WEEDS OF THE CHICORY FAMILY. 145 



Aside from its being a nuisance in lawns, the dandelion is not 

 a had weed, as its leaves are eaten by most stock and form the 

 basis of many a mess of greens for the dinner of the human. In 

 Europe the young leaves are often eaten in early spring as a salad 

 and near the larger cities of the Eastern States the plant is at 

 present extensively cultivated for greens. One of the best known 

 of the social weeds, it has followed man the world over, its short 

 underground stem and leaves being able to withstand his constant 

 tread. Ever a favorite of children, it is the 



"Dear common flower that blooms beside the way, 

 Fringing the dusty road with harmless gold." 



Many an hour of childhood has been happily spent in making 

 curls and necklaces from its hollow stems. The common name is 

 from the French dent-de-lion, meaning "lion's tooth" and is said 

 to have been given it because the edge of the leaf looks like a row 

 of teeth on the jaw of a lion. In England it is often called the 

 "peasant's clock" because its flower opens very early in the morn- 

 ing and only in fair weather, while to dream of it is deemed a mis- 

 fortune as it is said to bring bad luck. 



The root of the dandelion is thick, tapering, bitter, sometimes 

 20 inches long. It is used in medicine under the name taraxacum 

 as a tonic in diseases of the liver and in dyspepsia. For sale it 

 should be dug from July to September at which time the milky 

 juice is thicker and the root more bitter. After careful washing 

 and thorough drying it should be sold as soon as possible, as its 

 medicinal virtues decrease with age. More than 100,000 pounds 

 are imported each year, the price ranging from 4 to 6 cents per 

 pound. As common as the plant is in this country many a boy or 

 girl ought to make good wages by collecting it for sale. 



110. SONCHUS ASPEB L. Spiny Sow-Thistle. (A. I. 2.) 



Stem leafy, succulent, seldom branched, 1-7 feet high ; leaves alter- 

 nate, spiny-edged, sometimes lobed or divided ; lower and basal ones spoon- 

 shaped, upper oblong or lanceolate, clasping by a rounded base. Heads 

 numerous, many-flowered, 1 inch broad or less; bracts in several over- 

 lopping rows, glabrous; receptacle flat, naked; flowers pale yellow. 

 Achenes flat, truncate above, ribbed lengthwise, topped with a copius 

 pappus of soft fine white bristles. (Fig. 106.) 



Common in waste places about cities and towns, along roadsides, 

 railways and the borders of old fields. May Nov. The leaves are 

 very prickly along the margins, the ears at the base of the upper 

 ones being rounded and the seeds or achenes not ribbed crosswise. 

 In these respects it differs from another annual species, the com- 



[10] 



