THE USEFUL BURDOCK 5 



grow nothing in their own yard because the 

 soil is so poor ! Yet, I venture that those same 

 persons furnish most of the pigweed seed which 

 I use on my garden. 



The lesson is that there is no soil, where a 

 house would be built, so poor that something 

 cannot be grown. If burdocks will grow, some- 

 thing else will grow ; or if nothing else will 



The ornamental burdock. 



grow, then I prefer burdocks to sand and rub- 

 bish. The burdock is one of the most striking 

 and decorative of plants, and a good piece of it 

 against a building or on a rough bank is just as 

 useful as some plant which costs money and is 

 difficult to grow. I had a good clump of it under 

 my study window, and it was a great comfort, but 

 the man would persist in cutting it down when 



