282 PLANTS GROWING IN DRY SOIL. 



Its ruthless habit of taking possession of whole fields, especially 

 in New Jersey, and destroying the pasture is a constant care 

 and annoyance to the farmer. It is most difficult to extirpate 

 as it is tough and hard to uproot. 



It frequently falls within the experience of our friend the 

 country boy to pull up the plants before they have gone to 

 seed ; and one instance is known of his having been engaged 

 to perform this service at the exorbitant wage of twenty-five 

 cents a hundred. His mind, however, is poetical. He loves to 

 dream of the beautiful side of the wild carrot's character, and 

 to weave romances about it in connection with Queen Anne's 

 lace. To bend his back over and tear his palms uprooting them 

 is not to his taste. So on the mentioned occasion he sat on the 

 fence and watched other boys that he had hired at five cents a 

 hundred do the work for him. 



GREAT flULLEN. VELVET OR MULLEN DOCK. 



Verbdscum Thdpsus. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Figwort. Pale yellow. Scentless. General. July-Septeinber. 



Flowers: large; growing in a long, terminal spike. Calyx: of five sepals. 

 Corolla: wheel-shaped with five unequal, rounded lobes. Stamens: ten; three 

 taller than the others with woolly filaments. Pistil: one. Leaves: alternate; 

 the basal leaves lying flatly in a circle on the ground ;' oblong ; pale green ; vel- 

 vety to the touch. Stem : erect ; flat. 



Although in Europe the mullen is called " American velvet 

 plant," we can hardly claim it as indigenous to our country. 

 In fact, as its specific name implies, it is a native of the island 

 of Thapsus. It has visited many lands, and had quite a broad 

 experience in usefulness. The Greeks made lamp wicks of the 

 leaves, and the Romans, after preparing the dried stalks in suet, 

 burned them as funeral torches, when they were called " can- 

 dalaria." The efficacy of mullen tea for pulmonary diseases is 

 still lauded by the country people, especially when used for 

 beasts. It has also its place among the vanities of vanities, and 

 the village belle knows well that the velvety leaf rubbed against 

 her cheeks will leave a tint like that of a ripened peach. 



