How We Are Fed: A Geographical Reader
James Franklin Chamberlain
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35 chapters
JAMES FRANKLIN CHAMBERLAIN, Ed.B., S.B.
JAMES FRANKLIN CHAMBERLAIN, Ed.B., S.B.
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 1912 All rights reserved Copyright, 1903 , By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY . Set up, electrotyped, and published June, 1903. Reprinted January, June, August, 1904: July, 1905; January, 1906; August, December, 1907; September, 1909; August, 1910; August, 1911; June, 1912. Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.—Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U. S. A....
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PREFACE
PREFACE
In the ordinary course of events, most individuals take some part in the manifold industries which engage the mind and the hand of man, by which alone our present-day civilization can be maintained. These great world activities touch the daily life of every member of society, whether child or adult, worker or idler. A chain of mutual dependence, too often unrecognized, binds together the members of the human family, whether they belong to the same community or dwell on opposite sides of the eart
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THE PAST AND THE PRESENT
THE PAST AND THE PRESENT
Long, long ago people did not live as we do to-day. Their homes were very different from ours, for they were made of the skins of wild animals, of the limbs and bark of trees, or of tall grasses. There were no stoves, chairs, tables, or beds in their houses. Instead of lamps, gas, or electricity, a fire on the dirt floor or in front of the house, furnished the light. The clothing of these people was as simple as their homes. It was made of skins and furs in cold countries and in warm countries o
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THE STORY OF A LOAF OF BREAD
THE STORY OF A LOAF OF BREAD
In the dark granary of a farmer's barn in North Dakota once lived a modest family of grains of wheat. The bright, warm days of the summer time, during which they had been placed in this dark room, soon grew shorter and cooler. The swallows, whose mud nests were in the rafters overhead, told the wheat brothers that winter was coming, and then flew away to the balmy southland. Soon biting winds and blinding snow came sweeping over the level land. Sometimes the farmhouse was almost hidden under the
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HOW OUR MEAT IS SUPPLIED
HOW OUR MEAT IS SUPPLIED
Ramon lived in a plain, one-story house, built in the shade of some cottonwood trees that fringed each side of a small river in the eastern part of Colorado. A wide veranda extended entirely around the house, but there were very few flowers and no lawn. I am afraid you would not think it a very pleasant place for a home. Not far from the ranch house , as it was called, were the barn and the corrals . A corral is a yard with a strong, high fence about it, in which cattle or horses may be placed.
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MARKET GARDENING
MARKET GARDENING
Think of the immense quantities of fruits and vegetables that are used daily on the tables of a great city such as New York or Chicago. As we travel up and down the streets of any great city, we see rows of buildings, sometimes built in solid blocks and sometimes a little distance apart. Some have trees and small lawns in front of them; others are without even this touch of nature. Nowhere, except in the outskirts, do we find gardens. These people depend upon others to furnish them with their ve
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DAIRY PRODUCTS
DAIRY PRODUCTS
Uncle Ben lives on a dairy farm in the western part of New York State. It is a beautiful rolling country with cultivated fields, woodland, and pastures, and here and there a sparkling stream winding its way through the lowlands. The farmhouses are large and well built, and are surrounded by grand old maple, beech, and elm trees. Most of the barns are painted red with white trimmings. There are many dairy farms in the neighborhood. Some of the farmers send their milk to the towns to be used direc
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BUTTER MAKING
BUTTER MAKING
One day, after I had been on the farm about a week, Uncle Ben took Frank and me to the creamery . A creamery is a place where the milk and cream are separated and butter is made. We found several wagonloads of milk being unloaded. The milk was weighed as it was received, for it is sold by weight. The milk was then strained into a large galvanized iron tub, from which a pipe carried it into a circular machine called the separator . The separator revolves rapidly, throwing the milk, which is heavi
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CHEESE
CHEESE
I was so much pleased with my visit to the creamery, that Uncle Ben promised to show me how cheese is made. So one morning just after breakfast he, Cousin Frank, and I started out. After a pleasant ride of about five miles we reached the factory. The first process here was the same as that at the creamery. After the milk was weighed it was run into great zinc-lined vats. There were four of these in the factory, each of which held about five thousand pounds. Uncle Ben explained that the milk must
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THE FISHING INDUSTRY
THE FISHING INDUSTRY
Have you ever stood by the side of a stream and watched the fish dart from one shadow of overhanging rock into another, or swim lazily at the bottom of some deep pool? How gracefully they move and turn! How like water jewels they flash as the sunlight falls upon them! Most streams and lakes, like the ocean, contain fish. So we have fresh-water and salt-water fish. There are a few bodies of water so full of salt that fish cannot live in them. Do you know of any such bodies of water? Most of the f
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OYSTER FARMING
OYSTER FARMING
It sounds strange to speak of farming in the ocean, but there are many and large oyster farms all along our coast. Some of these farms are covered by water all of the time and some are uncovered when the tide is low. Oyster farms are far more profitable than are those upon which corn and wheat are raised. This is a new industry in our country because civilized people have not lived here very long, but it is a very old one in some parts of the world. As long ago as the seventh century a Roman kni
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A RICE FIELD
A RICE FIELD
When you do not feel quite satisfied with your breakfast, dinner, or supper, and think that there should be a greater variety of food on the table, just come with me and we will visit some of the boys and girls of far-away China. What do you suppose their chief article of food is? Rice. Rice in the morning, rice at noon, and rice at night. Rice from the beginning to the end of the year. In the poorer families a bit of dried fish and some vegetables are usually eaten with it. Those who can afford
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HOW SUGAR IS MADE
HOW SUGAR IS MADE
This picture represents one of the beginnings of the great industry of sugar making. The small objects which you see in the trenches are pieces of sugar cane. These "cuttings," as they are called, are covered with soil. They soon sprout, and from them grow the tall, waving fields of cane, which resemble cornfields. The canes are taller than cornstalks, however. How high do you think those shown in the picture are? In about ten months after planting the cane is ready to cut. In the Southern state
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BEET SUGAR
BEET SUGAR
Although the cane fields of the moist, hot countries yield great quantities of sugar, there are other sources from which this useful product comes. In the year 1747 a German scientist discovered that sugar can be made from beets, and now about two thirds of our supply come from these plants. The sugar beet is not just like the plant of the same name which we raise for table use. It is white, and sometimes weighs as much as ten or fifteen pounds. Beets do not need so much water nor so much heat a
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MAPLE SUGAR
MAPLE SUGAR
You would enjoy helping to make some maple sugar, I am sure, so let us make a trip to the woods of Vermont or New York, where maple sugar is made from the sap of the sugar-maple tree. You will need your cap and mittens, as the sugar season is the early spring, when there is yet snow on the ground. Besides, some of the work is done at night, and you will not wish to miss that. The owner of the "sugar bush" bores holes into the trees a short distance from the ground, into which he slips small spou
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WHERE SALT COMES FROM
WHERE SALT COMES FROM
The Arab, journeying over the yellow sands, riding upon the back of his faithful "ship of the desert," often looks longingly for some sign of water to cool his parched lips. The sailor may ride upon the beautiful blue waters of the ocean in his white-winged ship; but although there is nothing but water to greet his eyes, he cannot drink it, for it is bitter to the taste. If you were to place a quantity of ocean water over a fire and evaporate it, there would remain a white substance. This is com
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MACARONI AND VERMICELLI
MACARONI AND VERMICELLI
Have you ever wondered as you have looked at the hollow sticks of macaroni in the stores or as you have eaten them at the table, how they were made in that way, and what they were made of? In Italy macaroni is a very important article of food, and its use is rapidly increasing in our own country. For a long time it was not made outside of Italy, where the city of Genoa was the center of the industry. Locate this city. Do you know what great man was born there? Now macaroni and vermicelli are mad
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ON A COFFEE PLANTATION
ON A COFFEE PLANTATION
Juan and Lupe live in a beautiful valley where palm and banana trees wave their broad leaves in the breeze. It is never cold there, so that many kinds of plants and flowers grow out of doors which we do not see in our country except in greenhouses. On clear days they can see lofty mountains far to the westward, which sometimes wear caps of white. Juan is fourteen years old and Lupe is twelve. Their skin is much darker than yours, and they have bright black eyes and black hair. Their father owns
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THE TEA GARDENS OF CHINA
THE TEA GARDENS OF CHINA
At the bottom of the teapot you will find some leaves. Spread one of them out carefully. You can see that it was once long and slender, a little like willow leaves. It may have grown in some garden in far-away China, for we get a great deal of tea from that country. I have told you how close together the people live on the fertile plains of eastern China. There is so little room that many live on boats on the rivers and in the harbors. On this account their farms are not so large as ours. The te
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A CUP OF COCOA
A CUP OF COCOA
On the eighteenth day of June, in the year 1771, this notice appeared in the Essex Gazette of Massachusetts:— "AMOS TRASK, At his House a little below the Bell-Tavern in Danvers , Makes and sells Chocolate, which he will warrant to be good, and takes Cocoa to grind. Those who may please to favor him with their Custom may depend upon being well served, and at a very cheap Rate." This seems to have been the first notice of the manufacture and sale of cocoa and chocolate in our country. What is pec
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A CRANBERRY BOG
A CRANBERRY BOG
Dear Frank : How surprised you will be to learn that I am now a country boy. We left Boston early last spring, and came out here to go into the business of cranberry raising. It seemed very strange at first to travel along country roads, or through woods and fields, instead of upon the cement walks of our city streets, but we all think the country delightful. A cranberry farm is a marsh or a bog, so you will see that the vines need a great deal of water. There are both wild and cultivated bogs.
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THE COCOANUT ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC
THE COCOANUT ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC
Imagine yourself on a great ocean steamship, gliding over the blue water of the Pacific Ocean toward the Samoan Islands. Among the first things that you will see as you near the shores of these islands will be tall, slender, graceful trees, rising without a branch to a height of thirty to eighty feet. At the top is a sort of crown, composed of long, drooping leaves. These beautiful trees lean out over the water and toss their leaves in the strong and steady breeze from the ocean. They seem to no
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A BUNCH OF BANANAS
A BUNCH OF BANANAS
Every day, as you walk along the streets you see great bunches of bananas hanging in front of fruit and grocery stores. You find them at the corner fruit stand, and peddlers carry them from house to house. Although bananas are so common now and so cheap that all can afford to eat them, this was not so when your grandparents were children. In those days the fruit was regarded as quite a luxury, for there were few people engaged in carrying it from its tropical home to the cities of our country. N
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HOW DATES GROW
HOW DATES GROW
Three thousand years before the shepherds followed the star to the manger at Bethlehem, the beautiful date palm was cultivated beside the banks of the Euphrates and the Nile rivers. The date was the bread of the people who lived in these fertile valleys, and it is an important article of food in northern Africa, Arabia, and Persia to-day. Look at a map of northern Africa, and you will see that the great Sahara covers a large part of it. Here and there across the drifting sands wind caravan route
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THE ORANGE GROVES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
THE ORANGE GROVES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Dear Friend Will : I was very glad to receive your letter, and much surprised to know that you are living on a farm. I am glad that you described the raising of cranberries, for I did not know much about it before. When I told my teacher about getting the letter, she asked me to read it in the geography class and to show the pictures. I asked our grocery-man where he gets his cranberries, and found that some of them came from Wareham. You are having cold weather now, I know. Is the skating good?
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A VISIT TO A VINEYARD
A VISIT TO A VINEYARD
Dear friend Will : Last week father went to Fresno, which is about three hundred miles northwest of here, in the San Joaquin valley. He took me with him, and we visited some of the great vineyards and raisin-packing establishments near and in that city. Raisins are simply dried grapes. Although there are many countries where grapes grow, there are few where raisins are made. Dew, fog, and rain injure the fruit, so that the San Joaquin valley, with its dry, hot atmosphere, is well adapted to this
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NUTTING
NUTTING
Have you ever gone into the woods on a beautiful autumn day? The bright, warm sunshine floods the earth where the trees are far apart and sifts down through the branches. All nature seems to invite you to lie down under a tree and dream. It was on such a day that Rip Van Winkle fell into his long sleep. How pretty the trees look in their fall suits of yellow, crimson, red, and brown! What a rustling is made as your feet tread the carpet of leaves! The breezes pass among the branches and whisper
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A WALNUT VACATION
A WALNUT VACATION
How would you like to have your school close for two weeks, so that you could gather walnuts? Every year many of the boys and girls of Southern California are given a vacation just for this purpose. It is called the "walnut vacation," and occurs in the month of October. These children do not take their baskets and go off to the woods where they can romp and play, watch the squirrels, and gather beautiful autumn leaves. They gather nuts from the trees which their parents own, for in Southern Cali
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CHESTNUTS
CHESTNUTS
Let us go on a chestnutting expedition to the southern part of France. We can gather the nuts in many of the states of our own country, but the trip to a strange land will be enjoyed by all. The chestnut trees, many of which are very old, spread their branches to great distances. The nuts, as you see, are inclosed in a bur or coat which covers the shell. There are generally two nuts in each bur. When you eat chestnuts, you eat them as a sort of dainty, not as a regular article of food. This is n
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A BAG OF PEANUTS
A BAG OF PEANUTS
Last summer Harry's parents took him with them on a visit to Virginia. Harry has always lived in New York City, and the country life of the South was very interesting to him. They visited friends who live on a beautiful plantation , as the farms in the South are called. A driveway lined with grand old trees leads through the flower-studded lawn up to the retired manor house, whose wide verandas completely circle it round. Beyond the house are the stables where work horses, driving horses, and sa
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ASSORTED NUTS
ASSORTED NUTS
After the Thanksgiving dinner had been eaten, the nuts were passed, and the children asked Uncle John to tell them something about a few of them. "All right," said he. "You pick out the ones that you want to know about." Frank handed him an almond. "This nut," said Uncle John, "came from sunny Spain. It grew not far from the blue Mediterranean. Almonds are raised in most parts of southern Europe and in the northern part of Africa. Ages ago they grew in the Holy Land, and are mentioned in the Bib
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A STRANGE CONVERSATION
A STRANGE CONVERSATION
One evening after I had been reading for some time, I went to the kitchen to get a drink of water. That part of the house was dark and quiet, and as I stepped through the doorway, I heard low, musical voices, apparently in the pantry. I was very much surprised, you may be sure, and I kept perfectly still, and listened. "Yes," said a voice, which I could barely hear, "I am a long way from home indeed, and sometimes it makes me quite lonely when I think of it." "Tell us about your home, and how yo
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ELLA M. SEXTON
ELLA M. SEXTON
With many illustrations Cloth           16mo           $1.00 net "As a concise and interesting history of California, it deserves a place in our schools and libraries, so that every child may read it."— Pacific Churchman. "This volume comprises some excellent contributions to history, as it certainly comprises some notable contributions to romance. The little book is one which will appeal, therefore, to readers old and young. Several of the stories explain in some degree the remarkable physical
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Tarr and McMurry's Geographies
Tarr and McMurry's Geographies
A New Series of Geographies in Two, Three, or Five Volumes By RALPH S. TARR, B.S., F.G.S.A. Cornell University AND FRANK M. McMURRY, Ph.D. Teachers College, Columbia University TWO BOOK SERIES THE THREE BOOK SERIES THE FIVE BOOK SERIES To meet the requirements of some courses of study, the section from the Third Book, treating of South America, is bound up with the Second Book, thus bringing North America and South America together in one volume. The following Supplementary Volumes have also bee
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Tarr and McMurry's Geographies
Tarr and McMurry's Geographies
COMMENTS North Plainfield, N.J. —"I think it the best Geography that I have seen."— H. J. Wightman , Superintendent . Boston, Mass. —"I have been teaching the subject in the Boston Normal School for over twenty years, and Book I is the book I have been looking for for the last ten years. It comes nearer to what I have been working for than anything in the geography line that I have yet seen. I congratulate you on the good work."— Miss L. T. Moses , Normal School . Detroit, Mich. —"I am much plea
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