—-rpj 
ft 
f An* 
§f n v rt o c k> 
CftpjJtl major. Natural Order: Composite? — Aster Family. 
jpr° UDGED by the popular verdict, the Burdock is an unattractive 
weed, one of the coarsest and most obnoxious of the plants that 
infest the roadsides, barnyards and fields, yet the roots are used in 
medicine as a tonic and alterative and to produce a gentle per¬ 
spiration. The leaves are large, often nearly two feet long, with 
coarse cords or veins running through them, and the entire plant 
is pervaded by a bitter, disagreeable odor and taste. It grows about 
three or four feet in height, and is pyramidal in shape. The burrs 
'are the most disagreeable part, as each little scale that forms the 
-T floral sheath is armed with a hook, by which it fastens to anything 
it may touch, and if ripe and dry it adheres most tenaciously. It 
is a naturalized plant from Europe, and blooms in July and August. 
The flowers are a delicate pink. 
* 
JYflrtmiltf IJnitesiraify 
'T'HERE is some soul of goodness in things evil, 
Would men observingly distil it out; 
For our bad neighbors make us early stirrers; 
Which is both healthful and good husbandry. 
— Shakespeare. 
T TO my chimney’s shrine 
1 Brought him, as Love professes, 
And chafed his hands with mine, 
And dried his dripping tresses. 
But when that he felt warmed; 
Let’s try this bow of ours, 
And string, if they be harmed, 
Said he, with these late showers. 
Forthwith his bow he bent, 
And wedded string and arrow, 
And struck me, that it went 
Quite through my heart and marrow. 
Then laughing loud, he flew 
Away, and thus said, flying: 
Adieu, mine host, adieu! 
I’ll leave thy heart a-dving. 
— Anacreon. 
\ H! charming isle in the warm, green sea! 
- 1 1 O sirens! tempting me to wrong, 
What value have your meads to me? 
—James Maurice Thompson. 
6o 
