6 FARM FRIENDS AND FARM FOES 



The seedlike fruits of some are furnished with a fringe or 

 tuft of hairs that enables them to be carried long distances by 

 the wind. The dandelions, thistles, goldenrods, and asters 

 are examples of these. Many others are provided with 

 some device for becoming attached to animals. Burdocks, 

 clotburs and Spanish needles are examples of these. 

 Still others have hard nutlike fruits that are able to float 

 upon running water. The tall ragweeds and the common 

 ragweeds are examples of these. 



It is easy to understand why the roadsides are generally 

 infested with many of the composite plants whose seed- 

 like fruits or akenes are blown about by the wind. The 

 open road furnishes free passage, and the fences along its 

 borders catch hosts of them as they fly along. So the 

 goldenrods, asters, thistles, and various sorts of wild lettuce 

 are familiar roadside weeds. These are mostly native 

 species that are willing to live and let live, and thus do not 

 entirely overrun the ground as do such imported pests as 

 Prickly Lettuce, a roadside weed which has attracted much 

 attention during recent years. It apparently was first 

 noticed in New England about 1868, and it is now found 

 over a large part of the United States, being especially 

 abundant in the Middle West. 



Prickly Lettuce, when mature, is from two to six 

 feet high, with a straight stalk bearing large stemless 

 leaves, the bases of which clasp the main stalk. The 

 flowers are borne in an open panicle on the upper end 

 of the stalk, each blossom being small, yellow, and 

 not very conspicuous. The first flowers appear about 

 midsummer, and others continue to develop until au- 

 tumn. The leaves and stems have a milky juice which 

 is doubtless a protection from insect attack, while the 

 numerous prickles over the surface are likewise a pro- 



