. Study of Foreign Countries. 151 



cial relations to the commercial centers of the United States. 

 The people of course, demand a large part of our effort in the 

 study of this countr3^ In point of quantity, the study of South 

 America is very small compared with that of North America or 

 even of the United States. 



Now Europe is studied in a corresponding way ; but Europe 

 is more difficult to study than South America. The geographic 

 history of North and South America is easily obtained and easily 

 remembered because of its sequential character and because of 

 its relation to our present condition. The historical geography 

 of Europe, however, is long and complicated. Not much of it 

 therefore, is attempted. The causes of climate however, are 

 studied and physical reasons for present state lines are consid- 

 ered. Europe is studied by representative nations in their 

 relation to the United States and representative commercial 

 centers of the United States. In this study the locations of , 

 commercial centers are definitely fixed and means of communi- 

 cation are considered and learned. Of course the people are 

 studied, and their lives, habits and industries are considered. 

 To accomplish these ends we study the habits of their repre- 

 sentatives among us and ascertain their home life in fatherland 

 by studying the causes of their coming here. Their manufact- 

 ures are brought into the school-room and studied by compari- 

 son with our own. The location of some of their reiDresentatives 

 in this country is ascertained ; the location of some of our rep- 

 resentatives in their country is ascertained ; the result of having 

 such representatives in two countries is ascertained to some 

 extent. Thus the children are made to know as far as they are 

 able to understand, the governmental, the social, and the com- 

 mercial relations existing between the great centers of Europe 

 and of those of America, and while learning them they are led 

 to consider their causes and their effects upon our lives and 

 upon our industries, and thifs they come to know how man is 

 making and changing geograjDhy. 



Now Asia, Africa and Oceanica are studied, but to only a 

 limited degree by comparison with Europe or even by compari- 

 son with South America, because there is not time to study 

 them more. The purpose of teaching geography in the school, 

 as has been before stated, is to train the children how to study 

 it. It is not possible to teach anything exhaustively ; it is not 

 desirable. We have trained the children to see that an interest- 



