408 MY LIFE [Chap. 



Now, these answers, and scores of others equally wide of 

 the mark but not so short or so amusing, show that no 

 attempt had ever been made to teach these boys to under- 

 stand the commonest facts connected with the motions of the 

 earth — such as the seasons, varying lengths of day and night, 

 change of position of the sun at rising and setting, and its 

 altitude at noon, etc. — in the only way in which they can be 

 taught to the majority of people, that is, by simple experi- 

 ments with a globe and a lamp in a darkened room. In this 

 way the reason of all the changes is seen to follow inevitably 

 from the form, position, and motions of the earth, while no 

 amount of verbal explanation, even with the help of diagrams, 

 can make it intelligible to any but those who have the special 

 geometrical faculty. By such experiments any intelligent 

 children from eight or ten upwards may be easily made to 

 understand these facts, as well as the apparent motions of all 

 the heavenly bodies. Yet probably to this day not one school 

 in a hundred teaches such things, and not one teacher in a 

 hundred knows how to teach them. 



Another question was, " Mention the natural habitat of the 

 horse, the elephant, the hippopotamus, and the rhinoceros," 

 and the following answers were given : — 



(1) The horse is used for drawing anything, such as carts, plows, 

 or anything he is taken to do ; the hippopotamus is a very disagreeable 

 beast and runs about very wild. 



(2) The habit of the horse is plowing, the elephant goes to shows. 



(3) The principle habitat of , the elephant is the fauna, the rhinoceros, 

 the buffalo, and the hippopotamus is the white bear. 



The above replies show gross ignorance of the facts of 

 animal distribution or of the terms used in regard to it ; and 

 the following show equal ignorance of common geographical 

 or meteorological phenomena. The answers show sufficiently 

 what were the questions : — 



Q. II. The principal Atlantic icebergs come from the Alleghanies on 

 the east of America ; when they reach the valley below they melt and 

 form small straits, which in time spread out into rivers. They enrich the 

 climate through which they pass. 



