354 Junior Naturalist Monthly. 



I wish that each of yon would send mc an answer to this puzzle. 

 You can write it out like this: Seed-head No. 7 is hedge mustard; its 

 seeds No. 4. Then tell anything you may know about this weed ; how you 

 would try to banish it from your garden and why you would tight it in 

 the way you suggest. I will then send you a correct answer to the puzzle 

 and some interesting things that I know about the weeds. If you keep 

 a copy of the letter that you send me you can tell how many you had 

 correct. 



LESSONS ON SOILS 



Do you remember, boys and girls, how you used to enjoy playing in 

 the sand long ago? And how you knew the kind of sand that would make 

 good mud pies and the kind of sand that would make a fort or a castle? 

 Perhaps you also recall the many hours you spent breaking wayside peb- 

 bles to see the pretty colors and sparkling bits inside, not knowing that you 

 were helping to make soil. In those days you used the soil as a play- 

 thing; now you are ready to learn some of the things about it that a 

 naturalist should know. 



LESSON NO. I. WHAT THE SOIL IS 

 E. O. FippiN 



The soil is the covering of the land portion of the globe in which 

 plants grow. It covers a large part of the earth. High in the mountains 

 and on dry deserts there are always a few plants growing, and hence 

 there is soil in those places though it may not be very productive. The 

 plants of all kinds reach their roots into it for food, water and warmth, 

 and for a solid foundation to hold their tops upright in the air. Whether 

 there are many or few roots depends on whether the soil offers them a 

 good place in which to grow. 



It will be seen that the soil is very important. It is interesting to 

 look at and think about since it furnishes all the crops that are food for 

 man, the fibers that are made into his clothing, such as cotton and tia.x, 

 and the forest trees that yield wood for building houses and many other 

 useful purposes. 



Many plants are small and have short roots and many others have 

 most of their roots near the surface of the ground. These open numerous 

 passageways in the soil. Many of these die and, with leaves and twigs, 

 arc mixed with the surface of the ground, forming a material that is 

 usually darker in color and more easy to dig than the material beneath. 



