School History of North Carolina (From 1584 to the Present Time) | Page 2

and Factories LXXI. Progress of Material Development LXXII. The Railroads and New Towns LXXIII. Literature and Authors LXXIV. The Colleges and Schools LXXV. Conclusion

APPENDIX.
Constitution of North Carolina Questions on the Constitution

HINTS TO TEACHERS.
It is well known that any subject can be more thoroughly taught when both the eye and the mind of the pupil are used as mediums for imparting the knowledge; and the teacher of "North Carolina History" will find a valuable help in a wall map of the State hung in convenient position for reference while the history class is reciting.
Require the pupils to go to the map and point out localities when mentioned, also places adjoining; trace the courses of the rivers which have a historical interest, and name important towns upon their banks. A good, reliable wall map of North Carolina can he procured at a moderate price from the publishers of this work.
It has been deemed proper to make the chapters short, that each may form one lesson. At the close of each chapter will be found questions upon the main points of the lesson. These will furnish thought for many other questions which will suggest themselves to the teacher. There are many small matters of local State history which can be given with interest to the class, from time to time, as appropriate periods are reached. These minor facts could not be included in the compass of a school book, but a teacher will be helped by referring occasionally to "Moore's Library History of North Carolina."
Inspire your pupils with a spirit of patriotism and love for their native State. A little effort in this direction will show you how easily it can be done. In every boy and girl is a latent feeling of pride in whatever pertains to the welfare of their native State, and this feeling should be cultivated and enlarged, and thus the children make better citizens when grown. The history of our State is filled with events which, told to the young, will fix their attention, and awaken a desire to know more of the troubles and noble deeds of the people who laid the foundation of this Commonwealth.
The Appendix contains the present "Constitution of North Carolina." Then follows a series of "Questions on the Constitution," prepared expressly for this work by Hon. Kemp P. Battle, LL. D., President of the University of North Carolina. This is an entirely new and valuable feature in a school book, and contains an analysis of our State government. This is just the information that every citizen of North Carolina ought to possess, and teachers should require all their students of this history to read and study the Constitution and endeavor to answer the questions thereon.
No State in the Union possesses a record of nobler achievements than North Carolina. Her people have always loved liberty for themselves, and they offered the same priceless boon to all who came within her borders; and it was a full knowledge of this trait of our people which made Bancroft say "North Carolina was settled by the freest of the free."

CHAPTER I
.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF NORTH CAROLINA.
The State of North Carolina is included between the parallels 34�� and 362�� north latitude, and between the meridians 752�� and 842�� west longitude. Its western boundary is the crest of the Smoky Mountains, which, with the Blue Ridge, forms a part of the great Appalachian system, extending almost from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico; its eastern is the Atlantic Ocean. Its mean breadth from north to south is about one hundred miles; its extreme breadth is one hundred and eighty-eight miles. The extreme length of the State from east to west is five hundred miles. The area embraced within its boundaries is fifty-two thousand two hundred and eighty-six square miles.
2. The climate of North Carolina is mild and equable. This is due in part to its geographical position; midway, as it were, between the northern and southern limits of the Union. Two other causes concur to modify it; the one, the lofty Appalachian chain, which forms, to some extent, a shield from the bleak winds of the northwest; the other, the softening influence of the Gulf Stream, the current of which sweeps along near its shores.
3. The result of these combined causes is shown in the character of the seasons. Fogs are almost unknown; frosts occur not until the middle of October; ice rarely forms of a sufficient thickness to be gathered; snows are light, seldom remaining on the ground more than two or three days. The average rainfall is about fifty- three inches, which is pretty uniformly distributed throughout the year. The climate is eminently favorable to health and longevity.
4. The State falls naturally into three divisions or sections-- the Western or Mountain section, the