Highroads of Geography Part 9

6. Every boy in j.a.pan wishes to be either a soldier or a sailor when he grows up. Even tiny little mites play with flags and drums and little guns. When the boys are older they are taught to be brave, and to die if need be for their country.

7. The great day of the year for j.a.p boys is the fifth day of the fifth month. On this day the Feast of Flags is held. Over each house where there is a boy you see big paper fish floating in the air.

[Ill.u.s.tration: {Flags on poles outside houses}]

8. The shops are then full of toys. Most of the toys are soldiers, and sometimes they are like the soldiers of olden days. Some are on foot, and some are on horseback; some are generals, and some are drummers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Toy Seller.

(From the water-colour painting by H.E. Tidmarsh.)]

9. The boys love to play at war. You can always make j.a.p boys happy by giving them a toy army to play with.

10. The greatest day of the year for the girls is the Feast of Dolls. On this day the girls give doll parties to their little friends. All the dolls, however old, are brought out and dressed up in fine new clothes.

The Feast of Dolls is a time of great fun and laughter.

11. j.a.p children now play many of our games. They are very fond of "prisoner's base," "fox and geese," and "tag." The boys love kite-flying.

[Ill.u.s.tration: {Children at play}]

12. Sometimes they put gla.s.s on the strings of their kites, and with it try to cut the strings of other boys' kites. They are very clever at this game, and there is great laughter when a string is cut.

13. In the house, during the day, girls like to blow soap bubbles. At dusk they are fond of hunting fire-flies, and driving them to and fro with fans.

14. In the summer they catch gra.s.shoppers, and keep them in small bamboo cages. They say that the chirping of the gra.s.shoppers brings them good luck.

15. All j.a.ps are polite--even boys. When a boy goes to the house of a friend he squats on his heels. Then he places his hands on the floor, and bows until his forehead touches his toes. This he does again and again, and all the time he speaks very politely.

[Ill.u.s.tration: {Boys bowing}]

16. j.a.p children are taught to be very kind and helpful to their elders, and to the poor and the weak. Yesterday I saw a little girl run from her mother to take the hand of a blind man and lead him across the street.

17. Now, my dears, I must end this letter. To-morrow I start on my homeward way. I shall sail across the ocean to the great land of America. I hope you are all well, good, and happy. Your loving FATHER.

24. A LETTER FROM CANADA.

1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,--Look at the globe in my room and find j.a.pan. Then find America. You will see that a broad ocean lies between them. It is called the Pacific Ocean. I have crossed this ocean, and I am now in the great country of Canada.

2. I am sure that you cannot guess where I am writing this letter. I am writing it in the train. I have already been three days in the train, and I am only half-way across Canada.

3. I am glad to say that I am once more under the Union Jack. The whole land of Canada is British, from sea to sea. Our flag floats above every city.

4. The first part of my journey pleased me most. The train ran through a beautiful country, filled with splendid trees. Some of them are as high as a church tower, and have trunks many yards round. There are no finer trees in all the world.

5. Later in the day our train ran by the side of a rushing river, which was deep down in a narrow valley between the mountains.

6. In this river there are millions of salmon. I saw men catching them.

You will see tins of salmon from this river in most of the grocers'

shops at home.

7. As the train ran on, the mountains rose higher and higher, until their tops were covered with snow. We then began to cross the great Rocky Mountains. Up and up the train climbed, until the rails reached their highest point.

[Ill.u.s.tration: {The Rocky Mountains}]

8. Then we began to descend. We ran through dark clefts in the rocks, along the edges of steep cliffs, across rivers, and by the side of lakes. High above us were the snowy mountain tops. It was all very grand and very beautiful.

9. At last we left the mountains behind us and reached the plains. We are now speeding over these plains. The country is as flat as the palm of your hand. Here and there, far apart, I can see farm-houses. On these plains the best wheat in the world is grown.

10. In winter the whole land is covered deep with snow, and the rivers are frozen over. In April winter gives place to spring. Then the snow melts, and the ice on the rivers breaks up.

11. No sooner has the snow gone than the wheat begins to spring up. The wheat grows very fast and ripens very quickly. Much of it is sent to Britain. Very likely the loaf which you ate for breakfast this morning was made of wheat which grew on the plains of Canada.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Harvest-Time in Canada.

(From the picture by Cyrus Cuneo, R.I. By kind permission of the C.P.R. Co.)]

12. In other parts of Canada there are forests which cover thousands of miles of country. The trees in these forests are cut down, and are made into planks which are sent to all parts of the world.

13. The trees are felled during winter. Their trunks are piled up by the side of a river. When the thaw comes they are thrown into the water. Men follow them and push them back into the water if they drift ash.o.r.e.

[Ill.u.s.tration: {Men rolling logs}]

14. The stream carries the logs down to the sawmills, where they are cut up into planks. Love to all. FATHER.

25. CHILDREN OF CANADA.

1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,--I am staying for a few days with a friend who has a farm on the plains. His house is five miles from the railway.

2. My friend met me at the station with a motor car, and drove me over rough roads between huge fields. There are no hedges in this part of the country. The fields are divided from each other by fences.

3. This farm is much larger than any farm which you have seen in England. The house is built of wood. All round it is a pretty garden.

Not far away are the stables and the barns.

[Ill.u.s.tration: {Large farmhouse}]

4. I am sure you would like to hear something about the farmer's children. There are three of them--a girl and two boys. The girl is the youngest, and she is about eight years of age.

5. All the children make themselves very useful in the house. Servants are hard to get in Canada, so people must learn to help themselves. The boys clean the boots and chop wood. The girls think nothing of helping to scrub the floors.

6. After breakfast the children trudge off to school, which is three miles away. They take their lunch with them. When they return in the evening they have many odd jobs to do.

7. In the playground of their school you will see many young trees growing. There are very few trees on the plains, and far more are needed.