DAXDELIONS. 



W. M. MUNSON. 



It is a common practice in most places to permit perfect 

 freedom to the hordes of women and children which every spring- 

 invade the roadsides and sunny slopes of parks and private 

 grounds in search of "greens;" in other words, of the common 

 dandelion. Contrary to the usual notion, however, this is the 

 woist possible thing for the lawn thus sought out; for in addi- 

 tion to the injury caused by the knives and trowels used in dig- 

 ging the roots, every top or crown cut off will in a short time 

 send up in its place from one to six new crowns and the lawn is 

 frequently ruined. 



A hardly less common pest in the lawns of the state is the 

 Fall Dandelion, Leontodon autumnale. This plant, often 

 wrongly called "arnica," manifests itself in late summer and 

 early fall, as its name imples, and often takes complete posses- 

 sion of fields and lawns ; its flat, spreading, radical leaves 

 choking out all grass and other competing plants in its neigh- 

 borhood. This, as well as the first mentioned species, grows 

 readily from root cuttings and ordinary digging of the plants 

 has the effect of multiplying them, although not to so great an 

 extent as with the spring dandelion. 



The common dandelion is too well known to need description, 

 but the other species is frequently overlooked. In brief, it is 

 characterized by a branched, rather fleshy root ; very numerous, 

 long, rather slender and very deeply cut leaves in a thick mass, 

 at the surface of the ground ; slender branching flower scrape,. 

 8 to 12 inches high ; peduncles thickish and scaly bracted next 

 \o the small (^2-^/4. inch) deep yellow head. 



With a view to ascertaining precisely the behavior of muti- 

 lated plants and of young seedlings of both species, seeds 

 weie sown and root cuttings were made in the fall. These 



