Page:Maury's New Elements of Geography, 1907.djvu/116



The silk-cotton tree of India. The seeds are covered with a soft fiber which is used for making pillows and mattresses.



A bamboo grove.



The sago palm. Sago is made from the pith of the tree. A single tree will often yield 600 pounds of sago flour.

The cocoanut palm.

protect ourselves from the scorching sun. It is the land of umbrellas and fans. Oranges, dates, and cocoanuts hang on the trees; the groves yield the fragrant cinnamon; fields are bright with the snowy blossoms and red berries of the coffee-tree; the lofty bamboo waves in the breeze.

Between the freezing north and the scorching south lies the temperate region of Asia. No part of the world contributes more than this to the comfort of man. It is the native home of the tea-plant, the cotton-plant, the sugar-cane, and the silkworm. Here the rose first blossomed, and the melon, the peach, and the orange first bore their luscious fruit.

7. Animals.—Asia has many curious animals. Its deserts are crossed by the patient camel. The elephant with his long trunk, the ferocious tiger, and the rhinoceros live in the jungles of southern Asia.

Here, too, poisonous serpents abound. Crocodiles swarm in the rivers. The wild beasts and serpents kill thousands of people every year. Many of our most useful domestic animals, such as the horse, the cow, the ass, and the sheep, are natives of Asia. From this continent they were taken to Europe by migrating tribes and thence to America.

LESSON LVII.



A home in Asiatic Russia.

1. Asiatic Russia.—The eagle that is stamped upon the coins of Russia has two heads. This means that Russia has possessions in two continents. She owns more than half of Europe and a large part of Asia.

Leaving Europe, we cross the rough, cold Caucasus mountains, and enter Transcaucasia, or the land on the other side of the Caucasus. It is famed for its oil wells, which rank next to those of the United States.

The Caspian sea lies east of Transcaucasia.