DIRECTION. THE NORTH 3 



other way. On the ocean and in the open country, how- 

 ever, where there are no roads, we must depend upon 

 some other method of finding our way. One method is 

 by means of a star which is so nearly in the north that 

 it is called the North Star. 



Among all the stars which brighten the sky at night, 

 it would be very hard to find the North Star if there 

 were not a huge sign in the sky which always points to 

 it. This sign is called the Great Dipper. The two stars 

 which are the farthest from the handle are called the 

 ''pointers" because they point to the North Star. Let us 

 try to locate the north by the North Star. To do this 

 we shall perform an experiment. 



Experiment 1. To Locate the North by Means of 

 the North Star. 



Materials : Two straight sticks, string. 



a. Look in the sky until you find the Great Dipper 

 Then glance from one "pointer" past the other "pointer" 

 until your glance has gone beyond it five times the dis- 

 tance between the two pointers. There you will see the 

 North Star. When you look at this star you are looking 

 almost exactly north. 



b. If we did not make some record of the direction 

 of the North Star we should be unable next day to tell 

 exactly where the north is. To make a record we need 

 two sticks. Drive one stick into the ground in a place 

 from which the North Star is visible. Then go south 

 from this stick about five feet and drive the second stick 

 into the ground in such a position that by looking just 

 past its edge, you can see the North Star just past the 

 ed<re of the first stick. The two sticks are said to be in 



