THE LAST MAY DAYS 
123 
before. Had we allowed them the privilege, the 
dandelions would have taken possession of the 
triangle, and now, should they catch us napping, 
they would come back in full force. 
“Cut them down before they have gone to seed,” 
Mr. Hayden tells us. 
But who can know, Joseph asks, when a dande- 
lion is going to seed ? They are very quick in their 
movements, and make their balls of fluff-tipped 
seeds while one is thinking about getting a scythe. 
Joseph goes about, however, with a broad-bladed 
knife, and stoops and cuts them out of the turf as 
he passes along. He does this very much as the 
Italian women do who gather them in early spring. 
When we began to combat dandelions, I thought 
we had right on our side. Joseph and Timothy 
said they w^ere weeds to be banished in spite of the 
backaches which I believe still visit Joseph, 
although he denies the imputation stoutly. I then 
for the first time began to take notice of these 
downtrodden plants. I saw they were truly beau- 
tiful, either in bloom or in fruit; and that they 
were more cheery and dainty than some of our 
garden flowers. Dandelions are roguish, besides, 
sticking their yellow heads up unexpectedly in the 
pathways. Still, authority says they are weeds, and 
correct gardening demands that we clear them away 
from the triangle, even if w^e had not another 
flower there to take their places. 
Besides the dandelions, the tiny flowers of point- 
