NOTES AND LESSONS ON SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. LESSON I.-Palestine. (Notes of Lesson.) DIVISION OF SUBJECT. I. Position.* II. Boundaries. III. Area, &c. IV General Description. DEVELOPMENT. I. Between 31° and 34° N. Lat. and 34° and 36° E. Long. II. N. Mountains of Lebanon. S. Arabian Deserts. E. The Syrian Desert. W. The Mediterranean. III. About 180 miles in length with an average breadth of 65 miles. Area 180 × 65 = 11700 miles. IV. 1. General description. 2. The Mountains. 3. Rivers and valleys. 4. Lakes. LESSON. I. POSITION. Palestine, or, as it is sometimes called, the Holy Land, extends from the thirty-first * It may be well to observe here, that, had this lesson been intended for a very young class, the Development in reference to this word would have been very different. In that case I would have omitted altogether the latitude and longitude of the country, and have mentioned only the hemisphere, zone, &c. B to the thirty-fourth degree of north latitude; and from the thirty-fourth to the thirty-sixth degree of cast longitude. Here is the thirty-first degree [pointing to it] of north latitude, and here the thirtyfourth; and, as you see, the country lies between the two. If you look towards England you will see that Palestine is many degrees nearer the equator than England. Now what happens, with regard to the climate of a country, as we approach the equator? It gets hotter. And since Palestine is much nearer the equator than England, what will be one great difference in their climates? Palestine would be much hotter than England. Then upon what, chiefly, does the climate of a country depend? Its position with regard to the equator. Examination. What is the length of Palestine in degrees? Its breadth in the same terms? How many degrees east of Greenwich is it? Between what degrees of latitude is it placed? North or south latitude? What do you mean by north latitude? Between what degrees of longitude is it situated? East or west of Greenwich? Upon what, chiefly, does the climate of a country depend? What will be one great difference betwixt the climate of England and the climate of Palestine? How do you know that? II. BOUNDARIES. Palestine is bounded on the north by the mountains of Lebanon; on the south by the deserts of Arabia; on the west by the Mediterranean Sea, called, in Scripture, the Great Sea; and on the east by the Syrian Desert. [These should be written down as repeated.] N. Mountains of Lebanon. S.. Deserts of Arabia. W. The Mediterranean, or Great Sea. Examination. (Mixed Methods.) Palestine is bounded on the north by the mountains of Lebanon. On the south by the ... deserts of Arabia. On the west by the... Mediterranean, or Great Sea; and on the east by the... Syrian desert. What are its boundaries on the north? on the south? on the east? on the west? What desert lies to the east of Palestine? Where are the mountains of Lebanon? Where the Syrian desert? Where the Arabian deserts? What country lies to the west of the Syrian desert? To the south of the mountains of Lebanon ? &c. III. AREA. Having seen where this country is situated, and what are its boundaries, we will now see what is its area, or superficial extent. How many degrees is it in length? Three, nearly. What is the length of a degree of latitude? Sixty-nine and a half miles. Then since there are 69 miles in one degree, and since it takes three of these degrees to measure Palestine, how can I find its length in miles? By multiplying 69 by 3. [Here put the figures down on the black board, and single out some boy to go through the multiplication. Do not suffer him to say 3 times 9 are 27; 7 and carry 2, and so on; but accustom all the pupils, in such exercises, to perform the work silently, and to give you the result only. Should a wrong figure be named, every boy in the class should be at liberty to signify the same by holding up his right hand. On no account must any boy speak till he has held up his hand and received permission.] 69 3 208 miles. This result, however, is too great. Palestine is only about 180 miles in length. But if it were quite three degrees from north to south it would be 208 miles in length. It has an average breadth of about 65 miles. Now, since you know its length in miles, and its average breadth in miles, can you tell me how I may find its area, or superficial extent? [Put the figures down, and go through the multiplication as before.] 180 Length. 65 Breadth. 900 1080 11700 Area in miles. Palestine is but a small country, it being only one fifth the size of England and Wales. The seven southern counties, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Sussex, Kent, Wilts, and Hants, cover an equal to the whole of Palestine. Examination. area What is the length of Palestine in miles? In what direction measured? What is its breadth? What its area? What country is five times bigger than it? What seven counties in England are equal to it in area? &c. take down the map, and use only the black board.] [Here IV. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. In shape the Holy Land is something like this. [Here sketch the map on the black board.] With regard to its surface this country is one of the roughest, stoniest, and hilliest in the world. It is a land of hills and valleys. Every variety of scenery may be found in it, and almost every variety of climate. In some parts you may travel for days together over an arid soil covered with rocks, and surrounded with high, sterile, and rugged mountains. In other parts you would be delighted with the beauty of the scenery, and the abundant fertility of the soil. The valleys and plains of Palestine are remarkable for their fertility. In some of the valleys there are lemon trees as large as our oaks, mingled with groves of olives, palms, sycamores, fig trees, orange trees, mulberry trees, and many others pleasant to the eye |