SUMMER 95 



ing, broken and faded leaves were picked 

 off, and an effort was made to keep down 

 the florescence. Our dog, Arthur, and 

 even Skimplejinks, the cat, interfered to 

 some degree with the experiment; but 

 even after many leaves and blossoms had 

 been torn off, the plant formed a heavy 

 mat of green, and the flower-heads, though 

 not large, were numerous. It was not so 

 successful a dandelion absurd corrup- 

 tion of dent de lion as one can often find 

 by the wayside, but it was the best in our 

 yard. There was one that bore twenty- 

 five heads of flowers at a time, yet the 

 plant was so small I could cover it with 

 my hand. Dandelion roots are so long 

 that they do not take kindly to the re- 

 straints of civilization. I put a small one 

 into a pot about six inches deep, which I 

 plunged in one of the beds. Through the 

 hole in the bottom the roots cast many 

 threads that had to be torn when it was 

 taken up for winter housing, but the plant 

 bloomed in captivity. 



Speaking of cultivated plants, I brought 

 in a cinquefoil from the vacant lot across 



