THE .MILK THISTLE. 43 



formidable prickles, and after the flowering season is over 

 the place of the florets is taken by the head of white down 

 that rises from the seeds below,, and that forms so marked 

 a feature in the various kinds of thistles a feature that is 

 interesting in itself, and most efficacious in securing the 

 distribution of the seeds. These seeds are numerous, 

 blackish and shining, each being crowned with a tuft of 

 stiffish down. They contain a certain quantity of oil, and 

 have therefore been sometimes used in rural medicine ; but 

 their principal service, after the necessity of obtaining a 

 supply of the plant, seems to be to provide a welcome re- 

 past for the goldfinch and several other grain and seed 

 eating birds. 



Besides the use of the seeds in emulsions, and the 

 beauty of the plant when transferred to the garden, we 

 are told that it may be eaten when young as a salad, 

 though this is a statement that we should rather demur 

 to, as even in their youngest seedling state they have an 

 aggressive and well-armed look that would send one off to 

 the lettuces in preference. We are also given to under- 

 stand that the young stalks, peeled and soaked to take off 

 a little bitterness that cannot quite be ignored, are excellent, 

 either boiled as a table vegetable, or baked in pies like rhu- 

 barb-stalks. This may be so, but it brings at once to our 

 mind a similar statement as to the culinary virtues of the 

 common stinging-nettle. We had read that stinging- 

 nettle leaves made an excellent table vegetable, so we one 

 day determined to try them, as any quantity of them were 

 springing up around our orchard. They were duly pre- 

 pared, and everybody said the kindest things they could 



for them ; but we never had them again. The subject 



was tacitly dropped, and we returned in all true allegiance 



