Page:Maury's New Elements of Geography, 1907.djvu/137

Rh high. The gum is dug from the ground. It is used in making varnish. Sheep-raising and mining are leading occupations, as in Australia,.

7. Oceania.—The Pacific ocean is dotted with islands. Taken together they are called Oceania.

8. Coral Islands.—Many of these islands are made by the little creatures called coral polyps.



They are very soft, and look like tiny drops of jelly.

They have something like bone inside of them, very small, but hard. These bony parts are built up into a great pile, one on top of the other, like so many very little bricks. Each polyp lays his little brick on top of the one below, and then he dies. His soft part is now washed away by the sea. His hard little brick remains in its place.

Another polyp now begins to build himself upon the bones of his dead friend, and so they go on and on, until, after a long, long time, the pile is so high that it reaches nearly to the top of the water. Sand and shells are wafted to it, and at length it becomes an island.

9. The Inhabitants of Oceania are dark-skinned. Some are Malays, others are Negroes. They are very tine swimmers and boatmen.

The bread-fruit is the principal food on many islands. When baked it is like bread.

10. Principal Islands.'—The largest islands of Oceania are near the continent of Asia, and are often called the East India Islands.

Java (jah'-vah) is the finest of them all. It belongs to the Dutch. It is one of the great coffee-yielding countries of the world.



Sumatra (soo-mah'-tra), Celebes (sel'-e-beez) and the Spice Islands are famed for cinnamon, nutmegs, and other spices; Borneo for gutta-percha; New Guinea for pearls.

Sumatra and Celebes are chiefly under the control of the New Netherlands. The Dutch and the English have possession of Borneo; and New Guinea is divided among the English, the Dutch, and the Germans.



The Philippines, famed for Manila hemp, formerly governed by Spain, now belong to the United States. Manila is the capital.

The Hawaiian Islands are now a territory of