The Wilmington morning star., 1940-05-19

III val CO.
has this corner today, and the chill
dren tell us, and make a most In
teresting job of it, about life along
the four great rivers of Europe.
The entire class worked on 1t by
dividing into committees. The
chairman of each committee com
bined the work. The first section,
THE fertile valley of the Po,' was
prepared by Ann Koleman, chair
man, and Audrey Mae Walton and
Dorothy Gray.
The lower part of the Pc river
was once an arm of the Adriatic
sea. Century after century, the Pc
has brought rich soil down from
the Alps, which was left along the
river banks and soon there was a
broad fertile valley. The valley is
now almost two hundred square
miles larger than it was during the
time of Columbus.
Chiefly Agriculture
Agriculture occupies more people
than any other industry. More land
is used for it than anything else.
Fruit, wheat, corn, potatoes, olives
and sugar beets are raised. The
valley also produces much silk.
Italy produces more silk than any
other European country. Much Of
this material is sent to the United
States.
Italy has very little coal and oil
to run her factories. She must de-
pend on water power. The Pc and
It's tributaries furnish enough OF
this white coaI' to run Italy's
factories and provide electricity for
her cities. Venice is a city that lies
along this river. 1t is the most IN
teresting city of Italy. 1t is built
along the shore of the Adriatic sea,
founded on a hundred or m
small islands. It has canals for
streets and gondolas for taxicabs.
Many cities are dotted here and
there along the Pc Valley. Milano
is the most famous. Here many
treasures of art and architecture
are located, and people come from
all over the world to see them. The
Pc is a pleasant journey from the
Alps to the Adriatic.
THE Danube Country" Chair
man, Robert Strickland, commit
tee, John Penny, HENRY Schoch,
and c. F. Lewis.
At Melk is a vast Benedlctlne
abbey, situated two hundred feet
above the river. 1t was founded In
1899, but was regretted early in
the 18th century. Just below the
Melk, the Danube enters a gorge
which is famous for the wild beau
ty of its scenery.
Further down the river we see
strange looking boats. There are
other boats on the Danube, called
"salt boats" These vessels e
quite large and hold quantities OF
blocks of salt from Austrian mines.
Horses pull the boats up and down
the stream. They are gaily deco
rated with flags and green
branches.
eS.
Paddle Wheels =.
Along the shore we see peculiar
paddle wheels being whirled
around by the current. They rest
on pontoons and are used to oper.
ate mills on the shore.
Now we change the scene down
the Danube to the capitol of Aus
tria, Vienna. 1t is a fine old city
and has a large population. Some
of the best shops in the city are
found in Graben, which dates from
the 18th century. Vienna's popula-
ton is nearly two million and is the
capitol of a country with a popula-
ton of nearly six million. 1t has
beautiful architecture.
The committee on tn Saone-
Rhone river, made up of Ed. Lew.
Is, chairman, and Ernest Gray and
Billy Reynolds, tells us about "the
biggest glacier of them ALL"
The largest snow field of the Alps
is in Switzerland. Out from under
the glacier rushes the torrent of
the Rhone river, carrying with it
mud, rocks, and silt. 1t pours it's
troubled waters into h e placid
Lake Geneva. There the mud sinks
to the bottom and dashes on into
the Sunny South of France"
On the banks of the Rhone river
are vineyards. Trees are grown tc
feed silk worms. The factories,
however, use up SO much silk that
occasionally silk has to be import
ed.
This is a story about a Prince.
His father imprisoned him in the
tower of an old castle because he
would not fight battles, nor live the
life of a prince without his sweet
heart, Nicolette, whom he loved
Unfortunately, she was a slave CIR
and not his equal.
The valley of The Rhone is the
country of flowers. The peasant:
raise them flowers and gather thu
blossoms to be pressed into per
fume.
RhOne Flows On
So the Rhone flows on, singin.
its glad song of ice cold mountain
streams, beautiful lakes, and ire
mendous stretches of flowers.
The story of 1.-THE Mighty Rhine
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