The Dandeeion in Colorado 
31 
after thorough preparation by deep tillage and fertilizing with 
decomposed manure.* 
NO EASY, CERTAIN METHOD OF EXTERMINATION 
It is evident from the foregoing that there is yet no easy, cer¬ 
tain method known to the writer by which the dandelion may be 
exterminated and held in check for any considerable length of 
time. A beautiful area of velvety lawn, free from the cheerful 
golden blooms of dandelions in May, of their fluffy gray heads in 
June and of their ragged, mussy foliage throughout the season, 
tells of persistent, painstaking effort on the part of someone to 
keep it so. The very difflculties involved in maintaining a fine 
weed-free lawn will always distinguish the owner as a person of 
good taste and diligence, no matter what may be his financial 
rating. 
THE DANDELION AS A FIELD WEED 
Weeds are sometimes classified according to the habitat which 
they find best suited to their particular mode of life. Thus we 
have weeds of waste ground; weeds of lawns, pastures, and mead¬ 
ows; weeds of cultivated crops, and weeds of grain fields. The 
dandelion belongs to the first two classes and is not an important 
factor in the growing of grain and tilled crops. This is due to the 
fact that the dandelion is a low-growing plant which requires room 
to spread its foliage close to the ground and that it cannot spread 
laterally much underground. Furthermore, it does not produce 
seeds until the second year of its growth from seed and is there¬ 
fore easily destroyed by cultivation before this occurs. 
The dandelion has become an important field weed in some 
i parts of Colorado, especially in native pasture lands of mountain 
valleys below 8,000 feet elevation. In such localities the dande¬ 
lion, with its ability to grow where it is cold, often finds the soil 
moisture and the open spaces which it delights in and here it 
thrives wherever bare ground or thin spots among the native 
r grasses occur. 
[■ When once established the dandelion is apt to remain and to 
; take advantage of every opening that appears. In such cases there 
'! seems to be but little to recommend in combatting this weed, ex- 
cept to avoid over-grazing the pastures and to use the methods 
I * For those who desire to start a good lawn, the writer recommends the 
reading of an article on the subject by Samuel Parsons, Jr., in the American 
' Cyclopedia of Horticulture. 
