WESTON HAVE YOU A NATURE HOBBY - 183 



tired and dusty and disappointed, there is always the satisfaction 

 which follows a day in the open." 



Some plants take care of themselves so very efficiently that 

 we may pick them freely without fear that they will be extermi- 

 nated. This is especially true of the Composite Family which is 

 one of the largest as well as most successful of all the Plant 

 Kingdom. The aggressive Dandelion persists in growing on our 

 lawns; the White Daisy, a most attractive sinner, is the farmers* 

 despair ; Dahlias, Asters and Cosmos are some of our many garden 

 friends belonging to this family which holds first place among 

 plants. There are enough fascinating but tangled problems 

 among the Composites to supply hundreds of people with hob- 

 bies. Miss Lila Hirley of the East Manning Street School 

 writes : 



"My interest in the Prenanthes or the Rattlesnake-root group 

 of wild flowers, started last summer when friends referred a very 

 young specimen of Prenanthes trifoliata, without flowers, to me 

 for identification. I could not name it at the time, nor could 

 some much more experienced botanists with whom I consulted. 

 This plant varies greatly in appearance at different stages of its 

 growth. Its leaves have a wide variation in shape, size and mar- 

 gin. Its clusters of pendulous flowers, too, show much varia- 

 tion. Perhaps this is why it was confused, until recently, in 

 botanical text-books, with its near relative. Lion's Foot (Pre- 

 nanthes serpentaria) and, by the novice, with Wild Lettuce an- 

 other near relative. An expert botanist, with whom I was col- 

 lecting one day, recognized a species not before recorded for 

 Rhode Island, Prenanthes altissima. This occurence added to 

 my interest and set me scouting for the third species. Lion's 

 Foot, which through errors in identification in previous years, 

 was considered common, but which really is rare. Thus far it 

 has eluded my search. 



In my himt for specimens of this group last summer I was 

 assisted by a girl just out of grammar school who shared my 

 interest. We agreed to continue the study next summer, in- 

 cidentally making a more general flower collection. We shall 

 diligently seek the print of the lion's foot in 1921, following 

 the trail to his lair." 



