VOLUME 



ORGAN IZ 

 KNOWLEDGE 



STORY 

 PICTURE 



SKVEX 



MORNING-GLORY, the common name of 

 the hardy Convolvulus, a family of many varie- 

 of climbing plants, having velvety, funnel- 

 shaped flowers of variegated colors, and shades 

 of purple, blue, pink and white. These fra- 



Wondrous interlacement ! 

 fast to threads by green and silky rings, 

 With the dawn it spreads its white and purple 



wings ; 

 Generous in its bloom, and sheltering while it 



clings, 

 Sturdy morning-glory. 



HELEN HUNT: Morning-Glory. 



grant blossoms are full blown in the morning, 

 but cannot endure direct sunlight; the blos- 

 soms close soon after sunrise, to open again 

 at the next dawn of day. The vine has a dark- 

 green heart-shaped leaf, and grows at an aston- 

 ishingly rapid rate, twining itself about any- 

 thing near it and growing from ten to twenty 

 feet high. It is extensively cultivated in coun- 

 try gardens, and as a screen to adorn fences, 

 posts and verandas. In regions where it 

 been allowed to run wild, it is known as bimi- 



l anese hold the plant sacred. 

 MOROCCO, morok'o, a country occupying 

 the northwest extn mity of Africa, one of those 

 backward parts of the earth that, after cen- 

 turies of despotism and disorder, are permit - 



the European to set their house in o; 

 Of recent yean Morocco has been in the public 



t>ecause of the sharp rivalry among Euro- 

 pean nations for promising colonies. It touches 



ria on the east and is bounded on the 



h and west by the Mediterranean Sea and 

 the Atlantic Ocean. On the south it reaches 

 tin Spanish Gold Coast and the wastes of the 



248 



Sjjgy SPAIN 



DESERT Of SAMARA 



LOCATION MAP 



Sahara, in which its limits are not sharply de- 

 nned. It comprises approximately 219,000 

 square miles, an area less than that of Texas. 



The People and Their Surroundings. The 

 population of Morocco is generally estimated 

 at 5,000,000. There is almost no industry, 

 though cattle, hides, wool, barley, wheat, eggs, 

 almonds, flaxseed, 

 beans and some 

 other products 

 are exported. In 

 agriculture the 

 most primitive of 

 methods and im- 

 plements are em- 

 pl oy ed. The 

 country is crossed 

 from northeast to 

 southwest by 

 parallel chains of the Atlas Mountains. Though 

 much of it is unsuited to cultivation, there 

 are vast areas on the table-lands between the 

 mountains and the sea that would be very 

 productive if properly tilled. Pierre Loti calls 

 Morocco an "empire carpeted with flowers," 

 and Burton Holmes relates that the road from 

 Tangier to Fez lies between "interminable 

 beds" of wild flowers of every color. Most 

 of this land lies fallow while the native Ber- 

 bers cultivate the less productive soil in the 

 slopes of the mountains. The Berbers consti- 

 tute the most numerous part of the population 

 and are to be found chiefly in the mountains, a 

 rude and hardy stock. The plains are inhabited 

 by the Arabs and the Moors, a. people of mixed 

 Berber and Arabic blood, and Arabic culture. 

 In the towns the most energetic and progressive 

 element is Jewish, which now has in its hands 

 most of the fomizn trade. The chief towns are 

 the capital (140,000), Tangier (35,000), and 

 Morocco. 



Government. Until recently Morocr 



technically a sultanate. The Miltan ruled as a 



despot, recognized as tip state and 



head nf the religion, which is Mohammr- 



dan. As in most despotisms, anarchy flour- 



