Lessons in Geography and Astronomy on the Globes: Supplementary to the Textbooks Generally Used on These Subjects (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Lessons in Geography and Astronomy on the Globes: Supplementary to the Textbooks Generally Used on These SubjectsPupils, whose minds have been well disciplined by the study of the pure mathematics, may possibly dispense with the use of the globes in the study of Geography and Astron omy. But for the great majority of pupils in our common schools and academies, whose minds are not, and are not expected to be, thus thoroughly prepared and furnished, the use of the globes seems to be indispensable. And even for students in our colleges, Professor Olmsted says, The study of artificial globes cannot be too strongly recommend ed to the student of astronomy. Such being the case, it is surprising that these good old-fashioned implements of leam ing are not more generally introduced into our schools than they are, and, where they are introduced, that their useful ness is not more highly appreciated or made available.One cause of this unmerited neglect of the globes is thought to be the want of a concise and suitable text-book to be used by the pupil along with the globes. The old trea tises on the globes are too large and expensive and encum bered with extraneous matter for the present necessity and especially are they objectionable for the empirical and dogmatical form in which they present the truths and prob lems which they teach. All science, properly so called, is but the development of certain fundamental ideas or princi ples; and no science is properly taught or understood ex cept by a development of its first principles, - its details must be seen by the light of its fundamental ideas. This is true of Geography and Astronomy, wherein the principles and doctrines of pure geometry constitute the light by which alone a scientific knowledge of these branches of learning can be obtained.These same special objections to the old treatises on the globes lie with equal or greater force against abridgments of them and compilations from them; and they furnish a sufficient reason, why the attempts of this sort which have been made have not been acceptable in our schools.Accordingly, the small volume herewith presented to the schools of our land is an original work. In its plan and preparation, the aim has been to direct attention to actual phenomena as seen on the earth or in the heavens, to illus trate these by means of the artificial globes, and, throughout the whole, to show the principles on which the science and its problems are founded.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.