380 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW 



The geographical distribution of ^ the various meanings of the 

 term would make an interesting study. "Up from the meadows 

 all filled with com" suggests another departure. 



What is Dirt? 



Primarily dirt means excrement, secondarily filth, and only 

 colloquially soil. The answers were in the following proportions: 

 soil, 141; filth, 64; soil and filth, 5; matter out of place, 7. The 

 majority have the false impression that soil is dirt. Soil may be 

 perfectly clean, as sand, which is used for filtering. In preparing 

 the garden we are tilling the soil. 



What IS A Biennial? 



Biennial (bi-two, annua, year) , existing for two years. In botany 

 a biennial plant vegetates during the growing season of the first 

 year and dies after producing fruit the next year. Amongst the 

 freshman class entering college or normal schools many answered 

 that a biennial means twice a year (33%) as answered that it 

 means two years. 



How Long Does an Annual Plant Live ? 



An average of 59% said one year and an average of 16% said 

 less than a year. The highest number of correct answers were 

 made by the boys in a junior high school (28%), and freshmen in 

 a normal school that have had botany (27%) ; high school fresh- 

 men (29%); high school seniors (28%). The figures of the 

 higher institutions would indicate that as education continues 

 the concept of the length of life of an annual plant diminishes. 

 It still remains a masculine trait, 20% of the men in the fresh- 

 man class to 12% of the women saying that an annual plant lives 

 less than a year. 



What is a Flower? 

 The following are typical answers: 



1. A stationary living creature. 



2. A thing growing out of the earth to beautify it. 



3. A plant with colored variations. 



4. A plant grown to admire and 'not to eat. 



5. The petaled flourish of a plant. 



6. The blossom of a plant. 



7. That which later bears fruit. 



