258 SINCE AUTUMN HAS COME 



prickers. Even boys hardly ever venture to pick 

 Thistles, for they know the spines will stick in 

 their fingers and make them bleed. I have never 

 seen a bouquet of Thistles, but Francis has sent 

 Grandmother a sketch of them which is the pret- 

 tiest of all the flowers he has drawn. 



On one side of the picture there is a flower burst- 

 ing open to let its seeds fly. These are covered 

 with long, silk-like hairs which help them to ride 

 on the wind somewhat as sails carry a ship over 

 the sea. Indeed Thistle-seeds can fly a long dis- 

 tance. Every year very many fly off from the This- 

 tle heads, and find new ground to grow in, so it is 

 no wonder Uncle Hiram thinks them as trouble- 

 some as Wild Carrot. 



The real Thistle flowers are the hundreds of 

 tiny purple tubes that are held together in the 

 heads. I think, too, they must be full of sweets, 

 for butterflies and bumblebees sip and sip from 

 them the whole day long. One butterfly that loves 

 them very much is called the " Painted Lady," 

 perhaps because she has such beautiful spots on her 

 wings. 



Another tall flower that we see often now is 

 called Iron-weed. Its flowers are also like little 

 tubes and are held together in heads ; and although 

 they look a little like purple Asters there are no 

 long and narrow flowers around their centers. The 

 color of these flower-heads is reddish-purple, I 

 think, and they grow in clusters on the branches. 



