Maury's New Elements of Geography for Primary and Intermediate Classes/Asia
ASIA.
LESSON LVI.
1. Asia.—Having finished our visit to Europe, let us pass into Asia. It is sometimes called the Land of the Morning. This is because the sun rises on Asia earlier than on Europe, and so the morning light seems to come from Asia to Europe.
From this we can see that Asia lies east of Europe. It is the eastern part of Eurasia, as the great body of land that is divided into Europe and Asia is called. It is, of course, still further to the eastward of our own country. Parts of it are quite half-way round the world from us. Can you tell how many miles that is?
2. Size and Population.—Asia is more than four times the size of Europe. It is the largest of all the continents.
It contains more than half of all the people living on the earth. These people are of several different races. It will be interesting to notice how curiously many of them live.
3. The Coast Line of Asia, like that of Europe, is rough and jagged. Peninsulas jut out from it, and arms of the sea reach into it, so that Asia has plenty of sheltering harbors.
The tropical vegetation of southern Asia. A country scene in Bengal, near Calcutta.
4. Surface.—-If we could be carried over the continent in a balloon, we should see that the central part is full of great mountain ranges and high plateaus. Here are the loftiest mountains in the world.
A Hindu village among the Himalaya mountains.
If our balloon rose as high as the top of Mount Everest, the highest peak of the Himalayas (him-ah'-la-yas), we should be more than five miles above the sea.
5. Rivers.—We have seen that the Rocky mountains and the Andes are the birthplace of the those magnificent rivers, the Missouri and the Amazon. In Asia, as in North and South America, the deep snows and heavy rains that fall upon the mountains feed many grand rivers. Find some of them on the map, and tell in what mountains they rise.
On the eastern coast of Asia. The town is Vladivostock, the
the terminus of the Siberian railroad.
6. Climate and Productions.—Asia reaches nearly from the equator to the north pole. It lies in three zones, and has every kind of climate.
On the Arctic shores we find ourselves among frozen swamps and snow fields. The people who live here are like the Eskimos of North America. They dress in furs. In this region, as in Greenland, scarcely a tree is seen, and hardly anything grows but mosses and lichens.
In Southern Asia we must use every care to 
MAP STUDIES.
Of what countries are the following cities the Capitals? Pekin, Calcutta, Tokyo, Bangkok, Teheran, Hanoi, Khelat, Kabul (ka-bool').
What ocean is north of Asia? What ocean is east? What ocean is south?
What two mountain ranges are between Asia and Europe? What two seas? What river?
What isthmus is between Asia and Africa? What sea separates Asia and Africa? Where is the distance shortest between Asia and North America?
What two oceans does Bering strait connect? Name the most northerly cape of Asia. The most easterly.
What is the most northern country of Asia? Of what empire does it form a part? In what direction do its rivers flow? Into what ocean?
Where is the peninsula of Kamchatka (kam-chat'-ka)? What sea is west of Kamchatka? (Pronounced o-kotsk'.)
What sea is east of Kamchatka? What lake is among the Altai (al'-ti) mountains?
What part of the Russian Empire lies east of the Caspian sea?
Where is Lake Balkash? Aral sea? The Caspian sea? These three are salt. Rivers flow into them, but none flow out. They are like the Great Salt lake of our own country.
Where is To-bolsk'? Irkutsk (eer-kootsk')?
What empire is south of Siberia? The Amur river and the Altai mountains separate Siberia from the Chinese Empire.
In what portion of the empire is China? What two great rivers flow through it.
In what part of China is Pe-kin'? In what part is Canton? Where is Shanghai?
In what part of the Chinese Empire is Tibet? What high mountains are on the south? Where is Lassa?
In what part of the empire is Sinkiang? Mongolia? Manchuria (man-choo'-ri-a)? What desert in Mongolia? Where is Kashgar? Where is Korea?
Where is the Yellow sea? It is so named because the vast quantities of mud washed into it by the Hoang river give to it a yellow color. What sea is south of China?
What empire, made up of islands, lies eastward of China? What sea separates it from Korea? What port is south of To'-ky-o? (Pronounced yo-ko-hah'-mah.)
Where is Indo-China? What countries[1] does it contain? Where is the Malay peninsula? This peninsula has given its name to the Malay or brown race.
What large river in Siam? On what strait is Singapore? It is noted for its export of tin.
What bay is west of Indo-China? What country is between the Bay of Bengal (ben-gawl') and the Arabian sea? What form of land would you call it?
To whom does India belong? Name its three great rivers. Each of them has several mouths.
Where is Bombay? Ma-dras'? Where is Ceylon? This island has the finest pearl fisheries in the world.
What two countries are on the west of British India? What mountains are in Afghanis- tan'?
What country is west of Afghanistan? What sea is north of Persia (per'-sha)? What gulf is on the south?
What country is between the Persian gulf and the Red sea? What sea is on the south-east?
In what part of Arabia is Maskat? Where is Mec'ca? Medina (me-dee'-nah)? Mocha (mo'kah)?
What country is north of Arabia? Why is the strip of land lying on the Red sea colored buff?
Where is Mount Sinai (si-ni)? Jerusalem? Damascus? Smyrna? What two rivers flow into the Persian gulf?
On what three seas does Turkey border? On what continent is the capital of Turkey? Name it
A canal has been cut through the Isthmus of Suez from the Red sea to the Mediterranean. Point out the course of a vessel from Calcutta to the Mediterranean.
What country of Asia lies partly in the frigid zone? What countries lie partly in the torrid zone?
What two small countries lie wholly within the torrid zone? In what zone is the greater part of Asia?
In what direction is Yokohama from Singapore? Kabul from Calcutta? Tokyo from Constantinople?
Use the scale of miles and measure the distance from Yokohama to Singapore.
Routes of Travel.—On what waters would you sail in going from Constantinople to Bombay? How could you go by water from Mandalay to Delhi? What seas would you cross in sailing from Madras to Tokyo? Through what strait would you pass?
In the interior of Asia merchandise is carried by trains of camels called caravans. They cross the desert of Gobi from China to Lake Baikal and from Sinkiang to Persia. Railroads have been built from St. Petersburg through Siberia and Manchuria to the Pacific; from Russia to Bokhara and Tashkend, and from Smyrna to the cities of Asiatic Turkey.
Map Drawing.—On an outline map of Asia have the pupils fill in names of mountains, rivers, lakes, and coast waters. A second lesson may take up the location of countries and cities. Another lesson may be given to productions.
The silk-cotton tree of India. The seeds are covered with a soft fiber which is used for making pillows and mattresses.
A bamboo grove.
The sago palm. Sago is made from the pith of the tree. A single tree will often yield 600 pounds of sago flour.
The cocoanut palm.
protect ourselves from the scorching sun. It is the land of umbrellas and fans. Oranges, dates, and cocoanuts hang on the trees; the groves yield the fragrant cinnamon; fields are bright with the snowy blossoms and red berries of the coffee-tree; the lofty bamboo waves in the breeze.
Between the freezing north and the scorching south lies the temperate region of Asia. No part of the world contributes more than this to the comfort of man. It is the native home of the tea-plant, the cotton-plant, the sugar-cane, and the silkworm. Here the rose first blossomed, and the melon, the peach, and the orange first bore their luscious fruit.
7. Animals.—Asia has many curious animals. Its deserts are crossed by the patient camel. The elephant with his long trunk, the ferocious tiger, and the rhinoceros live in the jungles of southern Asia.
Here, too, poisonous serpents abound. Crocodiles swarm in the rivers. The wild beasts and serpents kill thousands of people every year. Many of our most useful domestic animals, such as the horse, the cow, the ass, and the sheep, are natives of Asia. From this continent they were taken to Europe by migrating tribes and thence to America.
For Recitation.—How does Asia compare in size and population with the other continents? What is said of the Himalaya mountains? Name some of the animals of Asia.
LESSON LVII.
A home in Asiatic Russia.
1. Asiatic Russia.—The eagle that is stamped upon the coins of Russia has two heads. This means that Russia has possessions in two continents. She owns more than half of Europe and a large part of Asia.
Leaving Europe, we cross the rough, cold Caucasus mountains, and enter Transcaucasia, or the land on the other side of the Caucasus. It is famed for its oil wells, which rank next to those of the United States.
The Caspian sea lies east of Transcaucasia. Steamers and fishing boats are busy on its briny waters. Let us cross to the other side. We are still in the Russian country.
The country is called Russian Turkestan. It is a good grazing land and produces cotton and silk. Early and late we hear the bleating of sheep, the grunting of camels, and the lowing of thousands of cattle.
Most of the people—Tartars, as they are called—are wandering herdsmen. They are dirty and ignorant; and there is nothing to keep us long in Turkestan.
A caravan of 2,000 camels is going from Bokhara into Siberia. Let us go with them.
These camels are of the kind called Bactrian, which has two humps on its back. They can endure cold.
2. Siberia is one of the coldest countries on the globe. In climate and products it resembles the Dominion of Canada.
In the southern part grain is raised, in the central part are vast forests, but in the far north scarcely anything grows.
Fur-bearing animals—such as sables, ermines, wolves, foxes, and bears—abound in the forests, and as in Canada, so here, a great many persons are hunters and trappers.
But the mines of Siberia are its great source of wealth. Gold and silver, lead, copper, and iron are found in abundance, as well as graphite (black lead), from which lead pencils of the finest kind are made.
A great railroad has been built across Siberia, and many people are settling there.
A village where exiles were once kept prisoners.
Many of the inhabitants are exiles or their descendants. The exiles are persons who have been banished from their homes in Russia by the emperor, and are not allowed to return. Many of them are obliged to work in the mines as a punishment.
Near the shores of the Arctic ocean there is a small number of people who are like the Eskimos of Alaska and Greenland.
The Great Wall of China.
3. China.—After seeing so much ice and snow, it will be pleasant to visit the "Flowery Land," as the people of China call their country. To reach it wo will mount our camels and cross the desert of Gobi. It is a dreary region, and we pass through it just as fast as we can.
We are nearing the borders of China, and in the distance we see the Great Wall. This is more than 1,000 miles long, and partly surrounds China. In some places it is thirty feet high, and so broad that six men on horseback can ride abreast on the top of it. This wall was built more than 2,000 years ago, to keep the fierce Tartars of the north out of the Chinese country.
A Chinese temple.
We are now among the great Mongolian race, of which the Chinese are the largest family. China is densely peopled. It contains about one-fourth of all the inhabitants of the world. For want of room on the land, several millions live on boats moored in the rivers and harbors. These boats are arranged like houses on a street.
A Chinese home; a barber plaiting a man's hair; a woman washing clothes.
4. Occupations and Productions.—Most of the people are farmers. Every foot of ground, even on the steep hillsides, is carefully cultivated. Canals are dug from the rivers to water the land. Immense quantities of tea, cotton, sugar, and rice are raised. Rice is the chief food of the people. Most of their clothes are made of cotton.
China supplies the world with much of its tea. The tea-plant is a shrub with a bright glossy leaf and a pretty white flower. The leaves are what we call tea. They are picked by hand, and dried over a charcoal fire.
The mulberry-tree is extensively cultivated. Some of the plantations are so large that it takes two or three days to travel through them.
The bamboo is as useful to the Chinese as the palm is to the Indians of South America. With it they build bouses and boats, make furniture, baskets, water pipes, and all sorts of useful articles. The young shoots are used as food. They are cooked and eaten like asparagus.
A Chinese family at dinner.
Many of the people are fishermen. They some
STUDIES ON THE RELIEF MAP.
Highland and Lowlands.—Trace the great highland ridges on the relief map. In which directions do they extend? Find the names of three of these ridges on the political map. Find the southern extremity of India, and trace directly north of it. First, you pass a region of light gray color. What name is given to this? (Elevated plains or plateaus are colored light gray.) First you come to a broad valley. What is its name? What lies north of this valley? Crossing the high mountain ridge you find a great central plateau region. Trace this north-west until you come to the eastern extremity of the continent. What name is given to this extremity? Trace the northern border of the continent. What kind of surface do you find here? Find the great peninsula in the southwest. What kind of surface does it have? All the continents that we have studied so tar have had great plains in the interior. Compare them with Asia. Where are the great plains found in Asia?
Coast Line.—Put your finger on the northeastern extremity of Asia. Trace southward. What peninsula do you find? What great group of islands? Is this coast line regular or irregular? Name some of the inlets on this coast. What peninsula west of the great group of islands? Find the southeastern extremity of Asia. What name is given to the long neck of land found there? Trace two other peninsulas in the south. Which one is farther south? In which zone does the northern coast lie? The water of this coast and the mouths of the rivers are frozen during nine months of the year.
Rivers and Lakes.—In what part of Asia are lakes found? Some of these are salt. Can you tell which ones? Can you tell why they are salt? What seems to be the largest lake in the northern part? Find three great rivers rising in the central highlands and flowing south. Find three flowing north. Find three flowing east. Notice that nearly all rivers flow from the center of the continent toward the coast. Why is this? Which of the lakes have rivers flowing into them? Find two rivers in the western part that unite.
Plants and Animals.—Trace the tropical regions of Asia. Can you tell some plants and animals that are found in this region? Find the great desert regions of Asia. What animals are found here? What can you tell of plant life in these regions? Trace the cold belt, of Asia. What plants are found in the southern half of this belt? In the northern half? Find the temperate belt of Asia. What countries are in this belt? What can you tell of the plants and animals of this belt? 
Use this map as suggested in the studies on the opposite page.
5. Cities.— China contains a great number of large cities. Pekin (pe-kin' ) the capital, is one of the largest in the world. Shanghai (shang-hi' ) and Canton are the chief commercial ports.
Tea houses on a street in Shanghai.
Not many years ago the Chinese were unwilling that any foreigners should enter their cities. When the author of this book first visited China, he and some companions determined to see something of a Chinese city. They entered the gate of Canton, running as fast as they could. But they were soon stopped, Men, women, and children drove them back to their ship. Now foreigners are living in many of the cities of China.
If we pass through the streets of one of their cities, We see every moment something strange. The men have all their hair shaved off, except a single tuft. This is never cut. It is plaited in a long braid, which hangs behind the back.
Some of the women hobble about like children just learning how to walk. They are persons of wealth and rank. When they were infants their feet were tightly bandaged, to keep them from growing; and so they have nothing but stumps for feet.
Most of the people dress in blue cotton cloth. Notice, in the picture on page 117 the mandarin in his official
HOMES AND PEOPLE.
On the opposite page are pictures of some of the people living in Asia, The first picture shows the tent of a family of Turkomans, a wandering people living on the Steppes, or dry plains of Turkestan. Their home is made out of coarse canvas woven out of cotton. These people keep sheep and cattle and when they need fresh grass for them they take down their tents and travel to another place. The second view shows the home of the Korean minister of war. The Korean people are so strange that their land has been called the hermit nation. They have not now a separate government, but are under the control of Japan. The children sitting on the steps are the grandchildren of the minister, What do you see peculiar about the house? What do you notice about the dress of these people?
The next picture on the left shows the home and garden of a wealthy Persian. Persia is a very high country. It is a part of the plateau of Iran and is thought to have been the earliest home of the human race. Most of the Persians live in villages enclosed by high walls. Their homes are built of mud and are only one story high. The wealthier classes are very fond of having parks and gardens about their homes. Turn to page 131 and describe a Persian sleeping room. Compare with the Japanese sleeping room on page 118.
What can you tell about the Japanese house? It looks something like our own homes on the outside, but if you were to go inside it would appear very strange, for you would see no furniture, but only papered walls and floors covered with matting. Turn to page 118 and tell about the Japanese sleeping room. Tell about traveling in Japan. The Chinaman who is seated in the next picture is a Mandarin, or officer of high rank. His son is holding the baby and the other children of the family are in front.
Turn to page 114 and look at the picture of a Chinese home. It is only one story high. It is said that the Chinese houses are built to look like tents because the first Chinamen lived in tents. Notice the other pictures of Chinese life. What does each one show?
The two women with babies on their shoulders are Bedouins of Syria, one of the provinces of Turkey. Their home cannot be seen, but it is most likely a tent of cloth or skins, like the one of the Turkomans. For these people live in the desert and keep sheep and camels. Grass is not very plentiful and they must travel from place to place to find it. What have you learned about the Hindus? Where do they live? What is the climate of their country? There are many very beautiful temples and palaces in India, but the homes of the people are for the most part mere huts of mud. Describe the pictures on page 120. Find India on the relief map, page 115. What kind of surface does it have?
The last picture is a view in the Philippines. Where are these islands and to what country do they belong? You see that their houses are built of bamboo poles and thatch or straw. They do not need to wear many clothes in that hot country. Can you tell what things are obtained in the Philippines? 
Homes and People of Asia. Study these pictures in connection with the descriptions and questions on the apposite page.
Instead of eating with knives and forks, the Chinese use two little rounded sticks, called chopsticks. These are usually made of wood or ivory, and are about ten inches along.
The Chinese are a very ingenious people. Some things that we do they did long before us. They used the compass in steering ships at sea, and printed books, nobody knows how long ago. Cups and saucers are often called chinaware, because the first used in Europe were made in China.
6. Chinese Empire.—Manchuria, Mongolia, Sinkiang, and Tibet belong to China, and with it make up the Chinese Empire. Tibet is the highest inhabited country in the world.
Traveling in jinrikisha
A Japanese sleeping-room.
Korea lies northeast of China. Formerly it was a kingdom, but it is now controlled by Japan.
For Recitation.— For what is Siberia noted? What is said of the population of China? What are the great products of China? What are the chief exports of China?
LESSOX LVIII.
1. Japan.—At Shanghai let us embark on a steamer and visit the empire of Japan. It lies east of China, and consists of four large islands and many smaller ones. In some respects it resembles the great island kingdom of Great Britain.
The vegetation of Japan is wonderfully rich and varied, and the people are very fond of flowers.
Tea, rice, and silk are the great products. Rice is the daily food of the people.
One tree yields the resin from which the well-known Japan varnish, called lacquer (lak'er) is made, and another, the gum called camphor.
The camphor tree.
Bamboo is used, as in China, for making all sorts of useful articles.
2. The people are Mongolians. They are like the Chinese, but are more progressive. Within a few years they have adopted the inventions of the most enlightened nations. Railways, steamboats, and telegraphs have been introduced, and public schools established.
The Japanese are ingenious and skilful workmen. Their paper and silks are beautiful. No nation in the world surpasses them in making porcelain and ornamental vases of metal. Of japan, or lacquer ware, they make drinking cups, bowls, and other useful articles.
A Japanese village at the foot of Mt. Fujiyama.
Some of the Japanese customs are very curious. If we visit a Japanese friend, we are not asked to take chairs, because there are none. We sit upon the floor on a mat. If we dine with our friend, we do not go to the table; dinner is served on a tray, Eating is hard work for us. It is done, as in China, with chopsticks. When we wish to leave the house of our friend, he orders a jinrikisha (Jin-rik'-ish-a), or hand-carriage. This is a comfortable chair mounted on two wheels, and drawn by a man. (See picture, page 118).
The chief exports are silk, cotton goods, matches, coal, and camphor.
3. Cities.—Tokyo is the capital. More than a million people live in it. Yokohama is the port where most of the foreign trade is carried on,
4. Indo-Cina is the southeastern peninsula of Asia. It lies in the Torrid zone, and is one of the hottest parts of Asia. It contains French Indo-China, Burma, and the kingdom of Siam.
Traveling in Burma
Rice and sugar-cane are the great crops. In the dense forests are found the valuable ship timber called teak, and the fragrant sandalwood, which is burned as incense in the temples. As in China, so here, the bamboo grows in abundance, and many of the people live in bamboo boats on the rivers, or in bamboo huts which rest on piles.
Threshing rice in Japan.
Large quantities of rice are exported to China and Japan and teak logs are floated down the rivers and sawn into lumber, which is exported.
A tea plantation in Japan.
Like the Chinese, the people of Indo-China have the custom of shaving their heads, leaving only a single tuft; they use no knives or forks, and live chiefly on rice.
The country is famed for its elephants. When a white one is found, he is honored and is not allowed to work . All the dark-colored elephants are compelled to work.
5. British India.—Leaving Indo-China, we cross the bay of Bengal and land at the port of Calcutta.
British soldiers mounted on camels.
We are now in India. This country consists of tho great peninsula lying west of the Bay of Bengal, with the region of Burma on the eastern side of the same bay, and the island of Ceylon (see-lon'). India is a part of the British Empire, and is therefore called British India. Many English people live here, but most of the inhabitants are natives. Those of the peninsula are mostly Hindus. Some are dark olive in color, others light brown, others again are nearly black.
India, like China, swarms with people. The land in many parts is almost covered with villages, towns, and cities. Though only about one-half the size of the United States, it contains about four times the number of inhabitants.
6. The Hindus are divided into four classes (called castes)—priests, soldiers, merchants, laborers.
A priest and a laborer may not eat together. The daughter of a merchant is not good enough to marry a priest.
The Hindus are mostly pagans. They worship idols. Juggernaut is one of them. He is an immense block of black stone, with two splendid diamonds for eyes. The Ganges is worshiped almost as if it were a god. It is called the holy river. The people make long and weary pilgrimages up one bank and down the other. They throw themselves into the stream, feeling sure that it will cure their diseases, and wash away their sins.
The Hindus are skilful workmen. They make the famous cashmere shawls, from the wool of the Cashmere goat. Their finest muslin is equal to the best that is made by machinery. It is so delicate that they call it woven wind and evening dew.
Cotton, opium, indigo, sugar, rice, tea, wheat, jute, hides, and tobacco are the chief products.
Threshing wheat with cattle in India.
Rice is the most important article of food. Opium is the dried juice of a kind of poppy. It is much smoked and chewed, especially by the Chinese.
The famous banyan tree grows in India. It curiously sends down shoots from its branches to the ground. These take root and become trunks. A single tree may have many thousand such trunks. There is a banyan tree at Calcutta which covers four acres of ground.
A banyan tree. Notice how the branches have taken root, becoming large trunks.
7. Cities.—Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras are the chief commercial cities of India. Calcutta is the capital.
A street scene in Bombay.
For Recitation.—What are the chief products of Japan? What is said of the Japanese? What are the chief products of Indo-China? What can you say of the population of India? What are the great products of India?
LESSON LIX.
1. Afghanistan and Baluchistan lie to the west of India. They are wild, mountainous countries. Much of the land is desert. The valleys abound in fruit.
The great caravans that go from India to Persia and Turkestan, carrying gums, precious stones and other costly things, have to pass through these countries.
The people are called Afghans and Baluchees. They are very warlike. Many of them are wandering herdsmen, and have large numbers of camels, horses, and sheep. They are Mohammedans.
2. Persia.—Glad to leave the warlike Afghans, we enter Persia. A great deal of the country is dry and barren; but wherever the fields are watered the soil is very productive.
Persia is a land of fruits. It is the native home of the peach and the melon. Flowers abound. Fields of roses are raised, and hyacinths grow wild. There are large mulberry plantations, and great quantities of silk are produced.
The Persians are famed for their shawls and carpets.
A Persian sleeping-room.
In ancient times this was one of the most powerful countries in the world. But its glory is departed, and Persia is scarcely reckoned among the nations.
3. Arabia.—Let us cross the Persian gulf to Arabia. Here, as in Persia, we find a great deal of desert land. The coast region and the valleys, however, are very productive, and there are fertile spots even in the midst of the desert.
Like Persia, Arabia is a land of fruits. Dates, melons, pomegranates, grapes, figs, oranges, and citrons abound. The best coffee in the world comes from Mocha. Gum arabic is largely gathered. It derives its name from the country. It is the dried sap of the acacia tree.
Some of the people of Arabia live in cities and villages as we do. Others who are called Bedouins (bed'oo-eens) live in the desert. They have tents instead of houses, and keep large numbers of horses and camels. Their horses are celebrated for their fleetness and intelligence.
A party of Bedouins.
Mec'ca, the birthplace of Mohammed, and Medina, his burial place, are holy cities of the Mohammedans.
Once at least in his life every good Mohammedan must go on a pilgrimage to these cities. It is part of his religion. When the pilgrim is nearing Mecca, he must dismount from his camel and approach the sacred place on foot.
The Mohammedans say their prayers several times in the day. Instead of a church bell to remind them of the proper time, they have men to call out from the minarets or spires of the mosques, "To prayers, to prayers, O true believers!" They always pray with their faces turned in the direction of Mecca.
Mohammedan women, particularly those who live in cities, wear veils out of doors. These are very long and wide and cover the entire head and face, leaving only two little holes for the eyes. At the court of the Sultan both men and women wear modern European dress.
4. Turkey.—While visiting Europe we found that the head or capital of the Turkish or Ottoman Empire was in that continent. The other portion, or body of the Empire, lies chiefly in Asia, and is called Turkey in Asia. The capital of the empire is Constantinople.
Constantinople.
Various grains, fruits, tobacco, and the poppy are raised, and a large quantity of silk is produced. Near the coast are the great sponge fisheries of the Mediterranean. Divers go down from boats to the bottom of the sea, and pull the sponges from the rocks.
The city of Smyrna.
Damascus is the oldest city in the world. It looks beautiful at a distance, but it is dirty and ruinous. Smyrna is the chief city and seaport. Its exports are figs, raisins, and rugs.
A giant fig tree.
The customs of the people are curious. The men shave their heads and wear turbans. These consist of several yards of linen or muslin wound round the head to protect the wearer from sunstroke.
When they enter their mosques, they take off their shoes instead of their turbans. In the evening crowds of people are seen drinking coffee and smoking in the coffee-houses, and eagerly listening to story-tellers.
Palestine, or the Holy Land, is in Turkey in Asia. Here are Jerusalem, once the capital of the Jewish nation; Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, and many other places that recall memories of the life and teaching of Christ.
Jerusalem. Place where the great Temple of Solomon stood.
For Recitation.—What have you learned of Afghanistan and Baluchistan? Of Persia? Of Arabia? Of Turkey in Asia?
REVIEW OF ASIA.
Countries.—In what part of the continent? Name capital or an important city.
| Siberia, | Afghanistan, |
| Russian Turkestan, | Turkey, |
| Chinese Empire, | Siam, |
| Japan, | Persia, |
| India, | Arabia, |
| French Indo-China, | Baluchistan. |
Islands.—Near what part of the coast? To what country does it belong?—Ceylon. Sakhalin. Formosa. Riu Kiu. Kuril.
Capes.—On what part of the coast is each located?—Cormorin. Cambodia. Lopatka. Deshnef. Chelyuskin.
Mountains.—Where are they? In what direction do the ranges extend?—Himalaya. Kuen Lun. Altai. Hindu Kush. Everest. Ararat. Sinai.
Seas, Bays, and Gulfs.—Where is it?—Red Sea. Arabian. China. Yellow. Sea of Japan. Okhotsk. Caspian Sea. Aral Sea. Bering. Bay of Bengal. Persian Gulf. Gulf of Siam.
Straits.—Connects what waters? Separates what lands?—Bab-el-Mander. Malacca. Korea. Bering.
Rivers.—Where does it rise? Into what does it flow?—Ob. Yenisei. Lena. Amur Hoang. Yang-tze. Mekong. Brahmaputra, Ganges. Indus. Euphrates.
Lakes.—Location.—Balkash. Baikal.
Cities.—In what country?—Canton. Yokohama. Bombay. Madras. Isfahan. Smyrna. Lassa. Jerusalem. Mecca. Mocha. Damascus. Irkutsk.
- ↑ .* Burma is now a part of British India.