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Chapter 5: Systems of Equations and Inequalities
1. Determine which ordered pair is a solution of the system.
 x + 5y = 5

 –8 x – 5 y = 30
A) (2, –5)
B) (5, 2)
C) (–3, 2)
D) (–5, 2)
E) (–2, –3)
Ans: D

2. Determine which ordered pair is a solution of the system.


9x + 5 y = 5

2 x + 6 y = –1
A)  35 1 
 , 
 44 44 
B)  25 1 
 , 
 44 44 
C) (–9, 86)
D)  35 19 
 ,– 
 44 44 
E) (–9, 17)
Ans: D

3. Determine which ordered pair is a solution of the system.


 –2 x – y 2 = 4

 –3 x + y = 10
A) (–4, –2)
B) (–8, 9)
C) (–8, –1)
D) (–2, 4)
E) (–4, 2)
Ans: A

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 227
4. Solve each system of equations by the substitution method.

4 x – 3 y = 14
x – 5 y = 18
A)  86 124 
 ,– 
 17 17 
B)  58 16 
– , 
 17 17 
C)  16 58 
 ,– 
 17 17 
D)  124 86 
– , 
 23 23 
E) no solution
Ans: C

5. Solve the system by the method of substitution.


 2 1
 – 5 x – 5 y = 1

 2 x – 9 y =1
 5 5
A) (–2, 1)
B) (–1, –2)
C) (1, –2)
D) (–2, –1)
E) (2, 1)
Ans: D

6. Solve the system by the method of substitution.


 x − y = –1
 2
 x − y =
1
A) (2, 1), (–1, –2)
B) (2, 3), (–1, 0)
C) (2, –1), (–1, –4)
D) (2, –1)
E) no real solution
Ans: B

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 228
7. Solve the system of equations below.

 y = x2 + x – 5

 y = 2 x +1
A) ( 3, 7 ) and ( 4,9 )
B) ( –2, –3) and ( 3, 7 )
C) ( –2, –3) and ( 2,5)
D) ( 2,5) and ( 3, 7 )
E) ( 2,5) and ( 4,9 )
Ans: B

8. Solve the system by the method of substitution.


 x 2 + y 2 = 169

5 x – 12 y = 0
A) (12, 5), (–12, –5)
B) (12, 5)
C) (12, 5), (–12, 5), (–12, –5), (12, –5)
D) (5, 12), (5, –12)
E) no real solution
Ans: A

9. Solve the system below by method of substitution, if possible.

 x2 + y 2 =
16

 x– y=6
A) no solution
B) ( 3, –3)
C) ( –3, –9 )
D) ( 3, –3) , ( –3, –9 )
E) ( –2, –8)
Ans: A

10. Solve the system by the method of substitution.


 y = x3 + 8 x 2 + 3
 2
 y = x – 12 x + 3
A) (–3, 48), (4, –29), (1, –8)
B) (–3, 48), (–1, 16)
C) (–4, 67), (1, –8)
D) (–3, 48), (–4, 67), (0, 3)
E) no real solution
Ans: D

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 229
11. Solve the system graphically.

A)

B)

C)

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 230
D)

E)

Ans: C

12. Determine whether the system of equations below has one solution, two solutions, or no
solution.

 y = x2 + 5x + 5

 y = − x + 3x – 9
2

A) two solutions
B) no solution
C) one solution
Ans: B

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 231
13. Solve the system of equations below by the substitution method.

–5 x + 2 y = –3
10 x – 4 y = 13
A)  7 7
– ,– 
 20 8 
B)  7 7 
– ,– 
 8 20 
C)  19 19 
– , 
 8 20 
D)  19 19 
 ,– 
8 20 
E) no solution
Ans: E

14. Use a graphing utility to find the point(s) of intersection of the graphs.

 y = 3e5 x +5

15 x − y +18 = 0
A) ( –3, –1)
B) ( –3,1)
C) ( –1,3)
D) ( –1, –3)
E) ( 3,1)
Ans: C

15. Find the sales necessary to break even (R – C = 0) for the cost C of producing x units
and the revenue R obtained by selling x units. (Round to the nearest whole unit.)
= C 7.9= x + 6000 R 8.7 x
A) 666 units
B) 666 units or 714 units
C) 714 units
D) 698 units
E) no real solution
Ans: C

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 232
16. You invest $3700 in a fishing lure business. A lure costs $1.60 to produce and will be
sold for $6.20. How many lures must you sell to break even?
A) 1716 lures
B) 805 lures
C) 2313 lures
D) 475 lures
E) 597 lures
Ans: B

17. The sales of various types of lawn and garden items vary according to the season. At a
certain home improvement store, the monthly sales H of garden hoses (hoses sold per
month) declines from July to October whereas the monthly sales of lawn rakes R
(rakes sold per month) increase during this same interval. The sales of these two items
during the calendar months July-October are modeled by the equations:
H(t) = 64 – 6t
R(t) = 17t – 97,
where t is the month (t = 7 corresponds to July). In which month does the number of
rakes sold equal the number of hoses sold?
A) August
B) September
C) October
D) November
E) July
Ans: E

18. A total of $50,000 is invested in two funds paying 6.5% and 7.5% simple interest. The
total yearly interest is $3600. How much is invested at the 6.5% rate?
A) $28,000
B) $12,000
C) $26,000
D) $15,000
E) $20,000
Ans: D

19. You are offered two different jobs. Company A offers an annual salary of $34,000 plus a
year-end bonus of 3.5% of your total sales. Company B offers a salary of $28,000 plus a
year-end bonus of 7.5% of your total sales. What is the amount you must sell in one
year to earn the same salary working for either company?
A) $170,000
B) $120,000
C) $150,000
D) $90,000
E) $130,000
Ans: C

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 233
20. Solve the system by the method of elimination.
 3 x + 8 y = 69

 –2 x − y = –20
A) ( –1, 22 )
B) ( 7, 6 )
C)  229 368 
 , 
 5 5 
D)  53 
 2, 
 3
E) inconsistent
Ans: B

21. Solve the system by elimination.


 x – 2 y = –10

 –9 x + 9 y = –4
A)  7
 –3, 
 2
B)  23 
 3, 
 9 
C)  98 94 
 , 
 9 9 
D)  10 + a 
 a,  (dependent)
 2 
E) inconsistent
Ans: C

22. Solve each system of equations by the elimination method.

3x – 3 y = 6
x – 6 y = –1
A)  3 13 
 , 
5 5 
B)  1 11 
 ,– 
7 7 
C)  3 13 
 , 
7 7 
D)  13 3 
– ,– 
 7 7
E) no solution
Ans: A

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 234
23. Solve the system below by elimination if possible. Then state whether the system below
is consistent or inconsistent.

 2b + m = 3

4b + 2m = 2
A) The system is consistent and its solution is ( 3, 6 ) .
B) The system is consistent and its solution is ( –3, 6 ) .
C) The system is consistent and its solution is ( –6, –3) .
D) The system is consistent and its solution is ( 6, –3) .
E) The system is inconsistent and no solution exists.
Ans: E

24. Solve the system by the method of elimination.


7 1 2
 x+ y = –
6 6 3
 7 x + y =–4
A) ( 2, –18)
B) ( 4, –32 )
C) ( 6, –46 )
D) ( a, –4 − 7a ) (dependent)
E) inconsistent
Ans: D

25. Solve the system by the method of elimination.


0.08 x + 0.07 y = 0.2

0.04 x + 0.05 y = 0.17
A)  12 
 4, – 
 7
B)  13 
1, 
 5
C)  19 14 
– , 
 12 3 
D)  20 – 8a 
 a,  (dependent)
 7 
E) inconsistent
Ans: C

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 235
26. Use the statements below to write a system of equations. Solve the system by
elimination.

The sum of twice a number r and a number s is –14. The difference of r and s is
2.
A) = =
r –4, s 6
B) = r 4,=s –6
C) = =
r –6, s –4
D) = =
r –4, s –6
E) = r 4,=s 6
Ans: D

27. An airplane flying into a headwind travels 280 miles in 2 hours and 48 minutes. On the
return flight, the distance is traveled in 2 hours. Find the airspeed of the plane and the
speed of the wind, assuming that both remain constant.
A) plane speed = 135 mph; wind speed = 27 mph
B) plane speed = 135 mph; wind speed = 20 mph
C) plane speed = 97 mph; wind speed = 9 mph
D) plane speed = 97 mph; wind speed = 20 mph
E) plane speed = 120 mph; wind speed = 20 mph
Ans: E

28. One acetic acid solution is 60% water and another is 40% water. How many liters of
each solution should be mixed to produce 20 liters of a solution that is 49% water?
A) 5 liters of the 60% solution and 15 liters of the 40% solution
B) 9 liters of the 60% solution and 11 liters of the 40% solution
C) 15 liters of the 60% solution and 5 liters of the 40% solution
D) 6 liters of the 60% solution and 14 liters of the 40% solution
E) 14 liters of the 60% solution and 6 liters of the 40% solution
Ans: B

29. A total of $28,000 is invested in two corporate bonds that pay 11% and 4% simple
interest. The total annual interest is $2170. How much is invested in the 4% bond?
A) $17,000
B) $15,000
C) $13,000
D) $18,000
E) $16,000
Ans: C

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 236
30. Find the equilibrium point of the demand and supply equations. (The equilibrium point
is the price p and number of units x that satisfy both the demand and supply equations.)
Demand Supply
p = 36 – 0.02x p = 0.5x – 380
A) (800, 20 )
B) ( 200,32 )
C) ( 761, 0.5)
D) (100,34 )
E) inconsistent
Ans: A

31. The supply and demand equations for a small LCD television are given by

 p + 0.55 x = 1484 Demand



 p – 0.25 x = 300 Supply

where p is the price (in dollars) and x represents the number of televisions. For how
many units will the quantity demanded equal the quantity supplied? What price
corresponds to this value?
A) 1855 units at $463.75
B) 2230 units at $257.50
C) 1480 units at $257.50
D) 2230 units at $670.00
E) 1480 units at $670.00
Ans: E

32. Find the least squares regression line y = ax + b for the points
( x1, y1 ) , ( x2 , y2 ) , , ( xn , yn )
by solving the system for a and b.
 n   n 
nb +  ∑ xi  a =  ∑ yi 
   
=  i 1=  i 1 
 n   n 2  n 
 ∑ xi  b +  ∑ xi  a =  ∑ xi yi 
     
=  i 1=  i 1 =  i 1 

Points: (1, –1) , ( 3, –7 ) , ( 6, –15 ) , ( 7, –19 )


space
A) y = 1.92x – 2.92
B) y = –0.15x + 1.92
C) y = –2.53x + 1.63
D) y = –2.92x + 1.92
E) y = 1.19x + 1.63
Ans: D

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 237
33. The concentration C (in parts per million) of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is
measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. The greatest monthly carbon
dioxide concentration for each year from 2002 to 2006 is shown in the table.

Year t Concentration, C
2002 0 375.55
2003 1 378.35
2004 2 380.63
2005 3 382.26
2006 4 384.92

Solve the following system for a and b to find the least squares regression line
y= at + b for the data. Let t represent the year, with t = 0 corresponding to 2002.

 5b + 10a =
1901.71

10b + 30a =
3826.07

Use the least square regression line to predict the largest monthly carbon dioxide
concentration in 2014. Round your answer to the nearest hundredths part per million.
A) 396.20 parts per million
B) 400.73 parts per million
C) 389.40 parts per million
D) 398.46 parts per million
E) 402.99 parts per million
Ans: E

34. Determine which one of the ordered triples below is a solution of the given system of
equations.
8 x – 2 y – 6 z = –56

7 x + 3 y – z = –33
5 x + 6 y + 4 z = –3

A) (7, 5, 17)
B) (–3, –2, 6)
C) (–2, –6, 3)
D) (7, 5, 6)
E) (6, –2, –3)
Ans: B

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 238
35. Determine which of the following systems of equations is in row-echelon form.

System I:
 x + 9 y – z = 20

 y + 6 z = 10
 2 z = –3

System II:
 x – 9 y + 8z = 2

 y – 3 z = –15
 z = 20

System III:
 x – 9 y – 3 z = 19

 y + 7z = 8
 z = –13

A) None of the systems are in row-echelon form.
B) Only system II is in row-echelon form.
C) Only systems II and III are in row-echelon form.
D) All systems are in row-echelon form.
E) Only systems I and III are in row-echelon form.
Ans: C

36. Use back-substitution to solve the system of linear equations.


 –4 x + 8 y – 7 z = –126

 –5 y + 3 z = 58
 z=6

A) ( –8,5, 6 )
B) ( 5, –8, 6 )
C) ( 5, 6, –8)
D) ( 6, –8,5)
E) ( 0, –8, 6 )
Ans: B

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 239
37. Solve the system of linear equations.
 x – 4 y + z = 18

 2 x – 4 y + 3 z = 20
 –2 x + 4 y – z = –20

A) ( 3, 4,3)
B) ( 2, –4, 0 )
C) ( –4, 0, 2 )
D) ( 4,3,3)
E) inconsistent
Ans: B

38. Solve the system of equations below, if possible.

5 x – 4 y – 4 z = –1

 2 x + 4 y + 3 z = –1
 3x – 8 y – 7 z = 1

A) ( 0,3, 4 )
B) ( 4, 0,3)
C) ( 3, 4, 0 )
D) ( 3, 0, 4 )
E) The system is inconsistent.
Ans: E

39. Solve the system of linear equations.


 x+ y+z = –15

 x – y – 7 z = 31
 4 y + z = –17

A) ( –8, –4, –3)
B) ( –4, –8, –3)
C) ( –7, –3, –5)
D) ( –3, –7, –5)
E) ( –4, –5, –6 )
Ans: C

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 240
40. Solve the system of linear equations.
– x – 3 y + 4z = 5

 x + 5 z = –5
 5 x – 4 y + z = 11

A) ( 2,1, 0 )
B) ( 0, –3, –1)
C) ( –3, –1, 0 )
D) (1, 0, 2 )
E) ( 0, –3, 4 )
Ans: B

41. Solve the system of equations below:

– x + 8 y – 2 z = –9
x – 5 y + 2z = 6
– x + 7 y – 2 z = –8
A) ( –7, –1, –6 )
B) ( –1, 6, –7 )
C) ( –2c +1, –1, c )
D) ( –1, –2c +1, c )
E) ( –1, –2c –1, c )
Ans: C

42. Solve the system of equations below:

–5 x + 8 y – 7 z = 0
2 x – 7 y – 8z = 0
–2 x + 3 y + 2 z = 0
A) ( 5, –3, –5)
B) ( 5c, –5c, –3c )
C) ( 5, –5, –3)
D) ( –5c,5c, –3c )
E) ( 0, 0, 0 )
Ans: E

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 241
43. Solve the system of equations below:

5 x + 4 y + 7 z = –4
–4 x – 3 y – 6 z = 2
A) ( 2c + 4, –3c – 6, c )
B) ( –3c + 4, 2c – 6, c )
C) ( –3c – 6, 2c + 4, c )
D) ( 2c – 6, –3c + 4, c )
E) ( 4c – 6, –3c + 2, c )
Ans: B

44. Solve the system of linear equations.


 x+ y+ z+w= 10
 x – 5 y + 4z + w = 1


 2x – 5 z – 5w = –16
 –3 x + 4 y – 2 z + 3w = –3
A) ( 2, 4, –1,5)
B) ( 2,5, 4, –1)
C) ( –1, 4,5, 2 )
D) ( 2, 4,5, –1)
E) inconsistent
Ans: D

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 242
45. Which of the following systems of equations has as a solution the ordered triple
( 4, –1, –2 ) .
System I:
 5 x – 6 y – 4 z = 34

 –2 x + 3 y – 6 z = 1
 –5 x + 4 y – 6 z = –12

System II:
 –2 x + 3 y + 3 z = –17

 –4 x + 5 y + z = –23
 –2 x – 3 y + 4 z = –13

System III:
 – x – 4 y – 6z = 7

 –5 x + 4 y + 6 z = –37
 6 x + y – 3 z = 27

A) Only system II has the ordered triple ( 4, –1, –2 ) as a solution.
B) Only systems I and II have the ordered triple ( 4, –1, –2 ) as a solution.
C) Each of the systems I, II, and III has the ordered triple ( 4, –1, –2 ) as a solution.
D) Only system III has the ordered triple ( 4, –1, –2 ) as a solution.
E) None of the systems has the ordered triple ( 4, –1, –2 ) as a solution.
Ans: B

46. Which of the following three ordered triples are of the given form below.

 1 
 a, a + 3, a + 2 
 4 

Triple I : ( 4,3,3)
Triple II : ( –12, –9, –1)
Triple III : ( –5, –5, 0 )
A) Only triple I and II are in the given form.
B) None of the triples are in the given form.
C) Only triple I and III are in the given form.
D) Only triple III is in the given form.
E) Only triple II is in the given form.
Ans: E

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 243
47. Find an equation of the form y = ax 2 + bx + c whose graph passes through the points
( –2,11) , ( 0,9 ) , and ( 2, –1) .
A) y = – x 2 – 3x + 9
B) y = – x2 + 9x – 3
C) y = –3 x 2 – x + 9
D) y = 9 x2 – x – 3
E) y = 9 x 2 – 3 x –1
Ans: A

48. Find the equation of the parabola y = ax 2 + bx + c that passes through the points.
( 0, –1) , (1, –1) , ( 2,1)
A) y = x2 + x + 1
B) y = x2 – x + 1
C) y = 2 x2 – x – 1
D) y = 2 x2 – x – 2
E) y = x2 – x – 1
Ans: E

49. Find the equation of the circle


x 2 + y 2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0
that passes through the points ( 5,1) , ( 3, –1) , ( 7, –1) .
A) x 2 + y 2 – 10 x + 2 y + 22 =
0
B) x 2 + y 2 – 5 x + y + 22 =
0
C) x 2 + y 2 – 10 x + 2 y + 30 =
0
D) x 2 + y 2 – 10 x + 2 y – 4 =
0
E) x2 + y 2 – 5x + y – 4 =
0
Ans: A

50. A real estate company borrows $2,000,000. Some of the money is borrowed at 4%,
some at 8%, and some at 11% simple annual interest. How much is borrowed at the 11%
rate when the total annual interest is $130,000 and the amount borrowed at 4% is the
same as the amount borrowed at 8%?
A) $500,000
B) $200,000
C) $300,000
D) $600,000
E) $900,000
Ans: B

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 244
51. A mixture of 5 gallons of chemical A, 6 gallons of chemical B, and 22 gallons of
chemical C is required to kill a crop destroying insect. Commercial spray X contains 1,
2, and 3 parts of these chemicals, respectively. Commercial spray Y contains only
chemical C. Commercial spray Z contains chemicals A, B, and C in equal amounts.
How much of commercial spray X is needed to obtain the desired mixture?
A) 2 gallons
B) 3 gallons
C) 1 gallon
D) 6 gallons
E) 15 gallons
Ans: D

52. A chemist needs 20 liters of a 45% acid solution. The solution is to be mixed from three
solutions whose acid concentrations are 10%, 20%, and 50%. How many liters of the
50% solution should the chemist use if trying to use as little as possible of the 50%
solution?
A) 2
5 liters
3
B) 2
7 liters
3
C) 2
16 liters
3
D) 1
3 liters
3
E) 2
11 liters
3
Ans: C

53. A residential building contractor borrowed $31,000 to complete a new home. Some of
the money was borrowed at 5%, some at 7%, and some at 9%. How much was borrowed
at each rate if the annual interest owed was $2050 and the amount borrowed at 7% is
three times more than the amount borrowed at 9%?
A) $9000 at 5%; $17,000 at 7%; $5000 at 9%
B) $11,000 at 5%; $15,000 at 7%; $5000 at 9%
C) $9000 at 5%; $16,000 at 7%; $6000 at 9%
D) $10,000 at 5%; $13,000 at 7%; $7000 at 9%
E) $9000 at 5%; $18,000 at 7%; $6000 at 9%
Ans: B

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 245
54. The federal debt of the United States as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) from 2001 to 2005 is shown in the table. In the table, x represents the year,
with x = 0 corresponding to 2002.

Year, x % of GDP
−1 57.4
0 59.7
1 62.6
2 63.7
3 64.3

Find the least squares regression parabola y = ax 2 + bx + c for the data by solving the
following system.

 5c + 5b + 15a =307.7

 5c + 15b + 35a =
325.5
15c + 35b + 99a =
 953.5

Use the model to predict the federal debt as percents of GDP in 2010. Round to the
nearest tenth percents.
A) 64.2%
B) 52.7%
C) 56.5%
D) 61.9%
E) 48.2%
Ans: C

Larson/Hodgkins, College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences, 2e Page 246
Another random document with
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It is parted in three with a seed in each part,
This cunning young fruit I’ve told you about.
It is parted in three, yet the three are one fruit,
Lying under the shields of the parents.

The stems curl up and pull it down


Under the shields of its parents.
It lies there all safe, so near the warm ground,
Under the shields of its parents!
MORE ABOUT THE TROPÆOLUM.
The tropæolum,
which people call
nasturtium, has
shields to defend
itself.
Warriors are
content with one
shield, but the
tropæolum has
many.
They have only to
protect themselves
from the darts of
the enemy, but the
tropæolum has a
harder task: it has
to protect itself
against the pangs of
hunger.
It needs many
shields to do this,
for hunger is a
tireless foe, and has
his quiver always
full of arrows.
You see, in the
tropæolum the shields are the leaves, and they are held out on long
stems to catch the darts Apollo, the sun, flings at them. These are not
unfriendly darts, but as they strike the little shields of the tropæolum
they make them tingle with life. Then the shield leaves go to work
and make food for the plant. They make starch and many other
things. They make a spicy juice, for one thing, that causes our
tongues to smart if we taste it. Sometimes we bite a tropæolum stem,
for we like the taste of the sharp juice. But we do not want too much
of it, for it makes the palate at the back of the nose tingle, and that is
why we call it “nasturtium.” “Nasturtium,” you know, comes from
two Latin words, nasus tortus, which mean “convulsed nose”; and
nobody likes to have a “convulsed nose” very long at a time!
“Nasturtium” is not the right name for our plant with its many
shields.
There is another plant which “convulses” our noses, and which the
botany tells us is the nasturtium, but which we call water cress. We
eat it in the spring of the year.
The right name of our garden nasturtium is “tropæolum,” which
comes from a Greek word meaning “trophy,” its many shields
probably being likened to so many trophies taken from the enemy.
Another name for it is “Indian cress,” and, like the water cress, it
sometimes is eaten, only in this case it is the flowers instead of the
leaves that find themselves converted into a salad. The fruits, too,
share a similar fate. Like the rest of the plant, they are filled with
spicy juice. This is a misfortune to them, since it tempts people to
take these juicy, spicy fruits and pickle them to eat.
Perhaps the plant learned to store up this stinging, spicy juice to
protect itself from being eaten by animals. But what can it do to
protect itself from the pickle jar?
Perhaps, however, the stinging juice was but a result of the plant’s
peculiar method of growth. Of course juice must have some sort of
taste, and why not a stinging taste as well as any other?
This plant prepares another liquid which is not sharp and stinging,
but sweet and spicy; with this delicious nectar it fills its long spur
and keeps it full.
The bees collect it and convert it into tropæolum honey to fill their
waxen cells.
This the plant does not object to. It makes the nectar for the bees,
and when, they take it away and store it up for winter use the
tropæolum suffers no loss. But when some one comes along and
picks the fruits and stores them up for winter use, that is another
matter!
We are tempted to call the spur of the tropæolum its “horn of
plenty,” for that is the name of the horn overflowing with good things
that never is empty.
The Goddess of Plenty owns this horn. You can see it in her
pictures, as it always stands at her side, and there overflows with
flowers and fruits. All that is good that grows in the earth is in the
horn of the Goddess of Plenty. It is her cornucopia, for “cornucopia,”
you know, means “horn of plenty.”
The goddess got her horn from the Naiads. They, you know, are
the nymphs of the brooks and fountains, and they gave it to her.
This is the story of how she got it.
The river god, Acheloüs, and Hercules, the god of strength,
struggled together. Hercules threw the god Acheloüs and seized him
by the throat. Then Acheloüs, in order to escape, changed himself
into a serpent.
This did not help him, for Hercules seized him by the neck and
would have choked him, but Acheloüs again changed his shape.
He became a bull, but this was
not enough to defend him from the
great strength of Hercules, who
seized him by the neck and dragged
him to the ground, and in the
struggle rent one of his horns from
his head.
The nymphs of the brooks and
the fountains, who were related to
the river god, Acheloüs, consecrated
the horn and gave it to the Goddess of Plenty.
That is one story, but some say the following is the history of
cornucopia.
You know Saturn, the oldest of the gods, had a bad habit of
swallowing his children. When Jupiter was born, his mother, Rhea,
did not wish his father, Saturn, to swallow him; so she gave him to
the care of the daughters of the king of Crete. They fed him on milk
from the goat Amalthea, and watched over him and protected him so
that his father should not find him. The people of Crete danced about
him and made such a noise when he cried that his father could not
hear him.
He must have cried very loud indeed to make all that necessary;
but then, he was destined to become a very great god, so no doubt he
did make more noise than ordinary
babies.
Out of gratitude to his kind
nurses, and also as a token of esteem
to the good Amalthea, Jupiter broke
off one of her horns and endowed it
with a very wonderful power. It
became filled at once with whatever
its possessor might wish!

Saturn.

This was a horn of plenty indeed!


Now you know both stories, and
you may take your choice as to
which one you will believe.
Whether our tropæolum had either
of these in mind, it certainly made
a very dainty cornucopia when it
constructed its honey-horn and
filled it for the bees, the butterflies,
and the humming birds.
The tropæolums we have in our
Jupiter.
gardens are not the only kinds;
there are, in fact, some forty
different tropolæums living in South America and Mexico, and in
Peru there is one which has large tuberous roots filled with plant
food, which is also good food for man, and is eaten in some parts of
South America instead of potatoes!
How would you like to dig your potatoes out of the nasturtium
bed?
It certainly would be a pretty place to work on a summer day, and
how fine the fields would look all covered with gay tropæolum
blooms instead of plain green potato tops with their dull blue
flowers!
JEWELWEED STORIES.
A DAINTY CAVE.

Touch-me-not has a dainty cave


Spotted with red and poised in the air.
Touch-me-not is a pretty knave
With ruby spots and yellow cave,
Swinging there
So fresh and fair.
TOUCH-ME-NOT.
Touch-me-not lives in moist places. Her feet stand in the damp
earth and her head looks up above the bushes. Other plants love the
damp, rich soil along the brookside, and Touch-me-not is sometimes
crowded for room.

She is a tender little plant, this Touch-me-not, and yet she is brave
and wise. She knows that if she is to live she must have strong seeds,
and that to produce strong seeds she must be strong herself and
beautiful.
She finds it easy to be beautiful in the pleasant world, where the
sun shines upon her and the breezes fan her.
So forth from the axil of every leaf she swings out her dainty buds.
They open their petals at last, all yellow and spotted with red.
Cunning caves for the bee, they swing on slender stems. The tangle of
weeds by the brookside is dotted all over by the bright blossoms.
Light as they are, their slender stems bend under their weight.
The bees see them from a distance; they are attracted by the bright
colors and fly to visit the touch-me-nots. They search for honey, and
of course they find it, for the touch-me-not has wisely provided
nectar for bees and birds.
The pretty yellow flowers contain rich honey in the little spur at
the back. The end of the spur turns down, and it is in this turned-
down tip the honey is made. From there it runs into the upper part of
the spur, where the bees can reach it.
The moist roadside in many places is dotted with yellow touch-me-
not flowers. They hang like earrings from their stems, and many call
the plant “jewelweed” because of them. It is a pretty sight in the
morning to see the bright jewels sparkling in the dew.
“Rubythroat” flashes about among them. “Rubythroat” is our
northern humming bird. His throat is ruby red and sparkles in the
sun. The rest of his body is green and brown. He shines like a jewel in
the sunlight and darts from flower to flower. You cannot watch him,
he flies so fast. But when he wishes a sip of honey he poises on his
tiny wings before the jewelweed.
Into the dainty swinging flower he darts his slim black bill. He is
partial to the honey of the touch-me-not, and wherever it grows in
abundance you will be sure to see the rubythroats darting about.
Rubythroat does the flower a favor in return for the honey he gets.
You know about that. He carries pollen to it from some other
flower. This new pollen enables strong seeds to form. The jewelweed
is very careful to have strong seeds. It covers the pistil with a hood of
its own anthers. Behind the anthers in a dark little room the pistil
waits until all the pollen is gone and the anthers have fallen off.
The flower does not wish its pistil to receive its own pollen. The
earth is crowded, and the seeds must be strong to grow. So the pistil
is hidden behind the screen of the anthers until there is no more
pollen left; then it comes forth and waits for the birds or the bees to
bring it fresh pollen.
The anthers and pistil are not on the floor of the touch-me-not
flower, as they are in the nasturtium. They hang from the roof like
tiny chandeliers.
The bees do not walk over them, but touch them with their heads
or backs, and the humming bird touches them with the top of its bill
or with the feathers on its face.
When the birds or the bees have brought the pollen, the yellow
corolla falls off and the fruit grows fast.
It is a smooth and delicate fruit, and it may be you know what it
does to help the seeds find room.
When the fruit is ripe, the outer covering all of a sudden splits and
curls up with considerable force, acting like a spring and shooting the
seeds far over the thicket.
It spreads them far and wide, so
they have a better chance to find a
place to take root when the time
comes.
The fruits are so eager to send the
seeds on their journey, and so
fearful that some harm will come to
them, that they snap them away if
any one touches the pods. If you jostle these eager plants you will
hear the seeds flying in all directions. If you touch a seed-pod it goes
off in your fingers. No wonder we call the plants “touch-me-nots”!
Some call them “snapweed” or “snappers,” and the botany calls them
“impatiens,” because they are so impatient!
They have yet another name, “lady’s eardrop,” and I do not know
how many more. People must like the pretty things to give them so
many names.
EARDROPS.

Eardrops of gold with red rubies beset,


Hang from the ears of a dear little maid.
“Where did you get them, my darling, my pet?”
“Down by the brook you can pick them,” she said.
LADY’S SLIPPER.
In the garden grows a relative of our jewelweed. It is called the
“garden balsam,” and sometimes “lady’s slipper.”
Its own home is far-off India.
Its flowers are larger than those of the jewelweed and are not
yellow, but white or red or pink, and sometimes pink and white
spotted. In shape, however, it is very like the jewelweed; it hides its
pistil beneath the anthers in the same way and snaps its seeds afar.
Its flowers grow double and close to the stalk, and it makes a fine
show in the garden in the fall of the year.
There is one thing I should like very much to know, and that is,
just when and how this Indian balsam and its cousin the North
American jewelweed got separated.
Way, way back, farther back than the building of the pyramids,
these two plants must have had the same ancestors. Now, where did
those ancestors live? In India? In America? Somewhere between?
And what caused them finally to get so widely separated?
Who is going to tell us?
For over two hundred and fifty years the Indian balsam has been
cultivated as a garden plant, and no doubt this long cultivation has
done much to bring about changes. Still, its resemblance to the
jewelweed is quite unmistakable, and we cannot doubt the
relationship of the two.
THE HUMMING BIRD.

Flashing in the sunshine,


Dashing through the air,
Sparkling like a jewel,
See him everywhere!
Poised before a flower
For a moment’s space,
Off again like lightning
On some headlong chase!

Blossoms all set swinging


On each slender stem.
Touch-me-nots are happy
When he visits them,
For he shakes the pollen
From his shining crest.
Rubythroat is joyous,
Touch-me-not is blest!
PELARGONIUM STORIES.
THE PELARGONIUMS.
A pelargonium is a
“stork’s bill.”
“Pelargonium” comes
from a Greek word
meaning “stork,” and the
plant is so named because
of the long, beaklike seed-
pods. We call the
pelargoniums
“geraniums,” and raise
them in our houses.
“Geranium” means almost
the same as
“pelargonium,” for a
geranium is a “crane’s
bill,” “geranium” coming
from a Greek word
meaning “crane,” and the
plant is so called because
of the shape of the seed-
pods.
I do not think there is
much difference between
a crane’s bill and a stork’s
bill, and these two plants
with their seed-pods so
very much alike were, no
doubt, named “stork’s
bill” and “crane’s bill” to
distinguish them from each other. But we have succeeded in
hopelessly mixing them up, for everybody insists upon calling the
pelargonium “geranium,” and the geraniums which grow wild in our
woods and fields we call “crane’s bill” and “herb Robert.”
The pelargoniums are mostly Africans. There are a great many
kinds of them, and all but ten or twelve live in South Africa among
the Bushmen, the Boers, and the Englishmen.
The rest have chosen to settle in the northern part of Africa, in the
Orient, if you know where that is, and in Australia. Some people
believe there are four hundred different pelargoniums, and some say
there are less than two hundred. You see, the pelargoniums change
easily. Thus a great many varieties are always arising, and it is almost
impossible at this late day to discover which was the original form of
the plant.
The pelargoniums we know best are the ones we call “horseshoe
geraniums,” “Lady Washington geraniums,” and “rose geraniums.”
We are apt to think of the whole Pelargonium Family as being
ornamental rather than useful, but in that wonderful South African
country where so many of them live, there is actually a pelargonium
that produces edible tubers!
The next time you go to Cape Colony you must be sure and eat
potatoes gathered from a geranium plant!
Down in Algeria, where the walls are so white and the sun shines
so hot, the people express an oil from their geraniums and sell it.
Other geraniums also yield this fragrant oil, but nowhere is it so
largely used as in sunny Algeria.
Pelargoniums love to grow. You need only break off a twig and
stick it in the ground, and it will grow as merrily as though nothing
had happened.
One day a double-flowered crimson pelargonium blew away in a
gale of wind. It broke off just above the root and away it went. It was
rescued, stuck back into the pot of earth, abundantly watered, and
continued to open its flowers as though such an escapade were an
everyday occurrence!
Now about its beak. The pelargonium has a beak, no doubt, but it
does not put it to the same use the stork does, for its beak is made up
of the long styles of the pistil which cling fast to a central column.
The whole fruit looks a little like a long bird’s beak. This beak opens,
but not to swallow little fishes as a stork’s beak does.
It opens to let out a feather! When the seed gets ripe, the case in
which it lies at the bottom of the pistil breaks away, and the style
curves up and
breaks loose
from the central
support. As soon
as the style
loosens, out
comes the
feather. Not a
real feather, of
course, but a tuft
of silvery white
hairs that grow
along the inside
of the style and
are packed close
as can be until
the style lets them out; then they
separate and form a wide fringe along
the loosened style. Finally, the style is
only held by the very tip; then this
gives way, and the feather flies away with seed and style. It flies on
the wings of the wind, of course, since it has none of its own.
In this way the geranium seeds are sometimes carried long
distances. But this is not the end of the story. At last the seed with its
coverings and feather rests on the ground. The seed end is towards
the ground, and the very tip of the pod is provided with a few short,
stiff hairs, that point backwards like the barbs on a fish hook or a bee
sting.
Now what do you suppose these hairs are
for? Do you think their being there is a mere
accident? Not at all. When the weather is damp,
the style, with the feather attached, curls up.
Then it acts like a gimlet and forces the pointed
end of the seed into the ground. When it
becomes dry, the style straightens out. But the
seed cannot be pulled out of the ground when
this happens, because the barbs on the tip of
the seed-case hold it fast! So it does time and
again. When it is damp, the seed is forced deeper into the earth.
When it is dry, the style straightens out so as to be ready to curl up
again.
You see how it is, do you not? The pelargonium is planting its
seed.

Certainly the geraniums are good parents. All the members of this
astonishing family do something clever for the sake of the seeds.

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