LUTHER BURBANK 



the wild lettuce is a persistent and pestiferous 

 weed which is hard to eradicate once it gains a 

 foothold. It will grow and ripen seed in the 

 corner of a brick wall when only a few inches in 

 height; yet in a good location will grow seven or 

 eight feet in height. It produces seed in vast 

 numbers. 



But, of course, it is not the seed of the ettuce 

 that the gardener is seeking, and it remains to be 

 seen whether a combination of the wild with the 

 cultivated one, even if hybridization could be 

 effected, would result in useful variations. 

 Dandelion and Thistle 



There are other wild species of the composite 

 family, however, that offer greater inducements to 

 the cultivator. One of these is the familiar dande- 

 lion, a plant usually regarded as a weed, but really 

 having possibilities of usefulness. 



The dandelion is sometimes used as a green 

 vegetable in the early spring by country folk in 

 various parts of the United States, but it is perhaps 

 nowhere cultivated. In France, however, a suc- 

 cessful attempt has been made to produce a dande- 

 lion that has much thicker, larger, and more 

 abundant leaves than those of the wild plant. 



This developed form is sometimes cultivated 

 there and attains a certain value as a market 

 vegetable. 



[196] 



