THE PLANT WORLD. 135 



themum. Z.) is a lover of the open fields and meadows where it some- 

 times takes almost complete possession of the poorer soil. It is now 

 so completely at home in its adopted country that to find a meadow 

 without it is the exception rather than the rule. 



It has been said that the Dandelion {Taraxacum officinale Weber,) 

 was first brought to this country and cultivated as a garden flower. 

 If so, it has wonderfully repaid such cultivation, for now it is one of 

 the most common plants in the eastern states. The story is told of a 

 surburban householder, who when asked by a friend how he kept his 

 lawn so free from Dandelions replied: "that he had given up trying to 

 raise grass, and was now trying to raise Dandelions." 



The Fall Dandelion, (Leontodon autiimnale Z.) I have found in 

 eastern New England, but it has not yet reached this locality, eastern 

 New York. 



The Elecampane {hnda Helen /urn Z.) is now a common roadside 

 weed, and indeed, it is seldom found elsewhere. The Tansy, (Tana- 

 setum vulgare Z.) has also taken up its abode by the roadside; whence 

 it came from old gardens, where it was once cultivated for its medi- 

 cinal properties. The May- weed {Antherais Cotula D. C.) is common 

 everywhere, and like the Tansy was probably once cultivated as a 

 medicinal herb. 



The Salsify or Oyster-plant {Tragopogon porrifolius Z.) is another 

 garden plant that has escaped to the fields, and like the Carrot and 

 Parsnip bids fair to become a common weed, although it is as yet some- 

 what rare in the wild state. 



In the early spring the Coltsfoot, (Tiissilago Farfara Z.) is often 

 to be seen in low meadows and along: water courses. It is a naturalized 

 plant, as are also, two or three species of the Sow Thistle, (Sonckus Z.) 

 which can be found later in the season in neglected spots. 



Until a year or two ago the Orange Hawkweed {Hieracuim auran- 

 tiacum Z.) was a total stranger in this htcality. This year I have 

 found it in three places within a radius, of five miles. Vermont 

 farmers have been warned, through their Experiment Station, to be on 

 the look out for this plant, and to exterminate it at once. It is 

 claimed that it is almost as great a pest to the agriculturist as the Blue 

 Thistle {Echium vulgare Z.) 



{Clchoimim Intyhis Z.) or Chicory is another foreign plant that 

 has become naturalized in America. I first saw it in a park in Troy, 

 N. Y., in 1893, and have since found it in other localities. 



