THE DANDELION 431 



moreover, the name arum signifies 'fire,' 'heat.' 

 The plant itself, when in flower, is curious, and 

 possesses especial attraction for children, who not 

 infrequently extend their acquaintance with it to 

 the extent of eating it, the results being at times 

 fatal to them. They should therefore be specially 

 cautioned regarding this flower. 



The name dandelion is so peculiar a corruption 

 that few would suspect its derivation to be from 

 the French dent-de-lion. Common though it may 

 be, it is none the less a valuable plant, being 

 possessed of considerable medicinal virtue in 

 certain ailments of the liver, and well known as 

 taraxacum. Dandelion coffee is frequently sold 

 as a liver tonic, and is considered by some 

 persons to be not only equal, but superior to 

 ordinary coffee. The young leaves mixed with 

 hops are also said to produce good beer. A 

 chemist informed me that the great merit of 

 the dandelion as a medicine consists in the 

 freshness of the roots, for when old and stale 

 they are comparatively valueless, and that he 

 employed a number of boys to procure the roots 

 for the requirements of his own trade. The 

 dandelion and the hawk's-bit are so much alike 

 as to be frequently confounded with each other. 

 There is, however, some considerable dissimilarity 

 between these flowers, which is noticeable on closer 

 inspection. In their shape, length, and union with 

 the base^of the flower, the petals of the dandelion 

 and the hawk's-bit will be seen to differ. 



