A. It is not; its diameter, from east to west, is 34 miles longer than from north to south.

Q. How often does the earth revolve on its axis?

A. Once in 24 hours, west to east, which causes the continual succession of day and night; this is called its diurnal motion.

Q. What is the axis of the earth?

A. An imaginary line passing through the centre of the earth from north to south, the extreme points of which are called the poles. Q. What is the Equator?

A. A circle passing round the middle of the earth from west to east.

The equator divides. the earth into the northern and southern hemispheres.

Q. What is the Meridian ?

A. A circle cutting the equator at right angles, and passing through the poles. The meridian divides the earth into the eastern and western hemispheres.

Q. What is the Ecliptic?

A. It is a great circle, in the plane of which the earth performs her annual revolution around the sun.

Q. How is the ecliptic divided?

A. Into 12 equal parts of 30 degrees each, called signs.

Q. What is the horizon?

A. The sensible horizon, is that circle which bonds our prospect, where the earth and heavens meet; the rational horizon, is a plane which passes through the centre of the earth, dividing it into two equal parts.

Q. What are the colures ?

A. The equinoctial colure is that circle whichy passes through the poles, and the points Arius. and Libra, and making the seasons of spring and autumn-the solstitial colure is that which shews the solstitial points, cutting Cancer and Capricorn, making summer and winter.

Q. What is the Zodiac?

A. It is the greatest imaginary circle in the heavens, and comprehends the orbits of all the planets.

Q. What are the Tropics?

A. They are circles drawn parallel to the equator, at the distance of 23° 28' on each side of it. Q. What are the polar circles?

A. They are circles drawn at the distance of 23 28' from the poles. The northern is called the Arctic, and the southern the Antarctic circle. Q. How many zones are there?

A. Five. The torrid lies between the tropics; the two temperate between the tropics and the polar circles; and the two frigid lie beyond the polar circles.

Q. What is latitude?

A. Any distance from the equator, either north

or south.

Q. Where do you begin to reckon latitude? A. At the equator.

Q. How many degrees of latitude are there? A. Ninety.

Q. What is longitude?

A. Any distance either east or west of any meridian.

Q. How many degrees of longitude are there? A. One hundred and eighty.

Q. What is a map?

A. It is a representation of the earth's surface, or some part of it, delineated on a plane.

NATURAL DIVISIONS OF THE EARTH.

Q. What are the first grand divisions of the earth?

A. Land and water.

Q. How is the land divided?

A. Into the eastern and western continents; the eastern comprehending Europe, Asia and Africa; and the western North and South-America.

Q. What is a continent ?

A. It is a large body of land not divided by

water.

Q. What is an Island?

A. A tract of land entirely surrounded by water. Q. What is a Peninsula ?

A. An extent of land almost encompassed by

water.

Q. What is an Isthmus ?

A. A neck of land joining a peninsula to the

main land.

Q. What is a Promontory?

A. Land stretching far into the sea.

Q. What is a Cape?

A. The end or point of a promontory,

DIVISIONS OF WATER.

Q. What is an Ocean?

A. The largest division of water.
Q. How many oceans are there?

A. The Atlantic, the Indian, the Pacific, the

Southern and the Arctic ocean.

The two first

are 3000 miles across, the third is 10,000 miles ; the extent of the others is not known.

Q. What is a sea?

A. A large collection of water nearly surrounded by land.

Q. What is a Bay or Gulf?

A. A smaller division of water.

Q. What is a Strait ?

A. A narrow communication between large bodies of water.

Q. What is a Lake?

A. A large body of fresh water surrounded by land.

AMERICA.

Q. Which is the largest of the Continents?
A. America.

Q. What is the situation of America?

A. It is situated between 56 south lat. and the North pole-55° east and 95 west lon. from Philadelphia.

Q. What is the extent of America?

A. It is 9,300 miles in length, and its average breadth is about 2000 miles.

Q. How is this continent bounded?

A. East by the Atlantic; south by the Southern ocean; west by the Pacific, and north by the Frozen ocean.

Q. When and by whom was America discovered ?

A. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, a native of Genoa, under the patronage of Ferdinand and

Isabella of Spain, discovered this continent on the 1st of August, 1498; and being richly dressed, and having a drawn sword in his hand, was the first European who set foot in the New World. Q. When and where did Columbus die?

A. He died at Valladolid, May 25th, 1506, in the 59th year of his age.

Q. How is America divided?

A. Into North and South-America.

NORTH-AMERICA.

Q. What is the extent of North-America ?
A. It is 4,700 miles long, and 2000 broad.
Q. How is it bounded?

A. East by the Atlantic; west by the north Pacific ocean; south by the 10th degree of north latitude, from whence it extends to the north pole. Q. What is the climate?

A. In a country so extensive as North-America, the climate must of course be various.

Q. What bays are there in North-America? A. Baffin's bay is the largest; it lies beyond the 70th degree of north latitude-Hudson's bay is 300 miles broad-the bay or gulf of St. Lawrence is 90 miles broad-the gulf of Mexico lies between North and South-America.

Q. What lakes are there in North-America ? A. The lakes are numerous; the principal of which are Lake Superior, which is 1500 miles in circumference, being the largest body of fresh water on the globe. Lake Huron is 1000 miles in circumference; Lake Michigan, lying wholly in the United States, is 945 miles in circumference; Lake Erie is 225 miles long and 40 broad;