17. What else may be observed of the Ocean?

A. Its saltness prevents it from becoming corrupt, and the constant agitation of its waters, by the winds, preserves it from the extremes of heat and cold.

This shows how wisely God has created all things.

18. How is the Ocean divided?

A. Into five great parts, likewise called Oceans.

19. Which are the five Oceans?

A. They are the Northern, Southern, Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

20. What other names have some of the Oceans?

A. The Northern is often called the Arctic, and the South ern, the Antarctic Ocean; and the Pacific Ocean is sometimes called the South Sea.

21. Into what other parts is the water divided?

A. Into Seas, Archipelagoes,* Bays, Gulfs, Sounds, Straits, Channels, Lakes, and Rivers.

22. What is a Sea?

A. It is a collection of water, smaller than an ocean, and

* Archipelagoes, pronounced Ar-ke-pel-a-goes.

B

surrounded by land, as the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, &c.

23. What is an Archipelago?

A. A sea filled with islands, as the Grecian Archipelago, east of Greece, or the West Indies, which is sometimes called he Columbian Archipelago.

24. What is a Gulf or Bay?

A. A part of the Sea, extending into the land, as the Gulf of Mexico, Hudson's Bay.

25. What is a Strait?

A. A narrow passage, connecting different bodies of water, as the Strait of Gibraltar, &c.

A. A small bay, where vessels may remain at anchor in safety.

A. A collection of water, surrounded by land, as Lake

Superior, Lake Winnipeg, or the Lake of Geneva, in Switzerland.

30. Where are the largest Lakes to be found?

A. In North America: they are so wide and deep, that the largest ships may sail on them.

31. Is the water of lakes salt or fresh?

A. Lakes are both salt and fresh: of the latter, the largest : Lake Superior.

32. Which is the largest salt lake?

A. The Caspian Lake, or sea, in Asia. Salt lakes, when large, are commonly called seas, as the Sea of Aral, and the Dead Sea.*

33. How do lakes discharge their waters?

A. Fresh-water lakes generally discharge their waters through a river into the ocean; but salt lakes have seldom any outlet.

A. A stream of water, running from springs or from lakes, into the ocean, as the Mississippi, the Amazon, &c.

35. How are rivers formed?

A. By small branches, flowing from mountains or hills. 36. What are the small branches of rivers called?

A. Brooks and creeks.

38. What is the place where a river empties into the sea called?

A. Its mouth; where it rises, its source or head.

37. What is the place through which a river flows called?

A. Its bed, or channel.

The largest of the salt lakes, that is not called a sea, is the Great San Lake of Up California, explored by Captain Fremont; it is 180 miles in circuit.

When rivers flow down steep or perpendicular banks, they form falls or cataracts, as the falls of Niagara, the falls of the Passaic, and others. 39. What is a Canal?

A. A wide ditch or channel, filled with water, through which boats convey travellers and goods from one town to another.

40. Where are Canals most numerous?

A. In the United States, Great Britain, and Holland. 41. Which is the largest Canal in the world?

A. The Imperial Canal, in China.

42. Which are the most important Canals in the United States? A. The Erie Canal, in New York; the Pennsylvania Canal, in Pennsylvania; and the Ohio Canal, in Ohio.

4

NATURAL DIVISIONS OF LAND. 43. How is the land surface of the earth divided? A. Into the Eastern and Western continents. 44. What does the Eastern continent comprise ? A. Europe, Asia, and Africa.

45. What does the Western continent comprise? A. North America and South America. 46. What other division is there on the earth?

A. Oceanica, which comprises the islands of the Pacific Ocean.

A. The Eastern and Western Hemispheres. hemisphere signifies half a globe.

The word