Author: Harlan Page Beach

Publisher: Theclassics.Us

Published: 2013-09

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 9781230222042

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1901 edition. Excerpt: ... india part I.--general I. The "Cont1nent" Of Ind1a.--In ordinary usage the word "continent" indicates one of the principal divisions of the globe, and in general, the idea of great extent is connected with the term. India certainly does not deserve the name in any such sense, since it is not much larger than Arabia, for instance, and is far smaller than the Chinese Empire. In the typical use of the word, however, it is a continent, since it is an extended body of land bounded by very marked barriers, and projecting like a wedge into the water hemisphere. Moreover, it contains within itself every fifth man, woman and child born into the world, and these multitudes live in every climate from the torrid to the frigid, and speak a babel of tongues. 1. Position and Area.--If this "Wonderland of the East," which extends into the Indian Ocean from Central Asia to a distance of 1,900 miles from north to south, were laid upon the map of America, its northernmost point would be in the latitude of Richmond, Va., while its southernmost cape would reach a little farther south than Panama. If the extreme eastern boundary were placed on Baltimore, the western limit would be near Salt Lake City. Within its boundaries could be placed twice over, the United States east of the Mississippi, if Ohio and Indiana were left out. Its area is thus almost equal to that of Europe less Russia. Geographers have compared its shape with that of an equilateral triangle; but there is a far stronger resemblance to the head and neck of a lion, facing westward and wearing a crown. Others writers have called it "The Rudder of Asia," not so much because of its dominating influence over the continent, as because of its peculiar position, shape and relation to the ocean. 2....