Dandelions 39 



the strictest economy of material with the utmost 

 strength. This contrivance enables the stem to 

 uphold the proportionately large and heavy flower, 

 in spite of all the onslaughts of March winds. 

 " Flower," we have said, but the dandelion is 

 really a community of blossoms. It belongs to the 

 order of Compositae, a large and mixed family, 

 which numbers among its members such flower 

 plebeians as the burdock, groundsel, and ragweed, 

 and on the other hand includes that flower-aristo- 

 crat, the dishevelled and expensive chrysanthemum. 



For all these flowers have this peculiarity that 

 what looks like one blossom proves on examina- 

 tion to be a whole floral mass-meeting. 



They furnish an object-lesson on the evils of 

 "individualism," and on the advantages to be 

 gained by cooperation. The single flowers of the 

 dandelion are not larger around than small pins. 

 If each were anti-social, and grew upon an inde- 

 pendent stalk, in lonely dignity, they would attract 

 no attention from the passing insect. But the 

 yellow florets do not mean to be neglected, so 

 they crowd compactly together, and by joining 

 decorative forces they make quite a brave show 

 in the (as yet) colorless world. There are from 

 one to two hundred tiny blossoms in a single 



