth #ahf ,an ,ancestor of the ,horse #ahg ,orion1 ,his ,dogs1 and the ,bull #bad ,other ,fanciful ,sketches of ,constellations #bae ,the ,sky in ,winter #bdd ,the ,sky in ,spring #bdd ,the ,sky in ,summer #bdd ,the ,sky in ,autumn #bdd ,,part ,i ,,the ,,earth 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,great ,,stone ,,book ,the crust of our earth is a great cemetery where the rocks are tombstones on which the buried dead have written their own epitaphs4 ,they tell us who they were1 and when and where they lived4--,louis ,agassiz4 ,deep in the ground1 and high and dry on the sides of mountains1 belts of limestone and sandstone and slate lie on the ancient granite ribs of the earth4 ,they are the deposits of sand and mud that formed the shores of ancient seas4 ,the limestone is formed of the decayed shells of animal forms that flourished in shallow bays along those shores4 ,and all we know about the life of these early days is read in the epitaphs written on these stone tables4 ,under the stratified rocks1 the granite foundations tell nothing of life on the earth4 ,but the sea rolled over them1 and in it lived a great variety of shellfish4 ,evidently the earliest fossil-bearing rocks were worn away1 for the rocks that now lie on the granite show not the beginnings1 but the high tide of life4 ,the lost interval of which geologists speak was a time when living forms were few in the sea4 ,in the muddy bottoms of shallow1 quiet bays lie the shells and skeletons of the creatures that live their lives in those waters and die when they grow old and feeble4 ,we have seen the fiddler crabs by thousands on such shores1 young and old1 lusty and feeble4 ,we have seen the rocks along another coast almost covered by the coiled shells of little gray periwinkles1 and big clumps of black mussels hanging on the piers and wharfs4 ,all these creatures die1 at length1 and their shells accumulate on the shallow sea bottom4 ,who has not spent hours gathering dead shells which the tide has thrown up on the beach8 ,who has not cut his foot on the broken shells that lie in the sandy bottom we walk on whenever we go into the surf to swim or bathe8 ,read downward from the surface toward the earth's centre-- ,,table ,,of ,,contents ---------------------------------------- ---------------------- ,part ,rock ,systems ,dominant ,dominant ,plants ,animals ---------------------------------------- ---------------------- ,,vii4 ,recent ,man ,flowering kinds ,quaternary ,,vi4 ,pliocene ,mammals ,early flowering ,tertiary ,miocene ,eocene ,v4 ,mesozoic ,reptiles ,cycads ,,iv4 ,carboniferous ,amphibians ,ferns and ,conifers ,,iii4 ,devonian ,fishes ,ferns ,,ii4 ,silurian ,molluscs ,seaweeds ,i4 ,fire-formed ,no life ,no life ---------------------------------------- ---------------------- ,it is by dying that the creatures of the sea write their epitaphs4 ,the mud or sand swallows them up4 ,in time these submerged banks may be left dry1 and become beds of stone4 ,then some of the skeletons and shells may be revealed in blocks of quarried stone1 still perfect in form after lying buried for thousands of years4 ,the leaves of this great stone book are the layers of rock1 laid down under water4 ,between the leaves are pressed specimens--fossils of animals and plants that have lived on the earth4 ,,the ,,fossil ,,fish ,i remember seeing a flat piece of stone on a library table1 with the skeleton of a fish distinctly raised on one surface4 ,the friend who owned this strange-looking specimen told me that she found it in a stone quarry4 ,she brought home a large piece of the slate1 and a stone-mason cut out the block with the fish in it1 and her souvenir made a useful and interesting paper-weight4 ,the story of that fish ,i heard with wonder1 and have never forgotten4 ,i had never heard of fossil animals or plants until my good neighbour talked about them4 ,she showed me bits of stone with fern leaves pressed into them4 ,one piece of hard limestone was as full of little sea-shells as it could possibly be4 ,one ball of marble was a honeycombed pattern1 and called fossil coral4 ,the fossil fish was once alive1 swimming in the sea1 and feeding on the things it liked to eat1 as all happy fishes do4 ,near shore a river poured its muddy water into the sea1 and the sandy bottom was covered with the mud that settled on it4 ,at last the fish grew old1 and perhaps a trifle stupid about catching minnows4 ,it died1 and sank to the muddy floor of the sea4 ,its horny bones were not dissolved by the water4 ,they remained1 and the mud filtered in and filled all the spaces4 ,soon the fish was buried completely by the sediment the river brought4 ,years1 thousands of them1 went by1 and the layer of mud was so thick and heavy above the skeleton of the fish that it bore a weight of tons there1 under the water4 ,the close-packed mud became a stiff clay4 ,after more thousands of years1 the sea no longer came so far ashore1 for the river had built up a great delta of land out of mud4 ,the clay in which the fish was hidden hardened into slate4 ,water crept down in the loose upper layers1 dissolving out salt and other minerals1 and having harder work to soak through1 the lower it went4 ,the water left some of the minerals it had accumulated1 calcium and silica and iron1 in the lower rock beds1 making them harder than they were before1 and heavier and less porous4 ,when the river gorge was cut through these layers of rock1 the colour and thickness of each kind were laid bare4 ,centuries after1 perhaps thousands of years1 indeed1 the quarrymen cut out the layers fit for building stones1 flags for walks and slates for roofing4 ,in the splitting of a flagstone1 the long-buried skeleton of the fish came to light4 ,under our feet the earth lies in layers4 ,under the soil lie loose beds of clay and sand and gravel1 and under these loose kinds of earth are close-packed clays1 sandstones1 limestones1 shales1 often strangely tilted away from the horizontal line1 but variously fitted1 one layer to another4 ,under these rocks lie the foundations of the earth--the fire-formed rocks1 like granite4 ,the depth of this original rock is unknown4 ,it is the substance out of which the earth is made1 we think4 ,all the layered rocks are made of particles of the older ones1 stolen by wind and water1 and finally deposited on the borders of lakes and seas4 ,so our rivers are doing to-day what they have always done--they are tearing down rocks1 grinding and sifting the fragments1 and letting them fall where the current of fresh water meets a great body of water that is still1 or has currents contrary to that of the river4 ,do you see a little dead fish in the water8 ,it is on the way to become a fossil1 and the mud that sifts over it1 to become a layer of slate4 ,every seashore buries its dead in layers of sand and mud4 ,,the ,,crust ,,of ,,the ,,earth ,it is hard to believe that our solid earth was once a ball of seething liquid1 like the red-hot iron that is poured out of the big clay cups into the sand moulds at an iron foundry4 ,but when a mountain like ,vesuvius sets up a mighty rumbling1 and finally a mass of white-hot lava bursts from the centre and streams down the sides1 covering the vineyards and olive orchards1 and driving the people out of their homes in terror1 it seems as if the earth's crust must be but a thin and frail affair1 covering a fiery interior1 which might at any time break out4 ,the people who live near volcanoes might easily get this idea4 ,but they do not4 ,they go back as soon as the lava streams are cooled1 and rebuild their homes1 and plant more orchards and vineyards4 ,it is so many years1 say they to one another1 since the last bad eruption4 ,vesuvius will probably sleep now till we are dead and gone4 ,this is good reasoning4 ,there are few active volcanoes left on the earth1 compared with the number that were once active1 and long ago became extinct4 ,and the time between eruptions of the active ones grows longer2 the eruptions less violent4 ,terrible as were the recent earthquakes of ,san ,francisco and ,messina1 this form of disturbance of the earth's crust is growing constantly less frequent4 ,the earth is growing cooler as it grows older2 the crust thickens and grows stronger as centuries pass4 ,we have been studying the earth only a few hundred years4 ,the crust has been cooling for millions of years1 and mountain-making was the result of the shrinking of the crust4 ,that formed folds and clefts1 and let masses of the heated substance pour out on the surface4 ,my first geography lesson ,i shall never forget4 ,the new teacher had very bright eyes and such pretty hands6 ,she held up a red apple1 and told us that the earth's substance was melted and burning1 inside its crust1 which was about as thick1 in proportion to the size of the globe1 as the skin of the apple4 ,i was filled with wonder and fear4 ,what if we children jumped the rope so hard as to break through the fragile shell1 and drop out of sight in a sea of fiery metal1 like melted iron8 ,some of the boys didn't believe it1 but they were impressed1 nevertheless4 ,the theory of the heated interior of the earth is still believed1 but the idea that flames and bubbling metals are enclosed in the outer layer of solid matter has generally been abandoned4 ,the power that draws all of its particles toward the earth's centre is stated by the laws of gravitation4 ,the amount of pull is the measure of the weight of any substance4 ,lift a stone1 and then a feather pillow1 much larger than the stone4 ,one is strongly drawn to the earth2 the other not4 ,one is heavy1 we say1 the other light4 ,if a stone you can pick up is heavy1 how much heavier is a great boulder that it takes a four-horse team to haul4 ,what tremendous weight there is in all the boulders scattered on a hillside6 ,the hill itself could not be made level without digging away thousands of tons of earth4 ,the earth's outer crust1 with its miles in depth of mountains and level ground1 is a crushing weight lying on the heated under-substance4 ,every foot of depth adds greatly to the pressure exerted upon the mass1 for the attraction of gravitation increases amazingly as the centre of the earth is approached4 ,it is now believed that the earth is solid to its centre1 though heated to a high degree4 ,terrific pressure1 which causes this heat1 is exerted by the weight of the crust4 ,a crack in the crust may relieve this pressure at some point1 and a mass of substance may be forced out and burst into a flaming stream of lava4 ,such an eruption is familiar in volcanic regions4 ,the fact that red-hot lava streams from the crater of ,vesuvius is no proof that it was seething and bubbling while far below the surface4 ,volcanoes1 geysers1 and hot springs prove that the earth's interior is hot4 ,the crust is frozen the year around in the polar regions1 and never between the ,tropics of ,cancer and ,capricorn4 ,the sun's rays produce our different climates1 but they affect only the surface4 ,underground1 there is a rise of a degree of temperature for every fifty feet one goes down4 ,the lowest mine shaft is about a mile deep4 ,that is only one four-thousandth of the distance to the earth's centre4 ,by an easy computation we could locate the known melting-point for metals and other rock materials4 ,but one degree for each fifty feet of depth below the surface may not be correct for the second mile1 as it is for the first4 ,again1 the melting-point is probably a great deal higher for substances under great pressure4 ,the weight of the crust is a burden the under-rocks bear4 ,probably the pressure on every square inch reaches thousands of tons4 ,could any substance become liquid with such a weight upon it1 whatever heat it attained8 ,nobody can answer this question4 ,the theory that volcanoes are chimneys connecting lakes of burning lava with the surface of the earth is discredited by geologists4 ,the weight of the overlying crust would1 they think1 close such chambers1 and reduce liquids to a solid condition4 ,since the first land rose above the sea1 the crust of the earth has gradually become more stable1 but even now there is scarcely a day when the instruments called seismographs do not record earthquake shocks in some part of the earth2 and the outbreaks of ,vesuvius and tna1 the constant boiling of lava in the craters of the ,hawaiian ,islands and other volcanic centres1 prove that even now the earth's crust is very thin and unstable4 ,the further back in time we go1 the thinner was the crust1 the more frequent the outbursts of volcanic activity1 the more readily did wrinkles form4 ,the shores of ,new ,jersey and of ,greenland are gradually sinking1 and the sea coming up over the land4 ,certain parts of the world are gradually rising out of the sea4 ,in earlier times the rising or the sinking of land over large areas happened much more frequently than now4 ,,what ,,is ,,the ,,earth ,,made ,,of8 ,baking day is a great institution in the comfortable farm life of the ,american people4 ,the big range oven is not allowed to grow cold until rows of pies adorn the pantry shelves1 and cakes1 tarts1 and generous loaves of bread are added to the store4 ,cookies1 perhaps1 and a big pan full of crisp1 brown doughnuts often crown the day's work4 ,no gallery of art treasures will ever charm the grown-up boys and girls as those pantry shelves charmed the bright-eyed1 hungry children1 who were allowed to survey the treasure-house1 and sample its good things while they were still warm4 ,you could count a dozen different kinds of cakes and pies1 rolls and cookies on those pantry shelves1 yet several of them were made out of the same dough4 ,instead of a loaf of bread1 mother could make two or three kinds of coffee cake1 or cinnamon rolls1 or currant buns1 or ,parker-,house rolls4 ,even the pastry1 which made the pies and tarts1 was not so different from the bread dough1 for each was made of flour1 and contained1 besides the salt1 shortening1 which was butter or lard4 ,sugar was used in everything1 from the bread1 which had a table-spoonful1 to the cookies1 which were finished with a sifting of sugar on top4 ,how much of the food we eat is made of a very few staple foodstuffs1--starch1 sugar1 fats6 ,so in the wonderful earth and all that grows out of it and lives upon it4 ,only seventy different elements have been discovered1 counting1 besides the earth1 the water and the air1 and even the strange wandering bodies1 called meteorites1 that fall upon the earth out of the sky4 ,like the flour in the different cakes and pies1 the element carbon is found in abundance and in strangely different combinations4 ,as a gas1 in combination with oxygen1 it is breathed out of our lungs1 and out of chimneys where coal and wood are burned4 ,it forms a large part of the framework of trees and other plants1 and remains as charcoal when the wood is slowly burned under a close covering4 ,there is a good proportion of carbon in animal bodies1 in the bones as well as the soft parts1 and carbon is plentiful in the mineral substances of the earth4 ,the chemist is the man who has determined for us the existence and the distribution of the seventy elements4 ,he finds them in the solid substances of the globe and in the water that covers four-fifths of its surface2 in the atmosphere that covers sea and land1 and in all the living forms of plants and animals that live in the seas and on the land4 ,by means of an instrument called the spectroscope1 the heavenly bodies are proved to be made of the same substances that are found in the rocks4 ,the sun tells what it is made of1 and one proof that the earth is a child of the sun is in the fact that the same elements are found in the substance of both4 ,of the seventy elements1 the most important are these3 ,oxygen1 silicon1 aluminum1 iron1 manganese1 calcium1 magnesium1 potassium1 sodium1 carbon1 hydrogen1 phosphorus1 sulphur1 chlorine1 nitrogen4 ,oxygen is the most plentiful and the most important element4 ,one-fifth of the air we breathe is oxygen2 one-third of the water we drink4 ,the rock foundations of the earth are nearly one-half oxygen4 ,no fire can burn1 no plant or animal can grow1 or even decay after it dies1 unless oxygen is present and takes an active part in each process4 ,strangely enough1 this wonderful element is invisible4 ,we open a window1 and pure air1 rich in oxygen1 comes in and takes the place of the bad air but we cannot see the change4 ,water we see1 but if the oxygen and the hydrogen which compose the colourless liquid were separated1 each would become at once an invisible gas4 ,the oxygen of solid rocks exists only in combination with other elements4 ,silicon is the element which1 united with oxygen1 makes the rock called quartz4 ,on the seashore the children are busy with their pails and shovels digging in the white1 clean sand4 ,these grains are of quartz1--fine crystals of a rock which forms nearly three-quarters of the solid earth's substance4 ,not only in rocks1 but out here in the garden1 the soil is full of particles of sand4 ,you cannot get away from it4 ,aluminum is a light1 bluish-white metal which we know best in expensive cooking utensils4 ,it is more abundant even than iron1 but processes of extracting it from the clay are still expensive4 ,it is oftenest found in combination with oxygen and silicon4 ,while nearly one-tenth of the earth's crust is composed of the metal aluminum1 four-fifths and more is composed of the minerals called silicates of aluminum--oxygen1 silicon1 and aluminum in various combinations4 ,it is more plentiful than any other substance in rocks and in the clays and ordinary soils1 which are the finely ground particles of rock material4 ,iron is one of the commonest of elements4 ,we know it by its red colour4 ,a rusty nail is covered with oxide of iron1 a combination which is readily formed wherever iron is exposed to the action of water or air4 ,you have seen yellowish or red streaks in clefts of the rocks4 ,this shows where water has dissolved out the iron and formed the oxide4 ,the red colour of ,new ,jersey soil is due to the iron it contains4 ,indeed1 the whole earth's crust is rich in iron which the water easily dissolves4 ,the roots of plants take up quantities of iron in solution and this mounts to the blossoms1 leaves1 and fruit4 ,the red or yellow colour of autumn leaves1 of apples1 of strawberries1 of tulips1 and of roses1 is produced by iron4 ,the rosy cheeks of children are due to iron in the food they eat and in the water they drink4 ,the doctor but follows the suggestion of nature when he gives a pale and listless person a tonic of iron to make his blood red4 ,iron is rarely found free1 but it forms about five per cent4 of the crust of the earth1 and it is believed to form at least one-fifth of the unknown centre of the earth1 the bulk of the globe1 the weight of which we know1 but concerning the substance of which we can say little that is positive4 ,manganese is not a conspicuous element1 but is found united with oxygen in purplish or black streaks on the sides of rocks4 ,it is somewhat like iron1 but much less common4 ,calcium is the element that is the foundation of limestones4 ,the skeletons and shells of animals are made of calcite1 a common mineral formed by the uniting of carbon1 oxygen1 and calcium4 ,marbles are1 perhaps1 the most permanent form of the limestone rocks4 ,hard water has filtered through rocks containing calcite1 and absorbed particles of this mineral4 ,from water thus impregnated1 all animal life on the earth obtains its bone-building and shell-building materials4 ,carbon forms a large part of the tissues of plants and animals1 and in the remains of these it is chiefly found in the earth's crust4 ,when these burn or decay1 the carbon remains as charcoal or escapes to the air in union with oxygen as the well known carbonic acid gas4 ,this is one of the most important foods of plants4 ,joined with calcium it forms the mineral calcite1 or carbonate of lime4 ,hydrogen is one of the two gases that unite to form water4 ,oxygen is the other4 ,many kinds of rock contain a considerable amount of water4 ,surface water sinks into porous soils and rocks1 and accumulates in pockets and veins which feed springs1 and are the reserve water supply that keeps our rivers flowing1 even through dry weather4 ,more water is held by absorption in the earth's solid crust than in all the oceans and seas and great lakes4 ,hydrogen1 combined with carbon1 occurs in solid rocks where the remains of plants and animals have slowly decayed4 ,from such processes the so-called hydrocarbons1 rock oil and natural gas1 have accumulated4 ,when such decay goes on above ground1 these valuable products escape into the air4 ,marsh gas1 whose feeble flame above decaying vegetation is the will-o'-the-wisp of swamps1 is an example4 ,magnesium1 potassium1 and sodium are found in equal quantities in the earth's crust1 but never free4 ,in union with chlorine1 each forms a soluble salt1 and is thus found in water4 ,common salt1 chloride of sodium1 is the most abundant of these4 ,water dissolves salt out of the rocks1 and carries it into the sea4 ,clouds that rise by the evaporation of ocean water leave the salt behind1 hence the seas are becoming more and more salty1 for the rivers carry salt to the oceans1 which hold fast all they get4 ,phosphorus is an element found united with oxygen in the tissues of both plants and animals4 ,it is most abundant in bones4 ,rocks containing fossil bones are rich in lime phosphates1 which are important commercial fertilizers for enriching the soil4 ,beds of these rocks are found and mined in ,south ,carolina and elsewhere4 ,sulphur is well known as a yellow powder found most plentifully in rocks that are near volcanoes4 ,it is a needed element in plant and animal bodies4 ,it occurs in rocks1 united with many different elements4 ,in union with oxygen and a metal it forms the group of minerals called sulphates4 ,in union with iron it forms sulphide of iron4 ,the fool's gold which ,captain ,john ,smith's colonists found in the sand at ,jamestown1 was this worthless iron pyrites4 ,chlorine is a greenish1 yellow gas1 very heavy1 and dangerous to inhale4 ,if it gets into the lungs1 it settles into the lowest levels1 and one must stand on one's head to get it out4 ,as an element of the earth's crust it is not very plentiful1 but it is a part of all the chlorides of sodium1 magnesium1 and potassium4 ,in salt1 it forms two per cent4 of the sea water4 ,it is much less abundant in the rocks4 ,to these elements we might add nitrogen1 that invisible gas which forms nearly four-fifths of our atmosphere1 and is a most important element of plant food in the soil4 ,most of the seventy elements are very rare4 ,many are metals1 like gold and iron and silver4 ,some are not metals4 ,some are solid4 ,a few are liquid1 like the metal mercury1 and several are gaseous4 ,some are free and pure1 and show no disposition to unite with others4 ,nuggets of gold are examples of this4 ,some exist only in union with other elements4 ,this is the common rule among the elements4 ,changes are constantly going on4 ,the elements are constantly abandoning old partnerships and forming new ones4 ,growth and decay of plant and animal life are but parts of the great programme of constant change which is going on and has been in progress since the world began4 ,,the ,,first ,,dry ,,land ,when the earth's crust first formed it was still hot1 though not so hot as when it was a mass of melted1 glowing substance4 ,as it moved through the cold spaces of the sky1 it lost more heat and its crust became thicker4 ,at length the cloud masses became condensed enough to fall in torrents of water1 and a great sea covered all the land4 ,this was before any living thing1 plant or animal1 existed on our planet4 ,can you imagine the continents and islands that form the land part of a map or globe suddenly overwhelmed by the oceans1 the names and boundaries of which you have taken such pains to learn in the study of geography8 ,the globe would be one blank of blue water1 and geography would be abolished--and there would be nobody to study it4 ,possibly the fishes in the sea might not notice any change in the course of their lives1 except when they swam among the ruins of buried cities and peered into the windows of high buildings1 or wondered what new kind of seaweed it was when they came upon a submerged forest4 ,in that old time of the great sea that covered the globe1 we are told that there was a dense atmosphere over the face of the deep4 ,so things were shaping themselves for the far-off time when life should exist1 not only in the sea1 where the first life did appear1 but on land4 ,but it took millions of years to fit the earth for living things4 ,the cooling of the earth made it shrink1 and the crust began to be folded into gentle curves1 as the skin of a shrunken apple becomes wrinkled on the flesh4 ,some of these creases merely changed the depth of water on the sea bottom2 but one ridge was lifted above the water4 ,the water parted and streamed down its sloping sides1 and a granite reef1 which shone in the sunshine1 became the first dry land4 ,it lay east and west1 and stretched for many miles4 ,it is still dry land and is a part of our own continent4 ,now it is but a small part of the country1 but it is known by geologists1 who can tell its boundaries1 though newer land joins it on every side4 ,it is named the ,laurentian ,hills1 on geological maps4 ,its southern border reaches along the northern boundary of the ,great ,lakes to the head-waters of the ,mississippi ,river4 ,from this base1 two ridges are lifted1 forming a colossal ,v4 ,one extends northeast to ,nova ,scotia2 the other northwest to the ,arctic seas4 ,the ,v encloses ,hudson ,bay4 ,besides this first elongated island of bare rocks1 land appeared in a strip where now the ,blue ,ridge ,mountains stretch from ,new ,england to ,georgia4 ,the other side of the continent lifted up two folds of the crust above sea level4 ,they are the main ridges of the ,colorado and the ,wasatch ,mountains4 ,possibly the main ridge of the ,sierra ,nevada rose also at this time4 ,the ,ozark group of mountains1 too1 showed as a few island peaks above the sea4 ,these first rocks were rapidly eaten away1 for the atmosphere was not like ours1 but heavily charged with destructive gases1 which did more1 we believe1 to disintegrate the exposed rock surfaces than did the two other forces1 wind and water1 combined4 ,the sediment washed down to the sea by rains1 accumulated along the shores1 filling the shallows and thus adding to the width of the land areas4 ,the ancient granite ridge of the ,laurentian ,hills is now low1 and slopes gently4 ,this is true of all very old mountains4 ,the newer ones are high and steep4 ,it takes time to grind down the peaks and carry off the waste material loosened by erosion4 ,far more material than could have been washed down the slopes of the first land ridges came directly from the interior of the earth1 and spread out in vast1 submarine layers upon the early crust4 ,volcanic craters opened under water1 and poured out liquid mineral matter1 that flowed over the sea bottom before it cooled4 ,imagine the commotion that agitated the water as these submerged chimneys blew off their lids1 and discharged their fiery contents6 ,it was long before the sea was cool enough to be the home of living things4 ,the layers of rock that formed under the sea during this period of the earth's history are of enormous thickness4 ,they were four or five miles deep along the ,laurentian ,hills4 ,they broadened the original granite ridge by filling the sea bottom along the shores4 ,the backbones of the ,appalachian system and the ,cordilleras were built up in the same way--the oldest rocks were worn away1 and their dbris built up newer ones in strata4 ,when these layers of rock became dry land1 the earth's crust was much more stable and cool than it had ever been before4 ,the vast rock-building of that era equals all that has been done since4 ,the layers of rocks formed since then do not equal the total thickness of these first strata4 ,so we believe that the time required to build those ,archan rock foundations equals or surpasses the vast period that has elapsed since the ,archan strata were formed4 ,the northern part of ,north ,america has grown around those old granite ridges by the gradual rising of the shores4 ,the geologist may walk along the ,laurentian ,hills1 that parted the waters into a northern and a southern ocean4 ,he crosses the rocky beds deposited upon the granite2 then the successive beds formed as the land rose and the ocean receded4 ,age after age is recorded in the rocks4 ,gradually the sea is crowded back1 and the land masses1 east1 west1 and north1 meet to form the continent4 ,nowhere on the earth are the steps of continental growth shown in unbroken sequence as they are in ,north ,america4 ,how long ago did those first islands appear above the sea8 ,nobody ventures a definite answer to this question4 ,no one has the means of knowing4 ,but those who know most about it estimate that at the least one hundred million years have passed since then--one hundred thousand thousand years6 ,a ,,study ,,of ,,granite ,in ,every village cemetery it is easy to find shafts of gray or speckled granite1 the polished surfaces of which show that the granite is made of small bits of different coloured minerals1 cemented together into solid rock4 ,outside the gate you will usually find a place where monuments and gravestones may be bought4 ,here there is usually a stonecutter chipping away on a block with his graving tools4 ,he is a man worth knowing1 and because his work is rather monotonous he will probably be glad to talk to a chance visitor and answer questions about the different kinds of stone on which he works4 ,there are bits of granite lying about on the ground4 ,if you have a hand-glass of low power1 such as the botany class uses to examine the parts of flowers1 it will be interesting to look through it and see the magnified surface of a flake of broken granite4 ,here are bits of glassy quartz1 clear and sparkling in the sun4 ,black and white may be all the colours you make out in this specimen1 or it may be that you see specks of pink1 dark green1 gray1 and smoky brown1 all cemented together with no spaces that are not filled4 ,the particles of quartz are of various colours1 and are very hard4 ,they scratch glass1 and you cannot scratch them with the steel point of your knife1 as you can scratch the other minerals associated with the grains of quartz4 ,granite is made of quartz1 feldspar1 and mica1 sometimes with added particles of hornblende4 ,feldspar particles have as wide a range of colour as quartz1 but it is easy to tell the two apart4 ,a knife will scratch feldspar1 as it is not so hard as quartz4 ,the crystals of feldspar have smooth faces1 while quartz breaks with a rough surface as glass does4 ,feldspar loses its glassy lustre when exposed to the weather1 and becomes dull1 with the soft lustre of pearl4 ,mica may be clear and glassy1 and it ranges in colour from transparency through various shades of brown to black4 ,it has the peculiarity of splitting into thin1 leaf-like1 flexible sheets1 so it is easy to find out which particles in a piece of granite are mica4 ,one has only to use one's pocket knife with a little care4 ,hornblende is a dark mineral which contains considerable iron4 ,it is found in lavas and granites1 where it easily decays by the rusting of the iron4 ,it is not unusual to see a rough granite boulder streaked with dark red rust from this cause4 ,the crumbling of granite is constantly going on as a result of the exposure of its four mineral elements to the air4 ,quartz is the most stable and resistant to weathering4 ,soil water trickling over a granite cliff has little effect on the quartz particles2 but it dissolves out some of the silicon4 ,the bits of feldspar are even more resistant to water than quartz is1 but the air causes them to decay rapidly1 and finally to fall away in a sort of mealy clay4 ,mica1 like feldspar1 decays easily4 ,its substance is dissolved by water and carried away to become a kind of clay4 ,the hornblende rusts away chiefly under the influence of moist air and trickling water4 ,we think of granite as a firm1 imperishable kind of rock1 and use it in great buildings like churches and cathedrals that are to stand for centuries4 ,but the faces that are exposed to the air suffer1 especially in regions having a moist climate4 ,the signs of decay are plainly visible on the outer surfaces of these stones4 ,fortunate it is that the weathering process cannot go very deep4 ,the glassy polish on a smooth granite shaft is the silicon which acts as a cement to bind all the particles together4 ,it is resistant to the weather4 ,a polished shaft will last longer than an unpolished one4 ,granites differ in colouring because the minerals that compose them1 the feldspars1 quartzes1 micas1 and hornblendes1 have each so wide a range of colour4 ,again1 the proportions of the different mineral elements vary greatly in different granites4 ,a banded granite the colours of which give it a stratified appearance is called a gneiss4 ,we have spoken before of the seventy elements found in the earth's crust4 ,a mineral is a union of two or more of these different elements2 and we have found four minerals composing our granite rock4 ,it may be interesting to go back and inquire what elements compose these four minerals4 ,quartz is made of silicon and oxygen4 ,feldspar is made of silicon1 oxygen1 and aluminum4 ,mica is made of silicon1 oxygen1 and carbon1 with some mingling of potassium and iron and other elements in differing proportions4 ,hornblende is made of silicon1 oxygen1 carbon1 and iron4 ,the crumbling of a granite rock separates the minerals that compose it1 reducing some to the condition of clay1 others to grains of sand4 ,some of the elements let go their union and become free to form new unions4 ,water and wind gather up the fragments of crumbling granite and carry them away4 ,the feldspar and mica fragments form clay2 the quartz fragments1 sand4 ,all of the sandstones and slates1 the sand-banks and sand beaches1 are made out of crumbled granite1 the rocky foundations of the earth4 ,,metamorphic ,,rocks ,in the dawn of life on the earth1 soft-bodied creatures1 lowest in the scale of being1 inhabited the sea4 ,the ancient volcanoes the subterranean eruptions of which had spread layers of mineral substance on the ocean floor1 and heated the water to a high degree1 had subsided4 ,the ocean was sufficiently cool to maintain life4 ,the land was being worn down1 and its dbris washed into the ocean4 ,the first sand-banks were accumulating along sandy shores4 ,the finer sediment was carried farther out and deposited as mud-banks4 ,these were buried under later deposits1 and finally1 by the rising of the earth's crust1 they became dry land4 ,time and pressure converted the sand-banks into sandstones2 the mud-banks into clay4 ,the remains of living creatures utterly disappeared1 for they had no hard parts to be preserved as fossils4 ,the shrinking of the earth's crust had crumpled into folds of the utmost complexity those horizontal layers of lava rock poured out on the ocean floor4 ,next1 the same forces attacked the thick rock layers formed out of sediment--the aqueous or water-formed sandstones and clays4 ,the core of the globe contracts1 and the force that crumples the crust to fit the core generates heat4 ,the alkaline water in the rocks joins with the heat produced by the crumpling and crushing forces1 acting downward1 and from the sides1 to transform pure sandstone into glassy quartzite1 and clay into slate4 ,in other words1 water-formed rocks are baked until they become fire-formed rocks4 ,they are what the geologist calls metamorphic1 which means changed4 ,in many mountainous regions there are breaks through the strata of sandstone and slates and limestones1 through which streams of lava have poured forth from the heated interior4 ,along the sides of these fissures the hot lava has changed all the rocks it touched4 ,the heat of the volcanic rock matter has melted the silica in the sand1 which has hardened again into a crystalline substance like glass4 ,have you ever visited a brick-yard8 ,here men are sifting clay dug out of a pit or the side of a hill1 adding sand from a sand-bank1 and in a big mixing box1 stirring these two dry ingredients with water into a thick paste4 ,this dough is moulded into bricks1 sun-dried1 and then baked in kilns themselves built of bricks4 ,at the end of the baking1 the soft1 doughy clay block is transformed into a hard1 glassy1 or dull brick4 ,from aqueous rock materials1 fire has produced a metamorphic rock4 ,volcanic action is imitated in this common1 simple process of brickmaking4 ,milwaukee brick is made of clay that has no iron in it4 ,for this reason the bricks are yellow after baking4 ,most bricks are red1 on account of the iron in the clay1 which is converted into a red oxide1 or rust1 by water and heat4 ,common flower pots and the tiles used in draining wet land are not glazed1 as hard-burned bricks are4 ,the baking of these clay things is done with much less heat4 ,they are left somewhat porous4 ,but the tiles of roofs are baked harder1 and get a surface glaze by the melting of the glassy particles of the sand4 ,as bricks vary in colour and quality according to the materials that compose them1 so the metamorphic rocks differ4 ,the white sand one sees on many beaches is largely quartz4 ,this is the substance of pure1 white sandstone4 ,metamorphism melts the silica into a glassy liquid cement2 the particles are bound close together on cooling4 ,the rock becomes a white1 granular quartzite1 that looks like loaf sugar4 ,if banded1 it is called gneiss4 ,such rocks take a fine polish4 ,pure limestone is also white and granular4 ,when metamorphosed by heat1 it becomes white marble4 ,the glassy cement that holds the particles of lime carbonate shows as the glaze of the polished surface4 ,it is silica4 ,one sees the same mineral on the face of polished granite4 ,clays are rarely pure4 ,kaolin is a white clay which1 when baked1 becomes porcelain4 ,china-ware is artificially metamorphosed kaolin4 ,in the early rocks the clay beds were transformed by heat into jasper and slates4 ,in beds where clay mingled with sand1 in layers1 gneiss was formed4 ,if mica is a prominent element1 the metamorphic rock is easily parted into overlapping1 scaly layers4 ,it is a mica schist4 ,if hornblende is the most abundant mineral1 the same scaly structure shows in a dark rock called hornblende schist1 rich in iron4 ,a schist containing much magnesia is called serpentine4 ,the bricks of the wall1 the tiles on the roof1 the flower pots on the window sill1 and the dishes on the breakfast table1 are examples of metamorphic rocks made by man's skill1 by the use of fire and water acting on sand and clay4 ,pottery has preserved the record of civilization1 from the making of the first crude utensils by cave men to the finest expression of decorative art in glass and porcelain4 ,the choicest material of the builder and the sculptor is limestone baked by the fires under the earth's crust into marble4 ,the most enduring of all the rocks are the foundation granite1 and the metamorphic rocks that lie next to them4 ,over these lie thick layers of sedimentary rocks laid down by water4 ,in them the record of life on the earth is written in fossils4 ,,the ,,air ,,in ,,motion ,most of the beautiful things that surround us and make our lives full of happiness appeal to one or more of our five senses4 ,the green trees we can see1 the bird songs we hear1 the perfume of honey-laden flowers we smell1 the velvety smoothness of a peach we feel1 and its rich pulp we taste4 ,but over all and through all the things we see and feel and hear and taste and smell1 is the life-giving air1 that lies like a blanket1 miles in depth1 upon the earth4 ,the substance which makes the life of plants and animals possible is1 when motionless1 an invisible1 tasteless1 odourless substance1 which makes no sound and is not perceptible to the touch4 ,air fills the porous substance of the earth's crust for a considerable distance1 and even the water has so much air in it that fishes are able to breathe without coming to the surface4 ,it is not a simple element1 like gold1 or carbon1 or calcium1 but is made up of several elements1 chief among which are nitrogen and oxygen4 ,four-fifths of its bulk is nitrogen and one-fifth oxygen4 ,there is present in air more or less of watery vapour and of carbon dioxide1 the gas which results from the burning or decay of any substance4 ,although no more than one per cent4 of the air that surrounds us is water1 yet this is a most important element4 ,it forms the clouds that bear water back from the ocean and scatter it in rain upon the thirsty land4 ,solid matter in the form of dust1 and soot from chimneys1 accumulates in the clouds and does a good work in condensing the moisture and causing it to fall4 ,it is believed that the air reaches to a height of one hundred to two hundred miles above the earth's surface4 ,if a globe six feet in diameter were furnished with an atmosphere proportionately as deep as ours1 it would be about an inch in depth4 ,at the level of the sea the air reaches its greatest density4 ,two miles above sea-level it is only two-thirds as dense4 ,on the tops of high mountains1 four or five miles above sea level1 the air is so rarefied as to cause the blood to start from the nostrils and eyelids of explorers4 ,the walls of the little blood-vessels are broken by the expansion of the air that is inside4 ,at the sea-level air presses at the rate of fifteen pounds per square foot in all directions4 ,as one ascends to higher levels1 the air pressure becomes less and less4 ,the barometer is the instrument by which the pressure of air is measured4 ,a glass tube1 closed at one end1 and filled with mercury1 the liquid metal often called quicksilver1 is inverted in a cup of the same metal1 and so supported that the metal is free to flow between the two vessels4 ,the pressure of air on the surface of the mercury in the cup is sufficient at the sea-level to sustain a column of mercury thirty inches high in the tube4 ,as the instrument is carried up the side of a mountain the mercury falls in the tube4 ,this is because the air pressure decreases the higher up we go4 ,if we should descend into the shaft of the deepest mine that reaches below the sea level1 the column of air supported by the mercury in the cup would be a mile higher1 and for this reason its weight would be correspondingly greater4 ,the mercury would thus be forced higher in the tube than the thirty-inch mark1 which indicates sea-level4 ,another form of barometer often seen is a tube1 the lower and open end of which forms a ,u-shaped curve4 ,in this open end the downward pressure of the air rests upon the mercury and holds it up in the closed end1 forcing it higher as the instrument is carried to loftier altitudes4 ,at sea level a change of #ijj feet in altitude makes a change of an inch in the height of the mercury in the column4 ,the glass tube is marked with the fractions of inches1 or of the metre if the metric system of measurements is used4 ,it is a peculiarity of air to become heated when it is compressed1 and cooled when it is allowed to expand again4 ,it is also true that when the sun rises1 the atmosphere is warmed by its rays4 ,this is why the hottest part of the day is near noon when the sun's rays fall vertically4 ,the earth absorbs a great deal of the sun's heat in the daytime and through the summer season4 ,when it cools this heat is given off1 thus warming the surrounding atmosphere4 ,in the polar regions1 north and south1 the air is far below freezing point the year round4 ,in the region of the ,equator it rarely falls below #ij degrees1 a temperature which we find very uncomfortable1 especially when there is a good deal of moisture in the air4 ,if we climb a mountain in ,mexico1 we leave the sultry valley1 where the heat is almost unbearable1 and very soon notice a change4 ,for every three hundred feet of altitude we gain there is a fall of one degree in the temperature4 ,before we are half way up the slope we have left behind the tropical vegetation1 and come into a temperate zone1 where the plants are entirely different from those in the lower valley4 ,as we climb1 the vegetation becomes stunted1 and the thermometer drops still lower4 ,at last we come to the region of perpetual snow1 where the climate is like that of the frozen north4 ,so we see that the air becomes gradually colder as we go north or south from the ,equator1 and the same change is met as we rise higher and higher from the level of the sea4 ,it is only when air is in motion that we can feel and hear it1 and there are very few moments of the day1 and days of the year1 when there is not a breeze4 ,on a still day fanning sets the air in motion1 and creates a miniature breeze1 the sound of which we hear in the swishing of the fan4 ,the great blanket of air that covers the earth is in a state of almost constant disturbance1 because of the lightness of warm air and the heaviness of cold air4 ,these two different bodies are constantly changing places4 ,for instance1 the heated air at the ,equator is constantly being crowded upward by cold air which settles to the level of the earth4 ,cold streams of air flow to the ,tropics from north and south of the ,equator1 and push upward the air heated by the sun4 ,this constant inrush of air from north and south forms a double belt of constant winds4 ,if the earth stood still1 no doubt the direction would be due north and due south for these winds2 but the earth rotates rapidly from west to east upon its axis1 carrying with it everything that is securely fastened to the surface3 the trees1 the houses1 etc4 ,but the air is not a part of the earth1 not even so much as the seas1 the waters of which must stay in their proper basins1 and be whirled around with other fixed objects4 ,the earth whirls so rapidly that the winds from north and south of the ,equator lag behind1 and thus take a constantly diagonal direction4 ,instead of due south the northern belt of cold air drifts south-west and the southern belt drifts northwest4 ,these are called the ,trade ,winds4 ,near the ,equator they are practically east winds4 ,the belt of trade winds is about fifty degrees wide4 ,it swings northward in our summer and southward in our winter1 its centre following the vertical position of the sun4 ,near the centre of the course which marks the meeting of the northern with the southern winds is a ,belt of ,calms where the air draws upward in a strong draught4 ,the colder air of the trade winds is pushing up the columns of light1 heated air4 ,this strip is known by sailors as the ,doldrums1 or the region of equatorial calms4 ,though never wider than two or three hundred miles1 this is a region dreaded by captains of sailing-vessels1 for they often lie becalmed for weeks in an effort to reach the friendly trade winds that help them to their desired ports4 ,vessels becalmed are at the mercy of sudden tempests which come suddenly like thunder-storms1 and sometimes do great damage to vessels because they take the sailors unawares and allow no time to shorten sail4 ,until late years the routes of vessels were charted so that sailors could take advantage of the trade winds in their long voyages4 ,it was necessary in the days of sailing-vessels for the captain to understand the movements of winds which furnished the motive power that carried his vessel4 ,fortunate it was for him that there were steady winds in the temperate zones that he could take advantage of in latitudes north of the ,tropic of ,cancer and south of the ,tropic of ,capricorn4 ,what becomes of the hot air that rises in a constant stream above the ,doldrums1 pushed up by the cooler trade winds that blow in from north and south8 ,naturally this air cannot ascend very high1 for it soon reaches an altitude in which its heat is rapidly lost1 and it would sink if it were not constantly being pushed by the rising column of warm air under it4 ,so it turns and flows north and south at a level above the trade winds4 ,not far north of the ,tropic of ,cancer it sinks to the level of sea and land1 and forms a belt of winds that blows ships in a northeasterly direction4 ,between trades and anti-trades is another zone of calms1--near the ,tropics of ,cancer and of ,capricorn4 ,the land masses of the continents with their high mountain ranges interfere with these winds1 especially in the northern hemisphere1 but in the ,southern ,pacific and on the opposite side of the globe the ,roaring ,forties1 as these prevailing westerly winds are known by the sailors1 have an almost unbroken waste of seas over which they blow4 ,in the long voyages between ,england and ,australia1 and in the ,indian trade1 the ships of ,england set their sails to catch the roaring forties both going and coming4 ,they accomplish this by sailing past the ,cape of ,good ,hope on the outward voyage and coming home by way of ,cape ,horn1 thus circling the globe with every trip4 ,in the ,north ,atlantic1 traffic is now mostly carried on in vessels driven by engines1 not by sails4 ,yet the westerly winds that blow from the ,west ,indies diagonally across the ,atlantic are still useful to all sailing craft that are making for ,british ports4 ,from the north and from the south cold air flows down into the regions of warmer climate4 ,these polar winds are not so important to sea commerce1 but they do a great work in tempering the heat in the equatorial regions4 ,we cannot know how much our summers are tempered by the cool breath of winds that blow over polar ice-fields4 ,and the cold regions of the earth1 in their brief summer1 enjoy the benefits of the warm breezes that flow north and south from the heated equatorial regions4 ,the land1 north and south1 is made habitable by the clouds4 ,they gather their burdens of vapour from the warm seas1 the wind drifts them north and south1 where they let it fall in rains that make and keep the earth green and beautiful4 ,from the clouds the earth gathers1 like a great sponge1 the water that stores the springs and feeds rivers and lakes4 ,how necessary are the winds that transport the cloud masses6 ,the air is the breath of life to all living things on our planet4 ,mars is one of the sun's family so provided4 ,plants or animals could probably live on the planet ,mars4 ,do we think often enough of this invisible1 life-giving element upon which we depend so constantly8 ,the open air which the wind purifies by keeping it in motion is the best place in which to work1 to play1 and to sleep1 when work and play are done and we rest until another day comes4 ,indoors we need all the air we can coax to come in through windows and doors4 ,fresh air purifies air that is stale and unwholesome from being shut up4 ,nobody is afraid1 nowadays1 to breathe night air6 ,what a foolish notion it was that led people to close their bedroom windows at night4 ,clean air1 in plenty1 day and night1 we need4 ,air and sunshine are the two best gifts of ,god4 ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,the ,,wind ,when the ,march wind comes blustering down the street1 rudely dashing a cloud of dust in our faces1 we are uncomfortable and out of patience4 ,we duck our heads and cover our faces1 but even then we are likely to get a cinder in one eye1 to swallow germs by the dozens1 and to get a gray coating of plain1 harmless dust4 ,we welcome the rain that lays the dust1 or its feeble imitation1 the water sprinkler1 that brings us temporary relief4 ,on the quietest day1 even after a thorough sweeping and dusting of the library1 you are able to write your name plainly on the film of dust that lies on the polished table4 ,take a book from the open shelves1 and blow into the trough of its top4 ,this is always dusty4 ,where does the dust come from8 ,this is the house-keeper's riddle4 ,the answer is not a hard one4 ,i look out of my window on a street which is famous as the road ,washington took on his retreat from ,white ,plains to ,trenton4 ,it has always been the main thoroughfare between ,new ,york and ,philadelphia1 and now is the route that automobiles follow4 ,a constant procession of vehicles passes my house1 and to-day each one approaches in a cloud of dust4 ,the air is gray with suspended particles of dirt4 ,the wind carries the successive clouds1 and they roll up against the houses like breakers on the beach4 ,windows and doors are loose enough to let dust sift in4 ,when a door opens1 the cloud enters and lights on rugs and carpets and curtains4 ,any ledge collects its share of dust4 ,the beating of carpets and rugs disturbs the accumulated dust of many months4 ,illustration3 ,in this lonely ,arizona desert the wind drifts the sand into dunes1 just as it does on the toe of ,cape ,cod ,illustration3 ,the ,grand ,canyon of the ,colorado shows on a magnificent scale the work of water in cutting away rock walls ,the wind sweeps the ploughed field1 and takes all the dust it can carry4 ,it blows the finest top soil from our gardens into the street4 ,it blows soil from other fields and gardens into ours1 so the level of our land is not noticeably lowered4 ,the wind strips the high land and drops its burden on lower levels4 ,this is one of the big jobs the water has to do1 and the wind is a valuable helper4 ,to tear down the mountains and fill in the valleys is the great work of the two partners1 wind and water4 ,dead1 still air holds the finest dust1 without letting it fall4 ,the buoyancy of the particles overcomes their weight4 ,we see them in a sunbeam1 like shining points of precious metal1 and watch them4 ,a light breeze picks up bits of soil and litter1 from the smallest up to a certain size and weight4 ,if the velocity of the wind increases1 its carrying power increases4 ,it is able to carry bits that are larger and heavier4 ,the following table is exact and interesting3 ,velocity ,pressure in ,miles in ,pounds per ,hour per ,sq4 ,ft4 ,light breeze #ad #a ,strong breeze #db #i ,strong gale #gj #be ,hurricane #hd #cf ,the terrible paths of hurricanes are seen in forest countries4 ,the trees are uprooted1 as if a great roller had crushed them1 throwing the tops all in one direction1 and leaving the roots uncovered1 and a sunken pocket where each tree stood4 ,on a steep1 rocky slope1 the uprooting of scattered trees often loosens tons of rock1 and sends the mass thundering down the mountain-side4 ,much more destruction may be accomplished by one brief tornado than by years of wear by ordinary breezes4 ,the wind does much to help the waves in their patient beating on rocky shores4 ,if the wind blows from the ocean and the tide is landward1 the two forces combine1 and the loose rocks are thrown against the solid beach with astonishing force4 ,even the gravel and the sharp sand are tools of great usefulness to the waves in grinding down the resisting shore4 ,up and back they are swept by the water1 and going and coming they have their chance to scratch or strike a blow4 ,boulders on the beach become pockmarked by the constant sand-blast that plays upon them4 ,the lower windows of exposed seaside houses are dimmed by the sand that picks away the smooth surface outside1 making it ground glass by the same process used in the factory4 ,lighthouses have this difficulty in keeping their windows clear4 ,the lantern itself is sometimes reached by the sand grains4 ,that is the cupola in which burns the great light that warns vessels away from the rocks and tells the captain where he is4 ,in the ,far ,western ,states the telegraph poles and fence posts are soon cut off at the ground by the flinty knives the wind carries4 ,these are the grains of sand that are blown along just above the ground4 ,the trees are killed by having their bark girdled in this way4 ,the sand-storms which in the orange and lemon region of ,california are called ,santa ,anas sometimes last two or three days1 and damage the trees by piercing the tender bark with the needle-pointed sand4 ,wind-driven soil1 gathered from the sides of bare hills and mountains1 fills many valleys of ,china with a fine1 hard-packed material called loess4 ,in some places it is hundreds of feet deep4 ,the people dig into the side of a hill of this loess and carry out the diggings1 making themselves homes1 of many rooms1 with windows1 doors1 and solid walls and floors1 all in one solid piece1 like the chambered house a mole makes underground in the middle of a field4 ,so compact is the loess that there is no danger of a cave-in4 ,the hills of sand piled up on the southern shore of ,lake ,michigan1 and at ,provincetown1 at the toe of ,cape ,cod1 are the work of the wind4 ,on almost any sandy shore these dunes are common4 ,the long slope is toward the beach that furnishes the sand4 ,the wind does the building4 ,up the slope it climbs1 then drops its burden1 which slides to the bottom of an abrupt landward steep4 ,there is a gradual movement inland if the strongest winds come from the water4 ,the shifting of the dunes threatens to cover fertile land near them4 ,in the desert regions1 the border-land is always in danger of being taken back again1 even though it has been reclaimed from the desert and cultivated for long years4 ,besides tearing down1 carrying away1 and building up again the fragments of the earth's crust1 the wind does much that makes the earth a pleasant planet to live on4 ,it drives the clouds over the land1 bringing rains and snows and scattering them where they will bless the thirsty ground and feed the springs and brooks and rivers4 ,it scatters the seeds of plants1 and thus plants forests and prairies and lovely mountain slopes1 making the wonderful wild gardens that men find when they first enter and explore a new region4 ,the trade winds blow the warm air of the ,tropics north and south1 making the climate of the northern countries milder than it would otherwise be4 ,sea winds blow coolness over the land in summer1 and cool lake breezes temper the inland regions4 ,from the snow-capped mountains come the winds that refresh the hot1 tired worker in the valleys4 ,everywhere the wind blows1 the life-giving oxygen is carried4 ,this is what we mean when we speak of fresh air4 ,stagnant air is as unwholesome as stagnant water4 ,constant moving purifies both4 ,so we must give the wind credit for some of the greatest blessings that come into our lives4 ,light and warmth come from the sun4 ,pure water and pure air are gifts the bountiful earth provides4 ,without them there would be no life on the earth4 ,,rain ,,in ,,summer ,how beautiful is the rain6 ,after the dust and heat1 ,in the broad and fiery street1 ,in the narrow lane1 ,how beautiful is the rain6 ,how it clatters along roofs1 ,like the tramp of hoofs6 ,how it gushes and struggles out ,from the throat of the overflowing spout6 ,across the window-pane ,it pours and pours2 ,and swift and wide1 ,with a muddy tide1 ,like a river down the gutter roars ,the rain1 the welcome rain6 ,the sick man from his chamber looks ,at the twisted brooks2 ,he can feel the cool ,breath of each little pool2 ,his fevered brain ,grows calm again1 ,and he breathes a blessing on the rain4 --,,henry ,w4 ,,longfellow4 ,,what ,,becomes ,,of ,,the ,,rain8 ,the clouds that sail overhead are made of watery vapour4 ,sometimes they look like great masses of cotton-wool against the intense blue of the sky4 ,sometimes they are set like fleecy plumes high above the earth4 ,sometimes they hang like a sullen blanket of gray smoke1 so low they almost touch the roofs of the houses4 ,indeed1 they often rest on the ground and then we walk through a dense fog4 ,in their various forms1 clouds are like wet sponges1 and when they are wrung dry they disappear--all their moisture falls upon the earth4 ,when the air is warm1 the water comes in the form of rain4 ,if it is cold1 the drops are frozen into hail1 sleet1 or snow4 ,all of the water in the oceans1 in the lakes and rivers1 great and small1 all over the earth1 comes from one source1 the clouds4 ,in the course of a year enough rain and snow fall to cover the entire surface of the globe to a depth of forty inches4 ,this quantity of water amounts to #cd1dhj barrels on every acre4 ,what becomes of it all8 ,we can easily understand that all the seas and the other bodies of water would simply add forty inches to their depth1 and many would become larger1 because the water would creep up on their gradually sloping shores4 ,we have to account for the rain and the snow that fall upon the dry land and disappear4 ,go out after a drenching rainstorm and look for the answer to this question4 ,the gullies along the street are full of muddy1 running water4 ,there are pools of standing water on level places1 but on every slope the water is hurrying away4 ,the ground is so sticky that wagons on country roads may mire to the hubs in the pasty earth4 ,there is no use in trying to work in the garden or to mow the lawn4 ,the sod is soft as a cushion1 and the garden soil is water-soaked below the depth of a spading-fork4 ,the sun comes out1 warm and bright1 and the flagstones of the sidewalk soon begin to steam like the wooden planks of the board walk4 ,the sun is changing the surface water into steam which rises into the sky to form a part of another bank of clouds4 ,the earth has soaked up quantities of the water that fell4 ,if we followed the racing currents in the gullies we should find them pouring into sewer mains at various points1 and from these underground pipes the water is conducted to some outlet like a river4 ,all of the streams are swollen by the hundreds of brooks and rivulets that are carrying the surface water to the lowest level4 ,illustration3 ,rain and wind are the sculptors that have carved these strange castles out of a rocky table ,illustration3 ,all the water in the seas1 lakes1 rivers1 and springs came out of the clouds ,so we can see some of the rainfall going back to the sky1 some running off through rivulets to the sea1 and some soaking into the ground4 ,it will be interesting to follow this last portion as it gradually settles into the earth4 ,the soil will hold a certain quantity1 for it is made up of fine particles1 all separated by air spaces1 and it acts like a sponge4 ,in seasons of drought and great heat the sun will draw this soil water back to the surface1 by forming cracks in the earth1 and fine1 hair-like tubes1 through which the vapour may easily rise4 ,the gardener has to rake the surface of the beds frequently to stop up these channels by which the sun is stealing the precious moisture4 ,the water that the surface soil cannot absorb sinks lower and lower into the ground4 ,it finds no trouble to settle through layers of sand1 for the particles do not fit closely together4 ,it may come to a bed of clay which is far closer4 ,here progress is retarded4 ,the water may accumulate1 but finally it will get through1 if the clay is not too closely packed4 ,again it may sink rapidly through thick beds of gravel or sand4 ,reaching another bed of clay which is stiffer by reason of the weight of the earth above it1 the water may find that it cannot soak through4 ,the only way to pass this clay barrier is to fill the basin1 and to trickle over the edge1 unless a place is found in the bottom where some looser substance offers a passage4 ,let us suppose that a concave clay basin of considerable depth is filled with water-soaked sand4 ,at the very lowest point on the edge of this basin a stream will slowly trickle out1 and will continue to flow1 as long as water from above keeps the bowl full4 ,it is not uncommon to find on hillsides1 in many regions1 little brooks whose beginnings are traceable to springs that gush out of the ground4 ,the spring fills a little basin1 the overflow of which is the brook4 ,if the source of this spring could be traced underground1 we might easily follow it along some loose rock formation until we come to a clay basin like the one described above4 ,we might have to go down quite a distance and then up again to reach the level of this supply1 but the level of the water at the mouth of the spring can never be higher than the level of the water in the underground supply basin4 ,often in hot summers springs go dry4 ,the level of water in the supply basin has fallen below the level of the spring4 ,we must wait until rainfall has added to the depth of water in the basin before we can expect any flow into the pool which marks the place where the brook begins4 ,suppose we had no beds of clay1 but only sand and gravel under the surface soil4 ,we should then expect the water to sink through this loose material without hindrance1 and1 finding its way out of the ground1 to flow directly into the various branches of the main river system of our region4 ,after a long rain we should have the streams flooded for a few days1 then dry weather and the streams all low1 many of them entirely dry until the next rainstorm4 ,instead of this1 the soil to a great depth is stored with water which cannot get away1 except by the slow process by which the springs draw it off4 ,this explains the steady flow of rivers4 ,what should we do for wells if it were not for the water basins that lie below the surface8 ,a shallow well may go dry4 ,its owner digs deeper1 and strikes a lower vein of water that gives a more generous supply4 ,in the regions of the country where the drift soil1 left by the great ice-sheet1 lies deepest1 the glacial boulder clay is very far down4 ,the surface water1 settling from one level to another1 finally reaches the bottom of the drift4 ,wells have to be deep that reach this water bed4 ,the water follows the slope of this bed and is drained into the ocean1 sometimes by subterranean channels1 because the bed of the nearest river is on a much higher level4 ,so we must not think that the springs contain only the water that feeds the rivers4 ,they contain more4 ,the layers of clay at different levels1 from the surface down to the bottom of the drift1 form water basins and make it possible for people to obtain a water supply without the expense of digging deep wells4 ,the clayey subsoil1 only a few feet below the surface1 checks the downward course of the water1 so that the sun can gradually draw it back1 and keep a supply where plant roots can get it4 ,the vapour rising keeps the air humid1 and furnishes the dew that keeps all plant life comfortable and happy even through the hot summer months4 ,under the drift lie layers of stratified rock1 and under these are the granites and other fire-formed rocks1 the beginning of those rock masses which form the solid bulk of the globe4 ,we know little about the core of the earth1 but the granites that are exposed in mountain ridges are found to have a great capacity for absorbing water1 so it is not unlikely that much surface water soaks into the rock foundations and is never drained away into the sea4 ,the water in our wells is often hard4 ,it becomes so by passing through strata of soil and rock made1 in part1 at least1 of limestone1 which is readily dissolved by water which contains some acid4 ,soil water absorbs acids from the decaying vegetation1--the dead leaves and roots of plants4 ,rain water is soft1 and so is the water in ponds that have muddy basins1 destitute of lime4 ,water in the springs and wells of the ,mid-,western ,states is hard because it percolates through limestone material4 ,in many parts of this country the well water is soft1 because of the scarcity of limestone in the soil4 ,i have seen springs around which the plants and the pebbles were coated with an incrustation of lime4 ,petrified moss is the name given to the plants thus turned to stone4 ,the reason for this deposit is clear4 ,underground water is often subjected to great pressure1 and at this time it is able to dissolve much more of any mineral substance than under ordinary conditions4 ,when the pressure is released1 the water is unable to hold in solution the quantity of mineral it contains2 therefore1 as it flows out through the mouth of the spring1 the burden of mineral is laid down4 ,the plants coated with the lime gradually decay1 but their forms are preserved4 ,there are springs the water of which comes out burdened with iron1 which is deposited as a yellowish or red mineral on objects over which it flows4 ,ponds fed by these springs accumulate deposits of the mineral in the muddy bottoms4 ,some of the most valuable deposits of iron ore have accumulated in bogs fed by iron-impregnated spring water4 ,in a similar way lime deposits called marl or chalk are made4 ,,the ,,soil ,,in ,,fields ,,and ,,gardens ,city and country teachers are expected to teach classes about the formation and cultivation of soil4 ,it is surprising how much of the needed materials can be brought in by the children1 even in the cities4 ,the beginning is a flowering plant growing in a pot4 ,a window box is a small garden4 ,a garden plot is a miniature farm4 ,materials to collect for study indoors4 ,a few pieces of different kinds of rock3 ,granite1 sandstone1 slate2 gravelly fragments of each1 and finer sand4 ,pebbles from brooks and seashore4 ,samples of clays of different colors1 and sands4 ,samples of sandy and clay soils1 black pond muck1 peat and coal4 ,rock fossils4 ,a box of moist earth with earthworms in it4 ,keep it moist4 ,a piece of sod1 and a red clover plant with the soil clinging to its roots4 ,what is soil8 ,it is the surface layer of the earth's crust1 sometimes too shallow on the rocks to plough1 sometimes much deeper4 ,under deep soil lies the subsoil1 usually hard and rarely ploughed4 ,what is soil made of8 ,ground rock materials and decayed remains of animal and plant life4 ,by slow decay the soil becomes rich food for the growing of new plants4 ,wild land grows up to weeds and finally to forests4 ,the soil in fields and gardens is cultivated to make it fertile4 ,plants take fertility from the soil4 ,to maintain the same richness1 plant food must be put back into the soil4 ,this is done by deep tillage1 and by mixing in with the soil manures1 green crops1 like clover1 and commercial fertilizers4 ,plants must be made comfortable1 and must be fed4 ,few plants are comfortable in sand4 ,it gets hot1 it lets water through1 and it shifts in wind and is a poor anchor for roots4 ,clay is so stiff that water cannot easily permeate it2 roots have the same trouble to penetrate it and get at the food it is rich in4 ,air cannot get in4 ,sand mixed with clay makes a mellow soil1 which lets water and air pass freely through4 ,the roots are more comfortable1 and the tiny root hairs can reach the particles of both kinds of mineral food4 ,but the needful third element is decaying plant and animal substances1 called humus4 ,these enrich the soil1 but they do a more important thing3 their decay hastens the release of plant food from the earthy part of the soil1 and they add to it a sticky element which has a wonderful power to attract and hold the water that soaks into the earth4 ,what is the best garden soil8 ,a mixture of sand1 clay1 and humus is called loam4 ,if sand predominates1 it is a sandy loam--warm1 mellow soil4 ,if clay predominates1 we have a clay loam--a heavy1 rich1 but cool soil4 ,all gradations between the two extremes are suited to the needs of crops1 from the melons on sandy soil1 to celery that prefers deep1 cool soil1 and cranberries that demand muck--just old humus4 ,how do plant roots feed in soil8 ,by means of delicate root hairs which come into contact with particles of soil around which a film of soil water clings4 ,this fluid dissolves the food1 and the root absorbs the fluid4 ,plants can take no food in solid form4 ,hence it is of the greatest importance to have the soil pulverized and spongy1 able to absorb and hold the greatest amount of water4 ,the moisture-coated soil particles must have air-spaces between them4 ,air is as necessary to the roots as to the tops of growing plants4 ,why does the farmer plough and harrow and roll the land8 ,to pulverize the soil2 to mellow and lighten it2 to mix in thoroughly the manure he has spread on it1 and to reach1 if he can1 the deeper layers that have plant food which the roots of his crops have not yet touched4 ,killing weeds is but a minor business1 compared with tillage4 ,later1 ploughing or cultivating the surface lightly not only destroys the weeds1 but it checks the loss of water by evaporation from the cracks that form in dry weather4 ,raking the garden once a day in dry weather does more good than watering it4 ,the dust mulch acts as a cool sunguard over the roots4 ,the process of soil-making4 ,if the man chopping wood in the ,yosemite ,valley looks about him he can see the soil-making forces at work on a grand scale4 ,the bald1 steep front of ,el ,capitan is of the hardest granite1 but it is slowly crumbling1 and its fragments are accumulating at the bottom of the long slope4 ,rain and snow fill all crevices in the rocks4 ,frost is a wonderful force in widening these cracks1 for water expands when it freezes4 ,the loosened rock masses plough their way down the steep1 gathering1 as they go1 increasing power to tear away any rocks in their path4 ,wind blows finer rock fragments along1 and they lodge in cracks4 ,fine dust and the seeds of plants are lodged there4 ,the rocky slopes of the ,yosemite ,valley are all more or less covered with trees and shrubs that have come from wind-sown seeds4 ,these plants thrust their roots deeper each year into the rock crevices4 ,the feeding tips of roots secrete acids that eat away lime and other substances that occur in rocks4 ,dead leaves and other discarded portions of the trees rot about their roots1 and form soil of increasing depth4 ,the largest trees grow on the rocky soil deposited at the base of the slope4 ,the tree's roots prevent the river from carrying it off4 ,when granite crumbles1 its different mineral elements are separated4 ,clear1 glassy particles of quartz we call sand4 ,dark particles of feldspar become clay1 and may harden into slate4 ,sand may become sandstone4 ,exposed slate and sandstone are crumbled by exposure to wind and frost and moving water1 and are deposited again as sand-bars and beds of clay4 ,the most interesting phase of soil study is the discovery of what a work the humble earthworm does in mellowing and enriching the soil4 ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,earthworms ,the farmer and the gardener should expect very poor crops if they planted seed without first ploughing or spading the soil4 ,next1 its fine particles must be separated by the breaking of the hard clods4 ,a wise man ploughs heavy soil in the fall4 ,it is caked into great clods which crumble before planting time4 ,the water in the clods freezes in winter4 ,the expansion due to freezing makes this soil water a force that separates the fine particles4 ,so the frost works for the farmer4 ,just under the surface of the soil lives a host of workers which are our patient friends4 ,they work for their living1 and are perhaps unconscious of the fact that they are constantly increasing the fertility of the soil4 ,they are the earthworms1 also called fishworms1 which are distributed all over the world4 ,they are not generally known to farmers and gardeners as friendly1 useful creatures1 and their services are rarely noticed4 ,we see robins pulling them out of the ground1 and we are likely to think the birds are ridding us of a garden pest4 ,what we need is to use our eyes1 and to read the wonderful discoveries recorded in a book called ,vegetable ,mould and ,earthworms1 written by ,charles ,darwin4 ,the benefits of ploughing and spading are the loosening and pulverizing of the packed earth2 the mixing of dead leaves and other vegetation on and near the surface with the more solid earth farther down2 the letting in of water and air2 and the checking of loss of water through cracks the sun forms by baking the soil dry4 ,the earthworm is a creature of the dark4 ,it cannot see1 but it is sufficiently sensitive to light to avoid the sun1 the rays of which would shrivel up its moist skin4 ,having no lungs or gills1 the worm uses the skin as the breathing organ2 and it must be kept moist in order to serve its important use4 ,this is why earthworms are never seen above ground except on rainy days1 and never in the top soil if it has become dry4 ,in seasons of little rain1 they go down where the earth is moist1 and venture to the surface only at night1 when dew makes their coming up possible4 ,earthworms have no teeth1 but they have a long snout that protrudes beyond the mouth4 ,their food is found on and in the surface soil4 ,they will eat scraps of meat by sucking the juices1 and scrape off the pulp of leaves and root vegetables in much the same way4 ,much of their subsistence is upon organic matter that can be extracted from the soil4 ,quantities of earth are swallowed4 ,it is rare that an earthworm is dug up that does not show earth pellets somewhere on their way through the long digestive canal4 ,the rich juices of plant substance are absorbed from these pellets as they pass through the body4 ,earthworms explore the surface of the soil by night1 and pick up what they can find of fresh food4 ,nowhere have ,i heard of them as a nuisance in gardens1 but they eagerly feed on bits of meat1 especially fat1 and on fresh leaves4 ,they drag all such victuals into their burrows1 and begin the digestion of the food by pouring on it from their mouths a secretion somewhat like pancreatic juice4 ,the worms honeycomb the earth with their burrows1 which are long1 winding tubes4 ,in dry or cold weather these burrows may reach eight feet under ground4 ,they run obliquely1 as a rule1 from the surface1 and are lined with a layer of the smooth soil1 like soft paste1 cast from the body4 ,the lining being spread1 the burrow fits the worm's body closely4 ,this enables it to pass quickly from one end to the other1 though it must wriggle backward or forward without turning around4 ,at the lower end of the burrow1 an enlarged chamber is found1 where hibernating worms coil and sleep together in winter4 ,at the top1 a lining of dead leaves extends downward for a few inches1 and in day time a plug of the same material is the outside door4 ,at night the worm comes to the surface1 and casts out the pellets of earth swallowed4 ,the burrow grows in length by the amount of earth scraped off by the long snout and swallowed4 ,the daily amount of excavation done is fairly estimated by the castings observed each morning on the surface4 ,one earthworm's work for the farmer is not very much1 but consider how many are at work1 and what each one is doing4 ,it is boring holes through the solid earth1 and letting in the surface water and the air4 ,it is carrying the lower soil up to the surface1 often the stubborn subsoil1 that no plough could reach4 ,it is burying and thus hastening the decay of plant fibre1 which lightens heavy soil and makes it rich because it is porous4 ,moreover1 the earthworms are doing over and over again this work of fining and turning over the soil1 which the plough does but seldom4 ,by the continuous carrying up of their castings1 the earthworms gradually bury manures spread on the surface4 ,the collapse of their burrows and the making of new ones keep the soil constantly in motion4 ,the particles are being loosened and brought into contact with the soil water1 that dissolves1 and thus frees for the use of feeding roots1 the plant food stored in the rock particles that compose the mineral part of the soil4 ,the weight of earth brought to the surface by worms in the course of a year has been carefully estimated4 ,darwin gives seven to eighteen tons per acre as the lowest and highest reports1 based on careful collecting of castings by four observers1 working on small areas of totally different soils4 ,in ,england1 earthworms have done a great deal more toward burying boulders and ancient ruins than any other agency4 ,they eagerly burrow under heavy objects1 the weight of which causes them to crush the honeycombed earth4 ,undiscouraged1 the earthworms repeat their work4 ,long before man existed1 the land was regularly ploughed1 and continues still to be ploughed by earthworms4 ,it may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world as have these lowly organized creatures4 ,after years of study1 ,charles ,darwin came to this conclusion4 ,the more we study the lives of these earth-consuming creatures1 the more fully do we believe what the great nature student said4 ,the fertile soil is made of rock meal and decayed leaves and roots4 ,only recently have ploughs been invented4 ,but the great forest crops have grown in soil made mellow by the earthworm's ploughing4 ,,quiet ,,forces ,,that ,,destroy ,,rocks ,wind and water are the blustering active agents we see at work tearing down rocks and carrying away their particles4 ,they do the most of this work of levelling the land2 but there are quiet forces at work which might not attract our attention at all1 and yet1 without their help1 wind and running water would not accomplish half the work for which they take the credit4 ,the air contains certain destructive gases which by their chemical action separate the particles of the hardest rocks1 causing them to crumble4 ,now the wind blows away these crumbling particles1 and the solid unchanged rock beneath is again exposed to the crumbling agencies4 ,the changes in temperature between day and night cause rocks to contract and expand1 and these changes put a strain upon the mineral particles that compose them4 ,much scaling of rock surfaces is due to these causes4 ,building a fire on top of a rock1 and then dashing water upon the heated mass1 shatters it in many directions4 ,this process merely intensifies the effect produced by the mild changes of winter and summer4 ,water is present in most rocks1 in surprising quantities1 often filling the spaces in porous rocks like sandstones4 ,when winter brings the temperature down to the freezing point1 the water near the surface of the rock first feels it4 ,ice forms1 and every particle of water is swollen by the change4 ,a strain is put upon the mineral particles against which the particles of ice crowd for more room4 ,frost is a very powerful agent in the crumbling of rocks1 as well as of stubborn clods of earth4 ,in warm climates1 and in desert regions where there is little moisture in the rocks1 this destructive action of freezing water is not known4 ,in cold countries1 and in high altitudes1 where the air is heavy with moisture1 its greatest work is done4 ,some kinds of rock decay when they become dry1 and resist crumbling better when they absorb a certain amount of moisture4 ,alternate wetting and drying is destructive to certain rocks4 ,one of the unnoticed agents of rock decay is the action of lowly plants4 ,mosses grow upon the faces of rocks1 thrusting their tiny root processes into pits they dig deeper by means of acids secreted by the delicate tips4 ,you have seen shaded green patches of lichens1 like little rugs1 of different shapes1 spread on the surface of rocks4 ,but you cannot see so well the work these growths are doing in etching away the surface1 and feeding upon the decaying mineral substance4 ,mosses and lichens do a mighty work1 with the help of water1 in reducing rocks to their original elements1 and thus forming soil4 ,no plants but lichens and mosses can grow on the bare faces of rocks4 ,as their root-like processes lengthen and go deeper into the rock face1 particles are pried off1 and the under-substance is attacked4 ,higher plants then find a footing4 ,have you not seen little trees growing on a patch of moss which gets its food from the air and the rock to which it clings8 ,the spongy moss cushion soaks up the rain and holds it against the rock face4 ,a streak of iron in the rock may cause the water to follow and rust it out1 leaving a distinct crevice4 ,now the roots of any plant that happens to be growing on the moss may find a foot-hold in the crack4 ,streaks of lime in a rock readily absorb water1 which gradually dissolves and absorbs its particles1 inviting the roots to enter these new passages and feed upon the disintegrating minerals4 ,dead leaves decay1 and the acids the trickling water absorbs from them are especially active in disintegrating lime rocks4 ,from such small beginnings has resulted the shattering of great rock masses by the growth of plants upon them4 ,tree roots that grow in rock crevices exert a power that is irresistible4 ,the roots of smaller plants do the same great work in a quieter way4 ,when a hurricane or a flood tears down the mountain-side1 sweeping everything before it1 trees1 torn out by the roots1 drag great masses of rock and soil into the air1 and fling them down the slope4 ,wind and water thus finish the destruction which the humble mosses and lichens began4 ,what seemed an impregnable fortress of granite has crumbled into fragments4 ,its particles are reduced to dust1 or are on the way to this condition4 ,the plant food locked up in granite boulders becomes available to hungry roots4 ,forests1 grain-fields1 and meadows cover the work of destructive agencies with a mantle of green4 ,,how ,,rocks ,,are ,,made ,the granite shaft is made out of the original substance of the earth's crust4 ,its minerals are the elements out of which all of the rock masses of the earth are formed1 no matter how different they look from granite4 ,sandstone is made of particles of quartz4 ,clay and slate are made out of feldspar and mica4 ,iron ore comes from the hornblende in granite4 ,the mineral particles1 reassembled in different proportions1 form all of the different rocks that are known4 ,here in my hand is a piece of pudding-stone4 ,it is made of pebbles of different sizes1 each made of different coloured minerals4 ,the pebbles are cemented together with a paste that has hardened into stone4 ,this kind of rock the geologists call conglomerate4 ,pudding-stone is the common name1 for the pebbles in the pasty matrix certainly do suggest the currants and the raisins that are sprinkled through a ,christmas pudding4 ,under the seashores there are forming to-day thick beds of sand4 ,the rivers bring the rock material down from the hills1 and it is sorted and laid down4 ,the moving water drops the heaviest particles near shore1 and carries the finer ones farther out before letting them fall4 ,illustration3 ,the town of ,cripple ,creek1 ,colorado1 which has grown up like magic since #ahia1 covers the richest gold and silver mines in the world ,illustration3 ,the level valley is filled up with fine rock flour washed from the sides of the neighboring mountains ,the hard water1 that comes through limestone rocks1 adds lime in solution to the ocean water4 ,all the shellfish of the sea1 and the creatures with bony skeletons1 take in the bone-building1 shell-making lime with their food4 ,generations of these inhabitants of the sea have died1 and their shells and bones have accumulated and been transformed into thick beds of limestone on the ocean floor4 ,this is going on to-day2 but the limestone does not accumulate as rapidly as when the ocean teemed with shell-bearing creatures of gigantic size4 ,of these we shall speak in another chapter4 ,the fine dust that is blown into the ocean from the land1 and that makes river water muddy1 accumulates on the sea bottom as banks of mud1 which by the burden of later deposits is converted into clay4 ,sandstone is but the compressed sand-bank4 ,in the study of mountains1 geologists have discovered that old seashores were thrown up into the first great ridges that form the backbone of a mountain system4 ,the ,rocky ,mountains1 and the ,appalachian system on the east1 were made out of thick strata of rocks that had been formed by accumulations of mud and sand--the washings of the land--on the opposite shores of a great mid-continental sea1 that stretched from the crest of one great mountain system across to the other1 and north and south from the ,laurentian ,hills to the ,gulf of ,mexico4 ,the great weight of the accumulating layers of rock materials on one side1 and the wasted land surfaces on the other1 made the sea border a line of greatest weakness in the crust of the earth4 ,the shrinking of the globe underneath caused the break2 mashing and folding followed1 throwing the ridge above sea-level1 and making dry land out of rock waste which had been accumulating1 perhaps for millions of years1 under the sea4 ,the wrinkling of the earth's crust was the result of crushing forces which produced tremendous heat4 ,streams of lava sprang out through the fissures and poured streams of melted rock down the sides of the fold1 quite burying1 in many places1 the layers of limestone1 sandstone1 and clay4 ,between the strata of water-formed rocks there were often created chimney-like openings1 into which molten rock from below was forced1 forming1 when cool1 veins and dikes of rock material1 specimens of the substance of the earth's interior4 ,tremendous pressure and heat1 acting upon stratified rocks saturated with water transform them into very different kinds of rock4 ,limestone1 subjected to these forces1 is changed into marble4 ,clays are transformed into slates4 ,sandstone is changed into quartzite1 the sand grains being melted so as to become no longer visible to the naked eye4 ,the anthracite coal of the ,pennsylvania mountains is the result of heat and pressure acting upon soft coal4 ,associated with these beds of hard coal are beds of black lead1 or graphite1 the substance used in making lead pencils4 ,we believe that the same forces that operated to transform clay rocks into slate1 and limestone into marble1 transformed soft coal into hard1 and hard coal into graphite1 in the days when the earth was young4 ,the word sedimentary is applied to rocks which were originally laid down under water1 as sediment1 brought by running water1 or by wind1 or by the decay of organic substances4 ,stratified rocks are those which are arranged in layers4 ,sedimentary rocks will fall into this class4 ,aqueous rocks are those which are formed under water4 ,most of the stratified and sedimentary rocks1 but not all1 may be included under this term4 ,rocks that are made out of fragments of other rocks torn down by the agencies of erosion are called fragmental4 ,wind1 water1 and ice are the three great agencies that wear away the land1 bring rock fragments long distances1 and deposit them where aqueous rocks are being formed4 ,volcanic eruptions bring material from the earth's interior4 ,this material ranges all the way from huge boulders to the finest impalpable dust1 called volcanic ashes4 ,rivers of ice called glaciers crowd against their banks1 loosening rock masses and carrying away fragments of all sizes1 in their progress down the valley4 ,brooks and rivers carry the pebbles and the larger rock masses they are able to loosen from their walls and beds1 and grind them smooth as they move along toward lower levels4 ,the air itself causes rocks to crumble2 percolating water robs them of their soluble salts1 reducing even solid granite to a loose mass of quartz grains and clay4 ,plants and animals absorb as food the mineral substances of rocks1 when they are dissolved in water4 ,they transform these food elements into their own body substance1 and finally give back their dead bodies1 the mineral substances of which are freed by decay to return to the earth1 and become elements of rock again4 ,the decay of rock is well shown by the materials that accumulate at the base of a cliff4 ,angular fragments of all sizes1 but all more or less flattened1 come from strata of shaly rock1 that can be seen jutting out far above4 ,a great deal of this sort of material is found mingled with the soil of the ,northeastern ,states4 ,round pebbles in pudding-stone have been formed in brook beds and deposited on beaches where they have become caked in mud and finally consolidated into rock4 ,if the beach chanced to be sandy instead of muddy1 a matrix of sandy paste holds the larger pebbles in place4 ,limestone paste cements together the pebbles of limestone conglomerates4 ,in ,st4 ,augustine many of the houses are built of coquina rock1 a mass of broken shells which have become cemented together by lime mud1 derived from their own decay4 ,on the slopes of volcanoes1 rock fragments of all kinds are cemented together by the flowing lava4 ,so we see that there are pudding-stones of many kinds to be found4 ,if some solvent acid is present in the water that percolates through these rocks it may soften the cement and thus free the pebbles1 reducing the conglomerate again to a mere heap of shell fragments1 or gravel1 or rounded pebbles4 ,the story of rock formation tells how fire and water1 and the two combined1 have made1 and made over1 again and again1 the substance of the earth's crust4 ,chemical and physical changes constantly tear down some portions of the earth to build up others4 ,the constant1 combined effort of wind and water is to level the earth and fill up the ocean bed4 ,rocks are constantly being formed2 the changes that have been going on since the world began are still in progress4 ,we can see them all about us on any and every day of our lives4 ,,getting ,,acquainted ,,with ,a ,,river ,i have two friends whose childhood was spent in a home on the banks of a noble eastern river4 ,their father taught the boy and the girl to row a boat1 and later each learned the more difficult art of managing a canoe4 ,on holidays they enjoyed no pleasure so much as a picnic on the river-bank at some point that could be reached by rowing4 ,as they grew older1 longer trips were planned1 and the river was explored as far as it was navigable by boat or canoe4 ,last summer when vacation came1 these two carried out a long-cherished plan to find the beginning of the river--to follow it to its source4 ,so they left home1 and canoed up-stream1 until the stream became a brook1 so shallow they could go no farther4 ,then they followed it on foot--wading1 climbing1 making little dtours1 but never losing the little river4 ,at last they came to the beginning of it--a tiny rivulet trickled out of the side of a hill1 filling a wooden keg that formed a basin1 where thirsty passers-by could stoop and drink4 ,they decided to mark the spring1 so that people who found it later1 and were refreshed by its clear water1 might know that here was born the greatest river of a great state4 ,but they were not the original discoverers4 ,above the spring1 a board was nailed to a tree1 saying that this is the headwater of the river with the beautiful ,indian name1 ,susquehanna4 ,it was a dry summer1 and the overflow of the basin was almost all drunk up by the thirsty ground4 ,they could scarcely follow it1 except by the groove cut by the rivulet in seasons when the flow was greater4 ,they followed the runaway brook1 through the grass roots1 that almost hid it4 ,as the ground grew steeper1 it hurried faster4 ,soon it gathered the water of other springs1 which hurried toward it in small rivulets1 because its level was lower4 ,water always seeks the lowest level it can find4 ,sometimes marshy spots were reached where water stood in the holes made by the feet of cattle that came there to drink4 ,the water was muddy1 and seemed to stand still4 ,but it was settling steadily1 and at one side the little river was found1 flowing away with the water it drew from the swampy1 springy ground4 ,all the mud was gone1 now2 the water was clear4 ,it flowed in a bed with a stony floor1 and there were rough steps where the water fell down in little sheets1 forming a waterfall1 the first of many that make this river beautiful in the upper half of its course4 ,to get from the high level of that hillside spring to the low level of the sea1 the water has to make a fall of twenty-three hundred feet1 but it makes the descent gradually4 ,it could not climb over anything1 but always found a way to get around the rocks and hills that stood in its way4 ,when the flat marsh land interfered1 the water poured in and overflowed the basin at the lowest margin4 ,in the rocky ground the two explorers found that the stream had widened its channel by entering a narrow crevice and wearing away its walls4 ,the continual washing of the water wears away stone4 ,rocks are softened by being wet4 ,streaks of iron in the hardest granite will rust out and let the water in4 ,then the lime in rocks is easily dissolved4 ,every dead leaf the river carried along added an acid to the water1 and this made easier the process of dissolving the limestone4 ,every crumbling rock gives the river tools that it uses like hammer and chisel and sandpaper to smooth all the uneven surfaces in its bed1 to move stumbling blocks1 and to dig the bed deeper and wider4 ,the steeper the slope is1 the faster the stream flows1 and the larger the rocks it can carry4 ,rocks loosened from the stream bed are rolled along by the current4 ,then bang6 against the rocks that are not loose1 and often they are able to break them loose4 ,the fine sand is swept along1 and its sharp points strike like steel needles1 and do a great work in polishing roughness and loosening small particles from the stream bed4 ,the bigger pebbles of the stream have banged against the rock walls1 with the same effect1 smoothing away unevenness and pounding fragments loose1 rolling against one another1 and getting their own rough corners worn away4 ,the makers of stone marbles learned their business from a brook4 ,they cut the stone into cubical blocks1 and throw them into troughs1 into which is poured a stream of running water4 ,the blocks are kept in motion1 and the grinding makes each block help the rest to grind off the eight corners and the twelve ridges of each one4 ,the water becomes muddy with the fine particles1 just as the drip from a grindstone becomes unclean when an axe is ground4 ,pretty soon all the blocks in the trough are changed into globes--the marbles that children buy at the shops when marble season comes around4 ,i suppose if the troughs are not watched and emptied in time1 the marbles would gradually be ground down to the size of peas1 then to the size of small bird shot1 and finally they would escape as muddy water and fine sand grains4 ,sure it is that the sandy shores that line most rivers are the remnants of hard rocks that have been torn out and ground up by the action of the current4 ,not very many miles from its first waterfall the stream had grown so large that my two friends knew that they would soon find their canoes4 ,the plan now was to float down the curious1 winding river and to learn1 if the river and the banks could tell them1 just why the course was so crooked on the map4 ,they came into a broad1 level valley where streams met them1 coming out of deep clefts between the hills they were leaving behind them4 ,the banks were pebbly1 but blackened with slimy mud that made the water murky4 ,the current swerved from one side to the other1 sometimes quite close to the bank1 where the river turned and formed a deep bend4 ,on this side the bank was steep1 the roots of plants and trees exposed4 ,on the opposite side a muddy bank sloped gently out into the stream4 ,here building up was going on1 to offset the tearing down4 ,the sharp bends are made sharper1 once the current is deflected from the middle of the stream to one side4 ,at length the loops bend on each other and come so near together that the current breaks through1 leaving a semicircular bayou of still water1 and the river's course straightened at that place4 ,it must have been in a spring flood that this cut-off was made1 and1 the break once made was easily widened1 for the soil is fine mud which1 when soaked1 crumbles and dissolves into muddy water4 ,stately and slow that river moves down to the bay1 into which it empties its load4 ,the rain that falls on hundreds of square miles of territory flows into the streams that feed this trunk4 ,the little spring that is the headwater of the system is but one of many pockets in the hillsides that hold the water that soaks into the ground and give it out by slow degrees4 ,surface water after a rain flows quickly into the streams4 ,it is the springs that hold back their supply and keep the rivers from running dry in hot weather4 ,do they feel now that they know their river8 ,are they ready to leave it1 and explore some other8 ,indeed1 no4 ,they are barely introduced to it4 ,all kinds of rivers are shown by the different parts of this one4 ,it is a river of the mountains and of the lowland4 ,it flows through woods and prairies1 through rocky passes and reedy flats4 ,it races impetuously in its youth1 and plods sedately in later life4 ,the trees and the other plants that shadow this stream1 and live by its bounty1 are very different in the upland and in the lowland4 ,the scenery along this stream shows endless variety4 ,up yonder all is wild4 ,down here great bridges span the flood1 boats of all kinds carry on the commerce between two neighbour cities4 ,a great park comes down to the river-bank on one side4 ,canoes are thick as they can paddle on late summer afternoons4 ,no one can ever really know a river well enough to feel that it is an old story4 ,there is always something new it has to tell its friends4 ,so my two explorers say1 and they know far more about their friendly river than ,i do4 ,,the ,,ways ,,of ,,rivers ,a canal is an artificial river1 built to carry boats from one place to another4 ,its course is1 as nearly as possible1 a straight line between two points4 ,a river1 we all agree1 is more beautiful than a canal1 for it winds in graceful curves1 in and out among the hills1 its waters seeking the lowest level1 always4 ,no artist could lay out curves more beautiful than the river forms4 ,these curves change from year to year1 some slowly1 some more rapidly4 ,it is not hard to understand just why these changes take place4 ,some rivers are dangerous for boating at certain points4 ,the current is strong1 and there are eddies and whirlpools that have to be avoided1 or the boat becomes unmanageable4 ,people are drowned each season by trusting themselves to rivers the dangerous tricks of which they do not know4 ,deep holes are washed out of the bed of the stream by whirling eddies4 ,the pot-holes of which people talk are deep1 rounded cavities1 ground out of the rocky stream-bed by the scouring of sand and loose stones driven by whirling eddies in shallow basins4 ,every year deepens each pot-hole until some change in the stream-bed shifts the eddy to another place4 ,no stream finds its channel ready-made2 it makes its own1 and constantly changes it4 ,the current swings to one side of the channel1 lifting the loose sediment and grinding deeper the bed of the stream4 ,the water lags on the opposite side1 and sediment falls to the bottom4 ,so the building-up of one side is going on at the same time that the tearing-down process is being carried on on the other4 ,with the lowering of the bed the river swerves toward one bank1 and a hollow is worn by slow degrees4 ,the current swings into this hollow1 and in passing out is thrown across the stream to the opposite bank4 ,here its force wears away another hollow2 and so it zigzags down-stream4 ,the deeper the hollows1 the more curved becomes the course1 if the general fall is but moderate4 ,it is toward the lower courses of the stream that the winding becomes more noticeable4 ,the sediment that is carried is deposited at the point where the current is least strong1 so that while the outcurves become sharper by the tearing away of the stream's bank1 the incurves become sharper by the building up of this bank4 ,the ,mississippi below ,memphis is thrown into a wonderful series of curves by the erosion and the deposit caused by the current zigzagging back and forth from one bank to the other4 ,gradually the curves become loops4 ,the river's current finally jumps across the meeting of the curves1 and abandons the circular bend4 ,it becomes a bayou or lagoon of still water1 while the current flows on in the straightened channel4 ,all rivers that flow through flat1 swampy land show these intricate winding channels and many lagoons that have once been curves of the river4 ,no one would ever mistake a river for a lake or any other body of water1 yet rivers differ greatly in character4 ,one tears its way along down its steep1 rock-encumbered channel between walls that rise as vertical precipices on both sides4 ,the roaming1 angry waters are drawn into whirlpools in one place4 ,they lie stagnant as if sulking in another1 then leap boisterously over ledges of rock and are churned into creamy foam at the bottom4 ,outside the mountainous part of its course this same river flows broad and calm through a mud-banked channel1 cut by tributary streams that draw in the water of low1 sloping hills4 ,the ,missouri is such a wild mountain stream at its headwaters4 ,we who have seen its muddy waters from ,sioux ,city to ,st4 ,louis would hardly believe that its impetuous and picturesque youth could merge into an old age so comfortable and placid and commonplace4 ,this thing is true of all rivers4 ,they flow1 gradually or suddenly1 from higher to lower levels4 ,to reach the lowest level as soon as possible is the end each river is striving toward4 ,if it could1 each river would cut its bed to this depth at the first stage of its course4 ,its tools are the rocks it carries1 great and small4 ,the force that uses these tools is the power of falling water1 represented by the current of the stream4 ,the upper part of a river such as the ,missouri or ,mississippi engages in a campaign of widening and deepening its channel1 and carrying away quantities of sediment4 ,the lower reaches of the stream flow through more level country2 the current is checked1 and a vast burden of sediment is laid down4 ,instead of tearing away its banks and bottom1 the river fills up gradually with mud4 ,the current meanders between banks of sediment over a bottom which becomes shallower year by year4 ,the ,rocky ,mountains are being carried to the ,gulf of ,mexico4 ,the commerce of the river is impeded by mountain dbris deposited as mud-banks along the river's lower course4 ,many rivers are quiet and commonplace throughout their length4 ,they flow between low1 rounded hills1 and are joined by quiet streams1 that occupy the separating grooves between the hills4 ,this is the oldest type of river4 ,it has done its work4 ,rainfall and stream-flow have brought the level of the land nearly to the level of the stream4 ,very little more is left to be ground down and carried away4 ,the landscape is beautiful1 but it is no longer picturesque4 ,wind and water have smoothed away unevennesses4 ,trees and grass and other vegetation check erosion1 and the river has little to do but to carry away the surface water that falls as rain4 ,but suppose our river1 flowing gently between its grassy banks1 should feel some mighty power lifting it up1 with all its neighbour hills and valleys1 to form a wrinkle in the still unstable crust of the earth4 ,away off at the river's mouth the level may not have changed1 or that region may have been depressed instead of elevated by the shrinking process4 ,suppose the great upheaval has not severed the upper from the lower courses of the stream4 ,with tremendous force and speed1 the current flows from the higher levels to the lower4 ,the river in the highlands strikes hard to reach the level of its mouth4 ,it grinds with all its might1 and all its rocky tools1 upon its bed4 ,all the mud is scoured out1 and then the underlying rocks are attacked4 ,if these rocks are soft and easily worn away1 the channel deepens rapidly4 ,one after another the alternating layers are excavated1 and the river flows in a canyon which deepens more and more4 ,as the level is lowered1 the current of the stream becomes slower and the cutting away of its bed less rapid4 ,the stream is content to flow gently1 for it has almost reached the old level1 on which it flowed before the valley became a ridge or table-land4 ,the rivers that flow in canyons have been thousands of years in carving out their channels1 yet they are newer1 geologically speaking1 than the streams that drain the level prairie country4 ,the earth has risen1 and the canyons have been carved since the prairies became rolling1 level ground4 ,illustration3 ,this little pond is a basin hollowed by the same glacier that scattered the stones and rounded the hills ,illustration3 ,every stream is wearing away its banks1 while trees and grass blades are holding on to the soil with all their roots ,the ,colorado ,river flows through a canyon with walls that in places present sheer vertical faces a mile in depth1 and so smooth that no trail can be found by which to reach from top to bottom4 ,the region has but slight erosion by wind1 and practically none by rain4 ,the local rainfall is very slight4 ,so the river is the one force that has acted to cut down the rocks1 and its force is all expended in the narrow area of its own bed4 ,had frequent rains been the rule on the ,colorado plateau1 the angles of the mesas would have been rounded into hills of the familiar kind so constantly a part of the landscape in the eastern half of the continent4 ,the ,colorado is an ancient river which has to carry away the store of moisture that comes from the ,pacific ,ocean and falls as snow on the high peaks of the ,rocky ,mountains4 ,similar river gorges with similar stories to tell are the ,arkansas1 the ,platte1 and the ,yellowstone4 ,all cut their channels unaided through regions of little rain4 ,when the earth's crust is thrown up in mountain folds1 and between them valleys are formed1 the level of rivers is sometimes lowered and the rapidity of their flow is checked4 ,a stream which has torn down its walls at a rapid rate becomes a sluggish water-course1 its current clogged with sediment1 which it has no power to carry farther4 ,when such a river begins to build and obstruct its own waters it bars its progress and may form a lake as the outlet of its tributary streams4 ,many ancient rivers have been utterly changed and some obliterated by general movements of the earth's crust4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,a ,,pond ,look out of the car window as you cross a flat stretch of new prairie country1 and you see a great many little ponds of water dotting the green landscape4 ,forty years ago ,iowa was a good place to see ponds of all shapes and sizes4 ,the copious rainfall of the early spring gathered in the hollows of the land1 and the stiff clay subsoil prevented the water from soaking quickly into the ground4 ,the ponds might dry away during the hot1 dry summer1 leaving a baked clay basin1 checked with an intricate system of cracks4 ,or if rains were frequent and heavy1 they might keep full to the brim throughout the season4 ,tall bulrushes stood around the margins of the largest ponds1 and water-lilies blossomed on the surface during the summer4 ,the bass and the treble of the spring chorus were made by frogs and toads and little hylas1 all of which resorted to the ponds to lay their eggs1 in coiled ropes or spongy masses1 according to their various family traditions4 ,on many a spring night my zology class and ,i have visited the squashy margins of these ponds1 and1 by the light of a lantern1 seen singing toads and frogs sitting on bare hummocks of grass roots that stood above the water-line4 ,the throat of each musician was puffed out into a bag about the size and shape of a small hen's egg2 and all were singing for dear life1 and making a din that was almost ear-splitting at close range4 ,so great was the self-absorption of these singers that we could approach them1 daze them with the light of the lantern1 and capture any number of them with our long-handled nets before they noticed us4 ,but it was not easy to persuade them to sing in captivity1 no matter how many of the comforts of home we provided in the school aquariums4 ,so1 after some very interesting nature studies1 we always carried them back and liberated them1 where they could rejoin their kinsfolk and neighbours4 ,it was when we were scraping the mud from our rubber boots that we realized the character of the bottoms of our prairie ponds4 ,the slimy black deposit was made partly of the clay bottom1 but largely of decaying roots and tops of water plants of various kinds4 ,whenever it rained or the wind blew hard1 the bottom was stirred enough to make the water muddy2 and on the quietest days a pail of pond water had a tinge of brown because there were always decaying leaves and other rubbish to stain its purity4 ,the farmers drained the ponds as fast as they were able1 carrying the water1 by open ditches first1 and later by underground tile drains1 to lower levels4 ,finally these trunk drain pipes discharged the water into streams or lakes4 ,to-day a large proportion of the pond areas of ,iowa has disappeared2 the hollow tile of terra-cotta has been the most efficient means of converting the waste land1 covered by ponds1 into fertile fields4 ,but the ponds that have not been drained are smaller than they used to be1 and are on the straight road to extinction4 ,this process one can see at any time by visiting a pond4 ,every year a crop of reeds and a dozen other species of vigorous water plants dies at the top and adds the substance of their summer growth to the dust and other refuse that gathers in the bottom of the pond4 ,each spring roots and seeds send up another crop1 if possible more vigorous than the last1 and this top growth in turn dies and lies upon the bottom4 ,the pond level varies with the rainfall of the years1 but it averages a certain depth1 from which something is each year subtracted by the accumulations of rotting vegetable matter in the bottom4 ,evaporation lowers the water-level1 especially in hot1 dry summers4 ,from year to year the water plants draw in to form a smaller circle1 the grassy meadow land encroaches on all sides4 ,the end of the story is the filling up of the pond basin with the rotting substance of its own vegetation4 ,this is what is happening to ponds and inland marshes by slow degrees4 ,the tile drain pipes obliterate the pond in a single season4 ,nature is more deliberate4 ,she may require a hundred years to fill up a single pond which the farmer can rid himself of by a few days of work and a few rods of tiling4 ,,the ,,riddle ,,of ,,the ,,lost ,,rocks ,outside of my window two robins are building a nest in the crotch of a blossoming red maple tree4 ,and just across the hedge1 men are digging a big square hole in the ground--the cellar of our neighbour's new house4 ,it looks now as if the robins would get their house built first1 for they need but one room1 and they do not trouble about a cellar4 ,i shall watch both houses as they grow through the breezy ,march days4 ,the brown sod was first torn up by a plough1 which uncovered the red ,new ,jersey soil4 ,two men1 with a team hitched to a scraper1 have carried load after load of the loose earth to a heap on the back of the lot1 while two other men with pickaxes dug into the hard subsoil1 loosening it1 so that the scraper could scoop it up4 ,this subsoil is heavy1 like clay1 and it breaks apart into hard clods4 ,at the surface the men found a network of tree roots1 about which the soil easily crumbled4 ,often ,i hear a sharp1 metallic stroke1 unlike the dull sound of the picks striking into the earth4 ,the digger has struck a stone1 and he must work around it1 pry it up and lift it out of the way4 ,a row of these stones is seen at one side of the cellar hole1 ranged along the bank4 ,they are all different in size and shape1 and red with clay1 so ,i can't tell what they are made of4 ,but from this distance ,i see plainly that they are irregular in form and have no sharp corners4 ,the soil strewn along the lot by the scraper is full of stones1 mostly irregular1 but some rounded2 some are as big as your head1 others grade down to the sizes of marbles4 ,when ,i went down and examined this red earth1 ,i found pebbles of all shapes and sizes1 gravel in with the clay1 and grains of sand4 ,this rock-sprinkled soil in ,new ,jersey is very much like soil which ,i know very well in ,iowa2 it looks different in colour1 but those pebbles and rock fragments must be explained in the same way here as there4 ,these are not native stones1 the outcrop of near-by hillsides1 but strangers in this region4 ,the stones in ,iowa soil are also imported4 ,the prairie land of ,iowa has not many big rocks on the surface1 yet enough of them to make trouble4 ,the man who was ploughing kept a sharp lookout1 and swung his plough point away from a buried rock that showed above ground1 lest it should break the steel blade4 ,one of the farmer's jobs for the less busy season was to go out with sledge and dynamite sticks1 and blast into fragments the buried boulders too large to move4 ,sometimes building a hot fire on the top of it1 and throwing on water1 would crack the stubborn dornick into pieces small enough to be loaded on stone-boats4 ,i remember when the last giant boulder whose buried bulk scarcely showed at the surface1 was fractured by dynamite4 ,its total weight proved to be many tons4 ,we hauled the pieces to the great stone pile which furnished materials for walling the sides of a deep well and for laying the foundation of the new house4 ,yet for years stones have been accumulating1 all of them turned out of the same farm1 when pastures and swampy land came under the plough4 ,draw a line on the map from ,new ,york to ,st4 ,louis1 and then turn northward a little and extend it to the ,yellowstone ,park4 ,the boulder-strewn states lie north of this line1 and are not found south of it1 anywhere4 ,canada has boulders just like those of our ,northern ,states4 ,the same power scattered them over all of the vast northern half of ,north ,america and a large part of ,europe4 ,what explanation is there for this extensive distribution of unsorted dbris8 ,,the ,,question ,,answered ,the rocks tell their own story1 partly1 but not wholly4 ,they told just enough to keep the early geologists guessing2 and only very recently has the guessing come upon the truth4 ,these things the rocks told3 #a4 ,we have come from a distance4 #b4 ,we have had our sharp corners worn off4 #c4 ,many of us have deep scratches on our sides4 #d4 ,at various places we have been dumped in long ridges1 mixed with much earth4 #e4 ,a big boulder is often balanced on another one4 ,the first thing the geologist noted was the fact that these boulders are strangers--that is1 they are not the native rocks that outcrop on hillsides and on mountain slopes near where they are found4 ,far to the north are beds of rock from which this dbris undoubtedly came4 ,could a flood have scattered them as they are found8 ,no1 for water sorts the rock dbris it deposits1 and it rounds and polishes rock fragments1 instead of scratching and grooving them and leaving them angular1 as these are4 ,professor ,agassiz went to ,switzerland and studied the glaciers4 ,he found unsorted rock fragments where the glacier's nose melted1 and let them fall4 ,they were worn and scratched and grooved1 by being frozen into the ice1 and dragged over the rocky bed of the stream4 ,the rocky walls of the valley were scored by the glacier's tools4 ,rounded domes of rock jutted out of the ground1 in the paths of the ice streams1 just like the granite outcrop in ,central ,park in ,new ,york1 and many others in the region of scattered boulders4 ,after long studies in ,europe and in ,north ,america1 ,professor ,agassiz declared his belief that a great ice-sheet once covered the northern half of both countries1 rounding the hills1 scooping out the valleys and lake basins1 and scattering the boulders1 gravel1 and clay1 as it gradually melted away4 ,the belief of ,professor ,agassiz was not accepted at once1 but further studies prove that he guessed the riddle of the boulders4 ,the rich soil of the ,northern ,states is the glacial drift--the mixture of rock fragments of all sizes with fine boulder clay1 left by the gradual melting of the great ice-sheet as it retreated northward at the end of the ,glacial ,epoch4 ,,glaciers ,,among ,,the ,,alps ,switzerland is a little country without any seacoast1 mountainous1 with steep1 lofty peaks1 and narrow valleys4 ,the climate is cool and moist1 and snow falls the year round on the mountain slopes4 ,a snow-cap covers the lower peaks and ridges4 ,above the level of nine thousand feet the bare peaks rise into a dry atmosphere2 but below this altitude1 and above the six thousand-foot mark1 lies the belt of greatest snowfall4 ,peaks between six and nine thousand feet high are buried under the ,alpine snow-field1 which adds thickness with each storm1 and is drained away to feed the rushing mountain streams in the lower valleys4 ,the snow that falls on the steep1 smooth slope clings at first2 but as the thickness and the weight of these snow banks increase1 their hold on the slope weakens4 ,they may slip off1 at any moment4 ,the village at the foot of the slope is in danger of being buried under a snow-slide1 which people call an avalanche4 ,challanche is another name for it4 ,the hunter on the snow-clad mountains dares not shout for fear that his voice1 rechoing among the silent mountains1 may start an avalanche on its deadly plunge into the valley4 ,on the surface of the snow-field1 light snow-flakes rest4 ,under them the snow is packed closer4 ,deeper down1 the snow is granular1 like pellets of ice2 and still under this is ice1 made of snow under pressure4 ,the weight of the accumulated snow presses the underlying ice out into the valleys4 ,these streams are the glaciers--rivers of ice4 ,the glaciers of the ,alps vary in length from five to fifteen miles1 from one to three miles in width1 and from two hundred to six hundred feet in thickness4 ,they flow at the rate of from one to three feet a day1 going faster on the steeper slopes4 ,it is hard to believe that any substance as solid and brittle as ice can flow4 ,its movement is like that of stiff molasses1 or wax1 or pitch4 ,the tremendous pressure of the snow-field pushes the mass of ice out into the valleys1 and its own weight1 combined with the constant pressure from behind1 keeps it moving4 ,the glacier's progress is hindered by the uneven walls and bed of the valley1 and by any decrease in the slope of the bed4 ,when a flat1 broad area is reached1 a lake of ice may be formed4 ,these are not frequent in the ,alps4 ,the water near the banks and at the bottom of a river does not flow as swiftly as in the middle and at the surface of the stream4 ,the flow of ice in a glacier is just so4 ,friction with the banks and bottom retards the ice while the middle parts go forward1 melting under the strain1 and freezing again4 ,there is a constant readjusting of particles1 which does not affect the solidity of the mass4 ,the ice moulds itself over any unevenness in its bed if it cannot remove the obstruction4 ,the drop which would cause a small waterfall in a river1 makes a bend in the thick body of the ice river4 ,great cracks1 called crevasses1 are made at the surface1 along the line of the bend4 ,the width of the ,v-shaped openings depends upon the depth of the glacier and the sharpness of the bend that causes the breaks4 ,rocky ridges in the bed of the ice-stream may cause crevasses that run lengthwise of the glacier4 ,snow may fill these chasms or bridge them over4 ,the hunter or the tourist who ventures on the glacier is in constant danger1 unless he sees solid ice under him4 ,men rope themselves together in climbing over perilous places1 so that if one slips into a crevasse his mates can save him4 ,a glacier tears away and carries away quantities of rock and earth that form the walls of its bed4 ,as the valley narrows1 tremendous pressure crowds the ice against the sides1 tearing trees out by the roots and causing rock masses to fall on the top of the glacier1 or to be dragged along frozen solidly into its sides4 ,the weight of the ice bears on the bed of the glacier1 and its progress crowds irresistibly against all loose rock material4 ,the glacier's tools are the rocks it carries frozen into its icy walls and bottom4 ,these rocks rub against the walls1 grinding off dbris which is pushed or carried along4 ,no matter how heavy the boulders are that fall in the way of the ice river1 the ice carries them along4 ,it cannot drop them as a river of water would do4 ,slowly they travel1 and finally stop where the nose of the glacier melts and leaves all dbris that the mountain stream1 fed by the melting of the ice1 cannot carry away4 ,the bedrock under a glacier is scraped and ground and scored by the glacier's tools--the rock fragments frozen into the bottom of the ice4 ,these rocks are worn away by constant grinding1 just as a steel knife becomes thin and narrow by use4 ,scratches and scorings and polished surfaces are found in all rocks that pass one another in close contact4 ,its worn-out tools the glacier drops at the point where its ice melts4 ,this great1 unsorted mass of rock meal and coarser dbris the stream is gradually scattering down the valley4 ,the name moraine has been given to the earth rubbish a glacier collects and finally dumps4 ,the top moraine is at the surface of the ice4 ,the lateral moraines1 one at each side1 are the dbris gathered from the sides of the valley4 ,the ground moraine is what dbris the ice pushes and drags along on the bottom4 ,the terminal moraine is the dumping-ground of this mass of material1 where the ice river melts4 ,glaciers1 like other rivers1 often have tributary streams4 ,a median moraine1 seen as a dark streak running lengthwise on the surface of a glacier1 means that two branch glaciers have united to form this one4 ,go back far enough and you will reach the place where the two streams come together4 ,the two lateral moraines that join form the middle line of dbris1 the median moraine4 ,three ice-streams joined produce two top moraines4 ,they locate the lateral moraines of the middle glacier4 ,the surface of a glacier is often a mass of broken and rough ice1 forming a series of pits and pinnacles that make crossing impossible4 ,the sun melts the surface1 forming pools and percolating streams of water1 that honeycomb the mass4 ,underneath1 the ice is tunnelled1 and a rushing stream flows out under the end of the glacier4 ,it is not clear1 but black with mud1 called boulder clay1 or till1 made of ground rock1 and mixed with fragments of all shapes and sizes4 ,this is the meal from the glacier's mill1 dumped where the water can sift it4 ,balanced rocks are boulders1 one upon another1 that once lay on a glacier1 and were left in this strange1 unstable position when the supporting ice walls melted away from them4 ,in ,bronx ,park in ,new ,york the rocking stone always attracts attention4 ,the glacier that lodged it there1 also rounded the granite dome in ,central ,park and scattered the rock-strewn boulder clay on ,long ,island4 ,doubtless in an earlier day the edges of this glacier were thrust out into the ,atlantic1 not far from the ,great ,south ,bay1 and icebergs broke off and floated away4 ,illustration3 ,potsdam sandstone showing ripple marks ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,glacial stri on ,lower ,helderberg limestone ,illustration3 ,glacial grooves in the ,south ,meadow1 ,central ,park1 ,new ,york ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,mt4 ,tom1 ,west #hc;d ,st41 ,new ,york ,glaciers are small to-day compared with what they were long ago1 in ,europe and in ,america4 ,the climate became warmer1 and the ice-cap retreated4 ,old moraines show that the ice rivers of the ,alps once came much farther down the valleys than they do now4 ,smooth1 deeply scored domes of rock1 the one in ,central ,park and the bald head of ,mount ,tom1 are just like those that lie in ,alpine valleys from which the glaciers have long ago retreated4 ,there are old moraines far up the sides of valleys1 showing that once the glaciers were far deeper than now4 ,no other power could have brought rocks from strata higher up the mountains1 and lodged them thus4 ,nearer home1 ,mt4 ,shasta and ,mt4 ,rainier still have glaciers that have dwindled in size1 until they bear little comparison to the gigantic ice-streams that once filled the smooth beds their puny successors flow into4 ,remnants of glaciers lie in the hollows of the ,sierras4 ,we must go north to find the snow-fields of ,alaska and glaciers worthy to be compared with those ancient ice rivers whose work is plainly to be seen1 though they are gone4 ,,the ,,great ,,ice-,,sheet ,greenland is green only along its southern edge1 and only in summer1 so its name is misleading4 ,it is a frozen continent lying under a great ice-cap1 which covers #ejj1jjj square miles and is several thousand feet in thickness4 ,the top of this icy table-land rises from five thousand to ten thousand feet above the sea-level4 ,the long1 cold winters are marked by great snowfall1 and the drifts do not have time to melt during the short summer2 and so they keep getting deeper and deeper4 ,streams of ice flow down the steeps into the sea1 and break off by their weight when they are pushed out into the water4 ,these are the icebergs which float off into the ,north ,atlantic1 and are often seen by passengers on transatlantic steamers4 ,long ago ,greenland better deserved its name4 ,explorers who have climbed the mountain steeps that guard the unknown ice-fields of the interior have discovered1 a thousand feet above the sea-level1 an ancient beach1 strewn with shells of molluscs like those which now inhabit salt water1 and skeletons of fishes lie buried in the sand4 ,it is impossible to think that the ocean has subsided4 ,the only explanation that accounts for the ancient beach1 high and dry on the side of ,greenland's icy mountain is that the continent has been lifted a thousand feet above its former level4 ,this is an accepted fact4 ,we know that climate changes with changed altitude as well as latitude4 ,going up the side of a mountain1 even in tropical regions1 we may reach the snow-line in the middle of summer4 ,magnolia trees and tree ferns once grew luxuriantly in ,greenland forests4 ,their fossil remains have been found in the rocks4 ,this was long before the continent was lifted into the altitude of ice and snow4 ,and it is believed that the climate of northern latitudes has become more severe than formerly from other causes4 ,it is possible that the earth's orbit has gradually changed in form and position4 ,if ,greenland should ever subside until the ancient beach rests again at sea-level1 the secrets of that unknown land would be revealed by the melting of the glacial sheet that overspreads it4 ,possibly it would turn out to be a mere flock of islands4 ,we can only guess4 ,north ,america had1 not so long ago1 two-thirds of its area covered with an ice-sheet like that of ,greenland1 and a climate as cold as ,greenland's4 ,at this time the land was lifted two to three thousand feet higher than its present level4 ,all of the rain fell as snow1 and the ice accumulated and became thicker year by year4 ,instead of glaciers filling the gorges1 a great ice flood covered all the land1 and pushed southward as far as the ,ohio ,river on the east and ,yellowstone ,park in the west4 ,the ,rocky ,mountains and some parts of the ,appalachian system accumulated snow and formed local glaciers1 separated from the vast ice-sheet4 ,the unstable crust of the earth began to sink at length1 and gradually the ice-sheet's progress southward was checked1 and it began to recede by melting4 ,all along the borders of this great fan-shaped ice-field water accumulated from the melting1 and flooded the streams which drained it to the ,atlantic and the ,gulf4 ,icebergs broken off of the edge of the retiring ice-sheet floated in a great inland sea4 ,the land sank lower and lower until the general level was five hundred to one thousand feet lower than it now is4 ,the climate became correspondingly warm1 and the icebergs melted away4 ,then the land rose again1 and in time the inland sea was drained away into the ocean1 except for the waters that remained in thousands of lakes great and small that now occupy the region covered by the ice4 ,ancient sea beaches mark the level of high water at the time that the flood followed the melting ice4 ,on the shores of ,lake ,champlain1 but nearly five hundred feet higher than the present level of the lake1 curious geologists have found many kinds of marine shells on a well-marked old sea beach4 ,the members of one exploring party in the same region were surprised and delighted to come by digging upon the skeleton of a whale that had drifted ashore in the ancient days when the inland sea joined the ,atlantic4 ,lake ,ontario's ancient beach is five hundred feet above the present water-level2 ,lake ,erie's is two hundred fifty feet above it2 ,lake ,superior's three hundred thirty feet higher than the present beach4 ,no doubt when the water stood at the highest level1 the ,great ,lakes formed one single sheet of water which settled to a lower level as the rivers flowing south cut their channels deep enough to draw off the water toward the ,gulf4 ,lake ,winnipeg is now the small remnant of a vast lake the shores of which have been traced4 ,the ,minnesota ,river finally made its way into the ,mississippi and drained this great area the stranded beaches of which still remain4 ,the name of ,agassiz has been given to the ancient lake formed by the glacial flood and drained away thousands of years ago but not until it had built the terraced beach which locates it on the geological map of the region4 ,when the ice-sheet came down from the north it dragged along all of the soil and loose rock material that lay in its path4 ,with the boulders frozen into its lower surface it scratched and grooved the firm bedrock over which it slid1 and rounded it to a smooth and billowy surface4 ,the progress of the ice-sheet was southward1 but it spread like a fan so that its widening border turned to east and west4 ,when it reached its southernmost limit and began to melt1 it laid down a great ridge of unsorted rock material1 remnants of which remain to this day1--the terminal moraine of the ancient ice-sheet4 ,the line of this ancient deposit starts on ,long ,island1 crosses ,new ,jersey and ,pennsylvania1 then dips southward1 following the general course of the ,ohio ,river to its mouth1 forming bluffs in southern ,ohio1 ,indiana1 and ,illinois4 ,the line bends upward as it crosses central ,missouri1 a corner of ,kansas1 and eastern ,nebraska1 parallel with the course of the ,missouri4 ,as the ice-sheet melted1 boulders were dropped all over the ,northern ,states and ,canada4 ,these were both angular and rounded4 ,in some places they are scattered thickly over the surface and are so numerous as to be a great hindrance to agriculture4 ,in many places great boulders of thousands of tons weight are perched on very slight foundations1 just where they lodged when the ice went off and left them1 after carrying them hundreds of miles4 ,around them are scattered quantities of loose rock material1 not scored or ground as are those which were carried on the under-surface of the glacial ice4 ,these unscarred fragments rode on the top of the ice4 ,they were a part of the top moraine of the glacial sheet4 ,the finest material deposited is rock meal1 ground by the great glacial mill1 and called boulder clay4 ,it is a stiff1 dense1 stony paste in which boulders of all sizes1 gravel1 pebbles1 and cobblestones are cemented4 ,the drift of the ice-sheet is the rubbish1 coarse and fine1 it left behind as it retreated4 ,below the ,ohio ,river there is a deep soil produced by the decay of rocks that lie under it4 ,north of ,ohio is spread that peculiar mixture of earth and rock fragments which was transported from the north and spread over the land which the ice-sheet swept bare and ground smooth and polished4 ,the drift has been washed away in places by the floods that followed the ice4 ,granite domes are thus exposed1 the grooves and scratches of which tell in what direction the ice flood was travelling4 ,miles away from that scored granite1 but in the same direction as the scratches1 scattered fragments of the same foundation rock cover fields and meadows4 ,thus1 much of the drift material can be traced to its original home1 and the course of the ice-sheet can be determined4 ,many immense boulders the home of which was in the northern highlands of ,canada rode southward1 frozen into icebergs that floated in the great inland sea4 ,great quantities of dbris were added to the original glacial drift through the agency of these floating ice masses1 which melted by slow degrees4 ,,following ,,some ,,lost ,,rivers ,what would you think if the boat in which you were floating down a pleasant river should suddenly grate upon sand1 and you should look over the gunwale and find that here the waters sank out of sight1 the river ended8 ,i believe you would rub your eyes1 and feel sure that you were dreaming4 ,do not all rivers flow along their beds1 growing larger with every mile1 and finally empty their waters into a sea1 or bay1 or lake1 or flow into some larger stream8 ,this is the way of most rivers1 but there are exceptions4 ,in the ,far ,west there are some great rivers that absolutely disappear before they reach a larger body of water4 ,they simply sink away into the sand1 and sometimes reappear to finish their courses after flowing underground for miles4 ,do you know the name of one great western river of which ,i am thinking8 ,is there any stream in your neighbourhood which has such peculiar ways8 ,down in ,kentucky there is a region where1 it is said1 one may walk fifty miles without crossing running water4 ,in the middle of our country1 in the region of plentiful rainfall1 and in a state covered with beautiful woodlands and famous for blue grass and other grain crops1 it is amazing that1 over a large area1 brooks and larger streams are lacking4 ,in most of the state there is plenty of water flowing in streams like those in other parts of the eastern half of the ,united ,states4 ,in the near neighbourhood of this peculiar section of the state the streams come to an end suddenly1 pouring their water into funnel-shaped depressions of the ground called sink-holes4 ,after a heavy rain the surface water1 accumulating in rivulets1 may also be traced to small depressions which seem like leaks in the earth's crust1 into which the water trickles and disappears4 ,it must have been noticed by the early settlers who came over the mountains from the eastern colonies1 and settled in the new1 wild1 hilly country1 which they called ,kentucky4 ,the first settlers built their log cabins along the streams they found1 and shot deer and wild turkey and other game that was plentiful in the woods4 ,the deer showed them where salt was to be found in earthy deposits near the streams2 for salt is necessary to every creature4 ,deer trails led from many directions to the salt licks which the wild animals visited frequently4 ,perhaps the same pioneers who dug the salt out of the earth found likewise deposits of nitre1 called also saltpetre1 a very precious mineral1 for it is one of the elements necessary in the manufacture of gunpowder4 ,with the ,indians all about him1 and often showing themselves unfriendly1 the pioneer counted gunpowder a necessity of life4 ,he relied on his gun to defend and to feed his family4 ,there were men among those first settlers who knew how to make gunpowder1 and saltpetre was one of the things that had to be carried across the mountains into ,kentucky1 until they found it in the hills4 ,no wonder that prospectors went about looking for nitre beds in the overhanging ledges of rocks along stream-beds4 ,in such situations the deposits of nitre were found4 ,the earth was washed in troughs of running water to remove the clayey impurity4 ,after a filtering through wood-ashes1 the water which held the nitre in solution was boiled down1 and left to evaporate1 after which the crystals of saltpetre remained4 ,solid masses of saltpetre weighing hundreds of pounds were sometimes found in protected corners under shelving rocks4 ,it was no doubt in the fascinating hunt for lumps of this pure nitre that the early prospectors discovered that the streams which disappeared into the sink-holes made their way into caverns underground4 ,digging in the sides of ravines often made the earthy wall cave in1 and the surprised prospector stood at the door of a cavern4 ,the discoverer of a cave had hopes that by entering he might find nitre beds richer than those he could uncover on the surface1 and this often turned out to be true4 ,the hope of finding precious metals and beds of iron ore also encouraged the exploration of these caves4 ,by the time the war of #ahab was declared1 the mining of saltpetre was a good-sized industry in ,kentucky4 ,most of the mineral was taken out of small caves1 and shipped1 when purified1 over the mountains1 on mule-back by trails1 and in carts over good roads that were built on purpose to bring this mineral product to market4 ,as long as war threatened the country1 the ,government was ready to buy all the saltpetre the ,kentucky frontiersmen could produce4 ,and the miners were constantly in search of richer beds that promised better returns for their labour4 ,it was this search that led to the exploration of the caves discovered1 although the explorer took his life in his hands when he left the daylight behind him and plunged into the under-world4 ,not all lost rivers tell as interesting stories or reveal as valuable secrets as did those the neighbours of ,daniel ,boone traced along their dark passages underground1 and finally saw emerge as hillside springs1 in many cases1 to feed ,kentucky rivers4 ,but it is plain that no river sinks from sight unless it finds porous or honeycombed rocks that let it through4 ,the water seeks the nearest and easiest route to the sea4 ,its weight presses toward the lowest level1 always4 ,the more water absorbs of acid1 the more powerfully does it attack and carry away the substance of lime rocks through which it passes4 ,,the ,,mammoth ,,cave ,,of ,,kentucky ,there is no more fertile soil in the country than that of the famous blue grass region of ,kentucky4 ,the surface soil rests upon a deep foundation of limestone rocks1 and very gradually the plant food locked up in these underlying strata is pulled up to the surface by the soil water1 and greedily appropriated by the roots of the plants4 ,part of the water of the abundant rainfall of this region soaks into the layers of the lime rock1 carrying various acids in solution which give it power to dissolve the limestone particles1 and thus to make its way easily through comparatively porous rock to the very depths of the earth4 ,so it has come about that the surface of the earth is undermined4 ,vast empty chambers have been carved by the patient work of trickling water1 which has carried away the lime that once formed solid and continuous layers of the earth's crust4 ,we must believe that the work has taken thousands of years1 at least1 for no perceptible change has come to these wonderful caves since the discovery and exploration of them a century and more ago4 ,the streams that flow into the region of these caves disappear suddenly into sink-holes and flow through caverns4 ,after wearing away their subterranean channels1 leaping down from one level to another1 forming waterfalls and lakes1 some emerge finally through hillsides in the form of springs4 ,the cavern region of ,kentucky covers eight thousand square miles4 ,the underground chambers found there are in the limestone rock which varies from ten to four hundred feet in thickness1 and averages a little less than two hundred feet4 ,over this territory the number of sink-holes average one hundred to the square mile2 and the streams that have poured their water into these basins have made a network of open caverns one hundred thousand miles in length4 ,a great many small caverns have been thoroughly explored and are famous for their beauty4 ,the ,diamond ,cave is one of the most splendid1 for it is lined with walls and pillars of alabaster that sparkle in the torchlight with crystals that look like veritable diamonds4 ,beautiful springs and waterfalls are found in many caves1 but the grandest of all is the ,mammoth ,cave1 beside which no other is counted worthy to be compared4 ,great tales the miners told of the wonder and the beauty of these caverns1 the walls of which were supported by arching alabaster columns and wonderful domes1 of indescribable beauty of form and colouring4 ,in #agii1 the year that ,washington died1 a pioneer discovered the entrance to a cave1 the size and beauty of which surpassed anything he had seen before4 ,after exploring it for a short distance he returned home and took his whole family with him to enjoy the first view of the wonderful cavern he had discovered4 ,they carried pine knots and a lighted torch1 by which they made their way for some distance1 but the torch was accidentally extinguished and they groped their way in darkness and missed the entrance4 ,without anything to guide them1 they wandered in darkness for three days1 and were almost dead when at last they stumbled upon the exit4 ,this is the doorway of the ,mammoth ,cave of ,kentucky1 one of the wonders of the world4 ,this was a terrible experience4 ,the next persons who attempted to explore the new cave were better provisioned against the chance of spending some time underground4 ,the pioneers found rich deposits of nitre in the ,great ,cave1 as they called it4 ,scientists visited it and explored many of its chambers4 ,the reputation of this cavern has been spread by thousands of visitors who have come from all over the world to see it4 ,the cave has not yet been completely explored4 ,the regular tours1 on which the guides conduct visitors1 cover but a small part of the one hundred and fifty miles measured by the two hundred or more avenues4 ,the passages wind in and out1 crossing each other1 sometimes at different levels1 and forming a network of avenues in which the unaccustomed traveller would surely be lost4 ,the old guides know every inch of their regular course1 and their quaint and edifying talk adds greatly to the pleasure of the visitors4 ,from the hotel1 parties are organized for ten o'clock in the morning and seven o'clock in the evening4 ,each visitor is provided with a lard-oil lamp4 ,the guide carries a flask of oil and plenty of matches4 ,no special garb is necessary1 though people usually dress for comfort1 and wear easy shoes4 ,the temperature of the cave is uniform winter and summer1 varying between fifty-three and fifty-four degrees ,fahrenheit4 ,the cave entrance is an arch of seventy-foot span in the hillside4 ,a winding flight of seventy stone steps leads the party around a waterfall1 into a great chamber under the rocks4 ,then the way goes through a narrow passage1 where the guide unlocks an iron gate to let them in4 ,the visitors now leave all thoughts of daylight behind1 for the breeze that put out their lights as they entered the cave is past1 and they stand in the ,rotunda1 a vast high-ceilinged chamber1 silent and impressive1 with walls of creamy limestone1 encrusted with gypsum1 which has been stained black by manganese4 ,from the vestibule on1 each passage and each room has a name1 based upon some historic event or some fancied resemblance4 ,the ,giant's ,coffin is a great kite-shaped rock lying in one of the rooms of the cave4 ,the ,star ,chamber has a wonderful crystal-studded dome in which the guide produces the effect of a sunrise by burning coloured lights4 ,bonfires built at suitable points produce wonderful shadow effects1 which are like nothing else in the world4 ,the old saltpetre vats which the visitors pass in taking the ,long ,route through the cave1 point them back to the days during the ,war of #ahab1 when this valuable mineral was extracted from the earth in the floor of the cave4 ,the industry greatly enriched the thrifty owners of the cave1 but the works were abandoned after peace was declared4 ,it must be a wonderful experience to walk steadily for nine hours over the ,long ,route1 for so pure is the air and so wonderful is the scenery that people rarely complain of fatigue when the experience is over4 ,there is no dust on the floors of these subterranean chambers1 and they are not damp except near places where water trickles1 here and there1 in rivulets and cascades4 ,pools of water at the bottoms of pits so deep that a lighted torch requires several seconds to reach the bottom1 and rivers and lakes of considerable size1 show where some of the surface water goes to4 ,a strange underground suction creates whirlpools in some of these streams4 ,people go in boats holding twenty passengers for a row on ,echo ,river1 and the guide dips up with a net the blind fish and crayfish and cave lizards which inhabit these subterranean waters4 ,the echoes in various chambers of the ,mammoth ,cave are remarkable4 ,in some of them a song by a single voice comes back with full chords1 as if several voices carried the different parts4 ,the single notes of flute and cornet are returned with the same beautiful harmonies4 ,a pistol shot is given back a dozen times1 the sound rebounding like a ball from rock to rock of the arching walls4 ,the vibrations of the water made by the rower's paddles recho in sounds like bell notes1 and they are multiplied into harmonies that suggest the chimes in the belfry of a cathedral4 ,the walls of various chambers differ from each other according to the minerals that compose them4 ,some are creamy white limestone arches1 some are walled with black gypsum1 some are hung with great curtains of stalagmites1 solid but suggesting the lightness and grace of folds of crpe4 ,under such hangings the floor is built up in stalactites4 ,the mineral-laden water1 the constant drip of which has produced a hanging1 icicle-like stalagmite1 has built up the stalactite to meet it4 ,probably nothing is more beautiful than the flower-like crystals that bloom all over the walls of a chamber called ,mary's ,bower4 ,the floor1 even1 sparkles with jewels that have fallen from the wonderful and delicate flower clusters built from deposits of the lime-laden water which goes on building and replacing the bits that fall4 ,martha's ,vineyard is decorated with nodules1 like bunches of grapes1 that glisten as if the dew were on them4 ,the white gypsum in some caves makes the walls look as if they were carved out of snow4 ,still others have clear1 transparent crystals that make them gleam in the torches' light as if the walls were encrusted with diamonds4 ,the cave region of ,indiana is also famous4 ,the great ,wyandotte ,cave in ,crawford ,county is the most noted of many similar caverns4 ,in some of the chambers1 bats are found clinging to the ceiling1 heads downward1 like swarms of bees4 ,the caverns of ,luray1 in ,virginia1 are complex and wonderful in their structure1 and famous for the beautiful stalactites and stalagmites they contain4 ,but there is no cave in this country so wonderful and so grand in its dimensions as the ,mammoth ,cave in ,kentucky4 ,,land-,,building ,,by ,,rivers ,once a year1 when the rainy season comes in the mountainous country south of ,egypt1 the old ,nile floods its banks and spreads its slimy waters over the land1 covering the low plains to the very edge of the ,sahara ,desert4 ,the people know it is coming1 and are prepared for this flood4 ,we should think such an overflow of our nearest river a monstrous calamity1 but the ,egyptians bless the river which blesses them4 ,they know that without the ,nile's overflow their country would be added to the ,desert of ,sahara4 ,in a short time after the overflow1 the river reaches its highest point and begins to ebb4 ,canals lying parallel to its course are filled with water which is saved for use in the hot1 dry summer4 ,as the flood goes down1 a deposit of slimy mud lies as a rich fertilizer on the land4 ,it is this and the water which the earth has absorbed that make ,egypt one of the most fertile agricultural countries in the world4 ,the region covered by the ,nile's overflow is the flood plain of this river4 ,on this plain the ,pyramids1 the ,sphinx1 and other famous monuments of ,egypt stand4 ,the statue of ,rameses ,,ii4 built #c1jjj years ago1 has its base buried nine feet deep in the rich soil made of ,nile sediment4 ,a well dug in this region goes through forty feet of this soil before striking the underlying sand4 ,how many years ago did the first ,nile overflow take place8 ,we may begin our calculation by finding out the average yearly deposit4 ,it is a slow process that accumulates but nine feet in #c1jjj years4 ,if you were in ,egypt when the ,nile went back into its banks1 you would see that the scum it leaves in a single overflow adds not a great deal to the thickness of the soil4 ,possibly floods have varied in their deposits from year to year1 so that any calculation of the time it took to build that forty feet of surface soil must be but a rough estimate4 ,this much we know3 it has been an uninterrupted process which has taken place within the present geological epoch1 the ,age of ,man4 ,not all the rich sediment the ,nile brings down is left on the level flood plain along its course4 ,a vast quantity is dumped at the river's mouth1 where the tides of the ,mediterranean check the river's current4 ,thus the great delta is formed4 ,the broad river splits into many mouths that spread out like a fan and build higher and broader each year the mud-banks between the streams4 ,upper ,egypt consists of river swamps4 ,lower ,egypt1 from ,cairo to the sea1 is the delta built by the river itself on sea bottom4 ,from the head of the delta1 where the river commences to divide1 to the sea1 is an area of #aj1jjj square miles made out of material contributed by upper ,egypt1 and built by the river4 ,layer upon layer1 it is constantly forming1 but most rapidly during the season of floods4 ,coming closer home1 let us look at the map of the ,mississippi ,valley4 ,begin as far north as ,st4 ,louis4 ,for the rest of its course the ,mississippi ,river flows through a widening plain of swamp land1 flooded in rainy seasons4 ,through this swampy flood plain the river meanders2 its current1 heavily loaded with sediment1 swings from one side to the other of the channel1 building up here1 wearing away there1 and straightening its course when the curves become so sharp that their sides meet4 ,then the current breaks through the thin wall1 and a bayou of still water is left behind4 ,below ,baton ,rouge the ,mississippi breaks into many mouths1 that spread and carry the water of the great river into the ,gulf of ,mexico4 ,the ,nile delta is triangular1 like delta1 ,greek3 ,d1 the fourth letter of the ,greek alphabet2 but the ,mississippi's delta is very irregular4 ,the main mouth of the river flows fifty miles out into the ,gulf between mud-banks1 narrow and low4 ,at the tip it branches into several streams4 ,from the mouth of the ,ohio to the ,gulf1 the ,mississippi flood plain covers #cj1jjj square miles4 ,over this area1 sediment to an average depth of fifty feet has been laid down4 ,in earlier times the river flooded this whole area1 when freshets swelled its tributaries in the spring4 ,the flood plain then became a sea1 in the middle of which the river's current flowed swiftly4 ,the slow-flowing water on each side of the main current let go of its burden of sediment and formed a double ridge4 ,between these two natural walls the main river flowed4 ,when its level fell1 two side streams1 running parallel with the main river drained the flood plains on each side into the main tributaries to right and left4 ,these natural walls deposited when the river was in flood are called levees4 ,each heavy flood builds them higher1 and the bed of the stream rises by deposits of sediment4 ,so it happens that the level of the river bed is higher than the level of its flood plain4 ,this is an interesting fact in geology4 ,but the people who have taken possession of the rich flood plain of the ,mississippi ,river1 who have built their homes there1 drained and cultivated the land1 and built cities and towns on the areas reclaimed from swamps1 recognize the elevation of the river bed as the greatest danger that threatens them4 ,suppose a flood should come4 ,even if it does not overflow the levees1 it may break through the natural banks and thus overflow the cities and the farm lands to left and right4 ,instead of living in constant fear of such a calamity1 the people of the ,mississippi flood plain have sought safety by making artificial levees1 to make floods impossible4 ,these are built upon the natural levees4 ,as the river bed rises by the deposit of mud1 the levees are built higher to contain the rising waters4 ,no longer does the rich soil of the ,mississippi flood plain receive layers of sediment from the river's overflow4 ,the river very rarely breaks through a levee4 ,the ,united ,states ,government has spent great sums in walling in the river1 and each state along its banks does its share toward paying for this self-protection4 ,by means of jetties the river's current is directed into a straightened course1 and its power is expended upon the work of deepening its own channel and carrying its sediment to the ,gulf4 ,much as the river has been forced to do in cleaning its own main channel1 dredging is needed at various harbours to keep the river deep enough for navigation4 ,the forests of the mountain slopes in ,colorado are being slaughtered1 and the headwaters of the ,missouri are carrying more and more rocky dbris to choke the current of the ,mississippi4 ,colorado soil is stolen to build land in the vast delta1 which is pushing out into the ,gulf at the rate of six miles in a century--a mile in every sixteen years4 ,the ,mississippi delta measures #ad1jjj square miles4 ,with the continued denuding of mountain slopes1 we shall expect the rate of delta growth to be greatly increased1 until reforesting checks the destructive work of wind and water4 ,,the ,,making ,,of ,,mountains ,the gradual thickening and shrinking of the earth's crust as it cools have made the wrinkles we call mountain systems4 ,through millions of years the globe has been giving off heat to the cold sky spaces through which it swings in its orbit around the sun4 ,the cooling caused the contraction of the outer layer to fit the shrinking of the mass4 ,when a plump peach dries on its pit1 the skin wrinkles down to fit the dried flesh4 ,the fruit shrinks by loss of water1 just as the face of an old person shrinks by loss of fat4 ,the skin becomes wrinkled in both cases4 ,the weakest places in the earth's crust were the places to crumple1 because they could not resist the lateral pressure that was exerted by the shrinking process4 ,along the shores of the ancient seas the rivers piled great burdens of sediment4 ,this caused the thin crust to sink and to become a basin alongside of a ridge4 ,the wearing away of the land in certain places lightened and weakened the crust at these places1 so that it bent upward in a ridge4 ,perhaps the first wrinkles were not very high and deep4 ,the gradual cooling must have exerted continued pressure1 and the wrinkles have become larger4 ,it is not likely that new wrinkles would be formed as long as the old ones would crumple and draw up into narrower1 steeper slopes1 in response to the lateral crushing4 ,we can imagine those first mountains rising as folds under the sea4 ,gradually their bases were narrowed1 and their crests lifted out of the water4 ,they rose as long1 narrow islands1 and grew in size as time went on4 ,why is the trend of the great mountain systems almost always north and south8 ,study the map of the continents and see how few cross ranges are shown1 and how short they are1 compared with the others4 ,the molten globe bulged at its equator1 as it rotated on its axis4 ,the moon added its strong pulling force to make it bulge still more4 ,as the crust thickened1 it became less responsive to the two forces that caused it to bulge4 ,the shrinkage was greatest where the globe had been most pulled out of shape4 ,the rate of the earth's rotation is believed to have diminished4 ,every change tended to let the earth draw in its 7imaginary7 belt1 a notch at a time4 ,the forces of contraction acted along the line of the equator1 and formed folds running toward the poles4 ,in this early time the great mountain systems were born1 and they grew in size gradually1 from small beginnings4 ,these mountains of upheaval1 made by the bending of the earth's crust1 and the formation of alternating ridges and depressed valleys1 are many4 ,the earth is old and much wrinkled4 ,other mountains have been formed by forces quite different4 ,volcanic mountains have been far more numerous in ages gone than they are now4 ,mt4 ,hood and ,mt4 ,rainier are peaks built up by the materials thrown out of the craters of volcanoes dead these thousands of years4 ,vesuvius is at present showing us how volcanic mountains are made4 ,each eruption builds larger the cone--that is1 the chimney through which the molten rocks1 the ashes1 and the steam are ejected4 ,side craters may open1 the main cone be broken and its form changed1 but the mass of lava and stones and ashes grows with each eruption4 ,the mountain grows by the additions it receives4 tna is a mountain built of lava4 ,a third mountain system grew1 not by addition1 but by subtraction4 ,the ,catskills illustrate this type4 ,this group of mountains is the remnant of a table-land made of level layers of red sandstone4 ,the rest of the high plain has been cut down and carried away1 leaving these picturesque hills1 the survival of which is as much a mystery as the disappearance of the balance of the plateau of which they were once a part4 ,the fold that forms a typical mountain ridge has a cone of granite1 the original rock foundation of the earth1 and on this are layers of stratified rock1 ancient deposits of sediment carried to the sea by streams4 ,when exposed to wind and rain1 the ridge is gradually worn down4 ,in some places the water cuts away the soft rock and forms a stream-bed1 that cuts deeper and deeper1 using the rock fragments as its tools4 ,often the layers of aqueous rocks are cut through1 and the granite exposed4 ,sometimes the hardest stratified rock-beds resist the water and the wind and are left as a series of ridges along the sides of the main range4 ,the crumpling forces may crack the ridge open for its whole length1 and one side of the chasm may slip down and the other go up4 ,the result is a sheer wall of exposed rock strata1 layers of which correspond with those that lie far below the top of the portion that slid down in the great upheaval and subsidence that parted them4 ,these slips are known as faults4 ,,the ,,lava ,,flood ,,of ,,the ,,northwest ,we know little about the substance that occupies the four thousand miles of distance between the surface and the centre of our earth4 ,we know that the terrible weight borne by the central mass compresses it1 so that the interior must grow denser as the core is approached4 ,scientists have weighed the earth1 and tell us that the crust is lighter than the rest4 ,the supposition is that there is a great deal of iron in the interior1 and possibly precious metals1 too4 ,our deepest wells and mines go down about a mile1 then digging stops1 on account of the excessive heat4 ,but the crumpling of the crust1 and the wearing away of the folded strata by wind and running water1 have laid bare rocks several miles in thickness on the slopes of mountains1 and exposed the underlying granite1 on which the first sedimentary rocks were deposited4 ,on this granite lie stratified rocks1 which are crystalline in texture4 ,these are the beds1 sometimes miles in depth1 called metamorphic rocks1 formed by water1 then transformed by heat4 ,the wearing away of rocks by wind and water has furnished the materials out of which the aqueous rocks have been made4 ,layers upon layers of sandstone1 shales1 limestone1 and the like1 are exposed when a river cuts a canyon through a plateau4 ,the layered deposits of dbris at the mouth of the river make new aqueous rocks out of old4 ,every sandy beach is sandstone in the making4 ,this work is never ended4 ,in the early days the earth's crust often gaped open in a mighty crater and let a flood of lava overspread the surface4 ,the ocean floor often received this flood of melted rock4 ,in many places the same chimney opened again and again1 each time spreading a new layer of lava on top of the old1 so that the surface has several lava sheets overlying the aqueous strata4 ,if the hardened lava sheet proved a barrier to the rising tide of molten lava in the chimney it was often forced out in sheets between the layers of aqueous rocks4 ,wherever the heated material came into contact with aqueous rocks it transformed them1 for a foot or more1 into crystalline1 metamorphic rocks4 ,a chimney of lava is called a dike4 ,in mountainous countries dikes are common4 ,sometimes small1 they may also be hundreds of feet across1 often standing high above the softer strata1 which rains have worn away4 ,dikes often look like ruined walls1 and may be traced for miles where they have been overturned in the mountain-making process4 ,the great lava flood of the ,northwest happened when the ,coast ,range was born4 ,along the border of the ,pacific ,ocean vast sedimentary deposits had accumulated during the ,cretaceous and ,tertiary ,periods4 ,then the mighty upheaval came1 the mountain ridge rose at the end of the ,miocene epoch and stretched itself for hundreds of miles through the region which is now the coast of ,california and ,oregon4 ,great fissures opened in the folded crust1 and floods of lava overspread an area of #aej1jjj square miles4 ,a dozen dead craters show to-day where those immense volcanic chimneys were4 ,the depth of the lava-beds is well shown where the ,columbia ,river has worn its channel through4 ,walls of lava three thousand feet in thickness rise on each side of the river4 ,they are made of columns of basalt1 fitted together1 like cells of a honeycomb1 and jointed1 forming stone blocks laid one upon another4 ,the lava shrinks on cooling and forms prisms4 ,in ,ireland1 the ,giants' ,causeway is a famous example of basaltic formation4 ,in ,oregon1 the walls of the ,des ,chutes ,river show thirty lava layers1 each made of vertical basalt columns4 ,the palisades of the ,hudson1 ,mt4 ,tom1 and ,mt4 ,holyoke are examples on the eastern side of the continent of basaltic rocks made by lava floods4 ,northern ,california1 northwestern ,nevada1 and large part of ,idaho1 ,montana1 ,oregon1 and ,washington are included in the basin filled with lava at the time of the great overflow1 which extended far into ,british ,columbia4 ,it is probable that certain chimneys continued to discharge until comparatively recent times4 ,mt4 ,rainier1 ,mt4 ,shasta1 and ,mt4 ,hood are among dead volcanoes4 ,quite a different history has the great ,deccan lava-field of ,india1 which covers a larger area than the basin of our ,northwest1 and is in places more than a mile in depth4 ,it has no volcanoes1 nor signs of any ever having existed4 ,the floods alone overspread the region1 which shows no puny follow-up system of scattered craters1 intermittently in eruption4 ,,the ,,first ,,living ,,things ,strange days and nights those must have been on the earth when the great sea was still too hot for living things to exist in it4 ,the land above the water-line was bare rocks4 ,these were rapidly being crumbled by the action of the air1 which was not the mild1 pleasant air we know1 but was full of destructive gases1 breathed out through cracks in the thin crust of the earth from the heated mass below4 ,if you stand on the edge of a lava lake1 like one of those on the islands of the ,hawaiian group1 the stifling fumes that rise might make you feel as if you were back at the beginning of the earth's history1 when the solid crust was just a thin film on an unstable sea of molten rock1 and this volcano but one of the vast number of openings by which the boiling lava and the condensed gases found their way to the surface4 ,then the rivers ran black with the waste of the rocky earth they furrowed1 and there was no vegetation to soften the bleakness of the landscape4 ,the beginnings of life on the earth are a mystery4 ,nobody can guess the riddle4 ,the earliest rocks were subjected to great heat4 ,it is not possible that life could have existed in the heated ocean or on the land4 ,gradually the shores of the seas became filled up with sediment washed down by the rivers4 ,layer on layer of this sediment accumulated1 and it was crumpled by pressure1 and changed by heat1 so that if any plants or animals had lived along those old shores their remains would have been utterly destroyed4 ,rocks that lie in layers on top of these oldest1 fire-scarred foundations of the earth show the first faint traces of living things4 ,limestone and beds of iron ore are signs of the presence of life4 ,the first animals and plants lived in the ancient seas4 ,from the traces that are left1 we judge that the earliest life forms were of the simplest kind1 like some plants and animals that swim in a drop of water4 ,have you ever seen a drop of pond water under a compound microscope8 ,it is a wonder world you look into1 and you forget all the world besides4 ,you are one of the wonderful higher animals1 the highest on the earth4 ,you focus on a shapeless creature that moves about and feels and breathes1 but hasn't any eyes or mouth or stomach--in fact1 it is the lowest form of animal life1 and one of the smallest4 ,it is but one of many animal forms1 all simple in structure1 but able to feed and grow and reproduce their kind4 ,gaze out of the window on the garden1 now4 ,the flowering plants1 the green grass1 and the trees are among the highest forms of plants4 ,in the drop of water under the microscope tiny specks of green are floating4 ,they belong to the lowest order of plants4 ,among the plant and the animal forms that have been studied and named1 are a few living things the places of which in the scale are not agreed upon4 ,some say they are animals2 some believe they are plants4 ,they are like both in some respects4 ,it is probable that the first living things were like these confusing1 minute things--not distinctly plants or animals1 but the parent forms from which1 later on1 both plants and animals sprang4 ,the lowest forms of life1 plant and animal1 live in water to-day4 ,they are tiny and their bodies are made of a soft substance like the white of an egg4 ,if these are at all like the living creatures that swarmed in the early seas1 no wonder they left no traces in the rocks of the early part of the age when life is first recorded by fossils4 ,soft-bodied creatures never do4 ,some of the animals and the plants in the drop of water under the microscope have body walls of definite shapes1 made of lime1 or of a glassy substance called silica4 ,when they die1 these skeletons lie at the bottom of the water1 and do not decay1 as the living part of the body does1 because they are mineral4 ,gradually a number of these shells1 or hard skeletons1 accumulate4 ,in a glass of pond water they are found at the bottom1 amongst the sediment4 ,in a pond how many thousands of these creatures must live and their shells fall to the bottom at last1 buried in the mud6 ,so it is easy to understand why the first creatures on earth left no trace4 ,the first real fossils found in the rocks are the hard shells or skeletons of the first plants and animals that had hard parts4 ,,an ,,ancient ,,beach ,,at ,,ebb ,,tide ,when the tide is out1 the rocks on the ,maine coast have plenty of living creatures to prove this northern shore inhabited4 ,starfishes lurk in the hollows1 and the tent-shaped shells of the little periwinkle encrust the wet rocks4 ,mussels cling to the rocks in clumps1 fastened to each other by their ropes of coarse black hair4 ,the furry coating of sea mosses that encrust the rocks is a hiding-place for many kinds of living things1 some soft-bodied1 some protected by shells4 ,the shallow water is the home of plants and animals of many different kinds4 ,as proof of this one finds dead shells and fragments of seaweeds strewn on the shore after a storm4 ,along the outer shores of the ,cape ,cod peninsula and down the ,jersey coast1 the sober colouring of the shells of the north gives way to a brighter colour scheme4 ,in the warmer waters1 life becomes gayer1 if we may judge by the rich tints that ornament the shells4 ,the kinds of living creatures change4 ,they are larger and more abundant4 ,the seaweeds are more varied and more luxuriant in growth4 ,when we reach the shores of the ,west ,indian islands and the keys of ,florida the greatest abundance and variety of living forms are found4 ,the submerged rocks blossom with flower-like sea anemones of every colour4 ,corals1 branching like trees and bushes on the sea floor1 form groves under water4 ,among them brilliant-hued fishes swim1 and highly ornamented shells glide1 as people know who have gazed through the glass bottoms of the boats built especially to show visitors the wonderful sea gardens at ,nassau1 ,bahama ,islands1 and at ,santa ,catalina ,island1 southern ,california4 ,on every beach the skeletons of animals which die help to build up the land2 though the process is not so rapid in the north as on the shores that approach the tropics4 ,the coast of ,florida has a rim of island reefs around it built out of coral limestone4 ,indeed1 the peninsula was built by coral polyps4 ,houses in ,st4 ,augustine are built of coquina rock1 which is simply a mass of broken shells held together by a lime cement4 ,every sea beach is packed with shells and other remnants of animals and plants that live in the shallow waters4 ,deeper and deeper year by year the sand buries these skeletons1 and many of them are preserved for all time4 ,thus what is sandy beach to-day may1 a few million years from now1 be uncovered as a ledge of sandstone with the prints of waves distinctly shown1 and fossil shells of molluscs1 skeletons of fishes1 and branches of seaweed--all of them different from those then growing upon the earth4 ,in the neighbourhood of ,cincinnati there have been uncovered banks of stone accumulated along the border of an ancient sea4 ,from the sides of granite highlands streams brought down the sand built into these oldest sandstone rocks4 ,the fine mud which now appears as beds of slate was the decay of feldspar and hornblende in the same granite4 ,limestone beds are full of the fossil shells of creatures that lived in the shallow seas4 ,their skeletons1 accumulating on the bottom1 formed deep layers of limestone mud4 ,these rocks preserve1 by the fossils they contain1 a great variety of shellfish which had limy skeletons4 ,the sea fairly swarmed along its shallow margin with these creatures4 ,we might not recognize many of the shells and other curious fossils we find in the rock uncovered by the workmen who are cutting a railroad embankment4 ,they are not exactly like the living forms that grow along our beaches to-day1 but they are enough like them for us to know that they lived along the seashore1 and if we had time to examine all the rocks of this kind preserved in a museum we should decide that seashore life was quite as abundant then as it is now4 ,the pressed specimens of plants of those earliest seashores are mere imprints showing that they were pulpy and therefore gradually decayed4 ,only their shape is recorded by dark stains made by each branching part4 ,the decay of the vegetable tissue painted the outline on the rock which when split apart shows us what those ancient seaweeds looked like4 ,they belonged to the group of plants we call kelp1 or tangle1 which are still common enough in the sea1 though the forms we now have are not exactly like the old ones4 ,seaweeds belong to the very lowest forms of plants4 ,illustration3 ,crinoid from ,indiana ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,ammonite from ,jurassic of ,england ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,fossil corals ,coquina1 ,hippurite limestone ,the limestones are full of fossils of corals4 ,indeed1 there must have been reefs like those that skirt ,florida to-day built by these lime-building polyps4 ,their forms are so well preserved in the rocks that it is possible to know just how they looked when they grew in the shallows4 ,one very common kind is called a cup coral1 because the polyp formed a skeleton shaped like a cup4 ,the body wall surrounded the skeleton1 and the arms or tentacles rose from the centre of the funnel-like depression in the top4 ,little cups budded off from their parents1 but remained attached1 and at length the skeletons of all formed great masses of limy rock4 ,some cup corals grew in a solid mass1 the new generation forming an outer layer1 thus burying the parent cups4 ,a second type of corals in these oldest limestones is the honeycomb group4 ,the colonies of polyps lived in tubes which lengthened gradually1 forming compact1 limy cylinders like organ pipes1 fitted close together4 ,the living generation always inhabited the upper chambers of the tubes4 ,a third type is the chain coral1 made of tubes joined in rows1 single file like pickets of a fence4 ,but these walls bend into curious patterns1 so that the cross-section of a mass of them looks like a complex pattern of crochet-work1 the irregular spaces fenced with chain stitches4 ,each open link is a pit in which a polyp lived4 ,among the corals are sprays of a fine feathery growth embedded in the limestone4 ,fine1 straight1 splinter-like branches are saw-toothed on one or both edges4 ,these limy fossils might not be seen at all1 were they not bedded in shales1 which are very fine-grained4 ,here again are the skeletons of animals4 ,each notch on each thread-like branch was the home of a tiny animal1 not unlike a sea anemone and a coral polyp4 ,to believe this story it is necessary only to pick up a bit of dead shell or floating driftwood on which a feathery growth is found4 ,these plumes1 like sea mosses1 as they are called1 are not plants at all1 but colonies of polyps4 ,each one lived in a tiny pit1 and these pits range one above the other1 so as to look like notches on the thread-like divisions of the stem4 ,put a piece of this so-called sea moss in a glass of sea water1 and in a few moments of quiet you will see1 by the use of a magnifying glass1 the spreading arms of the polyp thrust out of each pit4 ,the ancient seas swarmed with these living hydrozoans1 and their remains are found preserved as fossils in the shales which once were beds of soft mud4 ,the hard shells of sea urchins and starfishes are made of lime4 ,in the ancient seas1 starfishes were rare and sea urchins did not exist1 but all over the sea bottom grew creatures called crinoids1 the soft parts of which were enclosed in limy protective cases and attached to rocks on the sea bottom by means of jointed stems4 ,no fossils are more plentiful in the early limestones than these wonderful stone lilies4 ,indeed1 the crinoidal limestone seemed to be built of the skeletons of these animals4 ,the lily-like body was flung open1 as a lily opens its calyx1 when the creature was feeding4 ,but any alarm caused the tentacles to be drawn in1 and the petal-like divisions of the body wall to close tightly together1 till that wall looked like an unopened bud4 ,on the bottom of the ,atlantic1 near the ,bahama ,islands1 these stone lilies are still found growing4 ,their jointed stems and body parts are as graceful in form and motion as any lily4 ,the creature's mouth is in the centre of the flower-like top1 and it feeds like the sea urchin1 on particles obtained in the sea water4 ,the old limestones contain great quantities of lamp shells1 which are old-fashioned bivalves4 ,their shells remind us of our bivalve clams and scallops1 but the internal parts were very different4 ,the gills of clams and oysters are soft parts4 ,inside of the lamp shells are coiled1 bony arms1 supporting the fringed gills4 ,it is fortunate for us that a few lamp shells still live in the seas4 ,by studying the soft parts of these living remnants of a very old race we can know the secrets of the lives of those ancient lamp shells1 the soft parts of which were all washed away1 and the fossil shells of which are preserved4 ,gradually the lamp shells died out1 and the modern bivalves have come to take their places4 ,just so1 the ancient crinoids are now almost extinct2 the sea urchins and the starfishes have succeeded them4 ,the chambered nautilus has its shell divided by partitions and it lives in the outer chamber1 a many-tentacled creature1 that is a close relative of the soft-bodied squid4 ,in the ancient seas the same family was represented by huge creatures the shells of which were chambered1 but not coiled4 ,their abundance and great size are proved by the rocks in which their fossils are preserved4 ,some of them must have been the rulers of the sea1 as sharks and whales are to-day4 ,fossil specimens have been found more than fifteen feet long and ten inches in diameter in the ancient rocks of some of the ,western ,states4 ,it is possible to read from the lowest rock formations upward1 the rise of these sea giants and their gradual decline4 ,certain strata of limestone contain the last relics of this race1 after which they became extinct4 ,as the straight-chambered forms diminished1 great coiled forms became more abundant1 but all died out4 ,one of the most abundant fossil animals in ancient rocks is called a trilobite4 ,its body is divided by two grooves into three parts1 a central ridge extending the whole length of the body and two side ridges4 ,the front portion of the shell formed the head shield1 and behind the main body part was a little tail shield4 ,the skeleton was formed of many movable jointed plates1 and the creature had eyes set in the head shield just as the king crab's are set4 ,jointed legs in pairs fringed each side of the body4 ,each leg had two branches1 one for walking1 the other for swimming4 ,a pair of feelers rose from the head4 ,the body could be rolled into a ball when danger threatened1 by bringing head and tail together4 ,these remarkable1 extinct trilobites were the first crustaceans4 ,their nearest living relative to-day is the horseshoe crab4 ,the fresh-water crayfish and the lobster are more distant relatives3 so are the shrimps and the prawns4 ,no such abundance of these creatures exists to-day as existed when the trilobites thronged the shallows4 ,so well preserved are these skeletons that1 although there are no living trilobites for comparison1 it is possible to find out from the fossil enough about their structure to know how they fed and lived their lives along with the straight-horns which were the scavengers of those early seas and the terror of smaller creatures4 ,the trilobites throve1 and1 dying1 left their record in the rocks2 then disappeared entirely4 ,we find their fossils in a great variety of forms1 shapes1 and sizes4 ,the smallest is but a fraction of an inch long1 the largest twenty inches long4 ,the ancient rocks1 in which these lower forms of life have left their fossils1 are known as the ,silurian system4 ,the time in which these rocks were accumulating under the seas covers a vast period4 ,we call it the ,age of ,invertebrates1 because these soft-bodied1 hard-shelled animals1 the crinoids1 the molluscs1 and the trilobites1 with bony external skeletons and no backbones1 were the most abundant4 ,they overshadowed all other forms of life4 ,the rocks of this wonderful series were formed on the shores of a great inland sea that covered the central portion of ,north ,america4 ,in the ages that followed1 these rocks were covered deeply with later sediments4 ,but the upheavals of the crust have broken open and erosion has uncovered these strata in different regions4 ,geologists have found written there1 page upon page1 the record of life as it existed in the early seas4 ,,the ,,lime ,,rocks ,hard water and soft water are very different4 ,the rain that falls and fills our cisterns is not softer or more delightful to use than the well water in some favoured regions4 ,in it1 soap makes beautiful1 creamy suds1 and it is a real pleasure to put one's hands into it4 ,but in hard water soap seems to curdle1 and some softening agent like borax has to be added or the water will chap the hands4 ,there is little satisfaction in using water of this kind for any purpose4 ,hard water was as soft as any when it fell from the sky2 but the rain water trickled into the ground and passed through rocks containing lime4 ,some of this mineral was absorbed1 for lime is readily soluble in water4 ,clear though it may be1 water that has lime in it has quite a different feeling from rain water4 ,blow the breath into a basin of hard water1 and a milky appearance will be noted4 ,the carbonic acid gas exhaled from the lungs unites with the invisible lime1 causing it to become visible particles of carbonate of lime1 which fall to the bottom of the basin4 ,nearly all well water is hard4 ,so is the water of lakes and rivers and the ocean1 for limestone is one of the most widely distributed rocks in the surface of the earth4 ,rain water makes its way into the earth's crust1 absorbs mineral substances1 and collects in springs which feed brooks and rivers and lakes4 ,wells are holes in the ground which bore into water-soaked strata of sand4 ,we gain something from the lime dissolved in hard water1 for it is an essential part of our food4 ,we must drink a certain amount of water each day to keep the body in perfect health4 ,the lime in this water goes chiefly to the building of our bones4 ,plant roots take up lime in the water that mounts as sap through the plant bodies4 ,we get some of the lime we need in vegetable foods we eat4 ,all of the kingdom of vertebrate animals1 from the lowest forms to the highest1 all of the shell-bearing animals of sea and land1 require lime4 ,many of the lower creatures especially these in the sea1 such as corals and their near relatives1 encase themselves in body walls of lime4 ,they absorb the lime from the sea water1 and deposit it as unconsciously as we build the bony framework of our bodies4 ,all the bone and shell-bearing creatures that die on the earth and in the sea restore to the land and to the water the lime taken by the creatures while they lived4 ,carbonic acid gas in the water greatly hastens the dissolving of dead shells4 ,carbonic acid gas1 whether free in the air1 or absorbed by percolating water1 hastens the dissolving of skeletons of creatures that die upon land4 ,then the raw materials are built again into lime rocks underground4 ,the lime rocks are the most important group in the list of rocks that form the crust of the earth4 ,they are made of the elements calcium1 carbon1 and oxygen1 yet the different members of this calcite group differ widely in composition and appearance4 ,so do oyster shells and beef bones1 though both contain quantities of carbonate of lime4 ,calcite is a soft mineral1 light in weight1 sometimes white1 but oftener of some other colour4 ,it may be found crystallized or not4 ,whenever a drop of acid touches it1 a frothy effervescence occurs4 ,the drop of acid boils up and gives off the pungent odour of carbonic acid gas4 ,the reason that calcite is hard to find in rocks is that percolating water1 charged with acids1 is constantly stealing it1 and carrying it away into the ocean4 ,the rocks that contain it crumble because the limy portions have been dissolved out4 ,some limestones resist the destructive action of water4 ,when they are impregnated with silica they become transformed into marble1 which takes a high polish like granite4 ,acids must be strong to make any impression on marble4 ,the thick beds of pure limestone that underlie the surface soil in ,kentucky and in parts of ,virginia sometimes measure several hundred feet in thickness1 a single stratum often being twenty feet thick4 ,they are all horizontal1 for they were formed on sea bottom1 and have not been crumpled in later time4 ,the dead bodies of sea creatures contributed their shells and skeletons to the lime deposit on the sea bottom4 ,who can estimate the time it took to form those thick1 solid layers of lime rock8 ,the animals were corals1 crinoids1 and molluscs4 ,little sand and clay show in the lime rock of this period1 before the marshes of the ,carboniferous ,age took the place of the ancient inland sea of the ,subcarboniferous ,period1 the sedimentary accumulations of which we are now talking about4 ,the living corals one sees in the shallow water of the ,florida coast to-day are building land by building up their limy skeletons4 ,the reefs are the dead skeletons of past generations of these tiny living things4 ,they take in lime from the water1 and use it as we use lime in building our bones4 ,in each case it is an unconscious process of animal growth--not a building process like a mason's building of a wall4 ,many people think that the coral polyp builds in this way4 ,they give it credit for patience in a great undertaking4 ,all the polyp does is to feed on whatever the water supplies that its digestive organs can use4 ,it is like a sea anemone in appearance and in habits of life4 ,it is not at all like an insect4 ,yet it is common to hear people speak of the coral insect6 ,do not let any one ever hear you repeat such a mistake4 ,southern ,florida is made out of coral rock1 but thinly covered with soil4 ,it was made by the growth of reef after reef1 and it is still growing4 ,the ,cretaceous ,period of the earth's eventful history is named for the lime rock which we know as chalk4 ,beds of this recent kind of limestone are found in ,england and in ,france1 pure white1 made of the skeletons of the smallest of lime-consuming creatures1 ,foraminifera4 ,they swarmed in deep water1 and so did minute sponge animalcules and plant forms called ,diatoms that took silica from the water1 and formed their hard parts of this glassy substance4 ,the result is seen in the nodules of flint found in the soft1 snow-white chalk4 ,did you ever use a piece of chalk that scratched the black-board8 ,the flint did it4 ,have you ever seen the chalk cliffs of ,dover8 ,when you do see them1 notice how they gleam white in the sun4 ,see how the rains have sculptured those cliffs4 ,the prominences left standing out are strengthened by the flint they contain4 ,chalk beds occur in ,texas and under our great plains2 but the principal rocks of the age in ,america were sandstones and clays4 ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,fishes ,the first animal with a backbone recorded its existence among the fossils found in rocks of the upper ,silurian strata4 ,it is a fish2 but the earliest fossils are very incomplete specimens4 ,we know that these old-fashioned fishes were somewhat like the sturgeons of our rivers4 ,their bodies were encased in bony armour of hard scales1 coated with enamel4 ,the bones of the spine were connected by ball and socket joints1 and the heads were movable4 ,in these two particulars the fishes resembled reptiles4 ,the modern gar-pike has a number of the same characteristics4 ,another backboned creature of the ancient seas was the ancestral type of the shark family4 ,in some points this old-fashioned shark reminds us of birds and turtles4 ,these early fishes foreshadowed all later vertebrates1 not yet on the earth4 ,after them came the amphibians1 then the reptiles1 then the birds1 and latest the mammals4 ,the race of fishes began1 no doubt1 with forms so soft-boned that no fossil traces are preserved in the rocks4 ,when those with harder bones appeared1 the fossil record began1 and it tells the story of the passing of the early1 unfish-like forms1 and the coming of new kinds1 great in size and in numbers1 that swarmed in the seas1 and were tyrants over all other living things4 ,they conquered the giant straight-horns and trilobites1 former rulers of the seas4 ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,a sixteen-foot fossil fish from ,cretaceous of ,kansas1 with a modern tarpon ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,caon ,diablo meteorite from ,arizona ,one of these giant fishes fifteen to twenty feet long1 three feet wide1 had jaws two feet long1 set with blade-like teeth4 ,devonian rocks in ,ohio have yielded fine fossils of gigantic fishes and sharks4 ,devonian fishes were unlike modern kinds in these particulars1 the spinal column extended to the end of the tail1 whether the fins were arranged equally or unequally on the sides2 the paired side fins look like limbs fringed with fins4 ,every ,devonian fish of the gar type seems to have had a lung to help out its gill-breathing4 ,in these traits the first fishes were much like the amphibians4 ,they were the parent stock from which branched later the true fishes and the amphibians1 as a single trunk parts into two main boughs4 ,the trunk is the connecting link4 ,the sea bottom was still thronged with crinoids1 and lamp shells1 and cup corals4 ,shells of both clam and snail shapes are plentiful4 ,the chambered straight-horns are fewer and smaller1 and coiled forms of this type of shell are found4 ,trilobite forms are smaller1 and their numbers decrease4 ,the first land plants appeared during this age4 ,ferns and giant club mosses and cycads grew in swampy ground4 ,this was the beginning of the wonderful fern forests that marked the next age1 when coal was formed4 ,the rocks that bear the record of these living things in their fossils1 form strata of great thickness that overlie the ,silurian deposits4 ,there is no break between them4 ,so we understand that the sea changed its shore-line only when the ,silurian deposits rose to the water-level4 ,the ,devonian sea was smaller than the ,silurian4 ,a great tract of ,devonian deposits occupies the lower half of the state of ,new ,york1 ,canada between ,lakes ,erie and ,huron1 and the northern portions of ,indiana and ,illinois4 ,these older layers of the stratified rock are covered with the deposits of later periods4 ,rivers that cut deep channels reveal the earlier rocks as outcrops along their canyon walk4 ,the record of the age of fishes is1 for the most part1 still an unopened book4 ,the pages are sealed1 waiting for the geologist with his hammer to disclose the mysteries4 ,,king ,,coal ,in this country1 and in this age1 who can doubt that coal is king8 ,it is one of the few necessities of life4 ,in various sections of the country1 layers of coal have been discovered--some near the surface1 others deep underground4 ,these are the storehouses of fuel which the coal miners dig out and bring to the surface1 and the railroads distribute4 ,from ,pennsylvania and ,ohio to ,alabama stretches the richest coal-basin4 ,illinois and ,indiana contain another4 ,from ,iowa southward to ,texas another broad basin lies4 ,central ,michigan and ,nova ,scotia each has isolated coal-basins4 ,all these have been discovered and mined1 for they lie in the oldest part of the country4 ,in the ,west1 coal-beds have been discovered in several states1 but many regions have not yet been explored4 ,vast coal-fields1 still untouched1 have been located in ,alaska4 ,the ,government is trying to save this fuel supply for coming generations4 ,many of the richest coal-beds from ,nova ,scotia southward dip under the ocean4 ,they have been robbed by the erosive action of waves and running water4 ,glaciers have ground away their substance1 and given it to the sea4 ,much that remains intact must be left by miners on account of the difficulties of getting out coal from tilted and contorted strata4 ,as a rule1 the first-formed coal is the best4 ,the ,western coal-fields belong to the period following the ,carboniferous ,age4 ,although conditions were favourable to abundant coal formation1 ,western coal is not equal to the older1 ,eastern coal4 ,it is often called lignite1 a word that designates its immaturity compared with anthracite4 ,coal formed in the ,triassic ,period is found in a basin near ,richmond1 ,virginia4 ,there is an abundance of this coal1 but it has been subjected to mountain-making pressure and heat1 and is extremely inflammable4 ,the miners are in constant danger on account of coal gas1 which becomes explosive when the air of the shaft reaches and mingles with it4 ,this the miner calls fire damp4 ,north ,carolina has coal of the same formation1 that is also dangerous to mine1 and very awkward to reach1 on account of the crumpling of the strata4 ,there are beds of coal so pure that very little ash remains after the burning4 ,five per cent1 of ash may be reasonably expected in pure coal1 unmixed with sedimentary deposits4 ,such coal was formed in that part of the swamp which was not stirred by the inflow of a river4 ,wherever muddy water flowed in among the fallen stems of plants1 or sand drifted over the accumulated peat1 these deposits remained1 to appear later and bother those who attempt to burn the coal4 ,illustration3 ,eocene fish ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,trilobite from the ,niagara limestone1 ,upper ,silurian1 of ,western ,new ,york ,illustration3 ,sigillaria1 ,stigmaria and ,lepidodendron ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,coal fern ,you know pure coal1 that burns with great heat and leaves but little ashes4 ,you know also the other kind1 that ignites with difficulty1 burns with little flame1 gives out little heat1 and dying leaves the furnace full of ashes4 ,you are trying to burn ancient mud that has but a small proportion of coal mixed with it4 ,the miners know good coal from poor1 and so do the coal dealers4 ,it is not profitable to mine the impure part of the vein4 ,it costs as much to mine and ship as the best quality1 and it brings a much lower price4 ,the deeper beds of coal are better than those formed in comparatively recent time and found lying nearer the surface4 ,in many bogs a layer of embedded root fibres1 called peat1 is cut into bricks and dried for burning4 ,deeper than peat-beds lie the lignites1 which are old beds of peat1 on the way to become coal4 ,soft coal is older than lignite4 ,it contains thirty to fifty per cent4 of volatile matter1 and burns readily1 with a bright blaze4 ,the richest of this bituminous coal is called fat1 or fusing coal4 ,the bitumen oozes out1 and the coal cakes in burning4 ,ordinary soft coal contains less1 but still we can see the resinous bitumen frying out of it as it burns4 ,there is more heat and less volatile matter in steam coal1 so-called because it is the fuel that most quickly forms steam in an engine4 ,hard coal contains but five to ten per cent4 of volatile matter4 ,it is slow to ignite and burns with a small blue blaze4 ,from peat to anthracite coal ,i have named the series which increases gradually in the amount of heat it gives out1 and increases and then decreases in its readiness to burn and in the brightness of its flame4 ,anthracite coal has the highest amount of fixed carbon4 ,this is the reason why it makes the best fuel1 for fixed carbon is the substance which holds the store of imprisoned sunlight1 liberated as heat when the coal burns4 ,tremendous pressure and heat due to shrinking of the earth's crust have crumpled and twisted the strata containing coal in eastern ,pennsylvania1 and thus changed bituminous coal into anthracite4 ,ohio beds1 formed at the same time1 but undisturbed by heat and pressure1 are bituminous yet4 ,the coal-beds of ,rhode ,island are anthracite1 but the coal is so hard that it will not burn in an open fire4 ,the terrible1 mountain-making forces that crumpled these strata and robbed the coal of its volatile matter1 left so little of the gas-forming element1 that a very special treatment is necessary to make the carbon burn4 ,it is used successfully in furnaces built for the smelting of ores4 ,the last stage in the coal series is a black substance which we know as black lead1 or graphite4 ,we write with it when we use a lead pencil4 ,this is anthracite coal after all of the volatile matter has been driven out of it4 ,it cannot burn1 although it is solid carbon4 ,the beds of graphite have been formed out of coal by the same changes in the earth's crust which have converted soft coal into anthracite4 ,the tremendous pressure that bears on the coal measures has changed a part of the carbon into liquid and gaseous form4 ,lakes of oil have been tapped from which jets of great force have spouted out4 ,such accumulations of oil usually fill porous layers of sandstone and are confined by overlying and underlying beds of impervious clay4 ,gas may be similarly confined until a well is drilled1 relieving the pressure1 and furnishing abundant or scanty supply of this valuable fuel4 ,western ,pennsylvania coal-fields have beds of gas and oil4 ,if mountain-making forces had broken the strata1 as in eastern ,pennsylvania1 the gas and the oil would have been lost by evaporation4 ,this is what happened in the anthracite coal-belt4 ,,how ,,coal ,,was ,,made ,the broad1 rounded dome of a maple tree shades my windows from the intense heat of this ,august day4 ,the air is hot1 and every leaf of the tree's thatched roof is spread to catch the sunlight4 ,the carbon in the air is breathed in through openings on the under side of each leaf4 ,the sap in the leaf pulp uses the carbon in making starch4 ,the sun's heat is absorbed4 ,it is the energy that enables the leaf-green to produce a wonderful chemical change4 ,out of soil water1 brought up from the roots1 and the carbonic acid gas1 taken in from the air1 rich1 sugary starch is manufactured in the leaf laboratory4 ,this plant food returns in a slow current1 feeding the growing cells under the bark1 from leaf tip to root tip1 throughout the growing tree4 ,the sap builds solid wood4 ,the maple tree has been built out of muddy water and carbon gas4 ,it stands a miracle before our eyes4 ,in its tough wood fibres is locked up all the heat its leaves absorbed from the sun1 since the day the maple seed sprouted and the first pair of leaves lifted their palms above the ground4 ,if my maple tree should die1 and fall1 and lie undisturbed on the ground1 it would slowly decay4 ,the carbon of its solid frame would pass back into the air1 as gas1 and the heat would escape so gradually that ,i could not notice it at all1 unless ,i thrust my hand into the warm1 crumbling mass4 ,if my tree should be cut down to-day and chopped into stove wood1 it would keep a fire in my grate for many months4 ,burning destroys wood substance a great deal faster than decay in the open air does1 but the processes of rotting and burning are alike in this3 each process releases the carbon1 and gives it back to the air4 ,it gives back also the sun's heat1 stored while the tree was growing4 ,there is left on the ground1 and in the ashes on the hearth1 only the mineral substance taken up in the water the roots gathered underground4 ,if my tree stood in swampy ground and fell over under a high wind1 the water that covered it and saturated its substance would prevent decay4 ,the carbon would not be allowed to escape as a gas to the air2 the woody substance would become gradually changed into peat4 ,in this form it might remain for thousands of years1 and finally be changed into coal4 ,whether it was burned while yet in the condition of peat1 or millions of years later1 when it was transformed into coal1 the heat stored in its substance was liberated by the burning4 ,the carbon and the heat went back to the air4 ,every green plant we see spreads its leaves to the sun4 ,every stick of wood we burn1 and every lump of coal1 is giving back1 in the form of light and heat1 the energy that came from sunshine and was captured by the green leaves4 ,how long the wood has held this store of heat we may easily compute1 for we can read the age of a tree4 ,but the age of coal we cannot accurately state4 ,the years probably should be counted by millions1 instead of thousands4 ,the great inland sea that covered the middle portion of the continent during the ,silurian and the ,devonian periods1 became shallow by the deposit of vast quantities of sediment4 ,along the lines of the deposits of greatest thickness1 a crumpling of the earth's crust lifted the first fold of the ,alleghany ,mountains as a great sea wall on the east1 and on the western shore another formed the beginning of the ,ozark ,mountain system in ,missouri4 ,an island was lifted out of the sea1 forming the elevated ground on which the city of ,cincinnati now stands4 ,various other ridges and islands divided the ancient sea into much smaller bodies of water4 ,hemmed in by land these shallow sea-basins gradually changed into fresh-water lakes1 for they no longer had connection with the ocean1 and all the water they received came from rain4 ,after centuries of freshets1 and of filling in with the rock dbris brought by the streams1 they became great marshes1 in which grew water-loving plants4 ,generation after generation of these plants died1 and their remains1 submerged by the water1 were converted into peat4 ,in the course of ages this peat became coal4 ,this is the history of the coal measures4 ,there is no guesswork here4 ,the stems of plants do not lose their microscopic structure in all the ages it has taken to transform them to coal4 ,a thin section of coal shows under a magnifier the structure of the stems of the coal-forming plants4 ,moreover1 the veins of coal preserve above or below them1 in shales that were once deposits of mud1 the branching trunks of trees1 perfectly fossilized4 ,there are no better proofs of the vegetable origin of coal than the lumps themselves4 ,but they are plain to the naked eye1 while the coal tells its story to the man with the microscope4 ,the fossil remains of the plants that flourished when coal was forming are gigantic1 compared with plants of the same families now living4 ,we must conclude that the climate was tropical1 the air very heavy with moisture1 and charged much more heavily than it is now with carbonic acid gas4 ,these conditions produced1 in rapid succession1 forests of tree ferns and horsetails and giant club mosses4 ,these are the three types of plants out of which the coal was made4 ,they were all rich in resin1 which makes the coal burn readily4 ,the ferns had stems as large as tree trunks4 ,some have been found that are eighteen inches in diameter4 ,we know they are ferns1 because the leaves are found with their fruits attached to them in the manner of present-day ferns4 ,the stems show the well known scar by which fern leaves are joined4 ,and the wood of these fossil fern stems is tubular in structure1 just as the wood of living ferns is to-day4 ,among the ferns which dominated these old marsh forests grew one kind1 the scaly leaves of which covered the stems and bore their fruits on the branching tips4 ,these giants1 some of them with trunks four feet in diameter1 belong to the same group of plants as our creeping club mosses1 but in the ancient days they stood up among the other ferns as trees forty or fifty feet high4 ,the giant scouring rushes1 or horsetails1 had the same general characteristics as the little reed-like plants we know by those names to-day4 ,the highest plants of the coal period were leafy trees with nut-like fruits1 that resemble the yew trees of the present4 ,these gigantic trees were the first conifers upon the earth4 ,they foreshadowed the pines and the other cone-bearing evergreens4 ,their leaves were broad and their fruits nut-like4 ,the ,japanese ginkgo1 or maidenhair fern tree1 is an old-fashioned conifer somewhat like those first examples of this family4 ,trunks sixty to seventy feet long1 crowned with broad leaves and a spike of fruit1 have been found lying in the upper layers of the coal-seams1 and in sandstone strata that lie between the strata of coal4 ,peculiar circular discs1 which the microscope reveals along the sides of the wood fibres of these fossil trees1 prove the wood structure to be like that of modern conifers4 ,generation after generation of forests lived and died in the vast spreading swamps of this era4 ,the land sank1 and freshets came here and there1 drowning out all plant life1 and covering the layers of peat with beds of sand or mud4 ,when the water went down1 other forests took possession1 and a new coal-bed was started4 ,it is plainly seen that flooding often put an end to coal formation4 ,fifteen seams of coal1 one above another1 is the greatest number that have been found4 ,the veins vary from one inch to forty feet in thickness4 ,these are separated by layers of sandstone or shale1 which accumulated as sediment1 covering the stumps of dead tree ferns and other growths1 and preserving them as fossils to tell the story of those bygone ages as plainly as any other record could have done4 ,fresh-water animals succeeded those of salt water in the swamps that formed the coal measures4 ,overhead1 the first insects flitted among the branches of the tree ferns4 ,dragon-flies darted above the surface and dipped in water as they do to-day4 ,spiders1 scorpions1 and cockroaches1 all air-breathing insects1 were represented1 but none of the higher1 nectar-loving insects1 like flies and bees and butterflies1 were there4 ,flowering plants had not yet appeared on the earth4 ,snakelike amphibians1 some fishlike1 some lizard-like1 and huge crocodilian forms appeared for the first time4 ,these air-breathing swamp-dwellers could not have lived in salt water4 ,fresh-water molluscs and land shells appear for the first time as fossils in the rocks of the coal measures4 ,on the shores of the ocean1 the rocks of this period show that trilobites1 horseshoe crabs1 and fishes still lived in vast numbers1 and corals continued to form limestone4 ,the old types of marine animals changed gradually1 but the coal measures show strikingly different fossils4 ,these rocks bear the first record of fresh-water and land animals4 ,,the ,,most ,,useful ,,metal ,it is fortunate for us all that1 out of the half-dozen so-called useful metals1 iron1 which is the most useful of them all to the human race1 should be also the most plentiful and the cheapest4 ,aluminum is abundant in the common clay and soil under our feet4 ,but separating it is still an expensive process2 so that this metal is not commercially so plentiful as iron is1 nor is it cheap4 ,all we know of the earth's substance is based on studies of the superficial part of its crust1 a mere film compared with the eight thousand miles of its diameter4 ,nobody knows what the core of the earth--the great globe under this surface film--is made of2 but we know that it is of heavier material than the surface layer2 and geologists believe that iron is an important element in the central mass of the globe4 ,one thing that makes this guess seem reasonable is the great abundance of iron in the earth's crust4 ,another thing is that meteors which fall on the earth out of the sky prove to be chiefly composed of iron4 ,all of their other elements are ones which are found in our own rocks4 ,if we believe that the earth itself is a fragment of the sun1 thrown off in a heated condition and cooling as it flew through space1 we may consider it a giant meteor1 made of the substances we find in the chance meteor that strikes the earth4 ,iron is found1 not only in the soil1 but in all plant and animal bodies that take their food from the soil4 ,the red colour in fruits and flowers1 and in the blood of the higher animals1 is a form in which iron is familiar to us4 ,it does more1 perhaps1 to make the world beautiful than any other mineral element known4 ,but long before these benefits were understood1 iron was the backbone of civilization4 ,it is so to-day4 ,iron1 transformed by a simple process into steel1 sustains the commercial supremacy of the great civilized nations of the world4 ,the railroad train1 the steel-armoured battleship1 the great bridge1 the towering sky-scraper1 the keen-edged tool1 the delicate mechanism of watches and a thousand other scientific instruments--all these things are possible to-day because iron was discovered and has been put to use4 ,it was probably one of the cave men1 poking about in his fire among the rocks1 who discovered a lump of molten metal which the heat had separated from the rest of the rocks4 ,he examined this clinker after it cooled1 and it interested him4 ,it was a new discovery4 ,it may have been he1 or possibly his descendants1 who learned that this metal could be pounded into other shapes1 and freed by pounding from the pebbles and other impurities that clung to it when it cooled4 ,the relics of iron-tipped spears and arrows show the skill and ingenuity of our early ancestors in making use of iron as a means of killing their prey4 ,the earliest remains of this kind have probably been lost because the iron rusted away4 ,man was pretty well along on the road to civilization before he learned where iron could be found in beds1 and how it could be purified for his use4 ,we now know that certain very minute plants1 which live in quiet water1 cause iron brought into that water to be precipitated1 and to accumulate in the bottom of these boggy pools4 ,in ancient days these bog deposits of iron often alternated with coal layers4 ,millions of years have passed since these two useful substances were laid down4 ,to-day the coal is dug1 along with the bog iron4 ,the coal is burned to melt the iron ore and prepare it for use4 ,it is a fortunate region that produces both coal and iron4 ,bituminous coal is plentiful1 and scattered all over the country1 while anthracite is scarce4 ,the cheapest iron is made in ,alabama1 which has its ore in rich deposits in hillsides1 and coal measures close by1 furnishing the raw material for coke4 ,the result is that the region of ,birmingham has become the centre of great wealth through the development of iron and coal mines4 ,where water flows over limestone rock1 and percolates through layers of this very common mineral1 it causes the iron1 gathered in these rock masses1 to be deposited in pockets4 ,all along the ,appalachian ,mountains the iron has been gathered in beds which are being mined4 ,these beds of ore are usually mixed with clay and other earthy substances from which the metal can be separated only by melting4 ,the ore is thrown into a furnace where the metal melts and trickles down1 leaving behind the non-metallic impurities4 ,it is drawn off and run into moulds1 where it cools in the form of pig iron4 ,the first fuel used in the making of pig iron from the ore was charcoal4 ,in ,america the early settlers had no difficulty in finding plenty of wood4 ,indeed1 the forests were weeds that had to be cut down and burned to make room for fields of grain4 ,the finding of iron ore always started a small industry in a colony4 ,if there was a blacksmith1 or any one else among the small company who understood working in iron1 he was put in charge4 ,to make the charcoal1 wood was cut and piled closely in a dome-shaped heap1 which was tightly covered with sods1 except for a small opening near the ground4 ,in this a fire was built1 and smothered1 but kept going until all the wood within the oven was charred4 ,this fuel burned readily1 with an intense heat1 and without ashes4 ,sticks of charcoal have the form of the wood1 and they are stiff enough to hold up the ore of iron so that it cannot crush out the fire4 ,for a long time ,american iron was supplied by little smelters1 scattered here and there4 ,the workmen beat the melted metal on the forge1 freeing it from impurities1 and shaping the pure metal into useful articles4 ,sometimes they made it into steel1 by a process learned in the ,old ,world4 ,the ,american iron industry1 which now is one of the greatest in the world1 centres in ,pittsburg1 near which great deposits of iron and coal lie close together4 ,the making of coke from coal has replaced the burning of charcoal for fuel4 ,when the forests were cut away by lumbermen1 the supply of charcoal threatened to give out1 and experiments were made in charring coal1 which resulted in the successful making of coke1 a fuel made from coal by a process similar to the making of charcoal from wood4 ,the story of the making of coke out of hard and soft coal is a long one1 for it began as far back as the beginning of the nineteenth century4 ,in #ahab the first boat-load of anthracite coal was sent to ,philadelphia from a little settlement along the ,lehigh ,river4 ,a mine had been opened1 the owner of which believed that the black1 shiny rocks would burn4 ,his neighbours laughed at him1 for they had tried building fires with them1 and concluded that it could not be done4 ,in ,philadelphia1 the owners of some coke furnaces gave the new fuel a trial1 in spite of the disgust of the stokers1 who thought they were putting out their fires with a pile of stones4 ,after a little1 however1 the new fuel began to burn with the peculiar pale flame and intense heat that we know so well1 and the stokers were convinced that here was a new fuel1 with possibilities in it4 ,but it was hard for people to be patient with the slow starting of this hard coal4 ,not until #ahdj did it come into general favour1 following the discovery that if hot air was supplied at the draught1 instead of cold1 anthracite coal became a perfect fuel4 ,at ,connellsville1 ,pennsylvania1 a vein of coal was discovered which made coke of the very finest quality4 ,around this remarkable centre1 coke ovens were built1 and iron ore was shipped in1 even from the rich beds of the ,lake ,superior country4 ,but it was plain to see that ,connellsville coal would become exhausted2 and so experiments in coke-making from other coals were still made4 ,when soft coal burns1 a waxy tar oozes out of it1 which tends to smother the fire4 ,early experiments with coal in melting iron ore indicated that soft coal was useless as a substitute for charcoal and coke2 but later experiments proved that coke of fine quality can be made out of this bituminous soft coal1 by drawing off the tar which makes the trouble4 ,new processes were invented by which valuable gas and coal tar are taken out of bituminous coal1 leaving1 as a residue1 coke that is equal in quality to that made from the ,connellsville coal4 ,fortunes have been made out of the separation of the elements of the once despised soft coal4 ,for the coke and each of its by-products1 coal tar and coal gas1 are commercial necessities of life4 ,the impurities absorbed by the melting iron ore include carbon1 phosphorus1 and silicon4 ,carbon is the chief cause of the brittleness of cast iron4 ,the puddling furnace was invented to remove this trouble4 ,the melted ore was stirred on a broad1 basin-like hearth1 with a long-handled puddling rake4 ,the flames swept over the surface1 burning the carbon liberated by the stirring4 ,it was a hard1 hot job for the man at the rake1 but it produced forge iron1 that could be shaped1 hot or cold1 on the anvil4 ,the next improvement was the process of pressing the hot iron between grooved rollers to rid it of slag and other foreign matters collected in the furnace4 ,the old way was to hammer the metal free from such impurities4 ,this was slow and hard work4 ,iron was an expensive and scarce metal until the hot blast-furnace cheapened the process of smelting the ore4 ,the puddling furnace and the grooved rollers did still more to bring it into general use4 ,the railroads developed with the iron industry4 ,soon they required a metal stronger than iron4 ,steel was far too expensive1 though it was just what was needed4 ,efforts were made to find a cheap way to change iron into steel4 ,sir ,henry ,bessemer solved the problem by inventing the ,bessemer converter4 ,it is a great closed retort1 which is filled with melted pig iron4 ,a draught admits air1 and the carbon is all burned out4 ,then a definite amount of carbon1 just the amount required to change iron into steel1 is added1 by throwing in bars of an alloy of carbon and manganese4 ,the latter gives steel its toughness1 and enables it to resist greater heat without crystallizing and thus losing its temper4 ,when the carbon has been put in1 the retort is closed4 ,the molten metal absorbs the alloy1 and the product is ,bessemer steel4 ,in fifteen minutes pig iron can be transformed into ingot steel4 ,the invention made possible the use of steel in the construction of bridges1 high buildings1 and ships4 ,it made this age of the world the ,age of ,steel4 ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,reptiles ,two big and interesting reptiles we see in the ,zoo1 the crocodile and its cousin1 the alligator4 ,in the everglades of ,florida both are found4 ,the crocodile of the ,nile is protected by popular superstition1 so it is in better luck than ours4 ,the alligators have been killed off for their skins1 and it is only a matter of time till these lumbering creatures will be found only in places where they are protected as the remnants of a vanished race4 ,giant reptiles of other kinds are few upon the earth now4 ,the boa constrictor is the giant among snakes4 ,the great tropical turtles represent an allied group4 ,most of the turtles1 lizards1 and snakes are small1 and in no sense dominant over other creatures4 ,the rocks that lie among the coal measures contain fossils of huge animals that lived in fresh water and on land1 the ancestors of our frogs1 toads1 and salamanders1 a group we call amphibians4 ,some of these animals had the form of snakes2 some were fishlike1 with scaly bodies2 others were lizard-like or like huge crocodiles4 ,these were the ancestors of the reptiles1 which became the rulers of land and sea during the ,mesozoic ,era4 ,the rocks that overlie the coal measures contain fossils of these gigantic animals4 ,strange crocodile-like reptiles1 with turtle-like beaks and tusks1 but no teeth1 left their skeletons in the mud of the shores they frequented4 ,and others had teeth in groups--grinders1 tearers1 and cutters--like mammals4 ,these had other traits like the old-fashioned1 egg-laying mammals1 the duck-billed platypus1 for example1 that is still found in ,australia4 ,along with the remains of these creatures are found small pouched mammals1 of the kangaroo kind1 in the rocks of ,europe and ,america4 ,these land animals saw squatty cycads1 and cone-bearing trees1 the ancestors of our evergreens1 growing in forests1 and marshes covered with luxuriant growths of tree ferns and horsetails1 the fallen bodies of which formed the recent coal that is now dug in ,virginia and ,north ,carolina4 ,ammonites1 giant sea snails1 with chambered shells that reached a yard and more in diameter1 and gigantic squids1 swam the seas4 ,sea urchins1 starfish1 and oysters were abundant4 ,insects flitted through the air1 but no birds appeared among the trees or beasts in the jungles4 ,over all forms of living creatures reptiles ruled4 ,they were remarkable in size and numbers4 ,there were swimming1 running1 and flying forms4 ,illustration3 ,banded sandstone from ,calico ,caon1 ,south ,dakota ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,opalized wood from ,utah ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,restoration of a carnivorous ,dinosaur1 ,allosaurus1 from the ,upper ,jurassic and ,lower ,cretaceous of ,wyoming4 ,when erect the animal was about #ae feet high ,the fish-reptile1 ,ichthyosaurus1 was a hump-backed creature1 thirty to forty feet long1 with short neck1 very large head1 and long jaw1 set with hundreds of pointed teeth4 ,its eye sockets were a foot across4 ,the four short limbs were strong paddles1 used for swimming4 ,the long1 slender tail ended in a flat fin4 ,perfect skeletons of this creature have been found4 ,its rival in the sea was the lizard-like ,plesiosaurus1 the small head of which was mounted on a long neck4 ,the tail was short1 but the paddles were long and powerful4 ,no doubt this agile creature held its own1 though somewhat smaller than the more massively built ,ichthyosaurus4 ,the land reptiles called ,dinosaurs were the largest creatures that have ever walked the earth4 ,in the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history1 in ,new ,york1 the mounted skeleton of the giant ,dinosaur fairly takes one's breath away4 ,it is sixty-six feet long1 and correspondingly large in every part1 except its head4 ,this massive creature was remarkably short of brains4 ,the strangest thing about the land reptiles is the fact that certain of them walked on their hind legs1 like birds1 and made three-toed tracks in the mud4 ,indeed1 these fossil tracks1 found in slate1 were called bird tracks1 until the bones of the reptile skeleton with the bird-like foot were discovered4 ,certain long grooves in the slate1 hitherto unexplained1 were made by the long tail that dragged in the mud4 ,when the mud dried1 and was later covered with sediment of another kind1 these prints were preserved1 and when the bed of rock was discovered by quarrymen1 the two kinds split apart1 showing the record of the stroll of a giant along the river bank in bygone days4 ,the flying reptiles were still more bird-like in structure1 though gigantic in size4 ,imagine the appearance of a great lizard with bat-like1 webbed wings and bat-like1 toothed jaws6 ,the first feathered fossil bird was discovered in the limestone rock of ,bavaria4 ,it was a wonderfully preserved fossil1 showing the feathers perfectly4 ,three fingers of each hand were free and clawed1 so that the creature could seize its prey1 and yet use its feathered wings in flight4 ,the small head had jaws set with socketed teeth1 like a reptile's1 and the long1 lizard tail of twenty-one bones had a pair of side feathers at each joint4 ,this ,archeopteryx is the reptilian ancestor of birds4 ,during this age of the world1 one branch of the reptile group established the family line of birds4 ,the bird-like reptiles are the connecting link between the two races4 ,how much both birds and reptiles have changed from that ancient type1 their common ancestor6 ,i have mentioned but a few of the types of animals that make the reptilian age the wonder of all time4 ,one after another skeletons are unearthed and new species are found4 ,the ,connecticut ,river ,valley1 with its red sandstones and shales of the ,mesozoic ,era1 is famous among geologists1 because it preserves the tracks of reptiles1 insects1 and crustaceans4 ,these signs tell much of the life that existed when these flakes of stone were sandy and muddy stretches ,not many bones have been found1 however4 ,the thickness of these rocks is between one and two miles4 ,the time required to accumulate so much sediment must have been very great4 ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,model of a three-horned ,dinosaur1 ,triceratops1 from ,cretaceous of ,montana4 ,animal in life about #be feet long ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,mounting the forelegs of ,brontosaurus1 the aquatic ,dinosaur ,it is not clear just what caused the race of giant reptiles to decline and pass away4 ,the climate did not materially change4 ,perhaps races grow old1 and ripe for death1 after living long on the earth4 ,it seems as if their time was up2 and the clumsy giants abdicated their reign1 leaving dominion over the sea1 the air1 and the land to those animals adapted to take the places they were obliged to vacate4 ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,mammals ,the warm-blooded birds and mammals followed the reptiles4 ,this does not mean that all reptiles died1 after having ruled the earth for thousands of years4 ,it means that changes in climate and other life conditions were unfavourable to the giants of the cold-blooded races1 and gradually they passed away4 ,they are represented now on the earth by lesser reptiles1 which live comfortably with the wild creatures of other tribes1 but which in no sense rule in the brute creation4 ,they live rather a lurking1 cautious life1 and have to hide from enemies1 except a few more able kinds1 provided with means of defense4 ,there were mammals on the earth in the days of reptilian supremacy1 but they were small in size and numbers1 and had to avoid any open conflict with the giant reptiles1 or be worsted in a fight4 ,now the time came when the ruling power changed hands4 ,the mammals had their turn at ruling the lower animals4 ,it was the beginning of things as they are to-day1 for mammals still rule4 ,but many millions of years have probably stood between the age when this group of animals first began to swarm over the earth1 and the time when ,man came to be ruler over all created things4 ,among the reptiles of the period when the sea1 the land1 and the air were swarming with these great creatures were certain kinds that had traits of mammals4 ,others were bird-like4 ,from these reptilian ancestors birds and mammals have sprung4 ,no one doubts this4 ,the fossils prove it1 step by step4 ,yet the rocks surprise the geologist with the suddenness with which many new kinds of mammals appeared on the earth4 ,possibly the rocks containing the bones of so many kinds were fortunately located4 ,the spots may have been morasses where migrating mammals were overwhelmed while passing4 ,possibly conditions favored the rapid development of new kinds1 and the multiplication of their numbers4 ,warm1 moist climate furnished abundant succulent plant food for the herbivors1 and these in turn furnished prey for the carnivors4 ,the coal formed during the ,tertiary ,period gives added proof that the plant life was luxuriant4 ,the kinds of trees that grew far north of our present warm zones have left in the rocks evidence in the form of perfect leaves and cones and other fruits4 ,for instance1 magnolias grew in ,greenland1 and palm trees in ,dakota4 ,the temperature of ,greenland was thirty degrees warmer than it is now4 ,our ,northern ,states lie in a belt that must have had a climate much like that of ,florida now4 ,europe was correspondingly mild4 ,a special chapter tells of the gradual development of the horse4 ,one hundred different kinds of mammals have been found in the ,eocene rocks1 many of which have representative species at the same time in ,europe and ,america4 ,the rocks of ,asia probably have similar records4 ,the ,eocene rocks1 lowest of the ,tertiary strata1 contain remains of animals the families of which are now extinct4 ,next overlying the ,eocene1 the ,miocene rocks have fossils of animals belonging to modern families--rhinoceroses1 camels1 deer1 dogs1 cats1 horses--but the genera of which are now extinct4 ,the ,pliocene strata 7above the ,miocene7 contains fossils of animals so closely related to the wild animals now on the earth as to belong to the same genera4 ,they differ from modern kinds only in the species1 as the red squirrel is a different species from the gray4 ,so the record in the rocks shows a gradual approach of the mammals to the kinds we know1 a gradual passing of the mighty forms that ruled by size and strength1 and the coming of forms with greater intelligence1 adapted to the change to a colder climate4 ,it sometimes happens that a farmer1 digging a well on the prairie1 strikes the skeleton of a monster mammal1 called the mastodon4 ,this very thing happened on a neighbour's farm when ,i was a girl1 in ,iowa4 ,everybody was excited4 ,the owner of the land dug out every bone1 careful that the whole skeleton be found4 ,as he expected1 the director of a museum was glad to pay a high price for the bones4 ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,restoration of an aquatic ,dinosaur1 ,brontosaurus excelsus1 from the ,upper ,jurassic and ,lower ,cretaceous of ,wyoming4 ,the animal in life was over #fj feet long ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,restoration of the small carnivorous ,dinosaur1 ,ornitholestes hermanui1 catching a primitive bird ,archopteryx4 ,upper ,jurassic and ,lower ,cretaceous ,the mastodon was about the size of an elephant1 with massive limbs1 and large1 heavy head that bore two stout1 up-curved tusks of ivory4 ,the creature moved in herds like the buffalo from swamp to swamp2 and old age coming on1 the individual1 unable to keep up with the herd1 sank to his death in the boggy ground4 ,the peat accumulated over his bones1 undisturbed until thousands of years elapse1 and the chance digging of a well discovers his skeleton4 ,frozen in the ice of northern ,siberia1 near the mouths of rivers1 a number of mammoths have been found4 ,these are creatures of the elephant family1 and belonging to the extinct race that lived in the ,quaternary ,period1 just succeeding the ,tertiary4 ,the ice overtook the specimens1 and they have been in cold storage ever since4 ,for this reason1 both flesh and bones are preserved1 a rare thing to happen1 and rarer still to be seen by a scientist4 ,the ignorant natives made a business of watching the ice masses at the river mouth for dark spots that showed where a mammoth was encased in the ice4 ,if an iceberg broke off near such a place1 the sun might thaw the ice front of the glacier1 until the hairy monster could at length be reached4 ,his long hair served for many uses1 and the wool that grew under the hair was used as a protection from the ,arctic winter4 ,the frozen flesh was eaten2 the bones carved into useful tools2 but the chief value of the find was in the great tusks of ivory1 that curved forward and pointed over the huge shoulders4 ,it was worth a fortune to get a pair and sell them to a buyer from ,st4 ,petersburg4 ,one of the finest museum specimens of the mammoth was secured by buying the tusks of the dealer1 and by his aid tracing the location of the carcass1 which was found still intact1 except that dogs had eaten away part of one foreleg1 bone and all4 ,from this carefully preserved specimen1 models have been made1 exactly copying the shape and the size of the animal1 its skin1 hair1 and other details4 ,the sabre-toothed tiger1 the sharp tusks of which1 six to eight inches long1 made it a far more ferocious beast than any modern tiger of tropical jungles1 was a ,quaternary inhabitant of ,europe and ,america4 ,so was a smaller tiger1 and a lion4 ,the ,irish elk1 which stood eleven feet high1 with antlers that spread ten feet apart at the tips1 was monarch in the deer family1 which had several different species on both continents4 ,wild horses and wild cattle1 one or two of great size1 roamed the woods1 while rhinos and the hippopotamus kept near the water-courses4 ,hyenas skulked in the shadows1 and acted as scavengers where the great beasts of prey had feasted4 ,sloths and cuirassed animals1 like giant armadillos1 lived in ,america4 ,among bears was one1 the cave bear1 larger than the grizzly4 ,true monkeys climbed the trees4 ,flamingo1 parrots1 and tall secretary birds followed the giant gastornis1 the ancestor of wading birds and ostriches1 which stood ten feet high1 but had wings as small and useless as the auk of later times4 ,with the entrance of the modern types of trees1 came other flowering plants1 and with them the insects that live on the nectar of flowers4 ,through a long line of primitive forms1 now extinct1 flowering plants and their insect friends conform to modern types4 ,the record is written in the great stone book4 ,the ,age of ,mammals in ,america and ,europe ended with the gradual rise of the continental areas1 and a fall of temperature that ushered in the ,ice ,age4 ,with the death of tropical vegetation1 the giant mammals passed away4 ,,the ,,horse ,,and ,,his ,,ancestors ,every city has a horse market1 where you may look over hundreds of animals and select one of any colour1 size1 or kind4 ,the least in size and weight is the ,shetland pony1 which one man buys for his children to drive or ride4 ,another man wants a long-legged1 deep-chested hunter4 ,another wants heavy draught-horses1 with legs like great pillars under them1 and thick1 muscular necks--horses weighing nearly a ton apiece and able to draw the heaviest trucks4 ,what a contrast between these slow but powerful animals and the graceful1 prancing racer with legs like pipe-stems--fleet and agile1 but not strong enough to draw a heavy load6 ,all these different breeds of horses have been developed since man succeeded in capturing the wild horse and making it help him4 ,man himself was still a savage1 and he had to fight with wild beasts1 as if he were one of them1 until he discovered that he could conquer them by some power higher than physical strength4 ,from this point on1 human intelligence has been the power that rules the lower animals4 ,its gradual development is the story of the advance of civilization on the earth4 ,through unknown thousands of years it has gone on1 and it is not yet finished4 ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,restoration of a ,siberian mammoth1 ,elephas primogenius1 pursued by men of the old stone age of ,europe4 ,late ,pleistocene epoch ,illustration3 ,by permission of the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,restoration of a small four-toed ancestor of the horse family1 ,eohippus venticolus4 ,lower ,eocene of ,wyoming ,just when and where and how our savage ancestors succeeded in taming the wild horse of the plains and the forests of ,europe or ,asia is unknown4 ,man first made friends with the wild sheep1 which were probably more docile than wild oxen and horses4 ,we can imagine cold and hungry men seeking shelter from storms in rocky hollows1 where sheep were huddled4 ,how warm the woolly coats of these animals felt to their human fellow-creatures crowded in with them in the dark6 ,it is believed that the primitive men who used stone axes as implements and weapons1 learned to use horses to aid them in their hunting1 and in their warfare with beasts and other men4 ,gradually these useful animals were adapted to different uses2 and at length different breeds were evolved4 ,climate and food supply had much to do with the size and the character of the breeds4 ,in the ,shetland ,islands the animals are naturally dwarfed by the cold1 bleak winters1 and the scant vegetation on which they subsist4 ,in middle ,europe1 where the summers are long and the winters mild1 vegetation is luxurious1 and the early horses developed large frames and heavy muscles4 ,the ,shetland pony and the ,percheron draught-horse are the two extremes of size4 ,what man has done in changing the types of horses is to emphasize natural differences4 ,the offspring of the early heavy horses became heavier than their parents4 ,the present draught-horse was produced1 after many generations1 all of which gradually approached the type desired4 ,the slender racehorses1 bred for speed and endurance rather than strength1 are the offspring of generations of parents that had these qualities strongly marked4 ,hence came the ,english thoroughbred and the ,american trotter4 ,we can read in books the history of breeds of horses4 ,our knowledge of what horses were like in prehistoric times is scant4 ,it is written in layers of rock that are not very deep1 but are uncovered only here and there1 and only now and then seen by eyes that can read the story told by fossil skeletons of horses of the ages long past4 ,geologists have unearthed from time to time skeletons of horses4 ,it was ,professor ,marsh who spent so much time in studying the wonderful beds of fossil mammals in the western part of this country1 and found among them the skeletons of many species of horses that lived here with camels and elephants and rhinoceroses and tigers1 long before the time of man's coming4 ,how can any one know that these bones belonged to a horse's skeleton8 ,because some of them are like the bones of a modern horse4 ,it is an easy matter for a student of animal anatomy to distinguish a horse from a cow by its bones4 ,the teeth and the foot are enough4 ,these are important and distinguishing characters4 ,it is by peculiarities in the formation of the bones of the foot that the different species of extinct horses are recognized by geologists4 ,wild horses still exist in the wilds of ,russia4 ,remains of the same species have been dug out of the soil and found in caves in rocky regions4 ,deeper in the earth are found the bones of horses differing from those now living4 ,the bones of the foot indicate a different kind of horse--an unknown species4 ,but in the main features1 the skeleton is distinctly horse-like4 ,in rocks of deeper strata the fossil bones of other horses are found4 ,they differ somewhat from those found in rocks nearer the surface of the earth1 and still more from those of the modern horse4 ,the older the rocks1 the more the fossil horse differs from the modern4 ,could you think of a more interesting adventure than to find the oldest rocks that show the skeletons of horses8 ,the foot of a horse is a long one1 though we think of it as merely the part he walks on4 ,a horse walks on the end of his one toe4 ,the nail of the toe we call the hoof4 ,the true heel is the hock1 a sharp joint like an elbow nearly half way up the leg4 ,along each side of the cannon1 the long bone of this foot1 lies a splint of bone1 which is the remnant of a toe1 that is gradually being obliterated from the skeleton4 ,these two splints in the modern horse's foot tell the last chapter of an interesting story4 ,the earliest ,american horse1 the existence of which is proved by fossil bones1 tells the first chapter4 ,the story has been read backward by geologists4 ,it is told by a series of skeletons1 found in successive strata of rock4 ,the ,bad ,lands of the arid ,western ,states are rich in fossil remains of horses4 ,below the surface soil lie the rocks of the ,quaternary ,period1 which included the drift laid down by the receding glaciers and the floods that followed the melting of the ice-sheet4 ,under the ,quaternary lie the ,tertiary rocks4 ,these comprise three series1 called the ,eocene1 ,miocene1 and ,pliocene1 the ,eocene being the oldest4 ,in the middle region of ,north ,america1 ponds and marshy tracts were filled in during the ,tertiary ,period1 by sediment from rivers2 and in these beds of clay and other rock dbris the remains of fresh-water and land animals are preserved4 ,raised out of water1 and exposed to erosive action of wind and water1 these deposits are easily worn away1 for they have not the solidity of older rocks4 ,they are the crumbly ,bad ,lands of the ,west1 cut through by rivers1 and strangely sculptured by wind and rain4 ,here the fossil horses have been found4 ,eohippus1 the dawn horse1 is the name given a skeleton found in #ahhj in the lower ,eocene strata in ,wyoming4 ,this specimen lay buried in a rock formation ages older than that in which the oldest known skeleton of this family had been found4 ,its discovery made a great sensation among scientists4 ,this little animal1 the skeleton of which is no larger than that of a fox1 had four perfect toes1 and a fifth splint on the forefoot1 and three toes on the hind foot4 ,the teeth are herbivorous4 ,orohippus1 with a larger skeleton1 was found in the middle ,eocene strata of ,wyoming4 ,its feet are like those of its predecessor1 except that the splint is gone4 ,the teeth as well as the feet are more like those of the modern horse4 ,mesohippus1 the three-toed horse1 found in the ,miocene1 shows the fourth toe reduced to splints1 and the skeleton as big as that of a sheep4 ,in this the horse family becomes fairly established4 ,hypohippus1 the three-toed forest horse1 found in the middle ,miocene strata of ,colorado1 is a related species1 but not a direct ancestor of the modern horse4 ,neohipparion1 the three-toed desert horse1 from the upper ,miocene strata1 shows the three toes still present4 ,but the ,pliocene rocks contain fossils showing gradual reduction of the two side toes1 modification of the teeth1 and increase in size of the skeleton4 ,protohippus and ,pliohippus1 the one-toed species from the ,pliocene strata1 illustrate these changes4 ,they were about the size of small ponies4 ,equus1 the modern horse1 was represented in the ,pliocene strata by a species1 now extinct1 called ,equus ,scotti4 ,this we may regard as the true wild horse of ,america1 for it was as large as the domesticated horse1 and much like it1 though more like a zebra in some respects4 ,no one can tell why these animals1 once abundant in this country1 became extinct at the end of the ,tertiary ,period4 ,but this is undoubtedly true4 ,the types described form a series showing how the ancestors of the modern horse1 grazing on the marshy borders of ancient ponds1 lived and died1 generation after generation1 through a period covering thousands1 possibly millions1 of years4 ,along the sides of the crumbling buttes these ancient burying-grounds are being uncovered4 ,within a dozen years several expeditions1 fitted out by the ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history1 have searched the out-cropping strata in ,dakota and ,wyoming for bones of mammals known to have lived at the time the strata were forming in the muddy shallows along the margins of lake and marsh4 ,duplicate skeletons of the primitive horse types above have been found1 and vast numbers of their scattered bones4 ,each summer geological excursions will add to the wealth of fossils of this family collected in museums4 ,the ,tertiary rocks in ,europe yield the same kind of secrets4 ,the region of ,paris overlies the estuary of an ancient river4 ,when the strata are laid bare by the digging of foundations for buildings1 bones are found in abundance4 ,cuvier was a famous ,french geologist who made extensive studies of the remains of the prehistoric animals found in this old burial-place called by scientists the ,paris basin4 ,he believed that the dead bodies floated down-stream and accumulated in the mud of the delta1 where the tide checked the river's current4 ,skeletons of the ,hipparion1 a graceful1 three-toed horse1 were found in numbers in the strata of the ,miocene time4 ,this animal lived in ,europe while the ,pliohippus and the ,protohippus were flourishing in ,america4 ,a great number of species of tapir-like animals left their bones in the ,paris basin1 among them a three-hoofed animal which may have been the connecting link between the horse and the tapir families4 ,cuvier found the connecting link between tapirs and cud-chewing mammals4 ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,man ,the hairy1 woolly mammoth was one of the giant mammals that withstood the cold of the great ice flood1 when the less hardy kinds were cut off by the changing climate of the northern half of ,europe and ,america4 ,in caves where the wild animals took refuge from their enemies1 skeletons of men have been found with those of the beasts4 ,with these chance skeletons have been found rude1 chipped stone spear-heads1 hammers1 and other tools4 ,with these the savage ancestors of our race defended themselves1 and preyed on such animals as they could use for food4 ,they hunted the clumsy mammoth successfully1 and shared the caverns in the rocks with animals like the hyena1 the sabre-toothed tiger1 and the cave bear1 which made these places their homes4 ,in ,california a human skull was found in the bed of an ancient river1 which was buried by a lava flow from craters long ago extinct4 ,with this buried skull a few well-shaped but rough stone tools were found4 ,this man must have lived when the great ice flood was at its height4 ,in southern ,france1 caves have been opened that contained bones and implements of men who evidently lived by fishing and hunting4 ,bone fish-hooks showed skill in carving with the sharp edges of flint flakes4 ,a spirited drawing of a mammoth1 made on a flat1 stone surface1 is a proof that savage instincts were less prominent in these cave men than in those who fought the great reindeer and the mammoth farther north4 ,in later times men of higher intelligence formed tribes1 tamed the wild horse1 the ox1 and the sheep1 and made friends with the dog4 ,great heaps of shells along the shores show where the tribes assembled at certain times to feast on oysters and clams4 ,bones of animals used as food1 and tools1 are found in these heaps1 called kitchen-middens4 ,these are especially numerous in ,northern ,europe4 ,the stone implements used by these tribes were smoothly polished4 ,a higher intelligence expressed itself also by the making of utensils out of clay4 ,this pottery has been found in shell heaps4 ,so the rude cave man1 who was scarcely less a wild beast than the animals which competed with him for a living and a shelter from storms and cold1 was succeeded by a higher man who brought the brutes into subjection by force of will and not by physical strength4 ,the lake-dwellers1 men of the ,bronze ,age1 built houses on piles in the lakes of ,central ,europe4 ,about sixty years ago the water was low1 and these relics of a vanished race were first discovered4 ,the lake bottoms were scraped for further evidences of their life4 ,tools of polished stone and of bronze were taken up in considerable numbers4 ,stored grains and dried fruits of several kinds were found4 ,ornamental trinkets1 weapons of hunters and warriors1 and agricultural tools tell how the people lived4 ,their houses were probably built over the water as a means of safety from attack of beasts or hostile men4 ,in our country the mound-builders have left the story of their manners of life in the spacious1 many-roomed tribal houses1 built underground1 and left with a great variety of relics to the explorers of modern times4 ,these people worked the copper mines1 and hammered and polished lumps of pure metal into implements for many uses4 ,with these are tools of polished stone4 ,stores of corn were found in many mounds scattered in the ,mississippi ,valley4 ,the cliff-dwellers of the mesas of ,arizona and ,new ,mexico had habits like those of the mound-builders1 and the ,aztecs1 a vanished race in the ,southwest1 at whose wealth and high civilization the invading ,spaniards under ,cortez marvelled4 ,the plastered stone houses of the cliff-dwelling ,indians had many stories and rooms1 each built to house a tribe1 not merely a family4 ,the ,pueblo1 the ,moqui1 and the ,zuni ,indians build similar dwellings to-day1 isolated on the tops of almost inaccessible mesas4 ,millions of years have passed since life appeared on the earth4 ,gradually higher forms have followed lower ones in the sea and on the land4 ,but not all of the lower forms have gone4 ,all grades of plants and animals still flourish1 but the dominant class in each age is more highly organized than the class that ruled the preceding age4 ,to discover the earth's treasure1 and to turn it to use2 to tame wild animals and wild plants1 and make them serve him2 to create ever more beautiful and more useful forms in domestication2 to find out the earth's life story1 by reading the pages of the great stone book--these are undertakings that waited for man's coming4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,part ,,ii ,,the ,,sky 99 99 99 99 99 ,,every ,,family ,a ,,star ,,club ,the best family hobby we have ever had is the stars4 ,we have a star club with no dues to pay1 no officers to boss us1 and only three rules3 #a4 ,we shall have nothing but fun in this club--no hard work4 ,therefore no mathematics for us6 #b4 ,we can't afford a telescope4 ,therefore we must be satisfied with what bright eyes can see4 #c4 ,no second-hand wonders for us6 ,we want to see the things ourselves1 instead of depending on books4 ,you can't imagine what pleasure we have had in one short year6 ,the baby1 of course1 was too young to learn anything1 and besides he was in bed long before the stars came out4 ,but ,ruth1 our seven-year-old1 knows ten of the fifteen brightest stars2 and she can pick out twelve of the most beautiful groups or constellations4 ,we grown-ups know all of the brightest stars1 and all forty-eight of the most famous constellations4 ,and the whole time we have given to it would not exceed ten minutes a day6 ,and the best part is the way we know the stars4 ,the sky is no longer bewildering to us4 ,the stars are not cold1 strange1 mysterious4 ,they are friends4 ,we know their faces just as easily as you know your playmates4 ,for instance1 we know ,sirius1 because he is the brightest4 ,we know ,castor and ,pollux1 because they are twins4 ,we know ,regulus1 because he is in the handle of the ,sickle4 ,and some we know by their colours4 ,they are just as different as ,president ,taft1 ,ty ,cobb1 ,horace ,fletcher and ,maude ,adams4 ,and quite as interesting6 ,what's more1 none of us can ever get lost again4 ,no matter what strange woods or city we go to1 we never get turned around4 ,or if we do1 we quickly find the right way by means of the sun or the stars4 ,then1 too1 our star club gives us all a little exercise when we need it most4 ,winter is the time when we all work hardest and have the fewest outdoor games4 ,winter is also the best time for young children to enjoy the stars1 because it gets dark earlier in winter--by five o'clock1 or long before children go to bed4 ,it is pleasant to go out doors for half an hour before supper and learn one new star or constellation4 ,again1 it is always entertaining because every night you find the old friends in new places4 ,no two nights are just the same4 ,the changes of the moon make a great difference4 ,some nights you enjoy the moonlight2 other nights you wish there were no moon1 because it keeps you from spying out some new star4 ,we have a little magazine that tells us all the news of the stars and the planets and the comets before the things happen6 ,we pay a dollar a year for it4 ,it is called the ,monthly ,evening ,sky ,map4 ,when we first became enthusiastic about stars1 the father of our family said3 ,well1 ,i think our ,star ,club will last about two years4 ,i judge it will cost us about two dollars and we shall get about twenty dollars worth of fun out of it4 ,but in all three respects father was mistaken4 ,part of the two dollars father spoke of went for a book called ,the ,friendly ,stars1 and seventy-five cents we spent for the most entertaining thing our family ever bought--a planisphere4 ,this is a device which enables us to tell just where any star is1 at any time1 day or night1 the whole year4 ,it has a disc which revolves4 ,all we have to do is to move it until the month and the day come right opposite the very hour we are looking at it1 and then we can tell in a moment which stars can be seen at that time4 ,then we go down the street where there is a good electric light at the corner and we hold our planisphere up1 almost straight overhead4 ,the light shines through1 so that we can read it1 and it is just as if we had a map of the heavens4 ,we can pick out all the interesting constellations and name them just as easily as we could find the ,great ,lakes or ,rocky ,mountains in our geography4 ,we became so eager not to miss any good thing that father got another book4 ,every birthday in our family brought a new star book1 until now we have about a dozen--all of them interesting and not one of them having mathematics that children cannot understand4 ,so ,i think we have spent on stars fifteen dollars more than we needed to spend 7but ,i'm glad we did it71 and ,i think we have had about two hundred dollars worth of fun6 ,yes1 when ,i think what young people spend on ball games1 fishing1 tennis1 skating1 and all the other things that children love1 ,i am sure our family has had about two hundred dollars worth of fun out of stars4 ,and there is more to come6 ,you would laugh to know why ,i enjoy stars so much4 ,i have always studied birds and flowers and trees and rocks and shells so much that ,i was afraid to get interested in stars4 ,i thought it wouldn't rest me4 ,but it's a totally different kind of science from any ,i ever studied6 ,there are no families1 genera1 and species among the stars1 thank ,heaven6 ,that's one reason they refresh me4 ,another is that no one can press them and put them in a herbarium1 or shoot them and put them in a museum4 ,and another thing about them that brings balm to my spirit is that no human being can destroy their beauty4 ,no one can sub-divide ,capella and fill it with tenements4 ,no one can use ,vega for a bill-board4 ,ah1 well6 we must not be disturbed if every member of our family has a different point of view toward the stars2 we can all enjoy and love them in our own ways4 ,how would you like to start a ,star ,club like ours8 ,you ought to be able to persuade your family to form one1 because it need not cost a cent4 ,perhaps this book will interest them all1 but the better way is for you to read about one constellation and then go out with some of the family and find it4 ,this book does not tell about wonderful things you can never see2 it tells about the wonderful things all of us can see4 ,i wish you success with your ,star ,club4 ,perhaps your uncles and aunts will start clubs1 too4 ,we have three ,star ,clubs in our family--one in ,new ,york1 one in ,michigan1 and one in ,colorado4 ,last winter the ,colorado ,star ,gazers sent this challenge to the ,new ,jersey ,night-,owls3 ,we bet you can't see ,venus by daylight6 ,that seemed possible1 because during that week the evening star was by far the brightest object in the sky4 ,but father and daughter searched the sky before sunset in vain1 and finally we had to ask the ,moonstruck ,michiganders how to see ,venus while the sun was shining4 ,back came these directions on a postal-card3 ,wait until it is dark and any one can see ,venus4 ,then find some tree1 or other object1 which is in line with ,venus and over which you can just see her4 ,put a stake where you stand4 ,next day go there half an hour before sunset1 and stand a little to the west4 ,you will see ,venus as big as life4 ,the next afternoon you can find her by four o'clock4 ,and if you keep on you will see her day before yesterday6 ,that was a great stunt4 ,we did it2 and there are dozens like it you can do4 ,and that reminds me that father was mistaken about our interest lasting only two years4 ,we know that it will not die till we do4 ,for1 even if we never get a telescope1 there will always be new things to see4 ,our club has still to catch ,algol1 the demon's eye1 which goes out and gleams forth every three days1 because it is obscured by some dark planet we can never see4 ,and we have never yet seen ,mira the wonderful1 which for some mysterious reason dies down to ninth magnitude and then blazes up to second magnitude every eleventh month4 ,ah1 yes1 the wonders and the beauties of astronomy ever deepen and widen4 ,better make friends with the stars now4 ,for when you are old there are no friends like old friends4 ,,the ,,dippers ,,and ,,the ,,pole ,,star ,i never heard of any boy or girl who didn't know the ,big ,dipper4 ,but there is one very pleasant thing about the ,dipper which children never seem to know4 ,with the aid of these seven magnificent stars you can find all the other interesting stars and constellations4 ,so true is this that a book has been written called ,the ,stars through a ,dipper4 ,to illustrate1 do you know the ,pointers8 ,i mean the two stars on the front side of the ,dipper4 ,they point almost directly toward the ,pole star1 or ,north star1 the correct name of which is ,polaris4 ,most children can see the ,pole star at once because it is the only bright star in that part of the heavens4 ,but if you can't be sure you see the right one1 a funny thing happens4 ,your friend will try to show you by pointing1 but even if you look straight along his arm you can't always be sure4 ,and then1 if he tries to tell you how far one star is from another1 he will try to show you by holding his arms apart4 ,but that fails also4 ,and so1 we all soon learn the easiest and surest way to point out stars and measure distances4 ,the easiest way to tell any one how to find a star is to get three stars in a straight line1 or else at right angles4 ,the surest way to tell any one how far one star is from another is by degrees4 ,you know what degrees are1 because every circle is divided into #cfj of them4 ,and if you will think a moment1 you will understand why we can see only half the sky at any one time1 or #ahj degrees1 because the other half of the sky is on the other side of the earth4 ,therefore1 if you draw a straight line from one horizon1 clear up to the top of the sky and down to the opposite horizon1 it is #ahj degrees long4 ,and1 of course1 it is only half that distance1 or #ij degrees1 from horizon to zenith4 7,horizon is the point where earth and sky seem to meet1 and zenith is the point straight over your head47 ,now ninety degrees is a mighty big distance in the sky4 ,the ,pole star is nothing like ninety degrees from the ,dipper4 ,it is only twenty-five degrees1 or about five times the distance between the ,pointers4 ,and now comes the only thing ,i will ask you to remember4 ,look well at the two ,pointers1 because the distance between them1 five degrees1 is the most convenient foot rule for the sky that you will ever find4 ,most of the stars you will want to talk about are from two to five times that distance from some other star that you and your friends are sure of4 ,perhaps this is a little hard to understand4 ,if so1 read it over several times1 or get some one to explain it to you1 for when you grasp it1 it will unlock almost as many pleasures as a key to the store you like the best4 ,now1 let's try our new-found ruler4 ,let us see if it will help us find the eighth star in the ,dipper4 ,that's a famous test of sharp eyes4 ,i don't want to spoil your pleasure by telling you too soon where it is4 ,perhaps you would rather see how sharp your eyes are before reading any further4 ,but if you can't find the eighth star1 ,i will tell you where to look4 ,look at the second star in the ,dipper1 counting from the end of the handle4 ,that is a famous star called ,mizar4 ,now look all around ,mizar1 and then1 if you can't see a little one near it1 try to measure off one degree4 ,to do this1 look at the ,pointers and try to measure off about a fifth of the distance between them4 ,then look about one degree 7or less7 from ,mizar1 and ,i am sure you will see the little beauty--its name is ,alcor1 which means the cavalier or companion4 ,the two are sometimes called the horse and rider2 another name for ,alcor is ,saidak1 which means the test4 ,i shall be very much disappointed if you cannot see ,saidak1 because it is not considered a hard test nowadays for sharp eyes4 ,aren't these interesting names8 ,mizar1 ,alcor1 ,saidak4 ,they sound so ,arabian1 and remind one of the ,arabian ,nights4 ,at first1 some of them will seem hard1 but you will come to love these old names4 ,i dare say many of these star names are #d1jjj years old4 ,shepherds and sailors were the first astronomers4 ,the sailors had to steer by the stars1 and the shepherds could lie on the ground and enjoy them without having to twist their necks4 ,they saw and named ,alcor1 thousands of years before telescopes were invented1 and long before there were any books to help them4 ,they saw the demon star1 too1 which ,i have never seen4 ,it needs patience to see those things2 sharp eyes are nothing to be proud of1 because they are given to us4 ,but patience is something to be eager about1 because it costs us a lot of trouble to get it4 ,let's try for it4 ,we've had a test of sight4 ,now let's have a test of patience4 ,it takes more patience than sharpness of sight to trace the outline of the ,little ,dipper4 ,it has seven stars1 too1 and the ,pole star is in the end of the handle4 ,do you see two rather bright stars about twenty-five degrees from the ,pole8 ,i hope so1 for they are the only brightish stars anywhere near ,polaris4 ,well1 those two stars are in the outer rim of the ,little ,dipper4 ,now1 ,i think you can trace it all2 but to make sure you see the real thing1 ,i will tell you the last secret4 ,the handle of the ,big ,dipper is bent back2 the handle of the ,little ,dipper is bent in4 ,now1 if you have done all this faithfully1 you have worked hard enough1 and ,i will reward you with a story4 ,once upon a time there was a princess named ,callisto1 and the great god ,jupiter fell in love with her4 ,naturally1 ,jupiter's wife1 ,juno1 wasn't pleased1 so she changed the princess into a bear4 ,but before this happened1 ,callisto became the mother of a little boy named ,arcas1 who grew up to be a mighty hunter4 ,one day he saw a bear and he was going to kill it1 not knowing that the bear was really his own mother4 ,luckily ,jupiter interfered and saved their lives4 ,he changed ,arcas into a bear and put both bears into the sky4 ,callisto is the ,big ,bear1 and ,arcas is the ,little ,bear4 ,but ,juno was angry at that1 and so she went to the wife of the ,ocean and said1 ,please1 never let these bears come to your home4 ,so the wife of the ,ocean said1 ,i will never let them sink beneath the waves4 ,and that is why the ,big and the ,little ,dipper never set4 ,they always whirl around the ,pole star4 ,and that is why you can always see them1 though some nights you would have to sit up very late4 ,is that a true story8 ,no4 ,but1 ,i can tell you a true one that is even more wonderful4 ,once upon a time1 before the bear story was invented and before people had tin dippers1 they used to think of the ,little ,dipper as a little dog4 ,and so they gave a funny name to the ,pole star4 ,they called it ,cynosura1 which means the dog's tail4 ,we sometimes say of a great man1 he was the cynosure of all eyes1 meaning that everybody looked at him4 ,but the original cynosure was and is the ,pole star1 because all the stars in the sky seem to revolve around it4 ,the two ,dippers chase round it once every twenty-four hours1 as you can convince yourself some night when you stay up late4 ,so that's all for to-night4 ,what6 ,you want another true story8 ,well1 just one more4 ,once upon a time the ,big ,dipper was a perfect cross4 ,that was about #ej1jjj years ago4 ,fifty thousand years from now the ,big ,dipper will look like a steamer chair4 ,how do ,i know that8 ,because1 the two stars at opposite ends of the ,dipper are going in a direction different from the other five stars4 ,how do ,i know that8 ,why1 ,i don't know it4 ,i just believe it4 ,there are lots of things ,i don't know1 and ,i'm not afraid to say so4 ,i hope you will learn how to say ,i don't know4 ,it's infinitely better than guessing2 it saves trouble1 and people like you better1 because they see you are honest4 ,i don't know how the stars in the ,big ,dipper are moving1 but the men who look through telescopes and study mathematics say the end stars do move in a direction opposite to the others1 and they say the ,dipper must have looked like a cross1 and will look like a dipper long1 long after we are dead4 ,and ,i believe them4 ,,constellations ,,you ,,can ,,always ,,see ,there are forty-eight well known constellations1 but of these only about a dozen are easy to know4 ,i think a dozen is quite enough for children to learn4 ,and therefore1 ,i shall tell you how to find only the showiest and most interesting4 ,the best way to begin is to describe the ones that you can see almost every night in the year1 because you may want to begin any month in the year1 and you might be discouraged if ,i talked about things nobody could see in that month4 ,there are five constellations you can nearly always see1 and these are all near the ,pole star4 ,doubtless you think you know two of them already--the ,big and the ,little ,dipper4 ,ah1 ,i forgot to tell you that these dippers are not the real thing4 ,they are merely parts of bigger constellations and their real names are ,great ,bear and ,little ,bear4 ,the oldest names are the right ones4 ,thousands of years ago1 when the ,greeks named these groups of stars1 they thought they looked like two bears4 ,i can't see the resemblance4 ,but for that matter all the figures in the sky are disappointing4 ,the people who named the constellations called them lions1 and fishes1 and horses1 and hunters1 and they thought they could see a dolphin1 a snake1 a dragon1 a crow1 a crab1 a bull1 a ram1 a swan1 and other things4 ,but nowadays we cannot see those creatures4 ,we can see the stars plainly enough1 and they do make groups1 but they do not look like animals4 ,i was greatly disappointed when ,i was told this2 but ,i soon got over it1 because new wonders are always coming on4 ,i think the only honest thing to do is to tell you right at the start that you cannot see these creatures very well4 ,you will spoil your pleasure unless you take these resemblances good-naturedly and with a light heart4 ,and you will also spoil your pleasure if you scold the ancients for naming the constellations badly4 ,nobody in the world would change those old names now4 ,there is too much pleasure in them4 ,besides1 ,i doubt if we could do much better4 ,i believe those old folks were better observers than we4 ,and ,i believe they had a lighter fancy4 ,let us1 too1 be fanciful for once4 ,i have asked my friend1 ,mrs4 ,thomas1 to draw her notion of some of these famous creatures of the sky4 ,you can draw your idea of them too1 and it is pleasant to compare drawings with friends4 ,there is only one way to see anything like a ,great ,bear4 ,you have to imagine the ,dipper upside down and make the handle of the ,dipper serve for the ,bear's tail4 ,what a funny bear to drag a long tail on the ground6 ,miss ,martin says he looks more like a chubby hobby-horse4 ,you will have to make the bowl of the ,dipper into hind legs and use all the other stars1 somehow1 to make a big1 clumsy1 four-legged animal4 ,and what a monster he is6 ,he measures twenty-five degrees from the tip of his nose to the root of his tail4 ,yes1 all those miscellaneous faint stars you see near the ,big ,dipper belong to the ,great ,bear4 ,illustration3 ,orion fighting the ,bull4 ,above are ,orion's two dogs ,illustration3 ,the ,little ,bear1 the ,queen in her chair1 the ,twins and the ,archer ,how the ,great ,bear looked to the people who named it thousands of years ago1 we probably shall never know4 ,they left no books or drawings1 so far as ,i know4 ,but in every dictionary and book on astronomy you can find these bears and other animals drawn so carefully and beautifully that it seems as if they must be in the sky1 and we must be too dull to see them4 ,it is not so4 ,look at the pictures in this book and1 you will see that the stars do not outline the animals4 ,many of them come at the wrong places4 ,and so it is with all the costly books and charts and planispheres4 ,it is all very interesting1 but it isn't true4 ,it's just fancy4 ,and when you once understand that it isn't true1 you will begin to enjoy the fancy4 ,many a smile you will have1 and sometimes a good laugh4 ,for instance1 the ,english children call the ,dipper ,charles's wain or the wagon4 ,and the ,romans called it the plough4 ,they thought of those seven stars as oxen drawing a plough4 ,well1 that's enough about the two ,bears4 ,i want to tell you about the other three constellations you can nearly always see4 ,these are the ,chair1 the ,charioteer1 and ,perseus 7pronounced per'soos74 ,the ,chair is the easiest to find1 because it is like a very bad ,w1 and it is always directly opposite the big ,dipper1 with the ,pole star half way between the two constellations4 ,there are five stars in the ,w1 and to make the ,w into a ,chair you must add a fainter star which helps to make the square bottom of the chair4 ,but what a crazy piece of furniture6 ,i have seen several ways of drawing it1 but none of them makes a comfortable chair4 ,i should either fall over backward1 or else the back of the chair would prod me in the small of my back4 ,the correct name of this constellation is ,cassiopeia's ,chair4 ,i think this is enough to see and enjoy in one night4 ,to-morrow night let us look for the ,charioteer4 ,i love the ,charioteer for several reasons4 ,one is that it makes a beautiful pentagon1 or five-sided figure1 with its five brightest stars4 ,another is that it contains the second-brightest star in the northern part of the heavens1 ,capella4 ,the only star in the north that is brighter is ,vega1 but ,vega is bluish white or creamy4 ,if you haven't already found the five-sided figure1 ,i will tell you how to find ,capella4 ,suppose you had a gun that would shoot anything as far as you wish4 ,shoot a white string right through the ,pointers and hit the ,pole star4 ,then place your gun at the ,pole star and turn it till it is at right angles to that string you shot4 ,aim away from the big ,dipper1 shoot a bullet forty-five degrees and it will hit ,capella4 ,if that plan doesn't work1 try this4 ,start with the star that is at the bottom of the ,dipper and nearest the handle4 ,draw a line half-way between the two ,pointers and keep on till you come to the first bright star4 ,this is ,capella1 and the distance is about fifty degrees4 ,capella means a kid1 or little goat1 and that reminds me of the third reason why ,i enjoy so much the constellation of which ,capella is the brightest star4 ,in the old times they sometimes called this five-sided figure the goat-carrier4 ,and the shepherds thought they could see a man carrying a little goat in his left hand4 ,i am sure you can see the kid they meant4 ,it is a triangle of faint stars which you see near ,capella4 ,that's enough for to-night4 ,to-morrow night let us look for ,perseus4 ,i dare say you know that old tale about ,perseus rescuing the princess who was chained upon a rock4 7,he cut off the snaky head of ,medusa and showed it to the dragon that was going to devour the princess1 and it turned the monster to stone4 ,remember87 ,well1 there are constellations named after all the people in that story1 but although they contain many showy stars1 ,i could never make them look like a hero1 a princess1 a king1 and a queen4 ,i do not even try to trace out all of ,perseus4 ,for ,i am satisfied to enjoy a very beautiful part of it which is called the ,arc of ,perseus4 ,an arc1 you know1 is a portion of a circle4 ,and the way to find this arc is to draw a curve from ,capella to ,cassiopeia4 ,on nights that are not very clear ,i can see about seven stars in this ,arc of ,perseus4 ,and the reason ,i love it so much is that it is the most beautiful thing1 when seen through an opera-glass1 that ,i know4 ,you could never imagine that a mere opera-glass would make such a difference4 ,the moment ,i put it to my eyes about a dozen more stars suddenly leap into my sight in and near the ,arc of ,perseus4 ,that's enough4 ,no more stories to-night4 ,,winter ,,constellations ,by winter constellations ,i mean those you can see in winter at the pleasantest time--the early evening4 ,and ,i want you to begin with the ,northern ,cross4 ,i hope you can see this before ,christmas1 for1 after that1 it may be hidden by trees or buildings in the west and you may not see it again for a long while4 ,this is because the stars seem to rise in the east and set in the west4 ,to prove this1 choose some brilliant star you can see at five or six o'clock2 get it in line with some bush or other object over which you can just see it4 ,put a stake where you stand1 and then go to the same spot about eight o'clock or just before you go to bed4 ,you can tell at once how much the star seems to have moved westward4 ,another thing1 every star rises four minutes later every night1 and therefore the sky looks a little different at the same hour every evening4 ,the stars in the north set for a short time only1 but when those toward the south set they are gone a long time4 ,for instance1 the brightest star of all is ,sirius1 the ,dog ,star1 which really belongs to the southern hemisphere4 ,there are only about three months in the year when children who go to bed by seven o'clock can see it--,january1 ,february1 and ,march4 ,so now you understand why ,i am so eager that you should not miss the pleasure of seeing the famous ,northern ,cross4 ,but although it is a big cross1 and easy to find1 after you know it1 ,i have never yet known a boy who could show it to another boy simply by pointing at it4 ,the surest and best way to find it is learn three bright stars first--,altair1 ,vega1 and ,deneb4 ,altair is the brightest star in the ,milky ,way4 ,it is just at the edge of the ,milky ,way1 and you are to look for three stars in a straight line1 with the middle one brightest4 ,those three stars make the constellation called the ,eagle4 ,the body of the eagle is ,altair1 and the other two stars are the wings4 ,i should say that ,altair is about five degrees from each of his companions4 ,it is worth half an hour's patient search to find the ,eagle4 ,now these three stars in the ,eagle point straight toward the brightest star in the northern part of the sky--,vega4 ,to make sure of it1 notice four fainter stars near it which make a parallelogram--a sort of diamond4 ,these stars are all part of a constellation called the ,lyre4 ,if you try to trace out the old musical instrument1 you will be disappointed2 but here is a game worth while4 ,can you see a small triangle made by three stars1 of which ,vega is one8 ,well1 one of those stars is double1 and with an opera-glass you can see which it is4 ,on very clear nights some people with very sharp eyes can see them lying close together1 but ,i never could4 ,at last we are ready to find the celebrated ,northern ,cross4 ,first draw a line from ,altair to ,vega4 ,then draw a line at right angles to this1 until you come to another bright star--,deneb--which is about as far from ,vega as ,vega is from ,altair4 ,now this beautiful star1 ,deneb1 is the top of the ,northern ,cross4 ,i can't tell you whether the ,cross will be right or wrong side up when you see it1 or on its side4 ,for every constellation is likely to change its position during the night1 as you know from watching the ,dipper4 ,but you can tell the ,cross by these things4 ,there are six stars in it4 ,it is like a kite made of two sticks4 ,there are three stars in the crosspiece and four in the long piece4 ,deneb1 the brightest star in the cross1 is at the top of the long stick4 ,but you mustn't expect to see a perfect cross4 ,there is one star that is a little out of place1 and sometimes my fingers fairly itch to put it where it belongs4 ,it is the one that ought to be where the long stick of your kite is tacked to the crosspiece4 ,and one of the stars is provokingly faint1 but you can see it4 ,counting straight down the long piece1 it is the third one from ,deneb that is faint4 ,it is where it ought to be1 but ,i should like to make it brighter4 ,have you the ,cross now8 ,if not1 have patience4 ,you can't be a true sport unless you are patient4 ,you can't be a great ball-player1 or hunter1 or any thing else1 without resisting1 every day1 that sudden impulse to quit the game when you lose4 ,be a good loser1 smile and try again4 ,that is better than to give up1 or to win by cheating or sharp practice4 ,this is the last thing ,i want you to see in the northern part of the sky2 and if you have done a good job1 let us celebrate by having a story4 ,once upon a time a cross didn't mean so much to the world as it does now4 ,that was before ,christ was born4 ,in those old times people did not think of the ,northern ,cross as a cross4 ,they thought of it as a ,swan1 and you can see the ,swan if you turn the ,cross upside down4 ,deneb will then be in the tail of the ,swan1 and the two stars which used to be at the tips of the crosspiece now become the wings4 ,is that a true story8 ,yes4 ,if we lived in ,arabia the children there could tell us what ,deneb means4 ,it means the tail4 ,another story8 ,well1 do you see the star in the beak of the ,swan1 or foot of the ,cross8 ,what color is it8 ,white8 ,well1 they say this white star is really made up of two stars--one yellow and the other blue4 ,that is one reason ,i want to buy a telescope when ,i can afford it1 for even the smallest telescope will show that4 ,and ,mr4 ,serviss says that even a strong field-glass will help any one see this wonder4 ,i can't tell you about all the winter constellations in one chapter4 ,we have made friends of the northern ones4 ,now let's see the famous southern ones4 ,and let's start a new chapter4 ,,orion1 ,,his ,,dogs1 ,,and ,,the ,,bull ,the most gorgeous constellation in the whole sky is ,orion4 ,i really pity any one who does not know it1 because it has more bright stars in it than any other group4 ,besides1 it doesn't take much imagination to see this mighty hunter fighting the great ,bull4 ,i dare say half the people in the ,united ,states know ,orion and can tell him as quick as they see him by the famous belt of ,orion4 ,this belt is made of three stars1 each of which is just one degree from the next4 ,that is why the ,english people call these three stars the ell and yard4 ,another name for them is the three kings4 ,you can see the sword of ,orion hanging down from his belt4 ,as soon as you see these things you will see the four bright stars that outline the figure of the great hunter1 but only two of them are of the first magnitude4 ,the red one has a hard name--,betelgeuse 7pronounced bet-el-guz74 ,that is a ,frenchified word from the ,arabic1 meaning armpit1 because this star marks the right shoulder of ,orion4 ,the other first-magnitude star is the big white one in the left foot4 ,its name is ,rigel 7pronounced re-jel7 from an ,arabian word meaning the foot4 ,you can see the giant now1 ,i am sure4 ,over his left arm hangs a lion's skin which he holds out to shield him from the bull's horns4 ,see the shield--about four rather faint stars in a pretty good curve8 ,now look for his club which he holds up with his right hand so as to smite the bull4 ,see the arm and the club--about seven stars in a rather poor curve--beyond the red star ,betelgeuse8 ,now you have him1 and isn't he a wonder6 ,it is even easier to see the ,bull which is trying to gore ,orion4 ,look where ,orion is threatening to strike1 and you will see a ,v4 ,how many stars in that ,v8 ,five4 ,and which is the brightest8 ,that red one at the top of the left branch of the ,v8 ,yes4 ,that ,v is the face of the ,bull and that red star is the baleful eye of the angry ,bull which is lowering his head and trying to toss ,orion4 ,the name of that red eye is ,aldebaran 7pronounced al-deb-ar-an74 ,i wish ,aldebaran meant red eye1 but it doesn't4 ,it is an old ,arabian word meaning the hindmost1 or the follower1 because every evening it comes into view about an hour after you can see the famous group of stars called the ,pleiades1 which are in the shoulder of the ,bull4 ,i do not care to trace the outline of this enormous bull1 but his horns are a great deal longer than you think at first4 ,if you will extend the two arms of that ,v a long way you will see two stars which may be called the tips of his horns4 ,one of these stars really belongs in another constellation--our old friend the ,charioteer1 the one including ,capella4 ,wow6 what a pair of horns6 ,but now we come to the daintiest of all constellations--the ,seven ,sisters1 or ,pleiades 7pronounced plee-a-deez74 ,i can see only six of them1 and there is a famous old tale about the lost ,pleiad4 ,but ,i needn't describe them4 ,every child finds them by instinct4 ,some compare them to a swarm of bees2 some to a rosette of diamonds2 some to dewdrops4 ,but ,i would not compare them to a dipper as some do1 because the real ,little ,dipper is very different4 ,the light that seems to drip from the ,pleiades is quivering1 misty1 romantic1 magical4 ,no wonder many children love the ,pleiades best of all the constellations4 ,no wonder the poets have praised them for thousands of years4 ,the oldest piece of poetry about them that ,i know of was written about #a1ejj years before ,christ4 ,you can find it in the book of ,job4 ,but the most poetic description of the ,pleiades that ,i have ever read is in ,tennyson's poem ,locksley ,hall1 in which he says they glitter like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid4 ,there are a great many old tales about the lost ,pleiad4 ,one is that she veiled her face because the ancient city of ,troy was burned4 ,another story says she ceased to be a goddess when she married a man and became mortal4 ,some people think she was struck by lightning4 ,others believe the big star1 ,canopus1 came by and ran away with her4 ,still others declare she was a new star that appeared suddenly once upon a time1 and after a while faded away4 ,for myself1 ,i do not believe any of these stories4 ,one reason why ,i don't is that a seventh star is really there1 and many people can really see it4 ,indeed1 there are some people so sharp-eyed that on clear nights they can see anywhere from eight to eleven4 ,and1 what is more1 they can draw a map or chart showing just where each star seems to them to be4 ,but the most wonderful stories about the ,pleiades are the true stories4 ,one is that there are really more than #c1jjj stars among the ,pleiades4 ,some of them can be seen only with the biggest telescopes4 ,others are revealed only by the spectroscope4 ,and some can be found only by means of photography4 ,but the most amazing thing about the ,pleiades is the distances between them4 ,they look so close together that you would probably say the moon seems bigger than all of them put together4 ,sometimes the moon comes near the ,pleiades1 and you expect that the moon will blot them all out4 ,but the astronomers say the full moon sails through the ,pleiades and covers only one of them at a time1 as a rule4 ,they even say it is possible for the moon to pass through the ,pleiades without touching one of them6 ,i should like to see that4 ,if anything like it is going to occur1 the magazine ,i spoke of in the first chapter will tell me about it4 ,and you'd better believe ,i will stay up to see that1 if it takes all night6 ,there are two more constellations in the southern part of the sky that ought to be interesting1 because they are the two hunting dogs that help ,orion fight the ,bull4 ,but ,i can't trace these animals1 and ,i don't believe it is worth while4 ,the brightest stars in them everybody can see and admire--,sirius1 the ,bigger ,dog1 and ,procyon1 the ,smaller ,dog4 ,every one ought to know ,sirius1 because he is the brightest star of all4 7,of course1 he is not so bright as ,venus and ,jupiter1 but they are planets47 ,to find him1 draw a line from the eye of the ,bull through the belt of ,orion and extend it toward the southeast about twenty degrees4 ,they call him the ,dog star because he follows the heels of ,orion4 ,and people still call the hottest days of summer dog days because #djj years before ,christ the ,romans noticed that the ,dog star rose just before the sun at that time4 ,the ,romans thought he chased the sun across the sky all day and therefore was responsible for the great heat4 ,but that was a foolish explanation4 ,and so is the old notion that dogs are likely to go mad during the dog days because the dog star is in the ascendant4 ,so is the idea that ,sirius is an unlucky star4 ,there are no lucky or unlucky stars4 ,these are all superstitions1 and we ought to be ashamed to believe any superstition4 ,yet for thousands of years before we had public schools and learned to know better1 people believed that every one was born under a lucky star or an unlucky one1 and they believe that farmers ought to plant or not plant1 according to the size of the moon4 ,now we know that is all bosh4 ,those old superstitions have done more harm than good4 ,one of the most harmful was the belief in witches4 ,let us resolve never to be afraid of these old tales1 but laugh at them4 ,why should anybody be afraid of anything so lovely as ,sirius8 ,i used to think ,sirius twinkled more than any other star4 ,but that was bad reasoning on my part4 ,i might have noticed that every star twinkles more near the horizon than toward the zenith4 ,i might have noticed that stars twinkle more on clear1 frosty nights than when there is a little uniform haze4 ,and putting those two facts together ,i might have reasoned that the stars never really twinkle at all2 they only seem to4 ,i might have concluded that the twinkling is all due to the atmosphere--that blanket of air which wraps the earth around4 ,the nearer the earth1 the thicker the air1 and the more it interferes with the light that comes to us from the stars4 ,they say that ,sirius never looks exactly alike on two successive nights4 ,it has a hundred moods1 says ,mr4 ,serviss1 according to the state of the atmosphere4 ,by turns it flames1 it sparkles1 it glows1 it blazes1 it flares1 it flashes1 it contracts to a point1 and sometimes when the air is still1 it burns with a steady white light4 7,quotation somewhat altered and condensed47 ,it is a pity that so fine a star as ,procyon should be called the ,smaller ,dog1 because it suffers unjustly by comparison with ,sirius4 ,if it were in some other part of the sky we might appreciate it more1 because it is brighter than most of the fifteen first-magnitude stars we can see4 ,my brother ,william has grown to love it1 but perhaps that is because he always sympathizes with the under dog4 ,he was the youngest brother and knows4 ,and curiously enough he was nicknamed the dog--just why1 ,i don't know4 ,to find ,procyon1 drawn a line from ,sirius northeast about twenty degrees4 ,and to make sure1 draw one east from ,betelgeuse about the same distance4 ,these three stars make a triangle of which the sides are almost equal4 ,the name ,procyon means before the dog referring to the fact that you can see him fifteen or twenty minutes earlier every night than you can see ,sirius4 ,the only kind word about ,procyon ,i have heard in recent years was in connection with that miserable business of ,dr4 ,cook and the ,north ,pole4 ,a ,captain ,somebody-or-other was making observations for ,dr4 ,cook1 and he wanted to know what time it was4 ,he had no watch and didn't want to disturb any one4 ,so he looked out of the window and saw by the star ,procyon that it was eleven o'clock4 ,that sounds mysterious1 but it is easy if you have a planisphere like ours4 ,last winter when we were all enjoying ,orion1 the ,bull1 and the two ,dogs1 ,i used to whirl the planisphere around to see where they would be at six o'clock at night1 at eight1 at ten1 at midnight1 and even at six o'clock in the morning4 ,and so1 if ,i waked up in the night ,i could tell what time it was without even turning my head4 ,sometimes ,i looked out of my window1 saw ,orion nearly overhead and knew it must be midnight4 ,and sometimes ,i woke up just before daybreak and saw the great ,bull backing down out of sight in the west1 the mighty ,hunter still brandishing his club1 and his faithful ,dogs following at his heels4 ,,seven ,,famous ,,constellations ,there are only seven more constellations that seem to me interesting enough for every one to know and love all his life4 ,these are3 ,the ,lion 7,spring7 ,the ,twins 7,spring7 ,the ,virgin 7,summer7 ,the ,herdsman 7,summer7 ,the ,northern ,crown 7,summer7 ,the ,scorpion 7,summer7 ,southern ,fish 7,autumn7 ,i have named the seasons when1 according to some people1 these constellations are most enjoyable4 ,but these are not the only times when you can see them4 7,if you had that seventy-five-cent planisphere1 now1 you could always tell which constellations are visible and just where to find them47 ,no matter what time of year you read this chapter1 it is worth while to go out and look for these marvels4 ,you can't possibly miss them all4 ,have you ever seen a ,sickle in the sky8 ,it's a beauty1 and whenever ,i have seen it it has been turned very conveniently for me1 because ,i am left-handed4 ,it is so easy to find that ,i am almost ashamed to tell4 ,but if you need help1 draw a line through the ,pointers backward1 away from the ,pole star1 about forty degrees1 and it will come a little west of the ,sickle4 ,the ,sickle is only part of the ,lion--the head and the forequarters4 ,only fanciful map-makers can trace the rest of the ,lion4 ,the bright star at the end of the handle is ,regulus1 which means king1 from the stupid old notion that this star ruled the lives of men4 ,to this day people speak of the ,royal ,star1 meaning ,regulus4 ,and at the end of this chapter ,i will tell you about three other stars which the ,persians called royal stars4 ,another constellation which children particularly love is the ,twins--,castor and ,pollux4 ,but the sailors got there first6 ,for thousands of years the twins have been supposed to bring good luck to sailors4 ,i don't believe a word of it4 ,but ,i do know that sailors gloat over ,castor and ,pollux1 and like them better than any other stars4 ,the whole constellation includes all the stars east of the ,bull and between the ,charioteer and ,procyon4 ,but another way to outline the twins is to look northeast of ,orion where you will see two rows of stars that run nearly parallel4 ,to me the brothers seem to be standing1 but all the old picture-makers show them sitting with their arms around each other1 the two brightest stars being their eyes4 ,the eyes are about five degrees apart--the same as the ,pointers4 ,pollux is now brighter than ,castor1 but for thousands of years it was just the other way4 ,it is only within three hundred years that this change has taken place4 ,whether ,castor has faded or ,pollux brightened1 or both1 ,i do not know4 ,anyhow1 ,castor is not quite bright enough to be a first magnitude star4 ,three hundred years is a short time in the history of man1 and only a speck in the history of the stars4 ,three hundred years ago they killed people in ,europe just because of the church they went to4 ,that was why the ,pilgrim ,fathers sailed from ,england in #afbj1 and made the first permanent settlement in ,america1 except1 of course1 ,jamestown1 ,va41 in #afjg4 ,there are plenty of stories about old ,castor and ,pollux1 and1 like all the other myths1 they conflict1 more or less4 ,but all agree that these two brothers went with ,jason in the ship ,argo1 shared his adventures and helped him get the golden fleece4 ,and all agree that ,castor and ,pollux were born fighters4 ,and that is why the ,roman soldiers looked up to these stars and prayed to them to help them win their battles4 ,now for the four summer constellations every one ought to know4 ,the first thing to look for is two famous red or reddish stars--,arcturus and ,antares4 ,the way you find ,arcturus is amusing4 ,look for the ,big ,dipper and find the star at the bottom of the dipper nearest the handle4 ,got it8 ,now draw a curve that will connect it with all the stars in the handle1 and when you come to the end of the handle keep on till you come to the first very bright star--about twenty-five degrees4 ,that is the monstrous star ,arcturus1 probably the biggest and swiftest star we can ever see with the naked eye in the northern hemisphere4 ,he is several times as big as our sun1 and his diameter is supposed to be several million miles4 ,he is called a runaway sun1 because he is rushing through space at the rate of between two hundred and three hundred miles a second4 ,that means between seventeen and thirty-four million miles a day6 ,he is coming toward us1 too6 ,at such a rate you might think that ,arcturus would have smashed the earth to pieces long ago4 ,but he is still very far away1 and there is no danger4 ,some people say that if ,job were to come to life1 the sky would seem just the same to him as it did #c1djj years ago4 ,the only difference he might notice would be in ,arcturus4 ,that would seem to him out of place by a distance about three times the apparent diameter of the moon4 ,some people believe this because ,job said1 ,canst thou guide ,arcturus with his sons8 and therefore they imagine that he meant this red star4 ,but ,i believe he meant the ,big ,dipper4 ,for in ,king ,james's time1 when the ,bible was translated into ,english1 the word ,arcturus meant the ,big ,dipper or rather the ,great ,bear4 ,and for centuries before it meant the ,great ,bear4 ,one proof of it is that ,arcturus comes from an old ,greek word meaning bear--the same word from which we get arctic4 ,it is only within a few hundred years that astronomers have agreed to call the ,great ,bear ,ursa ,major1 and this red star ,arcturus4 ,so ,i think all the books which say ,job mentioned this red star are mistaken4 ,i believe ,webster's ,dictionary is correct in this matter1 and ,i believe the ,revised ,version translates ,job's ,hebrew phrase more correctly when it says1 ,canst thou guide the ,bear with her train8 ,anyhow1 ,arcturus is a splendid star--the brightest in the constellation called the ,herdsman or ,botes4 ,it is not worth while to trace the ,herdsman1 but here is an interesting question4 ,is ,arcturus really red8 ,the books mostly say he is yellow4 ,they say he looks red when he is low in the sky1 and yellow when he is high4 ,how does he look to you8 ,more yellow than red8 ,well1 there's no doubt about ,antares being red4 ,to find him1 draw a long line from ,regulus through ,arcturus to ,antares1 ,arcturus being more than half way between the other two4 ,but if ,regulus and the ,sickle are not visible1 draw a line from ,altair1 at right angles to the ,eagle1 until you come to a bright star about sixty degrees away4 ,you can't miss ,antares1 for he is the only red star in that part of the sky4 ,antares belongs to a showy constellation called the ,scorpion4 ,i cannot trace all the outline of a spider-like creature1 but his poisonous tail or stinger is made by a curved line of stars south and east of ,antares4 ,and you can make a pretty fan by joining ,antares to several stars in a curve which are west of ,antares and a little north4 ,there is an old tale that this ,scorpion is the one that stung ,orion to death when he began to show off and boast that there was no animal in the world that could kill him4 ,another very bright star in the southern part of the sky is ,spica4 ,to find it1 start with the handle of the ,dipper1 and making the same backward curve which helped you to find ,arcturus1 keep on till you come to the white star ,spica--say thirty degrees beyond ,arcturus4 ,this is the brightest star in the constellation called the ,virgin4 ,it is not worth while trying to trace her among nearly forty faint stars in this neighbourhood4 ,but she is supposed to be a winged goddess who holds up in her right hand an ear of wheat1 and that is what ,spica means4 ,now for an autumn constellation--the ,southern ,fish4 ,i don't care if you fail to outline a fish1 but ,i do want you to see the bright star that is supposed to be in the fish's mouth4 ,and ,i don't want you to balk at its hard name--,fomalhaut 7pronounced fo-mal-o74 ,it is worth a lot of trouble to know it as a friend4 ,to find it1 you have to draw an exceedingly long line two-thirds of the way across the whole sky4 ,start with the ,pointers4 ,draw a line through them and the ,pole star and keep clear on until you come to a solitary bright star rather low down in the south4 ,that is ,fomalhaut4 ,it looks lonely and is lonely1 even when you look at it through a telescope4 ,and now for the last story4 ,once upon a time the ,persians thought there must be four stars that rule the lives of men4 ,so they picked out one in the north and one in the south and one in the east and one in the west1 just as if they were looking for four bright stars to mark the points of the compass4 ,if you want to find them yourself without my help don't read the next sentence1 but shut this book and go out and see4 ,then write down on a piece of paper the stars you have selected and compare them with the list ,i am about to give4 ,here are the four royal stars of the ,persians3 ,fomalhaut for the north1 ,regulus for the south1 ,aldebaran for the east1 and ,antares for the west4 ,why doesn't this list agree with yours8 ,because ,persia is so far south of where we live4 ,ah1 there are very few things that are absolutely true4 ,let's remember that and not be too sure3 for everything depends upon the point of view6 ,i hope you will see ,fomalhaut before ,christmas1 before he disappears in the west4 ,he is with us only five months and is always low--near the horizon4 ,but the other seven months in the year he gladdens the children of ,south ,america and the rest of the southern hemisphere1 for they see him sweeping high and lonely far up into their sky and down again4 ,but the loveliest of all the constellations described in this chapter is the ,northern ,crown4 ,it is not a perfect crown--only about half a circle--but enough to suggest a complete ring4 ,look for it east of ,arcturus4 ,i can see seven or eight stars in the half-circle1 one of which is brighter than all the others4 ,that one is called the ,pearl4 ,the whole constellation is only fifteen degrees long1 but fine things come in small packages2 and children grow to love the ,northern ,crown almost as much as they love the ,pleiades4 ,,the ,,twenty ,,brightest ,,stars ,if you have seen everything ,i have described so far1 you have reason to be happy4 ,for now you know sixteen of the most famous constellations and fifteen of the twenty brightest stars4 ,there are only twenty stars of the first magnitude4 ,magnitude ought to mean size1 but it doesn't4 ,it means brightness--or rather the apparent brightness--of the stars when seen by us4 ,the word magnitude was used in the old days before telescopes1 when people thought the brighter a star is the bigger it must be4 ,now we know that the nearer a star is to us the brighter it is1 and the farther away the fainter4 ,some of the bright stars are comparatively near us1 some are very far4 ,deneb and ,canopus are so far away that it takes over three hundred years for their light to reach us4 ,what whoppers they must be--many times as big as our sun4 ,here is a full list of the twenty stars of the first magnitude arranged in the order of their brightness4 ,you will find this table very useful4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------ ,stars ,pronounced ,constellation ,interesting facts ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------ ,sirius siri-us ,big ,dog ,brightest star4 ,nearest star visible in ,northern hemisphere ,canopus99 ca-nopus ,ship ,argo ,perhaps the largest body in universe ,alpha ,centauri99 alfa sen-tawre ,centaur ,nearest star4 ,light four years away ,vega vega ,lyre ,brightest star in the ,northern sky4 ,bluish ,capella ca-pella ,charioteer ,rivals ,vega1 but opposite the pole4 ,yellowish ,arcturus ark-turus ,herdsman ,swiftest of the bright stars4 #bjj miles a second ,rigel rejel ,orion ,brightest star in ,orion4 ,white star in left foot ,procyon prosi-on ,little ,dog ,before the dog4 ,rises a little before ,sirius ,achernar99 a-kernar ,river ,po ,means the end of the river ,beta ,centauri99 bata sen-tawre ,centaur ,this and its mate point to the ,southern ,cross ,altair al-tare ,eagle ,helps you find ,vega and ,northern ,cross ,betelgeuse bet-el-guz ,orion ,means armpit4 ,the red star in the right shoulder ,alpha ,crucis99 alfa ,southern crusis ,cross ,at the base of the most famous ,southern constellation ,aldebaran al-deba-ran ,bull ,the red eye in the ,v ,pollux pollux ,twins ,brighter than ,castor ,spica spica ,virgin ,means ear of wheat ,antares an-tarez ,scorpion ,red star4 ,name means looks like ,mars ,fomalhaut fomal-o ,southern ,fish ,the lonely star in the ,southern sky ,deneb deneb ,swan ,top of ,northern ,cross1 or tail of ,swan ,regulus regu-lus ,lion ,the end of the handle of the ,sickle ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------ ,the five stars marked 99 belong to the ,southern hemisphere1 and we can never see them unless we travel far south4 ,last winter ,i went to ,florida and saw ,canopus1 but to see the ,southern ,cross you should cross the ,tropic of ,cancer4 ,,how ,,to ,,learn ,,more ,all ,i can hope to do in this book is to get you enthusiastic about astronomy4 ,i don't mean gushy4 ,look in the dictionary and you will find that the enthusiast is not the faddist4 ,he is the one who sticks to a subject for a lifetime4 ,nor do ,i care a rap whether you become an astronomer--or even buy a telescope4 ,there will be always astronomers coming on1 but there are too few people who know and love even a few of the stars4 ,i want you to make popular astronomy a life-long hobby4 ,perhaps you may have to drop it for ten or fifteen years4 ,never mind1 you will take up the study again4 ,i can't expect you to read a book on stars if you are fighting to make a living or support a family1 unless it really rests you to read about the stars4 ,it does rest me4 ,when things go wrong at the office or at home1 ,i can generally find rest and comfort from music4 ,and if the sky is clear1 ,i can look at the stars1 and my cares suddenly seem small and drop away4 ,let me tell you why and how you can get the very best the stars have to teach you1 without mathematics or telescope4 ,follow this programme and you need never be afraid of hard work1 or of exhausting the pleasures of the subject4 ,go to your public library and get one of the books ,i recommend in this chapter1 and read whatever interests you4 ,i don't care whether you take up planets before comets or comets before planets1 but whatever you do do it well4 ,soak the interesting facts right in4 ,nail them down4 ,see everything the book talks about4 ,make notes of things to watch for4 ,get a little blank book and write down the date you first saw each thing of interest4 ,write down the names of the constellations you love most4 ,before you lay down any star book you are reading1 jot down the most wonderful and inspiring thing you have read--even if you have only time to write a single word that may recall it all to you4 ,treasure that little note book as long as you live4 ,every year it will get more precious to you4 ,now for the books3 #a4 ,martin4 ,the ,friendly ,stars4 ,harper ,brothers1 ,new ,york1 #aijg4 ,this book teaches you first the twenty brightest stars and then the constellations4 ,i cannot say that this1 or any other1 is the best book1 but it has helped me most1 and ,i suppose it is only natural that we should love best the first book that introduces us to a delightful subject4 #b4 ,serviss4 ,astronomy with the ,naked ,eye4 ,harper ,brothers1 ,new ,york1 #aijh4 ,this teaches you the constellations first and the brightest stars incidentally4 ,also it gives the old myths4 #c4 ,serviss4 ,astronomy with an ,opera-,glass4 ,d4 ,appleton ,co41 ,new ,york1 #aijf4 #d4 ,serviss4 ,pleasures of the ,telescope4 ,d4 ,appleton ,co41 ,new ,york1 #aije4 #e4 ,milham4 ,how to ,identify the ,stars4 ,the ,macmillan ,co41 ,new ,york1 #aiji4 ,this gives a list of eighty-eight constellations1 including thirty-six southern ones1 and has tracings of twenty-eight4 #f4 ,elson4 ,star ,gazer's ,handbook4 ,sturgis ,walton ,co41 ,new ,york1 #aiji4 ,about the briefest and cheapest4 ,has good charts and makes a specialty of the myths4 #g4 ,serviss4 ,curiosities of the ,sky4 ,harper ,brothers1 ,new ,york4 ,tells about comets1 asteroids1 shooting stars1 life on ,mars1 nebul1 temporary stars1 coal-sacks1 ,milky ,way1 and other wonders4 #h4 ,ball4 ,starland4 ,ginn ,co41 ,boston1 ,new ,york1 etc41 #ahii4 ,this tells about a great many interesting experiments in astronomy that children can make4 99 99 99 99 99 ,if ,i had only a dollar or less to spend on astronomy ,i should buy a planisphere4 ,i got mine from ,thomas ,whittaker1 ,no4 #b ,bible ,house1 ,new ,york4 ,it cost seventy-five cents1 and will tell you where to find any star at any time in the year4 ,it does not show the planets1 however4 ,a planisphere that will show the planets costs about five dollars4 ,however1 there are only two very showy planets1 viz41 ,venus and ,jupiter4 ,any almanac will tell you 7for nothing7 when each of these is morning star1 and when each of them is evening star4 ,the best newspaper about stars1 as far as ,i know1 is a magazine called ,the ,monthly ,evening ,sky ,map1 published by ,leon ,barritt1 #aej ,nassau ,st41 ,new ,york4 ,it costs a dollar a year4 ,it gives a chart every month1 showing all the planets1 and all the constellations4 ,also it tells you about the interesting things1 like comets1 before they come4 ,good-bye4 ,i hope you will never cease to learn about and love the earth and the sky4 ,perhaps you think you have learned a great deal already4 ,but your pleasures have only begun4 ,wait till you learn about how the world began1 the sun and all his planets1 the distances between the stars1 and the millions of blazing suns amid the ,milky ,way6 ,,the ,,end ,illustration3 ,,the ,,sky ,,in ,,winter ,,note4--,these simplified star maps are not as accurate as a planisphere1 but they may be easier for children4 ,all star maps are like ordinary maps1 except that east and west are transposed4 ,the reason for this is that you can hold a star map over your head1 with the pole star toward the north1 and the map will then match the sky4 ,these maps contain some constellations that are only for grown-ups to study4 ,the ,winter constellations every child should know are3 ,,auriga1 the ,charioteer ,,canis ,,major1 the ,big ,dog ,,canis ,,minor1 the ,little ,dog ,,cassiopeia1 the ,queen in ,her ,chair ,,cygnus1 the ,swan ,,leo1 the ,lion ,,orion1 the ,hunter ,,perseus1 ,which ,has the ,arc ,,taurus1 the ,bull ,,ursa ,,major1 the ,great ,bear ,,ursa ,,minor1 the ,little ,bear ,illustration3 ,,the ,,sky ,,in ,,spring ,,note4--,once upon a time all the educated people spoke ,latin4 ,it was the nearest approach to a universal language4 ,so most of the constellations have ,latin names4 ,the ,english1 ,french and ,german names are all different1 but if all children would learn the ,latin names they could understand one another4 ,the ,spring constellations every child should know are3 ,,leo1 the ,lion ,,lyra1 the ,lyre ,,cassiopeia1 the ,queen in her ,chair ,,scorpio1 the ,scorpion ,,ursa ,,major1 the ,great ,bear ,,ursa ,,minor1 the ,little ,bear ,,virgo1 the ,virgin ,illustration3 ,,the ,,sky ,,in ,,summer ,,note4--,every sky map is good for three months1 in this way3 ,if this is correct on ,june #ast at #aj ,p4,m41 it will be correct ,july #ast at #h ,p4,m41 and ,august #ast at #f ,p4,m4 ,this is because the stars rise four minutes earlier every night4 ,thus1 after thirty days1 any star will rise thirty times four minutes earlier1 or #abj minutes1 or two hours4 ,children need not learn all the ,summer constellations4 ,the most interesting are3 ,,auriga1 the ,charioteer ,,canis ,,major1 the ,big ,dog ,,cygnus1 the ,swan ,,lyra1 the ,lyre ,,scorpio1 the ,scorpion ,illustration3 ,,the ,,sky ,,in ,,autumn ,,note4--,this book tells how to find all the most interesting stars and constellations without maps1 but many people prefer them4 ,how to use star maps is explained under ,the ,sky in ,winter4 ,the ,autumn constellations most interesting to children are3 ,,aquila1 the ,eagle ,,auriga1 the ,charioteer ,,cassiopeia1 the ,queen in ,her ,chair ,,cygnus1 the ,swan ,,lyra1 the ,lyre ,,perseus1 ,which ,has the ,arc ,,taurus1 the ,bull ,,ursa ,,major1 the ,great ,bear ,,ursa ,,minor1 the ,little ,bear ,transcriber's notes ,page #abd streams1 runing corrected to streams1 running ,page #abg where he globe corrected to where the globe ,page #ach ceatures to prove corrected to creatures to prove ,page #baf this consellation is corrected to this constellation is ,page #bjc ,everybirth day corrected to ,every birthday